In my first installment, I quoted extensively – and unapologetically – from Vaclav Havel’s brilliant essay, “The Power of the Powerless.“ In many respects, Havel’s work reminds me of Frederic Bastiat’s timeless classic, “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen.” Instead of using a glazier to illustrate economic fallacies, however, Havel uses his greengrocer to explain the nature of power in modern totalitarian socialist regimes, which our United States is rapidly becoming by the efforts of a diverse cabal of associated interests.
If an entire district town is plastered with slogans that no one reads, it is on the one hand a message from the district secretary to the regional secretary, but it is also something more: a small example of the principle of social auto-totality at work. Part of the essence of the post-totalitarian system is that it draws everyone into its sphere of power, not so they may realize themselves as human beings, but so they may surrender their human identity in favor of the identity of the system, that is, so they may become agents of the system’s general automatism and servants of its self-determined goals, so they may participate in the common responsibility for it, so they may be pulled into and ensnared by it, like Faust by Mephistopheles. More than this: so they may create through their involvement a general norm and, thus, bring pressure to bear on their fellow citizens. And further: so they may learn to be comfortable with their involvement, to identify with it as though it were something natural and inevitable and, ultimately, so they may-with no external urging-come to treat any non-involvement as an abnormality, as arrogance, as an attack on themselves, as a form of dropping out of society. By pulling everyone into its power structure, the post-totalitarian system makes everyone an instrument of a mutual totality, the auto-totality of society.
…
The fact that human beings have created, and daily create, this self-directed system through which they divest themselves of their innermost identity is not therefore the result of some incomprehensible misunderstanding of history, nor is it history somehow gone off its rails. Neither is it the product of some diabolical higher will which has decided, for reasons unknown, to torment a portion of humanity in this way. It can happen and did happen only because there is obviously in modern humanity a certain tendency toward the creation, or at least the toleration, of such a system. There is obviously something in human beings which responds to this system, something they reflect and accommodate, something within them which paralyzes every effort of their better selves to revolt. Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable of living in this way. Therefore not only does the system alienate humanity, but at the same time alienated humanity supports this system as its own involuntary masterplan, as a degenerate image of its own degeneration, as a record of people’s own failure as individuals.
I confess that Havel seems to me to have a trenchant grasp of the “post-totalitarian” system that at times can bring despair. But just like my other favorite essay* on the problems of socialism, Havel’s ultimate conclusion is that these systems contain within them the seeds of their own inevitable collapse and destruction. And that’s where I want to pick up from last time – with the Power of the Powerless.
*Albert Jay Nock’s incomparable “Isaiah’s Job.”
* * * * * * * * *
Let us now imagine that one day something in our greengrocer snaps and he stops putting up the slogans merely to ingratiate himself. He stops voting in elections he knows are a farce. He begins to say what he really thinks at political meetings. And he even finds the strength in himself to express solidarity with those whom his conscience commands him to support. In this revolt the greengrocer steps out of living within the lie. He rejects the ritual and breaks the rules of the game. He discovers once more his suppressed identity and dignity. He gives his freedom a concrete significance. His revolt is an attempt to live within the truth.
The bill is not long in coming. He will be relieved of his post as manager of the shop and transferred to the warehouse. His pay will be reduced. His hopes for a holiday in Bulgaria will evaporate. His children’s access to higher education will be threatened. His superiors will harass him and his fellow workers will wonder about him. Most of those who apply these sanctions, however, will not do so from any authentic inner conviction but simply under pressure from conditions, the same conditions that once pressured the greengrocer to display the official slogans. They will persecute the greengrocer either because it is expected of them, or to demonstrate their loyalty, or simply as part of the general panorama, to which belongs an awareness that this is how situations of this sort are dealt with, that this, in fact, is how things are always done, particularly if one is not to become suspect oneself. The executors, therefore, behave essentially like everyone else, to a greater or lesser degree: as components of the post-totalitarian system, as agents of its automatism, as petty instruments of the social auto-totality. (Emphasis added)
– Vaclav Havel, “The Power of the Powerless”
This is the part that hit me hard the first time I read Havel’s essay because of how perfectly it describes our own “cancel culture.” This is why it is so insidious. Beyond the injustice of any particular case, “cancel culture” is about embedding the post-totalitarian system into our collective culture, of normalizing the behavior, of ensuring that people “behave… like everyone else” as “petty instruments of the social auto-totality.” Facebook could not be more perfectly described, nor could it be a more perfectly designed instrument for the post-totalitarianism of modern America. It provides the perfect window for the socialization of everything, down to and including personal identity – and people do it willingly.
