Elsewhere (258)
Tim Newman on the bigotry of low expectations:
When I was in Melbourne, some government body or other put on a display of “Aboriginal culture” in Federation Square and advertised it all over town. I guessed in advance that it would consist of a bunch of primitives sat around bashing drums while metropolitan white folk looked on as if they were visiting a zoo. Child-like art would be on display wrapped in copious quantities of mumbo-jumbo. I passed by one Saturday afternoon and sure enough, that’s exactly what it was.
And somewhat related, William Buckner on the ‘noble savage’ fantasy, and the rather less charming realities:
Comparatively little attention has been given to the risk of ‘traveller’s diarrhoea’ common among hunter-gatherers. For mobile groups, infants, the elderly, and other vulnerable individuals have little opportunity to develop resistance to local pathogens. This may help explain why infant and child mortality among hunter-gatherers tends to be so high. Across hunter-gatherer societies, only about 57% of children born survive to the age of 15. Sedentary populations of forager-horticulturalists, and acculturated hunter-gatherers, have a greater number of children surviving into adulthood, with 64% and 67%, respectively, surviving to the age of 15.
Ah, but we must politely overlook the tedium and illiteracy, the malnutrition and dehydration, the alarming levels of child mortality, murder and infanticide, the sharply truncated lifespans, the child rape, and the delights of stone-age dentistry. We must see only how egalitarian and vibrant these exotic creatures are, if you squint and tilt your head, and then carefully turn away while the other stuff takes place.
And if you think such fantasies are confined to the distant past, consider the Utopian ruminations of Guardian columnist George Monbiot, whose urge to romanticise The Other – especially if The Other is brown and poor, and unable to challenge his bizarre worldview – is a thing to behold:
It is impossible not to notice that, in some of the poorest parts of the world, most people, most of the time, appear to be happier than we are. In southern Ethiopia, for example, the poorest half of the poorest nation on earth, the streets and fields crackle with laughter. In homes constructed from packing cases and palm leaves, people engage more freely, smile more often, express more affection than we do behind our double glazing, surrounded by remote controls.
That’s right. Forget about sanitation and drudgery, and the limited options in life. Think instead of how happy these Ethiopian peasants are, these beings we should emulate, with their quaint little shelters made of leaves and packing cases. It’s just so adorable. And not a single remote control to harsh the egalitarian buzz. Like his Guardian colleague Oliver James – another anhedonic hypocrite stressed by the contradictions of being a well-heeled middle-class lefty – Mr Monbiot wants us to believe that “wealth causes misery.” Yes, wealth is bad for “us” – by which of course he means bad for you.
As usual, feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments.
“Public debates about freedom of expression, while valuable, can have a silencing effect on the free speech of other members of the public.”
They really seem to desperately want some sort of forceful pushback so they can claim victimhood. How much idiocy is society expected to put up with?
“Public debates about freedom of expression, while valuable, can have a silencing effect on the free speech of other members of the public.”
In other words, they know they will likely lose the debate when their views are presented in a public forum that they can’t control.
The writer is the engineer of the human soul.
Possibly.
Although I find it more likely to be the vast network of informers with a direct hotline to squadrons of secret police with powers to make individuals (and their families) vanish in the middle of the night that are doing much of the heavy lifting.
Men are afraid of the stories that aren’t written by them.
No.
This, on the other hand, I do find mildly alarming:
“Um, I feel kind of happy and kind of sad.
“Because … why I feel happy is because there’s a book actually full of girls instead of just boys.
“And why I’m kind of sad is ‘coz … is ‘coz … I’m sad ‘coz I don’t, because I didn’t know most of these characters. And that I, that I mostly know famous men instead of women.”
It’s not so much what is being said (though that too), but rather it’s the manner in which it’s spoken – there’s an awkward forced tone in the voice as of someone trying to repeat something they have been made to say on many an occasion.
It really has to be seen in the original context to get the full effect.
I have a confession to make. In my defence, it was a gift.
You didn’t have to drink it.
Good thing I always order full bottles.
You didn’t have to drink it.
I was young and foolish. And I wanted to break into movies.
And I wanted to break into movies.
You mean act in them, or rob the tills after hours ?
You mean act in them, or rob the tills after hours?
Why do you think he hired those henchlesbians?
They really seem to desperately want some sort of forceful pushback so they can claim victimhood.
