Eetan
21hr ago
Anti-D think that decadence has specific visible markers:
Now, we can check the ur-example of decadence, the example all this debate is about, late Roman Empire how well it check these boxes.
Decline in "warrior values" or "warrior ethos"
5th century Rome was less martial than Republican Rome at its peak, but I do not see less "warrior values" than in Principate when Rome was at its greatest power. (warrior skills and ability are another matter)
Increased emphasis on physical comfort among elite-class males
Ditto. In 5th century, you do not see extravagant luxurious life of the first century.
Decreased willingness to inflict physical pain, including reduced use of harsh training and corporal punishment
If anything, the opposite. In classical Rome, corporal punishment was reserved for slaves and provincials, Roman citizens (about 10-15% of population) were extempt. In late Rome, everyone except tiny elite of "honestiores" legally belonged to the "torturable" class.
Decline in sexual morality and/or traditional gender roles
Sort of - unlike in classical Rome, late Roman women had option to leave their family authority to stay celibate and dedicate themselves to religious life. If you want to make case that nuns (tiny percentage of population) destroyed Rome, do it.
Increasing willingness of people who are not battle-tested warrior elites (including priests, merchants, politicians, women, REMFs etc.) to interfere with military decision making
Again, no evidence of it. In first century, Caligula could divert the army to build bridge over Bay of Naples. No such wild tales from the fifth century.
Left-wing politics more generally, including increased wealth redistribution. (I'm not sure what fraction of anti-Ds would include this)
"Wealth redistribution" in late Rome was from the bottom for benefit of top oligarch class. This is period when free grain supply for city of Rome stopped for good.
Eetan
22hr ago
Left-wing politics more generally, including increased wealth redistribution. (I'm not sure what fraction of anti-Ds would include this)
This comes from 1980's GOP talking points ("dO yOU kNOw Roman Empire was destroyed by GOMMUNISM?").
Traditionally, virtuous society was seen as egalitarian republic of small self sufficient farmers, and society where handful of oligarchs owns everything and the bottom 99% are mass of dispossessed serfs was seen as degraded and decadent society ripe for picking. No one before Ayn Rand said that Roman Empire fell because it was not grinding down the peasants hard enough.
Eetan
1d ago
"Latest School Shooting, Shooter Is Trans Groyper"
Imagine you have to explain this ordinary daily news to someone from 1956, even science fiction fan of the time. This is how life in the future feels like.
Eetan
1d ago
Xitter account of the perpetrator here unlike previous cases it is still standing (so far). Oversight or deliberate change of Xitter policy?
Eetan
1d ago
Exactly zero right wing people are out in the streets getting themselves shot by cops for interfering with the enforcement of government policies they disapprove of.
Umm... where to start. The numbers are not large, but definitely not zero.
Eetan
1d ago
Thailand has rather lax gun laws by East Asian standards, but most notorious mass shootings were perpetrated by army and police.
Eetan
1d ago
I remember some online poll where Americans were asked about various public figures, there were options like/dislike/no opinion/never heard about them.
Cannot find it right now (might be misremembered)
About 2% claimed to never heard about Donald Trump, the lizardman number.
If true, these are the happiest people and we all could just envy them.
Eetan
1d ago
How do you handle it when people ask for your political opinions in real life?
If you want to have fun, just pretend to be completely ignorant about the issue.
A: Do you stand with Upper Trashcanistan?
B: Trash... whatever, what is it? Some new restaurant or fast food place in the town?
Then watch how your interlocutor ties himself to knots desperately trying to explain the issue in five seconds.
Eetan
1d ago
I agree that the post on the Maronite Chronicle is real historical research.
It does not seem to be revolutionary at all, no shocking secrets uncovered, no revelation that The Prophet was transgender woman of color that never existed. It well aligns with other sources we have for 7th century Middle Eastern history, it confirms that our general knowledge about these times is accurate.
And this is how real historical research looks like in most cases.
Eetan
1d ago
it's not something I would have leapt to as a good example of 'real history research'.
Well, she gets the black pill lesson of history that there is no such thing as ultimate "lesson of history"
Good luck getting experts and professionals to tell you so in such open way.
Eetan
1d ago
There are whole categories of activity that can feel deeply compelling while you're doing them, but are impossible to interestingly convey to others.
It always depends on your audience. D&D player would be impressed by 14th level elf, WOW player not so much.
Eetan
1d ago
For unironic context, this is what real history research looks like.
Yes, you can still find new historical sources, not only from newly opened modern archives, but from older times too - there is still surprising amount of centuries old written material never properly classified and published.
