Taking responsibility is part of being a man. It’s an age old axiom. When a man fails, when he screws up, it behooves him to admit his failure and to endeavor to repair it, if he is able.
But no man is responsible for another. To steal a concept from Francis, if Jones commits a crime, and Smith does not, how can Smith be held responsible, even in part, for the crime of Jones?
Yet generalities exist to muddy the waters for us. Islam has proven itself to be more militant and prone to terrorism than any other modern religion (unless we were to call Marxism a religion). Islam has always had bloody borders, and the religion has changed little since the seventh century. Clear answers to questions like these are often difficult, and can lead to excessive moralizing.
Excessive moralizing is one of the greatest sins of our age, for Smith is made to question his own culpability in the crimes of Jones. If both Smith and Jones share a skin tone, and Jones has done some evil deed, what is Smith’s share in the deed? What if Smith tried his best to stop Jones from committing his crime?
Today, having white skin often means being held as somehow generally responsible for the ills of Indians, Black folks, the sufferings of the Jews, and so on. Yet, like Smith, most of us have not done these things, nor would countenance them. Additionally, many of our ancestors fought to prevent such things. If you account men who fought the Nazis among your ancestors, how could the deeds of the Nazis be weighed against you?
Social Justice Warriors, of course, do not care. You are white, thus the crimes of Jones fall upon you, and you are advised that you must take responsibility for them. You must pay the weregild, you must give up your success and step aside, you must bear Jones’s punishment too. Some fools even suggest that reading to your own children is unfair to other children, for it gives them a leg up in the world.
Such punishments can include your own death, and that of your entire civilization. It is not difficult to find SJWs musing on the utopian world that would come to pass should white Christian males be made extinct. Indeed, Huffington Post publishes columnists who argue that they should be deprived of the vote, so that it may be made easier to “redistribute” their wealth (oddly enough, this was a hoax, and HuffPo fell for it – wishful thinking, perhaps?). #KillAllMen, of course, is also acceptable and amenable to the SJW authorities.
If you dare to complain, you are tarred as racist scum. Carry the burden of another man’s sin, in addition to your own. Suffer the punishments for another man’s mistakes, in addition to your own. You are supposed to check your privilege every moment of every day. When a progressive feminist speaks, you are to be silent and listen. Good allies should be seen, and not heard. They are not shy about this, as the aforementioned article explains:
As McKenzie puts it, “Shut up and listen.”
As someone striving to be an ally, the most important thing we can do is listen to as many voices of those we’re allying ourselves with as possible…
…Sure, your privilege may afford you the spotlight sometimes, and there are times when you can use that spotlight to talk to people who share your identity (see #8), but whenever possible, allies turn that spotlight away from themselves and to the voices that are so often marginalized and ignored.
Being a supposed ally means nothing to them. It neither alleviates your guilt, nor mitigates the punishments due to you for the supposed crimes of Jones. Being a proper progressive doesn’t mean you won’t get stabbed on a train for being a chump.
Talk to a Leftist, and he will complain that dead people who looked vaguely similar to you perpetrated horrific crimes against humanity (while ignoring similar crimes perpetuated by people who didn’t look much like you). The Trail of Tears was your fault, so was slavery, the Holocaust, colonialism, why Somalia sucks today, and why it sucked 500 years ago, and why an overweight lesbian couldn’t get a taxi cab in Manhattan at 4 in the afternoon on a Friday – whatever. It’s all your fault. Carry the sins, accept the punishment, give up your wealth (there was a hashtag running around social media some time ago called #GiveYourMoneyToWomen), shut up and stay in your lane.
Christ could carry the weight of the world, the plethora of sins committed by mankind. I, however, am unable to do so. I’m just a man, a regular Joe. I work, I pay my taxes (I’d rather not, but it’s not like the IRS gives us a choice in the matter), I have a family, same as any other. I screw up a lot, and the weight of my own responsibilities is, on occasion, rather crushing on its own. I am not Atlas, and SJWs can sit there and try to put the weight of the world on my shoulders, but it’ll never work. It’ll never do any good.
Folks, I don’t know how much of your thinking has been wasted on the matter of social justice and progressivism. A good man might ask himself if, perhaps, he really ought to carry these chains, if you are Jacob Marley to their Ebenezer Scrooge. But the question is moot to begin with. You can’t carry these chains, whether you wanted to or not. They are too big for you. They will destroy you. When you look into the face of an SJW, you are seeing someone who was already destroyed by this weight. Their psyches cracked under the pressure. They are no longer sane, or even themselves. It is almost like they are all possessed.
This man is broken. The woman next to him is damaged, also.
You see this sort of smug, superior grin in the face of an SJW. But behind it is utter madness. These are broken people, whose actions are no longer rational in any sense. Some can only gain satisfaction from submission, from emotional and intellectual (and sometimes physical) masochism and self-flagellation. Some can’t even gain it from that, anymore. Some have surrendered completely to animus possession. These people are no longer free-thinking individuals, capable of making decisions. They are, rather, individuals who have completely lost touch with reality. Unable to cope with the weight of the world, they seek to unload it on others. It’s your fault, not theirs. Nothing is their fault, they are perfect, you are to blame for everything.