But Havel – like Nock – did not see hopelessness, even from behind the veil of the Iron Curtain. He sees vulnerability. And opportunities to claim Power by the Powerless.
It seems that the primary breeding ground for what might, in the widest possible sense of the word, be understood as an opposition in the post-totalitarian system is living within the truth. The confrontation between these opposition forces and the powers that be, of course, will obviously take a form essentially different from that typical of an open society or a classical dictatorship. Initially, this confrontation does not take place on the level of real, institutionalized, quantifiable power which relies on the various instruments of power, but on a different level altogether: the level of human consciousness and conscience, the existential level. The effective range of this special power cannot be measured in terms of disciples, voters, or soldiers, because it lies spread out in the fifth column of social consciousness, in the hidden aims of life, in human beings’ repressed longing for dignity and fundamental rights, for the realization of their real social and political interests. Its power, therefore, does not reside in the strength of defamable political or social groups, but chiefly in the strength of a potential, which is hidden throughout the whole of society, including the official power structures of that society. Therefore this power does not rely on soldiers of its own, but on the soldiers of the enemy as it were-that is to say, on everyone who is living within the lie and who may be struck at any moment (in theory, at least) by the force of truth (or who, out of an instinctive desire to protect their position, may at least adapt to that force). It is a bacteriological weapon, so to speak, utilized when conditions are ripe by a single civilian to disarm an entire division. This power does not participate in any direct struggle for power; rather, it makes its influence felt in the obscure arena of being itself. The hidden movements it gives rise to there, however, can issue forth (when, where, under what circumstances, and to what extent are difficult to predict) in something visible: a real political act or event, a social movement, a sudden explosion of civil unrest, a sharp conflict inside an apparently monolithic power structure, or simply an irrepressible transformation in the social and intellectual climate. And since all genuine problems and matters of critical importance are hidden beneath a thick crust of lies, it is never quite clear when the proverbial last straw will fall, or what that straw will be. This, too, is why the regime prosecutes, almost as a reflex action preventively, even the most modest attempts to live within the truth.
– Vaclav Havel, the Power of the Powerless
On the one hand, it’s hard to look out on our society – businesses collapsed, people ordered to stay in their homes, the riots of the last year – and not feel a certain level of despair. But Havel explains that post-totalitarianism is doomed precisely because of its reification of the ritual in place of the concrete, the absurdity of an unending rebuke by Reality over socialist planned societies. But the first and most important pushback against the system is the simple act of living within the truth – of rejecting the lie.
A friend of mine owns a gym in California that was at the forefront of fighting the lockdowns. He has a huge gym, well-ventilated and well-lit, with roll-up doors and skylights, and he has refused multiple orders to close his doors to his community. He’s been fined and even arrested once. I wasn’t sure how to help or what I could do in support, but after meditating on it one day, I had a breakthrough. I called him up anxious to share my message, which might be best summarized as follows:
How lucky are we!?! We, who have both a noble cause – individual freedom – and an opportunity to live into that principle! Those of us lamenting the current state of affairs, those of us who know better and know just how screwy the current zeitgeist is, should take heart by the opportunity we have been given. Like the Isaiah of Nock’s essay or the greengrocer of Havel’s, we have been given the extraordinary task of standing in the breach, of living the truth, and in that way standing against the forces of totalitarianism. We don’t have to go over the wall at Gallipoli or into the German MG-42s at Normandy. Not yet, anyway. But even if we did, what better way could one ask to live? What greater good is there to stand for than the right of the individual conscience against the dictates of the totalitarians?
We never know when our moment may arise, where the simple act of refusing the follow the masses might become a source of inspiration long after we have ceased our journey in this meatsuit. I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that the man in the picture, August Landmesser, would have well-appreciated Havel’s essay, even if he wasn’t a greengrocer himself.
You’re an really fantastic writer, Ozy. Thanks for this analysis. Also love the pic.
Thank you. Very kind of you, KK.
I’ve seen that pic used by Anti-fa. Frustrates me that those kids don’t know what fascism is or even what Nazism is other than white supremacy.
I wouldn’t even call it white supremacy, seeing as the Nazis were hell-bent on exterminating or at least displacing mainly white people.
It’s interesting that people who are currently part of a mob are not aware that they are part of a mob. There’s some very telling psychology in there somewhere.
Bummer of a back story.
And further: so they may learn to be comfortable with their involvement, to identify with it as though it were something natural and inevitable and, ultimately, so they may-with no external urging-come to treat any non-involvement as an abnormality, as arrogance, as an attack on themselves, as a form of dropping out of society.
