Philosophers in Rags :: We dive deeper, and come up muddier.

In the spirit of Barbara Ehrenreich's Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World, this is an invitation to bash positive thinking.

It may be ironic, but negative thinking consoles me.

I rejoice that I have no children and that our species will inevitably go extinct.

We might as well articulate our most forbidden sentiments.  Let us treat this message board as a haven for NEGATIVE thinking.   

When they say "Smile or Die" we can gladly choose DIE.

Things They Will Never Tell You:

things they will never tell you

If you ever find yourself getting tired of the antinatalist vlogs on youtube, you might find some of the posts and comments worth reading at SAY NO TO LIFE.   There may not be many who think the way we do who can actually motivate themselves to even type. 

 

When the mind is racing, sometimes it's refreshing just to read other people's rants ... But I am most content when I can relax enough to just read, think, or jot down some notes.

There is no shame in not wanting to be a soldier for the state or to want to escape being used as a corporate drone.  Is it any surprise that Kafka left so many of his writing projects unfinished?   He had to report to the office.

When one does find one has been able to hide away to nap or read, it is like escaping from a web ... or from a harness.  I guess it is not something one is going to announce too loudly for fear of arousing resentments.

 

I noticed on Karl's blog, Say No To Life, that, when someone might have resented his attitude toward submitting to wage-slavery, the commenter asked Karl what he did as a trade (for a living ... to pay for rent and food and living expenses and books and ...).   I like the fact that Karl did not answer that question.  I wonder if people realize how rude that question is ...

I remember the last time I was asked, "What do you do?"  --- I felt like fighting the person who asked me.  It's just offensive.  Do you think the commenter wanted to know if he was on the dole?   

It kind of kills any motivation to write a book.  I wonder how many people are sensitive to the subtle hatred of the silent majority, how the flag-waving ones who pay deference to military service and the like would like to see the refusenicks punished for not pulling the cart of civilization.

If you can't be doped into compliance, there are those who would bully you into compliance.

We have discussed this before, where you mentioned how the bosses like to see their employees married with children ... There is a reason they resent the bachelor or spinster.  There is a reason why the conventional want to see the unconventional get some discipline and structure in their lives.

If only one could be as courageous as Cioran and write with full knowledge of how much hatred you are inviting upon yourself.

There often is no closure, not in real life and many questions will never be answered, left floating in the wind forever.This is a world where nothing is solved.

No closure ... nothing is solved.

Nothing is what it seems.  If I were blind, I would have entirely different kinds of problems. 

I would still feel sun beams through windows.  I would still feel the cold.  I am fairly certain I would still be able to roll a cigarette, but no written words ... I would have to learn new ways to cope with being alive ... OR I could end it.

No closure ... nothing solved.

What is one expected to do with one's life?

Some people will be in prison for the rest of their lives unless all Hell breaks loose.

Nothing needs to be done.   Nothing is really necessary. 

About closure.  You're right.  This is just not the nature of existence.  Maybe a more non-human perspective might help eliminate concerns about solutions and closure.

So much is determined by chance:  where one is born, into what culture, into what species ... whether one has a roof over one's head.  It's no wonder that ... when homeless, with no "book collection", no notebooks, one would seek out alcohol ...

Oh, how I identify with the Hikikomori!  There is nothing to be had out there.  Imagine a homeless man lugging around an 800 page textbook, studying Linear Algebra and trying to understand how to implement the Matrix Template Library of Boost ... How easy it is to go mad! 

Have you ever been sitting with a book next to one who does not know how to read?  There is a peculiar feeling.  Education can be held against you. 

One is expected to "do something" with one's "abilities".

We may often feel we are failures if we have not been able to accomplish anything while alive, but life itself is a failure. 

Then there is this feeling where I suspect there are those who would take pleasure in seeing a bookworm homeless, sleeping in a tent.  They will say, "If he spent his days sweeping floors or stocking product on shelves, if he programmed robots for Amazon, instead of studying mathematics and reading literature all the time, he wouldn't be in that situation."

