THE MOST SCATHING OF INDICTMENTS

European Disneyland

The perception of Europe in the United States has, over the past few decades, shifted and evolved into some jarringly disfigured homunculus. This is, of course, in response to the question of a “white identity” within America, specifically in attempt to find (or invent) a cultural distinction between white Americans and their non-white cocitizens.

For the white identitarian in America, it is difficult to distinguish themselves culturally from non-white Americans. No white American can claim to be indigenous to the American continent, and if they do it’s through virtue of some non-white heritage. Culturally, a white American goes to the same schools as non-whites, eats the same foods at the same restaurants, lives under the same laws, speaks the same language, and even lives on the same street. There is nothing unique to them in America, and so the “white identity” within America becomes fundamentally meaningless, an empty clause, with meager social or cultural weight.

Marriage

Marriage is necessarily a stabilization and anchoring of the spirit. It is a calcification, a stiffening of the soul. In an honest marriage, man must necessarily kill some part of his dynamism, gently smothering that portion of himself that is still wild and unchained, holding the pillow to its face until it no longer thrashes and kicks its legs. You must become dependable, reliable, routine. You must become immobile earth, upon which a tree may grow. With every step towards marriage, and every step beyond, the entrenchment increases, and one becomes more and more lithic, as though caught in Medusa’s gaze. In effect, one may truly be caught in the gaze of a Gorgon. He is, at least, caught in the gaze of her.

Why are goods more expensive in wealthy nations than in developing nations?

When traveling overseas, I’m always amazed at just how much cheaper certain goods and services are compared to the States. In Jordan, I can get a taxi ride into town for a dinar and a half (approximately two American dollars), a haircut for two or three dinar (about three to four dollars), and a whole roast chicken, with a side of fries, pickles, garlic sauce, and a drink, delivered to my doorstep for only five dinar (around seven dollars). At my local barbershop, a plain haircut will set me back thirty dollars. I’ve tried cheaper barbers nearby, but have always been disappointed with the results. But at a measly two dinar, my barber in Jordan will not just cut my hair, but also give me a shave, a massage, style my hair, and offer a complimentary wax of the nose and forehead, which I always tend to turn down. The massive difference in price in no way can be explained by a difference in quality, as, especially in regards to food, the quality of service provided overseas is often better than in the States.

Violence

There are four major kinds of violence, ordered from most human to least, or in ascending inhumanity.

The first, and most understandable, violence is tragic violence. Tragic violence includes violence on accident, unintentional harm imposed unto others. Children hurting one another in play, a traffic collision, a work accident. It may also be deliberate, as with violence in self defense, or in the defense of others. There is also the violence of the stoic soldier or conscript. There is the dedicated soldier who fights because he truly believes in the ideals he fights for, inflicting restrained violence as a solemn necessity, and there is the conscript who is aware of the suffering imposed through war and detests it, yet has no choice but to participate against his will. In World War I, it was a common occurrence that soldiers, often conscripts, would intentionally miss when firing at their enemies, not willing to kill their fellow man. Tragic violence can be seen as violence performed with tears, or an expression of agony, it is violence which displeases both the perpetrator and the victim. Often, tragic violence is seen by society as outside the scope of criminality, or at least in the realm of criminal negligence rather than outright malice. Tragic violence is seen as benign, a natural cost of living life among others.

The Virtualization Singularity

In the virtual sphere, twitch streamers debate with academics, comedians converse with the president, adult film stars do stand up, every single sphere has converged into a single point. There are no longer the categories of comedy, political, advertisement, pornography, etc. Everything has collapsed into one point, a simultaneous and continuous consumption of the virtual. Effectively zero distance, it has all converged into your phone screen. All at the same time, GTA 5 gameplay, a Reddit text-to-speech video, a factory accident in China, a podcast clip, a Wendy’s commercial, a girl dancing in tight yoga pants, news about the election, a recipe for a triple wagyu smashburger. All these occur simultaneously in the same space. 

Spotify Wrapped and the Social Panopticon

Today the Spotify Wrapped playlists have been rolled out on the app (as well as the analogous thing for Apple music I guess, if you use that). Of course, being the beacon of taste and sophistication that I am, mine is beyond reproach. I have listened to the exact calculated permutation of songs, at exactly the right minutes, such as to bring about the optimum, the ideal of musical consumption. Utility maximization, with the utility curve tangential along the market line of all auditory choice. Internal Lagrangian functions constantly calculating to determine what to listen to, and when, and in conjunction with other decisions of taste in a constant network which optimizes sophistication, culminating in a final playlist upon which all may look in admiration. Finely displayed in the medium of my Instagram story, peering through the protective glass of your phone screen, masterfully framed by your phone case, like an artwork on display. It even tells you the amount of minutes listened, the measure of time effort put into this final display, effort then collapsed into a singular .png image.

The Buddhas of Bamiyan

The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan is often cited as a modern catastrophe, an unforgivable destruction of invaluable cultural heritage by machine gun toting Luddite savages. How could these psychopathic extremists destroy such a culturally significant site, one which was protected under international status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Could they not see that it had a special place in the heritage of the world as a whole? What horrid drivel, what feigned outrage.

The French (Lack of) Republican Ideals

I wrote this in October of 2023 and left it unfinished. Due to the victory of the National Rally in the French European Parliament election, I will publish this in its unfinished state, as I feel that the current events make further analysis trite, it can be seen clearly in what has occurred. 

I recently read Shlomo Sand’s The Invention of the Jewish People, which I greatly enjoyed, and was quite taken with his presentation of the genesis of nationalism. It is important to distinguish that this is not necessarily in the sense of ideological nationalism, but moreso in the fundamental issue of how to define one’s nation and the boundaries as such. Fundamentally, the question of nationalism in this sense is that of defining the in-group.

Racialist Delusion

Racism fundamentally attracts the lowest dregs of human society, insecure and ineffectual rejects who find solace in their caustic views. Racism itself differs from other forms of discrimination, as the social concept of race is formulated such that it is believed to be individually unchangeable, a physical characteristic determined by genetics, deterministic and devoid of human agency. Ethnic discrimination as a whole, though still deeply rooted in insecurity and a fear of the other, is not necessarily tied to ones inherent physical characteristics, but focuses on the other’s cultural practices, such as their language or dress, which can be altered to some extent by individual action. One of an “inferior” culture could assimilate, adopt the practices and customs of the prevailing group, and potentially find some acceptance among bigots. Racism, on the other hand, is the further belief that one’s ethnicity, culture, and even individual behavior is inherently tied to unalterable physical characteristics, usually genetics, and that any attempt to change one’s behavior is futile. That, by virtue of belonging to some race, one must hold certain characteristics, inferior or superior to one another. 

Visualization of Asymmetric Warfare

In attempting to visualize the state of warfare on the grand scale, we generally use maps, and thus symbolic markers along these maps, in signifying troop movements, front lines, etc. The symbols used in our visualizations have changed in accordance with the difference in grand strategies of the times. In wars prior to the conventional concept of front line warfare, which came to full fruition with the first World War, the military situation is best shown not with front line control, but with troop movement and fort control.