This is shame, because raging modern culture war can use anything, no matter how old.
Eetan
1d ago
Most probably, he found out that FBI work is just another office job, especially at the very top, not something from action movies.
Eetan
1d ago
gets across to normies
Are there any "normies" as undecided voters willing to be persuaded by red or blue side by facts, logic and reason?
How many such people are left (if they ever existed). Everything looks that polarization is complete, there is blue and red side hardened in their camps (and equally hardened grey non voting, non caring mass that refuses to participate).
Eetan
2d ago
There’s military doctrine reasons that the field advanced so slowly
Yes, it would be cool if every grunt was universal starship stormtrooper trained to use every weapon or tool from nuclear artillery to toothpick with maximal skill and efficiency, but time (and learning ability) is limited and you have to prioritize.
IRL, if you find yourself in situation when you face the enemy and only thing you have is pistol, you are 99,99% hosed regardless of your marksmanship. (not always, see the famous knife fight from Ukraine trench, where knife fighting skill made a difference)
Eetan
3d ago
Yea, it is about year 1923.
Eetan
3d ago
Let us engage with this low (but not zero) probability scenario realistically.
If these fears come true, if big boog comes for real and US of A turn into some combination of Syria, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe and Chernobyl exclusion zone, then whole world's economy and international order (with its arcane system of passports, visas and residency permits) goes straight to the toilet. US passport and US dollar would be as useful as Tsarist passport and rouble was about 1920. No one in this world is going to welcome any refugees or send any humanitarian aid.
If you see this future as highly probable and want to escape it, you need to act now, you need to leave ASAP and gain some sort of legal existence elsewhere far from North American continent (and any current or potential war zone) before the hammer falls and all doors shut.
Eetan
4d ago
My opinion is that US schools do a really bad job of teaching the civil rights protests
Is there any topic where current US schools do a good job of teaching?
It is certainly not basic reading, writing and arithmetic.
And even when the system really tries, the effects are not great. See one historical event that TPTB consider crucially important for everyone to know, event that is taught not only in schools from the earliest age, but also in popular media and entertainment.
Eetan
5d ago
One interesting twitter debate going on right now is the billionaires prefer waitresses.
As usual for xitter, this is debate about empirical fact of the world, completely empty of any interest in checking whether the fact is indeed factual or fictional.
Billionaires are public persons unless they make extreme efforts to stay out of sight, it would not be hard to make proper class (and race, religion, education, look etc.) analysis of their marriages and then try to make some inference from this hard data. But why bother, this will be much like work.
Eetan
5d ago
I think that the 3d printing thing is a stupid moral panic.
Depends on location.
In North America, Middle East and similar parts of the world filled with guns up the wazoo, yes, in these cases it would be desperate attempt of closing doors of barn that went empty long time ago.
In heavily gun controlled regions of the world, if you want the plebs stay disarmed, you should be very very worried about this new development.
The fact that a competent craftsman with a machine shop can build a decent firearm
The fact that machine shop is big and noisy, while 3D printer is shoebox sized device you can run in your bedroom without even people in the next room knowing anything makes lots of difference.
the hard part would be building a rifled barrel.
Not any more, look for electrochemical machining. It is slow, but needs only bucket and is completely silent and discrete.
Eetan
5d ago
nugget of truth in the EHC idea
More than nugget. Whether you love or hate communism, you must admit that the old guard early 20th century communist veterans were among the most capable people in history (comparable perhaps only to 16th century Jesuits).
If it was year 1926, Communist agitator of the time would in open, no holds barred debate demolish whole Motte with ease.
personal complaint at not being wined and dined by the plebs.
More like: these people are my White brothers, but they care only about sportsball and fentanyl and struggle for Whiteness leaves them cold.
Eetan
5d ago
Originally, "Elite Human Capital" meant, well, elite human capital. For example, the sort of people who became Communists in first half of the last century.
Any movement who wants to move somewhere should attract such people.
Eetan
6d ago
Empirically, the only way you can protect against spree killings by psychos is to deny the general population (many of which are unfortunately, undiagnosed psychos) weapons.
Empirically, this ship sailed long ago, at least in North America. There are at least 600 million guns, possibly one billion, out there, and they are not going away.
Then it is another point against counting late Roman empire as "decadent". Late Romans had enormous ambition and drive - to be Christians, to be the correct kind of Christians. People who DNGAF do not spend enormous resources on building churches, and would not bother with ceaseless religious strife and persecution.
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