backlash

It seems to me that humanity is self-correcting, after a fashion. The pendulum has swung pretty far in the direction where a small handful of people own almost everything in the world and everyone else struggles and strives; it is absurd to imagine it can go in that direction indefinitely. Sooner or later the pendulum has to swing back, and when it does, it will swing almost as far in the opposite direction. At least if the pendulum metaphor is valid, it will. Regardless. The further it goes in this direction, the stronger the eventual backlash will be, because it's impossible that it goes this direction forever.

The Memory Hole: Some random post 9-11-13 thoughts

Remember that time in the 1990s when the face of terrorism in America wasn't Muslim Arabs, it was white right-wing Christian Americans? Of course not, because the Oklahoma City Bombing has disappeared down the same memory hole as every other unfortunate fact that does not fit our constant mythologizing. Did you know that  the World Trade Center would have only been forty years old now if it had stayed standing? People talk about it like it was some timeless and long-standing Wonder Of The World, like the Great Wall or Colossus Of Rhodes except American, so better. Less than thirty when it came down. At thirty-five, I have now had a longer life-span than the World Trade Center. Just saying. I'm getting distracted. The point is the memory hole that American history disappears into before being replaced by American myth. People can get on television now and imply that all Muslims are terrorists and that all terrorists are Muslim, when it wasn't that long ago at all (still less than 20 years!) that the most grievous, despicable act of terrorism on U.S. soil came not from some turbaned jihadists dead-set on their seventy-two virgin reward, but from some crew-cutted Caucasian conservative Christians who "wanted their country back." This has been forgotten to the point where in the 2008 election, people could bandy about that "Obama" sounded like "Osama" but no one pointed out how similar "McCain" and "McVeigh" were as well. So: terrorism is once again embodied by scary foreigners with a different religion and a different language, calling to mind the "all immigrants are bomb-throwing anarchists" crap of the 1920s. And who was it that was responsible for shifting the dialogue, for changing the public's perception of terrorist away from right-wing Christians? Right-wing Christians. Just saying.

Racism In America, Still

There's basically three reasons why someone would deny the existence and/or extent of racism in America:

1. They're a racist and they don't want to give the game up.
2. They're not a racist but it makes them so uncomfortable realizing how racist everything still is that they ignore it or downplay it.
3. They're just a fucking idiot.

The Value Of Words

We've been using words now for so long that I think we've kind of forgotten that they're just some shit we made up. Words are not inherent in nature, nor do they have any existence independent of our minds and this world we have made for ourselves. There's no such thing as good words or bad words. They're just words, sounds, wavelengths of vibrating air and symbols in our brains. I used to play this game with my dog, where I would scold him horribly in a melodious "good dog" tone: "You're such a bad dog, Max, I hate you." His tail would wag and he would get all happy. Then I would praise him in a "bad dog" tone of anger: "You're a GOOD DOG, Max! Such a GOOD DOG!" and he would shrink up in shame.  He didn't give a shit what words I used. The TONE and FEELING of the words was what he derived meaning from. Words have no inherent value.

The Spiritual Function Of Technology (Another Swipe From My Twitter)

Sometimes I think the real primary function of technology is to give us better metaphors to understand ourselves with. How can you appreciate the Great Wheel of Life until you've invented the wheel? How can you comprehend the Great Chain of Being till you've forged a chain? How can you think "I wonder if this is just a computer simulation" without first creating a computer? Technology is not necessarily a false merkaba, it is just applied incorrectly in a spiritual sense. Technology is still valid.

Spying vs whistleblowing: a quick breakdown

The government on spying: If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.

The government on whistleblowing: It is of the utmost importance that none of our secrets come to light.

Morality Without Religion

When someone says "you can't have morality without religion," that says more about them than it does morality or religion. Specifically, it says "I only do good because I'm afraid someone is watching and judging me." That's not being a good and moral person. That's an asshole trying to hide what they are. Good people do good because they know its right, not because some book says they'll be punished forever if they don't. Relying on a supernatural carrot-and-stick isn't actually a good foundation for morality. Only the ethically disabled need to rely on a series of threats and rewards to do the right thing. Real people never did and never will.

Ben & Jerry's Cotton Candy Ice Cream Misses The Point Of Being Cotton Candy Ice Cream

This Ben & Jerry's cotton candy ice cream is like cotton candy ice cream for people who feel ashamed about eating cotton candy ice cream. It's all muted and understated, and a nice reserved white color, and like, I'm already eating cotton candy ice cream, you may as well make it loud and colorful. This isn't ice cream for a serious occasion. This is not ice cream that is served at a funeral or at the selection of a new pope. This is not ice cream that will be presented to some fancy debutante on the occasion of her coming-out party. It's cotton. Candy. Ice cream. For fuck's sake. There's a time for restraint and moderation, and there's a time for cotton candy ice cream. To every season, turn, turn, turn. Leave it to the tree-hugging hippies at Ben & Jerrys to miss the point. Probably want me to wear a bike helmet while I eat it too.

All that said, though, it's pretty good and I can't stop eating it. No restraint or moderation here.

Niko It's Your Cousin, Fear Of A Twerk Planet, And The Dubstep Gun Blues

A kid shot his grandmother after playing Grand Theft Auto IV; if the game had REALLY influenced him he'd have shot his cousin. We went through this shit with Beavis & Butthead and that little moron that burned his trailer down, like 20 years ago. When Columbine happened it was because of Doom, and Marilyn Manson. But when religious nuts cite scripture to justify murdering an abortionist, no one wants to blame the Bible. No one blamed Son Of Sam's crimes on his neighbor's dog, or pets in general. It's because people (and I mean OLD people) are frightened of a culture that has left them behind, calcified and irrelevant. They fear what they don't understand, and they no longer understand ANYTHING. Look at the furor over last night's VMAs. Newsflash: stupid teenagers like stupid things, and especially like shocking old people.

So now we can start talking about what violent video games, and violent entertainment in general, say about us as a people, when the very fact that violence has been largely relegated to the world of fiction and entertainment is an amazingly positive thing. Study history. Human beings are some brutal ass motherfuckers. All of us today live in a world built on bloodshed and suffering. Today most people get that need out of their system through vicarious entertainment, instead of wantonly killing each other. But no, it's easier to say that fictional representations of reality CAUSE that reality than to admit that it reflects our true nature.

All that said, if the dubstep gun were a real thing, I would be on the national news by tomorrow night: "THREAT OR MENACE?"  And having started with a Grand Theft Auto IV reference and ended with a Saints Row IV reference, this armchair soapboxing session is now over.

Take Your 80s Nostalgia, And Blow It Out Your Ass

Look, I recognize that for many people, the 80s was the last time you were good looking or were able to convince good looking people to have sex with you. Now you look over at whatever harpy or troglodyte you're stuck with for life, hear your little brats fighting upstairs and think, man, I miss the 80s. I'm sorry to tell you that you are correct to miss the 80s, but that they still sucked.