If I decline to enthusiastically participate in the communitarianism of my neighbors, I pose an existential threat to them.
^ sUPeRspReADer
I was afraid this would just make me sad, but there’re some real hopeful nuggets in there that make me happy.
It is a delicious Irony that the socialists, who have claim to be intellectual relatives of Marx, claim that capitalisim is inherently doomed to collapse under it’s own contradictions, but that it is the socialist societies (even at the admision of socialists aka: Not real socialism) that inevitably collapses.
Well written Ozy. If i was half as good a writer as you, I’d be pleased with myself.
You’ve written a bunch of great stuff here, leon! I just checked the 2019 archive and there you are, 5 posts.
“I Used to be a Libertarian, then someone did something I didn’t like” is a classic, as far as I’m concerned.
(Also, thank you.)
Well, thank you too. I truly meant it as a compliment, not trying to downplay my own skills.
Maybe I did you a bit of disservice by thinking less of my own.
Thanks.?
Marx at least recognized that capitalism was a positive development over feudalism (even if, in his own time and place, the feudal order still had enough legs in it to graft itself onto the emerging capitalism).
But capitalism, socialism, fascism, and pre-modern economics all share the common element of human beings. The most stable order among people is monarchic (single person at the top) and hierarchical (a pyramid composed of layers of privilege and power, with fewer people in each layer until the single person at the top). Oligarchy, democracy, and egalitarianism are all fleeting by comparison.
There’s something in the firmware humans run on that drives the tendency towards that organizational structure. It probably patched some earlier bug.
You work at the state, so you must know what it’s like to work in an organization that has multiple heads. At some point there needs to be one person to make the choice.
The difference between Monarchist and Anarchists is “what decisions are the purview of that person”
Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw.
It was its tendency to bend at the knees
–Terry Pratchett
^^^
There’s something in the firmware humans run on that drives the tendency towards that organizational structure.
Yup. We’re pack animals, at heart. Every pack has an alpha, a group of betas* vying to be the alpha, and the rest.
*Current references to sunken-chested, limp-wristed soyboys as “betas” is misguided. Those are properly viewed as “gammas” or “epsilons”. The stereotypical “macho man” is more likely a beta, as he is generally posturing to try to increase his status.
Agreed the feudal, patron/client type organization seems to be the most stable form of government over human history.
Refuseniks, assemble!
Nah, I’ll pass.
jk – I’m trying to refusenik in small ways.
This causes me to think of these two quotes from Thucydidies that make me ponder.
(from the Funeral Oration of Pericles)
I don’t want to have to use violence on anyone ever again, leon.
My hope is that there’s a way for a W via soft revolution; that the battle of Ideas and Will can be won by the good guys because of the inevitability of the fact that Freedom really is just another aspect of a timeless, eternal Truth: that elephant in the philosophical room called “free will” that no socialist or (self-)nihilist can get around.
Sorry, i didn’t mean that way. I was not advocating for violence at all, but rather for the courage you were calling upon. Couragous men know the perils and the glory and go ahead with what is right. Courage, is freedom, and freedom is happiness.
Elswhere Thucidides writes: ““Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.””
It would be great if Irish Democracy was sufficient to bring down our current government and allow it to be replaced with one valued our liberties. Unfortunately I get a real bad feeling that between their crazy ideology and unrestrained corruption, these idiots are going to crash the whole thing. What happens next might be better but it won’t be a fun trip.
Reminds me of the polling results showing trust in government is at all-time lows and support for more government action is at all-time highs. We know that the system is flawed, but to admit its flaws is to admit our own, and so instead we must redouble our effort so that we may continue to ignore our flaws, even as they grow.
I’m confident the current system will collapse in some fashion at some point. Its the collateral damage that will be inflicted on the way there, and during the collapse, that I worry about.
The absurdity here recalls that illustrated by Kipling in the “Gods of the Copy Book Heading”. You can’t escape universal principles. You might out run them for a bit, but they will eventually catch up and keeve you back into reality.
There have been enough peaceful revolutions in our time (the Velvet Revolution, obviously apropos when talking about Vaclav Havel; the fall of the iron curtain generally, with Romania being a notable exception; the Carnation Revolution) that one can be fairly hopeful for positive outcomes. And even still, there’s a gradient. The fall of the Park regime in South Korea, or of the Kuomintang in Taiwan, or of Francoism in Spain, were not bloodless but yet were not hardly repeats of the French Revolution.
Reminds me of the polling results showing trust in government is at all-time lows and support for more government action is at all-time highs.
It’ll fit. We’re just not hitting it hard enough.
