A similar thing happened in France recently. A lot of poorer people got pissed off with the giant hypermarkets banning cash. These people can't afford to buy local so much because of higher prices, so access to hypermarkets is important. Anyway, they organised into a big group of about 100 and all went along one day to the local HM. They packed their caddies full of stuff and queued up, pretending that they didn't know each other. Customer 1 offers to pay in cash and is refused. He acts in horror and surprise, and starts telling everyone else in the queue. They all join in and then everyone walks out leaving 100 caddies full of stuff just sitting there. The HM did an M and allowed cash back in asap.
Oh boy how I enjoy reading your posts. In my selfish way I'm glad and amused you didn't manage to withdraw from Substack successfully. Today's task well accomplished!
I was with you entirely until you offered up Kennedy! Come on Man. He is just as bad as the other two bozos. No leader is coming to save you- that was your entire message and then KENNEDY! Jesus H. christ what a bait and switch.
I haven't voted for anyone in 40 years after I woke up and quit voting for the lessor of two evils (I thought). I despise whiners you complain about the winner of the elections- you signed up for the system of winner decides but then whine about what the winning side does. If your side won you would use all the power to force your ideas on the other side so you deserve what you get.
I on the otherhand can complain no matter who wins becuase I didn't give either side my sanction to do evil. 99% of your message was correct- Do Not Consent. Stay out of the power system as much as possible.
I know I'm not free and have known this since I was a teenager. Therefor I am nore free becuase they haven't captured my mind. But you have to continulayy fight against being captured because as you note they are all kinds of sides that wan to control your "Overton Window".
Easily one of the best posts I've read on substack, well done sir! I'm through with playing the game they call democracy, wouldn't trust any of these politicians to run a hotdog stand let alone be a leader of men. Really detest the fact most people feel they need to be "led" like they're dogs on a leash, if they stray too far their leaders just yank on their chains until they fall back in line. As a grown man, who can make my own choices, I refuse to give away my sovereignty to ghouls like Biden or Trump and provide legitimacy to their grifting by choosing to vote for either. I view Trump as the canary in the coal mine for the collapse of the US, if he is the best amongst us, as he should be if he's leading a country of 300+ million, then we are in serious trouble(though I view Biden as a much much much worse president, just not going to do the whole lesser of two evils thing anymore). Anyone who thinks that we can vote our way out of this freak show needs to open their eyes to the carnage around them.
Exactly. I have kids, so I still have a major stake in the civilisational game. However, at this point, I think it all needs to collapse so we can start again.
Yup, I have a 2 year old daughter and I am horrified at the future that is in front of her. All I can do as a parent is to make sure she grows up knowing how to think critically, discern truth from lies, and to be physically fit, other than that the rest is out of my hands. Do know I will not raise her to think “democracy “ is the answer, it failed in Ancient Greece and is failing now, time for a better path forward for humanity.
Love permaculture. If it wouldn't be for my wife and daughter I sell today and get some land and go as much self-sufficient as I can. Working on it though. But they still believe in the system. But time will show them….not sure how much time we got left though. But I also trust in organisity. Ultimately all events are neutral, it is us that attaches meaning to them. So it is all within us, all within our own power of seeing reality as it is.
I definitely agree that the US banana republic has been in session for a very long time.
I kind of enjoy how the Orange Man show trials brought visibility to the issue even while I simultaneously think it's stupid for people to be so fanboy about another billionaire.
Trump is as awful as our host says. His only value is as a symbol: a big "FU!" to the Establishment. If he wins in Nov, he won't change a damned thing for the better.
of course he won't. he was a total tool of the Establishment while in power. the rich continued to get richer.
only the die hard Demonrats had problems with him, not because of what he did but because of his media persona and noisiness of his supporters making it look like rEaL aMeRiCaNs were super excited about being ruled by a non-politician billionaire.
voting lesser evil always ended up biting me in the ass after they'd win and demonstrate that "lesser" is extremely relative by being Plenty Evil themselves.
still, I might vote for Orange Man rather than Zionist RFK, even though I prefer "throwing away my vote" by voting third party. RFK has the notable background of repeatedly fighting pHarmaCo in court and claims he'd go after them and the so called regulatory agencies, if in office. I'd love to see that. but I'd still rather the idiot Orange Man be parking his lardulous kiester in The Big Chair than Senile Pedo Joe "Security State" Puppet Biden, and RFK wouldn't have a real chance of winning. they're all Zionists anyway.
