{∅, {∅}, {∅, {∅}}} : Rage Against the Meat Grinder
General Category => Why Work? => Topic started by: Nation of One on June 25, 2014, 10:38:25 am
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An Introduction to the Thread
This topic was inspired by a flash of insight I experienced when Crazy Squirrel immediately understood my indifferent attitude concerning propaganda about some arbitrary Jersey Shore town "shaping up." This validation of my gut level feelings triggered a moment of clarity for me. I'll try to do some thinking about it while I am coherent.
First, back up a little.
Like this message board itself, this subject/topic is a tangent off of Number Six's "Boycott Amazon" post. I know the people shudder at the thought of boycotting Amazon.com since, well, they can get a printer cartridge for a fraction of what they would pay in the stores or directly from the retailer. Principles, principles, principles ... ethics, ethic, ethics ... solidarity ... what's solidarity?
OK. The subject is RESISTANCE.
Under the video about working conditions at Amazon (and other such warehouses behind the scenes) there is one comment that hits the nail on the head: “Middle-class people who defend such labor practices are the Uncle Toms of the 21 century.”
That’s why, with Ignatius Reilly, I say, “Down with the middle class! The middle class must go!”
It’s just such a relief to cop such an attitude since the middle class is supposed to be the salt of the earth. Or … building up the reputation of a town by building high-priced luxury apartments for young urban professionals (yuppies) … Then people talking about how the town is really “shaping up.”
Crazy Squirrels two cents: "Ugh…when people speak of a neighborhood ‘shaping up’, I sigh heavily and roll my eyes. ‘Shaping up’ = **** boring, after all. Blech!"
It is amazing to me that you totally understood what I was getting at. Yes, “shaping up” = “boring” – I think that must be it.
“Shaping up” implies “you have to spend money in yuppie establishments in order to be ‘having fun’” – even though it is all make-believe fun!
“Shaping up” means “those freaks who have conversations by the trees in the park next to the library will be harassed by the hired guns of the corporate state”.
“Shaping up” = those of you who are unemployed will eventually be arrested on some trumped up “disorderly conduct” charge then coerced into an “outpatient treatment program” where brains will be bombarded with “positive thinking therapy groups” which will make you want to drink yourself to death. Heeheehee. Shaping up …
Clean up your act …. shave the beard off, get the rotten teeth pulled, and wear dentures … Maybe blend in … UGH!
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Resistance In Consumerist Society
We turn to “The Culture Industry: The Enlightenment as Mass Deception” by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer.
They examine fascism as an outgrowth of liberalism. Consumerist Society is homogenized by music, movies, art, television and other media.
That homogenization is controlled by economic powers that developed under liberalism; these powers define pleasure, then offer to sell it to the masses under the aegis of capitalism.
The problem is that if complete pleasure is ever attained by consumers, they would have no reason to continue to patronize economic powers because satisfaction would be realized. To obviate this plight, the economic powers define pleasure as consumerism.
The individual, then, attempts to satisfy her/himself by buying more and more goods and, in so doing, becomes an eternal consumer: The principle dictates that he [the consumer] should be shown all his needs as capable of fulfillment, but that those needs should be so pre-determined that he feels himself to be the eternal consumer. . . . It makes him believe that the deception it practices is satisfaction.
The individual assumes that she is acting on her free will when consuming: there is a sense of individual satisfaction in, say, attending a concert of one’s favorite musical group. Because the eternal consumer is established en masse, though, the individual will is actually undermined. Megalithic corporations establish the consumer imperative in many, many people through invasive advertising techniques.
Those who consume become part of an “in group.” Anyone not satisfying themselves by accumulating material goods and pleasures, anyone not enjoying the mass-produced culture, becomes an outsider. The consuming imperative, then, creates conformity: everyone, for instance, must buy CD players and VCRs or risk being ridiculed.
I am quoting Joshua Blu Buhs who is referencing “The Culture Industry: The Enlightenment as Mass Deception” because this gets right to the heart of the matter.
This so-called "shaping up" is so clearly an attempt to enforce this kind of environment, recreating the immature mindset one endures in high school socialization: everyone must purchase the gadgets and clothes ... everyone must pay the cost of the admission fee or risk being ridiculed.
Those who consume become part of an in group. Anyone not enjoying the mass-produced culture becomes an outsider.
This is very related to why I chose anti-hero as my identifier. My heroes are like Kafka's K and Dostoevsky's Underground Man. My heroes are the outsiders, the so-called "losers" who are a living protest against fascism as an outgrowth of liberalism. By creating an 'in group' as a standard, the culture industry encourages consumers not to think for themselves but to fall in line with the crowd ... or risk being ostracized. The culture industry produces products which encourage non-thinking obedience.
One resists the culture industry by thinking for oneself, but by standing apart from the crowd, one is made into a pariah. The culture industry acts as a fascist leader, denigrating individuals and promoting ignorance. George Carlin called this Smiley Faced Fascism Sporting Nike Sneakers.
The ideal of the avoidance of thought is reinforced by advertising that defines pleasure as the absence of intellectual work: “Pleasure always means not to think about anything, to forget suffering even where it is shown. Basically it is helplessness. . . . The liberation which amusement promises is freedom from thought” (Adorno and Horkheimer).
All that is sought after is consumerism as dictated by the culture industry: The most intimate reactions of human beings have been so reified that the idea of anything specific to themselves now persists only as an utterly abstract notion: personality scarcely signifies anything more than shining white teeth and freedom from body odor and emotions.
... freedom from body odor ... freedom from emotions ... freedom from thought ... freedom from reality ...
At least we know the enemy.
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I hate consumerism too,there is no end to it.
I feel someone like Trotsky,for all his faults,was a thousand times better than Reagan & Maggie Thatcher The Milk Snatcher.
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God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables – slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy **** we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.
The things you own end up owning you.
It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.
You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank.
You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet.
Reject the basic assumptions of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions.
(Fight Club)
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People like you & I,without a wife & kids to support,are the only ones who can give reply in kind to the corporations.The other day,one of the boss-man was saying openly" I really want all the employees to be married & have at least a couple of kids, that way there's no way out for them,nilly-willy they've got to stick around"
That's why I am such an eyesore to the slave-owner,I need to feed no one but myself,I don't need their garbage filled malls,so I make them feel insecure.
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Garbage filled malls! Haha.
8) It's amazing too ... It is becoming quite a trend. A few months ago I was helping a woman from India move out of her apartment, and out of nowhere her 17 year old son was telling me how he is never going to get married since it just doesn't make any sense.
And in Japan the government is trying to bribe couple to wed and reproduce: free giant tv [read: GARBAGE].
And in the United States, the more children [fodder for war machine economy and future labor force] mothers produce, the more the State will pay ... basically, we are on a funny farm plantation ... and renegade thinkers like you and I and the young man from India (or the Hikikomoris of Japan) present quite a challenge to the Zoo Keepers.
As Hermann Hesse said, intellectuals are worthless to the captains of industry.
Anyone who does not need much from the malls, whether they have replicated their DNA or not, must be made to appear inadequate. What, you're not buying television sets or paying for a cable connection, are you some kind of terrorist? :D
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Hikikomoris..yes ,at least the Japanese have come up with a word for my condition.I don't think there is a succinct word in English for people like me.Social Withdrawal.Consumerism is a disease,why do I need to eat caviar when I can satiate my hunger with lentil( Diogene's favourite).
Why do I need to wear new clothes every day? There are people I know who have literally tons of clothes & I don't think they'd've worn a particular piece of clothing more than once.Why this utter wastage? This conspicuous consumption.?
Marx called it Commodity Fetish.
To avoid the status anxiety of not being of or belonging to "the right social class", the consumer establishes a personal identity (social, economic, cultural) that is defined and expressed by the commodities (goods and services) that he or she buys, owns, and uses; the domination of things that communicate the "correct signals" of social prestige, of belonging. The Society of the Spectacle is the ultimate form of social alienation that occurs when a person views his or her being (self) as a commodity that can be bought and sold, because he or she regards every human relation as a (potential) business transaction.
What do we do?
And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables,
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
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Quote: "This so-called "shaping up" is so clearly an attempt to enforce this kind of environment, recreating the immature mindset one endures in high school socialization: everyone must purchase the gadgets and clothes... everyone must pay the cost of the admission fee or risk being ridiculed. Those who consume become part of an in group. Anyone not enjoying the mass-produced culture becomes an outsider."
Quote: "...personality scarcely signifies anything more than shining white teeth and freedom from body odor and emotions."