My friend’s dad describes socialism and central planning as akin to a locomotive engineer trying to stop the runaway train by smashing the speedometer with a wrench.
I feel like we’re watching a lot of that under the current admin.
“All-time” might be over-egging the pudding a bit, but I have met enough people for whom this mentality is realized in one person that it seems to be pervasive. It’s like everyone has become David Simon: they see (some of) the problems, they know that these problems have persisted for decades, they know that they aren’t even the first people to recognize this, yet they will double down again upon the same failed strategy. Since he wrote Homicide or produced The Wire, precisely zero positive improvement has occurred in Baltimore. But he regularly sneers upon anyone who suggests that the government should do less instead of futilely trying to always do more*.
* = To be fair, the government of Baltimore is a damn fine graft machine. Its ability to funnel money from taxpayers into well connected private hands is quite possibly second to none. Even the mafia had to worry about its reputation; the Baltimore City government will very likely continue to be there for another few decades regardless of how shitty it was, is, or will continue to be.
Talk about where people ought to be taking to the streets in open revolt.
Mephistopheles?
Mephisto
Not to get all religious here but last night I was reading the Epistle of James. He starts off voicing almost exactly the same opinion. Great minds and all…
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4et perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything…. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
I don’t believe I have ever voiced an original thought, or damn few enough.
It’s a pretty timeless sentiment that I know I’ve read among the Stoics, as well.
Yep – and lots of people (Teddy Roosevelt comes to mind) have voiced the need for us to be tested. Hell, I enlisted in the Marine Corps just to see if I could hack it.
So, carryover from last thread, is a Eastern Bloc greengrocer like a Publix or a Kroger?
Hmmmm… I’m gonna go with Publix. I wonder if Pie knows?
which one has mostly empty shelves?
I mean you still stood in line for 2 hours maybe you would get something maybe not
https://etimpu.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/coada-la-alimentara-3.jpg
We also have Aldi, Trader Joe, Shoppers, whole foods, My Organic Market and Fresh Market, plus ethnic places like Best Way, Global, etc.
The greengrocer who “stops putting up the slogans” is Oakes Farms in Naples, FL.
I would like to make a suggestion to all of the authors on this site: If you are writing a multi-part series of articles, or stories, or what have you, please include permanent links to the other items in the series, and/or create a unique tag for your series, if possible, to help us more easily navigate the series.
My apologies, db. Sometimes I’ve written the second before the first is published, so I can’t link to the piece yet – and then I forget to go back and do it in the week between pieces. I’ll make a note to myself for next time.
Thanks! I appreciate it. I didn’t think about the effect of writing serial posts, well, serially, and that there might not yet be published links to the previous issues when they themselves are still in the queue. I have a small wordpress site, and I think it’s possible to get a permalink to a post that hasn’t been published yet, but I’m not sure.
The problem is that most of us can’t go back and retroactively edit our posts once they’ve been posted. The best we can do is just remember to put previously posted parts in the current post.
oooooooohh. I did not know that.
Some of us even fail in writing up teases for our next articles in a series…
I love essays that fire me up. This one fires me up, Ozy. I needed a white pill today.
I find myself reading a lot from people who have lived the nightmare. Because they aren’t sniveling bitches. They pursue truth even to the point of dying for it.
That’s inspirational.
I had never read the Nock essay. It’s fucking fantastic.
You know who else courted the Remnant…
Also, Live Not By Lies may be a worthy inclusion into this discussion.
Thanks, man. This was a fun read!
“Isaiah’s Job” is – for me, anyway – the ultimate white pill. Whenever I get too far down the rabbit hole of despair, I read Nock’s essay and it never fails to buoy me. I think it’s among the best essays in the English language.
I don’t get white pills. They seem lke things that look good on paper but are not reality
What do you mean? White pills are connections of truth and possibility. They don’t look like anything on paper.
White pill as I understand it is optimism. Things in the end will turn out ok.
I have “Live Not by Lies” and have been thinking about writing a review for this site, but I’m not done with it yet.
So you are saying that you’re fired up?
“F-U!!”
Fired up
Thanks Ozy.
Helps me put some things in perspective.
We will never be the majority.
Exactly. So why whine about it?
This is our cross to bear… Would you rather be on the other side of it?
Not me. I’ll take this side with a smile – every time…
And I’ll make sure I get us some smokes in the Camp. ?
*hands Ozy the lighter*
I wonder if we’ll get dessert with dinner tonight?
{stares through the wire and flips Tundra the lighter while smoking a cigarette}
Just the Kapos.
We are *definitely* going to have some laughs at (reeducation) camp, T.
