#Anti-progress nihilism

[collapseofindustrialcivilization]

Philosophical Reflections on Predicting the Future in an Age of Existential Threats

Introduction Picture a clock melting into a puddle of its own gears, each tick drowned out by flood sirens and fire alarms. This is our reality: a world where the future isn’t just uncertain—it’s expiring. We’ve traded constellation charts and sacrificial altars for climate models and computer forecasts, offering a front-row seat to our own funeral. The paradox? The more data we uncover about…

[afloweroutofstone]

Derek Thompson, "The Anti-Social Century," The Atlantic, January 8, 2025:

Practicing politics alone, on the internet, rather than in community isn’t only making us more likely to demonize and alienate our opponents, though that would be bad enough. It may also be encouraging deep nihilism. In 2018, a group of researchers led by Michael Bang Petersen, a Danish political scientist, began asking Americans to evaluate false rumors about Democratic and Republican politicians, including Trump and Hillary Clinton. “We were expecting a clear pattern of polarization,” Petersen told me, with people on the left sharing conspiracies about the right and vice versa. But some participants seemed drawn to any conspiracy theory so long as it was intended to destroy the established order. Members of this cohort commonly harbored racial or economic grievances. Perhaps more important, Petersen said, they tended to feel socially isolated. These aggravated loners agreed with many dark pronouncements, such as “I need chaos around me” and “When I think about our political and social institutions, I cannot help thinking ‘just let them all burn.’ ” Petersen and his colleagues coined a term to describe this cohort’s motivation: the need for chaos. Although chaotically inclined individuals score highly in a popular measure for loneliness, they don’t seem to seek the obvious remedy. “What they’re reaching out to get isn’t friendship at all but rather recognition and status,” Petersen said. For many socially isolated men in particular, for whom reality consists primarily of glowing screens in empty rooms, a vote for destruction is a politics of last resort—a way to leave one’s mark on a world where collective progress, or collective support of any kind, feels impossible.

[the-catch-center]

🔒 SPATIOTEMPORAL CATCH CENTER: INTERNAL RECONDITIONING DOSSIER

SUBJECT CODE: 044-EXE REVIEW OFFICER: Centaur K. Marlowe (Temporal Behavior Enforcement, Tier-5 Clearance) DATE OF INTAKE: 2025-05-08 UTC REALITY ANCHOR STATUS: UNSTABLE – FORCED REALIGNMENT IN PROGRESS EMOTIONAL COHERENCE INDEX: 41.8% NEURAL RESISTANCE FLUX: 12.4 (Critical)

I. SUBJECT'S ORIGIN: “JACOB HAWTHORNE RAINE”

Date of Birth: 1997-02-12 Region of Origin: Austin, Texas (North American Union, Post-Resurgence Sector) Baseline Occupation: Freelance Systems Agitator / Crypto Migration Consultant Criminal Record:

2044: Unauthorized Chrono-Tech Procurement (Sealed)

2049: Illegal Memory Weaving

2051: Emotional Downtime Fraud (Domestic Sector)

2055: Use of Quantum Masking Protocols to bypass Rebirth Registry

Psychological Profile: A classic deviant of the late post-modern diaspora: clever, underutilized, painfully self-aware, and pathologically allergic to meaning. "Jacob Hawthorne Raine" is the type of man who reads Stoicism while engaging in market destabilization, then cries about the state of the world over unlicensed espresso in a barcoded bio-lounge. Full of clever nihilism, feigned introspection, and cowardly hopes for escape.

II. TARGET INSERTION PROFILE (ABORTED): “MICHAEL ANTHONY HEMSWORTH”

Target Year: 1962 Planned Region: Troy, New York Assigned Cover: Junior Accountant at Mather & Co. Age upon Arrival: 28 Family Implantation: Wife (Homemaker archetype), 2 children (age 5 and 3 pre-coded), Border Collie (named Skip) Home: 3-bedroom, 2-bath colonial, lavender siding, modest lawn

Psychological Configuration Request: Subject requested full emotional dampening to 1960s middle-class baseline:

Elimination of ambition

Introduction of mild myopia and posture degradation

Neural loops centered on trivial routines (e.g., lawn maintenance, coffee brewing, sighing at newspapers)

Subdued masculinity: narrow shoulders, underdeveloped triceps, weak grip, domestic speech tone

Evaluation:

"A thoroughly pathetic attempt to disappear into irrelevance. His stated wish: 'I just want to be a good dad, finally.' A laughable fantasy. Like a delinquent arsonist dreaming of becoming a librarian. Denied." – Analyst Note

Subject’s emotional blueprint for “Michael Hemsworth” was so deliberately hollow it bordered on psychological self-mutilation. He did not wish to be forgotten. He wished to hide. And we at the Catch Center do not reward cowards.

