Curt Doolittle

Category: Commentary, Critique, and Response

  • Dehumanize Them? the Other Way Around.

    October 16th, 2018 5:34 PM DEHUMANIZE THEM? THE OTHER WAY AROUND. By Eli Harman [D]ehumanize them? The issue is that they don’t regard US as human, or our preferences or values as valid, or legitimate – and so, in exchange, regarding THEM as people and THEIR preferences and values as valid and legitimate is giving them something for nothing. Treating them as people entails real and material costs. We have to tolerate them. We have to include them. We have to give them the vote. We have to do what they vote for and give them what they vote for (when they vote to plunder, destroy, and enslave.) But they will NEVER give us the same considerations in return. When they win they go for the jugular. When they lose they cry foul and delay, obstruct, and use every underhanded stratagem to try and get their way ANYWAY. They moralize and try to dictate terms from a position of weakness. They slander, libel and defame to sow division amongst us and turn us against one another. They lie, cheat, and steal. They bully, intimidate, manipulate, censor, resort to street violence, and attempt assassinations. They incite lawless disorder amongst their lowlife supporters. Sympathetic (Feminine) arguments virtually DEMAND that we try, at all costs, to cooperate or negotiate with them. But that is not a worthwhile demand to meet because THEY are not meeting it for us. If anyone is putting that demand to them, they are simply ignoring it. As So shall WE, henceforth – until the present unpleasantness is concluded (however it is concluded.) Which we expect will be violently.

  • Zero Tolerance

    October 16th, 2018 5:07 PM ZERO TOLERANCE

    —” …really let that sink in…. conflation… that’s all it took. A bit of ambiguity and a bit of repetition and the cult of non-submission became a slave society.”—Bill Joslin

    Zero Tolerance is the only defense against incrementalism.

  • The New York Times on The NPC Meme

    October 16th, 2018 8:25 PM THE NEW YORK TIMES ON THE NPC MEME (Edited) -What is an NPC?- NPC means “nonplayable character” or “nonplayer character.” It’s a term, borrowed from the world of video games, for a character that is controlled by the computer rather than by a player. An NPC often advances the game’s plot by saying scripted lines, or assisting the playable characters in some way. -What does this have to do with politics?- Several months ago, users on 4chan and Reddit, started using the term NPC to refer to liberals. Liberals, they said, join the anti-Trump crowd not because they are led by independent thought or conscience to oppose President Trump’s policies, but because they’re brainwashed sheep who have been conditioned to parrot left-wing orthodoxy, in the manner of a scripted character. A Reddit user, explains the appeal of the meme: “NPCs are completely dependent on their programming, and can’t do or think on their own.” –Is there more to the NPC meme?– Sort of. There is NPC Wojak — a crudely drawn, gray cartoon avatar with a pointy nose and a blank face. NPC Wojak is a variation of Wojak, an old cartoon (also known as “feels guy”) that represents the mindless liberal, and has become a kind of collective mascot for the far-right commenters online, to use to ridicule the left. —And this is a thing … why?— A group of young, extremely pro-Trump internet trolls have spent the past several years mocking anti-Trump people as whiny, easily triggered snowflakes who are primarily motivated by social acceptance rather than by logic and critical thinking. Many of Mr. Trump’s supporters put their support for him in the language of freethinking rationality and paint the other side as being motivated by blind loyalty and identity politics. (Which is True.) This NPC meme fits neatly into this narrative and offers Mr. Trump’s online supporters … (Actually it’s not that they’re trump supporters but using Trump to retaliate against social justice warriors: NPC’s) … an easy shorthand way to paint liberals as humorless prudes (‘bots’) who say “Drumpf” because the HBO host John Oliver told them to, who march in protests and put on pink “pussyhats” because they’re the popular things to do, and whose views can’t withstand scrutiny. (Because they’re just scripts.) And then, when progressives object to a meme that portrays them as unthinking automatons, it becomes another piece of evidence: See? The left can’t take a joke. — So? — Mostly, it appears to be a 4chan joke that spiraled into some mild voter suppression. And no, they’re not russian bots. Sigh.