Animus Possession gone completely off the rails. This woman hates you for existing. Everything bad in the world is your fault, because you exist.
Underneath it all, of course, they hate themselves. This has given rise to people who say things like “I won’t have children, because they would be white.” Or other folks, like Rachel Dolezal and Shaun King, who desperately wish to be black, perhaps because they could escape the weight of the world by identifying with the oppressed instead of the oppressor.
Weaponized Empathy has destroyed these people, body and soul. They mutilate themselves, hate themselves, rail against the very society that created them, and then seek to unload their shame and self-loathing on to others. Look at this before-and-after comparison of the woman who was punched in the face, while trying to hit Trump supporters with a wine bottle:
This woman made a mess of herself.
This is what happens to people who try to carry more mental weight than they can handle. A man who does this will be destroyed utterly. It causes you to question your worth as an individual, and once you have deemed yourself worthless, it is easy to do as these people have done. Now it doesn’t matter if you degrade yourself, objectify yourself, attack people, and destroy lives.
Nothing else matters except some short-term pleasure, just a bit of petty satisfaction at attacking an easy target. And then the target decides to fight back, depriving you of even that pleasure.
In some way, I pity the SJWs.
I’m going to be very real with you for a moment, and take off my hat has a blogger, an author, and whatever else I may be, and just speak to you as a man.
This could have been me.
Does that surprise you? There was a time I skirted so close to falling under this spell, it would shock you. I felt the guilt, the social pressure, the desire for conformity. Despite the terrible weight such ideology carries on the mind, it is absurdly easy to fall into it. Every day we are assaulted by the agitprop. It is so easy to just say “yes, it’s all my fault, I will submit and obey.”
It will bring momentary relief, because you will no longer have to fight a narrative that is bombarded upon you 24 hours a day. That mental effort is, itself, rather exhausting on the mind. But if you accept the chains, that is a far greater weight, one that will destroy you. The chains are seductive. They call, because of the enormous weight of social power behind them.
The pressure is both great and subtle. Imagine a conversation about the weather, innocent enough on its own. A friend might say “wow, that global warming sure is kicking in today!” You’ve a few choices here. You can challenge him, but the immediate counter is likely to be something like “well, 99% of scientists agree, sooooo….” The implication, of course, is that you are stupid for disagreeing with 99% of scientists (whether or not there is any truth to that claim, either). You could remain silent because it’s easier. Or you could just give in, regardless of the truth of the matter, because it’s easiest. Meanwhile, if you counter your friend successfully, you may be down a friend by the end of the night.
So whether or not a lot of folks believe this thing, soon consensus is reached, as much to peer pressure as anything else. Then it is, further, easier to agree on welfare, tax policy, affirmative action, black lives matter, social justice, etc… Each one has a superficial rhetorical argument which sounds nice, and which has enormous media programming and social pressure behind it.
A thousand such chats happen every day, both in the real world, and the social media world. The sum total of which is designed to move you, via peer pressure and Weaponized Empathy, toward self-hatred, and intense personal guilt for things which you neither did, nor were capable of preventing.
Soon a man might find himself agreeing with lunatic propositions that all Republicans are literal Nazis, and Donald Trump is worse than Hitler because… well, nobody really knows the reasons.
Submission is always the easier short-term choice. Long-term, however, it just destroys a man’s soul. Sooner or later he’s just a meat puppet. And who might he be a meat puppet for? Who pulls his strings?
Here’s one:
Tom Kratman’s Class Ones, self-centered and semi-incompetent oligarchs, run the show. They are the ultimate beneficiaries of all this. The Clintons and other corrupt political dynasties. A handful of Leftist executives and corporate cronies are also among them. Celebrities, media talking heads, etc…
They talk out of their asses, and wrap themselves up in flags, but they believe in nothing. You think Chelsea Clinton gives a fig about a black thug shot by a cop? You think she cares about the plight of an illegal Mexican family, crossing into the country?
No. Deep down, I doubt even the SJWs really believe this. But it doesn’t matter. They have been destroyed by the weight of the world, conveniently offloaded by politicians and leaders around the world onto hapless people who are incapable of carrying such moral weight. It’s never a Clinton’s fault, after all.
It’s your fault. Or, perhaps, some semi-anonymous Islamophobic videographer. Whatever.
Look, I’m fond of saying that I’m just a regular guy. And there’s a reason for that. There are some very strong-willed, intelligent people out there who can resist this agitprop and social pressure without much effort. For some, it is easy to shrug it off and pay no mind to it. But that’s not most folks. Marxists are great psychological manipulators. It is their one great talent, and it is enough that it nearly makes up for all their other intellectual shortcomings, which are legion. Most folks are vulnerable, at some level.
And resisting psychological manipulation is not easy for most people. It’s not enough to just say “don’t be brainwashed.” Folks need to know how the brainwashing works, how it can be identified and resisted, how you can avoid going down the path that leads to people who can’t even figure out what gender they want to be, or what ethnicity they are, or what pronoun they feel like using today. These are people who can’t even say “hey man, how’s it going” without being triggered. They are constantly on the look out for the most minor of violations against the political narrative, their entire mind, body, and soul hijacked to serve political figures who care nothing for them (indeed, who probably laugh at their gullibility behind closed doors).
