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ActuallyATleilaxuGhola

Axolotl Tank Class of '24

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joined 2022 September 08 09:59:22 UTC 

				
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ActuallyATleilaxuGhola


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
Axolotl Tank Class of '24

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 08 09:59:22 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 1012


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Wellness Wednesday for April 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I took an OCEAN quiz recently and scored low on agreeableness.  This was bit shocking to me because as a child and young adult I was always very agreeable, sometimes almost a doormat.  After reflecting a bit I concluded that the quiz was right and I really have become a less agreeable person.  I think that the weight of responsibility and the limited amount of time I have now has just reduced my patience for pleasantries and circumlocution.  I'm not an "asshole" (I think), I'm just direct and to the point.


My neuroticism also dropped from moderate to low.  But everything else stayed the same.


How has your personality changed over your life?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I suppose that as an American my problem with Europeans' opinions of "the path [America] has gone down" is that the average European really knows very little about what it's like to be an American, what America as a country is about, and why America does it what it does domestically.*  But because they watch Hollywood movies or CNN they believe they understand America as well as (or even better than) the average American.


This isn't a unique phenomenon.  As someone from the Southeast US, when I lived in the PNW, I would occasionally get knowing smirks when I mentioned my home state as my conversation partner assumed I was a refugee from "Jesusland" or "Dumbfuckistan" or whatever the popular slur was and would make some nasty remarks about the place my family comes from to try to ingratiate themselves with me.  You see, they've seen Forrest Gump and Deliverance and finished the Grade 8 social studies unit on the Civil War and Jim Crow, so they know all about where I'm from.  Have they visited? Well, no, they drove through once and cracked some jokes with their buddies at the time but they certainly never stopped to look around.  Why bother? Everyone knows what those people are like.


*For the record I'm not irked by criticism of American foreign policy from Europeans.  I'm not a fan of the GAE myself, so I just agree and shrug and say something to the effect of "if only votes mattered in the empire."


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
You're right, I was mostly talking about white collar/upper middle class Europeans.  The working class or lower working class Europeans I have met have been very chill and friendly.  Good folks.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The seething contempt long predates Trump.  It was like that in the 90s when I lived there.


Also, contrary to the European stereotype of Americans, we can tell the difference between good-natured ribbing and thinly veiled hostility.  I have friends who rip on the U.S. in good fun.  And I have acquaintances who clearly have a chip on their shoulder.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 30, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I am fairly confident that if circumstances were reversed - if the military and economic security of the US turned on the impulses of European voters, or we were staring down the barrel of an economic crisis because European leaders did something retarded - Americans would be at least as cool on Europe as Europeans appear to be on us right now.




Americans would probably be less anti-European than Europeans currently are anti-American.  This is because there's an element of snobbish contempt and reflexive ego preservation in the European attitude that really doesn't exist in American attitudes towards Europeans outside of extremely online spaces.


Normie Americans think Europe is Notre Dame and Big Ben and Oktoberfest and Italian cafes, oh and don't they have some issues with terrorism? Still, beautiful place, would love to visit one day.


Normie Europeans think America is a country full of backward nouveau riche troglodytes who make houses out of wood and probably plastic and styrofoam and drive big stupid cars and kill each other with guns and eat nothing but McDonalds, Velveeta, and probably plastic and styrofoam and call it "cuisine," and worst of all they have the gall, the absolute gall to think they are equal or even superior(!!) to us and that they can tell us what to do! They won't say all that directly to your face, but 2 out of 3 Euros are unable to contain their seething contempt and will eventually have to get in a "witty" (passive-aggressive) dig about guns/racism/big cars/food/etc apropos of nothing in an otherwise friendly conversation.


Early Americans thought their political system was superior to European monarchy, but they copied European styles and imported European fine goods and high culture.  Europeans have never had anything but contempt for American culture, and this contempt and wounded ego greatly amplifies their dislike for America.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 23, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


To the extent that there is a distaff counterpart to "toxic masculinity"




Top-tier Freudian slip.


Edit: apparently this was intentional


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 23, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Do you have an elevator pitch for Catholic transhumanism? I thought that they were diametrically opposed.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I am just astounded at the sheer arrogance. Not offended, but genuinely astounded that you can be so lacking in perspective and awareness.




It's just a bit that he enjoys doing.  And I suspect that he enjoys it because it never fails to get a bunch of responses. He's kind of like Kulak in that way.  Kulak used to annoy me until I realized that his tough guy schtick was just a character he played online to get engagement.  When you switch to analyzing the performance instead of the (thin) content of the argument, these characters become much more interesting and enjoyable to read. Unlike Ilforte/Dasein, they at least appear to be having fun.  Don't hate the player, hate the game.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles.  Just finished "Winter King" and now starting "Enemy of God."  Listening to the audiobooks read by Jonathan Keeble and having a great time.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I always found the supposed paradox amusing.  "Tolerance" just means "Enlightenment liberal orthodoxy" and intolerance just means "heretics."  When you translate the terms into what they actually mean in practice, the alleged paradox quickly vanishes.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Japanese and Koreans also believe this and are open about it.  Some normie Dutch and Belgians are pretty open about it too, although they will use softer language and qualifications.  This "nation of immigrants" idea is really just an American meme that infected the Anglosphere.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


A distinctive mark of fascism is its conception of politics, best captured by Carl Schmitt, an early-20th-century German political theorist whose doctrines legitimized Nazism. Schmitt rejected the Madisonian view of politics as a social negotiation in which different factions, interests, and ideology come to agreement, the core idea of our Constitution. Rather, he saw politics as a state of war between enemies, neither of which can understand the other and both of which feel existentially threatened—and only one of which can win. The aim of Schmittian politics is not to share the country but to dominate or destroy the other side.




