The reaction that separates

A few weeks ago, in a language learning group I came across a screenshot of one of Duolingo's typical dialog lessons with a question: Why does Duolingo teach this way?

This post is motivated by recent events, yes, but I've actually been meaning to write this for a long time because I came across a couple of opinions just a few weeks ago, and those opinions made me think and realize some things that I've always known anyway.

Anyone who has used the platform knows that it is aimed at mass use, teaching the most popular languages, such as specifically American English if you want to learn English for example and Latin American Spanish if you want to learn Spanish. Now, as I write this, I don't really find any sense in it. What if there are more Latin American Spanish speakers than European Spanish speakers? How would that cause more people to study specifically Latin American Spanish? But, as you will see, there are other, even more illogical things.

There are many language errors in the platform, big and small, which from what I read, it was flagged a long time ago. There are also bugs in the automatic verification of exercises, and points are often taken away illegally, non-existent errors are noted, while at the same time the platform encourages its users to participate in some kind of constant and contrived race, which in the end it turns out that you can never win.

Lessons are incomplete and insufficient for preparation, lacking elementary explanations, while at the same time rushing through complex grammar with multiple tenses without acquiring other, essential knowledge and skills in the meantime.

But as I said, the main illogicality in this training is another, and with it I introduced this post: Why Duolingo teaches like this?

The dialogue that was screenshotted was the typical Duolingo dialogue, as I said, a story about how a woman goes to the airport and tells an employee there that she is waiting for her partner. The clerk says something about her husband, but she replies: no, that's my wife.

I went through three language levels on this platform until I decided it wasn't good for me linguistically. But all the time I asked myself the question, too: Why does Duolingo teach this way?

If it's aimed at the mainstream audience... then what fraction, what percentage of that mainstream audience are actually lgbt?

There's no logic to that, right?

In fact, I read that the percentage of these people is still very small - from 1 to 3-4%, and I can't imagine that all of them learn languages on Duolingo, and Duolingo is composed in this way so that these 1-2-3-4% of the population of the earth to feel comfortable. While the others don't.

The questioner had asked a little further down an additional question - imagine that your children study on this platform. How will they learn a language this way?

This is a very practical question. First, to a child I suppose it is generally difficult to explain many of the things about sex, in fact, the things in adult life in general that sooner or later come into the child's view and need to be explained. However, there are things that may not come so early and quickly into a child's view. Unless they read them on a language learning platform. 😄
Furthermore, confusion can occur even from a linguistic point of view and some words can be learned incorrectly, simply out of ignorance, or mostly out of misunderstanding.

In Spanish, for example, words like boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, differ only in the ending, which is only one letter. What if the child gets confused and learns the meaning of words wrongly, simply because they were born into a family with a mother and a father, not a family with two mothers. 🤔

Similar questions have been asked by children including now at the Olympics, although this is not conducted here for educational purposes... or in fact it is.

But what happened to these so logically and calmly asked questions I started the post with?

The man was attacked. Even in a rather aggressive way. A simple and non-aggressively asked question was met with lines like: "People like you should be wiped off the face of the earth." "You have no place on this planet.", etc.

Aggression, hatred and malice, a desire to fight, even a desire to kill if you want. In short, this so illogical reaction on the part of otherwise perhaps reasonable people is simply a response to a button that is calmly pressed by other people when it should.

Another opinion at the time, this time written by a Bulgarian, also caught my attention. It unraveled 'the secrets of Bulgarian psychology' and more.
It is claimed, as this opinion also says, and we are all used to it without thinking, that Bulgarians are quite narrow-minded people, we are not used to and do not accept the different, simply because during communism, it was deliberately hidden from our eyes.
In some ways, even I had come to terms with "being narrow-minded" simply because I was born and raised in this country.
But this man says something else. We all well remember many great figures from the past, huge talents like Freddie Mercury, Elton John, George Michael... And what about David Bowie or Boy George? Or so many others? We too, even in Bulgaria, were placed under their enormous influence - influences coming from art, of course, not from anywhere else.
Freddie Mercury is my first favorite singer of all time, me, "the narrow-minded". No matter how many other styles and singers/bands I've listened to over the years, all the metal and rock music subsequently, I continue to admire the creativity and talent of this timeless figure.

And here comes the important part - I never viewed this talent as gay in the first place, as indeed a narrow-minded person should.
And that's exactly what this guy was trying to explain in his post - that years, decades ago, nobody paid attention to each other's sexuality. After all, what someone does in their bedroom is nobody's business, is it? This applies to everyone, both heterosexual and non-heterosexual. Sexuality shouldn't matter and it doesn't matter when you show talent, skill, knowledge, attitude, behavior and everything. Exactly - when you show something.

Nowadays, of course, things are completely different. And only sexuality is shown as merit, as a basis for attitude, evaluation and praise. With nothing left behind.

But don't worry. No one wants to force this sexuality. It took me a while to realize this myself.
People are scared that someone wants to enforce homosexuality as a standard to depopulate the earth. But think a little - how the sexuality of 1-2-3-4% of the population can be imposed on the remaining 96-97-98-99%? That sounds absurd, doesn't it? What does it mean to impose sexuality - someone is going to force someone from heterosexual to become gay, right? It is clear that this cannot be done.

Rather, in my opinion, this different sexuality is being shown so much right now and emphasized as if it is dominant, as we have seen in recent world events, to anger and divide people. And it succeeds. Right now, people are fighting each other disjointedly, just like they did during covid and vaccines, with exactly the same viciousness and energy. They fight in the same way as they fight about political parties in a disunited country like Bulgaria, which has not had a functioning government for a long enough time. They argue as they argued and continue to argue about the war between Russia and Ukraine, supporting one side or the other.
They argue and fight, separated. They even fight over something as trivial and uninteresting as sexuality, the sexuality of others. Think about it. It's so illogical.
Yes, if a person does not respond to these provocations, this is also not good, it seems that he is asleep. But it is the reaction that is aimed at, distracting the population from other things, from the more important things, of course.
The reaction that separates - that's the goal.
And a disunited population... I think the Bulgarians can best say what the consequences of this are, since they have been disunited for so many years and centuries. The consequences for them, for the whole country, are disastrous, totally destructive.

Thank you for your time! Copyright:	@soulsdetour
	Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.

Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|