Jump to content

a touchy subject


mufasa1023

Recommended Posts

quote:
OK. I'll agree that items that says 'worship the God of so and so or your face will fall off' should not be in a cache. And if you feel the need to trash it out I don't think anybody is going to care. Except maybe the person that put it there. I think we're all finally in agreement here.


One man's trash...icon_biggrin.gif

 

Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness

Link to comment

I see religious items in caches from time to time. Christian, Hindu, Wiccan, etc....

 

I leave them there unless it is something that interests me.

 

Only things I will remove from a cache are age restricted materials. To date I have never seen any in a cache. So far so good.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have never been lost. Been awful confused for a few days, but never lost!

N61.12.041 W149.43.734

Link to comment

Awww jeez...y'know i leave the room for jsut ONE minute and look what happens....

now if i had the time or inclination to respond to all the points....but i dont....the redwings are playing tonight and i have tickets but anyways...

 

"I've left NIW Ozzfest CDs in caches, I'm sure they would offend some, but others would like them (no proof of that, on the ones I've left yet). I don't particularly like the idea of leaving religious tracts in caches, but really, it doesn't hurt anybody." -martmann

 

martmann makes a good point...but uses a very distinct seperation of terms...offense and harm....they are different things or at least so says philosophy and the law....most are of the opinion that pornography and violence are not things to brought into geocaching...well who here has actually read the bible? as is said of the clockwork orange

 

"He also studies the bible, not because he likes the message of peace but because he needs the violence and crime from which is told in the book as substitute for his own violence. He dreams of being violent and having a lot of women who serve him and whom he has sex with. So you could say that he likes the bad-guys, the bad examples in the bible."

 

the bible is full of pornography and violence...

 

jeremy is right of course that I cannot nor can anyone possibly control what is put into a cache (less an armed guard) nor would i really want to...i am no more in favor of censorship then....well actually i'm wholly against censorship except by yourself and over those who you rightfully should control (kids primarily and maybe dogs too)

this thread is more merely asking theoretically if it is ok to leave religious or social or other materials in a cache and furthermore what is to be deemed offensive or harmful? if you would listen to my girlfriend she would swear that Mickey-D's is the worst thing in the world, but she has no problem of trading for their toys....

 

or as geoworms said "Some people's personality includes religion"

thats great...im all about the opiate of the masses (no flames please I may very well be the devils advocate y'know!) but what if my personality included very hardcore lesbian aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving? need i bring that into GC?

Link to comment

Oh man! See we had this all figured out and wrapped up in a nice little happy package and you have to bring 'very hardcore lesbian Aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving' into the topic.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say if your personality included very hardcore lesbian Aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving things, you probably don't have time to geocache anyway.

 

Plus, who else agrees with me that religious propaganda is not comparable to very hardcore lesbian Aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving propaganda?

 

The point is it's fairly easy for most of us to distinguish what is appropriate and what is inappropriate to put in caches.

 

By the by, mufasa1023, could you possibly post the coords to some of your caches? I've been meaning to read up on very hardcore lesbian Aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving propaganda.

 

Thanks. icon_wink.gif

 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Because now I am Lost.

Link to comment

maybe that's why i asked the question J&MBella,

 

"who else agrees with me that religious propaganda is not comparable to very hardcore lesbian Aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving propaganda?"

is morality a democracy? should we look to the bible for whether we should leave bibles in GC's? or maybe we should consult the very hardcore lesbian Aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving propoganda to see whether it's ok?

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by mufasa1023:

What if anything would be the correct action (if any) upon finding religious, political, social or commercial objects/literature within a cache?


 

The question suggests the answer. NOTHING is the correct thing to do ... unless, of course, you're interested in trading for one of the items.

 

Those items aren't forced on you -- you don't HAVE to look at them, and you don't HAVE to take them. If you don't agree with what those items have to say, leave them alone, ignore them. By taking any other action, you are putting forth your OWN agenda.

 

If the cache owner is against that sort of thing being placed in his cache, he'd say so, and he's the only one who ought to be taking any action, in my opinion.

 

This should not be construed to mean that OBJECTIONABLE material (pornography, guns, drugs, etc.) should not be dealt with immediately -- those are not politically, religiously, or socially charged, they're just plain inappropriate, and that's a horse of a different color.

 

--

Scott Johnson (ScottJ)

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by ScottJ:

If the cache owner is against that sort of thing being placed in his cache, he'd say so, and he's the only one who ought to be taking any action, in my opinion.


I'm not sure the cache owner is even aware of the items in there. How often are maintenance visits? Every 3-6 months? This stuff could be placed by the first finder and not get trashed out for at least a month or two.

 

Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness

Link to comment

Scott - Amen!

 

If a cache owner is unaware f the cache contents, then you are back to the original question - if a FINDER finds something they don't like (but is not hateful, harmful, or otherwise obviously inappropriate), then they should LEAVE IT ALONE. Only the cache owner should remove items from the cache for reasons of personal taste.

