andrewseiner

[andrewseiner]

I enjoy using work as a way to escape my left-leaning, anti-fascism, skeptical algorithm bubble. Firstly, I have a large number of coworkers with extremely right-wing opinions; and even though most of them have figured out that I'm better (and/or more stubborn) at arguing politics, religion et al than they are, I can get a couple bites of the more... Passionate ones. Secondly, I get access to a near clean Microsoft Start news page as the default home of the web browsers on all the computers as well as the daytime Network TV playing in the break rooms.

Anyways, all that preamble is tell a very specific story. While on break, not 30 minutes ago, there was some crap TV about Alaskan "homesteaders". Holy forking shirt balls y'all... The absolute gall of self-indulgent, libertarian, myth-making crap. The "Men-folk" coming on camera to jerk themselves about how their all just "living off the land" and "Struggling to build a simple chicken coop with the subpar lumber on their land"... the very next shot is a Hitachi track hoe lifting a log into a modern sawmill being powered with a Honda generator. With the "homesteader's" brand new Polaris ATV parked in the background.

Where'd you get the money for all that? Where's that replacement belt for your sawmill going to come from? Where do you get the gas to run the generator? Or to run the atv? Where do you buy new chains for that chainsaw you used to cut down that log? You got a Metallurgy degree and a forge in that backyard too?

The best part was the blatant misogyny. Guy talking about how he's being so brave and taking this big risk going bear hunting "just to put some meat in the freezer". I mean the bears are dangerous because they're fresh out of hibernation and thus very hungry. Then you've got six miles kayaking across a freezing cold Alaskan Lake... Then he picks up his dad in a $120,000 pickup truck; at least $5,000 worth of firearms, two satellite phones, 2 military grade GPS devices, and a brand new, two-person kayak. Then we cut to the guy's wife out on on the water and a dingy little fishing boat with an outbound motor that looks like lost to fight with a rust monster. The she goes "Yeah, if Frank and Dale don't bag a black bear, I'm the backup plan. I can usually catch enough fish to last us through the year in two or three solid weeks of work out here on the lake."

Now listen, I'm not saying she didn't have really nice fishing gear or a good GPS and/or satellite phone. But like. Seems like it'd be better to just go out and do the fishing, or hop in your brand new truck and drive the 300 miles to the nearest town and pick up 100 lb of beef and 50 lb of pork you clearly got money to buy some meat. But then you wouldn't be "manly" enough because you didn't go out there and fight a black bear with naught but a pocket knife or whatever.

That's the thing with libertarian thinking. It's all about not relying on "The Grid" until it's useful or even just convenient. Mine and everyone else's tax dollars paid for the roads the employees at the ammo factory took to work. All so you could jerk off about killing a groggy, starving black bear.