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Comment by dreary_dugong | Hacker News Reader

It originates from sexually transmitted infections. When the catholic church heavily encouraged abstinence suddenly people stopped dying from STI's as much. A combination of the church's influence on Western culture during that time period and all opposition dying out led to its ubiquity and it has stuck around as part of traditional moral values. The more Western culture has taken over the rest of the world, the more it's spread.

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> A combination of the church's influence

> The more Western culture has taken over the rest of the world, the more it's spread.

I'm from a Middle Eastern culture, where shopping malls etc literally have "No Hand Holding" signs (actually against public displays of affection) (https://i.imgur.com/WVOoTBA.jpg) so Western culture is still a lot better off, and the rest of Europe doesn't seem as stuck up about it as the UK/US.

Sure, but while I have not done the research to back it up, I have the general feeling that a lot of religious prohibitions and traditions can have their origins traced back to rules from antiquity that made sense back then (stuff like not eating shellfish, for example) which were presented with a religious veneer to make them more memorable/enforceable. Over time these prohibitions got entrenched, extended, distorted because of misunderstandings, blind faith or more cynically, desire for control and power, and the original motivations were forgotten. This is, of course, a conclusion I came to without a lot of research so I'd love to take the time to look for evidence either way.

If this is true, it would also follow that more fundamentalist regions would have stricter interpretations of those rules. I does not take much imagination to come up with a version of the US where religious fundamentalism leads to "No Hand Holding" signs, and I'm sure at least some people living in the US right now would approve of such controls (thankfully they are not the majority).

Most regular people in the UK aren't nearly as stuck up about it. It always seems to be some sort of prudish edict from on high, from ageing or church going politicians or tabloids that forgot how to have fun. Usually ends up being a common cause to point at "the great and the good" or media and have a bloody good laugh.

Since I first noticed one, probably 70s/80s video nasties or heavy metal played backwards causes satanism, exactly never have I actually met or spoken to anyone who wasn't having a laugh at the stupidity. (Whilst watching a 4th generation copy of Texas Chainsaw Massacre with friends)

> exactly never have I actually met or spoken to anyone who wasn't having a laugh at the stupidity.

Yet, for all the people laughing at the stupids, repressive laws are somehow being made.

You need to yell instead of laugh, or those who come after you will be crying. We already have China as an example of how bad repressive censorship can stifle the way of life we currently take for granted.

I am not sure politicians are especially noted for their connection to the real world. Quite often very much the opposite. Recreating the panopticon seems to be becoming too appealing to our rulers.

Besides these things are rarely, if ever, election promises. They are far more likely to be a knee-jerk reaction to some tabloid "This is outrageous, government must _do_ something" campaign.

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