And then, if you do take into account the Book of Revelations, Nostradamus, various 20th-century evangelical ramblings, and the 1976 historical documentary, The Omen, the people who are most likely candidates for antichrist are Trump, Thiel, Musk, Ellison, etc.
Maybe Thiel is worried about who his father really is.
sanguis bibimus corpus edimus
No disagreement here. I wasn’t necessarily advocating the idea, but it was interesting to explore it and “try it on” for a while when reading the book. I think there is some value in attempting to steer society in better directions, but disagree with rewriting history or purging culture to do so.
Just finished reading The Dispossessed and was going to comment similarly. It was fantastic read and surprisingly modern considering it was written in the 60s. Some of her contemporaries don’t have the same sort of timeless readability as Le Guin.
The key anarchist takeaways from The Dispossessed are the use of syndicates in lieu of corporate or government structures, no private ownership or equity, and the absence of law, elections, and criminal punishment. Committees exist for public discussion, but the outcome of that discussion is non-binding (although one may find themselves an outcast). Le Guin presents anarchy like libertarianism mixed with socialism: you are free to do as you please, but you are obligated to recognize your role in the social organism.
Le Guin also recognizes that anarchist thought is in some ways extremely foreign to all of our modes of thought, philosophy, and language. So she devises a world where the anarchists invent a new language to correct and remove “egoist” ideas. The society she develops revolted against a hyper-consumerist society, referred to as “propertarians,” and this drives much of the plot and dialogue: what does it mean to not be an egoist while still being human?; what is the limit of personal possession before becoming a propertarian?; what happens when your personal freedom and needs are trampled on by the social organism?; and how long can a non-hierarchical society last when it inevitably creates systems that begin to self-organize into hierarchies and bureaucracies?
The protagonist realizes that any revolution must remain perpetually in a state of revolution lest the people settle into inviolable customs that then calcify into law.
Poe’s Law, meet Kafkatrap.
Thanks for the insight and perspective! Motorsports are admittedly not my thing, but I’m pretty sure older dudes buying motorcycles in middle age or retirement is far from a recent trend; it’s a pretty well known stereotype. Hell, Wild Hogs is almost 20 years old at this point. Not that that invalidates what you said about the dangers they pose learning to ride so late.
I’ve seen a lot of younger people in my region riding e-scooters with a seat attachment or electric mopeds.
I have a neighbor that might be entering a mid-life and/or identity crisis phase. A few months back he shows up with a hog and starts tinkering with it in the yard. Pretty soon he has a bunch of motorcycle friends who start showing up to ride and off they go, loudly farting down the street on their bikes.
I’m mostly ambivalent about the entire thing except that he tends to work a late shift, so he doesn’t get started with his hobby riding until 7 or 8 at night. Not late enough to really complain about but also late enough that it can be disruptive. He’s a okay dude and we’ve civilly chatted about the noise before, but I don’t think he thinks his motorcycle counts as noise. I hope he finds what he’s looking for out on the open road.
Having dealt with HomeDepot contractors before, the true cost of replacing the door is:
Door + installation + re-installation by some who knows what the fuck they’re doing + materials
Unfriendly? Fuck you. We’re wicked nice.
First time I visited Boston, I was lost somewhere in downtown and walking in circles. Must have passed a postman one too many times because he just briskly walks up to me and, gesturing with a handful of mail, abruptly asks, “whadaya, fuckin lost?”
He then proceeded to give me very clear and accurate directions to where I was going.
The Star Wars knockoffs between ANH and ESB are insanely bad. Half of those movies are basically over-greebled models and cheap special effects without much plot or substance. The other half are just formulaic sword and sorcery 80s movies with a spaceship or lightsaber thrown in.
Special effects are just a tool, a means of telling a story. People have a tendency to confuse them as an end to themselves. A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing. -George Lucas
Of course, George forgot his own advice later on.
The model is old, but direct-to-video sequels were usually always awful. There are 14 Land Before Time movies. 14. Only the first one got a theatrical release.
I think hip-hop, specifically dirty south hip-hop, dominating mainstream pop charts around that time had something to do with it; e.g. Outkast, Lil Wayne, Lil Jon, Rick Ross, Ludacris, etc. I also remember about 10 years ago reading reddit posts as well as hearing people in grad school intentionally advocate for the usage of y’all (or the even more annoying folks) as better inclusive term as opposed to “you guys”.