And when the forceful pushback is not forthcoming, they point to a couple of Twitter posts as proof that the jackboots are invading the campus right now:
Commentary on this event in the press and social media has emboldened individuals…to intimidate our faculty and students — to the point that protective measures have been taken in an attempt to secure their safety.
Lemme guess: these “protective measures” involve curtailing the ability of skeptics to question the wisdom of the letter’s signers?
Against this politics of revenge, we acknowledge the moral imperative to support and protect our colleagues and students.
Remember, kids: hauling a TA into a Star Chamber for the crime of showing a public debate in a class about public debate is just good administrative policy. Having to cope with the public laughing at your antics is the “politics of revenge.”
One can’t help but observe that the signers’ “moral imperative” never extended to protecting the TA whose abuse at the hands of her superiors triggered the entire chain of events. No, no — the moral imperative protects only those who are being mocked by the hoi polloi.
“Because … why I feel happy is because there’s a book actually full of girls instead of just boys.
Sooo, like Playboy? Sorry, the joke was just lying there all seductive like and by God someone had to say it. Yes it was obvious, but five of you had a chance. As is my MO, I blame my OCD.
…there’s a book actually full of girls instead of just boys.
While trying to find out who these wxymmen in the book are, one Guardian (of course) reviewer was lamenting the fact that Margaret Thatcher was included among the usual leftist iconettes.
I suspect the book editor was fired over this lapse.
Picked this up off of Ace, just a copy/paste of an Egg McMuffin tweet of a David Frum…something. But I submit for discussion wrapping one’s Funk & Wagnall around this …definition?
Evan McMullinVerified account
@Evan_McMullin
Another discerning must-read by @davidfrum: “Conservatism is what conservatives think, say, and do. As conservatives change…so does what it mean to be a conservative.”
a book actually full of girls
“Binders full of women”?
This, on the other hand, I do find mildly alarming:
Ah yes, Rebel Girls. I wrote about that book here.
WTF? Why oh why did you set the URL to automatically link? We’re a lot smarter than you think we are, you know!
Proper link is here:
http://www.desertsun.co.uk/blog/?p=5167
We’re a lot smarter than you think we are, you know!
[ Tilts head. Points to shitshow above. ]
This might be a first for me…Do I have a comment stuck in purgatory?
Do I have a comment stuck in purgatory?
Freed.
Oh look here! A newly-discovered “privilege” that must be denounced and opposed righteously.
Centrist Privilege.
Seriously. Thank Marx, millennial political science students are ever-vigilant.
@Spiny
Centrist Privilege. Guest column by Matthew Q. Joy, sophomore political science major
And here I thought the term “sophomoric” was an insult.
Conservatism is what conservatives think, say, and do. As conservatives change…so does what it mean to be a conservative.
Well. That certainly clears things up; Ladies and Gentlemen, Frum may look like an idiot, and write like and idiot, but don’t let that fool you, he really is an idiot.
Conservatism is what conservatives think, say, and do.
In Britain, Conservatism is now messing with children’s minds. And unlike Larkin’s mum and dad, they mean to.
Oh look here! A newly-discovered “privilege” that must be denounced and opposed righteously.
Centrist Privilege.
This has been noted, recurringly, previously.
Of course reality just ain’t going away, so, too bad!
Heh!
Ah yes, Rebel Girls. I wrote about that book
Good post.
And like you, I found the reviews on Amazon to be more than just of passing interest:
Keep in mind, a 6 year old doesn’t exactly understand the concept of gender identity. So since there are multiple stories in here regarding gender identity pioneers, it’s awfully strange to have to explain to my little girl that it’s perfectly ok to just be herself, she doesn’t have to change because the person in the story did.
Of course, Amazon reviews have a certain reputation so it’s worth bearing that in mind – especially when reading some of the politically partisan complaints about the politically partisan nature of the book, e.g.:
I was disappointed, however, when it came to political figures. The book includes Hillary Clinton (listed as “presidential candidate”), Michele Obama, and Madeline Albright (Bill Clinton’s sec’y of state). These are all democrats. Fine.
But, how many republican political women are included? None. Condoleezza Rice was apparently deemed unworthy. No Republican first ladies.
How come? The bias, sadly, is just too obvious.
Then again, that reviewer might have a point.