I suppose, once one has experienced homelessness or even spent some time in a county jail, living on the dole, holing up in a room with a collection of books, one can reach a state of grace.  To a homeless transient vagabond off the radar, a collection of books would be a burden. 

My vision of the future:  weather-proof, solar-powered eReader and a heavy duty notebook computer ... pathetic homeless scholar eking out his existence like a modern day Diogenes the Dog.   

If I were in a cell without access to a computer, would I still enjoy exploring "modern C++" to see how generic programming is implemented in solving systems of linear equations?

I think I would be delighted.  And yet, in the county jail, no USED books are allowed.  They have to be shipped in directly from a place like Barnes and Nobel, and they must NOT be hard cover.  Is that possible?  Some things are impossible. 

Now, who in this miserable wretched world would send me a $320 math book and its $50 solution manual?   I would be lucky to get the $50 processing fee and another $100 for long underwear, security pens, stamps, envelopes, and legal pads to last a couple months.  Oh, brother ... It's a madhouse.  It's a shame the universities aren't more involved with the prison industry.  FTW

So, no wonder I treasure used books and blessed goddamn dole.  I never cared too much for parties.  If only I could develop the protagonist's voice in my head, if only I could be content with being an anti-hero in the flesh ... I could just let my notebooks be their own Holden Caulfield rants.

Sure, Schopenhauer was concerned with truth, but I'm sure he held back a bit.

I have this compulsion to study what it is I am drawn to, and that's all there is to it.  I don't care about social status, I don't care if I die alone with no family.  I want to become engrossed in some algebraic computations.  Then again, I am free to lose interest in everything.

Maybe 15 years ago I studied Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus out of curiosity, but this time around, since I unexpectedly snapped out of my drunken stupor, I want to develop an understanding such that I might be able to teach it to someone else for no other reason than that I find it interesting, more interesting than god-damn sporting events on the TV, more interesting than mind-numbing employment in one of the redundant "jobs" out there in gortville.


future

Good morning, slaves ... don't forget to challenge the world ...

We are bacteria with fuucking brains ... let us argue our position. 

"Intelligent theory here ... meaningful conversation that needs to take place ... the human race needs to deal with the fact that it's a fuucking addicted psychology ...  it's a fuucking bullshiit program ... you are chasing your mother-fuucking tail ... we are programmed animals ... the need is programmed into us ... you are feeding off this pointless and idiotic competition ... consumption and reproduction through the process of natural selection ... there is a flaw in the design base ..."

Think positive?  Why?   DELUSIONARY RAINBOW SICKNESS

Anyone who implores you to think positively is proclaiming their disdain and contempt for considering the reality of the world as it really is.   They prefer to "create their own reality" and silence those who challenge their "program" ... 

challenge

"Have a nice day ..."   

I'm going to die anyway

"Screw you guys, I'm going home ..."

home

Herr Hentrich,
Yes, that´s the problem, we,slaves,do not want to challenge the world. We only obey and conform. I wonder if our masters are not tired of domesticating us. If you can, please, I suggest that you watch They Live by John Carpenter (1988) with Rody Piper, Keith Davis and Meg Foster. In once scene the character played by Piper starts wearing special glasses that allow him to see ugly creatures, fake humans, and the real messages behind the ads in the city. The real messages were; OBEY, CONFORM, STAY SLEEP, DO NOT QUESTION AUTHORITY, MARRY AND REPRODUCE. Interesting movie. Take care of yourself. Raúl

Mr.Holden,
I forgot that one of the messages was CONSUME in the movie. Clearly,in my view, Carpenter wanted to convey a message to people. I wonder if the human beings in the future wil rise up and smash this infernal machinery. I have my doubts because we,humans, have been conditioned for a very long time. Take care of yourself. Raúl