After writing this, I thought better of it and never published it, which is why it cuts off abruptly. The person was arguing that I wasn’t understanding Cornell West or his points and thus my criticism had no relevance. They also made some allusions to the Navi from Avatar and their ideas of collective socialContinue reading “In response to a critique of “On being seen” “
Tag Archives: politics
Why fear differences?
People today, for all their talk of equity, inclusion, and diversity seem to be doing so because they’re actually terrified that there might be real, substantive differences between people. Much as the European reaction to nationalistic fears in the postwar period led to a drive toward the dissolution of borders and differences of nationality inContinue reading “Why fear differences?”
Doing something
One thing that often gets forgetten in the rush to take action and the moral pressure to “do something” is the historical reality of how much of what we think of as the terrible crimes of the past were committed out of a similar desire to take action and do the right thing. It’s veryContinue reading “Doing something”
Hesitation and caution in fighting back
I recently watched a video of Peter Bogosian, Douglas Murray, and Dave Rubin talking about the ongoing fight against postmodernism, wokeism, and critical theory. The overall tone was hopeful, ebullient. The fight is going well, they said. Lies were being exposed, dangers were being recognized, prejudices were being revealed, sense was being restored. And thisContinue reading “Hesitation and caution in fighting back”
On Borders
I think the real question about borders is permeability. You want borders because you want to select what crosses them. The state is like a living organism. Living organisms have cell membranes and cell walls. That’s one of their defining, necessary features. And there’s a selectivity that allows certain things in and certain things out,Continue reading “On Borders”
Could anarchy work?
The answer is no. Boom, done! Fun talk. The thing about most political questions is that you don’t need a huge social experiment or tons of theory to answer most basic questions. All you need is a single complete unit to study. Enter, one human family. All government is just a scaled up version ofContinue reading “Could anarchy work?”
Third time is the charm
This is a series of stabs I made at responding to criticism of “on expectations and minority experience”. The objection raised was essentially this: “Imagine a situation where you are good at things but no one ever gives you a chance and you get rejected entirely because of prejudice. And everyone is racist, and that’sContinue reading “Third time is the charm”
On Camille Paglia and Christina Hoff Summers
https://youtu.be/zxWOsUOsDyU I love these women. I grew up surrounded by smart, confident women. You can’t help but love and respect them, even when you do disagree. They’re both a delight, but Camille consistently makes me laugh out loud. She is one of rhe most entertaining people you could possible watch. I think if there’s anyContinue reading “On Camille Paglia and Christina Hoff Summers”
On expectations and minority experience
When I walk into a gym, no one assumes I’m a professional basketball player. And they’re right. There aren’t a lot of short, Dutch basketball players. When my wife and girls show up somewhere wearing lovely and stylish outfits, people don’t assume that I bought them and put them together. And it’s very likely thatContinue reading “On expectations and minority experience”
Why politics is a male epiphenomenon
Males and female territories differ, and the way they police those territories differs. Men maintain wider territories but police them at a lower level of detail, but do so more confrontationally. Women maintain a smaller territory but at a very high level of detail, and do so with “soft power”, leveraging influence at many complexContinue reading “Why politics is a male epiphenomenon”
How slippery are slippery slopes
Both left and right are slippery slopes because they’re based in personality and instinct. That instinct is persistent; it’s not confined to a specific concern that arises gets resolved. So it keeps working on whatever the conditions are and never really knows when to stop. Absent the balancing pull of the opposition party, it inevitablyContinue reading “How slippery are slippery slopes”
Control vs license
Since authoritarianism tracks with disgust sensitivity, anything that is viewed as a disease will essentially predict authoritarianism. The degree to which something is viewed as a contagion (not only the degree to which it literally is a contagion) will determine the balance between authoritarianism and libertarianism. It all comes down to a matrix of controlContinue reading “Control vs license”
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”
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”
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”
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”
Landlords’ and renters’ rights
https://youtu.be/mQPsSGf9hfk To flip the argument just given, the renters also don’t have to live at that specific location. There’s no God-given right to be able to live in someone else’s property rent free. And assuming the obligations of a renter is part of the responsibility you take on when you sign a contract and becomeContinue reading “Landlords’ and renters’ rights”
A final letter to KXYZ
You have lost me as a viewer permanently. This special is not news, this is political re-education. These “bias” trainings have not been shown to be effective, in fact there is a great deal of evidence that they cause and perpetuate the problems they intend to address. They are not based in a well-grounded orContinue reading “A final letter to KXYZ”
Creating false demand, with an aside on evil
In response to the idea that markets are distorted because suppliers have created artificial demand that didn’t exist. From this discussion. https://youtu.be/ndehWd9N9Z4 This is the wrong way of viewing things entirely. You cannot literally create demand. You can hijack it, you can confuse it, you can subvert it, you can alter it, you can divertContinue reading “Creating false demand, with an aside on evil”
From a letter to a newspaper
As a news organization, the positions of any given national politician should not be characterized as an attack on people. Words aren’t attacks on people, they are statements of positions. We can agree and disagree with words, statements, and positions. They can be analyzed and falsified. But half the problem that prevents any kind ofContinue reading “From a letter to a newspaper”
Making Nobody Happy 