This is either ignorance or dishonesty.  Schmitt differentiated between "inimicus," the private enemy with whom you disagreed about e.g. tax policy, and "hostis," the public enemy whose way of life is fundamentally incompatible with yours and who threatens your ability to continue your way of life.  AIUI he argued that democracies treated both groups as "inimicus" which allowed the "hostis" to undermine the existing culture unopposed.  It's actually a pretty anodyne description; I think that outside of a few dogmatic ideologues, people of nearly any political leaning would agree with it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 16, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Those sound like pretty standard "old GOP" positions to me.  Fiscally conservative, fanatically supportive of Israel and Jews.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks, that makes a lot more sense.  Really sad stuff.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
This would make it all add up for me.  And adds an extra layer of tragedy to the whole affair.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I have the same question I had last time this came up.  When she repeatedly passed out for hours only to wake up later with body aches and sore and messy private parts, did she not suspect anything? This seems like the sort of thing you only get away with a few times before even the slowest people wise up, but somehow he did this to her 2-3 times per week(!) for 9 years(!) including sex acts she wasn't willing to do, such as anal(!), and apparently these strange men were sometimes forcing her to gag on their members while she was unconscious(!).  I do not understand how you she could not out the pieces of the puzzle together.


I'm really not trying to blame this victim here as the husband seems like an absolutely awful person, but there must be more to the story. Did the wife have some psychological issues that caused her to miss the signs? Was she aware of it but refused to report it because she feared for her safety?  Was she hiding the abuse because she was too ashamed to reveal it? Did she have some mild kink that her husband just took way, way too far?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
His username was different than the site name. And I think he was a pretty high quality poster back when he posted.  Can't remember who it was.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Tell us more about which countries are which.  As a burgerstani I cannot begin to guess.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Wow, now that's a blog I haven't thought of in a long time.  I'm pretty sure the creator was a regular on the Motte subreddit (or even the old /r/SSC CW thread?).


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks.  I will try to report back after a year.  Maybe do a small write-up in the Small Questions thread.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I didn't phrase it well.  It's really just supplemental education at home, no exams or registration with the government.  Just extra reading and study in addition to what theyre doing at school.  Currently just religion, English, and history.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
No judgement here, but I can never get over how cringe Japanese rap sounds to my American ear.  I realized long ago that it's not for me, it's for the domestic audience who have a completely different idea of what rap is. But it is so goofy and poseur-ish (and not in an ironic self-aware way) that it triggers a disgust reflex when I hear it.  Objectively speaking, there are some quite talented Japanese rappers, but I just can't get into the genre.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I have four kids.  I like hanging out with and taking care of my kids.  It gets more fun after they turn 1, then even more after they turn 7, then still more after 10.


It's really not that bad.  It's hard, but so is training for a marathon, learning violin, studying Chinese, learning to sail, reading literary fiction, really anything worthwhile in life.  I personally do not think a life of video games, Netflix, international vacations to the rest of the now-Disnified tourist-friendly world, concerts, craft beer bar visits, escape rooms, or whatever single millennials my age are doing these days would be very fulfilling for me personally.  I actually WFH expressly because I want to help my wife (a SAHM) cook, clean, and take care of the kids. We also do part time homeschooling and plan to switch to full homeschooling soon.  Neither of us had to do any of this, we both have careers and made enough money to pay for daycare and still have disposable income.  We chose to.  I promise you we are not doing it under duress.


Also, there isn't really a stigma against saying you don't want to have kids anymore. Everyone in my entire company AFAIK has 0-2 kids.  Probably 70% of coworkers over 30 are childless.  Not having kids is the normal default now.  Having kids at all is slightly unusual.  Having enough kids that you must orient your life around raising them instead of throwing them into daycare is on par with being a Scientologist or something.  People clearly think I'm a little insane.  But I've also been surprised at the small minority who express admiration and jealousy. Not everyone thinks the way you do.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Is it ethnic French having the kids though, or ethnic North Africans and other Muslims?  IIRC France deliberately obscures the answer by preventing collection of racial census data, so I'm always skeptical when France is brought up in TFR discussions.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yeah, no, you don't get to rewrite history like this.  I grew up surrounded by O'Reilly and Rush fans before moving to Blue America.  Cons say libs are "dumb," "fruity," or "clueless." Libs say cons are "hateful," "evil," a "disease."  Libs don't get to excuse their bloodthirst by inventing an alternate past where the cons escalated the rhetoric first.