True, but if you look at history, it's never the "people" en masse who really matter. They just follow whoever comes out on top. What matters is the creative and active minority. They are the ones who - for better or worse - change things. You might or might not agree with the aims and outcomes of the French Revolution (I'm personally a bit dubious), however, it only took 1000 pissed off people out of 27m to storm the Bastille and get things moving.
You are absolutley right, Mara, nobody wants to be called stupid. But stupid we are, Of course, the better word is "ignorant" but everyone yawns when they read that word.
I also tried "Have you considiered?", in the past. Yawn.
Regarding Guru wisdom - there are all kind of approaches to enlightenement - from loving kindness and selflessness to a slap in the face by Zen Masters. (That actully gives me an idea for another story). That spritiuality is always all lovey-dovey is a myth. Unconditional love is the end result, it seems. but until genuinly achieved, it can't be faked. And no one is more fake and "superior" than the spiritual and psychotherapeutic crowd in my experience
Regarding pychoptherapy the same applies. There is the introspective, write a journal, burn the pages in a cermony path, and there is the cartharsis path. It can be done in private or in groups and publicly.
The main purposes of pubic cartharsis is connecting with that surpressed inner child state and showing the finger to our internalized parent-adult, overcoming the opressing fear of "being judged", being scolded, being marginalized and excluded (put in a corner for being "bad" for being angry about a perceived injustice. These are all authotarian ways to make our children fit into society, to blend in. I certain amount of it is probably justified and then it is up to the child to get rid of it when they grow up - otherwise they will always stay children, scared of authority. And that is exactly the problem we have in the world - billions of adult bodies with childlike fearful minds.
To channel and express that surpressed anger is part of waking up.
There is a book out there called something like "the art of not giving a fuck". I never read it because I got the message just through the title. It is incredibly freeing.
Yes, it leads us into being recjected by society and into solitude - interesstingly also the desitny of many great philosophers and mystics. Societies and religons shunned them, deemed them offensive. Only decades later, usually after their death, when it deems save - they get pulled out, get distorted as saints and weaponized for all sorts of personal projects of power and greed.
True compassion and love for others and humanity is often only achieved after being exiled by society. In solitude the ego gets burned to the ground and from its ashes arises the unafraid, wise mystic.
People forget that. That's the mains reason also why Jesus was killed by the authorities. He offended people all the time with the truth. He didn't swear, granted. Or maybe he did - but it was never written down. But we all have our own style, path and destiny.
Even two minutes before I started typing that article, I had no idea that I would write something like that. It just came out of me and it felt so good to not give a fuck about what anyone thinks about it. These things can't be produced. They just happen. To all of us. But most of the time our internalized sociatal parents stop us with thoughts of fear.
And finally, you must not have read it to the end. Losing subscribers that are not ready to get the message of how stupid we all are at times is the whole point of the article.
Waking up always hurts. That's what many people don't get either. They glorigy it. Just another ego trip. As long you don't feel the betrayel, the rage, the anger you are not waking up. It fucking hurts and you want to smash the stupid world to pieces. But deeper inside is also our wise guide that stops us from harming ourselves and others.
"Harming" is another concept weaponized by the controlers. A Zen Master slapping the deciple at a given moment with a very specific purpose, looks like he is harming him. It looks like violence. But he is actually waking him up and improves his life.
This is the opposite of slapping a child for breaking sociatal rules. This is harmful and oppressive.
IAnyway, I am babbling on, sorry. I am happy you challanged me on that Mara, thank you. Good challanges and debates have been almost removed from society and substack because in the current culture everyone is so sacared of offending anyone.
Another means to control peope by gagging them psychologically. Therfore, I won't apologize for using swear words. If the swear words offended you, I invite you to explore why.
Here is the end of my article again, in case you missed it
"And whoops - I just got blocked by about a hundred Americans, my biggest reader group. I can’t wait to get to zero and finally go on with my life in peace.
Those who get it don’t need me. And those who block me don’t get it."
