I do not think it means what you think it means.
From the news:
LONDON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Forcing store clerks to listen to the same holiday music over and over could be akin to torture and should change, a British noise pollution group said.
The UK Noise Association and labor unions are suggesting legal action on behalf of store employees who listen to endless looped recordings of holiday music, the Observer said Sunday.
"What we're saying is that, if Christmas carols are being played on the same CD repeatedly, that could create an unhealthy working environment. It must drive people to distraction," said Paul Clarke, spokesman for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.
Exposure to the same music constantly is "no different to being tortured," added Val Weedon, the noise association's national coordinator.
...........
What is torture? Most people have a pretty good idea, and for the vast majority of people, it does not include having Christmas carols play repeatedly during your shift for a few weeks in a row. Granting that some people can't drown them out into background noise, they will undoubtedly become irritating, annoying, and even grating... but torture?
When most people think about torture, they have scenes from movies and books in mind. Some of the more current-events oriented among us think of pictures we've seen from prison camps and interrogation rooms. But the important thing to get from the news article above is not that some groups are being ridiculous in how they classify torture. The important thing is this: the definition is subjective.
And it isn't just torture, either. It's just about any non-emotional concept. Define art. Define danger. While most people have a solid idea of what's being described by these things, the borders get fuzzy; almost everyone would consider being shot in the kneecap while restricted as torture, while few would include hearing Christmas songs played repeatedly. If the producers of 24 had Jack Bauer playing "Silent Night" over and over to try to get information from a terrorist, viewers wouldn't be able to take the thing seriously. But there are some people out there who really view it as torture.
You have to be aware of how the stories you hear might be slanted. When you hear that someone felt "threatened", you should find out how and why. When you hear that word, you're likely to put your own definition of threatened in, instead of the "victim's" definition. It's bad when you find yourself defending someone who turns out to just be whining. Make it your decision as to what constitutes a real threat, based on your experience, not someone else. Same thing when you hear about things like "damage". A cigarette butt on the ground damages the environment, but if you try to tell me it's the same thing as a strip mine, I'm going to call you an idiot.
LONDON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Forcing store clerks to listen to the same holiday music over and over could be akin to torture and should change, a British noise pollution group said.
The UK Noise Association and labor unions are suggesting legal action on behalf of store employees who listen to endless looped recordings of holiday music, the Observer said Sunday.
"What we're saying is that, if Christmas carols are being played on the same CD repeatedly, that could create an unhealthy working environment. It must drive people to distraction," said Paul Clarke, spokesman for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.
Exposure to the same music constantly is "no different to being tortured," added Val Weedon, the noise association's national coordinator.
...........
What is torture? Most people have a pretty good idea, and for the vast majority of people, it does not include having Christmas carols play repeatedly during your shift for a few weeks in a row. Granting that some people can't drown them out into background noise, they will undoubtedly become irritating, annoying, and even grating... but torture?
When most people think about torture, they have scenes from movies and books in mind. Some of the more current-events oriented among us think of pictures we've seen from prison camps and interrogation rooms. But the important thing to get from the news article above is not that some groups are being ridiculous in how they classify torture. The important thing is this: the definition is subjective.
And it isn't just torture, either. It's just about any non-emotional concept. Define art. Define danger. While most people have a solid idea of what's being described by these things, the borders get fuzzy; almost everyone would consider being shot in the kneecap while restricted as torture, while few would include hearing Christmas songs played repeatedly. If the producers of 24 had Jack Bauer playing "Silent Night" over and over to try to get information from a terrorist, viewers wouldn't be able to take the thing seriously. But there are some people out there who really view it as torture.
You have to be aware of how the stories you hear might be slanted. When you hear that someone felt "threatened", you should find out how and why. When you hear that word, you're likely to put your own definition of threatened in, instead of the "victim's" definition. It's bad when you find yourself defending someone who turns out to just be whining. Make it your decision as to what constitutes a real threat, based on your experience, not someone else. Same thing when you hear about things like "damage". A cigarette butt on the ground damages the environment, but if you try to tell me it's the same thing as a strip mine, I'm going to call you an idiot.
posted by AM | 11:07 AM
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