You owe them nothing. You aren’t responsible for the crimes of the world, except those in which you have directly and willingly participated. Anyone, and I do mean anyone who says otherwise is attempting to manipulate you, and place chains upon you. It is, often times, difficult to resist the allure of just giving up the fight. It’s so much easier to throw in the towel, and jump when someone else tells you to. When damn near everyone accuses you of something, to just say “yes, I’m guilty.”
But you can’t. I can’t. And even if I could make such a choice for myself, I cannot make it for my family, for my country, for my civilization.
You are not Atlas, and you do not need to suffer his punishment. You are not Christ, and you will never be morally perfect, and can never carry the weight of another’s sins (you will have enough trouble with your own).
🙂 Just say NO.
At least Fla is not too bad, try it in Mass or Kali. Completely outnumbered, they will lovingly grind you into the ground for your own good. They are the borg. Relentless. It’s helps to get as far out of the city as you can, the balance shifts.
Got anybody “working on your attitude”?
Yes, they are. And like the Borg, they tell us that resistance is futile (remember the inevitable historical dialectic of the Marxists — it is more or less translated at this).
And yet resistance has worked so far. It is simply that the resistance cannot stop for even a moment. There are no breaks, no breathers, the fight requires constant vigilance.
One cannot be demoralized and lured into the pit by the ease of submission.
One of the best remarks I heard a therapist say was that we should all strive to surround ourselves with those whose values are similar to ours. I would imagine trying to be red in an aggressively blue area can be really uncomfortable/unworkable (and vice versa)
oh boy. You said a mouthful.
Almost killed me. I was a kid and did not really understand
I live in a place where the red/blue divide is in doubt, and the battle continues to rage. There is a reason my state is viewed as purple. I continue to fight the battle as best I can. I’m tired of surrendering territory to the enemy. Once, I lived in California for a time, and I can remember when it was still mostly conservative. I’ve no particular desire to see Florida likewise become a progressive shithole.
Mobius.make no mistake behind lines there are folks who resist/fight back including Mass.,am one of them.Sad,this country/republic born in Mass. and yet being destroyed to a large degree here.I will not draw a line in the sand here as spend half my time in the Hampster and soon moving here,then,I draw a line.I do not want to be assimilated but neither do I want to force my way of living on others,interesting times ahead.
I know a few. My son is still there. It required keeping your head down, something I was unable or unwilling to do.
Where are you from? I went to high school in No Attleboro.
Mobius,grew up in Dover,Mass. on the river,was great as a kid in the 70’s/early 80’s,hell,back then could ride your dirt bike to school!I reside half of the time in Millis/other half in Hampster,am Licensed Builder in Mass. and basically make money pulling permits/my own side gigs,that said,have had it with their nonsense.A few friends keep me there along with me mum who lives on the Vineyard,but,feel still close enough if needed in Hampster and a lot happier here.
Ha! twenty miles NAHS ’77, then I got out.
Back for a while in the 80s.
Millis! I used to wrench at Rodman truck.
My son is in Norton. He’s good, /pol/
Parents and sister are on the Cape Gone full Rabbit.
They caught a politician campaigning in Spanish in “Hampster” some years ago. Smart man: it’s predicted to be majority Spanish in one generation, amazingly enough. But it makes sense: Lowell, Laurence, Salem, Boston, etc all have huge Spanish populations. The Reconquista continues.
Rather than ignore the SJW’s, it’s much more entertaining to trigger them by calling their lies and bullshit exactly that.
I like to leave such people so mad they just stutter or aren’t capable if forming complete sentences.
More and more people are reaching the point where they are simply no longer putting up with the nonsense if the left/ SJW’s/Marxists/progs.
As more people fight back against their idiocy, fewer new people are falling for the brainwashing.
Had I been one of the people moldylox was chucking glass bottles at- I would have punched her in the throat myself.
The left stands behind such people and attempts to portray them as victims.
If you attack other people and get punched out for it- you are not a victim.
These idiots have not realized that people just ain’t gonna put up their shit any longer.
They discovered last night that cops in Alabama are nothing like cops in Berkeley, or Chicago, or Baltimore, or NY.
The antifa idiots and the rest of the left could end up being the end of leftist dominated politics, media,college campuses,entertainment,etc. because right now they are their own worst enemy.
Most people could care less about these perpetually offended morons because they are sick of this sh*t.
Failed brainwashing attempts engender hatred and disgust. It’s something that’s starting to backfire on the Marxists.
I mean, when it originally occurred to me that these people were playing guilt trip games on me, I was beyond angry. I could see exactly how one comes to the conclusion that chucking these people out of helicopters is preferable to living next to them.
I don’t know if they understand the intensity of the backlash they are building.
I think as it turns from spring into summer they’ll discover firsthand the intensity of the backlash.
Moldylocks getting punched was just the start if it. I bet a whole lot of antifa idiots get smacked around very soon
If they escalate to fatal or near-fatal violence, Antifas will be shot in the streets. And, quite honestly, they will deserve every bit of it.
I don’t know if they understand the intensity of the backlash they are building.
I’m thinking not. The arrogance is boundless.
“He won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.”
