Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
Disabled Alaskan Monarchist doomer
User ID: 2666
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
THAT got completely abandoned.
I'll dispute this point, because if a number of my acquaintances at Caltech were any indication, for some it was not so much "abandoned" as "rebranded." The usual argument went something like: "eugenics" is a discredited pseudo-science; they had bad ideas as to which traits are "good" or "bad," and little understanding of what is or isn't genetic — they hadn't even decoded DNA yet! So when we, with all our improved knowledge, begin improving the gene pool, and removing negative traits (like whatever brain defects cause people to believe in talking snakes, private gun ownership, and voting Republican), it will be genuinely scientific, not pseudoscience, and thus, by definition, not "eugenics."
So to me, the question becomes, if they 'lose' now, will they try again in 10 years?
My guess is probably. These sorts of reversals are almost always temporary. "Cthulhu swims slowly…" and all that.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
a movement that believes that this election will literally determine life and death of democracy in America, thought that this would be an effective tactic.
Again, if they really believe it's a matter of "life and death of democracy in America," why would they limit themselves to just trying to win the election with this — as opposed to using it as laying groundwork for exceptional measures after the election.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
They just don’t work anymore.
As means of persuading voters? Probably not. As justification for taking extraordinary measures to "defend democracy"? Perhaps — particularly as a means of justifying to themselves resorting to unprecedented levels of electoral fraud (or even just having the "official results" be, shall we say, rectally-sourced?)
So... did it land? No I don't think so.
I've seen people argue that this isn't about trying to sway the voters, but laying the groundwork for after the election. For example, from a commenter over at Instapundit:
Trump will be arrested if he wins. The DNC and Deep State will not allow him to take office. They're laying the groundwork for public discourse now and are planning it internally. Harris would not be allowed to call him a fascist, and all the rhetoric from retired generals and "experts" all over the air waves.
I've seen similar arguments elsewhere. As a YouTube commenter once put it, Weimar Germany made the mistake of letting Hitler and the Nazis into the government just because they won elections, and we must never repeat that mistake ("Never again!"). This proves Trump wants to be Hitler — this time, for realsies, trust us! — and so, to defend Our Democracy and countless millions of American lives, we must stop him from returning to the White House, no matter what it takes.
The rules, the Constitution, prohibit this? It's time to get Schmittian — "sovereign is he who decides on the state of exception" — and "the Constitution is not a suicide pact." In this "state of exception," the 'rules' take a backseat to the very survival of our nation against Hitler 2.0. (And besides, the written Constitution hasn't described how our government is actually constituted and functions for at least a century — it's a dead letter.)
Of course, my primary theory is that all of this is for show, and "the fix is in," as they say. Get ready for eight years of Harris. To give some quotes from one of my favorite commenters (one "L") over at the Dread Jim's blog:
So, you rightoids ready to sit in the corner and watch while elite human capital takes home another election?
…
You have crucial states openly announcing that they won’t be reporting counts until several days afterwards and you honestly think you stand a chance? I knew rightoids were low IQ but even I’m surprised by ignorance of that level.
…
Again, doesn’t matter if they exclusively counted votes while utterly shitfaced. You have no institutional means to stop them saying the total is whatever we want and no ability to use force. You’re done, simple as.
And my favorite in the thread:
It literally would not matter if there wasn’t a single genuine voter for Kamala in any of those states. The vote is whatever the people counting the vote say it is. Guess who those people are?
By the way, there’s not a single mechanism or institution that would ever support any kind of challenge to the results. Musk can say whatever he wants, in the short time he has before prison, and it doesn’t mean anything.
Edit: another proposed theory I'm seeing — this isn't about persuading voters, this is dogwhistling for the crazies to get the job done this time. From another Jim commenter:
Surrounded by a crowd of mystery meats, roasties, some pale cucklords who look vegan, and one hoary and hoarse Obongo, she once again attempts to meme Trump into being Hitler (who himself endured lots of assassination attempts, as many people remember), and pretty much begs — she might as well go down on her knees, as she is used to — everyone to just kill that cracker. There’s very little nuance here. It’s open season from now on until Order is Restored.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
African TFRs have declined faster than expected and you cannot walk from sub-saharan Africa to the southern US border.