Sorry, Mark - no, I didn't read it to the end. But I didn't block you either...
I'm trying to find a way to engage and respond assertively (respecting my own thoughts and feelings and processes) and constructively... because there is a lot to be angry about, for sure.
As a child of the 60s, and coming of age at the height of the personal (& spiritual too) growth golden age of the 70s & 80s in Perth (as one friend said, sort of Australia's equivalent to California), I certainly enjoyed wallowing in all the cathartic therapies on offer: psychodrama, gestalt therapy, encounter groups with the Orange people. I did a practical placement for my Masters in Clinical Psychology at a small private psych hospital where the main therapy was Primal - oh, it was so much fun to beat up on bean bags (yes, staff & students were encouraged to join in too) and yell and scream and rage.
But I saw (& experienced) how easy it was to get stuck in that... in fact, expressing anger felt so good that many people got addicted and couldn't move on from it.
And it is often destructive to relationships, even when both parties are doing it.
I've recently parted ways with a very old friend from that era, a "sannyasin", who could dish it out but couldn't take it herself...
Psychodrama talks about a catharsis of emotion being separate from a catharsis of integration, and I like that model.
Anyway, I agree that managing anger constructively is one of the hardest of tasks in developing emotional mastery.
(But I still don't like being called "stupid", I don't like being patronised, and I don't think that any of the people you are actually angry at will read or get the message. Or care...)
Fair enough if you don’t want to be called stupid. Good on you saying so. However, why did you even read it? The headline made it very clear that “everyone is stupid” will be addressed.
I am not saying you shouldn’t have read it. I think it is good you did. I think that shows that one part of you is open to honestly look at yourselve. But that is just me - I don’t want to put words in your mouth.
I don’t care if people call me stupid - I assess it and investigate it. Sometimes they are right and I thank them for telling me. Sometimes they are wrong and I either debate or leave it.
I noticed recently that I became less and less “offendable.” I had an interesting exchange with a troll a month ago who tried very hard to put me down and offend me. It just amused me and I told him: Try harder because so far, but I am simply un-offendable by you.” He gave up after a while but it never got ugly, and stayed civil.
That doesn’t mean there is nothing left that would push my buttons big time…..I am sure there is lots of it. But where do I find it? I am almost longing for it - not so I can fight - but to investigate my triggers.
I am a control freak in a way. I hate it to be led along by triggered emotions - it always ends in suffering. So I investigate my triggers as much as I can.
I am putting out so much offensive stuff baiting people - no-one seems to take the bait. Are they all enlightened self-controlled compassionate people that won’t get triggered?
I don’t think so. Because they are taking the bait - just responding in a different way. Firstly, by not responding which would be the natural to do if we get triggered. By now, the not-responding could be one of two things: A genuine calm conscious decision based on a lack of triggering. Or, a rapid oppression of the natural response because it they are scared of the explosivity of it. The second group than quickly presses the block button to avoid the confrontation with their own triggers.
And that is totally fine. No-one should feel obliged to deal with my provocations. It is just an invite. I respect that people need to be ready to constructively deal with that stuff.
So they block. They are not ready. Some have better things to do with their time and I actually applaud them - that’s where I want to get to.
But others are scared of their internal dynamite. They worry it will explode if they engage.
And these are the real dangerous people in society - the ones that can’t engage anymore with opposing thoughts and ideas because they are so angry and pissed off, that they lost control to express it in a civil non-violent way.
Left and right, high and low.
So they shove it down and the pile of dynamite gets bigger and bigger - and their real-life acquaintances and families feel it and get uncomfortable about their unexpressed anger. They tip-toe around them and shun them more and more without words.
Then they get isolated and even more angry and desperate. And one day - a tiny thing happens - the proverbal last drop - or better, the last little spark that gets too close to the dynamite - and boom. They explode.
They grab a knife or a car and let it all out.
That’s the danger of a society and social media where anything challenging just can be literally “blocked away.” Encouraged to be blocked away.
And paradoxically, the goodie-goodie marshmallows crying for safety, advocating for censorship of anything offensive, create ticking time bombs.
While they are often anti-establishment, they paradoxically increase the control and power of the establishment through such violent explosive acts because the state is weaponizing these random acts to justify more police, laws, control and emergency rules.