  • Upcoming Book: Alienated America

    October 16th, 2018 6:32 PM UPCOMING BOOK: ALIENATED AMERICAAlienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse Available February 19, 2019 [D]uring the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump proclaimed, “The American dream is dead,” and this message resonated across the country. Why do so many people believe the American dream is no longer within reach? Growing inequality, stubborn pockets of immobility, rising rates of deadly addiction, the increasing and troubling fact that where you start determines where you end up, and heightening political strife — these are the disturbing realities threatening ordinary American lives today. The standard account points to economic problems among the working class, but the root was a cultural collapse. While the educated and wealthy elites still enjoy strong communities, most blue-collar Americans lack strong institutions that bind them to their neighbors. And outside of the elites, the central American institution has been religion. That is, it is not the factory closings that have torn us apart; it is the church closings. The dissolution of our most cherished institutions — nuclear families, places of worship, and civic organizations — has not only divided us, but eroded our sense of worth, belief in opportunity, and connection to one another. In Alienated America, Timothy P. Carney visits all corners of America, from the dim country bars of Southwestern Pennsylvania to the bustling Mormon wards of Salt Lake City, and examines the most important data and research to demonstrate how social connection is the great divide in America. He shows that Trump’s surprising victory was the most visible symptom of this deep-seated problem. In addition to his detailed exploration of how a range of societal changes have, in tandem, damaged us, Carney provides a framework that will lead us back out of a lonely, modern wilderness.

  • Dehumanize Them? the Other Way Around.

    October 16th, 2018 5:34 PM DEHUMANIZE THEM? THE OTHER WAY AROUND. By Eli Harman [D]ehumanize them? The issue is that they don’t regard US as human, or our preferences or values as valid, or legitimate – and so, in exchange, regarding THEM as people and THEIR preferences and values as valid and legitimate is giving them something for nothing. Treating them as people entails real and material costs. We have to tolerate them. We have to include them. We have to give them the vote. We have to do what they vote for and give them what they vote for (when they vote to plunder, destroy, and enslave.) But they will NEVER give us the same considerations in return. When they win they go for the jugular. When they lose they cry foul and delay, obstruct, and use every underhanded stratagem to try and get their way ANYWAY. They moralize and try to dictate terms from a position of weakness. They slander, libel and defame to sow division amongst us and turn us against one another. They lie, cheat, and steal. They bully, intimidate, manipulate, censor, resort to street violence, and attempt assassinations. They incite lawless disorder amongst their lowlife supporters. Sympathetic (Feminine) arguments virtually DEMAND that we try, at all costs, to cooperate or negotiate with them. But that is not a worthwhile demand to meet because THEY are not meeting it for us. If anyone is putting that demand to them, they are simply ignoring it. As So shall WE, henceforth – until the present unpleasantness is concluded (however it is concluded.) Which we expect will be violently.

  • Zero Tolerance

    October 16th, 2018 5:07 PM ZERO TOLERANCE

    —” …really let that sink in…. conflation… that’s all it took. A bit of ambiguity and a bit of repetition and the cult of non-submission became a slave society.”—Bill Joslin

    Zero Tolerance is the only defense against incrementalism.

  • The New York Times on The NPC Meme

    October 16th, 2018 8:25 PM THE NEW YORK TIMES ON THE NPC MEME (Edited) -What is an NPC?- NPC means “nonplayable character” or “nonplayer character.” It’s a term, borrowed from the world of video games, for a character that is controlled by the computer rather than by a player. An NPC often advances the game’s plot by saying scripted lines, or assisting the playable characters in some way. -What does this have to do with politics?- Several months ago, users on 4chan and Reddit, started using the term NPC to refer to liberals. Liberals, they said, join the anti-Trump crowd not because they are led by independent thought or conscience to oppose President Trump’s policies, but because they’re brainwashed sheep who have been conditioned to parrot left-wing orthodoxy, in the manner of a scripted character. A Reddit user, explains the appeal of the meme: “NPCs are completely dependent on their programming, and can’t do or think on their own.” –Is there more to the NPC meme?– Sort of. There is NPC Wojak — a crudely drawn, gray cartoon avatar with a pointy nose and a blank face. NPC Wojak is a variation of Wojak, an old cartoon (also known as “feels guy”) that represents the mindless liberal, and has become a kind of collective mascot for the far-right commenters online, to use to ridicule the left. —And this is a thing … why?— A group of young, extremely pro-Trump internet trolls have spent the past several years mocking anti-Trump people as whiny, easily triggered snowflakes who are primarily motivated by social acceptance rather than by logic and critical thinking. Many of Mr. Trump’s supporters put their support for him in the language of freethinking rationality and paint the other side as being motivated by blind loyalty and identity politics. (Which is True.) This NPC meme fits neatly into this narrative and offers Mr. Trump’s online supporters … (Actually it’s not that they’re trump supporters but using Trump to retaliate against social justice warriors: NPC’s) … an easy shorthand way to paint liberals as humorless prudes (‘bots’) who say “Drumpf” because the HBO host John Oliver told them to, who march in protests and put on pink “pussyhats” because they’re the popular things to do, and whose views can’t withstand scrutiny. (Because they’re just scripts.) And then, when progressives object to a meme that portrays them as unthinking automatons, it becomes another piece of evidence: See? The left can’t take a joke. — So? — Mostly, it appears to be a 4chan joke that spiraled into some mild voter suppression. And no, they’re not russian bots. Sigh.