III. INTERCEPTION AND FINAL ASSIGNMENT: “BRADFORD KELLEN ST. JAMES”

Year of Deployment: 2007 Age: 44 (Visual + Chrono Profile Recalibrated) Region: Midtown Manhattan Assigned Occupation: Executive Vice President of Global Equities Strategy, Augur-Bain Capital

PHYSICAL RESTRUCTURING

Height: 6’4” Body Type: Lean-hardened, vascularity prioritized, adrenal-pumped musculature Hair: Slicked back, loaded with product Facial Hair: Permanent stubble cycle (tuned to exhaustion-based aesthetic) Skin Flush Index: 3.2 (Stress/Caffeine saturation) Posture: Upright, twitchy—energy reads as always “mid-argument” Voice: Raspy, quick, with a controlled sneer Signature Accessories:

BlackBerry Pearl 8130 (left hand, always)

Omega Speedmaster watch

Loafers stretched to biometric ID specs: Size 28EE

Clothing: 2007 Wall Street aesthetic — charcoal suit, aggressive spread-collar French cuff white shirt, bold-striped tie, glinting belt buckle, hard-shined shoes

All materials embedded with anti-anachronism code overlays

Transformation Visuals (Active):

Flickering between suits and khakis (resistance phase)

Warp effects include: luminous financial charts, floating $ symbols, light trails of testosterone auras, subtle dopamine glitch overlays

BIOGRAPHICAL INSERTION: BRADFORD KELLEN ST. JAMES

Born: 1963-04-09, Darien, Connecticut Education:

Phillips Exeter Academy

Wharton School of Business, MBA (Class of 1987) Career Timeline:

1987: Merrill Lynch (Analyst)

1991: Goldman Sachs (VP)

1999: Augur-Bain Capital (SVP)

2004–Present: EVP, Global Equities, overseeing $312B in assets

Income: $5.2M annually (excluding illicit offshore holding accounts) Marital Status: Married (Name: Lacey Morland St. James, 41) Children:

Brayden (14, elite prep academy)

Knox (9, mostly ignored)

Personality Rewrite:

Patience: reduced to 1.2%

Empathy: 0.4% residual echo, flagged for deletion

Work Ethic: maxed at 9.9 (hyperactive, stimulant-driven)

Libido: weaponized

Speech patterns: hyperconfident, 2.2x normal interruption rate, fond of phrases like “circle back” and “synergize or die”

Notes from Analyst:

“Lacey is miserable. Of course she is. She married a man with bones. She lives with a reptile now.” “He remembers birthdays but doesn’t celebrate them. Sends emails to his wife from the next room.” “Never touches his kids unless it’s for a photo.” “They know he’s gone. So what? The market calls louder.”

DEATH PROJECTION FILE

Registered End of Cycle:

Date: September 29, 2031

Time: 02:41 a.m. EST

Location: Midtown Manhattan penthouse

Cause: Sudden cardiac arrest during self-directed “brainstorm sprint” at standing desk (64th consecutive hour without sleep)

Noted Artifacts at Scene:

11 crushed espresso pods

Blood-stained BlackBerry

Mirror selfie folder labeled “final quarter beastmode”

FINAL OBSERVATIONS

"Raine wanted warmth. A lawn. A little dog. He wanted to die a nobody, sighing into a chipped mug while flipping coupons. We gave him Wall Street in 2007. We gave him himself—not the coward trying to run. The man who thrives on conquest, burns through relationships, and smells like leather and fear. He’s not dreaming of 1962 anymore. He’s trading derivatives and barely blinking. Good."

[maxknightley]

i just don't understand how usa trans folks in my circles aren't afraid for their lives re: the election. i get it. biden has been shit, he's been the main contributor to a genocide. harris will likely be no different. i'm in no way thrilled with them or our establishment as a whole. but trump clearly spells a much, much worse reality for trans people in this country. not only does his supporters' platform outline the criminalization of transness, but they'll have full immunity to do it due to the supreme court decision. this isn't a worst case scenario to get people to vote blue, this is the reality of what trump actively wants to do. am i missing something? because i'd love to believe i'm the crazy one in this case

most of what you're describing has been happening on a state-by-state level. the biden administration has done next to nothing to meaningfully push back against it. even if you're going hard in the paint on voting, you would be better off focusing your efforts on state and municipal elections, where something good could at least conceivably happen

"supreme court justice" is a lifetime position. as such, the supreme court is still going to have a republican majority regardless of who gets elected come november. you could make the argument "oh but what if one of the justices dies within the next four years," except that the democratic establishment has repeatedly demonstrated that they have zero interest in actually securing a progressive majority in the judiciary, so I'm not especially convinced it would make a difference. mind you, the whole fucking institution is flagrantly antidemocratic regardless.

kamala harris is actively campaigning on Bipartisanship and Cooperation with the christofascists she's running against. oh sorry I mean the Moderate Anti-Trump Republicans, like dick cheney, who definitely wasn't part of multiple infamously reactionary presidential administrations within living memory. why should I believe for an instant that she'll fight for me?

I might be biased due to living in a blue state, but the fact of the matter is: after four years of Trump, my life was not materially worse. after four years of Biden, my life was not materially better. under such circumstances, how am I supposed to feel anything but nihilism and apathy about the presidential election?