In other words, the establishment wants the occasional mad violent outburst to scare everyone else back into submission, thinking they need the control and the police to protect them from it.
But in a free, open and compassionate society, the dynamite would never built up because all people would be heard and encouraged to express their grievances.
Think of it as a wake up call, as in, wake the fuck up you (plural) shallow, narcissistic, selfish, narrow minded greedy assholes. A call to action, analogous to a slap in the face.
That’s cool. I am sure he has many admirable traits too and I sit here with great detached curiosity of how this drama unfolds. I try not to rule anything out. How wonderful if Trump could step up to the historic task in front of him and morph from the cocoon of his past narcissistic nature into a butterfly of freedom for the people. Who knows? It’s rare, but sometimes rulers do change. Look at JFK with hits peace speech in 1963.
I believe that is a healthy instinct you have there Aria. :-) My sense is that the political systems have been deeply corrupted and even the best of men entering this dark arena now will struggle to stay honest. Those who do will sooner or later be spit out by the nasty system and their actors.
But it is also the fault of the people. They got lazy and stopped holding politicians accountable decades ago. The tree of democracy only stays healthy with constant, vigilant pruning of the bad apples.
Love the food delivery story, by outsourcing our decision-making and personal responsibility to algorithms and automated systems, we have created a society that is fundamentally incapable of critical thinking, empathy, and genuine human connection, it’s great to hear about people breaking out of this.
The individualist understands that the right to liberty is universal, and that any infringement upon the freedom of another is an attack on the freedom of all. When one person is tyrannized, we are all diminished. While the collectivist seeks to divide and conquer, to pit one group against another in a never-ending cycle of oppression and control.
Immanuel Kant wrote “Have courage to make use of your own understanding.”
Kant pointed out that relying on others to do your thinking for you—outsourcing your decisions to people who claim to be experts—may be easy, but it is not mature.
“It is convenient to be immature! If I have a spiritual advisor to have a conscience for me, a doctor to judge my diet for me (be your own doctor), and so on, I need not make any efforts at all. I need not think, so long as I can pay; others will soon enough take the tiresome job over for me.”
We are slowly ceasing to live as autonomous, free thinkers. Instead, we have largely replaced the old authorities with new ones, while still believing that we are using reason to arrive at our conclusions. We flatter ourselves. It’s a risky delusion. have courage to make use of your own understanding. If all we are doing is finding experts to make decisions for us, we have handed over the “tiresome job” of thinking for ourselves.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. So, you can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”~ Dr. Seuss
Thoroughly enjoyed this read, mostly due to the fact I agree with everything you said 😂 but also due to how you framed it.
It’s like you can hear the conversation in my household and put it all together in writing 😆
Now we have folks who proclaim to be “waking up” because they believe in a deep state 😵💫 Some of us were never asleep and know it’s ALL one giant crock of dung.
Some of us researched history.
Some of us have researched geopolitics, read books like The Art of War.
Some of us read Dostoyevsky or Oscar Wilde instead of government textbooks on sociology 😂
Some of us don’t just rely on so-called “Alt media” and regurgitate what they say 😂
Some of us question everyone and everything we’re told and the response can tell us if they truly believe or know what they’re talking about (it’s why I spent most of school life in a corridor/broom cupboard or head teacher’s office 😂).
Doomsday mongery and „me smart“ vs „them stupid“ is the most banal sh*tshow of all, and usually whenever I find myself thinking „gosh, ppl are stupid“ I have to admit I‘m not the tiniest bit smarter, so we’re all in this dumbfuckery together and it’s up to us to smarten the heck up, starting with the knowitall in the mirror, instead of rumbling about „da peopl“.
Agree with Uturn- you spoilt a good rant with suggesting RFK might be an option. Not clear how the uniparty system can be stopped either in USA or UK where I am. Not voting does not work - as THEY still 'elect' the one with the most votes no matter how few. Starmer in the UK only has 20% of the population's support. We might not need a hero but we do need a meaningful way out of this mess. Sadly THEY also appear to 'own' the religious sector. And the impending crackdown on social media means we soon wont be able to 'speak' to each other like the delivery boys did.
