NeoNote — More on Jordan Peterson
❝❝There's at least one blogger who says that Jordan Peterson's advice is banal and obvious. I haven't been able to get through Peterson's book, but I think Greenfield (the blogger) has a point. We need more men acting like men do, especially with kids and VERY ESPECIALLY with boys. I still worry about the American inner cities, where the Federal government in their Official Incompetence decided that families could work without fathers.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Scott Greenfield, different blogger. I think I got the article link from Claire Wolfe.
Honestly there are many libertarians and a fair number of conservatives who just don't get why Jordan Peterson is such a big deal. It's like "yeah, we knew that, it's obvious."
There's a lot to be said for standing up for what you believe.
See, I think it's way too early to compare him to Rush. I also think it's giving Peterson too much credit.
I haven't gotten through his book yet, so maybe there's something there I haven't seen.❞❞
Thursday roundup
Scientists say the dream of unlimited clean energy is about to come true
At this point this is a well informed guess, but it could be huge. The ramifications of shifting from a petroleum based economy to a fusion one is unprecedented. Also, I want helium airships the size of stadiums.John Bolton’s History of Tirades and Dirty Tricks
Realist or loose cannon?Young Anti-Gun Demagogues Copy Their Elders
The stakes can't be higher. I think it's going to backfire. Pun intended.Report: FBI Officials Dragged Feet Breaking into Terrorist's Phone to Try to Force Apple to Weaken Encryption
Another sign of a runaway bureaucracy.Rep. Thomas Massie: 'Anybody That Voted for the Omnibus Committed an Appalling Act'
There's a problem when no one is allowed to ask questions before the bill is signed into lawNYT Tries To Trip Up Roseanne Barr On Trump Support, Fails
Think about this. The Paper Of Record went after Rosanne Barr for a political opinion and flubbed itStormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Says She ‘Would Consider’ Settlement With Trump
This means she knows she flubbed it, regardless or what happened.Facebook Is Deeply Enmeshed In Education Data Mining And It’s Probably Affecting YOUR Children
It's not going to stop there. Facebook is a data mining company. Count on any "regulation" of FB to protect the data mining, even in the classroom.The Anti-Gun Movement’s Use of Child Crusaders Debases National Discourse
They use children so their opponents won't tell the kids to shut up and let the adults speak.Privileged Whites Leave Inner-City Minorities Defenseless With Gun Control Push
“As the privileged white community of Parkland, FL spreads its message of universal disarmament following a high school shooting, the voices of inner-city communities are not being heard as the debate continues.”Hemp Farming Bill Hits US Senate Next Week With Powerful Bipartisan Support
Hemp used to be the industrial fiberWhy Are States So Strapped for Cash? There Are Two Big Reasons
“The proportion of state and local tax revenues dedicated to Medicaid and public pensions is the highest since the 1960s”name redacted trial: Pulse gunman's father revealed as FBI informant, but judge won't dismiss case
I am really beginning to wonder just what is going on at the FBI15 Years of War: To Whose Benefit?
Yes, it's been fifteen years. Is the nation safer?NeoNotes — Racism in response to oppression
❝❝My critique wasn't intended to capture the movement.
In the various moments however, I see one group excuse their violence and their racism because of their narrative. This one group gets a pass but others do not. That's certainly privilege and it hurts their case.
I've told people before. You want equality, I'll fight with you. You want privilege, I'll fight against you.
I can't takeBLCBLM seriously when I read or hear the trash-talk some of the leadership directs at "whites." I'm not the only one. I'm against injustice, I don't thinkBLCBLM is.
You know the really ironic thing about this conversation? The motto of my political blog Pagan Vigil is "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black and white."
If group A gets something and groups B, C, and E are not allowed, that's a privilege. If things change and group B gets something and groups A, C, E, and H are not allowed, there is still privilege.
The definition of oppression keeps changing. Arguably things were worse for "blacks" in the 1920s after Woodrow Wilson re-segregated the civil service and the military. Not to mention all the Jim Crow laws that were still on the books. While there are issues today, they are no where near what they once were.
One of the biggest issues today is the prison population. This is usually one key argument about how the US is still a racist society. Before we can really look at that though, we should consider if there are some laws that in and of themselves might be unjust. Personally I think it's stupid to arrest people for being under the influence but not arresting people for being drunk. So if we take out all non-violent drug offenders, that reduces the prison population quite a bit. We're left with the violent offenders.
We know that a strong family, especially one with at least two parents, usually means the kids don't break the law. We also know that "black" inner city children in single mother households used to be about 7%, at one point that rose to well over 70% and is still a majority today. We know that this was made possible by well meaning government programs meant to provide. In other words, "the Man" paid single mothers not to get married and raise kids on their own. Yet any talk of reducing these benefits is immediately called racism. It's privilege, it promotes dependency, and yet it's seen as "compassionate." There's racism and oppression for you, but in popular opinion it's a "right." That doesn't mean that single mothers are evil or wrong. It just means that when a majority of households in a given population are single mothers, the kids (and especially the males) are much more likely to push the boundaries and get into trouble.
These aren't the only two things that put more "blacks" in prison, but they are two of the biggest. Yet instead, we hear how cops are racist. These are also two things that would take years, maybe decades to fix.
There are many other things too. Inner city public schools which are more and more like prisons. Public housing projects that displace neighborhoods and quickly become crime infested. Licensing laws that make it almost impossible for small household businesses to get started. These are real oppressions with absolutely devastating results, and yet we're arguing over who gets a slice of the pie. The oppressed demand action from the government and the institutions that are keeping them down. Star Parker does a much better job explaining this is her book Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It.