I want to add here that the 'admission fee' is even higher for women. Not only are women expected to purchase the gadgets and the clothes (LOTS of clothes, plus tons of accessories...a woman MUST be 'fashionable'! :P ), but it's also demanded of us to be slaves to what is commonly referred to as 'beauty', the rules of which are arbitrary, increasingly ridiculous, and in the end, always unattainable. As with virtually every young girl, I got sucked into the belief that if I could just buy the 'right' cosmetics/skin care/whatever, I'd become more popular, and be more desirable to boys. It sounds completely insane when written out like that, but believe me, it's a real thing, and it's extremely insidious; most women spend most of their lives and a huge chunk of their income on that so-called 'self-improvement'. I began to resist that programming in my late teens, and make-up was the first thing to go. I had no idea that the seemingly insignificant act of appearing in public without 'clown paint' would cause me to be viewed as a loser and a freak. Over the years, I've actually had several men tell me outright that they didn't want to date me because I didn't wear make-up. One guy added that he wanted a woman who 'takes care of herself', which I took to mean that because I refuse to go through the expense and trouble of putting on the 'spackle' every morning, I'm clearly a lazy slob, and my overall personal hygiene is questionable, as well (and probably my worth as a person, too). So yes, even the slightest deviation will have consequences. People never grow up from that high school mentality, really.
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In workplace parlance, an “engaged” employee is an individual who not only completes tasks on time, but is actually enthusiastic about the work they are doing. Engaged employees do not see their place of work as an obligation, but rather as an opportunity. They combine a strong, intelligent work ethic with the desire to not only improve their circumstances, but the circumstances of those around them. They are the embodiment of a creative force; where others see routine or drudgery, they see a challenge or problem that needs to be solved.
Disengaged employees, on the other hand, must be motivated to perform on an hourly basis. They drag themselves through their day, contributing the bare minimum and often detracting from the work of their peers with negative comments or an overwhelming pessimism that is energy draining. This pessimism is so toxic that it affects not only co-workers, but customers as well, driving away potential business and harming previously solid customer relationships. Research has shown that employee disengagement in the United States adds up to approximately $350 billion dollars per year of lost productivity.
Make me wanna puke.
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Even when people rebel against this pressure to conform, the zoo keepers try to make money off the rebellion with music concerts, beer sales, and T-shirts. The most radical thing to do is to be a minimalist. I like the idea of a woman not wearing make-up. It is kind of like my refusal to "lift weights". I just don't feed into the propaganda which infects people with the compulsion to look like "Hollywood actors" ...
With Arundhati Roy I have to ask, "How can so many be controlled by so few?"
And along with Daniel Quinn I have to say that it is not so much the 1% living like gods, kings, princesses that disgusts me, but that the 99% aspire to emulate their ostentatious consumption. We reach a point where we just don't care anymore. Everything is set up to manipulate people into spending money so as to have the credentials of "success" --- Isn't it rather sweet revenge to witness that the gorts think they are winning in the game of life when the real treasures are not even for sale? Those of us who do not chase after the status symbols will be branded as losers or even mentally deranged ... I say be strong and continue to resist.
There are far more outsiders than insiders. If we only realized our numbers, we could shut the **** down by tomorrow morning. And with George Orwell we must say ... And yet!
We just have to wait and see. Perhaps the tide is turning.
Engaged employees detract from the work of their peers with negative comments or an overwhelming pessimism that is energy draining.
Note From 2011.09.22
I had an opportunity to research sabotage. Think about this word, ‘sabotage’. Notice how the word, sabotage, doesn’t have the connotations of the word, ‘terrorism’.
sabotage
1. destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations, as by civilians or enemy agents in times of war.
2. Treacherous action to defeat or hinder a cause or an endeavor; deliberate subversion.
We need to become saboteurs in some way – to stifle the effectiveness of the mass control system without being held responsible and punished. We need not be martyrs, nor need our efforts be violent, but simple non-compliance will never be enough. That is handing the other side victory. They want dissenters to settle on simple non-compliance. How this resistance should take form, we still haven’t figured out. Maybe we never will. (“Blaze”)
Maybe there are hints in Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces.
Jones spread the newspaper. “Whoa!” he said to Mr. Watson. “You sure give me a good idea with all this sabotage crap. Now I sabotage myself right back to bein’ a vagran. Hey!”
“It look like this sabotage go off like a nuclear bum.”
“That fat freak guarentee one hunner percen nuclear bum. ****. Drop him on somebody, everybody gettin caught in the fallout, gettin their ass blowed up. Ooo-wee …”
There’s a big clue on page two oh two.
Sabotage: a cook adding too much pepper in the soup, a kid in the supermarket dropping too many eggs, a parking lot attendant slipping on oil crashing into a fence …
I think my inner resistance exceeds the rejection of this consumerist society ... it goes far deeper.
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Lin Yutang
We who put on dog collars and neckties and go with the regimented herd to an office every day cannot help envying the man who wears an old broad-brimmed hat and open shirt, who dares to walk in the sun in the good hours of the morning doing nothing. He is the man who does not yield to social pressures. He does not have his holidays rationed. He TAKES them. He is jealous of his personal liberty and a little disdainful of the multifarious activities of society and politics. He stands a little aloof and is not intimidated.
Lin Yutang refers to this lucky person as a "scamp." He chooses the scamp as the ideal: The scamp is a literary symbol of a man who refuses to submit to the external pressures of society. I looked up scamp. It means rascal or scoundrel even. A mischeivious character. Someone like the character Henry Fool or even Ignatius Reilly or Martin Dean or even myself, for that matter.
It's not a very great way of life, but the alternative has become unimaginable to me. I've become unfit for employment since I have become so accustomed to just being myself. Very problematic when it comes to "earning a living" in this society.
Lin Yutang alsp wrote:
Something of man has been lost. We are all properly subdued. Do not talk to me of initiative, pluck, and spirit of adventure when a college graduate applying for a job asks, "What are the terms for retirement pensions?" The dissenter, the man (or woman, of course) who refuses to conform, is still the man (or woman) for me.
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Incidentally, I did the Occupy thing in Tampa, even slept out on the streets once. But I ultimately became disillusioned with it. I wrote a powerful document for them (no false modesty, ala Mike) and they ignored it because I wasn't part of the "in-clique." Yes, even "outsider" groups have "in-cliques." Always.
Plus, Occupy really isn't accomplishing much. So they got banks to cancel a $5 debit card fee or something. Whoopty-doo! Way to go in abolishing capitalism. What we really need is something like a 30 day worldwide general strike, just for starters. Wealthy college kids and hippies holding signs won't cut it.
What Occupy offered, briefly, was hope. And even though we all know where that leads, I think we were all spellbound, at least for a little while.
I, for one, appreciate not being charged $5 per month for the debit card fee, but, Q is right, this isn't exactly equivalent to abolishing capitalism. :-\
How to Overthrow the System:
Brew your own beer; kick in your Tee Vee; kill your own beef; build your own cabin and **** off the front porch whenever you bloody well feel like it.
Yep, you're right. "The 99%" are 99% motivated not by any real desire to tank the system and start fresh with something better, but rather by a resentment that not everyone can afford big Tee Vees and the glorious "middle class" lifestyle. And really, by publicly affirming the value and legitimacy of such a lifestyle, they are doing as much harm as good. Most of the 99% are upset because they aren't being given the chance to exploit with the big boys.
The media, as usual, is a barrel of laughs, trying to paint the protesters as "anarchists" and the like. Yeah, right. Most are as jawb-trained as anyone else and just want everyone to have a well-paying "yaab" and the ability to consume crapola more prodigiously, like good "middle class" people ought to.
While everyone in America is obsessed with "creating jobs" and "saving the middle class," I'd rather do away with both. I doubt anyone will turn out with signs in support of that. And it's also why I stopped turning out in support of the "Occupy" movement.
It's probably not going to be the billionaire pop stars, sports heroes, and deal makers who are going to lead us out of the prison we share with them. It's the rest of us who must find the way out, who must discover something better to hope for than inhabiting a sable-lined cell next to Barbara Streisand, Michael Jordan, or Donald Trump.
Towers of Faith (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBYHblcElZ0)
It is not for nothing that governments, when an emblem of their void wanders about – generally, an inconsistent or rioting crowd – prohibit “gatherings of more than three people,” which is to say they explicitly declare their non-tolerance of the one of such ‘parts,’ thus proclaiming that the function of the State is to number inclusions such that consistent belongings be preserved.
The void is reduced to the non-representation of the proletariate, thus, unpresentability is reduced to a modality of nonrepresentation; the separate count of parts is reduced to the non-universality of bourgeois interests, to the presentative split between normality and singularity. Politics can be defined as an assault against the state. The State is precisely non-political.