  • Upcoming Book: Alienated America

    October 16th, 2018 6:32 PM UPCOMING BOOK: ALIENATED AMERICAAlienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse Available February 19, 2019 [D]uring the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump proclaimed, “The American dream is dead,” and this message resonated across the country. Why do so many people believe the American dream is no longer within reach? Growing inequality, stubborn pockets of immobility, rising rates of deadly addiction, the increasing and troubling fact that where you start determines where you end up, and heightening political strife — these are the disturbing realities threatening ordinary American lives today. The standard account points to economic problems among the working class, but the root was a cultural collapse. While the educated and wealthy elites still enjoy strong communities, most blue-collar Americans lack strong institutions that bind them to their neighbors. And outside of the elites, the central American institution has been religion. That is, it is not the factory closings that have torn us apart; it is the church closings. The dissolution of our most cherished institutions — nuclear families, places of worship, and civic organizations — has not only divided us, but eroded our sense of worth, belief in opportunity, and connection to one another. In Alienated America, Timothy P. Carney visits all corners of America, from the dim country bars of Southwestern Pennsylvania to the bustling Mormon wards of Salt Lake City, and examines the most important data and research to demonstrate how social connection is the great divide in America. He shows that Trump’s surprising victory was the most visible symptom of this deep-seated problem. In addition to his detailed exploration of how a range of societal changes have, in tandem, damaged us, Carney provides a framework that will lead us back out of a lonely, modern wilderness.

  • Palpatine did nothing wrong. The rebels must be crushed

    Palpatine did nothing wrong. The rebels must be crushed.

    Source date (UTC): 2018-10-16 18:15:12 UTC

    Original post: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1052261695505227779

  • DEHUMANIZE THEM? THE OTHER WAY AROUND. By Eli Harman Dehumanize them? The issue

    DEHUMANIZE THEM? THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

    By Eli Harman

    Dehumanize them? The issue is that they don’t regard US as human, or our preferences or values as valid, or legitimate – and so, in exchange, regarding THEM as people and THEIR preferences and values as valid and legitimate is giving them something for nothing.

    Treating them as people entails real and material costs. We have to tolerate them. We have to include them. We have to give them the vote. We have to do what they vote for and give them what they vote for (when they vote to plunder, destroy, and enslave.)

    But they will NEVER give us the same considerations in return. When they win they go for the jugular. When they lose they cry foul and delay, obstruct, and use every underhanded stratagem to try and get their way ANYWAY. They moralize and try to dictate terms from a position of weakness. They slander, libel and defame to sow division amongst us and turn us against one another. They lie, cheat, and steal. They bully, intimidate, manipulate, censor, resort to street violence, and attempt assassinations. They incite lawless disorder amongst their lowlife supporters.

    Sympathetic (Feminine) arguments virtually DEMAND that we try, at all costs, to cooperate or negotiate with them. But that is not a worthwhile demand to meet because THEY are not meeting it for us. If anyone is putting that demand to them, they are simply ignoring it.

    As So shall WE, henceforth – until the present unpleasantness is concluded (however it is concluded.)

    Which we expect will be violently.

    Source date (UTC): 2018-10-16 17:34:00 UTC