domain:alakasa.substack.com
haroldbkny
8m ago
Was I the only person on the planet that went with "huh, that's a cool optical illusion"?
Was there another way to view it besides a cool optical illusion? Was there some crazy blue/gold dress controversy that I wasn't aware of?
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
10m ago
To @100ProofTollBooth, @2rafa, and the others:
What, really, nobody can come up with anything other than some form of "join a religious group (for instrumental reasons, even if you don't believe) and hunker down" Benedict Option, where you just try to avoid being crushed utterly until… what, Judgement Day?
Say what you will about @FCfromSSC's usual over-optimistic canned response ("Just defy the Federal government, brah. They can't do anything to you if you don't accept their legitimacy; the bullets in that FBI agent's gun will bounce off you once you stop respecting Federal authority!"), it's at least a proposal for winning, as opposed to merely slowing the losses and trying to avoid total defeat (and poorly, at that).
ResoluteRaven
10m ago
I mean, some people's language learning goals really are "achieve a phrasebook level in 20 languages to receive social validation" rather than mastering any given language, and aside from that I think it's worth seeing how even quite a low level can get you through some basic interactions and make people much friendlier to you.
BurdensomeCount
Singapore is the only country that learned the correct lessons from the British Empire.
11m ago
If I ever have daughters (yes yes I know, ultimate cuckoldry and all that) I hope I train them well enough that they consider a random man (statistically IQ 100 with nothing going for him) they are stuck in the forest with as an asset (and know how to utilize this asset properly) instead of a threat.
2rafa
21m ago
Right. The Atlantic magazine article linked talks to a bunch of upper-middle class English-speaking Koreans, many of whom studied in the US (something very few Koreans ever do unless they come from rich families). The birthrate collapse can’t be blamed on them really, cities have been IQ shredders for affluent strivers for a thousand years, possibly forever.
coffee_enjoyer
☕️
24m ago
“Consider that Hebrew is a reinvented language” means consider that at one time a group decided to re-invent their in-group language. And yes, there’s a structure in place, which was started by people creating the structure, between the 18th and 20th century, depending on schism.
religions" invented whole-cloth tend to be much harder to get past "tax scam" skepticism
Like what? Satanism? What is more difficult than inventing a religion that worships literal Satan? How about the Rastafarians or the Nation of Islam. I dismiss the objections because they aren’t legitimate. You do not need an in-group language, although you can re-invent one; you don’t need history, although that helps — all history begins somewhere.
implication that one can have politically-useful divine revelations
Boy do I have some Abrahamic religions to show you. How many wives did Joseph Smith get to have after his revelation? How many riches, wives, and conquered nations did the early Arab expansion obtain? Was the Moses story invented to explain why Moses was kicked out of Egypt? Here’s a less outlandish tale: Western culture is uniquely chosen by God and the revealed texts are the Western classics. This can be your religion, if you’d like it to be (nota bene: it is not mine).
Pasha
Defend Kebab
24m ago
I always feel that everytime I read about East Asian social problems, it’s extremely focused on highly educated upper middle class striving part of the population. But then what about the remaining 80%+ of the population? What do Koreans who don’t do well at school think? The ones whose parents just run a shop or works for the municipality or something? People who never thought about buying a flat in a good area anyway? Surely there is also a real massive drop in the fertility rates of such people as well and it’s not because they are off studying or working 80 hours a week?
Felagund
27m ago
It's been used a few times (here's one example), exactly as you said.
BahRamYou
27m ago
So someone can be both hispanic and white, or hispanic and black, or even hispanic and Asian American Pacific Islander!
So? You can also be white, black, and Asian all at once. They're not mutually exclusive categories.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
31m ago
Is a Korean coupon clipping forum literally a place where Koreans talk about coupon clipping (and also apparently domestic drama???)???
Botond173
32m ago
Fair enough. When I first read it, I didn't notice that the story also entails boning.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
33m ago
The mission of small-c conservatives right now is pretty much lawfare. And, looking at SCOTUS and the legacy of Mitch McConnell, it's actually going damn well.
I disagree. If this keeps up, expect either court-packing, or loss of respect for SCOTUS decisions (there is no actual enforcement mechanism for Supreme Court rulings). Either way, I expect the Left to shut down these avenues fairly soon. Besides, the primary “win” here, Dobbs, is more a symbolic victory than anything else — as you note, it hasn’t actually changed much at the ground level.
On a social level, tradcath communities are real, vibrant, and actually growing especially among the Youths.
For now.
The positive side is that it truly is a durable community.
At current conditions. But as state oppression combined with anarcho-tyranny inevitably ratchet up, I doubt it’ll do nearly so well. You’re not (literally) bulletproof.
It's actually not that big of a deal to be a permanent minority so long as we can self-preserve
And I’d say that’s a mighty big “if,” given how much worse “bake the cake, bigot”-type actions are going to keep getting.
tradcaths babies on one hand
And how long are they going to stay that way when public schools get done with them?
and politicians from rural states that have a structural advantage in the Senate
And that’s not going to last all that much longer, either, given both demographic and political trends.