Maybe the pie isn't limited. And maybe the person on the street isn't the oppressor.
Peer review? Then the next question will be if the correct peers reviewed it. And that still doesn't answer the real question: Is Star Parker wrong with either her observations or her conclusions?
Look at what happened here. In one reply you've moved from Black Lives Matter to certain Black Lives Matter more than the ones who have not been politically approved. It's Orwell. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
What critical race theory doesn't tell you is the how and why of institutions, particularly those created to fight one cause or another.
I'm not going to assume the collective guilt. That's not my style, and that's not the way to fix racism.
Critical race theory isn't a part of sociology, it rejects much of sociology. It was designed as a political tool to silence dissent from an approved ideology.
I am not discounting peer review which can be a valuable tool. I just do not think that it should be the only tool, nor do I think that the only certain people should be allowed to do peer review.
I've run into abuse of the latter kind in third wave feminism "scholarship" where ideas aren't even considered for discussion unless the author has been approved.
Those are Star Parker's beliefs, she still has the right to write and talk about them. But she isn't hitting people if they disagree with her.
I was trying to find a quote from Thomas Sowell on critical race theory, but I can't seem to find it.
How widespread is critical race theory outside those who study it? Can it produce predictable models of human behavior? How well does it withstand analysis outside the discipline? These are some of the things that mark a science. At one point I was studying to be a Christian minister, that doesn't make Christianity true. These same things could be said about third wave feminism too. Even more in the case of third wave feminism, how well does it tolerate behavior that goes against what it teaches.
But the people in BLM who aren't hitting people aren't denouncing the people in BLM who are. And there have been pages and pages written about how the leaders of BLM are justified in their racism against "whites" with no one calling them on it.
If BLM is going to denounce the neo-Nazis for being racist and violent, shouldn't they be held to the same standard?
We let generations be victims when they deserved to be heroes.
You seem to want understanding and validation for your sexuality. You won't get that from me. But if you want the right to make your own choices as long as you accept responsibility for those choices, count me in.
Which is more important?
I don't care about BLM's "cause," especially since I think it's only cover for their politics. I care about human rights and making sure everyone has them.
Which is more important?
See, I don't think there are as many oppressors as you do.
Nor do I think that people should take a back seat to talking and solving things because of their skin color, gender, creed, political affiliation, sexuality, gym membership, or the coffee they like. If there is a problem, let's fix it together and figure out who to blame afterwards.
I'm sorry, but this keeps getting more abstract.
What I saw was two groups using violence. One was condemned and the other was not. Both have highly racist members. Both have said and done some despicable things.
Why is the one group that has bigger numbers, much better funding, better political connections called the oppressed and therefore allowed violence without comment?
I don't approve of violence, particularly against bystanders. I said that in the original article.
But if you are going to overlook the violence of one group because they are oppressed, those same standards apply even more against the neo-Nazis. BLM is less oppressed by almost every measure you can name.
You keep excusing BLM and antifa's behavior. I don't. Not because I support the neo-Nazis, but because any excuse for violence is wrong. The fact that many BLM leaders are actively and openly racist and that BLM is constantly involved in violence even without neo-Nazis is enough to tell me that BLM is just another gang demanding tribute. Just as people were wrong to support the KKK in it's heyday, people are wrong to support BLM today.
I'm saying that by the standards that you yourself used, the neo-Nazis are more oppressed than BLM is. Do I agree? No. Do I think that the racism and violence of the neo-Nazis is despicable? Yes. Do I think that the racism and violence of BLM is despicable? Yes.
BLM shouldn't get a free pass. Excusing behavior usually encourages more bad behavior.
In this specific case, I think BLM and antifa came spoiling for a fight and they want moral justification.
Pardon, this conversation was never about white privilege.
It was never about me denying that people are oppressed. It was never about me, period. What we have is two groups that have used violence and racism. Violence and racism are terrible things.
One group gets excused and the other does not.
Yet the bigger group, the better funded group, the group with the better political connections, the group with academic support, blames the other for all the violence and racism **People deliberately excuse them from the consequences.** They get what they want with minimal costs. This leads to further bad behavior. Which is then excused.
I've pointed out that it was good intentions of the FedGov that has kept people trapped in poverty and crime. I can't and won't be responsible for something that happened before I was born. As a libertarian, I won't take responsibility for government failure. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, that's the history that I can do something about.
It's not about me. It's about the behavior I've seen and experienced.
There's a story about how after the assassination of MLK, Jesse Jackson came out waving a bloody shirt. The shirt didn't belong to Dr. King, it couldn't have given the timing. Yet there was Jackson, waving the shirt, accusing everyone in sight. Because even if they had nothing to do with the shooting, they should have done something. Even if it wasn't possible, they should have done something, faster, louder.
Jackson was aiming to be the new face of civil rights, and unfortunately he mostly succeeded. He turned it into an extortion racket in the 1970s and 1980s. If Jackson said that company X was racially insensitive, the company paid him off and he said the company had mended their ways.
That's how I see BLM, only with more thugs.
In Shelby Steele's White Guilt, he argues that the real problem is not racial oppression but white guilt. There are many people who have gotten power and money exploiting that guilt. I won't be a party to it.
You seem like a nice enough person. You and I are not going to agree on this issue. We can't even agree on what the issue is. I do think your heart is in the right place.❞❞
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.