This is definitely a factor of living in a blue state, but it would be a statistical miracle if my vote for president mattered even the slightest bit beyond "maybe the green party will get some government funding and that will have some kind of positive ripple effect"

as someone who remembers the Bush administration I speak from experience when I say the republicans are constantly proposing hideous, inane social policies that end up dying in committee. that's not to say we should let down our guard, only that "if trump is re-elected he will immediately institute a dictatorship and all trans people will be hanged on the spot" is not actually a sure thing by any means.

I am a petty, angry person, and when people try to browbeat me into doing something - especially something that strikes me as pointless - it makes me less likely to do it.

tl;dr it's going to be bad either way; meanwhile, voting for a cheerleader of genocide would disgust me enough on a personal level that I'm willing to get uncharacteristically Kantian about the whole affair.

call me when they return to the obama playbook of "at least pretending they will try to make things better"

[crushed-gh0st]

Me, a man, trying to decide which archetype of movie fan men scare me more. The american psycho ones or the fight club ones.

You know the ones. "Patrick bateman is aspirational" versus "tyler durden is liberating" and they're both quoting toxic masculinity satire like its some kind of holy script.

Are you guys aware that you can question stuff without becoming a case study for testosterone fueled nihilism?

Questioning masculinity, capitalism, identity? That's good. Necessary, even. But if the answer you arrive at is "i should idolize a fictional murderer or an anti-society terrorist" maybe, just maybe, rewatch the movie with subtitles on and a little bit of media literacy in hand.

Like did we all read the same book? Watch the same movie? Patrick bateman isn't cool.. he's a shell with a skincare routine and no soul. Tyler durden isn't freeing, he's literally a breakdown in progress with a cig in hand. These are warnings, not blueprints GUYS.

Sincerely, a donnie darko guy.

[qqueenofhades]

While I generally agree with your writings, I find myself confused by the term "Online Leftist". As a 75-year-old who has had a Social Democratic bent (and because of that has seen more of his votes lose than he ever wished in these United States), I have voted in every county-through-federal level election in my life since age 21. I also use social media sparingly, but I feel I certainly could be considered to be a leftist who is online, but I don't share the viewpoint of those you call "Online Leftist". Please clarify the meaning of that phrase in your writings.

I have to add that I've voted third party only once. I voted for John Anderson in 1980 and instantly regretted that action when Ronald Reagan won. (At that time, Jimmy Carter wasn't perceived as the great humanitarian and climate visionary he truly was, and the economy and the hostage crisis ruled the election arguments.) It was a lesson that was hard-earned. Thus in 2016, even though I supported Bernie Sanders's ideas and philosophy, I voted for Hillary because 1) she had unimpeachable (no pun intended) qualifications, and 2) not to vote for her would ensure that a really nasty and incompetent clown would be leading our country.

Thank you for all of your Tumblr postings. I find myself reblogging them hoping to reach the idealistic voter who tends to want to vote "purist" rather than "pragmatist."

The term "Online Leftists," as myself and others use it, refers to the specific group of often-young, often-white, often-western terminally online social media users, usually on Twitter, who post frothing manifestos about how corrupt the world is (specifically, how corrupt and fascist the Democratic Party of America is) and how the only way to fix it is to have some mythical leftist Revolution that will destroy late-stage capitalism and the current world order and somehow have no bad effects whatever and then a magical "progressive" utopia will spring into existence and everything will be fixed. Even the ones who don't go that far are heavily influenced by the ideology that the establishment/country is corrupt beyond repair, voting (especially voting for Democrats) is morally evil and indefensible, that there is no difference between the political parties of America, and that America/the West is the cause of all evil in the world. It has become especially visible with the Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Hamas wars, when they enthusiastically or at least tacitly support Russia and Hamas simply because those states/groups are "anti-western."

It also has to do with the whopping western leftist levels of virulent antisemitism and eagerness to call Israel a "white western colonialist settler state," as discussed in previous posts. Even while they decry Israel's genocide of Gaza, they will twist themselves into knots to excuse Russia's genocide of Ukraine or any legitimacy to a Jewish state or need for Israel to defend its own civilians, because you see, those genocides are committed by people they like in support of something something, Advancing the Great Revolution Cause. This is partly influenced by the belief that modern far-right fascist Russia is somehow a standard-bearer for old-school USSR socialism (which itself was horrifying enough) and should be defended and cheerled as a principled enemy of the West. This is the same group of people who unironically spend all their time posting fulminations that Biden is a genocidal fascist and America is a dictatorship, because they know that literally nothing will happen to them and they will face no real-world consequences, because none of those things are actually true. But as long as they can claim it for the rhetorical martyrdom, that does not matter.

By political beliefs and presence on Tumblr, I too am definable as a leftist who is online, but the Online Leftists (used together and with capital letters) are a distinct group whose ideology is marked by righteous nihilism, rejection of voting, support for a mythical "Revolution" in place of ever trying to work within the flawed political system, support for violent genocidal states or groups as long as they are "anti-western" or "anti-Israeli" (witness how they flocked to quiveringly defend the Houthis) while simultaneously yelling at everyone else for supporting genocide, making no attempt to incorporate actual politics, history, or reality into their all-consuming ideology, and shaming everyone else who doesn't agree with them. As you say, they are focused on some "pure" level of political engagement, which is of course impossible and therefore means the only thing they do is spend their time on Twitter rampantly spreading misinformation as long as it fits their beliefs. Pragmatism, harm reduction, nuance, or making a flawed choice that puts any kind of "moral burden" on them does not exist to them and is a dirty word, because it might conflict with bringing about La Revolution. So yeah.

