againstauthority - Tumblr blog

[againstauthority]

If leftists cared more about people on a moral and philosophical basis than playing the game of politics, maybe we would be making solid progress. Political correctness and an obligatory adaptation to the current socio-political environment is breeding a bizarre duality in the left where empathy is polarized.

Why do academics living in gentrified neighborhoods pretend to care about poor people and people of color while simultaneously ignoring us and contributing to our suffering? You claim to care but you disparage poor Americans who can't afford higher education, people with learning disabilities, you make fun of our depression and trauma, you disparage the profoundness of our suffering and want us to all be positive and conform.

Why do you care about groups of people - people of color, women, the lgbt community - but you use childhood trauma and mental illness to insult right-wingers? You tell those with trauma and mental illness to "just get over it", you mock low self-esteem and pessimism, you egg on suicide to "get rid of the weak." If you disregard another human's life so easily that you would encourage them to commit suicide if they were suicidal, why do you care about oppressed groups? Is it fashion to you? Culture? Were your parents liberals? Do you not experience basic human empathy or are you stuck thinking what the people around you tell you to?

How do I feel as a person of color, as someone who grew up in poverty, knowing these aspects of me are the only things that make my "comrades" give a shit if I'm ok or not? Not seen as a individual, but as a member of certain groups, and accessory to the agenda of the left. Are we not fighting oppression because we care that people, individuals, suffer? There is no value in the group alone. The individuals make the group.

[againstauthority]

Jack Spencer

[againstauthority]

Jack Spencer

[againstauthority]

Jack Spencer

[againstauthority]

Witnessed another friend fall to their addiction.

Time again, I've had feeble relationships with people who have alcohol and drug habits. It's tragic for someone to depend on substances to where they lose all connection to themselves and others. It reminds me of that "zombie" ant species that is controlled by fungus.

The excuses someone will make for their love story with their habit when they're losing everything. Substances ruin lives. Take pride in being sober.

[againstauthority]

There is a grim satisfaction for people who accuse girls and women of making false accusations. There's an inherent smugness to "shut down" what's believed to be a woman "exploiting the system", which stems from an underlying belief that women have some legal and social privilege to "get away with" false accusations. It's especially disturbing when it's another woman.

[againstauthority]

It bothers me deeply how quick people are to claim abuse or sexual assault allegations are false, and how punishing the consequences are when it's believed these accusations are false.

It's targeted towards women and children.

I think society believes that it takes abuse/sexual assault more seriously than it actually does, so when people come forward and make these allegations, there's an assumption there are going to be bigger consequences for the alleged perpetrator, and so they begin to sympathize with the accused. People believe women and children are more prone to lying. People assume many of these allegations to be some sort of "ploy" to "abuse the system" and gain advantages for the accuser, but when you think about the implications of falsely reporting abuse or sexual assault, it seems a lot less likely.

Children are very unlikely to report abuse. Children understand that doing so could make them vulnerable to both punishment from the parent abuser if the allegations weren't accepted, and to the state's custody which would take them from their parent(s). Children complain. Children exaggerate. But I think it is very, very unlikely that a child would seek to start an abuse case with collected evidence just because their parent took away their Xbox. That just doesn't make sense.

People really think that women have some privilege over men when it comes to assault allegations, but that's inverse to what actually happens. The assumption is that when a women makes an allegation, there's a fleet of support and everyone grabs for their torches and pitchforks. People are immediately skeptical about assault allegations, however, and maybe now more than ever are women accused of lying. It's virulent misogyny and it's revolting.

People coming forth with their stories are demanded to provide tremendous evidence, making it difficult for situations like psychological abuse, which are often met with robotic scrutiny and contempt. There's a wide assumption that society is massively favorable to those making the allegations, but that's contrary. It's disadvantageous for people to make false accusations. It's gravely underestimated how damaging accusing an abused or assaulted person of lying, gaslighting them, is. Abuse and sexual assault need to be taken more seriously, treated with more time and sensitivity, and that begins with education. The way women and children are treated are tied to deeper origins that need to addressed.

[againstauthority]

CONCRETE COWBOY (2020) dir. Ricky Staub cinematography: Minka Farthing-Kohl

[againstauthority]

@thebaffledtiewriter No, it's not. "Wicca" and paganism are theological, and it's contradictory to be an atheist or a member of any main religious group and be a pagan. Why would an atheist practice witchcraft? There are ways to enjoy fantasy and other imaginative concepts without following occult ideology.

More than theists fear other religions, more than Christians fear Satanists or pagans, religious people fear atheism.

Theism and logic are seperate. Religion is not unlike folklore, the only difference is the distribution. Christians are more akin to Satanists because a Christian and Satanist believe in the same narrative, their differences are in which idol they worship. The purpose of religion is to morph the narrative of the universe into the human image, to offer immortality and purpose for those who can't, or won't, create their own in a godless reality.