Or we learn to talk code. Become telepathic again. Someone said the Australian Aborigines could do that. The can own the religious sector but true spirituality is free and unownable. In other words, Life is too intelligent to be stifled by controlling anal trans human technocrats, of that I am sure.
A similar thing happened in France recently. A lot of poorer people got pissed off with the giant hypermarkets banning cash. These people can't afford to buy local so much because of higher prices, so access to hypermarkets is important. Anyway, they organised into a big group of about 100 and all went along one day to the local HM. They packed their caddies full of stuff and queued up, pretending that they didn't know each other. Customer 1 offers to pay in cash and is refused. He acts in horror and surprise, and starts telling everyone else in the queue. They all join in and then everyone walks out leaving 100 caddies full of stuff just sitting there. The HM did an M and allowed cash back in asap.
Oh boy how I enjoy reading your posts. In my selfish way I'm glad and amused you didn't manage to withdraw from Substack successfully. Today's task well accomplished!
I still try to get off. Just changed my strategy. I try to insult every possible reader so there is no one left to write for. :-)
LOL.
I was with you entirely until you offered up Kennedy! Come on Man. He is just as bad as the other two bozos. No leader is coming to save you- that was your entire message and then KENNEDY! Jesus H. christ what a bait and switch.
I haven't voted for anyone in 40 years after I woke up and quit voting for the lessor of two evils (I thought). I despise whiners you complain about the winner of the elections- you signed up for the system of winner decides but then whine about what the winning side does. If your side won you would use all the power to force your ideas on the other side so you deserve what you get.
I on the otherhand can complain no matter who wins becuase I didn't give either side my sanction to do evil. 99% of your message was correct- Do Not Consent. Stay out of the power system as much as possible.
I know I'm not free and have known this since I was a teenager. Therefor I am nore free becuase they haven't captured my mind. But you have to continulayy fight against being captured because as you note they are all kinds of sides that wan to control your "Overton Window".
Easily one of the best posts I've read on substack, well done sir! I'm through with playing the game they call democracy, wouldn't trust any of these politicians to run a hotdog stand let alone be a leader of men. Really detest the fact most people feel they need to be "led" like they're dogs on a leash, if they stray too far their leaders just yank on their chains until they fall back in line. As a grown man, who can make my own choices, I refuse to give away my sovereignty to ghouls like Biden or Trump and provide legitimacy to their grifting by choosing to vote for either. I view Trump as the canary in the coal mine for the collapse of the US, if he is the best amongst us, as he should be if he's leading a country of 300+ million, then we are in serious trouble(though I view Biden as a much much much worse president, just not going to do the whole lesser of two evils thing anymore). Anyone who thinks that we can vote our way out of this freak show needs to open their eyes to the carnage around them.
Exactly. I have kids, so I still have a major stake in the civilisational game. However, at this point, I think it all needs to collapse so we can start again.
Yup, I have a 2 year old daughter and I am horrified at the future that is in front of her. All I can do as a parent is to make sure she grows up knowing how to think critically, discern truth from lies, and to be physically fit, other than that the rest is out of my hands. Do know I will not raise her to think “democracy “ is the answer, it failed in Ancient Greece and is failing now, time for a better path forward for humanity.
First time reader. Fully on board. Permaculture doomsday Prepper dissident here. Agree with everything you wrote.
I’m short on giving fucks about what people think or say. Actions are fact.
All the rest is unverifiable
Love permaculture. If it wouldn't be for my wife and daughter I sell today and get some land and go as much self-sufficient as I can. Working on it though. But they still believe in the system. But time will show them….not sure how much time we got left though. But I also trust in organisity. Ultimately all events are neutral, it is us that attaches meaning to them. So it is all within us, all within our own power of seeing reality as it is.
“Ultimately all events are neutral, it is us that attaches meaning to them. “
Very course in miracles and I agree.
I heard so much about it but never came around to read it. It inspires a lot of people.
AMAZING article. Loved it!! 👏👏
I definitely agree that the US banana republic has been in session for a very long time.
I kind of enjoy how the Orange Man show trials brought visibility to the issue even while I simultaneously think it's stupid for people to be so fanboy about another billionaire.
