Her Complications Are More Fascinating Than Yours
“My pronoun, like, preference has changed three times today.”
Please adjust your schedule and commitments accordingly.
Update:
Update 2:
Remember, citizens, always closely monitor those bracelets and earrings. Because you couldn’t possibly have anything better to do.
Also, open thread.
As noted in the earlier thread, if someone goes out of their way to make interaction as complicated as possible, with rules and preconditions that can change several times a day, it generally occurs to me that there are better uses of my time.
Perhaps madam will one day realise how The Quest To Be Interesting can be so very, very tiresome.
Not entirely unrelated.
Social media was a mistake.
*Except blogs of course. 🙂
“Social media was a mistake.”
I’m coming round to the idea that it’s deliberate subversion by hostile agents.
If you have half an hour, this interview with Ed Husain on his recent study of activities in British mosques is depressing but well worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAXDniO11l4
Seems like an important study. No doubt the BBC and other mainstream media organisations will be keen to cover it…
Remember, citizens, always closely monitor those bracelets and earrings. Because you couldn’t possibly have anything better to do.
LOL. That.
LOL. That.
Well, you can imagine scenarios in which you wouldn’t be able to address someone without risking a public scolding – say, while waiting to order coffee – until you’d examined in some detail their jewellery and accessories. And then repeating the process, should you want a second cup.
Once again, we’re in the world of farce.
Somewhat related.
See also.
Social media was a mistake.
“Smart” phones as well, the two together are an utter disaster and responsible for about 90% of the insanity these days.
“Smart” phones as well,
[ Fondles phone, then carefully positions it on large embroidered cushion. ]
Speaking of complications, some helpful tips.
Social media was a mistake.
It does seem to be enabling some… odd behaviour. I can’t help wondering whether attention-seeking was more tolerable, and less neurotic, when those seeking attention took up drama classes or started dodgy bands. At least then there was some sort of transaction.
It does seem to be enabling some… odd behaviour.
Nah. Not at least in my extended, er, family. We’ve always had tales of the odd Aunty and Uncle, but the beauty of the interwebz is now that they’re able to broadcast their nuttery 24/7 worldwide!
Ain’t it grand?
…but the beauty of the interwebz is now that they’re able to broadcast their nuttery 24/7 worldwide!
Exactly, the buffonery was pretty much local in The Before Times prior to 2007 when one had to sit down in front of a computer with a low res webcam and upload the idiocy over dodgy internet connections rather than take something out of a pocket and squirt it to the world over 4&5G.
Selective EMP to take out “social” media and “smart”phones and there would be much normalcy returned to the world.
take something out of a pocket and squirt it to the world
Ah… er….
Hmmm.
“My pronoun, like, preference has changed three times today.”
It’s like Alice in Wonderland.
Ah… er….
If anyone’s getting aroused by this thread, I’m calling social services.
Again, it’s not the technology of social media that is the problem. It’s that there have been these crazy people, essentially forever. The MSM’s global reach accelerated it. Slowly at first but by the time Andy Warhol’s “everyone will be famous for 15 minutes” nailed it, it was only a matter of time. The internet, more properly than social media, which is simply the specific implementation, is what made everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly most viral.
The bigger problem as I see it is that technology is advancing much, much faster than even society’s best and brightest can keep up with on a broad scale. Never has human society had to adapt so quickly to such incredible changes in virtually every aspect of life. And this is happening across the planet in virtually every part of civilization. We are living The Day The Universe Changed happening every Tuesday. There is no human precedent for such a thing. Historically when big changes have taken place they have occurred far enough apart to allow the society at least a decade or so to digest it. To throw out the bad effects and keep the good. Change today happens way too fast, too often in parallel with other changes. New ideas get built on shifting foundations.
I missed this:
Bill de Blasio. Mayor of New York City. On compulsory vaccinations.
“We tried voluntary. We could not have been more kind and compassionate. Free testing, everywhere you turn, incentives, friendly, warm embrace. The voluntary phase is over,”
The voluntary phase is over.
“Voluntary” was a phase, apparently.
You are so fucked.
I’m coming round to the idea that it’s deliberate subversion by hostile agents.
And then there are the internet trolls, who ruin comment threads either for political purposes or to gratify a depraved desire to make other people unhappy. Trolling can be reduced, but only slightly, by eliminating anonymity. The chief problem is that there is no social cost to bad behavior: Nobody on the internet gets shunned by all their neighbors or punched in the face.
Selective EMP to take out “social” media and “smart” phones
My game scores!
