I tried reading two recent reviews of Shang-Chi today, curious how this newest continuation of the Marvel franchise measured up. Unfortunately, I came away more mystified than enlightened, and filled with a sense of dirtiness I hadn’t expected to contract from a movie review. To be honest, I could hardly call what I read “movieContinue reading “Shang Chi and the legend of a movie review”
Tag Archives: society
Anti-racist backlash
On John McWhorter’s fears of a backlash against anti-white sentiment I think this could have been put more simply. If you convince someone that everything they ever did for you voluntarily meant absolutely nothing, then there’s at least some chance that they’ll decide to stop doing things for you. And if you make it clearContinue reading “Anti-racist backlash”
Appreciation for civilization
Why do some people feel the miracle of civilization, while others take it for granted, feel entitled, or are dissatisfied? Thomas Sowell answered this question a couple decades ago. I think if you go from “A Conflict of Visions” and make the leap to Jonathan Haidt and “The Righteous Mind” you can figure out whyContinue reading “Appreciation for civilization”
Decriminalizing theft
Recently in California lawmakers decided to stop prosecuting felony theft under a certain threshold. The move was hailed as a victory for racial justice, a very strange thing to say with all sorts of interesting implications behind it. Some people naturally wondered what the consequences of simply letting people rob stores, so long as theContinue reading “Decriminalizing theft”
Convinced or able to be convinced?
Most people calibrate their positions on issues by observing others. The social family provides a structure of costs and benefits, a sort of behavioral and attitudinal economy. And most people are instinctively invested in and responsive to that market. And well they should be. It’s actually very hard for a single person to effectively judgeContinue reading “Convinced or able to be convinced?”
Weaponizing archetypes
From a letter. I had a question. I dictated this in the car while driving, and I’m afraid it ran away with me. My real question is immediately below. All the background and why I’m wondering it follows. I was wondering how plausible you thought it might be to hypothesize that the archetypes are themselvesContinue reading “Weaponizing archetypes”
Rights and the new religious right
At some point rights groups became the new version of the religious right. They’re kind of like the temperance movement now, or the instigators of the “Satanic Panic”. That’s a funny transition to have made, for groups that centered themselves around advocacy for the sociological fringe. I suppose there’s a point at which, if youContinue reading “Rights and the new religious right”
In response to a critique of “On being seen”
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” “
On “being seen”
(From an online forum discussing Cornell West, who is especially fond of this phrase) I don’t understand the obsession with “being seen”. Or how much or what kind of being seen it is that would make people happy, or whether that kind of feeling is something that someone else, even magical white people, can grantContinue reading “On “being seen””
A critique of “The Thrill of it All”
I recently watched an old Doris Day movie about a doctor whose wife becomes a TV advertising star. And I couldn’t help feeling that the whole problem was that the characters never had an open discussion and never asked the right questions. And that’s fine, if people did that at the beginning of the storyContinue reading “A critique of “The Thrill of it All””
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?”
Caused or conveyed?
Conveyance is one of the most concepts in human life and psychology. The phrase “don’t shoot the messenger” is a trope simply because of the universal human tendency to do exactly that, to attach causal responsibility to the mechanism that conveys an effect. People also make this mistake positively, chasing the phenomenon that conveys anContinue reading “Caused or conveyed?”
Diversity and estrangement
Diversity is real because differences between people are real. We aren’t all just some generic, interchangeable things. We have actual differences. And those differences are consequential. This is such an obvious fact that virtually everyone will defend it in their private lives, yet people often act publicly as if they can treat other humans asContinue reading “Diversity and estrangement”
Camille Paglia’s advice to Christians
There is quite a growing list of “friendly” atheists that Christians have been finding common ground with in the fight against postmodernism. James Lindsay, Jonathan Haidt, John McWhorter. I think you could also add Bret Weinstein and Heather Haying to that list. And maybe Camille Paglia and Christina Hoff Summers (if you want a feministContinue reading “Camille Paglia’s advice to Christians”
Decriminalizing incest
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2021/04/17/consensual-incest-should-be-decriminalized-advocates-say/amp/ If you don’t read the article, the headline contains the essential argument. Consensual incest should be decriminalized. The one thing I can say in favor of this is that is that, yes, they are correct; based on the currently accepted arguments, there isn’t any particularly good reason why consentual incest shouldn’t be legal. OrContinue reading “Decriminalizing incest”
On culture warriors
There are some pundits who are pushing back that are a little too aggressive for my taste. It’s not that they’re wrong, they’re often right as far as they go. But their reactions are strong enough that they become prey to being pushed too far into their own position, and into being too critical (andContinue reading “On culture warriors”
Comedians and courage
The way that formerly brave and controversial comedians and artists are caving in to the moral majority of the new left just goes to show that they weren’t really that brave after all, someone just needed to invent a type of social censure they were afraid of. It’s easy to be provacative when you don’tContinue reading “Comedians and courage”
Are women better than men?
Are women better than men? That is certainly a question that seems to have some teeth. Men can be and are blamed for a lot of the pain in the world. And it’s not unusual to see the world and history characterized as innocent women and children trying to live their lives and wicked menContinue reading “Are women better than men?”
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.”
Rights and opportunities
As Americans, we possess the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Note that we are not actually granted a right to happiness itself. That’s not a right someone can grant to someone else. So what’s the difference? The difference is between granting a right to an endeavor, an experiment, an effort, aContinue reading “Rights and opportunities”
Making Nobody Happy 