Be sure to check out the Roses & Thorns section and hit up the comments with your own!
Without further ado, here are some thoughts based on headlines I’m seeing, the classes I’m taking, the YouTube holes I’m falling down, and the adventures of/with my 3-yr-old son.
University-led Terrorism
In a continuation from last week’s disillusionment, I bring you another article from The Daily Wire:
This one, entitled ‘State Universities Are Teaching Students To Blow Up Pipelines, Records Show,’ details how numerous universities across the country are not only promoting but requiring the reading of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, a book which specifically calls for terrorism. Even classes which have nothing to do with economics (capitalism), environmentalism, or policy were assigned the book.
At the University of California-Berkeley, for example, students of Geography & Interactive Biology were required to read the book. Instructors Jake Kosek and Paul Fine took what was ostensibly a biology course and transformed it into one on “decolonization.” The syllabus states that the “class focuses on the scientific practice of modern botanical taxonomy as a colonial formation that conditions our modern relations” and how the names of plants “were often forged to be of service to empire-building.”
Everything about that is disturbing. In a world which the Leftist morons want to be run by ‘experts’ this is the reason we lack actual experts. To them, science itself is colonization. These ‘academic’ jokes are teaching dadaism as if it were reality. But I digress.
Aside from UC Berkley, other institutions known to be requiring it include UC San Diego, University of Washington, City University of New York, Arizona State, Illinois State, and the Ohio State University.
The book, by Swedish author Andreas Malm, is available on Amazon for $12.99 ($9.99 on Kindle) and the subsequent ‘documentary’ is available to rent for only $2.99 on Prime. According to the article,
The book was published in 2021 by Swedish professor Andreas Malm and calls for terrorism and overthrowing capitalism, acknowledging that people will be killed as a result. “Demolish them, burn them, blow them up. Let the capitalists who keep investing in the fire know that their properties will be trashed,” the book says.
Tellingly, even Sean Illing at Vox knew it was a bad idea. Writing in Oct. of 2021,
Malm’s book — it’s titled How to Blow Up a Pipeline — is obviously meant to provoke. But embedded in the provocation is a morally serious challenge to how we think about, and act on, the crisis humanity faces. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure how I feel about it. For instance, I think his summons to violence vastly overstates our ability to “control” such violence once it’s unleashed. I’m also less confident in the strategic utility of violence (even if it’s limited to the destruction of property, as Malm recommends) considering the enormous blowback that might result from it.
Granted, Illing doesn’t have a problem with the violence bit. He just questions the “strategic utility”, acknowledging that there are consequences to that sort of action, as well as acknowledges that there’s no way to control violence once it’s been spun up, encouraged, condoned, and set free.
None of this is surprising. When “words are violence” and the cult inculcates an honest belief that humans are terrible and are “destroying the planet,” then it seems obviously inevitable that violent “resistance” is required. The ‘experts’ and ‘professors’ are the same incels who cosplay as revolutionaries [Antifa] and go looking to get their asses kicked. These fucking nutjobs will be the ones to start something they will come to regret.
Immanuel Kant
Last week I came across this video espousing Immanuel Kant and his philosophy.
I like the majority of videos that After Skool puts together, but for some reason this one hit me wrong. I can’t say that I disagree, necessarily, with the fundamental principle that Kant stated, (“Act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means.”), but rather that I find some of the outgrowth of his ideas suspect.
I studied philosophy at university. I’m pretty familiar with the heavy-hitters. I’m a rational and intelligent individual capable of reading and understanding the ideas of others. That said, I am not an expert on Kant. So I will be revisiting his ideas and writings over the next couple months and will strive to put together a post (or two) outlining what I think the problem I’m having is.
In the meantime, if you are an expert on Kant, or have opinions, I’d love to hear them out.
Cryptids
On Saturday, 02 March, 2024 The Why Files dropped this beauty.
I’m a huge fan of stories about cryptids. I’ve been a fan of Sasquatch and Nessie since I was young.
I had a book when I was younger (7 or so…honestly I ought not to have read it) that was full of strange (but allegedly true) tales. One of them that sticks out in my head was a story of a body that fell out of a plane and got caught up in a wind cycle which covered it in layers upon layers of ice before it finally fell to earth. Other stories were about cryptids. [I admit the possibility that the existence of this book is some sort of weird memory-hole or Mandela-effected event.]
