Why We Still Need to Learn What’s Considered Taboo

Just like an unopened book, you wouldn’t know what’s in it if you never open it. There will be a synopsis, other people’s interpretations about what might be inside, but you’ll never know for sure. The choice is simple: to believe bite-sized rumors, or to read it and judge for yourself.

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Often, taboo topics are avoided because of how much you will be scorned for talking openly about them — there is a reason it’s called “taboo,” after all. The exact cause is often unclear, but this situation is rooted in fear.

Because fear makes people uncomfortable. This is why avoiding taboo topics doesn’t actually protect us, education and understanding are the only real forms of prevention.

Culture, Myth, and Fear

Culture also plays a huge part in this. In Indonesia, we have mythopoeia such as not sitting in doorways or something bad will happen, or not clipping your nails at night or your parents will die early. These myths were believed by the older generation, because at that time, what you heard from elders was considered truth. Today, these beliefs are less common among younger generations.

Other than myth here some taboos that are easier to recognize include talking about death, talking about LGBTQ+ issues, and talking about banned books.

With easier access to data, taboo is no longer something abstract where information only comes from a few people. We have the internet, where we can research things more deeply. But why do we still need to go to such lengths to understand them? What if a parent sees it and it turns into a misunderstanding that leads to judgment or conflict?

Information as a prevention

The answer lies in the idea of prevention.

Fear is like a sickness. When it strikes, it can make you incapable of action and influence you to make irrational decisions. And like a sickness, it requires both treatment and prevention.

Education is the best prevention there is. With the courage to learn about something unfamiliar, we can understand issues at their core and, with judgment, decide whether something is truly dangerous or not.

When Avoidance Leaves Us Unprepared

When fear keeps us from learning about taboo topics, we don’t become safer — we become unprepared. Let’s take death as an example. Death is certain. There is no denying it. It will happen someday — to us or to people around us.

If you don’t know the details of what needs to be prepared after someone dies, you should research them. Because when the time comes, you won’t have space to worry about details. If that knowledge isn’t already there, important things will be missed.

Burial arrangements, death certificates, essential documents, banking details, and more — the list goes on.

Learning the truth

Not to turn this into a depressing discussion, but I realized how important it is to learn about things even when we don’t want to, even when we’re scared of them, even when they feel far away in the future.

At the end, taboo is just like an unopened book — choosing not to open it means surrendering our judgment to fear instead of understanding.

Only when we dare to open it can we navigate both certain and uncertain issues with clarity and preparedness.

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