Trump is as awful as our host says. His only value is as a symbol: a big "FU!" to the Establishment. If he wins in Nov, he won't change a damned thing for the better.
of course he won't. he was a total tool of the Establishment while in power. the rich continued to get richer.
only the die hard Demonrats had problems with him, not because of what he did but because of his media persona and noisiness of his supporters making it look like rEaL aMeRiCaNs were super excited about being ruled by a non-politician billionaire.
voting lesser evil always ended up biting me in the ass after they'd win and demonstrate that "lesser" is extremely relative by being Plenty Evil themselves.
still, I might vote for Orange Man rather than Zionist RFK, even though I prefer "throwing away my vote" by voting third party. RFK has the notable background of repeatedly fighting pHarmaCo in court and claims he'd go after them and the so called regulatory agencies, if in office. I'd love to see that. but I'd still rather the idiot Orange Man be parking his lardulous kiester in The Big Chair than Senile Pedo Joe "Security State" Puppet Biden, and RFK wouldn't have a real chance of winning. they're all Zionists anyway.
Thanks for this.
However, I believe people are largely driven by ignorance, apathy and fear -- always have been, always will, and nothing will change this.
True, but if you look at history, it's never the "people" en masse who really matter. They just follow whoever comes out on top. What matters is the creative and active minority. They are the ones who - for better or worse - change things. You might or might not agree with the aims and outcomes of the French Revolution (I'm personally a bit dubious), however, it only took 1000 pissed off people out of 27m to storm the Bastille and get things moving.
Love it when you're angry!
You noticed that too? :)
‘Why is everyone so stupid’? I learnt a new word this week…..I’m PISSTIFIED, pissed off and mystified at the same time regarding people’s stupidity.😀
Love it - Pisstified, Pricelelss.
Great point, as usual.
Problem is, by ranting at people like this, you are alienating your readers, the ones who are still here.
Nobody likes to be called "stupid". And "fucking stupid" is a tad or 2 worse...
Maybe you need to consult your little book of guru wisdom?
Or your psychotherapy cheatsheet?
(I'm a psychotherapist too, and up there with the best of them when it comes to a rant against the establishment... I get it.
...but IMO best to keep it to your private therapy journal, and then rip out the pages and burn them ceremoniously... )
You are absolutley right, Mara, nobody wants to be called stupid. But stupid we are, Of course, the better word is "ignorant" but everyone yawns when they read that word.
I also tried "Have you considiered?", in the past. Yawn.
Regarding Guru wisdom - there are all kind of approaches to enlightenement - from loving kindness and selflessness to a slap in the face by Zen Masters. (That actully gives me an idea for another story). That spritiuality is always all lovey-dovey is a myth. Unconditional love is the end result, it seems. but until genuinly achieved, it can't be faked. And no one is more fake and "superior" than the spiritual and psychotherapeutic crowd in my experience
Regarding pychoptherapy the same applies. There is the introspective, write a journal, burn the pages in a cermony path, and there is the cartharsis path. It can be done in private or in groups and publicly.
The main purposes of pubic cartharsis is connecting with that surpressed inner child state and showing the finger to our internalized parent-adult, overcoming the opressing fear of "being judged", being scolded, being marginalized and excluded (put in a corner for being "bad" for being angry about a perceived injustice. These are all authotarian ways to make our children fit into society, to blend in. I certain amount of it is probably justified and then it is up to the child to get rid of it when they grow up - otherwise they will always stay children, scared of authority. And that is exactly the problem we have in the world - billions of adult bodies with childlike fearful minds.
To channel and express that surpressed anger is part of waking up.
There is a book out there called something like "the art of not giving a fuck". I never read it because I got the message just through the title. It is incredibly freeing.
Yes, it leads us into being recjected by society and into solitude - interesstingly also the desitny of many great philosophers and mystics. Societies and religons shunned them, deemed them offensive. Only decades later, usually after their death, when it deems save - they get pulled out, get distorted as saints and weaponized for all sorts of personal projects of power and greed.
True compassion and love for others and humanity is often only achieved after being exiled by society. In solitude the ego gets burned to the ground and from its ashes arises the unafraid, wise mystic.