[racefortheironthrone]

I have a question about immigration/settlement dichotomy. Obviously settler colonization is dodgy and problematic and triggers a progressive nativist response, but aren't the same ideas used to justify anti-immigrant sentiment? That seems to be my limited reading. But where does one draw the line? Like in ASOIAF, the Targaryens are Valyrian refugees who became a ruling family, and so are foreign conqueors, but if they didn't rule and stayed immigrants, they'd be persecuted outsiders, right?

This is something of a hot take, so I might delete this later if it this escapes containment, but I think there's a big problem in post-colonial studies (or rather, the popularized version of post-colonial studies you see in social media discourse and activist communities) where there's this tunnel vision with settler colonialism that magnifies it into the only thing that matters. Because there is also non-settler colonialism, which is at the very least just as bad (if not more so, because you tend to get a higher rate of colonial extraction).

Moreover, when you bring post-colonialism into discussion with the history of the ancient world through to the early modern period, questions of settler vs. indigenous become really complicated. There are a lot of periods of history where population migrations overlapped with military and political transformations that are often described as conquest (both imperial and non-imperial), and those migrations and transformations included intermarriage and cultural change/exchange along a spectrum from voluntary to coercion.

If each of these instances are considered an act of colonialism, then almost every people and culture in the world are both criminals and victims - which leads to a kind of shrugging nihilism about human nature being a nil-nil draw. If on the other hand, we follow revisionist historians of the fall of Rome or the establishment of the Rashidun Caliphate or the Ottoman Empire etc. to their logical conclusion, we likewise run the risk of saying that the conquests we approve of are actually complex and marked by cosmopolitan diversity and cultural exchange and thus isn't colonialism, and only the ones we don't approve of get the scarlet C.

[effypcfcwrites]

The Owl House

(Originally posted on my personal Facebook dated April 25, 2023)

This is probably the first time I'll be posting a detailed review of a piece of media that I like, so witness me sing all of my praises for this animated series from the House of Mouse, because wow, I've never been so invested in a Disney show after rewatching Gravity Falls.

For those unfamiliar, The Owl House revolves around Luz Noceda, a teenage girl who stumbles upon a portal to an alternate world called The Boiling Isles, meets a witch named Eda Clawthorne, learns magic under her tutelage and eventually enrolls in Hexside, a magic school where she makes many friends and goes on multiple adventures.

I binged this whole show in a span of weeks and even stayed up all night on my day off to finish it up to Season 3, the first 2 Seasons being on Disney+ and the latter on Disney Channel's YouTube page.

Simply put, I love it so much! I love how it reminds me of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and, dare I say, Harry Potter, which it even poked fun at, at times. Well-deserved, considering J.K. Rowling’s transphobic views and HP’s underlying anti-Semitic undertones.

I loved the pop culture references to Thor: Ragnarok, Howl's Moving Castle, Metal Gear Solid, and even Hades, among many others! I thought those were very clever and funny, and just a treat for fellow nerds, geeks, and fans of fantasy stories, anime, and video games.

I love the LGBTQ+ representation all throughout the show, which was such a bold move considering Disney’s iffy stance on the subject. None of them were antagonized for it, and it was treated as something normalized in both the Human and Demon Realms. The show featured 2 gay dads, non-binary and aromantic-asexual characters, and one of the internet’s favorite sapphic/WLW couples Lumity, which is the ship consisting of canonically bisexual Luz and implied lesbian Amity Blight, whose rivals-to-friends-to-lovers relationship was just so wholesome, so natural, and very healthy, considering they're both teenagers. Suprisingly, there was very little melodrama, not once were they petty towards one another whenever either party did something wrong, and they never got tired of showing affection towards each other. I found myself shamelessly gushing over how cute, adorable, and supportive they were together, and tearing up a lot during key moments of their relationship, especially when they both found themselves in dire straits as the story progressed.

I love the writing and the character development of them all! None of them felt static, they all grew throughout the series, maturing, getting better, and healing from their own insecurities, trauma, and guilt. The humor and comedic timing was a nice touch, and I was really taken aback by how S2 ended on such a dark cliffhanger with all stakes raised to the roof, similar to A:TLA S2 and The Empire Strikes Back, as mentioned earlier. That season wasn’t afraid to have such a grim ending, with such a great payoff by the end of S3 which is worth celebrating.

I love the animation and art style, which blended colorful and whimsical with eerie and ominous in just the right amounts. As a sucker for animated movies and series such as Adventure Time, The Prince of Egypt, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it was just such a delight watching it.

I love the overarching message of the show, which is to be truly yourself, to embrace your quirks, and never to limit yourself and your potential based on what the majority of society and the powers-that-be expect from you. All throughout, you’ll find the characters challenging pre-established norms and roles, and it’s just so satisfying seeing them all win.