But if y’all annoys you, let me tell all y’all about super plurals like all y’all…
I’ll respond to this because I’m a father and have observed a lot of things about other parents that I never noticed or paid attention to before becoming one. There are some seriously selfish-ass people who treat their kids like accessories or tea-cup dogs. On the other end of the spectrum, there are people who treat their kids as franchises or property and view the kid in terms of ROI.
Some people only find value in themselves as mothers or fathers (“I’m the goddamn pater familias!”) where the role is often more important than the kids. While the act of parenting can be selfless, there is a performative element to it that takes over some people’s identities and personalities (clothing that advertises your “parent-ness,” name-brand clothing, chic and fashionable accessories, strollers that cost as much as a used car, humongous houses and baby suites, paying for full- or part-time help, excessively documenting “baby’s” life and sharing it widely beyond friends and family, et cetera and ad nauseam).
Now, there’s another take on selfishness I’ve picked up on from anti-natalist threads which is specifically tied to the concept of agency: a child has no agency regarding the circumstances of its birth. The fact that two people can intentionally (or even worse, unintentionally) choose to procreate is viewed as immensely selfish since it denies the created being of all choice. Parents often “want” to have a kid; but there is often no “need” (biological imperative notwithstanding). Hence, a selfish act.
Another expression of selfishness is that some parents cannot help themselves from creating clones. From birth, the kid is a reflection of the parents’ identity, interests, politics, hobbies, and media fandoms. The political or religious parts are especially disturbing—no kid has a valid opinion of the election and has no solid foundation for belief in a deity. Raising kids with values is one thing, but creating little mouthpieces that just repeat parents’ opinions is another. There is also the chance that a parent will try to live vicariously through their child and push them into sports or academics so that they can fix their mistakes or relive the past.
All said, some people make really shitty parents. And I don’t mean shitty people—there are lots of pleasant and thoughtful people who are fucking terrible caregivers. I think that some people felt too much social, cultural, or religious pressure to be honest with themselves and stay away from parenting. I think that nothing says selfish like knowing that you shouldn’t do something but do it anyway because you know that you will benefit from it in some way (financially, socially, etc.).
There’s no need to prove that Spakovsky’s father was a Nazi to explain or hold Spakovsky accountable for his beliefs and actions. Any attempt to do so is a waste of time and a distraction. It also echoes the idea that children inherit the sins of their parents, which I believe is in line with authoritarian thought.
An interesting counter example:
Stephen Miller was born in California, is Jewish, specifically descended from Eastern Europeans who escaped pogroms, the grandchild of immigrants, and the child of democrats one of which was a social worker. Why is he acting so much like a fascist and a key member of an administration that apparently hates California, democracy, social programs, and is hell bent on starting its own anti-immigrant pogroms?
Judge a piece of shit for who they are, not because they come from a long line of pieces of shit.
Spakovsky or Shpakovskii isn’t in there, but I wouldn’t have expected a sociologist who had been out of work in his field for over a decade to be paper clipped.
Jacksonville State University is in Jacksonville, Alabama, not Jacksonville, Florida.
You can also verify which Jacksonville this is supposed be because little Von Spakovsky was born in Huntsville in 1959.
Granted, this thread is full of wild speculation, but the Jacksonville/Huntsville thing is factual.
I put my groceries on the belt in the order they’re supposed to be bagged. Heavy stuff first (cans, milk, juice, frozen stuff), followed by meat, dry goods, then heavy produce, soft produce, eggs, then bread.
Most of the time it only benefits me since everywhere I shop just got rid of cashier bagging or baggers entirely after the pandemic. But the rare time a cashier bags I watch as they go out of their way to put cans on top of avocados.
Definitely got an Ito vibe from the op. Thanks for the pointer to the anime!
Just remember that you must say these words exactly when removing the book from its cradle: Klaatu barada nikto.
I deal with shy hyphens a lot. They don’t display unless there’s a line break, so they get copied from various word docs or websites and end up in a database somewhere waiting to piss me off.
Bell Witch is like this. Their album Mirror Reaper is technically one “song.”
I mean, yeah. My point was that the people who believe in fantastical boogeymen are the most likely to support the people who are the closest to being the actual Antichrist if any of that were real.