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*** Elections for corporatized politicians are such a theatrical farce!
Resistance =
{
Ethnic minorities brutalized and terrorized by urban police thugs and herded into the prison-industrial-complex as chattel fed into the system to maintain employment for well-fed well-disciplined militarized Slave Patrol Force;
Rebellious middle-class youth (Flower Children) drawn to resistance activity as a result of idealism, restlessness, and the expanding attacks on youth by the multinational corporate State;
Rural and small town militia-men;
Persons of all walks of life fed up with business-as-usual in a world which leaves most feeling empty, even and especially those who have attained all the credentials of so-called success (fame and fortune)
}
There are four basic groups.
1. Youth: both working class youth as well as privileged class youth attracted to radical politics
2. Traditional working-class people from the sparsely populated areas of the United States
3. The urban poor
4. outlaw elements (The Lumpenproletariat):
{
gang members
ex-convicts
prison inmates
various drug cultures
the homeless
those shuffled into group homes
various diverse "street" elements
}
All four groups share common enemies: socio-economic elites, militarized police forces, corporate elites who don't know or care a thing about literature or mental excellence, but live a lifestyle of vulgar ostentatious consumption, including private 50 million dollar jets and privately owned "security forces," i.e, McDonaldized Mafias.
The primary differences which divide us are cultural, but as you and I have both experienced, it is easy to be an outcast among outcasts if you are endowed with a powerful intellect.
Also, the lumpen elements from the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder are viewed with suspicion and mistrust even by other disenfranchized sectors of the Resistance (busted, disgusted, and not to be trusted).
Each of us (parts of The Void) must ultimately fight (resist) on its own turf. We have to seize opportunities in our everyday lives to question and refuse humiliating or debilitating authority.
Yep. I have long since realized I am "an Army of One," to borrow a phrase. Either no movement will have me or I won't have them. The only question is whether they will tire of me before I tire of them. Usually my involvement doesn't even last long enough for the question to arise. I am definitely an "outcast among outcasts." If I have "supporters," it's only because they haven't spoken to me long enough. Given time, it's certain that I will alienate them or they will alienate me.
I tell "my" truth even if it proves me to be an ****. I'm not afraid of being an **** when the alternative is being a gort. In the intellectual realm, I end every adventure with guns blazing and shots grazing my back, chased by a hysterical mob with torches and pitchforks. Que serra serra.
It only bothers you the first dozen times. Then it becomes more comical and playful, and you find a new freedom in the certainty of rejection. I've gotten to the point where I find it preferable for those who are going to reject me to do so as fast as possible. It saves a lot of wasted time and energy, and it lets me know who thinks I'm an ****, which is valuable information, since it usually turns out that I find those people to be assholes as well. I'm all for a well-defined mutual disdain.
It lets a guy know where he stands - and sooner or later, guys like us usually discover we are standing alone. Don't put your faith in anybody but close family members and maybe a couple of close friends you've known for years (online or off). Everybody else will eventually turn on you with fangs bared at some point. Unconditional respect and support are incredibly rare things and we cannot expect to discover them more than a few times in the course of our lives.
I've had "best friends" drop me overnight, never to speak to me again - and in more than one case, I never even knew why. Guys like us can offend just by being ourselves, without even intending any harm or being conscious of having done anything. You never know what's going to be "the thing" that turns somebody against you - all you know is that more likely than not, it's coming. One day you're Mr. Fantastic, the next day you're a **** sandwich. But life goes on, always on and on.
Friends will drop us, family will drop us, society will drop us, and the world will drop us. Who will not drop us? Only "the one" who is our true nature, and who keeps guys like you and I on the same page in spite of different circumstances. The "Great Mystery," the indivisible Inner Being which calls us to unity.
How to defend yourself against psychic attack
Some of us, more than others, accrue more enemies. And not everyone is going to be overjoyed over our decision making process, either. Just by standing your ground and staying in your own, personal balance, can make people angry at you. You can be attacked just because you're breathing.
Cop an attitude that you know not everyone is going to agree with you. If you can shift yourself into detaching (Zen-like) emotionally from those who don't like you (and never will), then you are stopping the giving or frittering away your energy to them.
It is impossible to acquire capital and maintain full personal integrity. A revolutionary class pits middle-class capitalists against a proletarian, antithetical class. And yet, the great proletarian thinkers are usually those who drop OUT of the middle class.
Are we forced to choose between integrity and social convention? Choose between passionate being and economic "security" ?
The revolution did not happen in the United States, Great britain, or Germany, where Marx and Engels anticipated it happening, but in 1917 Russia. Was it because the "proletarian" had been enlightened by Dostoevsky?
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I found a passage I had been looking for when I started this thread. It never made it to xhentric.wordpress.com where I was looking for it, but was on a flashdrive where I had saved some of the threads from a previous message board.
... this society ... reproduces to a certain degree only the lives of its faithful members.
The standard of life enjoyed corresponds very closely to the degree to which classes and individuals are essentially bound up with the system. The manager can be relied upon, as can the lesser employee Dagwood - as he is in the comic pages or in real life. Anyone who goes cold and hungry, even if his prospects were once good, is branded. He is an outsider; and, apart from certain capital crimes, the most mortal of sins is to be an outsider.
In films he sometimes, and as an exception, becomes an original, the object of maliciously indulgent humor; but usually he is the villain, and is identified as such at first appearance, long before the action really gets going: hence avoiding any suspicion that society would turn on those of good will. Higher up the scale, in fact, a kind of welfare state is coming into being today. In order to keep their own positions, men in top posts maintain the economy in which a highly-developed technology has in principle made the masses redundant as producers. The workers, the real bread-winners, are fed (if we are to believe the ideology) by the managers of the economy, the fed. Hence the individual's position becomes precarious.
Under liberalism the poor were thought to be lazy; now they are automatically objects of suspicion. Anybody who is not provided for outside should be in a concentration camp, or at any rate in the hell of the most degrading work and the slums.
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It only bothers you the first dozen times. Then it becomes more comical and playful, and you find a new freedom in the certainty of rejection. I've gotten to the point where I find it preferable for those who are going to reject me to do so as fast as possible. You can be attacked just because you're breathing.The revolution did not happen in the United States, Great britain, or Germany, where Marx and Engels anticipated it happening, but in 1917 Russia. Was it because the "proletarian" had been enlightened by Dostoevsky?
Thanks Mr H,this freeboard is my mother lode.
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I am not a misogynist, but I must speak about the elephant in the room when we are talking about consumerism.There maybe exceptions,but they only prove the rule,here is what most women are like-(by Tolstoy,who was no one's fool)-
“What do you mean by the power of women?” I said. “Everybody, on the contrary, complains that women have not sufficient rights, that they are in subjection.”
“That’s it; that’s it exactly,” said he, vivaciously. “That is just what I mean, and that is the explanation of this extraordinary phenomenon.
“But where do you see this exceptional power?”
“Where? Why, everywhere, in everything. Go see the stores in the large cities. There are millions there, millions. It is impossible to estimate the enormous quantity of labor that is expended there. In nine-tenths of these stores is there anything whatever for the use of men? All the luxury of life is demanded and sustained by woman. Count the factories; the greater part of them are engaged in making feminine ornaments. Millions of men, generations of slaves, die toiling like convicts simply to satisfy the whims of our companions.
“Women, like queens, keep nine-tenths of the human race as prisoners of war, or as prisoners at hard labor. They take revenge for our sensuality; they catch us in their nets.
“Yes, the whole thing is there. Women have made of themselves such a weapon to act upon the senses that a young man, and even an old man, cannot remain tranquil in their presence. Watch a popular festival, or our receptions or ball-rooms. Woman well knows her influence there. You will see it in her triumphant smiles.
“As soon as a young man advances toward a woman, directly he falls under the influence of this opium, and loses his head. Long ago I felt ill at ease when I saw a woman too well adorned — whether a woman of the people with her red neckerchief and her looped skirt, or a woman of our own society in her ball-room dress. But now it simply terrifies me. I see in it a danger to men, something contrary to the laws; and I feel a desire to call a policeman, to appeal for defence from some quarter, to demand that this dangerous object be removed.
“And this is not a joke, by any means. I am convinced, I am sure, that the time will come — and perhaps it is not far distant — when the world will understand this, and will be astonished that a society could exist in which actions as harmful as those which appeal to sensuality by adorning the body as our companions do were allowed. As well set traps along our public streets, or worse than that.
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http://youtu.be/O_JEi0HP6xc
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"Why do men fight for their servitude as stubbornly as though it were their salvation?"That is, how is it possible that people cry for "More taxes! Less bread!"