People forget that. That's the mains reason also why Jesus was killed by the authorities. He offended people all the time with the truth. He didn't swear, granted. Or maybe he did - but it was never written down. But we all have our own style, path and destiny.
Even two minutes before I started typing that article, I had no idea that I would write something like that. It just came out of me and it felt so good to not give a fuck about what anyone thinks about it. These things can't be produced. They just happen. To all of us. But most of the time our internalized sociatal parents stop us with thoughts of fear.
And finally, you must not have read it to the end. Losing subscribers that are not ready to get the message of how stupid we all are at times is the whole point of the article.
Waking up always hurts. That's what many people don't get either. They glorigy it. Just another ego trip. As long you don't feel the betrayel, the rage, the anger you are not waking up. It fucking hurts and you want to smash the stupid world to pieces. But deeper inside is also our wise guide that stops us from harming ourselves and others.
"Harming" is another concept weaponized by the controlers. A Zen Master slapping the deciple at a given moment with a very specific purpose, looks like he is harming him. It looks like violence. But he is actually waking him up and improves his life.
This is the opposite of slapping a child for breaking sociatal rules. This is harmful and oppressive.
IAnyway, I am babbling on, sorry. I am happy you challanged me on that Mara, thank you. Good challanges and debates have been almost removed from society and substack because in the current culture everyone is so sacared of offending anyone.
Another means to control peope by gagging them psychologically. Therfore, I won't apologize for using swear words. If the swear words offended you, I invite you to explore why.
Here is the end of my article again, in case you missed it
"And whoops - I just got blocked by about a hundred Americans, my biggest reader group. I can’t wait to get to zero and finally go on with my life in peace.
Those who get it don’t need me. And those who block me don’t get it."
Sorry, Mark - no, I didn't read it to the end. But I didn't block you either...
I'm trying to find a way to engage and respond assertively (respecting my own thoughts and feelings and processes) and constructively... because there is a lot to be angry about, for sure.
As a child of the 60s, and coming of age at the height of the personal (& spiritual too) growth golden age of the 70s & 80s in Perth (as one friend said, sort of Australia's equivalent to California), I certainly enjoyed wallowing in all the cathartic therapies on offer: psychodrama, gestalt therapy, encounter groups with the Orange people. I did a practical placement for my Masters in Clinical Psychology at a small private psych hospital where the main therapy was Primal - oh, it was so much fun to beat up on bean bags (yes, staff & students were encouraged to join in too) and yell and scream and rage.
But I saw (& experienced) how easy it was to get stuck in that... in fact, expressing anger felt so good that many people got addicted and couldn't move on from it.
And it is often destructive to relationships, even when both parties are doing it.
I've recently parted ways with a very old friend from that era, a "sannyasin", who could dish it out but couldn't take it herself...
Psychodrama talks about a catharsis of emotion being separate from a catharsis of integration, and I like that model.
Anyway, I agree that managing anger constructively is one of the hardest of tasks in developing emotional mastery.
(But I still don't like being called "stupid", I don't like being patronised, and I don't think that any of the people you are actually angry at will read or get the message. Or care...)
Thank you Mara
Fair enough if you don’t want to be called stupid. Good on you saying so. However, why did you even read it? The headline made it very clear that “everyone is stupid” will be addressed.
I am not saying you shouldn’t have read it. I think it is good you did. I think that shows that one part of you is open to honestly look at yourselve. But that is just me - I don’t want to put words in your mouth.
I don’t care if people call me stupid - I assess it and investigate it. Sometimes they are right and I thank them for telling me. Sometimes they are wrong and I either debate or leave it.
I noticed recently that I became less and less “offendable.” I had an interesting exchange with a troll a month ago who tried very hard to put me down and offend me. It just amused me and I told him: Try harder because so far, but I am simply un-offendable by you.” He gave up after a while but it never got ugly, and stayed civil.
That doesn’t mean there is nothing left that would push my buttons big time…..I am sure there is lots of it. But where do I find it? I am almost longing for it - not so I can fight - but to investigate my triggers.
I am a control freak in a way. I hate it to be led along by triggered emotions - it always ends in suffering. So I investigate my triggers as much as I can.
I am putting out so much offensive stuff baiting people - no-one seems to take the bait. Are they all enlightened self-controlled compassionate people that won’t get triggered?