Look what fell out my ass. *weed*
I need a light now.
That sounds a lot like Labrador… Hmmm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYWDDZIuoII
I’m having this weird nostalgia for cigarettes. Probably splashover from rejecting damn near everything about the dominant culture.
And I don’t want to know where Tundra keeps his lighter in the Camp.
Don’t be so squeamish. Want a ciggie or not?
Alright, but you get to run the lighter. I’m not touching that thing.
what is this we stuff? unlibertarian
“Personal responsibility” is a tough sell.
The dominant culture is never pushed and maintained by a majority. The majority goes along with a minority of, I hate to say it, True Believers who have one way or another managed to make their view the dominant view.
The trick is figuring out the “one way or another”.
Shaming seems to be working.
I’m of the mind to turn that around.
And made that comment before going off to read Nock’s essay. Now back to say “duh”.
Malice is tearing it up.
https://twitter.com/michaelmalice
I was following up to a point but now it’s too meta or something and I lost it. (what is a 115?)
IQ score, I believe, is the joke.
Ok, that makes sense. 115 = midwit
I need to get one of his books.
Circular arguments are circular.
All people killed by cops are Black i guess.
There’s no arguing with that level of stupidity and/or craziness.
I left out the best part. That was that Tariq Nasheed Coates guy.
“Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa of Arvada, Colo”
OK, now they’re just making shit up.
of course. It’s actually Arvada Alley, Alliteration, Alabama
Stan Lee would be proud.
This most recent mass murder even was clearly an anti-white hate crime.
Anyone know when the rallies are scheduled to start?
I saw some people making comparisons between this guy (cause he’s white) and a black man that was shot by cops in boulder. Those comments often get very close to “I wish more white people died”, rather than “I wish less black people were killed”.
(cause he’s white)
Is he though.
white adjacent.
Ahmad Al Issa
Facebook has already erased him apparently. This isn’t the shooting they’re looking for to launch more gun control. This will be forgotten in a week.
“Screen shots of the Facebook page taken by Twitter users reveal that Al Issa was a devout Muslim who believed in conspiracy theories.”
Hmmm, I wonder if we may be able to discern some kind of motive?
Angry over the closure of some hawaiian themed restaurant?
Once the FBI is done rounding up grandparents for the Jan 6th insurgency, they’ll probably hit a dead-end on this mystery.
Wait, the narrative can still be saved!
“In one homophobic post, Al Issa wrote, “If straight people go to prison straight and come out gay doesn’t that mean that being gay is a choice.””
I don’t know about coming out of prison (Lord forbid), but maybe he’ll learn about the gayifying effects of prison life after getting *into* prison. Unless he ends up 30 years of high-security Death row, where maybe he’d be too closely monitored for shenanigans, and by shenanigans I mean…
Q Imam?
Like Q Anon, but with actual terrorism instead of just media freakouts?
I wish less black people were killed
Fewer…
I’ve changed my mind. I can see the benefits of certain people being killed.
/snark
Since its apparently what we do now, what is the race/ethnicity of the victims?
Although this is sarcasm, I think it extremely possible this dude actually did hate while people.
Well i mean While people suck. Always introducing unneceary accidental unending loops. For loops are the best, and use while only when a For won’t do.
Don’t get me started on If people, and their interminable questions.
well, in that Case.
Hmph.
There will be no return from this.
Doo Wop Loops:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6mxICQbwZg
There was nothing ‘wrong’ with my existing router within its operational parameters. It still runs fine, and is a quality machine. The problem is, the machine is so old that the max wired bandwidth is 100 Mb/s, and it appears my internet connection is more than twice that (crudest tests shows functional speed of 235 Mb/s)
So I ordered a new router, and got some new cables while I was at it.
Turns out CAT8 was overkill, and these cables are like garden hoses.
As a practical test, I kicked off a download from Steam. It’s fluctuating between 27.8 and 29.1 MBytes/sec when it had previously capped out at 11 MBytes/sec and saturated the network connect. Network connection is at 25% at the computer, so the bottleneck has been pushed back to the cable modem where it belongs.
For 235 Mbps, Cat8 is not merely overkill, Cat8 is Tsar Bomba overkill. You can push 235 Mbps over Cat5e just fine and with a little capacity to spare. Though, if your goal is to future proof your house for the next three-plus decades, you made the right choice.
Well on-network I can get 1Gb/s 😛
These cables look sturdy enough to last for the foreseeable future.
(unless fiber displaces copper in the home)
I have fiber to the desktop at work – it’s overkill. I had fiber to the home in San Diego – I do miss that.
