A blog by the History 103B Collective at Grand View University
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The Bro Code?
We have explored history through the stories, epics, remains,
and daily lives of ancient times all of which came from what was left behind;
including through writings. Writings came in the form of calligraphy in clay
tablets as well as parchments. These symbols were deciphered and studied upon
the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, and left us with a clear-er understanding
of how people interacted with one another throughout these empires.
Some of what was left and passed along include rules and guidelines
such as those in ‘The Code of the Nesilim,’ ‘Advice of an Akkadian Father to
His Son,’ as well as ‘Proverbs of Ki-en-gir’ and ‘The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep.’
Within reading and analyzing these pieces I found a common theme of how people,
specifically men, should interact in society. These rules are also represented
today in multiple ways including the Ten Commandments as well as Barney Stinson’s 'Bro Code' from the popular TV series ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ The first written pieces
to ever be discovered were essentially a Bro Code, how…interesting. Let’s dive
in a bit deeper to explore this idea.
In ‘The code of Nesilim,’ line 199 states “If a man rape a woman in the mountain, it is the man's wrong, he
shall die. But if he rape her in the house, it is the woman's fault, the woman
shall die.” How interesting that there wouldn't be
any punishment for this kind of action. Apparently in today’s society, “locker
room talk” has a direct correlation to “in the house” because there is no punishment
for “grabbing women by the pussy.”
In the wake
of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements it is important to note multiple sections
within “The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep”
reading. I would like to call specific attention to the following quote, “Keep yourself from making advances to a woman, for there is nothing good
in so doing.” This section goes on to say “There is no prudence in taking part
in it, and thousands of men destroy themselves in order to enjoy a moment,
brief as a dream, while they gain death, so as to know it. It is a villainous
intention, that of a man who thus excites himself; if he goes on to carry it
out, his mind abandons him.” In short, how bout ya just treat women (and men,
for that matter) with…oh…I dunno…common decency and respect?
In contrast to “The Code of Nesilim,” the “Precepts of Ptah-Hotep” doesn't
have a list of consequences associated with each rule, unfortunately. The Precepts
document reminds me more of the Ten Commandments in the sense it is a list of
rules a person ~should~ follow but doesn't associate a direct societal
consequence. What is the cause of this? Does this have more or less weight (in a
culture) than having a clarified punishment?
Another section I find particularly interesting (especially
in today’s society) is in the Precepts document, “If you are powerful, respect knowledge and calmness
of language. Command only to direct; to be absolute is to run into evil.”
Sounds pretty reasonable right? It reminds me of the ‘Keep Calm And_____’
themes that were on social media. I wonder, however, would ‘shithole country’
comments make the cut or not? I will let you be the judge of that as I digress.
This whole concept of
a ‘Bro Code’ or set of rules that people should follow in society is so
arbitrary because clearly people don't follow or respect one another—let alone
people who are different than them. What is a commonality between cultures,
religions, societies and people? The desire to succeed and be happy, right? But
how is that attained? Boy wouldn't we all like to know...but if you watch this
Ted Talk, you might be on the right track.
As Ellen DeGeneres
says at the end of every show, and as I will say to end this blog post:
I do agree with your post. Today’s beliefs really does relate to many beliefs from then. I feel that it could be a good thing, and a bad thing. You would think that after years and years of beleiving men are superior over women, it would be looked at different by now. Even though I’m certain physical or other ways they are, it doesn’t mean women are property to men, or useless in thing men are useful in. That is one of the main things I do see in comparison with how people think today.
I thought your blog was really interesting. It's crazy how some behaviors stick around even though it's been a long tie since they were developed. I really liked the quote about respecting the power you are given. Throughout history we are given examples of people who were given power and were unable to respect it.
I do agree that with all of the history and chances we have had, we should be friendlier to one another. we should be able to accept everyone for who they are. I loved the way you decided to end your blog, very solid. An awesome person to quote.
I agree with this post completely, not only do we continue to see disgusting actions, writings and quotes throughout history and present times, but we also see a constant need for men to have power over women and others in general. As for the ten commandments, I’ve always felt that they were copied from other ancient writings, simply because all of Christianity seems to have been copied from other religions and beliefs. I believe sexism, racism, and bigotry have existed since the dawn of time and will continue on. We can only change this course that humans have been on for centuries, if we’re aware of it. I also love the Ellen quote, it’s something we need to think about and practice daily in life.
I like the way you draw a parallel between ancient moral codes and some of the ways in which we (at least try to) police moral conduct. And Karen Armstrong, the speaker in that TED talk, is a fascinating scholar of religion; if you're interested in the origins of major religious traditions, her books are well worth checking out (they're not dry at all--they're written for a wider audience).
I completely see the correlation between todays behaviors with the behaviors that were once shown. I thought that the law “If a man rape a woman in the mountain, it is the man's wrong, he shall die. But if he rape her in the house, it is the woman's fault, the woman shall die.” Was super interesting. I remember talking about this in class. I believe that the belief that men are superior to women is still alive although we say it isn't.
I really liked watching how in depth the lady went in the Ted talk. Especially when she said that we need to use the golden rule globally otherwise bad things would happen. Anyone remember being told every time you got in trouble or caught being bullied and you heard the adults tell either you or the bully you need to treat people the way you want to be treated? I feel like its small things like this that helps people realize that both men and women are equal; no matter race or gender. At a young age, children should be taught to treat one another that rule that everyone is equal. I agree with you on how women are miss treated. We see it all the time now a days and I don't really have an answer as to why these things happen, but I really like how in depth you went and how you put your heart into this post. It really got me to think and reflect on how I treat others, which I don't bully or treat anyone bad or anything like that, but it still got me to think about how I could improve how I treat others.