Christians, Muslims, Satanists, witches, scientologists, whatever your cup of tea is are terrified of a world where there is no god. No god means no foundation religious traditionalism has established, no greater being to idolize, no invisible shoulder to cry on; it means a person is mortal, unnotable, and alone to find purpose that doesn't intrinsically exist in this universe.

To an atheist who thinks logically and seeks knowledge, no god means freedom. It means a person is free to decide what they want their life to be, to find what makes them happy to be alive, to explore the unknown and live life without worrying about failure becoming immortalized. It seems like there's a difference between romantic minds and reasonable minds, but the truth is atheists can be just as happy without the shame, the illusions, and others writing their lifepath.

[againstauthority]

The Illusion of Control: Individualism from an Atheistic and Leftist perspective

Individualism is the philosophy of a person's independence and self-reliance, their inner resourcefulness, as opposed to government or social support. This ideology is often associated with the Baby Boomer generation and the Right-wing party to oppose ethical propositions, such as the politics of welfare, and the psychology of philanthropy.

I believe individualism is comparable to nationalism in the sense that both of these concepts aren't inherently wrong, but there's some big issues with the perception of these values in a political and philosophical application.

As an atheist, I understand that people have limited control. We tend to think of ourselves as more in control than we are, through the exaggerated power of our egos, forgetting our limitedness in the process. As a leftist, my philosophy is the care of other human beings, individuals, and I both see the value and the impudence of individualism.

The issue with individualism is its "one-size-fits-all" lens; the presumption and oversimplification of the needs, capacity, and control of the individual. In an organic and probable world, it's ridiculous to assume every human being has the inner resources to achieve their physical and mental needs. We have shown as a civilization that human beings need each other, to give each other resources, to share ideas and advance, and for social consolation. To deny the 4.000 years of human civilization and the modern point of science, technology, and medicine, would be nothing short of arrogant.

The middle ground between individualist ideals and leftist ideals is simple: to let people do as much for themselves as they can, and provide the social structure to support what they can't. Individualism with a realistic outlook is an effective and a more reliably universal philosophy.

[againstauthority]

Race lives only in the minds of people. Racism flourishes through ignorance and systemic manipulation, such as policies, narratives, and structures that privilege those with power.

When Colorblind Parenting meets Anti-racism, by Zeresenay Alemseged, professor of organismal biology and anatomy

[againstauthority]

Many physical differences in humans—skin color, hair texture, eye shape, stature—are nothing but recent adaptations to the areas our direct ancestors occupied. If you are near the equator, under the scorching sun, you are better off with darker skin to fight the high ultraviolet doses and resist skin cancer. If you live near the poles, then a lighter skin color will help you absorb the limited sunlight easily in order to synthesize vitamin D and avoid rickets.

When Colorblind Parenting meets Anti-racism, by Zeresenay Alemseged, professor of organismal biology and anatomy

[againstauthority]

All of humanity’s DNA is more than 99.9 percent the same. Moreover, fossils show that our species, Homo sapiens, emerged in Africa some 300,000 years ago then diversified into a myriad of populations within the continent. Some communities might have left Africa earlier, but the populations that led to the occupation of the rest of the planet migrated approximately 70,000 years ago.

When Colorblind Parenting meets Anti-racism, by Zeresenay Alemseged, professor of organismal biology and anatomy

[againstauthority]

But racial ideas are social constructions, and they are not the same everywhere. Moreover, understanding how racism works intellectually is not the same as actually experiencing and feeling its effects.

When Colorblind Parenting meets Anti-racism, by Zeresenay Alemseged, professor of organismal biology and anatomy

[againstauthority]

"For me, colorblind parenting means something different. It comes from my training and research as a biological anthropologist. In my field, race is understood as a social, historical, and political construct that has little to do with the biology of an individual and their evolutionary history."

Zeresenay Alemseged, professor of organismal biology and anatomy.

[againstauthority]

I want to say this specifically for mental health because I find myself repeating again and again how broken our understanding of it is.

I want to stand and shout to the mental health world that you can't insert yourself in someone's perspective just because you have similar experiences. You can't truthfully tell someone you have the answer to all their problems by coercing them to follow your lifestyle, with the justification that you've "been through what they're going through." In other words, just because something works and is true for you doesn't certify it's relevant or effective knowledge for someone else.

We can share ours experiences and suggest things to people, but trying to force someone into seeings things a certain way or living a certain way is bad behavior. If that frustrates you, that's alright. You're allowed to feel upset in the disappointment that you believe you have valuable information, but you've gotta understand that people are going to do what they want, for better or worse, it doesn't matter. The objective is not to force anyone to do anything, but to put the story out there just to be out there, and if it helps someone, that's great.

There's no universal philosophy. This is something that would do a lot of good to recognise.

[againstauthority]

Renato Muccilo, The Forgotten Vista