The love of Big Brother is a sort of resignation, a ceasing of the struggle. It is surrender. At the end of the book, we are left to wonder if Winston was murdered or not. But I’ve taken to the idea that he wasn’t killed, at least not in the physical sense.
I take it, rather, that this was his last thought as a free-thinking human being. His life after the final surrender was merely as a meat puppet. His individuality had been finally and completely destroyed.
Yes, Winston may well have been left like that, as a burned out husk, a lesson to others who are thinking about indulging in wrong think, adn only executed manyyears later, when his value as an example was waning. Remember earlier in the story, Winston notices those who had run afoul of the party, been broken, and pitied how pathetic they had become, not knowing he would join them. Ironically in the 60’s the leftists would selectively quote 1984 and Animal Farm, calling their conservative opponents big brother and pigs, concealing the fact that in both 1984 and Animal Farm, the oppressive governments were all leftist/Marxist.
ultimately, they are tyrants. they want to be in authority, but they don’t know what they want to do with their authority other than hang onto it forever.
Like a dog chasing a car. They want it, but they haven’t got the slightest idea what they’d do with it if they actually caught it.
I am somewhat curious as to your statement that it could have been you. “There was a time I skirted so close to falling under this spell…”
I’d be eager to hear the events that led up to your epiphany that you were being manipulated. Maybe another treatise for that.
I’ll tell you my story (in general terms). I’m in the LGBT spectrum. The people on the Progressive Left will accept you and treat you with all political correctness no matter who (or what) you are, as long as… You are on the same political page as them. When Trump won the last election they were all totally shocked, shaken and inconsolable. I then saw their total hatred for all those who voted for Trump. Not willing to listen to any counter argument. When I “outed” myself as voting for Trump, they were all done with me. Well, they did me a big favor. Now I’ve got a lot more free time, and more money. And my union brothers and ex-military friends, while they still don’t approve of my lifestyle, still treat me with respect, and would have no mater who I voted for. Gave me quite a reality check of who I could really trust there.
Aside from that, guilt trips work for a while, until one day they go too far.
On a related note for an example, family members always needing to be bailed out until one day (after you are out thousands of dollars for helping them) you finally tell them that you have helped them enough, and they say “Well, F*ck You. You never helped me at all.” Then that is a learning experience too.
The thing to note with the Progressives, is that they don’t really approve of, or even like you. They like your politics. They like a false you, constructed for *their* benefit.
Now, a lot of conservative folks are a little put off by LGBT. Everybody knows that. But you know what? I often get a lot of folks yelling at me about my language — I curse worse than any sailor I’ve ever met. A lot of conservatives don’t like that either. Fact is, some folks will be fine with your chosen lifestyle, and some won’t. Me personally, I don’t care one way or the other. As far as I’m concerned, it’s really none of my business anyway.
There’s a lot more variation and *ahem* diversity on the Right-wing side of the fence. Folks don’t need to be the same, or have a specific list of correct political views, or any of that nonsense. Hell, we don’t even all need to get along.
The thing to note, though, is that if a Right-winger befriends you, or approves of your lifestyle, or as in my case, just doesn’t care, or in the case of those you met, may not approve of one thing, but likes and supports you for another… you can be assured that it is genuine. It is not conditional on absolute political agreement. It will not magically change because you disagree on an issue today.
That’s the big difference between Left and Right these days. One has an enforced Orthodoxy, the other does not. One is a collection of mandatory views, the other is just people, sometimes agreeing, sometimes not.
Once the guilt tripping becomes obvious, it’s like taking off blinders. You see it everywhere, and the tactic just stops working. It bounces off you.
I really enjoyed reading your comment. You said so much in just a few words.
Good insight and interesting example Wendy
I’m really shocked over the moldilocks before and after pics. Before, she was HAAWTT!!!
🙂
She was, I am informed, a porn starlet. Her liberal self-loathing is entirely merited. The purpose of SJW rage is to give an illusion of significance to utterly insignificant people.
She was. And one who specializes in “feminist” porn, which is to say deliberately avoiding things like shaving armpits, legs, or nether regions. Such also involves not bathing or wearing underwear, and, of course, as many piercings, tattoos, and dreadlocks as possible.
It is deliberately ugly porn.
Yeah… Marxism is a disease, and in her we see the striking contrast of its effects.
If you don’t already have the concept of “kafkatrapping”, you need it. You were headed straight for it in this post.
http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=2122
That’s also known as circular logic. And yes it is as dumb as it sounds.
I am familiar with that. A few of my readers sent me that very link previously. It is excellent material, and a very good technical description of how this psychological attack works.
Great article with fascinating insights – thanks for it.
I think I’m missing something. Who is the lady in that collage?
She was the woman who attempted to attack a bunch of Trump supporters are Berkeley. She was going to hit someone with a wine bottle, until another Trump supporter punched her in the face.
There was much media wrangling about how it was wrong for the Trump supporter to hit a woman, ignoring the fact that she was about to paste someone over the head with a bottle, and really got exactly what she deserved.
Rules like “Never punch a woman” are important, right along with “Never shoot — or even threaten to shoot — someone”, and “Don’t stab people, hit them with bottles, or with bats, or even threaten to do so.” They are rules civilized people abide by. It’s how we establish peace with each other.