Doesn't matter; lefty "humanitarian concerns" and need for more votes will have them shipping them over en masse.
Far more conformist-to-the-point-of-totalitarian governments in northern Europe have failed to prevent demographic growth among the native fundamentalists.
Because they didn't have the tools and technology modern states do.
the level of state disfavor directed against the Dutch Calvinists or French Tradcaths is likely the maximum that western governments are capable of
Naïvely over-optimistic. For example, it's been a staple of 20th century sci-fi that eventually the government is going to regulate and license parenthood to prevent "overpopulation." Most of my classmates in college back in the early 2000s thought it was necessary — both to "save the environment" and to prevent "the wrong sort" from having kids (some defined "wrong sort" in terms of genetics, others in term of likely bad "nurture", but both agreed the target would be flyover Republicans). Just a couple days ago on Reddit, in a discussion on SpaceX, space exploration, and why the latter is becoming "right wing" coded, several people proposed that "space" is right-wing because going into space is totally unnecessary, and Earth will be more than enough, if only we can get reproduction and population growth under control — and therefore "parental licensing" is both necessary and inevitable. The only problem they could see with it was the need to figure out how to keep "the wrong people… (right wing conservatives)," from taking it over and using it to promote "racism, inequality, sexism, ableism and the like" (as opposed to using it against their enemies).
How would your conservative communities handle being systematically denied parenthood licenses?
Or how about trying to "hide your power-level" when FMRI scans get good enough at reading brain activity — and the software good enough at interpreting it — that the government can actually detect "thoughtcrimes" when they question you "under scan"?
By growing until we have the numbers to control the place.
Again, you're naïve if you think that will be allowed. Even with the fertility advantage, it's mostly being offset by lousy youth retention rates among most groups. Why will that change for the better, rather than the worse. The current trend is still toward becoming a smaller and smaller minority. Sure, the projections have that turning around in the longer run… but before it does, we'll be at our smallest and weakest? Why wouldn't that — when things start to turn around and the fraction starts growing again — be the time for them to really crack down and crush us?
I get that you can't picture a future moment where the last social conservative alive is on his or her knees next to a ditch with a gun to their head, but I can. (I imagine your objection ultimately comes down to your belief that God won't allow such an outcome.)
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
You can do any, indeed all, of those things at older ages.
Menopause and the rarity of "age gap" relationships — outside of elderly "sugar daddy" sorts — make parenthood incredibly implausible. Plus, try finding the energy to deal with teenagers when you're in your 60s or 70s.
And what's "awkward fumbling to be expected and forgiven as part of the learning process of forming relationships" in a teenager is often "creepy and a reason to call the police" for a balding 40-year-old man.
Cognitive decline for physics. Add schizophrenia and medication side effects. Plus, the entire field is in a slump right now.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
So the goal is a conservative, but atheist community, at low cost.
Not so much "atheist community" but "conservative community that doesn't exclude atheists" — the Elks, Eagles, and Freemasons all require belief in God, the Knights of Columbus are Catholic-only.
you could just go to a rifle club meet-up
Would this require me to own a rifle? Because I can shoot (I grew up doing so; parents are both life NRA members, one of my brothers used to sell guns), but my past psychiatric hospitalizations means I'm legally barred from owning one. For that matter, it might bar me from participating with a borrowed one as well.
or the cheapest sailing club you can find
The only sailing clubs I can find are the Alaska Sailing Club in Big Lake — 57 miles from Anchorage by road, $250 individual membership — and the William H. Seward Yacht Club, in Seward — 127 miles from Anchorage by road, $575 individual membership.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
There are almost no things that are too late to turn around.
Parenthood? Dating for the first time? A career in physics (physicists all do their best work in their 20s, and are generally considered "over the hill" once they pass 30)?