[ Faints. ]
If anyone’s getting aroused by this thread, I’m calling social services.
[ Looks sharply at David fondling his phone. ]
“Voluntary” was a phase, apparently.
Not surprising for a guy who supported the Sandinistas and honeymooned in Cuba. He is pushing a “vaccine passport” to get into bars, restaurants, etc., but I wonder how that is supposed to work for people from free states who have the misfortune to wind up in NYC for work, or foolish enough to go visit.
OTOH, it is not as if these types ever think things through.
Again, it’s not the technology of social media that is the problem. It’s that there have been these crazy people, essentially forever.
Yes and no: the technology enables the crazy people.
The internet, more properly than social media, which is simply the specific implementation, is what made everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly most viral.
I have been told, by researchers who used the internet from the beginning, that it was at originally a very civil “place”.
OTOH, it is not as if these types ever think things through.
A sensible culture makes sure that there are always consequences for tyrants.
The Rwandan refugee who started the Nantes cathedral fire in 2020 has just murdered a priest.
I have been told, by researchers who used the internet from the beginning, that it was at originally a very civil “place”.
Oh, Usenet stuff or whatever else I poked around on back then would get ugly. It was just a more refined ugliness. More like what you see in the technology discussion groups today. Personally, and this is yet another of my character flaws I’m sure, while I do sometimes find refined ugliness amusing, I generally prefer people come out and say what they have to say and not passive-aggressively beat around the bush.
It’s going to be interesting when these people discover reality isn’t optional.
Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret
Speaking of complications, some helpful tips.
Tip #4 for Boys on their Period:
I can’t for the life of me understand why the suicide rate for the trans hovers around a coin flip.
Yes and no: the technology enables the crazy people.
I think it makes them worse, either by validation or encouragement of craziness (you just *know* that some griefers are egging some along), competition or both.
Social media was a mistake.
I’m torn.
On the one hand, no grown adult should use social media. Obvs.
On the other, it’s difficult to avoid if a significant portion of your society’s life happens on social media.
And on the gripping hand – I never wanted to be a part of society anyway.
Oh, Usenet stuff or whatever else I poked around on back then would get ugly. It was just a more refined ugliness.
I’ll bow to your experience, since I did not get internet access until the web had been around a while.
I’m curious how that more refined ugliness compared to face-to-face interactions between the same people.
Misanthropes Disperse!
listen to your body
[ Insert dark irony here. ]
The Rwandan refugee who started the Nantes cathedral fire in 2020 has just murdered a priest.
As noted previously.
In much the same way, “diversity” seems to be the belief that the less we have in common, and feel we have in common, the happier we will be. An unobvious proposition, to say the least.
Terry Pratchett wrote that diversity makes us stronger, in the same way that alloys are stronger than pure metals. I guess he never considered that you cannot turn iron into steel by adding 30 percent pot metal.
I’m curious how that more refined ugliness compared to face-to-face interactions between the same people.
While not quite as nasty, putting aside the passive-aggressive part, they were still things one wouldn’t say face-to-face. But let me be the devil’s advocate for social media, or more specifically, on-line discussion. First minor point, I think even people who know each other and even those who see each other somewhat frequently will say things on line that they wouldn’t say face-to-face. But also I don’t see much new about that. People used to write nasty, or even very heart-felt letters to each other that they wouldn’t say face-to-face. It’s simple human nature and we’re pretty much all built that way. Mostly. More than we like to admit. Also, again…don’t forget/deny the heart-felt aspect.
Secondly, in face-to-face conversation, the more aggressive, often least knowledgeable person tends to dominate the conversation. And frequently, the more a-hole type will modify what one person said. Talk being ephemeral as opposed to the written word, a bully can force his or her misinterpretation, often intentional, of what the other person said. At least with online discussion, you can clearly demonstrate to all present that you said exactly what you said.
And thirdly with on-line discussion…most gratefully, by its very nature, at some point, the other party hits send and then effectively shuts the hell up so others can speak…well, write…
People used to write nasty, or even very heart-felt letters to each other that they wouldn’t say face-to-face.
Good point.
Talk being ephemeral as opposed to the written word, a bully can force his or her misinterpretation, often intentional, of what the other person said. At least with online discussion, you can clearly demonstrate to all present that you said exactly what you said.
I have experienced that many times, where someone said something indefensible but later claimed to either not remember it or that he had said something very different.
…that it was originally a very civil “place”.
