-Warning, all forbidden territory discussions are meant to be open, unfiltered, speculative explorations. They don’t represent a position, a suggestion, or a value to be embraced. They are an attempt to figure out what the arguments are for something that may be controversial, a sort of steelman exercise. Sometimes it’s helpful to think through questionsContinue reading “Forbidden territory: polygamy”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Reading racial animus into life
It’s strange how much the internet distorts things. If I listened to the internet, black people hate and resent me and want me to be put in my place for my crimes. But as a churchgoer and neighbor and parent and employer and owner of an ice cream store, black people are just people likeContinue reading “Reading racial animus into life”
The value and problems with psychological theism
I think the value of Jordan Peterson’s theological outlook is that it let’s you appreciate the Bible from a perspective outside Christianity. His position is essentially is that it is right and good and useful to live as if the Bible were true. That it is metaphorically true, or true in some transcendent sense, someContinue reading “The value and problems with psychological theism”
A letter to my representatives
Hello, I just wanted to register a concern about Bill SB-182. I think it’s worth remembering that part of what caused people to lose faith in and stop feeling safe in institutions like the catholic church (as well as some workplaces) was the tendency to have a different system of law inside them. So crimesContinue reading “A letter to my representatives”
Appreciate the good times
People used to tell me to treasure the precious moments of my children’s young lives, because before I knew it they would be gone. And I nodded, because I knew, and I did appreciate it. And I don’t think I could have done more or been more present. But there was still a lesson toContinue reading “Appreciate the good times”
Why not swear?
Why not swear? Possibly, merely as a discipline. If you can control your tongue, you can control your speech. If you can control your speech, you can control yourself. If you can control yourself, you can control the present moment. If you can control the present moment, you can control the future. If you canContinue reading “Why not swear?”
In response to Ibrim X Kendi
By his arguments there really isn’t such a thing as anti-racism. It’s just the opposing racism. It’s just labeling to justify a particular type of racism. Which, if you believe in a very relativistic worldview that’s only defined by power dynamics, what other alternatives are there? I’ll give him this, his position follows from hisContinue reading “In response to Ibrim X Kendi”
What is racism?
It is not the assignment of negative characteristics by race. It’s the reduction of identity to a single factor, race. It’s saying that you are your race, leaving no room for the individual. That’s racism. It’s ideological. It’s a way of seeing all value, interpreting all action, making all value judgments, as if race wereContinue reading “What is racism?”
Politics and power
Why argue that all motivations an action are power? So you can apply power. People seek a moral justification for the application of force in service of the causes they desire to advance. They want moral authority to act. Civilizations differ mostly in what they take for granted. That’s where the real differences lie. InContinue reading “Politics and power”
Society as a sexual dialogue
Society is a kind of dialogue between men and women. Women set the expectations and establish conditions for their acceptance and presence, and men enforce them. Men are the cannon women fire at the world to blast away threats, a force to reshape conditions and create ordered spaces (nests) in a way that they findContinue reading “Society as a sexual dialogue”
The difference between teasing and malicious intent.
Teasing is certainly something I’ve dealt with my my life. I was teased mercilessly in elementary and middle school, as well as kicked around physically quite a bit. So if anyone is likely to see teasing as something negative, it’s me. But it never bothered me very much, except in the way a persistent flyContinue reading “The difference between teasing and malicious intent.”
Criticism is easier than creation
There are always going to be those who seek to hold others hostage and hold art hostage and hold speech hostage with their own complaints. It’s much easier to criticize a work of creativity than it is to produce one. In particular, the complaint that something is inadequate or imperfect, and therefore is corrupt andContinue reading “Criticism is easier than creation”
Why are humans so powerful?
What is a durable foundation for a life? What will last and create power, regardless of circumstances or technology? What is the fundamental mode of being that can make humans succeed and grow regardless of their situation? It cannot be something we invent, it must be something we already possess or possess access to, becauseContinue reading “Why are humans so powerful?”
Discrimination
The idea of discrimination is a tough one to crack. People use the word pejoratively, and use it specifically as a justification for the enactment of legal powers and penalties against organizations and individuals. In a purely common sense manner, though, there is no such thing as outlawing discrimination. All thought, all value assignment, allContinue reading “Discrimination”
Politeness
Politeness is the fundamental making-room-ness for the existence, the thoughts, feelings, actions, and idiosyncrasies, of others. Can you give up too much territory? Yes. Sometimes you need to defend your space and resist the encroachment of others. But politeness is what prevents everything from becoming a fight. It’s a ritual that allows space within proximity,Continue reading “Politeness”
Peterson vs Weinstein
What language best represents human experience? Scientific and materialistic language, the language of quantity? Or is it narrative and personification that beat capture our reality? https://youtu.be/O55mvoZbz4Y The later part of this episode is one of the greatest summaries of the culture War problem and how to conceptualize it I’ve ever heard. It’s solid gold andContinue reading “Peterson vs Weinstein”
A comment in Do Progressives Care About Jews?
https://youtu.be/F_tk9z3OpcQ Can we coin the term Jewish Fragility? It sounds like his main complaint is simply that identity politics is inconsistent. And his second complaint is that one of the areas it isinconsistent is regarding Jews, his own personal domain where he’s invested. If it’s going to exist, then, it should at least include Jews,Continue reading “A comment in Do Progressives Care About Jews?”
On John McWhorter
https://youtu.be/-D9LZdjnxKk I love John. I adore him and I think he’s a genius. He’s one of my favorite people to listen to. He’s so articulate and kind. And he has a good sense of when something has gone wrong, and seeks to correct it. He has a clear idea of what black America shouldn’t doContinue reading “On John McWhorter”
Roommates vs Spouses
What is the difference between having a husband or wife and having a roommate? The two overlap, and it’s easy for one to slowly become another, especially as the passions of youth cool and life becomes more stable and predictable, as our daily lives become more about the regular effort required to maintain life thanContinue reading “Roommates vs Spouses”
Jordan Peterson and faith
https://youtu.be/2rAqVmZwqZM I think Joni Erickson Tada might be an interesting person for Jordan to learn about. I’m a bit of a natural skeptic myself. I always have been. And Jordan certainly has faith, the sort of faith that Kierkegaard espoused. It’s a choice to will a life “as if,” while recognizing that there is noContinue reading “Jordan Peterson and faith”
Making Nobody Happy 