Nice people will often follow these rules even if it means they get hurt for doing so. Some of these people are sincere pacifists. Others are merely naive.
There’s a category of nice people, however, who will obey these rules so long as the other party is showing a modicum of civility; if the other party has broken any rules like the one above, though, they have demonstrated that they are no longer bound by the rules required for civilization, and this category of nice people will do everything in their power to stop that threat of civilization — whether it be punching a woman in the face, or shooting an assailant until it’s clear that the assailant is no longer a threat. Then the nice person calls for help, because hey, someone just got hurt, and maybe even be dying (and hopes not — he’ll be a good witness against himself, and besides, who knows, he might even change his life around?), but they also need to file a police report.
The woman who got punched in the face might not have literally deserved what she got — who knows what abuse she endured, that placed her in this position? — but even so, the moment she threatened to hit someone with a bottle, she abandoned all civility, and a nice person stood up and said “No”, and punched her in the face to stop her.
If she didn’t deserve what she got, then I hope she goes on to get therapy, so she doesn’t threaten people with bottles ever again (excepting only if she becomes a nice girl who has to fend off barbarianism).
Defending against barbarisms isn’t about “Who deserves what?” or “What’s fair in a fight?” and when someone says something like “You’re not supposed to punch a woman in the face! That’s not fair! Or nice!” when the woman in question is about to seriously harm someone, it galls me to no end.
I guess one my few virtues is that I’ve never been susceptible to group think and am utterly baffles how anyone falls for that crap.
The whole ‘white privileged’ scam is rather clever. First, it gives society an ‘approved’ group to hate which does seem to be part of the human condition. Second, if all goes well, it’s a nice excuse to take their stuff (lets say a ‘white’ tax). And third, for those you want to exterminate you first dehumanize and demonize. It is amazing how many of the victims are willing and even eager participants.
It comes from Alinsky’s (sp?) Rules for Radicals…. Isolate your target then dehumanize it.
It helps if your target is not listed as one of the Approved Minorities. You can’t hate on any of the brown skin peoples because that would be racist. You can’t hate on any of the non-European-based-Christian/Catholic religions because that would be -phobic. You can’t hate on any of the non-strictly-heterorsexuals because -phobic. But Rich people? Hate them all you want. White people? Well the whites did some shady stuff all throughout history so you can hate on them too. Smart people! They need extra hate heaped on them because they can point out, and specifically too, what is wrong with the SJW agenda/message/rant.
Those who recognize reality, but are soft enough, are targets for what I’m talking about here. Hard targets that are stubborn, and cannot be moved… well, once Socialists gain power, the solution is to shoot such strong-willed men.
It’s hard to say which is ultimately worse.
As you say, this fits the human condition, in that everybody likes to have a scapegoat, a convenient target to laugh at and beat up. Maoist struggle sessions were based on this.
Marxist is generally incompatible with human nature. Economically it is a disaster. It denies the existence of free will, and as such creates nothing but human misery.
But in one sense, and only one sense, is it compatible with human nature: misery loves company.
The western culture created largely by (yes) white males has proven nearly unstoppable, so rather than join it and enjoy the individual freedom and economic prosperity it provides and celebrates, SJWs expect to shame that culture into surrender. It can’t be beaten by their marxist ideology, so that’s the only possible route to “success”. Western culture’s supposed unique and collective sins are shared by nearly every other culture, the difference being that the West recognized the wrongs and set out to right them. Slavery, for example, was ubiquitous and only ended by the British Navy and the Union Army. SJW types are not merely misguided leftist fools, they are bad people with a will to unlimited and unearned power. Like locusts they would devour everything of value and leave the nation a wasteland–see Venezuela for an example.
The Leftist view is rather like “well, this over here isn’t perfect, so let’s smash it to pieces and replace it with a steaming pile of horsesh*t.”
We conquered the American Indians because we wanted this continent for ourselves. Naturally they hate us – and for many of them, that will never end. Bearing the hatred of the conquered is the duty of Conqueror. What’s the alternative? Leaving? The Leftist solution is to became their slaves. But no matter how much we give, it will never be enough for the hardcore, both Red and White. The Reds want us gone or dead and the Whites want to throw as many fellow Whites under their knives as possible in order to feel righteous – and to be seen as “good whites” doing their part.
Needless to say, clarity is important. There would have been no America without the Conquest and the White Conquerors. Whites are the Native Americans. The Indians were just living her.
As a white female, I’m EXTREMELY DISMAYED at the treatment of my white brothers these days. My white husband is a jewel & I can’t imagine life without him & let him know it daily!! Personally, I rarely think about race anymore, until the SJW’s rub our noses in it & I live in a neighborhood where the ethnic makeup is 81% El Salvadoran, 15% Korean, & 4% “other”. I smile & greet my neighbors & they do the same. I sense no racial animosity here. I have 2 weapons against the SJW’s & use them FREELY!! 1) When they start their rheortic, I tell them “I live in Pico/Union”. (Neighborhood in L.A.). “Where do you live”? They nearly ALWAYS live in a lily white suburb & realize they can’t call me a racist, when I live in a neighborhood where both blacks & whites are the “other” 4% & these SJW’s are actually afraid to come into my neighborhood. 2) I’ve been battling stage 3c ovarian cancer, for over 5 years now, so NOTHING these IDIOTS can say or do is worse & I’ve been known to tell a few of them that. That also shuts them up. I went to one of those nationwide free screenings of Orwell’s “1984” a couple of weeks ago & was surrounded by them. I wanted to see this version (the one made in 1984. Previously, I’d only seen the version made in the 50’s). I was ASTONISHED by how many were CONVINCED that Trump IS “Big Brother” but fail to comprehend that the same could be said of Obama or ANY POTUS (or other figure of authority) that “We the People” ALLOW to STEAL OUR FREEDOM!! I’ve come to the conclusion that as long as people’s chosen “master” puts on their chains, they will gladly wear them!! I’m not interested in the “Blue Chains”, “Red Chains” or ANY other color of chains!!