In any case, that would hardly account for these two comments:
The ink smells horrible and I get an allergic reaction every time I touch the book.
I bought the print version and it smells horrible. The ink smells so strongly that I cannot feasibly give this as a gift which was my original intent … never in my life have I purchased a book that smells so strongly like this.
Or these:
I’m hoping someone could contact me about an issue with my book that came in. The cover is upside down.
I was extremely disappointed that the edition I received was printed upside down (when holding the book so the cover is right-side up, the pages inside are upside down).
Perhaps those glitches are just more evidence of the Patriarchy’s underhand tac-tics? After all, we have it on good authority that:
Men are afraid of the stories that aren’t written by them.
“The ink smells horrible and I get an allergic reaction…The cover is upside down…”
Trivial matters compared to the maximal progressiveness of the publisher Timbuktu Labs. After all, competence at mundane mechanical tasks is beneath such elevated minds.
Please update your files. I see the Festivus tradition of “The Airing of Grievances” is beginning a little early this year.
Oh, well, I might as well join in.
I’ve got a lotta problems with you people.
All I want for Christmas is full communism now
Ah irony! Under communism there is no Christmas! No gift giving either, as you’d presumably have all your exact needs met with no waste for gifting.
“Every time I’m on the road and need to take a dump I do it in KFC and leave … “
Now if she didn’t flush, that would be really edgy and transgressive.
After all, competence at mundane mechanical tasks is beneath such elevated minds.
No, didn’t you know, competence is yet another repressive manifestation of the white capitalist cis-gendered heteropatriarchy
Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t!
http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a13978884/charlie-rose-sexual-harassment-accuser-story/
All I want for Christmas is full communism now
All I want for Christmas is full communism forever for anyone who wants it now.
Admittedly not my most Christian Christmas wish ever.
The possibility that at any given time one set of values and insights might be preferable to another, even objectively better and markedly so, is apparently something that a “post-colonial theorist” mustn’t think about.
Turkish Islamic preacher says men without beards cause ‘indecent thoughts’ in other men because they look like women
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5193601/Preacher-says-men-without-beards-cause-indecent-thoughts.html
Turkish Islamic preacher says men without beards cause ‘indecent thoughts’ in other men because they look like women
I suspect there may be something that Mr Bayaral isn’t sharing with us.
Turkish Islamic preacher says men without beards cause ‘indecent thoughts’ in other men because they look like women
They apparently don’t teach basic biology in imam school as I don’t recall “beard” being a body part taught in gross anatomy, though I can think of several other body parts that differentiate males and females. In addition, this lady was unavailable for comment.
However, not to be outdone, this learned islamic scholar informs us snowmen are haram because if you make it, you don’t know the next morning if it will be a Christian or Jew, or, heaven forfend, you make a snow woman, whether she will hear a hijab.
Enough of them, lets play some chess, sexy, sexy, chess.
David Solway on why he quit teaching:
For another, colleagues were increasingly buying into the politically correct mantras circulating in the cultural climate. The dubious axioms of “social justice” and equality of outcome, the postmodern campaign against the Western tradition of learning, and the Marxist critique of capitalism now superseded the original purpose of the university to seek out truth, to pursue the impartial study of historical events and movements, and to remain faithful to the rigors of disciplined scholarship.
And, by the way, The Sickenpods’ “Turtle Hypodermic” is a great album.
…and the Marxist critique of capitalism now superseded the original purpose of the university to seek out truth…
Yep. Pardon the link to Huffingpaint Post, but it seems to them “so called free speech isn’t worth fighting for.”
A couple of takeaways if you don’t want to hit the link,
Don’t ask me what the second snip is supposed to mean, I don’t think the author does either, other than he thought he needed to throw in some more SJW duckspeak. Speaking of which, you will be surprised by his photo.
I think I saw Men Without Beards open for ZZ Top back in the 80s.
the myth that free speech is possible under capitalism
The moron children of Marcuse.
…the myth that free speech is possible under capitalism…Don’t ask me what the second snip is supposed to mean…
I think I’ve encountered that claim before, all the way back to the sixties, and it means that only rich people can afford to own newspapers and TV stations and therefore we need socialism. Never mind that under socialism we have commissars deciding who can publish news reports, editorials, essays and even fiction.
Is there anything stupider than a socialist?