The modern nuclear family is a great evil.
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*Sigh*...don't you know what they say about starting a sentence with,"I am not a misogynist, but..."?
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Hello CS,if you mean this"Any sentence that starts with the words "I'm not prejudiced, but...," or similar formations ("I'm not racist, but..." or "I'm not homophobic," "not sexist," etc.) is likely to contradict itself very rapidly. The technical term for this type of statement is false front, but the colloquial but-head is often used, with or without irony. Saying a sentence that starts with "I'm not X, but..." likely means that you are X.
These words are often spoken in the mistaken belief that simply saying "I'm not prejudiced" is enough to exempt the speaker from responsibility for the offensive comment they are about to make. "
then I am well aware of it.
But sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar you see,I meant exactly what I said-I am not a misogynist,maybe I should have qualified that post by mentioning that in my personal experience all the women I have ever known have been bridezillas,though in theory, I do accept that there maybe exceptions ,you maybe one of the exceptions .In one of your posts your said that you have given up using the make up kit,I admire that,only I have not met any woman in person who's done such a thing.Now I am not absolving men at all,often they spend as much on their shiny worthless gadgets as the women,part of the reason why women doll up is because men expect them to,you rightly mentioned that earlier,so I do sympathise with the women,after a fashion .In the end, we are in a mixed up,muddled up,shook up world,stuck in a vicious circle,the only solution appears to be anti-natalism.
Anyway,judging by the fact that both of us revolve in the same orbit as Mr H means we must be similar as regards the worldview,I do apologise unreservedly if the post offended you in anyway.If I may say so,you posts so far here have been most enlightening.
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Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky sit together in the Winter Palace in the aftermath of Red October, flush with the shock and optimism of their sudden triumph. As they converse, a comrade enters the room to tell them the state police records are on their way. They arrive, a pile of papers documenting the informants of the state. As they page through the stack, their faces darken. They are each astonished by the number of their comrades who were secret informants of the government. Quislings, traitors, and turncoats among their inner circle. They gaze at each other in disbelief. The room quiets. The mirthful mood of the day vanishes beneath the bleak recognition that their solidarity was naïve. Then Lenin leans back in his chair and smiles. Stalin and Trotsky frown at him—nothing is funny about deceit. But Lenin brightens and says, “Don’t you see? It doesn’t matter that the government had infiltrated our ranks. When the tide of history is upon you, resistance is futile.”
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It's not a case of if you offended me, it's how much you offended me...at any rate, I hesitate to start this conversation with you, because I've gone down this same tiresome road countless times before, where a guy posts some hateful, sexist ****, and then tries to tell me he's not a misogynist. In the end, I always end up wasting my time because the guy always refuses to admit any wrongdoing, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
So, because I'm sick to death of peoples' ****, and I can't be bothered to go into yet another pointless battle with some random dude on the internet, let me put this in the simplest terms: If you believe the hateful words you posted (and it's clear to me that you do), then yes, you are a misogynist. Yes. That is the truth of the matter, and I do not accept your seriously flawed justifications for posting such bullShit. A man who honestly isn't a misogynist would never post such words, to begin with!
I find it very sad, disheartening, and depressing that such unbridled hate toward women runs rampant even among men who are supposedly 'free thinkers'. The human race is a truly pathetic species.
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First of all, without getting into a boy/girl debate over which sex is fundamentally most responsible for the current psychological enslavement of the species, I want to agree with the final statement, The human race is a truly pathetic species. I am responding in two posts simultaneously because I want to stay focused, and not just puke up everything in one rant. Yes, our species is pathetic ... a very good point and something we ought not forget for one moment lest we lose our wonderful senses of humor.
Ridiculous is the term I use - in the same family as pathetic, I guess. That's why, in the other thread, I am trying to gel together horror and comedy. The combination is not tragedy ... The combination of horror and comedy is pathos ... that's what I think.
pathos - the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion.
And so as not to be misunderstood, I will explain up front that I am not just talking about "the other members" of this species, the people out there on the highways, the state slaves marching and taking orders, following their chain of command, but my very own being itself. Free-thinker or not ... humble computer geek philosopher or arrogant rich industrialist, we are both pathetic. I refuse to be enslaved in the coffee factory, but, Holy Hot Dog!, when I wake up from sleep (and even throughout the day as long as I'm not guzzling cold beer), I sure do go for that black medicine. I would rather be shot in the head than pick tobacco on a plantation all the hours of all my days, but ... you got tobacco?
So, when we say the human race is a pathetic species, we are talking about ourselves. Let's be clear about this. We are all pathetic and ridiculous ... more or less.
And so, rather than engineering faster and smaller computers and gadgets only geeks understand but the gorts devour as fast as the geeks can pump them out, why not do as Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf, Harry Haller, suggests, and make an end at last of the fat and well dressed and perfumed plutocrats who used the machines to squeeze the fat from other men's bodies, of them and their fiendishly purring automobiles.
Set factories afire at last!
Make a little room on the crippled earth!
Depopulate it so the grass may grow again, and woods, meadows, heather, stream and moor return to this world of dust and concrete.
The principal thing is clear. There is a war on, a violent, genuine and highly sympathetic war where there is no longer any concern for Republic or President, for frontiers, flags, or colors and other equally decorative and theatrical matters, all nonsense at bottom; but a war in which every one who lacked air to breathe and no longer found life exactly pleasing is giving empathetic expression to his/her displeasure and is striving to prepare the way for a general destruction of this iron-cast civilization of ours.
In every eyes I see the unconcealed spark of destruction and murder, and in mine too these wild red roses are blooming as rank and high, and sparkled as brightly. I join the battle joyfully.
In the other thread I will try to explain that, with or without civilization, there most likely has never been and never will be a "good time" to be born human. In this, we all share a common Fate ... It's a bummer to be human, and no amount of merchandise or technological wizardry is going to alter that. So, in such a situation, being content with less and discouraging creating fodder for The Machine seems all one could do to RESIST.
Watching TV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw1Dxo_YE24)
Later I will correct my typos and grammatical errors.
~ just another pathetic unix geek who is sometimes a nervous wreck
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Mike, your last post was quite unnecessary...I clearly stated that I'm not interested in getting into a debate. I'm tired, and my time is much too valuable to waste it on someone who will only refuse to acknowledge his Shitty behavior. I simply stated the truth, and I don't give a **** if someone doesn't like it. As you (or someone you quoted) once said,"the truth is often unpleasant". Also, the truth is not open for debate.
...and yes, humanity is truly pathetic, especially when some its brightest thinkers still harbor irrational hatred toward half of the species, and that any attempts to bring that to light only results in them desperately trying to squash it. Apparently, even the 'truth seekers' aren't willing to deal with some truths.
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Necessary or not, I like to bring some balance to the table, and sense that some bullying might be about to happen here.
So, let me mention a couple of new perspectives on these non-debatable truths.
David Benetar, author of Better Never To Have Been, has authored The Second Sexism (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/420459.article), and Helen Smith wrote a book on why men should boycott marriage: Men On Strike (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/men-on-strike-helen-smith/1113418662?ean=9781594036750)
It's all not so cut and dry. When it comes to resisting consumerist culture, the first step might be to reject marriage and even dating. Why? Well ... as Holden pointed out, some women - not all - don't do much serious thinking and actually promote selling oneself into slavery.
Maybe it is best we get this out on the table.
Misanthropic ... misogynistic ... as tired as you might be of senseless arguments, I have grown tired of being bullied by the use of such terms to silence opinions that offend "half the species". Being labeled misogynistic is as bad as being labeled anti-Semitic ... as if an individual is supposed to repress his or her true feeling just because they are viewed as incorrect. ::)
All I am saying is, now that Holden has expressed these sentiments by quoting some neurotic Russian author, maybe it's worth exploring - as it relates to resisting consumerism and the gort lifestyle.
You know, come to think of it, Schopenhauer has been accused of being the poster child of misogyny, but if one looks more closely at his criticisms, one sees that he is speaking out against the high society women, and that he displays compassion towards the women who are forced to serve them.
Who knows?
What about when one becomes drunk and expresses sentiments that are totally contrary to what they perceive as their persona? Never forget that we have been schooled to say what people want to hear.
Do you want us to tell you what you want to hear or do you want to know how we really feel?
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...that's seriously what you think? You think I'm 'bullying' Holden? Wow. You've GOT to be kidding me. Well, I guess you feel he needs your protection, since it's obvious the poor thing can't stand up for himself with those incredibly weak arguments he gave me for posting that ****.