The 1984 version was in response to the then Hitler/Big Brother Ronald Reagan. Funny how the new claim is Trump is now Hitler/ Big Brother. The real Big Brother is the SJW/PC crowd.
Bravo, Dys! I added a couple of thoughts of my own over at my place.
“Privilege” does not exist ex nihilo. It had to start somewhere with some people. I have no problem with others admitting to the world that my ancestors were more apt, more intelligent, more able, more sophisticated, and much more likely to come out on the winning side of any conflict with their ancestors. If they want to take it back 50 years, 500 years or 5,000 years I am up for that. The better team apparently won the privilege game and took home the trophy. The 2nd place team took home — well — 2nd place.
If they say the game was rigged, then my ancestors were smarter than theirs and figured out how to rig the game and theirs didn’t. If they say my ancestors were more savage than theirs then that means theirs were weaker than mine. If they say there were more of mine, then that means that mine were simply better at understanding how to use the environment and technology to sustain a greater population. If they say that my ancestors were better geographically situated that means that they were better realtors, able to find and hold superior territory. If they say my ancestors had bigger, badder, and more destructive weapons that means than their ancestors were probably stuck in a stone-age existence for 10,000 years past their time.
No matter how you slice it… they are making the claim for me that their ancestors could not quite hack it when it came to competition for the “privilege” of being on top. They were weaker, ineffective, and overall a fine example of Darwinism in action. Seems to me as if they are pointing the “finger of blame” at the wrong set of ancestors. I’d suggest they have a heartfelt talk with their grandma and grandpa and ask them why ~their~ grandmas and grandpas were so pitiful in the game of life.
Now understand that ~this~ is how ~they~ see the world. This is what ~they~ are admitting happened. Unless, of course, they want to somehow claim that “privilege” just happened along one day from out of nowhere and someone picked it up off the ground and has been using it ever since. Should be an interesting and amusing read.
Life is a zero-sum game in the Marxist mind. For one to succeed, another must fail. Both success and failure are thus viewed as illegitimate.
Since differences produce success or failure, victory or defeat, differences are illegitimate too. We might say that, on average, black men are better at basketball than east Asian men, because on average black men are taller (a critical advantage in basketball). Does this then mean that black men are privileged? Should they be handicapped so that more east Asian men might play in the NBA?
It is a denial of reality for them to think this way. As you say, if one group is privileged, how did they get that privilege in the first place? Why did they get it? What was the mechanism behind it?
These are questions the Marxist cannot think about, because they are deemed wrongthink.
Well said, Jack Burton. Dennis Prager sometimes talks about how much evil has been caused by those who believe they are victims – certainly the Palestinians, the Nazis, and, the latest entrant – Black Lives Matter.
Excellent reference to Darwinism. Isn’t Darwin one of the Left’s favorites? Let a Christian challenge Darwin and all hell breaks loose. But, you in your reply, point to several of what could be labeled “survival of the fittest” results. Of course, I am guessing you would credit most of those triumphs to a Judeo-Christian ideology. But, playing with their language, why not just say, “Look here, This is just your good old survival of the fittest ideology working itself out.”
This is one of your best yet that I have read. A little personal addition: Traditional religion can act as an excellent inoculation against the syndrome you describe. When your duty to your fellow man is clearly defined, and part of that definition is its LIMITS, it becomes much harder to convince you that you have to take on so much, much more. (Torah law works wonders to protect the Jewish psyche, as it should.)
It is true. And this is why Marxism targets Christianity, as it provides similar duties and limitations as Judaism. But this goes back to the idea that Marxism is a sort of religious substitute. Kind of like those fake “egg beaters” that used to come in cartons, and were made up of who knows what kind of ingredients. It was made to function rather like a religion, without technically being one.
Marxism countenances no competition. Though, they are not above using other religions to achieve their goals, if they see usefulness in it (see: Islam).
Great post as always, appreciate the in depth analysis.
“If both Smith and Jones share a skin tone, and Jones has done some evil deed, what is Smith’s share in the deed? What if Smith tried his best to stop Jones from committing his crime?”
Hypocrisy is an interesting thread I see running through the left, while we are on this point. Say Smith is white, so he is then responsible for the crimes committed by Jones during the Civil War era. But if a Muslim in the middle east blows up something, there is a heralding cry among the left that we are not to even suspect Islam for such an event, and certainly not to hold the everyday Muslim responsible for it (and these are people that exist in the same *timeframe* as said event).