Hey Florida! Help is Here.
And she proceeds to cackle manically.
Is she there to help with the illegals being flown in from the border states in the dead of night? With FL’s declining COVID numbers? With its decent economy? What?
The answer is always a cackle.
Hope the question is never about removing my gonads.
Just for that it’s time to go deep into music links… Johnny Socko – (This is your) Vasectomy.
You pull that off Dr. Demento?
Not at all. They were a midwestern party ska/punk band that I saw countless times back in the 90’s. Their biggest claim to fame is that they did a song about David Hasselhoff, and got to appear in the attempted reboot of Knight Rider in the 2000’s.
Great bar band!
The replies are just fucking weird. Like “Michelle Obama is gorgeous and graceful!” weird.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they came from Bots that Astra has been forced to pay for to stop the beatings.
Nice job again. Appreciate all your contributions. They really get me to thinking and expand my intellect and education.
So, is my not wearing a mask, except when absolutely compelled ( to keep my job, to fly to make my wife happy) and facing the consequences (I’ve been kicked out of four places, and definitely voice my opinion) the kind of resistance talked about in the essays?
Also, damn, now more essay’s to read!! Thanks buddy, like I don’t have 6 books on the waiting lists, and working two jobs, and drinking to do! LOL
Lazer:
My take on the mask nonsense is this – I wear it as my own level of convenience and patience dictates… but I make sure that every time I take it off (if I’m in public) that I mutter or speak words sufficient that anyone who happens to look will know exactly how little I think of them. A small form of resistance, if you will. I also wear my Glibs mask “THIS MASK DOES NOTHING” as often as possible.
I don’t make a big scene, but I’m also taking notes on businesses that are a little too enthusiastic about this shit. There may come a time when knowing who the collaborators are will be important information.
Agreed, my level is just WAY LOW. Luckily in my part of the woods, nobody really cares. And the last month or so it’s been about a 40% non wear in places. the stupid city ordinance, (NO state mandate EVER in MO) is supposed to expire in two weeks or so. Since the city council hasn’t expanded it yet, like they did the first two times (weeks before it was to expire) I’m guessing they will let it expire!!
Again thanks for your contributions, they really do help me expand on my knowledge of liberty!
“By pulling everyone into its power structure, the post-totalitarian system makes everyone an instrument of a mutual totality, the auto-totality of society.”
The quote above is why statists insists that silence is just as bad as committing the act itself, because in order for state to increase exponentially and crush those who are actively against it, the bystanders (who generally just want to live their lives in peace), have to understand that they either are actively fighting against whatever injustice they (the statists) believe is happening or be destroyed for not fighting with them.
Basically if you’re not down for the cause, you are the enemy.
Great write up, Ozy!
Thanks, Ed. I think you’ve hit it right on the head. That’s why they need participation – it helps bolster their actual numbers, too. They bring along the weak and malleable as soon as they can as part of the attempt to cow the strong.
We will never be the majority.
I’m used to it.
Yeah, I am for the most part too. Just a reminder about how we in these parts relate to the rest of our society.
Good writing Oz. Made me think of two stanzas from the middle of Macauley’s “Horatius”:
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
“To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods,
“And for the tender mother
Who dandled him to rest,
And for the wife who nurses
His baby at her breast,
And for the holy maidens
Who feed the eternal flame,
To save them from false Sextus
That wrought the deed of shame?
It’s been awhile since I’ve been dandled.
Join the resistance, leave your name and address with me at notafed at aol.com
/sarc, I should add. If there’s an actual owner of that account, I don’t want it to be like the innocent owners of the 867-5309 number.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo
Oh, that’s going to sting.
So much for jerking off about discovery.
Great follow-up essay. This is a terrific series, Ozzy!
From the Dead Thread:
But masks work perfectly for their REAL purpose, which is to tell other True Believers that you’re one, too.
Ding ding ding!
LOL.
Good write up, OZY.
Still doesn’t give me hope though.
Great write up. Keep it coming!
Thak a bunch Ozy.
I’ve got a lot more reading to do. And I thought I was well read until I started hanging out here.
The thing is all human traits are good and bad. I’m stalwart, you’re stubborn, he’s pig headed.
We all go along to get along in most things, because it makes life more pleasant, stress free and productive. We’ll adapt our behaviour to the norms of the country we’re in for that reason. “No shirt, No shoes, No service?” No problem. “Wear the Mask” “Bake the Cake”. Problems. Where’s the line? How do we deal with the line when we come to it? That’s the thing.
This sort of essay helps that. Thanks again.
