A nice day with good weather and no major attacks by evil losers? Boring. Who will listen to your belittling sermon about what they should give up if there’s nothing to be worked up and scared about?
Tag: society
Language, Intent, & Bigotry
Racism/sexism/bigotry are allegations of intent. If a strong wind blows and sticks align to spell “Cunt,” we wouldn’t think the wind is sexist because the wind holds no intent. If a woman were offended, we would properly say that she is attributing false intent to random events.
On the “Participatory” Part of “Participatory Fascism”
When I use “participatory fascism”—for me a technical term in political economy, not an ideological or rhetorical cudgel—most people react to the “fascism” part and disregard the “participatory” part. Yet that part is critical to one’s understanding of how this system of rule proves so durable and resilient.
Cybernauts Bite the Dust
In the past week, we have had two gamers commit suicide, but taking others with them. In San Diego, CA, Trevor Heitmann left the mortal coil by driving the wrong way, at excessive speed, on an expressway, but he took with him a mother and daughter in another vehicle. In Jacksonville, FL, at a game competition, David Katz shot many other gamers, killing two, then he shot himself.
Evil Plus Evil Equals Doubly Evil
Democracy is horrible. It is mob rule made “socially acceptable”. Socialism is horrible. It is the attempt to make a society stand on a foundation of envy, theft, parasitism, and entitlement. Who could possibly imagine that combining these two nasty concepts could make something good?
Stop Criminalizing Parenthood
Today it seems that childhood freedom has gone the way of afternoon paper routes. Both are relics of an earlier time, when kids were allowed—expected even—to be outside, unsupervised, playing with friends around the neighborhood, riding bikes, mowing lawns, walking dogs, and a whole host of other common childhood activities.
Defining Anti-Semitism, Threatening Free Speech
In May the benign-sounding Anti-Semitism Awareness Act appeared before the U.S Congress “to provide for consideration a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.” No big deal? Let us see. S. 2940 is sponsored by Republican Sen. Tim Scott and has four co-sponsors: Republican Lindsey Graham and…
On Income Inequality
Advocates of economic egalitarianism, those who fight against so-called “income inequality” fail to understand what achieving their goal entails.
A Utilitarian Case for Incompetent Traffic Cops
Thank your lucky stars for inefficient law enforcement. When toleration fails, you’ll always be able to count on some room for social innovation. But when inefficiency fails, we’ll be in a much tighter spot.
On the Media
Trump recently declared on Twitter that “the FAKE NEWS media” is “the enemy of the American people!” He’s not wrong, but neither was the pot calling the kettle black.