"One thing I will never understand...is their magical belief that bakers in Massachusetts are quantum entangled with cartoon warlords in Israel, or that these bakers at the very least have a direct phone line to Israel." The brick throwers are violent people and excuses are fabricated to commit violence against others. Beautiful picture of the innocent child, Ariel Bibas and his protective pup, Tonto. I will think of them and flush the evil down the drain.
A good point. I had a line in an early draft about how "Now, all bricklayers must be put on the terror watchlist" because the language seems to imply any bricklayer is just as likely as any other to wake up one day possessed by murderous impulse. These new writers are strange, they seem to have precisely zero interest in reality, which should be an immediate 'no thank you' for any interviewing newspaper.
I am glad you identify as Left of Center. My favorite substackers identify as former or current left of center committed to anti-authoritarian measures. At a museum on the settlement/colonization of California, I assumed the docent was going to give the typical speech that CA was still Mexican land. I was ready for that one to remind her that Spain had conquered the area, giving out land grants with Mexican rule for only 5 years before the US took it. It took a surprising turn when she readily agreed with that narrative. It turns out, according to her college professor, the Spaniards created white supremacy. The Spaniards oppressed the Moors in Spain. I was gobsmacked to say the least with this fairytale. The Moors quickly swept through much of Europe in the 600s and-700s. It took Spain hundreds of years to reclaim the country. What is interesting is the condescension of her convenient cartoon position. The Moors were peaceful, loving hippies who rightfully had these areas instead of formidable warriors. I see the same condescension with radical Islamists. To treat them like cute puppies endangers us all. We should respect what they say they believe, is what they actually believe, and act accordingly.
Precisely, and thank you. Yes I would still consider myself left of center even if many (if not all) of my old writer friends from five, ten years ago are now so ideologically captured as to be like aliens to me. I didn't slide further left when they did, and held the controversial opinion that traditional publishing was ideologically captured (and therefore boring for readers) way back in 2015, thus beginning my alienation from them.
What got me most was the soft bigotry of low expectations they applied to anyone who was not white or who did not go through university. It was there that I realised, these people are not the fun-loving hippies I had expected them to be. And, since I don't like being around racists, I found I very quickly had a much smaller friend group.
All I ever wanted was for people to be treated equally, as individuals. I agree with you, we absolutely should listen to what people say, and take it seriously.
"One thing I will never understand...is their magical belief that bakers in Massachusetts are quantum entangled with cartoon warlords in Israel, or that these bakers at the very least have a direct phone line to Israel." The brick throwers are violent people and excuses are fabricated to commit violence against others. Beautiful picture of the innocent child, Ariel Bibas and his protective pup, Tonto. I will think of them and flush the evil down the drain.
I think it shows the opposite of what they are trying to portray.
If Islam is just "quiet bricklayers", suddenly turning around and killing innocents, then all Muslims are capable of it.
A good point. I had a line in an early draft about how "Now, all bricklayers must be put on the terror watchlist" because the language seems to imply any bricklayer is just as likely as any other to wake up one day possessed by murderous impulse. These new writers are strange, they seem to have precisely zero interest in reality, which should be an immediate 'no thank you' for any interviewing newspaper.
If a quiet little Muslim brickie can be a monsterous terrorist any Muslim can.
Collective psychopaths
I am glad you identify as Left of Center. My favorite substackers identify as former or current left of center committed to anti-authoritarian measures. At a museum on the settlement/colonization of California, I assumed the docent was going to give the typical speech that CA was still Mexican land. I was ready for that one to remind her that Spain had conquered the area, giving out land grants with Mexican rule for only 5 years before the US took it. It took a surprising turn when she readily agreed with that narrative. It turns out, according to her college professor, the Spaniards created white supremacy. The Spaniards oppressed the Moors in Spain. I was gobsmacked to say the least with this fairytale. The Moors quickly swept through much of Europe in the 600s and-700s. It took Spain hundreds of years to reclaim the country. What is interesting is the condescension of her convenient cartoon position. The Moors were peaceful, loving hippies who rightfully had these areas instead of formidable warriors. I see the same condescension with radical Islamists. To treat them like cute puppies endangers us all. We should respect what they say they believe, is what they actually believe, and act accordingly.
Precisely, and thank you. Yes I would still consider myself left of center even if many (if not all) of my old writer friends from five, ten years ago are now so ideologically captured as to be like aliens to me. I didn't slide further left when they did, and held the controversial opinion that traditional publishing was ideologically captured (and therefore boring for readers) way back in 2015, thus beginning my alienation from them.
What got me most was the soft bigotry of low expectations they applied to anyone who was not white or who did not go through university. It was there that I realised, these people are not the fun-loving hippies I had expected them to be. And, since I don't like being around racists, I found I very quickly had a much smaller friend group.
All I ever wanted was for people to be treated equally, as individuals. I agree with you, we absolutely should listen to what people say, and take it seriously.
What does “ left of center” mean?
Excellent commentary
Thank you :)