It wasn’t Eden, but it was manageable until the September that Never Ended. I’ve seen any number of columns over the years talking about how things went to hell because the ‘Net became too big, too popular, but a lot of those complaints miss what I think is a crucial detail — it wasn’t the size of the community, it was the rate of growth.
An example on a smaller scale than a global communications network: My father was active for many years in on online discussion group for home brewers. As new users came in, they needed to be taught to observe the community’s norms. These were pretty basic, and boiled down to “We’re here to help each other become better brewers, not to insult anybody.” This worked fine for years, as the old-timers (I think my dad’s userID was 0016) admonished the new arrivals that if they wanted to receive help, they needed to be helpful themselves. The community grew steadily from a few dozen users to several hundreds.
Then they got profiled in a popular magazine, and suddenly there was a crush of new users. Hundreds of people showed up in the space of a month, and utterly overwhelmed the existing culture, replacing it with one that called anyone having problems an “idiot” and anyone who thought a recipe was too heavy-handed with hops a “fag.”
Now my dad just brews his stuff quietly and helps friends and neighbors face-to-face when they show an interest or have questions.
I’ve little doubt that if the entirety of Instapundit’s peanut gallery showed up here and started arguing, our voices would be drowned out so quickly that nobody would ever know what the old days were like. One hopes that if such a thing were to happen, at the very least our gracious host would get a lovely pied-à-terre out of the deal.
Hundreds of people showed up in the space of a month, and utterly overwhelmed the existing culture, replacing it with one that called anyone having problems an “idiot” and anyone who thought a recipe was too heavy-handed with hops a “fag.”
Sounds like what happened to Instapundit.
I’ve little doubt that if the entirety of Instapundit’s peanut gallery showed up here and started arguing, our voices would be drowned out so quickly that nobody would ever know what the old days were like.
Truly a horrifying thought.
our voices would be drowned out so quickly that nobody would ever know what the old days were like.
It’s important to set a tone, I think, and preferably with a light touch. I mean, you don’t want to be a nag, but you’d like to avoid too many knife fights and fag burns in the upholstery.
One hopes that if such a thing were to happen, at the very least our gracious host would get a lovely pied-à-terre out of the deal.
[ Drifts into reverie. ]
Actually, I suspect the kinds of people you’re talking about are unlikely to be the kinds of people who would see much point in supporting any particular venue they pass through, briefly but loudly. In my experience, the most generous supporters are generally well-behaved or rarely comment.
and anyone who thought a recipe was too heavy-handed with hops a “fag.”
Well, not the word I would use…but I surely can empathize. Though I am trying to imagine what fun I could have the next time I’m in a brewpub that I belated realize might be a bit hipsterish and I were to say something of sufficiently obscure meaning as, “What do you recommend? I find that hoppy stuff kinda gay”
From Ace, The Greatest Dynasty Ever.
It’s important to set a tone, I think, and preferably with a light touch.
Seems to have worked here pretty well so far. (Although Instapundit only started linking to you in the last year, so it’s possible that with time you will start getting trolls. Time will tell.)
So, she changes her pronouns several times a day?
Pffffffffft She needs to catchup with the latest fad.
Well, not the word I would use…but I surely can empathize.
I just don’t see it. It seems like a matter of personal taste, not subject to condemnation. Hoppy beer vs. not, sweet wine vs. dry, etc, why should I be care?
why should I
becare?Argh! I promise, David, I’m not a Chinese bot.
Although Instapundit only started linking to you in the last year,
Much longer than that, though the frequency has increased a little. I’ve always been surprised by how few unsavoury characters we get in here.
And I would generally agree. A few years ago, actually I think it was quite more than a few, the hoppy thing was interesting. And aside from fruity beers which I do believe are an abomination and an affront to the Lord, I don’t get into how my beer was made. I truly don’t care. But I do want it to taste like beer. Which itself shouldn’t be a problem but so many of these little craft brew places, for some reason even here in MAGA country, will feature say a dozen beers, eight of them will be some sort of pina colata beer or Blueberry Somesuch yadda-yadda and of the remaining four, two are all hopped up and the other two are stouts. I’m drinking a lot of stouts lately. Which I do like to have solo but with food I find the stout distracts from the food and the food distracts from the stout. For the most part. But that’s me. The thing is, it’s beer. It really does not need to be complicated. Women are complicated. Wine is complicated. Beer should always be in a completely different quadrant. Goad made it because he wanted us to be happy. Not complicated. Which was why He made women. But now I’m going in circles…
Goad. There really should be a God named Goad. I think that would make for a really cool religion. Maybe I can start one. Has there ever been a real religion centered around beer?