You think your 'new perspectives' are actually new to me? Ha! In fact, I agree that dating and marriage is often a bad deal for BOTH sexes. You don't have to tell me that most PEOPLE (both men and women, to make sure this is clear enough for you) don't ever engage in any serious thought. In fact, it's starting to look like you're not interested in engaging in any serious thought about this matter, since you're trying so damn hard to shut me up.
So I'm not allowed to get offended when someone posts blatantly hateful words about my gender? Would you say the same if Holden had posted hateful things about blacks? I highly doubt it, especially since they're your 'chosen people'! You'd have him banned, in a heartbeat! Why does everyone think it's still perfectly acceptable to hate women?
Well, since you think that the **** Holden posted is all fine and dandy, I'm certainly not going to stick around. Nice to know that you've always secretly hated me. Some 'free thinker' you are. ::)
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I see. Well, I will tweak the system to allow guests to post in case you want to object to anything else our free thinking might lead us to write.
Of course, if we get hit with spam, you know, advertisements for **** medication or links to pornography, I'll have to switch it back to prevent guests from posting.
I don't hate you Crazy Squirrel. I've been punched in the face by some people, and while I don't like them in the least after such physical abuse, I don't really hate them. I kind of like you, actually ... but you have every right to deprive us of your presence if you feel the reference to Tolstoy's works was offensive. We're bound to come up with stuff that is even more offensive than that. No thought control. ???
chosen people? I only mentioned that the conditions of the inner cities are horrific ... even worse than the "Indian" reservations ... :-[
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OK Holden ... I will keep sharing the gems I have gathered from other renegades. I was able to salvage a few. The next one flies in the face of those confused space monkeys who equate "unemployed" with "lazy" --- I can attest that some days I am busy, busy, busy from morning and into the night. Blaze was on point. I had traveled 3000 miles from my monkey zone, and I was very "homesick" --- fortunately I had a message board (it lasted from 2008 to the start of 2014), and there were a handful of people pulling me through difficult (homeless) days. The library was a very spiritual place for me then, and there were these people who were actually aware and concerned about my well-being on a day to day level. Even though they were not in my "monkey sphere" physically, they were more of a help to me than the monkeys in my daily routine.
November 2009
I want to add a comment about the "hard working" trait in the bullet list. There is often talk on here about people being proud of being lazy. But I think hard-working and lazy are relative concepts. I don't actually think that anyone here is that lazy. Many people on this forum spend a great deal of time researching things on the internet and writing about them. If they were being paid for these activities in an employment context they would be "researchers" and "writers". Others on this board have other hobbies and interests. Even if people do nothing at all, they are thinking deep thoughts. So when someone says "hard working" keep in mind that this may not be meant in the employment good-little-gort respect, but can also be interpreted as 'dedicated" and "passionate" to non-commercial interests. There are dedicated and passionate people in this forum, and to that extent they are "hard working" in their own personal endeavors if you ask me. We shouldn't blankly smear the term hard-working any more than we should praise the term lazy. Some lazy people are just dumb thoughtless ignorant assholes (and if they are geniuses, then they aren't lazy intellectually speaking).
_________________
Blame the state of the world on positive thinkers.
" How long would authority ... exist, if not for the willingness of the masses to become soldiers, policemen, jailers, and hangmen."
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Necessary? Unnecessary? Is anything really necessary? Before I continue populating this message board with some old ideas, I am compelled to make one thing clear ...
You think I'm 'bullying' Holden? Wow. You've GOT to be kidding me. Well, I guess you feel he needs your protection, since it's obvious the poor thing can't stand up for himself with those incredibly weak arguments he gave me for posting that ****.
That **** is classic literature. This message board was inspired by a series of interesting emails going back and forth between Holden and I. This thread is about resisting consumerism, and that Tolstoy excerpt suggests that entire industries are promoted by certain types of women. To be fair, yes, there are entire industries promoted by certain types of men as well ... I think George Carlin listed them in one of his books, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? The gun/hunting culture, the automobile pick-up-truck culture, the sports culture, golfing, tennis, the macho gang culture, and yes, the drug/alcohol culture, and on and on ... So, yes, to be fair ... that might have been included. Well, we include them now. Too late I see. She has left the building.
Like George Carlin, Crazy Squirrel doesn't have pet peeves. She has major psychotic **** hatreds. I should have seen that coming. Very temperamental when it comes to hating on women. The ironic thing is that a gort is a gort is a gort, whether male or female. When a herd of consumers tramples a poor worker in some mega-store, both sexes are represented.
"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."
"People are **** nuts. This country is full of nitwits and assholes. You ever notice that? Nitwits, assholes, fuckups, scumbags, jerkoffs, and dipShits. And they all vote. In fact, sometimes you get the impression that they’re the only ones who vote."
"Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it."
"Here’s all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid."
(George Carlin)
Back to the thread. We are pointing out ways to resist consumerism.
Yes, our species is pathetic ... a very good point and something we ought not forget for one moment lest we lose our wonderful senses of humor.
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Wow, did that thread get side-tracked or what? :-\
I have heard similar squabbles caused grief during the Beat and Natural Power Movements of the sixties and seventies. Today, I see myself sitting on the sidelines so as not to get accused of "man splainin'" ... Anyway, I am going to go through this thread again. Maybe it needs to be split into two different topics.
For starters, I will steer the thread into its origins with a song and the seed post.
Silverchair - Tomorrow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZD982yrmx4)
An Introduction to the Thread
This topic was inspired by a flash of insight I experienced when Crazy Squirrel immediately understood my indifferent attitude concerning propaganda about some arbitrary Jersey Shore town "shaping up." This validation of my gut level feelings triggered a moment of clarity for me. I'll try to do some thinking about it while I am coherent.
First, back up a little.
Like this message board itself, this subject/topic is a tangent off of Number Six's "Boycott Amazon" post. I know the people shudder at the thought of boycotting Amazon.com since, well, they can get a printer cartridge for a fraction of what they would pay in the stores or directly from the retailer. Principles, principles, principles ... ethics, ethic, ethics ... solidarity ... what's solidarity?
OK. The subject is RESISTANCE in a consumerist society.
Under the video about working conditions at Amazon (and other such warehouses behind the scenes) there is one comment that hits the nail on the head: “Middle-class people who defend such labor practices are the Uncle Toms of the 21 century.”
That’s why, with Ignatius Reilly, I say, “Down with the middle class! The middle class must go!”
It’s just such a relief to cop such an attitude since the middle class is supposed to be the salt of the earth. Or … building up the reputation of a town by building high-priced luxury apartments for young urban professionals (yuppies) … Then people talking about how the town is really “shaping up.”
Crazy Squirrels two cents: "Ugh…when people speak of a neighborhood ‘shaping up’, I sigh heavily and roll my eyes. ‘Shaping up’ = ****ing boring, after all. Blech!"
It is amazing to me that you totally understood what I was getting at. Yes, “shaping up” = “boring” – I think that must be it.
“Shaping up” implies “you have to spend money in yuppie establishments in order to be ‘having fun’” – even though it is all make-believe fun!
“Shaping up” means “those freaks who have conversations by the trees in the park next to the library will be harassed by the hired guns of the corporate state”.
“Shaping up” = those of you who are unemployed will eventually be arrested on some trumped up “disorderly conduct” charge then coerced into an “outpatient treatment program” where brains will be bombarded with “positive thinking therapy groups” which will make you want to drink yourself to death. Heeheehee. Shaping up …
"Clean up your act …. shave the beard off, get the rotten teeth pulled, and wear dentures … Maybe blend in …"
UGH!
Here's a rhetorical question: Isn't the point moot if one boycotts with no money to spend in the first place? ::) :D :-\
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It's okay,I can access the webpage now.
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“Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn't see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love.
Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will.
At least the ancient Greeks were being honest.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby
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It was supposed to be the start of the peak Christmas shopping season. But across Britain yesterday, stores were left looking more like a battlefield as Black Friday frenzy took hold. Shoppers fought – in some cases literally – to get the best bargains.
At Asda’s flagship store in Wembley, a smartly dressed young woman clung frantically to a 40in Polaroid TV which had been reduced by £80 as a group of young teens tried to wrestle it away from her.
Witnesses told how bargain-hunters behaved ‘like animals’ and likened scenes to ‘a war zone’ as police were called to restore order at many stores, including Tesco branches in Edmonton, Willesden and Surrey Quays in London.
Queues had formed before midnight as many retailers, who had heavily advertised Black Friday savings, opened early.
But police were called to a Tesco in Wigan at 11.37pm on Thursday - before it had even opened- after reports that several hundred people were trying to break down the doors before the official midnight opening time.