I used to spend a couple weeks at a time throughout the summer staying with my grandparents on their farm. I’d stay in my mom’s old room. It had a small window that sat up high on the wall. Like a ‘privacy’ window you see in some bathrooms. It let in light but wasn’t very practical for viewing. I recall that for years after I first read about Sasquatch I was absolutely convinced that a creature was looking in that window at me at night. Of course, that’s absurd. Despite being at Sasquatch’s perfect head height (about 8 ft off the ground from the outside) there’s no way a Sasquatch was looking into the house. Not because they don’t exist (they most certainly do), but because the farm was only about 30 or 40 miles outside a town in Northwest Iowa and the only “forest” to speak of was the sycamore grove out back of the equipment shed. It was not Sasquatch territory.
I live in Colorado now and whenever I get the chance to go camping or spend time up in the mountains, I do. I’m always armed (on hikes I take the .45, in town it’s a 9mm). Ostensibly it’s about protection from bears and shady hill-folk, but now you know the real reason.
Roses & Thorns
To close out the free series this week I’m going to attempt to find three good things (roses) and three bad things (thorns) from the past week. The intent is to both learn to see the good and reward ourselves for the successes as well as learn to objectively see and correct things that need to be corrected.
Roses
Went to the mountain last week and got a couple of runs on the slopes.
I was sitting at my kitchen table the other day doing some
bookinternet learning while my son was in the living room playing by himself. I couldn’t see him, but I could hear him just fine. All of a sudden he says, “Aha! The case of the missing tweezers. This sounds like a job for Detective [his name]!” He’s not quite 4. I know where he gets this stuff, but I’m never not surprised when he pulls it out while engaged in solo-play. It cracks me up.Despite not having a job, and being annoyed beyond belief with the process of looking for work, I am trying to stay positive and use my time to teach myself more coding [we had a primer on Python in the class I just finished up]. Currently I’m writing code for a game. I’m also thinking about starting a series on this ‘Stack which documents my trials, troubles, and (hopeful) successes with coding. Let me know if you’re interested in that.
Thorns
My son is going through a very “must-cling-to-mom-at-all-times-and-I-don’t-want-anything-or-anyone-else” phase. It’s extra exhausting for his mother and I.
I wasted almost the entire day on Sunday. My wife and son were out of town from Saturday night to Monday morning so I was at the house just me and the dog. I did take the dog to the park, but that was about all I did that was productive.
My mother-in-law said something to my wife which hurt my wife’s feelings and sent her into a tailspin for a couple days. I don’t hold any ill-will, and it’s not my place to get involved. It’s between mother and daughter and will get worked out soon. But when my wife is in a tailspin, the whole household goes for the ride.
As you can tell, Roses & Thorns is unique to you and can run the gamut from small wins (or losses) to big things (in or out of our control).
Share your Roses & Thorns in the comments below.
I disagree strongly with Kant’s idea something to be good must be good at all times and all places. We live in a world of shadows, and half lights and half truths. I think unloving sex is really bad for a person - 99.99% of the time. Once in a blue moon it isn’t. Because people’s needs, genuine needs, often can’t be perfectly met in one place sometimes we get truth given to us in three moments that add to a whole truth. Each of those might not be perfect. But they were perfect for that moment at that time.
I was rather partial to Sasquatch myself! We went to the NW on a vacation when I was a kid. Early 90s and I was looking for Harry and the Hendersons the whole time. Sorry about the job search. I'm doing the same got a bunch of apps out and an interview next week. Something has got to give. I'm not blowing up a pipeline or starting an insult the John Only Fans as hilarious as that could be. Lol. Enjoy the cling to Mom phases. Best days ever when he gets a little bigger and you've gotten used to it. I stepped on a bee or two Sat running around outside. Full Mama heart, throbbing foot and worth every second. Definitely a rose and thorn all rolled into one. Totally write about the coding. I quit data Sci bc I didn't want to learn SQL but am doing a thing this week to try to get some certs and change careers so I get it. Pump your fellow millenials up we can use the pep talk! You'll get something soon. Any job will be lucky to have you on staff. I'd hire ya.