I think in the long-term the stories and later the keywords are meant to just drop away anyway, so it shouldn't really matter.  Personally I didn't use many timely stories, but I can understand why people do.  On the other hand, it's rather depressing to think that five years down the road you might see a kanji and suddenly have one of those less favourable personalities pop into your head, just when you thought you had rid them from your memory forever!

DrJones wrote:

I understand that traumatic experiences and current events can be easier to remember for many members, but don't they see that their mnemonics are going to become obsolete within a year?

I wonder if the average Iraqi will have forgotten about George Bush within a year...The ones that are still alive, that is!

DrJones wrote:

Caution. It's not "forgetting", it is "becoming obsolete".

Also, as far as I know, Iraqi are happy to be liberated from Saddam. Iraqi are also unhappy that they are being killed by fellow muslims that should be helping them. Muslims overall don't hate USA any less than before 11-M.

Well, I think we've come to the core of why the political stories bother you so much, and it's that you feel this way.  If they were all jabs about Clinton, I suspect we wouldn't have heard a peep out of you.  That's just my personal suspicion, of course -- I can't be certain, nor do I pretend that I am. 

The simple truth is, the words "Bush" and "Iraq" are going to produce fairly robust images and emotions in the minds of almost ANYONE in the WORLD at this point (we've got a pretty International user base, I think).  This is true, regardless of where you stand politically ... I've yet to meet the person that felt indifferently about the Iraq war, and the Bush administration.  They either despise the man and the invasion, or they positively love him.

This sort of emotional and intellectual connection is extremely valuable in producing the sorts of impactful stories that the Heisig method requires.  Why so many political stories?  Because they work, would be my guess ... just like the naughty ones.

The short answer is -- and I mean this as an answer to all the talk about the sexually suggestive stories, too -- if you find a story offensive, the best thing to do is STOP READING IT, and move on.  I honestly don't think any one member (or GROUP of members ,even) is in any sort of position to try and inflict censorship on the rest of the community, simply so they don't have to endure split-second exposures to ideas that they don't like.

Last edited by dukelexon (2008 February 20, 4:44 pm)

This was always going to end up an issue with sharing stories.  Hesig says to make the stories as crazy as possible to help remember them and so people are going to use people and things that really stick in their heads.
Like a lot of places on the internet, everyone is different and so everyone's stories are (and should) be different.  If a story offends you, or as the OP thinks will become obsolete in a few years, then just skip it and find one you do want to use, or make your own and share it for others.  All this time spent debating the pro/cons of things like this is time you should spend learning/reviewing something...!

I don't think the actions of the US's present politicians will be forgotten anytime soon.  So I don't think stories involving them will become obsolete too quickly

I wonder how early users of RTK are doing with their Jimmy Carter and Cyrus Vance stories.

This thread really makes me want me to rewrite my story for 渉 ford, and somehow include (obsolete) President Ford.

To be honest, I have yet to use any of the Condi Rice stories as I like the USA image for its use instead (the ASTRAY on the ROAD to the USA song by the Bruce Springsteen for example).  In addition, some mnemonics are emotionally shocking (gross, lewd or whatever) but not visually shocking which is what Heisig urges you to strive for.  The Keyword needs to illicit a visual picture or image that you then can grasp the primitives from to post down the story (initially) while later it's Keyword to just the primitives.

As is pointed out, using current figures are topical and lead to the story becoming outdated. Next year, quite a few are going to forget Condi Rice (George Bush will stick in memory for quite a while). Such is political memory.

All that said, I hope people will not abuse the story area to expouse political views. It's very easy to edit a tale to put it at the top for higher chance of being seen. If it truly is related to helping at least the author remember that kanji, then nothing wrong with sharing. Nothing stops anyone from ignoring it (or better yet, just remember all the kanji to make it a moot point. heh heh).

I'd like to agree with some of the other posters in the thread... Bush and Iraq will not be forgotten anytime soon. We're still talking/hearing about Vietnam, right?

I've also always found it odd that many of the Americans that I know seem to like to forget political happenings and government scandals right away, as if not remembering them somehow makes them not as scandalous... while the rest of the world kind of sits back in horror, mouths agape. *shrug*

Or maybe I'm just biased because they all live south of me, and I always have to vehemently deny accusations that I'm a Yank when I travel, since everyone hears the accent and seems to forget about the good people of old Soviet Canuckistan. *shrug* *shrug*

Oh, and... I *have* read The Flash comics, and watched a short lived TV show about The Flash... i just assumed that other people using those stories (or the chuck norris ones, or whatever) were other people who have strong images of those characters. I'm intrigued by the idea of anchoring a kanji story to something which isn't already anchored in your mind's eye.

I hope this post doesn't sound to random/off-topic/whatever. it's early, and my eyes hurt...

Nukemarine wrote:

In addition, some mnemonics are emotionally shocking (gross, lewd or whatever) but not visually shocking which is what Heisig urges you to strive for.  The Keyword needs to illicit a visual picture or image...

V. good point.

Nukemarine wrote:

As is pointed out, using current figures are topical and lead to the story becoming outdated. Next year, quite a few are going to forget Condi Rice (George Bush will stick in memory for quite a while). Such is political memory.

I dunno, I can imagine good Nixon stories, and I've used Teddy Roosevelt too.  If it's about visual memory, some of these politicians are a cartoonist's dream.  We forget their policies and scandals (no one talking about the election seems to remember Whitewater, for instance) but remember all their atavistic quirks that endear them to people who draw for a living.

Now stories about Japanese politicians, you might as well be using a grey washcloth for your image.

Bush and his bunch have been on tv every day for the past 8 years. The name Bush resonates even further back thanks to his wonderful daddy. Both have tried to turn the world into a safer, cleaner and friendlier place. How can they not be included in our stories?
This being said, I think I only used Bush once.
I wish there were a kanji were I could have Mr T duel with Bush.

DrJones wrote:

The only stories about Japanese politicians that arrive here is when they throw chairs at each other.

I must admit, I've seen them wrestle sometimes.  And one member of the Diet is a pro wrestler who won't take off his Tiger Mask.