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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   13870 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024

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I think there’s some subset of people who at least unconsciously want these bizarre nightmare 1984 and literally Hitler and handmaid fantasies to be real. I say that because most of the people doing this seem to have similar profiles: almost invariably white, upper middle class, professional, college educated, and highly likely to be female as well. Which if you’re keeping track, is the one demographic, that even if the absolute worst nightmare scenario happens is going to be affected the least.

This would be pretty parallel to the (extremely) male fantasy of the zombie apocalypse, Red Dawn, preppers, etc. Disproportionately fantasies held by men who are wealthy and/or secure.

The fantasy in both cases being the suspension of ordinary life and moral responsibilities. I have friends who are panicking about Trump and "how can I bring a child into a world like this?" This neatly solves all the doubts or fears one might have about having or not having children. Similarly, "I have to kill everyone else before they kill me" solves the problem of one's inability to get along with others, and the sudden disappearance of existing hierarchies solves the problem of why one finds oneself at the bottom of them.

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