Speaking of…
https://wgntv.com/news/colorado-baker-once-sued-over-wedding-cake-for-gay-couple-now-sued-over-gender-transition-cake/
Poor bastard is a shit magnet.
Sadly the only way he won originally, was because the state commission was so blatently anti-christian, that the court sided with him, not based on any rights of his to refuse service. Now they know to not say out loud what they are thinking, and can get away with it.
The state commissioners probably actively sought out and colluded with the new plaintiffs.
They are deranged assholes who probably should have been beaten up more in high school.
Amazes me…at this point you would think a court could recognize that these groups are specifically seeking him out so they can be denied.
You WILL celebrate me muthafucker!
Proper and only response from a judge should be “this is wasting my time, go to a different baker, this one thinks you are icky. Why would you want him to bake your cake?”
That what gets me. If I know someone doesn’t agree with my lifestyle, I’ll just go to a different shop and have them bake my cake.
Why do these assholes keep on going to his shop? They know he isn’t down for what they are doing but yet they presist on ruining this guy’s life. These people are truly vindictive and terrible.
Answered your own question. They are persecuting him because he has principles.
Because they get off on destroying others for daring to disagree.
I mean that seriously. They get off on it.
They’re chickenshits who would never physically fight someone and their own insecurity about it drives them to find other ways to dominate. Secure people don’t act this way.
It boggles the mind. If someone wrote, “No N-words allowed in this shop,” I would be pretty peeved and probably tell my closest friends but I wouldn’t want to sue anyone or destroy their shop. I would just never give that dude my money again.
I’d open a shop next door. No need to even do much marketing!
Thank you for the above comments. I’ve got another article in the queue for next week that will help people get their blood pressure up – my contribution to GlibFit.
I’m about to start on the one beyond that and going to make a run at claiming this space on the reg (Peace and Blessings Upon TPTB).
I hope I can live up to the high regard (and low standards). 😉
New trend? Rage running.
Low standards? It isn’t like you had to pay to get it published!
Ridiculous to say this but America remains a beacon of freedom in the world… If only because every other country is more tyrannical.
Germany to go into hard Easter lockdown as Covid-19 infections soar
The run on those one day opened grocery stores will be epic as will be the needless overcrowding. I thought the Germans were supposed to be smart.
They are also supposed to be cultured and civilized. But look at the photo in the article.
And the headlines at Salon give us “Blame the NRA for a nation of sociopaths” by AMANDA MARCOTTE
No need to click on the line. The lede is enough derp for one day.
The by-line is all the indication I need to avoid a click.
Thanks for not linking that garbage.
They really do hate their neighbors, and after no small number of glaring signs that they should stop hating their neighbors, they’ve decided to double-down instead.
Marcotte barely beats out Yorkshire Pudding on the IQ test scale.
Here it comes.
And I thought he was going to call for a ban on Muslims.
We all knew this attempt was coming, it was just a matter of timing. Respectfully contact your worthless senators and worthless representatives and let them know what you think.
I just use the GOA form letters.
Works for me…
*tosses on tin foil* Shooter was a huge Marxist. Shooter thought he could be the catalyst to bring about gun confiscation. Shooter goes on rampage
Bored at work…don’t take that serious.
Apparently, it was a Syrian-born Muslim who grew up in the US was mad because kids made fun of his name
So it was the fault of white supremacy.
Like yesterday?
Biden calls for a ban on “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines”
I could barely tell what that sociopathic, tyrannical cunte was saying. But I think I heard these words. Surely Sleepy Joe can explain, in detail 1) what these things are and 2) the constitutional justification for the governments authority to prohibit the ownership and use of firearms based on 1950s (and prior) technology.
Has it even been established that he used an “assault rifle”?
Because as of this morning, the reports were “LE has not released information”, with some speculation, but nothing concrete.
As I mentioned this morning, both LE and the media know exactly what gun(s) was used. That they haven’t released the info 18 hours after the fact tells me it isn’t what they want it to be.
Look fat – even if he didn’t shoot anyone with it – it was there SCARING people.
But he assaulted someone with the rifle, hence it’s an assault rifle! And why let the facts get in the way of a solution for some other crisis!
That they haven’t released the info 18 hours after the fact tells me it isn’t what they want it to be.
I assume it will be one that I own.
Only a witness stated “AR-15 style weapon”, but then again they said he was wearing full tactical gear. So unless he striped down or the police striped him down, I am going to say that the witness is tainted in providing anything accurate. Also those interesting reports (I know 48 hours) about two shooters…but who knows.
I interpreted that statement differently.