Another Tesco store, in Manchester, had to be closed just 36 minutes after opening due to fighting, while another customer was arrested on suspicion of assault in the Salford branch after allegedly telling a staff member that he would 'smash their face in'.
Two other customers were arrested for public order offences by officers in Manchester, who dealt with some of the worst scenes of violence on the biggest day of discount shopping in the year.
As the discounting frenzy reached fever pitch, there were also reports of staff being left in tears in Cardiff, while another female staff member was apparently given a black eye following a melee in Stretford.
http://youtu.be/hCde_YnJURA
---------------------------------------------
Walmart workers are staging protests in front of the stores across the nation on Black Friday morning. The unofficial consumer holiday is the most important day of the year, when Walmart workers and their supporters are hoping to bring to attention their low wages, part-time schedules and unfair treatment.
“That’s a huge business day, so yes, you always have to work on the holidays. That’s a given,” said Marie Kanger-Born, a Walmart worker from Chicago, Illinois. “That’s not our big issue. Our issue is what goes on in the stores every single day. The thing is that’s their big day – that might be the only day we can get their attention.”
Sometimes all I have money for is a can of tuna and crackers
This year’s protests by Walmart workers will kick off on Thanksgiving with a 24-hour fast by 12 protesters. The fast, which is protesting the hunger suffered by some Walmart workers who can’t afford food, will be staged outside a Los Angeles store.
One of the workers participating in the fast is Richard Reynoso, an overnight stocker at the Duarte, California store. Reynoso is one of those workers who cannot afford to purchase three meals a day. As a result, he only eats once a day on his lunch break.
“Sometimes all I have money for is a can of tuna and crackers,” he said.
http://youtu.be/K4jDx-sM_lU
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Reflecting on the behavior of the masses almost makes me sympathize with ... individual police officers. :o Not as far as authentic riots for social justice goes, but riots over sales on TVs and iPods or riots over farkin' football/soccer/hockey games ... Christ Almighty!
Paradox? Contradiction?
What a catastrophe mass-industrialized consumer society is!
Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn't see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love.
Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will. At least the ancient Greeks were being honest.
― Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby
So, the question still remains, Are the gorts innocent dupes?
corporate avenger (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-B7MMp6n9M)
I certainly do sympathize with the employees. I would not want my mother to be trampled by hordes of gorts. In the only letter I ever received from the woman who called herself Crazy Squirrel here, she offered me a heartfelt diatribe against having any kind of compassion for "the masses". The Black Friday Phenomenon is a practically perfect proof validating her viewpoint.
This ties into the final lines of "Madness Theory (http://whybother.freeboards.org/what-now/madness-theory/msg600/#msg600)" :
I can no longer accept ignorance on the part of the masses
As the explanation of fascism – I demand an explanation
That takes into account the desires of the masses
Masses of desiring-machines asking for repression
Not only for others – but also for themselves.
We speak of the masses, the deluded masses -
No! This may not be the case at all
The gorts are not the innocent dupes
We may have thought them to be
Under a certain set of conditions
They want fascism, they desire chains
Chains for me, chains for you,
and worst of all, chains for themselves
But I sense the masses are not innocent dupes
It is the perversion of the desire
Of the masses that needs to be accounted for
If we are to at least be conscious
Of the bars of our cages as we address
The rulers and wardens and guards and bosses
Here in the Prison Colony of s-h-i-t-ting Machines
As you wake up to your true nature,
You will be like a mute who has had a dream,
but is unable to talk about it.
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An entry I made in my "journal" at the end of February before my disappearance:
While at the library I realized that, with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, graduating with honors from the State University of Rutgers, along with nearly a decade of experience as a park maintenance worker for the State Park Service, although I have some emotional "issues" and "behavioral quirks," I could be of great assistance to the librarians at the Asbury Park Public Library in a wide range of capacities.
WARNING: Remember Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces when Ignatius got a job at the library? He not only got fired after just 2 weeks. They revoked his library card!
___________________________________________________________________
Update: May 2015
Also recall in the film, Henry Fool, when Henry asked his parole officer if he had any leads on jobs at the school. The parole officer said it was very difficult ... with his criminal record ...
:-\
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Make No Mistake!
I Will Not Compromise.
I Will Not Comply.
I Will Not Submit.
I Will Not Break.
I Will Not Roll Over.
I Will Not Sit Down.
I Will Not Shut Up.
I Will Not Go Quietly.
I Will Not Give Up.
I Will Not Surrender!
I Will Stand For Truth.
https://youtu.be/_ni2uiRuF0k
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But he who is hated by the people, as the wolf by the dogs - is the free spirit, the enemy of fetters, the non-adorer, the dweller in the woods.
People like you & I,without a wife & kids to support,are the only ones who can give reply in kind to the corporations.The other day,one of the boss-man was saying openly" I really want all the employees to be married & have at least a couple of kids, that way there's no way out for them,nilly-willy they've got to stick around"
That's why I am such an eyesore to the slave-owner,I need to feed no one but myself,I don't need their garbage filled malls,so I make them feel insecure.
This may be a key factor in the stance of an Absurdo-Rejectionist: a general rejection of marriage and traditional employment as a way of life. When one does not aspire to play these roles, gort society appears to have to categorize the refusenicks as either mentally ill or criminal or just somehow "broken machinery" and a drain on the war-machine economy.
How can they make money selling status symbols as credentials if one does not live to please?
I pity those who have just willy-nilly gone from one master to another. I pity those who defer to the opinions of "relatives" or "work-associates".
I have become the strange deviant character in a Dostoevsky novel, the one who would prefer to live simply without car, wife, or children rather than have to grovel for the approval of so-called superiors or be obliged to "pretend to believe in God and country" so as not to "corrupt the children with my subversive ideas". ::)
I used to use an analogy having to do with fish caught in a net observing those fish outside of the net. Those caught in the net felt smugly superior, claiming that the fish outside the net lacked the qualities the fishermen desired, and so they were not "chosen". ;D
If you think about this, this analogy, while at first sounding far fetched, really does hit the mark.
Think about the smug sense of superiority the employed feel towards the unemployed ... "untouchables" ... And to never have been married raises suspicions about one's sexuality or simply implies one is an undesirable "catch".
Well, when someone wants a dog to pull their fat ass around in a sled, the last thing they want on their "crew" is a wolf.
What was Nietzsche's quote? I swear, my entire life, while I have not really admired his writings, feeling he was, as Cioran says, a boy whistling in the dark, I do respect the non-conformist lifestyle he led. Let's not passively wait until the gorts lock us in an asylum for defending an animal or crying in public before realizing that wolves should not be made to feel inadequate for failing to thrive in a dog society.
The Famous Wise Ones
The people have ye served and the people's superstition—not the truth!—all ye famous wise ones! And just on that account did they pay you reverence.
And on that account also did they tolerate your unbelief, because it was a pleasantry and a by-path for the people. Thus doth the master give free scope to his slaves, and even enjoyeth their presumptuousness.
But he who is hated by the people, as the wolf by the dogs—is the free spirit, the enemy of fetters, the non-adorer, the dweller in the woods.
To hunt him out of his lair—that was always called "sense of right" by the people: on him do they still hound their sharpest-toothed dogs.
"For there the truth is, where the people are! Woe, woe to the seeking ones!"—thus hath it echoed through all time.
Your people would ye justify in their reverence: that called ye "Will to Truth," ye famous wise ones!
And your heart hath always said to itself: "From the people have I come: from thence came to me also the voice of God."
Stiff-necked and artful, like the ass, have ye always been, as the advocates of the people.
And many a powerful one who wanted to run well with the people, hath harnessed in front of his horses—a donkey, a famous wise man.
And now, ye famous wise ones, I would have you finally throw off entirely the skin of the lion!
The skin of the beast of prey, the speckled skin, and the dishevelled locks of the investigator, the searcher, and the conqueror!
Ah! for me to learn to believe in your "conscientiousness," ye would first have to break your venerating will.
Conscientious—so call I him who goeth into God-forsaken wildernesses, and hath broken his venerating heart.
In the yellow sands and burnt by the sun, he doubtless peereth thirstily at the isles rich in fountains, where life reposeth under shady trees.
But his thirst doth not persuade him to become like those comfortable ones: for where there are oases, there are also idols.
Hungry, fierce, lonesome, God-forsaken: so doth the lion-will wish itself.
Free from the happiness of slaves, redeemed from deities and adorations, fearless and fear-inspiring, grand and lonesome: so is the will of the conscientious.
In the wilderness have ever dwelt the conscientious, the free spirits, as lords of the wilderness; but in the cities dwell the well-foddered, famous wise ones—the draught-beasts.
For, always do they draw, as asses—the people's carts!