“I felt the guilt, the social pressure, the desire for conformity. Despite the terrible weight such ideology carries on the mind, it is absurdly easy to fall into it.”
Although my experience was probably not as stark as yours, I do have some recollections of this peer pressure. I grew up in California, and one of the most blue parts of it at that. While I occasionally put my foot in my mouth, it’s never with malice or poor intentions, and I seem to remember there being a subtle pressure of sorts to conform to leftish views, being unable to voice any opposing views without repercussions. I drove a friend of mine and his black girlfriend on a road trip once. On the way back from the road trip, I noticed she wasn’t talking to me, even when I tried to be friendly, and asked him what was up. He said that I had offended her, and went on to explain how I couldn’t understand what he was saying because I was “white bred” and privileged. All I had wanted was to belong and be friends with them. I soon discovered that not only would she not talk to me, but he would not talk to me, and a mutual friend of ours (her friend) would not associate with me anymore. The incident bothered me a great deal at the time, but it took me years afterwards to truly figure out why and how unjust and labeling the comment was.
Another example—a friend of mine, who is a Texas native, was attending classes at a California state university and shared with me how the teacher was pushing a leftist narrative/concept, and brooked no room for argument. Now, she is a kind and open minded lady, but she realized her standing in the class and grade was at stake, and felt that not only was it a biased viewpoint being presented, but free speech was indeed not welcome in this scenario.
“It will bring momentary relief, because you will no longer have to fight a narrative that is bombarded upon you 24 hours a day.”
Again, my recollection (spanning back to childhood here) was the earnest need to belong, to relate, to just be friends with people, even if that meant sacrificing a part of myself in the process as you described. It is easier to give into this pressure, at least in the short term, and there are often severe social costs for not. I guess everyone has their point at which they continue to wear the chains, versus stay true to themselves.
“But if you accept the chains, that is a far greater weight, one that will destroy you…… These are people who can’t even say “hey man, how’s it going” without being triggered.”
I like this metaphor you have with the chains. I had a falling out with someone recently; for the last 15 years I have not said one cross word to them, and have went out of my way to be accommodating and friendly. Because of their behavior, I felt a growing pressure (weight) and a growing demoralization with the situation. When they confronted me recently, I asked them a simple question and held some firm boundaries. The result was that they stated they will “never speak to me again”. I thought a lot about this scenario and was concerned that this would cause me grief—I hate confrontation and am a fairly sensitive person—however when they walked away I felt like a weight had been lifted, and felt better about myself. It surprised me, how liberating it was; no more catering to the social whims, no more walking on eggshells, no more guess work, assertion of one’s own values and boundaries, validation as a person.
The overall experience I had with this individual was: (a) Shower them with praise and cave to their every demand, and they will accept and even like you on occasion (b) If you are silent they invent reasons to be offended and start to behave malignantly (c) If you (politely) assert a value and stand your ground, they blow up and catastrophize the issue. This sounds a lot like the playbook for SJW’s.
Your examples are exactly the sort of thing I am describing. And, quite honestly, they are better examples than mine.
It’s interesting that, often times you don’t even realize the weight of the chains you are carrying, because you have slowly grown accustomed to the weight:
“…however when they walked away I felt like a weight had been lifted, and felt better about myself. It surprised me, how liberating it was; no more catering to the social whims, no more walking on eggshells, no more guess work, assertion of one’s own values and boundaries, validation as a person.”
The amount of effort required to conform to political correctness is extreme. Add to that the notion that we are somehow responsible for the feelings and emotions of another, and it becomes impossible. Eventually the reckoning you describe will come. Either you will break, and submit (and become a broken SJW), or you will confront. And upon confrontation, they will turn on you.
In a sense, they try to hold you hostage to your own good nature, your desire to be liked and accepted.
And, oddly enough, they are so solipsistic, they cannot see their own actions for what they are.
I think one of my many wake up calls was the other day when I was speaking with a trusted professional. I told him some examples of things that occurred over the years (one was being forced to give up my chair for this person, I’m not kidding), and he said, “That’s fucked up. I wouldn’t have put up with it. The only reason you didn’t say something and walk away was because you had been conditioned to accept it, probably from childhood.”
The slow conditioning runs parallel with the SJW pressure, and it’s just unfortunate that our kinder natures get used against us this way.
“Additionally, many of our ancestors fought to prevent such things. If you account men who fought the Nazis among your ancestors, how could the deeds of the Nazis be weighed against you?”
The entire notion of inherited guilt, or inherited virtue, is complete bullshit.
Just as Smith is not guilty of the crimes committed by Jones, the sons and daughters of Jones are not guilty either. Neither are the children of Smith worthy of praise because of his good deeds.
The idea of inherited responsibility is just another version of collective guilt. It is a lie perpetrated by leftists and other rent seekers.
> It is, often times, difficult to resist the allure of just giving up the fight. It’s so much easier to throw in the towel, and jump when someone else tells you to. When damn near everyone accuses you of something, to just say “yes, I’m guilty.”
Dystopic,
I think the right kind of Christian belief system can inoculate you or anyone against this kind of weariness. Coming to terms with one’s own sins is quite enough challenge for one human lifetime. And Christian belief has pitfalls of its own; I’m not going to make light of them.