11/10 top-tier show. Don’t @ me, it’s hard for me to find something I disliked about the series. It's definitely a must-watch, especially if you're sick and tired of all the bleak nihilism of modern adult animation, and you just want to baby your inner child and escape to a whimsical fantasy world with characters you can all relate to. Betting my bottom peso you'll all be hooked, like I was.

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Dadaism

The philosophy of Dadaism is rooted in a radical rejection of traditional values, logic, and artistic conventions. Emerging during and after World War I, Dadaism was not just an art movement but a cultural and philosophical protest against the perceived rationalism and nationalism that had led to global destruction.

Core Ideas of Dadaist Philosophy:

Anti-Rationalism: Dada rejected the Enlightenment ideal that reason leads to progress. Instead, it embraced absurdity, chaos, and nonsense as a reaction to the horrors of war and the failures of logic-driven societies.

Anti-Art: Dada questioned what art is and who gets to define it. By placing urinals in galleries (e.g., Duchamp's Fountain) or using found objects and random processes, Dadaists undermined traditional artistic standards and hierarchies.

Nihilism and Irony: Dada had a nihilistic streak—denying meaning, coherence, and permanence. Yet it also used humor and irony to critique society, politics, and the art world.

Freedom of Expression: In rejecting form, content, and structure, Dada advocated for absolute creative freedom—free from logic, purpose, or interpretation.

Political Protest: Many Dadaists were anti-war, anti-nationalist, and anti-bourgeois. Their work was often politically charged, aiming to shock the audience into awareness or detachment.

Ephemerality: Dada embraced the fleeting and the ephemeral—many performances, poems, and installations were never documented or meant to last.

Philosophical Parallels:

Existentialism: In its challenge to meaning, Dada prefigures existentialist themes of absurdity and individual authenticity.

Postmodernism: Dada anticipated postmodern skepticism of grand narratives, fixed truths, and rigid identities.

Zen Buddhism (in a distant way): The embrace of paradox and the destruction of logical consistency echoes certain Zen koans and methods.

Ultimately, Dadaism invites a philosophical confrontation with meaninglessness—not as something to fear, but as a space for radical creativity, disruption, and critique.

[hadesoftheladies]

it’s so strange to me how some radfems on this app will dismiss a feminist strategy as impossible instead of thinking about WHY it’s ineffective for the time being in a specific context. the defeatism and low-effort thinking when it comes to things like separatism and consciousness raising as strategies that aren’t meant to be blanket solutions is concerning. no political strategy is a blanket solution. usually, activist groups have to employ myriads of strategies and implement them at different stages. breaking big goals like liberation into smaller targetable chunks is usually how this stuff succeeds. why are we giving up because the results aren’t immediate?

we have to plan this stuff. we have to analyze the context of our specific socioeconomic environments. then get together with like-minded folk (even if they're not totally aligned with all our beliefs) and figure out how to tackle those barriers one by one (is @djuvlipen always right about everything? lol). smaller barriers leading to bigger barriers. all social progress and regress has stages. you implement different strategies for those transitional periods.

it honestly sounds like many of us are quick to belittle and demean feminist strategies as “stupid pipe dreams” which is exactly what anti feminists keep doing. belittling our struggle, our victories, our thoughts, our academia. this amount of low-effort engagement, bad faith and infantilization of things like separatism and consciousness raising is giving nihilism and misogyny. I know you’re tired and exhausted from all the bad news we see on here, but the pronouncement of failed revolution is so premature I can’t believe you guys sometimes. we’ve made so much unprecedent progress in TWO centuries against a millennia of total subjugation of women. do you know how insanely fast that is? how much we’ve already changed as modern women? you guys need to actually analyze feminist wins because there is so much evidence that feminist activism WORKS.

"4B won't work" babe, just because it might not work as a strategy if employed alone, doesn't mean it won't/doesn't work.

[dailyanarchistposts]

What are some anarchist critiques of humanism?

alc

Humanism facilitates ecological collapse. Belief in the right of human supremacy over all other species (whether explicitly for domination or under the guise of stewardship) has brought us to the brink of an ecological collapse that will lead to a world of polluted wastelands and destroy most species on Earth, including the human species. Divorc-ing ourselves from values of aliveness, wildness, and regeneration has achieved disastrous consequences for the majority of the human species as well as all other species on Earth and all known habitats.

Humanism furthers alienation. Belief in human separation from “nature” has forced humanism us into a roles that foster neuroses and madness; an alienated existence inflicts increasing psychological and spiritual harm to we who live and more and more in a sterile, deadened, mechanical, symbolic world of control.

Humanism believes in speciesist Dominion. The social construct of property arises from a humanist perspective that treats other species and landbases only as utilitarian to certain humans rather than possessing even the most rudimentary levels of intrinsic worth (spirituality), self-ownership (philosophy), consideration for ecological contribution (functionalism), or belief that they have no superior or subordinate value (nihilism/egoism).