Not that I on that account upbraid them: but serving ones do they remain, and harnessed ones, even though they glitter in golden harness.
And often have they been good servants and worthy of their hire. For thus saith virtue: "If thou must be a servant, seek him unto whom thy service is most useful!
The spirit and virtue of thy master shall advance by thou being his servant: thus wilt thou thyself advance with his spirit and virtue!"
And verily, ye famous wise ones, ye servants of the people! Ye yourselves have advanced with the people's spirit and virtue—and the people by you! To your honour do I say it!
But the people ye remain for me, even with your virtues, the people with purblind eyes—the people who know not what spirit is!
Spirit is life which itself cutteth into life: by its own torture doth it increase its own knowledge,—did ye know that before?
And the spirit's happiness is this: to be anointed and consecrated with tears as a sacrificial victim,—did ye know that before?
And the blindness of the blind one, and his seeking and groping, shall yet testify to the power of the sun into which he hath gazed,- did ye know that before?
And with mountains shall the discerning one learn to build! It is a small thing for the spirit to remove mountains,—did ye know that before?
Ye know only the sparks of the spirit: but ye do not see the anvil which it is, and the cruelty of its hammer!
Verily, ye know not the spirit's pride! But still less could ye endure the spirit's humility, should it ever want to speak!
And never yet could ye cast your spirit into a pit of snow: ye are not hot enough for that! Thus are ye unaware, also, of the delight of its coldness.
In all respects, however, ye make too familiar with the spirit; and out of wisdom have ye often made an alms-house and a hospital for bad poets.
Ye are not eagles: thus have ye never experienced the happiness of the alarm of the spirit. And he who is not a bird should not camp above abysses.
Ye seem to me lukewarm ones: but coldly floweth all deep knowledge. Ice-cold are the innermost wells of the spirit: a refreshment to hot hands and handlers.
Respectable do ye there stand, and stiff, and with straight backs, ye famous wise ones!—no strong wind or will impelleth you.
Have ye ne'er seen a sail crossing the sea, rounded and inflated, and trembling with the violence of the wind?
Like the sail trembling with the violence of the spirit, doth my wisdom cross the sea—my wild wisdom!
But ye servants of the people, ye famous wise ones—how could ye go with me!—
Thus spake Zarathustra.
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Ernesto Che Guevara: [addressing the United Nations in Spanish] Executions? Yes, we have executed. We execute, and we'll continue to execute.
[upon hearing that Batista has fled Cuba]
Ernesto Che Guevara: Nobody is going home on leave. We have only won the war. The revolution has just begun.Ours is a fight to the death.
Leper from San Pablo: Why did you want to be a doctor?
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: I wanted to be useful, somehow.
Leper from San Pablo: You're wasting your time.
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: Why?
Leper from San Pablo: Life is pain.
https://youtu.be/dfAHv5o6jpQ
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https://youtu.be/NIFh5MTMgq4
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https://youtu.be/NCj_3sWFz10
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https://youtu.be/-QI2oJYsjeQ
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No,my friend,its not morbid-its the reality.I'm the corpse that rides a bicycle. I remember that apart from playing drums & doing math ,you also like to run in the forest.
Well,recently I have rediscovered bicycling! One of my cousins recently bought a big gas guzzler( he also has a trophy wife who never gets along with his mom),while I have stopped going to office in my motorcycle & have started using bicycle instead!
Riding makes me feel so much better than being in a cubicle.I get strangest/ deepest of thoughts
when I am riding.
Don't let the bastards get you down!
Maybe one day I will ride right out of office on my bicycle forever!
https://youtu.be/b73K9c0_UW8
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The idea had been growing in my brain for some time: TRUE force.
https://youtu.be/zKbgw2aK_eU
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It makes me feel like I should at least do some push-ups in the morning ... :-\ BEFORE my first cigarette ...
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We need to drink Pepsi while fighting Capitalism? Finally,we get the missing piece which completes the puzzle ::)
https://youtu.be/73P9STckPLw
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live bold? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn8pwoNWseM)
I would have been more impressed if she had handed the copper a joint, eh?
Live and learn. The corporate machine will sell us T-Shirts and beer ...
Look at "rock and roll" and the band, KISS, Gene Simmons and their ilk selling the kids dolls ... the "hip hop" kings owning clothing factories selling merchandise. What a joke. Then there is the "John Lennon was not John Lennon" phenomenon ...
Shalonda is not Shalonda ... and nothing that is so, is so.
The Beatles go to India and George Harrison plays the sitar ... blowing the people's minds ... "far out, man" ... Sometimes they get it right.
In a way, Schopenhauer did something similar ... and it made his day when he found the ancient scholars of India confirmed so many of his own conclusions about our predicament.
one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXXxjueDU60)
two (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2dMSfmUJec)
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On the TV news here on Turtle Island, we now see coverage of two different camps of protesters: small bands of "pro-Trump" demonstrators," and huge groups of anti-Trump anti-demonstrators, with the police force between them to stem back the "civil" street wars.
I am reminded of Naturyl's (Q) post from the whywork.org forum years:
Incidentally, I did the Occupy thing in Tampa, even slept out on the streets once. But I ultimately became disillusioned with it. I wrote a powerful document for them (no false modesty, ala Mike) and they ignored it because I wasn't part of the "in-clique." Yes, even "outsider" groups have "in-cliques." Always.
Plus, Occupy really isn't accomplishing much. So they got banks to cancel a $5 debit card fee or something. Whoopty-doo! Way to go in abolishing capitalism. What we really need is something like a 30 day worldwide general strike, just for starters. Wealthy college kids and hippies holding signs won't cut it.
What Occupy offered, briefly, was hope. And even though we all know where that leads, I think we were all spellbound, at least for a little while.
I'm sorry to say that I am indifferent to such protests. I feel as though my day to day life is a spontaneous unorganized protest against the idea of participating in the "community."
After a farmer's club meeting, which was filled with petty complaints and back-biting, outside in the parking lot, as a man who I noticed in the past has one companion, a dog, who was asked to leave the farm area as "no dogs allowed," was getting into his vehicle, I said, "What a species, huh?"
He said, "You know, there's a part of me that is glad our species is on its way out [meaning, facing extinction via the collapse of civilization with massive die-off]."
I said, "Ah, a species traitor, huh?"
He drove off.
It's strange when we become our own one man march, marching to the beat of our own drum, passing through life in quiet desperation, feeling totally disconnected from the Left as well as the Right.
They used to say, the revolution won't be televised.
I've seen the so-called revolution. They are selling beer and T-shirts.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us for not giving a SHiit about anything other than satisfying the primitive demands of biological necessity.
I will not pretend to be some kind of radical revolutionary. I am just another alienated, neurotic, self-absorbed symbolic creature. My obsession with mathematics is a distraction, yes. I am attempting to "program" the brain of the Creature-in-itself to "understand" ... and while it is not always pleased with having its head crammed with mathematical ideas, on some level it is well aware that such an "addiction to studying" is far better for its mental health than other alternatives, such as, well, you know, booze, drugs, employment, incarceration.
If too many people wanted to lay around studying mathematics every day, day after day, for years, for decades, well, I suppose it would have to be called a General Strike, and then it would be declared a disease of the mind - the math junkies would require rehabilitation and mass scale corrections; but as long as this desire to study in not too contagious, the zoo keepers may see someone who is devoted to this kind of constant "book learning" as harmless, and this is a good thing. So I am a harmless autodidact who is no threat to the System, who is fed by the System as a recipient of government relief funds. Surprisingly, it is very liberating to just accept my status as a kind of "ward of the State."
"The 99%" are 99% motivated not by any real desire to tank the system and start fresh with something better, but rather by a resentment that not everyone can afford big Tee Vees and the glorious "middle class" lifestyle. And really, by publicly affirming the value and legitimacy of such a lifestyle, they are doing as much harm as good. Most of the 99% are upset because they aren't being given the chance to exploit with the big boys.
The media, as usual, is a barrel of laughs, trying to paint the protesters as "anarchists" and the like. Yeah, right. Most are as jawb-trained as anyone else and just want everyone to have a well-paying "yaab" and the ability to consume crapola more prodigiously, like good "middle class" people ought to.
While everyone in America is obsessed with "creating jobs" and "saving the middle class," I'd rather do away with both. I doubt anyone will turn out with signs in support of that. And it's also why I stopped turning out in support of the "Occupy" movement.
As Holden mentions somewhere else in that thread, there is a new freedom in the certainty of rejection. One may have received too much education and thereby is determined to be "over-qualified" for the janitorial position which is the only job available. Management types will be hesitant to hire someone who might infect the staff with anti-authoritarian ideas; or, worse still, you may be accepted by management but a magnet for psychological abuse from co-workers who sense your abnormal qualities and characteristics.