So when socialists say “so called free speech isn’t worth fighting for” what they really mean is “we want to use the power of government (deadly force) to silence all we disagree with”.
All I want for Christmas is full communism now
If this is what she wants for Christmas, call me Santa Clause as I am willing to fulfill her request. I will gladly pay for airfare to transport this person to Venezuela provided she renounces citizenship of whatever country she now occupies. I haven’t been paid for a few months but a sum of money will be arriving shortly and I will be flush with cash. I am dead serious about this. Anyone know how to contact her directly?
Ah…looking back I see she works at Buzzfeed and I was able to obtain her direct email address. I have sent the following:
Will keep y’all informed on the progress of this endeavor.
Is there anything stupider than a socialist?
Yes, a gathering of two or more, and like fissionable material, they can reach a critical mass of stupidity.
Turkish Islamic preacher says men without beards cause ‘indecent thoughts’ in other men because they look like women
“‘We oppose bearded men in dresses‘, say bearded men in dresses.”
Getting surreally silly isn’t just for the left wing liberals, Oy, bloody, Vey does it get done by the right wing liberals as well.
Is there anything stupider than a socialist?
Yes, a gathering of two or more, and like fissionable material, they can reach a critical mass of stupidity.
Oh, My.
I don’t know about availability in the UK, but apparently there is a newly arrived movie just in time for the assorted holidays . . .
‘Greatest Showman’ starring Hugh Jackman as Barnum magnificently idiotic.
I think I saw Men Without Beards open for ZZ Top back in the 80s.
Weren’t they a “one hit wonder” ’80s British band? Oh, wait…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPau5QYtYs
:: EARWORM ALERT! ::
Tim Newman on immigration and the TV license fee.
Meanwhile, in the everything is racist department, black female journalist decides that Charlie Rose (US ex-talk show host), fired for sexual harassment, is rayciss because he didn’t harass her.
Of course it is unpossible that it might have been attitude or appearance, but it is tragic that she has been erased to the point where she is on TV and in print regularly (OK, the Guardian and other lefty outlets, but still…) and exploited to the point that a quick search reveals she worth over a million frogskins.
The horror, the horror.
decides that Charlie Rose…is rayciss because he didn’t harass her.
If he had harassed her, she would have regarded that, too, as evidence of racism.
So, no matter what a white person does or does not do, that is evidence of racism.
Charlie Rose (US ex-talk show host), fired for sexual harassment, is rayciss because he didn’t harass her.
[ Peers over previous comments. ]
So, to recap…
Gratuitously shitting in the toilet of a fast-food restaurant is an act of vegan rebellion; free speech is actually censorship and isn’t even possible “under capitalism”; what the homeless really need are drum workshops; bows and wrapped gifts are oppressive and unfair; retaining armpit hair is an act of feminist bravery; all white women are “racial-sexual terrorists,” which is terribly fatiguing; “full communism” is a thing to want; Marx was a hero, a genius, and guilty only of patriarchy; and all men are “afraid” of the kind of books that feminists approve of.
The state of modern progressivism is quite a thing.
Season’s Greetings
The only thing worse than being sexually harassed is being the only woman in the office who is NOT sexually harassed.
“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
–Oscar Wilde
This is embarrassing, iPhones, made in China, are racist because they apparently think all Chinese look alike.
This is embarrassing
Oh dear. I wonder if the face unlock systems of other phone manufacturers have the same, um, issue.
Meanwhile, back in the “Everything Is Racist” department, beware your un-Woke™ tire covers.
@Farnsworth,
I certainly admire the courage of the person who left the note, leaving his name and contact information in case the Jeep owner needs more tutoring in Social Justice Awareness. In fact, I can play, too. The black “No Problem” letters are really a white supremacist critique of affirmative action. That is, black people really are not oppressed in a white world, whereas, the white “Problem” letters reveal the typical white supremacist view that Caucasians have a problem with all the brown people surrounding them.
Unless, of course, the Jeep owner is black and is expressing black “No Problem” solidarity with other people of color, while denouncing problematic white people everywhere.
Don’t try this at home. Being “woke” is not for amateurs.
Sorry Sherman. You’re wrong. I read this as black supremecist and thus offensive to me. It’s the color of the letters that matter, not the background. Thus black letters stating “NO PROBLEM” indicate that black people are not a problem but white people, “PROBLEM”. Obviously.