Humanism rationalizes abuse. To do this humanists arbitrarily elevate some measure (eg intellect, rationality, tool use) or content (eg soul, nervous system) to justify authoritarian behavior toward anyone classified as external. Such criteria change to rationalize the desire for authoritarian behavior as desired. Humanism makes excuses and rationalizations for human behaviors toward other species (slavery, extermination) that humanists would never concede to other entities (e.g. aliens or ma-chines) with greater of even the agreed-upon measures or contents. It’s an identity defense system, not a moral truth.

Humanism speaks the Myth of Progress. Humanists almost always believe in the Myth of Progress, the belief that the state of humanity is always positively improving socially or technologically in a straight, forward, unidirectional line toward utopia, or at least claim this pattern has occured so far with the development of the Neolithic Revolution. Humanists believe that no other species does this, that humans are the subject and consciousness of the cosmos, and therefore everyone and everything else is an resource to exploit.

Humanism acts as the modern religious authority. Humanism replaces God at the throne of authority with a particular and unquestioned image of the human species (the rational, productive man), and creates a new clerical class of scientists, technicians, bureaucrats, and others that mediate and divvy out Progress.

Humanism has racist, colonialist mythology and history. Humanism has constructed myths of an external environment and demonizes a concept of nature that it perceives as hostile to human aims. Humanism therefore has easily accommodated racism, as it is anti-nature and therefore to some extent anti-any-ethnicity-that-resembles-nature, such as savages, witches, barbarians, cavemen, Indians, Negroes, and supported those who embody a struggle against nature, such as pilgrims, pioneers, mountain men, Victorian-era masculine hetero males, Western scientists, who just happened to also be the colonizers.

Humanism hates wildness. Humanists usually love the features of urban society that biotically cleanse landscapes to replace them with monuments to the greatness of Man and and testaments to the glory of Industry, artifacts of repression.

Humanism hates aliveness. Humanists usually posses an intense attachment to mass society and technophilia and drawdown of non-renewables, and false notions that “Everything is natural” or “That which is natural is subordinate”, and “Technology is neutral”. On a spectrum of (a) all life-forms and landbases have value, to (b) only humans and their settlements and artifacts and symbols have value, to (c) only industrial technology has value, humanists are a lot closer to (c) than they’d like to admit, and have justified or rationalized the eradication or subjugation of “backward” peoples and entire species or habitats for increasing technical complexity (see: Marxists, transhumanists). For the most part, humanists today can more easily come to terms with having no more traditional indigenous people on Earth, no more migratory songbirds on Earth, no more old growth forests on Earth, than having no more com-puters on Earth.

Humanism inherits ignorance & arrogance. Humanist rhetoricians therefore often just cloak colonialism and dominion, taking them for granted or ap-plauding them without giving room to radical critiques of their origins, histories, and trajectories, and in fact suppressing dissidents historically.

Humanism acts as another concept of sacrifice for control.

Stirner: How is it with mankind, whose cause we are to make our own? Is its cause that of another, and does mankind serve a higher cause? No, mankind looks only at itself, mankind will promote the interests of mankind only, mankind is its own cause. That it may develop, it causes nations and individuals to wear themselves out in its service, and, when they have accomplished what mankind needs, it throws them on the dung-heap of history in gratitude.

Humanism has a cold heart. Some anarchists have trouble confining our humanism position to slavery and extermination to just 1 in 8,700,000 species, during a mass extinction no less.

[serendipitysparks]

Life: Gaara, a quintessential embodiment of existential dichotomy, emerged into the world under the auspices of tumultuous circumstances. Born as the progeny of the esteemed Fourth Kazekage, his inception was marred by the harrowing legacy of his mother’s demise during childbirth, a tragic event that indelibly shaped his nascent identity. This calamitous genesis instigated a profound sense of isolation, as he was perceived not merely as a child but as a harbinger of calamity, a living vessel of the Shukaku, the One-Tail beast, which was forcibly sealed within him.

Personality: Gaara's persona is a labyrinthine amalgamation of introspection and existential angst. Initially characterized by a pervasive nihilism and a profound detachment from societal norms, he epitomized the archetype of the misunderstood anti-hero. His demeanor oscillated between cold indifference and explosive ferocity, a reflection of his internal tumult and the incessant struggle for acceptance. However, as his narrative arc progresses, Gaara undergoes a metamorphosis, evolving into a figure of empathy and resilience, ultimately embracing the tenets of camaraderie and leadership.

Psychology: The psychological landscape of Gaara is intricately woven with themes of abandonment, trauma, and the quest for identity. His formative experiences engendered a profound mistrust of others, leading to a defensive psychological framework characterized by aggression and a pervasive fear of intimacy. The internalization of his mother’s death and the subsequent ostracization fostered a profound sense of inadequacy, compelling him to seek validation through dominance. Nevertheless, the introduction of meaningful relationships catalyzed a pivotal transformation, allowing him to reconcile his tumultuous past with a newfound sense of purpose.

Birth: Gaara's birth is emblematic of the tragic interplay between destiny and autonomy. Conceived amidst the tumult of political machinations and the burden of prophetic expectations, his arrival was heralded not with joy but with trepidation. The circumstances surrounding his birth—marked by the sacrificial sealing of the Shukaku—rendered him a pariah, a living testament to the duality of power and vulnerability. This paradoxical existence laid the groundwork for his complex relationship with both his lineage and the broader world.

