Yes, yes, yes! I so thoroughly agree with this. One thing that comes up for me, is the people who give these grifters what they want – the ones who punch them. I want this post to reach them.
But there are so many of them. The culture is so pervasive, because it's not just the puncher but all of the people who get so upset and yell back a…
Yes, yes, yes! I so thoroughly agree with this. One thing that comes up for me, is the people who give these grifters what they want – the ones who punch them. I want this post to reach them.
But there are so many of them. The culture is so pervasive, because it's not just the puncher but all of the people who get so upset and yell back and give the grifters that attention.
Even this post, it feels like you had to start it with "look, I agree with you, punching them is justified" in order for your "but don't fucking do it" to even have a chance of getting through. It's like people don't care about the consequences of their actions, only about whether they can justify doing what they want to do. We talk about intent versus impact in other contexts, can we bring that to this discussion, too?
I think about "we take care of us" and what that means in this context. If your buddy is getting super triggered by some transphobe who wants to get punched, then maybe taking care of your buddy means pulling them aside and calming them down. If you're at a protest, and a group is getting angry, maybe de-escalation is how we take care of us.
It's really, really hard. I feel like in just about every arena of life people are more focused on having that cathartic moment of justice than making the world better or thinking more than 5 seconds into the future
I've been trying to figure out how to write about this without being preachy
If one needs a cathartic moment, they had better go home and beat on a pillow, or maybe masterbate. And if you have to TRY not to be a dickhead, chances are you are one, and need to deal with that prickly pear before you start preaching. Reminds me of the time I was getting really comfy, that is filthy drunk, in a Montana bar that catered to cowboys, Indians, hippies, some college boys from Bozeman and folks like me who had a bit of it all and thought they were above it all. Well, a wrangler who had obviously had a hard day during calving season came in with some buddies and looked a bit messy as one does branding bawling calves and cutting off Rocky MTN oysters where appropriate. I was loose enough to say what I thought (without reflection) and made some dickhead remark like "Fall off your horse or something?" The guy got livid and had his buddies not dragged him off, I might have enjoyed my just rewards. Anyway, Jedeed you have been around the block a few times and understand the dicey spaces between dickheads better than most. One of my better influencers (a martial arts master) once said: " You talk peace, but what is in your hand?" Of course by "hand" he meant heart, and for me, ever a dickhead, it is an ongoing challenge. PostScript: I have seen lots of anti-war demonstrations where folks were as mad dog as those monsters in government they reviled. I was also at Rev. Martin Luther King's March on Washington where he gave the I HAVE A DREAM speech. It was a whole different climate of people who knew well how horrible violence is yet remained really peaceful no matter how mad dog others might act. Jedeed, you would have felt teary-eyed comfortable in that group, and your work with chuds, drunken soldiers and other living creatures shows it. Thanks for being another lovable Bozo on this madly out of control bus.
If you think the leftist agenda is going to win without violence you’re mistaken, what kind of “anti-racist” “anti-fascist” society just permits people to say things that are racist/fascist from the lefts viewpoint?
Yes, yes, yes! I so thoroughly agree with this. One thing that comes up for me, is the people who give these grifters what they want – the ones who punch them. I want this post to reach them.
But there are so many of them. The culture is so pervasive, because it's not just the puncher but all of the people who get so upset and yell back and give the grifters that attention.
Even this post, it feels like you had to start it with "look, I agree with you, punching them is justified" in order for your "but don't fucking do it" to even have a chance of getting through. It's like people don't care about the consequences of their actions, only about whether they can justify doing what they want to do. We talk about intent versus impact in other contexts, can we bring that to this discussion, too?
I think about "we take care of us" and what that means in this context. If your buddy is getting super triggered by some transphobe who wants to get punched, then maybe taking care of your buddy means pulling them aside and calming them down. If you're at a protest, and a group is getting angry, maybe de-escalation is how we take care of us.
It's really, really hard. I feel like in just about every arena of life people are more focused on having that cathartic moment of justice than making the world better or thinking more than 5 seconds into the future
I've been trying to figure out how to write about this without being preachy
If one needs a cathartic moment, they had better go home and beat on a pillow, or maybe masterbate. And if you have to TRY not to be a dickhead, chances are you are one, and need to deal with that prickly pear before you start preaching. Reminds me of the time I was getting really comfy, that is filthy drunk, in a Montana bar that catered to cowboys, Indians, hippies, some college boys from Bozeman and folks like me who had a bit of it all and thought they were above it all. Well, a wrangler who had obviously had a hard day during calving season came in with some buddies and looked a bit messy as one does branding bawling calves and cutting off Rocky MTN oysters where appropriate. I was loose enough to say what I thought (without reflection) and made some dickhead remark like "Fall off your horse or something?" The guy got livid and had his buddies not dragged him off, I might have enjoyed my just rewards. Anyway, Jedeed you have been around the block a few times and understand the dicey spaces between dickheads better than most. One of my better influencers (a martial arts master) once said: " You talk peace, but what is in your hand?" Of course by "hand" he meant heart, and for me, ever a dickhead, it is an ongoing challenge. PostScript: I have seen lots of anti-war demonstrations where folks were as mad dog as those monsters in government they reviled. I was also at Rev. Martin Luther King's March on Washington where he gave the I HAVE A DREAM speech. It was a whole different climate of people who knew well how horrible violence is yet remained really peaceful no matter how mad dog others might act. Jedeed, you would have felt teary-eyed comfortable in that group, and your work with chuds, drunken soldiers and other living creatures shows it. Thanks for being another lovable Bozo on this madly out of control bus.
If you think the leftist agenda is going to win without violence you’re mistaken, what kind of “anti-racist” “anti-fascist” society just permits people to say things that are racist/fascist from the lefts viewpoint?