Average slaves in America were ‘owned’ by people who could legally do just about anything they wanted to their slaves. However, since slaves were so costly, and their work depended greatly on how they were treated … slaves generally had plenty of leisure time, rare physical punishment, and various worldly pleasures at their disposal. Of course, this in no way justifies slavery, and there are plenty of stories of absolute brutality of some individuals.
Category: Meandering Thoughts
Does the US Have a Nazi Problem?
The level of the Nazi problem in the US is up to 2.5 (out of 10). 10 years ago it was around a 1.5 … so it is a very significant rise. The level of Nazi concern, vigilance and fear are at an 8.
Abnormalities and Treating Others with Kindness
Abnormalities aren’t normal. We don’t need to normalize abnormalities in order to have the kind of society that treats people with respect. We don’t need body positivity, trans awareness, gay awareness or anything else. We only need to teach people to be polite and treat assholes like they are assholes.
Work Ethic is Not a Core Personality Trait
Some people will never really feel inspired. They will feel incompetent or surrounded with poisonous incentives. I am sure most people in communist/socialist societies had little-no grit/work ethic. For the rest of us, the issue isn’t conjuring work ethic/grit, it is finding the right incentives and atmospheres that will inspire us.
Treat Your Children Like They Deserve Great Things
If the world is abusive, you are probably a negligent parent by not abusing your child. As a huge advocate for children, gentle parenting, unschooling, etc. that would seem like a crazy position, but roll with me for a minute.
Being Content with Being Bad
I don’t want to rape and murder, not because it is wrong, but because I have empathy for others and it would destroy my life for many reasons. I think societies should stop people from raping and murdering because it is in people’s self-interest to do so.
Hypocritical Bullshit That Lacks Perspective
I think it is highly problematic to allow hypocrites and intellectual frauds to capture the perception of moral authority over such minutia while they ignored hundreds of thousands of deaths and the other tragedies caused by government in the recent past.
“He’s Just Being a Boy” II
In the last several years I have seen quite a few people critical of the phrase “boys will be boys.” While I will often agree with these people’s perspective on selected examples of shitty behavior … I think they misunderstand how the phrase has been generally used, and I think there is danger in how many of these people think.
The Failure of Western Institutions
I find the roots of liberty and individualism to be borne from an incredible accident, from the failure of institutions of the West. This runs radically contrary to the narrative portrayed by many conservatives and the alt-right.
Equality of Opportunity?
Many conservatives and capitalists are fond of saying they don’t believe in equality of results but rather equality of opportunity. I believe this is a horrible strategy, and I believe it is bad philosophy; both politically and personally.