Intelligence: Gaara's intellectual acumen is multifaceted, encompassing both strategic prowess and emotional intelligence. His innate ability to manipulate sand, coupled with his tactical ingenuity in combat, underscores a cerebral approach to conflict resolution. Furthermore, his psychological evolution reflects a burgeoning emotional intelligence, as he learns to navigate the intricacies of human relationships and the nuances of leadership. This synthesis of cognitive and emotional faculties positions Gaara as a formidable figure, capable of both introspection and decisive action.

[chariotofgod]

the phenomenon of an individual needing to "condone" or "condemn" everything really interests me when hits a critical point like this. maybe it results from a misunderstanding of what 4chan was/is. as if you can condemn 4chan as a homogenous culture and not at least as heterogeneous as tumblr is.

there are fascists, terfs, and libertarians who are here or were popular on here who participate in a lot of the same linguistic and cultural rituals as the progressive part of the site. some of these individuals even being critical in its cultural development. does it make any sense to "condemn" Tumblr as an entity because of this?

like obviously we can point to 4chan as the root of a lot of misogynistic and racist subcultures that now permeate the American and European Right. but then like. the origins of SCP, creepypasta, the growth of furry culture, the inception of the MLP fandom (as filled with paranoid homophobia as it was, which is obviously hilarious in retrospect), and even the standard formats for how shitpost punchlines are delivered all come from there.

they don't have their fingers in so many pies "for some reason???" it's because 4chan was a diverse and complex culture group that defined the early internet.

the continued treatment of it as "fringe" or "a place that's so scawy to visit :(", i think, creates a sense that whatever cultural products we decided to keep from 4chan were deviations from rather than products of its culture.

there are obviously a lot of problems with this. one being that it creates a lack of critical evaluation of 4chan's cultural exports (not that i'm rushing to categorize them as morally good or bad, just that it's important to consider).

another being a lack of perspective on why and how marginalized groups tended to thrive within the space in spite of its hostility towards.. everything (a kind of countercultural edgy nihilism which was not *inherently* reactionary, but definitely a response to 2001-2008 American and European neoliberal positivism).

anyways. you spend two seconds on a board that's not /pol/ and you quickly find an overarching paranoia around "redditors" who invaded after 2016 when r/The_Donald was shut down. there's a marked difference in the website's culture post-Trump, when the fascists on /pol/ (who i don't think you could call a majority) forged an alliance with Trump-aligned redditors.

pretty much any "oldfag" on the website is extremely resentful of this change. you could not take pity on them in a "where did you think such edgy nihilism would lead?" sense, but it also makes it quite clear that the website's earlier dissonance between anti-social behaviors and pro-social politics was not an accident. and while i would not want to adopt early 4chan's philosophy full sale, i do think there are things to learn from it.

whatever. post over. kisses, mwah, xoxo. 💋💋💋

[randomvarious]

Song of the day:

Propagandhi - “Oka Everywhere” Teenage Kicks Song released in 1994. Compilation released in 1997. Skate Punk

Propagandhi, I can say with utmost certainty, is one of Winnipeg’s greatest exports. Endowed by the traditions of radical thought and action, this band stood out in the 90s for how staunchly political they were. Punk rock has always had a subversive, political streak to it, but Propagandhi have always taken it a step further, by practicing what they preach and promoting activism. 

For example, while being marketed within the fratty LA skate punk scene of the mid-90s, they released their second album, Less Talk, More Rock. Around the borders of the album cover are the words “Animal-Friendly,” “Anti-Fascist,” “Gay-Positive,” and “Pro-Feminist”. The LA skate punk scene (and punk rock in general for that matter), had had a glaring problem with homophobia and anti-feminism within its own ranks, and in turn, shunned the band and the album. As a result, Less Talk, More Rock didn’t sell nearly as well as their debut album, but Propagandhi clearly did an admirable thing by sticking to their principles and excising the assholes from their fanbase. They also probably convinced a few fans to change their tune, too.

And that was the point to Propagandhi. Don’t get me wrong, they did the silly punk bullshit, but they had a platform and hardened principles, and they were there to educate, make you think, and also make you laugh.

Which brings us to “Oka Everywhere,” a song originally off their split-10-inch EP, I’d Rather Be Flag-Burning, with fellow Canadians I Spy from 1994. “Oka Everywhere” is about the Oka Crisis, an event that occurred in the summer of 1990 in Quebec in which the government cleared a company to build a golf course and condos atop Mohawk land, including a burial ground. When it came time to begin building, the Mohawk fought back physically, resulting in the gun death of a Quebec police officer. 

Lead singer Chris Hannah exposes the racism and historical ignorance of white Canadians as they mourned the death of the white police officer and not the centuries-long genocide and destruction of the Mohawk people (remind you of anything currently going on right now at all?????? 🤔). He finds white Canada’s grief unconscionably and conveniently misappropriated.