Along the lines of that last one, how about an athletic career? Or obtaining military experience?
There's plenty of things one can end up too old to do.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
27d ago
Do 1-2 long meditations every single day
Schizophrenics like me are strongly warned not to attempt meditation of any kind.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
Objectively false. Concluding this from a quick look at a small section of some of the most traditional and elitist clubs is a bad idea.
Okay, so amend it to "no club worth joining" then. The original context that prompted me to ask this was /u/hydroacetylene saying to me "[i]f you want socially conservative institutions and communities, go and join them," and to "join a community org(lions club is always recruiting)"
So, the point is finding "a community org" within the class of "socially conservative institutions and communities" that's accessible to a poor, disabled, far-right atheist like me… in Anchorage.
Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage has a "No One Dies Alone" program.
From the hospital's volunteer page's list of requirements:
• Commit to volunteering for at least six months, fulfilling an assigned two- to four-hour shift each week
• Serve a minimum of 100 hours
This seems like exactly the sort of regular, scheduled volunteer work that gets Social Security deciding you can hold down a job and aren't really disabled.
just go help out at a food bank.
Our food bank hasn't been doing so well lately with regards to supplies, and from what I've seen, has been scaling back their operations. I say this as someone who, until recent schedule changes, was a frequent recipient of their help.
I’d never heard of a Lions club that charges extortionate dues
What do you define as "extortionate"? The problem is that what most people would consider perfectly affordable dues are outside my price range. It's the same thing as with gym memberships, or any other of things people recommend to me on the assumption that anyone who lives in America and can get online can spare an extra $30~$40 a month for something.
If you’re just looking to volunteer and connect with people that way
Well, the original context was more about politics: that if I want "socially conservative institutions and communities, go and join them" (as opposed to waiting for a Caesar).
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
In general, good advice.
In general, but not for me. I asked this question elsewhere, and the answers I got were more invite-only organizations, most of which bar atheists.
Basically, it's what I already know — I'm just subhuman scum, Lebensunwertes Leben, and no club would ever want me as a member.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
So, as is usual, my approaching birthday (the day after the election) is worsening my depression — reminding me of how little I've accomplished, how much of my life I've wasted, how many things it's too late for me to try to turn around. (All of which just increase the frequency of wondering why not just skip to the end, since at this point those remaining years won't change anything.)
I'm on meds, I see a therapist regularly, and I'm spending more time under my SAD light (because winter in Alaska). Any other suggestions?
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
They exist in the present day and the government doesn’t harass them enough to get rid of them.
Yet. But they will.
Go back to church
Back?
join a community org(lions club is always recruiting),
See here.
Even a high immigration scenario has the US population peaking later this century
Cite? Because I expect wherever you got this from, they've based it entirely on the expected decline in Hispanic immigration, without taking into account Sailer's most important graph in the world, and the likely massive growth of immigration from sub-Saharan Africa to more than replace the decline from Latin America.
make social conservatives the ones to whom the future belongs because we show up.
How? Particularly without either seizing power, or ending up getting crushed?
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
Thanks some more. So, I hope that this is enough so that, the next time /u/hydroacetylene tells me to "join a community org(lions club is always recruiting)," I can point him to all this and tell him to shove it.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
What's your disability?
Schizophrenia, autism, depression.
You really can't do anything for money?
The local Division of Vocational Rehabilitation basically ruled me unemployable; and the "welfare trap" around SSI is rather steep.
Where are your parents? Your siblings?
All here in Anchorage.
Why Anchorage?
See above. Born here, raised here (aside from some time out in rural AK, and college in SoCal). Family is here, friends are here, my entire personal support network is here.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
My local Lions Club is not expensive at all to join
"Expensive" is relative. My local Lions Club here in Anchorage appears to be pretty average in its fees… but that's still outside my price range, given my poverty.
To put it more clearly, $40/mo. is outside my price range.