So, if the government has a program for those who not only experience social anxiety in the work place, but may actually prove to be difficult employees to "manage," then it makes sense to humbly accept one's role as unemployable, and interpret this arrangement with a sense of humor and even a little pride in being such a reject. For the ultimate reasons behind our refusal to be assimilated into the corporate way of life may be a reflection of our virtuous characteristics, and not, as is commonly assumed, our defects.
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'Normal' men design ever more sophisticated means to persuade other 'normal' men to buy stuff they did not know they needed, with money they have not got, to impress people they do not know.
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To avoid the status anxiety of not being of or belonging to "the right social class", the consumer establishes a personal identity (social, economic, cultural) that is defined and expressed by the commodities (goods and services) that he or she buys, owns, and uses; the domination of things that communicate the "correct signals" of social prestige, of belonging. The Society of the Spectacle is the ultimate form of social alienation that occurs when a person views his or her being (self) as a commodity that can be bought and sold, because he or she regards every human relation as a (potential) business transaction.
well said (from this post (http://whybother.freeboards.org/why-work/resistance-in-consumerist-society/msg68/#msg68))
Do you suspect that many of the gorts view their own wives (or husbands) and children as "commodities"? I suspect many succumb to the pressure to "communicate the correct signals" of social prestige" by getting married (or at least having a significant other) and even then reproducing just to appear to be leading some illusory "happy life". HA!
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What Ligotti writes about so aptly in Conspiracy, Baudrillard also attacks. From The Consumer Society (bold emphasis is mine):
The Fun System or Enforced Enjoyment
One of the strongest proofs that the principle and finality of consumption is not enjoyment or pleasure is that that is now something which is forced upon us, something institutionalized, not as a right or a pleasure, but as the duty of the citizen.
The puritan regarded himself, his own person, as a business to be made to prosper for the greater glory of God. His 'personal' qualities, his 'character', which he spent his life producing, were for him a capital to be invested opportunely, to be managed without speculation or waste. Conversely, but in the same way, consumerist man [l'hommeconsommateur] regards enjoyment as an obligation; he sees himself as an enjoyment and satisfaction business. He sees it as his duty to be happy, loving, adulating/adulated, charming/charmed, participative, euphoric and dynamic. This is the principle of maximizing existence by multiplying contacts and relationships, by intense use of signs and objects, by systematic exploitation of all the potentialities of enjoyment.
There is no question for the consumer, for the modern citizen, of evading this enforced happiness and enjoyment, which is the equivalent in the new ethics of the traditional imperative to labour and produce. Modern man spends less and less of his life in production within work and more and more of it in the production and continual innovation of his own needs and well-being. He must constantly see to it that all his potentialities, all his consumer capacities are mobilized. If he forgets to do so, he will be gently and insistently reminded that he has no right not to be happy. It is not, then, true that he is passive. He is engaged in - has to engage in - continual activity. If not, he would run the risk of being content with what he has and becoming asocial.
Three cheers for asociality!
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... the risk of being content with what he has.
Believe it or not, the entire motivation behind my current obsession with studying math (and "spontaneous" computer programming that is nearly always inspired by mathematics) is grounded in an experiment in which I try to see how much (subtle) fulfillment can be attained simply in the practice of devoting myself to a small library of texts. I wanted to see if I could "get over" on my own desire for inebriation, intoxication, "musical entertainment," etc ...
I noticed that it took a great deal to maintain any kind of buzz or high, and that the more I chased or WANTED to be in that zone, the more I NEEDED the liqour store.
Imagine being content to work through a math textbook! What? No Van Halen concert?
When I behold our society, especially how they worship sports teams, I am proud to be asocial. I still identify with those who drink alone, those who do their drugs alone. My experiement was to see if I might be able to make math textbooks, computers, notebooks, and pencils my PARAPHENELIA.
What I mean by "getting over" is the feeling of being as content as possible without feeling I am missing out on anything. I don't care who is getting high as a kite ... No matter how much money anyone throws at the bar, no matter how many dollars are put in the juke box, eventually the money runs out and there is only Empty Space.
While I am surely attached to my regiment of study to the point that I become quite anxious if prevented from having a good chunk of time to myself to study, to work on my "math notes," it is nothing compared to the wretched misery of jonesing for another blast, another drink, etc.
The cool thing is that I am under no obligation to "enjoy" it, studying math, that is. I am not obligated to love it as though it were my religion. I just happen to be most content when permitted to follow my bliss, even if my bliss is not all that enjoyable, entertaining, or "fun."
That's the key, isn't it?
Many years ago, I recall some women in the office at the park inquiring as to what I did for fun. At the time, I suppose I was studying math and reading Schopenhauer. I found the question insulting. I am not obligated to have "fun."
When trapped in a doctor's office, when I am forced to hear the TV in the corner, I become irritated by the "common hype" about how people are supposed to be looking to get married or at least find some kind of partner to "do things with," to go on vacations, to spend that money they earn while kissing a-ss at their jobs.
The whole mentality makes me sick, and - I repeat, I am proud to be asocial.
Like Ignatius Reilly of Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, I have great contempt for the values of mainstream society, especially celebrity culture.
To be content just to have a little room where I can store my books and my notes.
One of the main agents for spreading the warped values of consumerist society is the TV and the whole media machine. Maybe it is a blessing not to have an abundance of wealth. I mean, as I tried to explain earlier in this post, extracting a life from simply devoting myself to studying some special old mathematics texts is really in radical defiance of the consumerist celebrity culture, the "Dancing with the Stars," all the talent competitions --- it's all such inane hyperbole ... the rewards ceremonies, etc. ::)
At what point do we celebrate our outsider status? At what point do we allow ourselves to appreciate being one of the fish outside the net? I mean, when do we flip the script and rejoice to be useless and unknown?
Why must we pay everlasting regard to the opinions of others? I am fed up with reading the stupid things people write, such as, "Why do so many smart people amount to nothing? (https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-high-IQ-people-amount-to-nothing)"
They just don't get it, do they? They don't comprehend that "amounting to something" often involves being one of the many fish who swim directly into a giant net and then strut around as though they were "selected or chosen" rather than "captured."
They think the fish outside the net are jealous of those being hauled up into the boat and served for dinner.
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Some years back ,as a part of a recruitment team, I visited a city and there was a woman in the team who literally could not stay in her hotel room for one second. The "Fun Schedule" apparently constituted of visiting one restaurant after another.Most men are no better.
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The Harvard community has made this article openly available: Consumerism, Conformity, and Uncritical Thinking in America (https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8846775/Frantz%2C_Gregory.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) (102 pages)
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https://www.deathbycar.info/ (https://www.deathbycar.info/)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqdsNxS_fk8
George points out that most sociopaths have "high self-esteem" ...
I do not believe in self-esteem, high or low: https://youtu.be/YqdsNxS_fk8?t=926
(when political ideas [self-esteem movement] crash and burn and end up in the shit house)
George lists those guilty parties all-too-full-of-shit: https://youtu.be/YqdsNxS_fk8?t=229
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqx8kS2GyDc&t=88s
On Feminism in the Age of Consumption (https://csrn.camden.rutgers.edu/newsletters/11-1/cole_crossley.htm)
"The largest growing economic force in the world isn't China or India -- it's women. The earning power of women globally is expected to reach $18 trillion by 2014 -- a $5 trillion rise for current income, according to World Bank estimates. That is more than twice the estimated 2014 GDP of China and India combined" (Voigt 2009)
The above quote from an article posted on CNN.com, titled “Women: Saviors of the world economy?” reflects heightened attention to both the earning power and spending power of today’s women.
This situation today is far removed from Virigina Woolf’s plea for a “room of [her] own,” in that it is not about having freedom from patriarchal control in society, it is about having the freedom and power to acquire the goods that one wants in service of projecting an independent image and lifestyle. Problematically, for most women consumers today, as with most consumers of any gender, consumption is hardly an act of empowerment, but rather an act that creates debt and further binds one to the exploitative system of global capitalism and finance.
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Heads up: Philosophy in Rags: The Individual: Houellebecq and Gnosticism (https://spikemagazine.com/philosophy-in-rags-the-individual-houellebecq-and-gnosticism/)
Hugh Graham concludes his exploration of Houellebecq’s terrain with the Stoic imperative to “bear up and do without”.
Identity and difference are not to be found in race, culture or religion, but in the single personality with its traumas, extravagances, defects and obsessions, the very things the right-thinking, therapeutic modern world would purge.