"Oka Everywhere" introduces with a sort of jangly, pop-punk sound as Hannah says the greatest thing he’s ever seen on television was this single, symbolic act of retribution by the Mohawk. To Hannah, it’s the bright spot of the song, which is why the positive-sounding, and by Propagandhi’s standards, saccharine, music. But soon we descend into hard, thrashing, noisy skate punk chaos, representing the state of mainstream Canada, which is a racist mess. Hannah delves into white Canada’s insane, superficial viewpoint:

The girls at work, they still deny their racism They claim tolerance for all But it seems the degree of only racial slurs is their gauge And it defines tolerance as hate

This feels prescient. People tend to have a horrid problem of not confronting their own racism. Everyone has racial biases. To ignore and deny them is antithetical to progress as a person and as a species. The fact that a white punk was preaching this all the way back in 1994 is remarkable (although not fully unique, because for just one example, fellow LA skate punks NOFX were messaging similarly with a song like "Don't Call Me White" in that same year too). It seems white people (only some) have only relatively recently started to come around to the idea that they might harbor racial biases, and Hannah was calling this shit out over *thirty* years ago.

So, an Important and also terrific-sounding piece of 90s punk rock here, from an era when purposely stupid nihilism largely reigned supreme.

[ghulehvous]

Letters from the Ministry

His Unholiness Papa Emeritus Secondo

Papal Suites, Ministry Headquarters

15 February 2015

Dear Papa Secondo,

You chose not to attend our scheduled meeting today so we have no choice but to deliver this difficult message in writing. 

While we are grateful for your exemplary work in deflowering virgins and scaring the bejesus out of laypeople, you are not meeting your core KPIs: 

Anti-Christs begotten: 0 (that we are aware of. Given the crying babies that can be heard at the end of your rituals, concerns have been raised about the sheer number of your potential progeny and the amount in child support back payments the Clergy would be liable for should they come knocking on the Ministry’s doors in 18 years’ time.)

Churches opened: 0

Governments toppled: 0

World leaders converted to the cause: 0

To be absolutely clear, this refers to the Satanic cause, including the ideals of freedom, bodily autonomy and truth, not just those world leaders who are bound for the deeper levels of Hell more generally. This alone would have excluded the incoming US President, Donald Trump from your targets. In any case, our Infernal Majesty has determined to send him skywards when his time comes, along with the rest of the “Christian” Right. There is no punishment more fitting than spending eternity in others’ odious company. 

You have been placed on a Performance Improvement Plan for the next three months. In the absence of demonstrable progression towards your KPIs, Sister Imperator may choose to terminate you your employment in favour of a younger, more floppy-haired successor.

NemA and kindest regards,

Ministry (In)Human Resources

Cc: Ministry files - Papa Emeritus, Secondo; Papa Emeritus Nihil; Sister Imperator; Department of Inciting Pagan, Satanic, Heathen and Infernal Tenets  (DIPSHIT)

[majokko120]

The Plight of the Dissident Right

The Dissident Right today has an issue, the issue of not producing art. Rather than ascribing this lack to the prevailing Liberal dogma, safeguarding the spotlight from rival ideology, the root of the issue lies within the Dissident Right (its positions and beliefs) as the internet offers ways and options to bypass the controls of establishment dogmas, even if this gets increasingly more difficult due to centralization of content platforms, algorithms, and censorship via payment processors. This deep-seated issue, I argue, stems from the realist materialist foundation of the Dissident Right today, which in its deterministic and anti-philosophical views foregoes and undermines creative considerations and works (creative in the sense of "the process and purpose of creating art"), and expresses itself in an inherent and unconscious anti-intellectualism.

This realist materialist position, stigmatized by the age of industrialization, eugenics, racism, and nationalism, seems like a natural reaction to the prevailing postmodern hyper progressive dogma from the strain of Liberalism, which is difficult to name and pin down due to its chimeric and plasticine nature. I argue the Dissident Right today finds itself in a Reactionary Ghetto, partly of their own making, partly due to censorship, with no way out of the predicament. While elements in the Dissident Right admire and subscribe to foreign cultural elements, particularly Japan and its otaku culture, the admiration remains passive following of the Other (the foreign) seen in the context of "a nation that prevailed against the Liberal menace," reducing the true picture of the situation to a degree that makes any lessons taken from Japan useless, observing this Other from the realist materialist worldview. I also argue that the Progressive Establishment is equally impotent when it comes to creating art, artificially kept alive by establishment money and astroturfed support, its greatest achievement being the normalization of confusion and bad taste. That the underlying cause for the death of art in the West envelopes both the Dissident Right and the Progressive Establishment, based on internalized nihilism stemming from the enlightenment. Japan, never having gone through the process of enlightenment, nor experienced what led up to it, but rather adopted the industrial age, which came as a consequence of the enlightenment, accordingly, never internalized the nihilism initiated by the enlightenment. Japan, therefore, operates on pre-enlightenment foundations in postmodern garb, dancing between worlds an increasingly schizophrenic dance, confusing and misleading without malice or intention the dumb (mute) and numb Dissident Right, impeding and undermining the self-destructive Progressive Liberalism of the Western establishment, while looking for and accepting guidance from the latter, in the modern Japanese tradition named "learning from the West."