 

Not that I don't understand the question. I have a few caches, that I check regularly. In one I found a military patch.... Now, I'm this will make me a pariah here, but, as a pacifist bleeding heart liberal, my first response was "oh, I am so taking that out of MY cache." But, I decided to leave it, because I know that someone will love it (it was a nice quality patch), and my cache is not only out there to please me, it is out there to please others. And, though I would like to run the world, and inflict my taste and judgement on all around me, I don't. And, as corny as it sounds, I felt good about overlooking my own feelings on the item and leaving it for someone who wants it.

 

So, bottom line, if it isn't against regs or just outright trash (literally, ya know, broken crap), and the cache isn't yours, trade for something else.

 

Jessica

 

Are you on the trail that leads to my cache?

Link to comment

I suppose I could argue the opposite. Why is my agenda any less valid than anyone eles's agenda? If I go to a cache and I find something that offends me, say a "believe in god or burn in hell (and send us some money while you're at it)" pamphlet, I can remove it if I want to. I reserve that right - it is not up to someone else to tell me if I should remove it or not.

Link to comment

ScottJ has missed the point entirely...or has not read the posts up until now.....

 

"This should not be construed to mean that OBJECTIONABLE material (pornography, guns, drugs, etc.) should not be dealt with immediately"

 

GREAT!!!! we can all go home now that this problem is solved.....oh wait how did you figure out what is objectionable? an exercise in ethical theory.....

Link to comment

A visit to the woods….shhh, let’s listen in…

 

“Hey buddy, what’d’ya doin’ in the lake with my minnow bucket?”

 

“Ah, ahem, ah, well, I was just adjusting it so them little shiners could get more fresh water. It’ll keep ‘em alive longer, ya know.”

 

“Well, maybe so, but I wish you wudn’t mess around with my personal property. Fer a moment I thought yer wuz stealin’ it. By the way, ya haven’t seen an ammo can around here have ya? I cud a swore I placed it nearby. My son’s a preacher man and geocacher, ya know. Asked me to hide it fer himself while I was out bassin’. Strange hobby he has, ya know. Takes these little bibles, sticks em in an ammo box and hides it in them woods. Then people come alookin’ fer it. Strange way to find God if you ask me. Why not just go to church or sumthin'? By the way, nuthin wrong with hiding bible-filled ammo boxes is there?”

 

“Ahh no. Ah, Of course not. Go right ahead. I can't imagine anyone just takin' it and messing around with God.”

Link to comment

I've left CD-ROMS in caches that are informational (and at the same time critical of the PBS evolution series), and other similar items. I also left many other items in these same caches that do not involve philosophical topics.

 

If I placed a cache full of tracts and invites to a Church prayer meeting (or as Gorak noted, some cult related activity), and nothing else, I would expect to be told I'd crossed the line...

 

I think the issue here is about the offence that some people take in finding certain items or materials. How can you possibly make sure that NO ONE will be offended by what they find in a cache?

 

Everyone has a worldview, and the difference really becomes more apparent when someone *pushes* theirs.

 

You cannot say that Christians, Humanists, Paganists and Pantheists should each have different restrictions... I wouldn't be the least concerned to find a copy of Bertrand Russell's book 'Why I am NOT a Christian' in a cache that someone hid, but I might voice concern if the cache was stocked with a vast array of Atheist/Humanist literature, and nothing else.

Link to comment

The problem is the word OBJECTIONABLE. ITs relative and there is no panacea. I am not offended by religious material, kinda tired of seeing broken WWJD bracelets in every cache, but they do not offend me. But they offend someone. Personally I find the color yellow repulsive and I refuse to visit the cache of anyone who has yellow in their Avitar. I think the 'Yellows' (as I like to call them) are horrible, thoughtless, self centered cretans who only wear and use that color to offend others and forward their own cause, happiness. The solution is obvious, we paint the world grey, we all wear grey and most importantly we all trade the exact same piece of grey crappy geoswag over and over, that way no one gets their feelings hurt by very hardcore lesbian Aleutian islander midget horse and kitten jello loving propaganda. icon_smile.gif

 

Understand what? My purpose? You know that. To find the Tower is my purpose. I'm sworn.

-Roland, The Gunslinger

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by mufasa1023:

ScottJ has missed the point entirely...or has not read the posts up until now.....

 

"This should not be construed to mean that OBJECTIONABLE material (pornography, guns, drugs, etc.) should not be dealt with immediately"


 

I think most of us are pretty clear on the distinction between guns and religious literature. Objectionable might have been the wrong word ... "prohibited" might have been better, since all the things I mentioned are also mentioned specifically in the guidelines.

 

--

Scott Johnson (ScottJ)

Link to comment

Personally if I take anything out of a cache I put something in to replace it. It doesn’t matter if it is something I want, or if I am just trading to trade, or if it is something "prohibited" by the rules/guidelines, or something that I find "objectionable". I put something to replace it. This applies to caches I find or if I am doing maintenance on one of mine, if I take something out, I put something in. I might keep it, put it in my bag of trade goods, or throw away. Once I trade for it, I consider it is mine to do with as I wish.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...