But the existing analogy is a good one. Does anyone read “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan anymore? The Pilgrim had constantly to deal with his “burden” — in terms of the narrative, a huge bundle of heavy stuff tied to his back and shoulders. In terms of the allegory, this bundle represents the guilt of sin. At some point, though, when the Pilgrim’s faith grew strong enough, the burden just fell away. It took a long time for that to happen to me — time, plus a change in my Christian denomination, to a denomination that (IMO) a better job is done of teaching theology.
Now, my Christian beliefs have always inoculated against the leftist narrative, no problems with that! I still had problems, though, coming to the realization that, though my sins are real, so too is the forgiveness that the Lord promises. I believed it was real for others, but not for me, because I believed I was far worse than your ordinary garden-variety person. The Bible showed me otherwise. One of the worst sinners in recorded history was King Manasseh of Judah, a story told in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. He was so foul, he sacrificed his own son to a heathen god. But he later repented.
If there is forgiveness for Manasseh, there is forgiveness for us too.
But while I was suffering in my Christian-but-not-quite-forgiven phase, I probably had assumed the same look you ascribe to SJWs — haunted, ruined, spiritually lifeless. What’s amazing is how quickly all that evaporates when you take the scriptures at their word.
The SJWs are all trying to atone for the Original Sin that we instinctively feel — they just don’t call it that. Their narrative is different, but the impetus that drives them to behave the way they do is the same one that had me completely wrapped around the axle for so many years. SJWs lash out because the alternative is to lash in — and, as you pointed out, that only works for so long. That’s because the guilt is real and will kill your spirit if you don’t deal with it in the only possible way.
Leftism is a false religion because it identifies the guilt, but neither its source or remedy. The Lord is forgiving; man, not so much.
Cheers for a great article, and God bless you.
The Original Sin isn’t a personal sin of our own, it’s personal to Adam and Eve. Alas, because by choosing sin Adam and Eve separated themselves from God and thus their offspring, us, are born also alienated from God. Can’t inherit what your parents lost, you know.
Most properly one should refer to the Effects of the Original Sin, that would avoid further spread of the commonplace misconception that we are born with the guilt of a sin we did not personally commit. To end our alienation from God, to restore some of what we might have inherited were it not for the Original Sin, Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Baptism through which we are reborn in water and spirit and He instituted His Church through which we are united as the Body of Christ. Remember, Jesus didn’t leave us a book. He left us His Church and He promised that the Gates of Hell would not overcome it. Might beat up His Church a lot, but not overcome it and as He promised, His Church still stands today. Consider being part of His Church, accept no substitutes.
An excellent summary. I really don’t have much to add to that, except to say that the lack of forgiveness may prove to be the undoing of the SJWs.
In the end, people crave forgiveness and resolution, and SocJus perpetually denies them this. All stick, no carrot.
It’s not a situation that ends well for them.
Good stuff.
Dystopic-Had a quick question, what was your email again?
Give in, hell I’d rather kill em..
Wise you are, Sir, for one so relatively young. Enjoy your screeds much do I. Share them I do as well.
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/d/d6/Yoda_SWSB.png/revision/latest?cb=20150206140125
I’ve read a good bit on the internet.
I contribute a tad too.
If this essay is representative of your talents, lad, you’re going places, in the best way.
This piece thunders with clarity.
Well done.
Impressive lucidity. Never stop carrying this message to your peers. You, just might be the saver of worlds. Hat’s off to ya…I’ll be back for more!
Thank you for the kind words.
“…It will bring momentary relief, because you will no longer have to fight a narrative that is bombarded upon you 24 hours a day. That mental effort is, itself, rather exhausting on the mind. But if you accept the chains, that is a far greater weight, one that will destroy you. The chains are seductive. They call, because of the enormous weight of social power behind them…”
Limit yourself to no more than one hour per day of internet (even blogs like this one), TV, and other electronic media. Look around your hose and find things to do in real life. Even if it’s no more than doing laundry, unplug yourself.
“House,” not “hose.” Curse the lack on edit functions wherever you find them. 🙂
That would be my fault. I need to rewrite the comments plugin somewhat… but I’ve been exceedingly lazy about this.
Good advice… that I am personally unable to take. At least for now. Curse my day job as a Web developer ;).
The world IS as you Are. There are multiple Universes out there and the more expanded one’s aware is, the more Universes to choose from. Conversely, the more programmed the Mind is, the more confining the proverbial “Box”.
“These are my observations on a civilization in decline, a political system on the verge of collapse, and a people ASLEEP at the wheel as the car turns toward the jersey barrier.”
That one capitalized word in this portion of your side-bar description effectively states not only what is happening, but WHY it is happening.
The unconscious “Walking Dead” of the World are finding their ‘voice’ and attacking the people who acknowledge and accept their responsibility as Human Beings.
I’ve been this, also. No more. I can no longer help the circumstances of my birth than anyone else. Yeah, I’m a white girl. Deal with it.
Just wanted to say Well done, and to thank you for some things to think over. I have always thought that the whole mess was best encapsulated in the idea that conservatives think lefties are stupid, but lefties think conservatives are evil.
With such a divide, the two can never be reconciled.