I think you brought up a great point in this blog. The relation from ancient civilizations morals and "common knowledge" seem to still be apparent in todays society. Before reading this, I never really made that connection but now it is very apparent. Its also very confusing and it amazes me how we've aged over 2000 years and we are still blaming women for getting raped in situations that were out of their control just because they were looking too "appealing" or they were "asking for it". I guess it shows that some traditions from our early ancestors still haven't ceased to exist, to much dissapointment. As to certain figures misusing and abusing power, that too amazes me. You would think that people would learn from the past about previous miss-happenings with certain powerful leaders, but the civilizations on planet earth have still yet to figure out what to do with power positions, and who to give them to. This just goes to show how important the study of history really is, because we must observe and learn from out past mistakes to better the future.
I absolutely agree with this post, espcially when you discuss ‘The Code of Nesilim’. I remember discussing this in class and particularly discussing line 199 that states “If a man rape a women in the mountain, it is the man’s wrong, he shall die. But if he rape her in the house, it is the women’s fault, the woman shall die”. This completely shows that men were dominant, superior, and held a higher power then women and children. And they viewed women as a object and hold no respect for them. It’s crazy that women still are getting brutally treated like this today. This just shows that history is a key aspect because you don’t want history to repeat itself.
I do agree with your post. Today’s beliefs really does relate to many beliefs from then. I feel that it could be a good thing, and a bad thing. You would think that after years and years of beleiving men are superior over women, it would be looked at different by now. Even though I’m certain physical or other ways they are, it doesn’t mean women are property to men, or useless in thing men are useful in. That is one of the main things I do see in comparison with how people think today.
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was really interesting. It's crazy how some behaviors stick around even though it's been a long tie since they were developed. I really liked the quote about respecting the power you are given. Throughout history we are given examples of people who were given power and were unable to respect it.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that with all of the history and chances we have had, we should be friendlier to one another. we should be able to accept everyone for who they are. I loved the way you decided to end your blog, very solid. An awesome person to quote.
I agree with this post completely, not only do we continue to see disgusting actions, writings and quotes throughout history and present times, but we also see a constant need for men to have power over women and others in general. As for the ten commandments, I’ve always felt that they were copied from other ancient writings, simply because all of Christianity seems to have been copied from other religions and beliefs. I believe sexism, racism, and bigotry have existed since the dawn of time and will continue on. We can only change this course that humans have been on for centuries, if we’re aware of it. I also love the Ellen quote, it’s something we need to think about and practice daily in life.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you draw a parallel between ancient moral codes and some of the ways in which we (at least try to) police moral conduct. And Karen Armstrong, the speaker in that TED talk, is a fascinating scholar of religion; if you're interested in the origins of major religious traditions, her books are well worth checking out (they're not dry at all--they're written for a wider audience).
ReplyDeleteI completely see the correlation between todays behaviors with the behaviors that were once shown. I thought that the law “If a man rape a woman in the mountain, it is the man's wrong, he shall die. But if he rape her in the house, it is the woman's fault, the woman shall die.” Was super interesting. I remember talking about this in class. I believe that the belief that men are superior to women is still alive although we say it isn't.
ReplyDeleteI really liked watching how in depth the lady went in the Ted talk. Especially when she said that we need to use the golden rule globally otherwise bad things would happen. Anyone remember being told every time you got in trouble or caught being bullied and you heard the adults tell either you or the bully you need to treat people the way you want to be treated? I feel like its small things like this that helps people realize that both men and women are equal; no matter race or gender. At a young age, children should be taught to treat one another that rule that everyone is equal. I agree with you on how women are miss treated. We see it all the time now a days and I don't really have an answer as to why these things happen, but I really like how in depth you went and how you put your heart into this post. It really got me to think and reflect on how I treat others, which I don't bully or treat anyone bad or anything like that, but it still got me to think about how I could improve how I treat others.
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up a great point in this blog. The relation from ancient civilizations morals and "common knowledge" seem to still be apparent in todays society. Before reading this, I never really made that connection but now it is very apparent. Its also very confusing and it amazes me how we've aged over 2000 years and we are still blaming women for getting raped in situations that were out of their control just because they were looking too "appealing" or they were "asking for it". I guess it shows that some traditions from our early ancestors still haven't ceased to exist, to much dissapointment. As to certain figures misusing and abusing power, that too amazes me. You would think that people would learn from the past about previous miss-happenings with certain powerful leaders, but the civilizations on planet earth have still yet to figure out what to do with power positions, and who to give them to. This just goes to show how important the study of history really is, because we must observe and learn from out past mistakes to better the future.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with this post, espcially when you discuss ‘The Code of Nesilim’. I remember discussing this in class and particularly discussing line 199 that states “If a man rape a women in the mountain, it is the man’s wrong, he shall die. But if he rape her in the house, it is the women’s fault, the woman shall die”. This completely shows that men were dominant, superior, and held a higher power then women and children. And they viewed women as a object and hold no respect for them. It’s crazy that women still are getting brutally treated like this today. This just shows that history is a key aspect because you don’t want history to repeat itself.
ReplyDelete