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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2997 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 22, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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This is a longstanding problem on the American right, Moldbug discussed it back in the day (and he was far from the first). American conservatism (since 1776) is essentially saying “👉👈what if we just stopped liberalism right here?”, where ‘here’ is Current Year Minus 10/20/50/100. Admitting that 1776 leads pretty inexorably to 2023 is beyond the pale for the American right (even the far right) outside of hardcore tradcaths and NrX types like Yarvin.

Because of this, it’s always about the symptom rather than the cause. Soyfacing about abolishing Drag Queen Story Hour makes them feel good, even though to a child raised in modern American culture its presence or absence will make exactly 0 difference to their own political or cultural (or sexual/gender) identity when everything else is saying the same message, even on the right (“be who you want to be”, individualism, freedom, personal liberty prioritized above community and society). As perhaps the English-speaking world’s most famous late 20th century conservative said, “there is no such thing as society”. US ‘conservatives’ take this to heart and so are incapable of diagnosing the root causes you describe.

And while hypocrisy is universal, it’s very important to remember that the young men cheering on porn band or whatever are usually current or former hardcore gooners themselves and so are really talking about themselves and their issues with self control more than the grand arc of liberal modernity.

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