It stated the witness saw someone in tactical gear and an AR15 style rifle.
But that’s it. Not that the suspect had it.
I’m thinking the guy is describing one of the dozens of cops there involved, and not the shooter.
A sarcasmic Tulpa is booing in the morning links.
Think it’s the same guy?
Based on one boo, it’s hard to say
Is it a scary boo or a rude boo. These things matter!
Seems to me there should have been an increase in “mass shootings” under Trump, what with all the acceptance of white supremacy and lax gun laws and such. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t (I’m sure we’d have heard about it incessantly), but I would like to see the numbers.
There were a series of shootings, but then McConnell iced any chance of gun control, and they stoped talking about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were the same amount of shootings, but now that the Dems have power, the Press is publicizing it to galvanize action and make the weak kneed senators budge on confiscation/control.
That’s really what I was getting at. Were there more? Less? The same? Is the difference in publicizing them?
Of course, we have all sorts of fun with that by playing with the definition of “mass shooting” and rationalizing away things that don’t fit the narrative (like gang shootings in “diverse” neighborhoods).
The Bee has the answer to your prayers!
Sadly not parody.
They have some funny questions in there:
Favorite Bible Character: The Proverbs 31 woman
Where would you like to go on a mission trip: Waco Texas
“What is your denomination”
– Catholic
– Protestant
– Baptist
…
Heh
Apparently my ideal mate is Joanna Gaines. I’m not entirely sure any answer past the first one (“installing shiplap”) mattered.
They matched me with Gina Carano – I wonder who they matched her with?
Back off man, she’s mine.
I got her before you did!
I got matched with Gina Carano.
Good enough for me. I like Italian women with anger issues.
I got that House Flipper Lady.
Amy Grant…I guess God is with us after all
Thalidomide will do that.
[Golf Clap]
Hard to do that with deformed flippers, you insensitive shitlord.
Me too. I have one question, though: who the fuck is she?
The
MMAStar Wars non liberal character actor.She’s not a Star Wars actor anymore.
Yeah after I hit reply, I realized I missed another strikeout. Oh well..she is still fun to look at.
Imagine a muscular mob enforcer with better breasts.
Staci from youth group for me, looks kinda young though.
Did you and OMWC get mixed up?
I got Amy Grant.
I got Chris Pratt. I’ll take it.
Thankfully one Glib was willing to identify as a woman.
There was a good one on there for, which gender are you?
I got Tim Tebow LOL
Chris Pratt, bitches!!! HE’S OFFICIALLY & LEGALLY MINE NOW!
Too late.
Me too!
No apostrophe jokes?
YOU PEOPLE ARE DISAPPOINTING ME!
Apostrophes aren’t funny. They’re commas what decided to hang themselves and realized it doesn’t work on punctuation. Now they’re stuck top-justified.
I was going to make an Epstein joke, but he didn’t hang himself.
They we’re de’sponden’t.
Now you’re just pullin’ me’s legs
Gender Traitor.
In response to your question about the floral water on the cocktail post. The traditional ones are orange blossom water and rose water, and are both basically water infused with the pedals from the flowers. You could use any food safe flowers to make it (hibiscus, lavender, chamomile, etc.) which will all have their own flavor.
One of my regular supermarkets has shelves and shelves of various flower waters. Apparently it’s popular in Middle Eastern desserts.
Gaah. /reminded of when local Lebanese place gave us a lagniappe, bless them.
The same market gave me a can of hummus once. I might still have it around here somewhere.
I’d buy your hummus. I doubt it tastes like Granny’s fifties handbag smells (rosewater-scented sablé cookie).
Local ME market closed about six months ago and am still sulking.
I dunno. Hummus in a can doesn’t seem right.
So i’m guessing the narrative we are going to coallese on is that NOT calling this guy white is actually racist. I really don’t care if you call him white or brown, what i find interesting is the intense need for this murder to be one or the other.
Yeah, I’m fed up with the media’s crap. And the media hangers-on. They can all go fuck themselves.
He’s gotta be brown, because we bomb brown people around the world, including the country he came from.
My fucking phone just autocorrected “mostly” to “moistly”. Kinda changes the gist of the message…
As long as “like” didn’t also auto-correct to “lick” and your message wasn’t “I mostly like you”, you should be fine.
https://twitter.com/LightTruthpaper/status/1374110712373592068
Late to the game, but this is an example of what power the powerless can have. Great article again Ozy.
Cultural solidarity can be useful.
Average suburbanites aren’t going to inconvenience themselves like that. Which is part of the problem.
Eh, airline already got their money…but still nice to see them stand in solidarity.