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Notes -
An unknown assassin has attempted to kill President Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner tonight. One person is dead. President Trump is unharmed. The disposition of the assassin is unknown.
Manifesto/suicide note being reported.
I don't think I have much to write about this without breaking the rules. At least there is the comedy factor. Sonny here thought he was all geared up and prepared. Ready for his his big blaze of glory before sprinting a few feet and falling flat on his face. Not only were the Secret Service competent enough to stop him from attempting murder*, but they were competent enough to do so while preventing his suicide. The objections this guy chooses to address also indicate to me he was utterly mind killed by narrative. Who would object to him as an assassin a "half-black, half-white" assassin were he to succeed? Bluesky users? Yeah right.
With his life history this dude does not appear to have a great reason to throw himself away for the Cause-- as a sexless loser or a trans depressive might. This should be a normal guy. Stay out of the muck, protect your minds, people.
Some takes
The hypocrisy!
That's odd. Half-decent Caltech grads can walk into elite master's programmes with scholarships. I'd argue it is more prestigious than MIT for STEM. Going to a CSU for master's is a red flag.
Culture war angle -
Mixed identities, irreconcilable differences, and violence as a cry for acceptance.
At the risk of contriving a point, the unsuccessful mixing of identities is a common source of identity crises. And, radicalization is tied to identity crises. Here, I mean 'identity' in a wide sense : 2nd gen middle-eastern immigrants (mixed-nationals), bi-racial kids (mixed-race), trans people (mixed sex). If you squint, then the zeal of a convert can be reframed as radical behavior among the trans-religious.
This tension is reconcilable if the identities are compatible (eg: mixed nationals of allied nations) or orthogonal (say US-Ghana, latino-filipino). Obama's Kenyan-Hawaiian-White identities seem compatible, and he turned out alright. From Cole Allen's characterization of his identity, it sounds like he hadn't reconciled his African-American & American-White sides. I'd love to understand the specific mechanisms by which conflicting mixed identities reach violent or peaceful resolution. I'm sure it is different for each group.
In a less violent context and closer to home, I am endlessly fascinated by the dynamics of Indian-American mixed nationals. [Very much anecdotal]FOB (1st gen) immigrants like me are comfortable in adopting an American professional & civic identity, while holding onto their Indian cultural & spiritual identity. I've observed that East-Coast 2nd generations have a well integrated '2nd gen American-Indian' identity. Nimesh Patel and Akaash Singh are the classic archetypes. They hold onto an Indian religious identity, but have a distinctly east coast cultural identity. It's stable. West-Coast 2nd generations are the more interesting group. I've observed a visible discomfort that emanates from many west-coast 2nd gen Indians. Like they don't belong. Kamala is the most visible example of this archetype.[/Very much anecdotal]
I can't read their minds, so I'm projecting by relying on the closest analogue from my own experiences. As a kid, I had long periods where I was left out and didn't know my place. I hadn't figured out who I was supposed to be. It was a bad feeling. A physically perceptible discomfort coursed through me like a miasma. It festered for years before it got better (I use big words, because it was a big feeling). I'd fantasize about doing something heroic that'd get me accepted. Other times, I'd fantasize about angrily lashing out. I suspect those are common fantasies among people who don't have settled identities. Thankfully for me, I found myself and put that period behind me. Sometimes, I wonder how I would have fared in an era of Bluesky and social media.
The topic is close to my heart for more reasons than idle fascination. If things pan out, my child will be mixed-national , mixed-religious and mixed-race. I'm optimistic that the parents' identities are more compatible than not. But I will have to actively plan for mitigations instead of hoping for a default harmonious resolution.
Have users on this forum struggled with mixed identities? How did you resolve the frictions? Do you have a stable identity that you're now at peace with?
Certainly not as drastic as half black half white or half Indian half American, but my dad was Presbyterian (of Scottish decent), my mom was Catholic (of Irish and French descent). They both became Mormon before my oldest brother was born, so they found a new (shared) identity to raise us up as. That would be my advice - find a new common identity you and your wife can share, and raise your kid to identify as that. If you ever immigrate to the US (or Europe). I would strongly recommend adopting being American or being European as an identity. Especially in America, there is nothing that Americans (especially more right wing Americans) love more than an immigrant who goes whole hog into the American identity.
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