At best, this is a “losing as slowly as possible” strategy. It simply carves out a tiny bubble of survival, and only at the sufferance of the broader society. It can’t last forever.
Botond173
37m ago
That's the point. Fried ice does not and can not exist. It's an old Arab proverb, supposedly.
DradisPing
38m ago
They're more analogous than you think.
The English rulers wanted to increase the number of domestic supporters so they imported supporters from England and seized land to give it to them.
The Irish left wants to increase it's number of domestic supporters so they bring in politically loyal but violent foreigners. They lavish them in tax dollars and pay them to live in local neighbourhoods. The imports commit violence against locals, but it's a hate crime to fight back. Eventually the locals flee.
So their goal is essentially the same result with a few more steps.
ThisIsSin
Personal corporatehood
41m ago
I just call it “corruption”; because that’s what it is.
The woke are not meaningfully distinct from an Eastern European cop demanding a bribe; great for the cops, bad for everyone else. That they claim it all goes to the church is not material.
Felagund
43m ago
Unfortunately, the level of effort option can still lead people to think it'll be fine if they just take the measures, then not get concerned and don't take the measures.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
43m ago
Why? That’s not much money for a high earner and seducing a very desirable woman for a night and then moving onto the next one definitely beats almost any other alternative spending option in terms of satisfying the male psyche
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
44m ago
Consider that Hebrew is a reinvented language.
The Hasidim of Kiryas Joel speak Yiddish as their day-to-day language, not Hebrew. You should know that if you'd read up on them.
It’s so difficult yet virtually every small non-denominational Christian church is tax exempt?
Because for all of them, there's a history and structure already in place, going back to whichever group they schismed off of earlier. As others have pointed out, "religions" invented whole-cloth tend to be much harder to get past "tax scam" skepticism.
You just casuallly dismis all objections with "just try harder, bro." Along with the implication that one can have politically-useful divine revelations on cue as needed. It still boils down to "Just found a cult, bro. Not working? Just try harder, bro." And, of course, the usual denouncing anything other than unfettered optimism in your particular solution as "defeatism."
Bartender_Venator
45m ago
So, the ANC has gone back and forth between the two, and there were always cliques moving in and out of the main Xhosa/Zulu power structures within the party. Money united governing factions just as much as tribe. Ramaphosa represents a mildly Xhosa-slanted compromise with moderate/business-friendlier Zulu factions, but there is definitely fear among Zulus that the old Mbeki way of doing things will come back (Ramaphosa is somewhat corrupt - he definitely pays bribes to get things done - but there's a general sense among business-friendly people that he's corrupt in the interests of the country. Mbeki wasn't as blatantly corrupt as Zuma, but he had some awful people, notable for AIDS denialism contributing to SA's horrific HIV/AIDS problem). It's not quite a Zulu/Xhosa crackup of the ANC yet, particularly because the MK is so Zuma-centric and nobody knows where it will go yet. Educated and better-off Zulus are often embarrassed by Zuma representing them, for obvious reasons, and South Africa has a long history of splinter parties which go nowhere. I'd speculate this is more likely going to be a split among Zulus between Zuma loyalists and those remaining with the ANC, which could well spell a decrease in tribal jockeying within the ANC rather than Xhosa dominance. Worth noting that Zuma seems to have significantly greater ability to organize street violence than the ANC, which is a potentially massive wild card. Johannesburg is iirc the largest city in the world without a natural water source, northern SA's economy is dependent on mining exports, and Joburg's lifeline to the coast runs through the Zulu regions...
hydroacetylene
48m ago
Another Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey got released in March too.
NullHypothesis
49m ago
Because we have been conditioned by society to tell our daughters to avoid strange men (and for good reason!) and men are applying that same conditioning to this scenario. It's a trick to try to get men to consider the scenario from a woman's perspective.
As you point out, your daughter would have greater chances with a random man than with a bear.
guajalote
50m ago
I've met bears on a number of occasions while hiking, hunting, or berry picking in places like Tahoe, Colorado, and Minnesota. In my mind, meeting bears is a normal thing that happens from time to time, but I suppose that just shows how out of touch I am with normal peoples' lives. I think you're right that the bear is not "real" in the minds of most people answering the question.
I matched with a woman on Hinge on Friday. Talked to her for two days, then on sunday asked her out to a free live music thing at a bar for monday; cocktails at a cocktail bar, 10 minute walk to the venue. She said maybe, then the day of said she was tired. I asked her out to lunch instead since I didn't have another free evening this week. She confirmed this morning for today at 1:00. By the time I replied, she'd already unmatched with me.
Met a woman at the park yesterday. She came up to me, we had a long conversation, she spent most of it laughing and smiling. She reacted with glee when I said I also smoked weed. I asked her for her phone number, we could share a joint at lunch sometime. She said yes, shouted "Text me! :)" as I walked away.
No reply to that text message sent later that day with my #. No reply to the text I sent today asking about tomorrow. There will be no further texts.
I hate my life so much. I haven't had a date actually happen in six months.
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