Rotary
From their webpage: "Clubs accept new members by invitation" from a current member, and among the many membership requirements include having "A professional, proprietary, executive, managerial, or community position." I'm a jobless welfare parasite.
Kiwanis
It appears to indeed be cheaper in terms of membership dues; however, looking at the application, it's another one where you need to be sponsored by an existing member. (Plus, the local club here in Anchorage meets via Zoom, which my internet quality isn't up to supporting.)
Zonta (female only), Soroptimist (female only)
I'm male, so those are out.
Round Table
Invite only; there doesn't appear to be a local club, and I'm too old (I'm in my 40s).
Thanks for answering, at least, but it looks like I'm just out of luck.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
28d ago
I don't understand your point
My point is that people who are neither "totally crazy" nor "totally stupid" can still believe that 2020 was stolen, contra OP's assertion otherwise.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
29d ago
First, I think that link is mostly focusing on the wrong set of people, who are downstream from those who matter more. Secondly, I think it's mistaking a brief ebb in a larger trend for a serious reversal. Expect these woke indicators to start going back up again during the Harris administration.
Edit: also, as pointed out in the paper, some of the "reversal" is just the removal of the temporary bloat that developed during Covid.
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
29d ago
It's kind of hard to say "Trump is either incredibly dumb or incredibly crazy"
Except the steelman doesn't say that; no matter how many times you assert it, "genuinely believes the election was stolen" does not equal "incredibly dumb or incredibly crazy."
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
29d ago
Trump being so dumb or crazy to realize there wasn't fraud
I'm trying not to get too heated here, but I have to object to this characterization.
In my IRL circles, it's pretty much a unanimous consensus that there was electoral fraud by the Democrats in 2020… because there's similar electoral fraud by Democrats in every election, since probably the late 19th century at least. "My grandpa voted Republican till the day he died… and he's been voting Democrat ever since" isn't just taken as an old joke, but as a broad description of reality. Nixon was the winner in 1960. 2020 was exceptional only in the scale and brazenness of the mass ballot manufacture. Indeed, some hold that, were it not for the need of Republicans to overcome this "margin of fraud," the "silent majority" of Christian conservatives would win every time.
For an example of such views online, one can spend some time reading posts on sci-fi author Sarah Hoyt's blog, and the comments, on the topic — most recent is here. Or just read many of the comments over at Instapundit.
And sure, you can just dismiss all these people — and thus much of "red tribe" America — as all "dumb or crazy." It's not like we're not used to being stereotyped as a bunch of backwards, gap-toothed, inbred morons. (I suppose the Halloween horror movie season has me reminded once again of how many times Hollywood has used "murderous/rapist hillbillies" as antagonists.)
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
29d ago
Does anyone think that the US elections are a little overhyped?
Yes. But then, I disagree with you on the "US elections are important" and "does have consequences" part. I think American democracy is mostly a sham, elections don't matter — elected politicians are mere figureheads, and all power belongs to various institutions — like the permanent bureaucracy, the various NGOs, the upper echelons of academia — fully insulated from electoral outcomes.
Does anyone know of any community involvement clubs/organizations similar to things like the Lions Club, but much cheaper to belong to?
Edit: also, does anyone know how much volunteer work a disabled person can do before Social Security decides your ability to do so means you're able to (do paid) work and stops your benefits (which I've been advised recently is a thing that indeed happens)?
Capital_Room
rather dementor-like
29d ago
the economy should do fine.
It doesn't look to be doing fine here in Alaska (it hasn't since the 07-08 financial crisis at least).
Also, 'peak woke' was under Biden
We have not seen "peak woke". We probably won't live long enough to see "peak woke." It's going to just keep getting worse for the rest of our lives.
Elon Musk is single handedly doing more to fight wokeness than even any politician now.
And accomplishing nothing that actually matters.
My trad-cath friend kind of does, in that he believes quite firmly that there were genuine witches at Salem, and that Tituba at the very least had a literal pact with Satan.
The FLDS come to mind.
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