I don’t think so. Because they are taking the bait - just responding in a different way. Firstly, by not responding which would be the natural to do if we get triggered. By now, the not-responding could be one of two things: A genuine calm conscious decision based on a lack of triggering. Or, a rapid oppression of the natural response because it they are scared of the explosivity of it. The second group than quickly presses the block button to avoid the confrontation with their own triggers.
And that is totally fine. No-one should feel obliged to deal with my provocations. It is just an invite. I respect that people need to be ready to constructively deal with that stuff.
So they block. They are not ready. Some have better things to do with their time and I actually applaud them - that’s where I want to get to.
But others are scared of their internal dynamite. They worry it will explode if they engage.
And these are the real dangerous people in society - the ones that can’t engage anymore with opposing thoughts and ideas because they are so angry and pissed off, that they lost control to express it in a civil non-violent way.
Left and right, high and low.
So they shove it down and the pile of dynamite gets bigger and bigger - and their real-life acquaintances and families feel it and get uncomfortable about their unexpressed anger. They tip-toe around them and shun them more and more without words.
Then they get isolated and even more angry and desperate. And one day - a tiny thing happens - the proverbal last drop - or better, the last little spark that gets too close to the dynamite - and boom. They explode.
They grab a knife or a car and let it all out.
That’s the danger of a society and social media where anything challenging just can be literally “blocked away.” Encouraged to be blocked away.
And paradoxically, the goodie-goodie marshmallows crying for safety, advocating for censorship of anything offensive, create ticking time bombs.
While they are often anti-establishment, they paradoxically increase the control and power of the establishment through such violent explosive acts because the state is weaponizing these random acts to justify more police, laws, control and emergency rules.
In other words, the establishment wants the occasional mad violent outburst to scare everyone else back into submission, thinking they need the control and the police to protect them from it.
But in a free, open and compassionate society, the dynamite would never built up because all people would be heard and encouraged to express their grievances.
“And no one is more fake and "superior" than the spiritual and psychotherapeutic crowd in my experience.” Facts hurt.
Wild ride and read. Thanks.
the guru slap (whether physical or mental) is one of my favorites from reading about such things
Yes we should vote for him since he has all the answers..better that he kma
Psychopaths don't much care about gurus or psychotherapeutics.
Think of it as a wake up call, as in, wake the fuck up you (plural) shallow, narcissistic, selfish, narrow minded greedy assholes. A call to action, analogous to a slap in the face.
That’s cool. I am sure he has many admirable traits too and I sit here with great detached curiosity of how this drama unfolds. I try not to rule anything out. How wonderful if Trump could step up to the historic task in front of him and morph from the cocoon of his past narcissistic nature into a butterfly of freedom for the people. Who knows? It’s rare, but sometimes rulers do change. Look at JFK with hits peace speech in 1963.
I believe that is a healthy instinct you have there Aria. :-) My sense is that the political systems have been deeply corrupted and even the best of men entering this dark arena now will struggle to stay honest. Those who do will sooner or later be spit out by the nasty system and their actors.
But it is also the fault of the people. They got lazy and stopped holding politicians accountable decades ago. The tree of democracy only stays healthy with constant, vigilant pruning of the bad apples.
Love the food delivery story, by outsourcing our decision-making and personal responsibility to algorithms and automated systems, we have created a society that is fundamentally incapable of critical thinking, empathy, and genuine human connection, it’s great to hear about people breaking out of this.
The individualist understands that the right to liberty is universal, and that any infringement upon the freedom of another is an attack on the freedom of all. When one person is tyrannized, we are all diminished. While the collectivist seeks to divide and conquer, to pit one group against another in a never-ending cycle of oppression and control.
Immanuel Kant wrote “Have courage to make use of your own understanding.”
Kant pointed out that relying on others to do your thinking for you—outsourcing your decisions to people who claim to be experts—may be easy, but it is not mature.
“It is convenient to be immature! If I have a spiritual advisor to have a conscience for me, a doctor to judge my diet for me (be your own doctor), and so on, I need not make any efforts at all. I need not think, so long as I can pay; others will soon enough take the tiresome job over for me.”
We are slowly ceasing to live as autonomous, free thinkers. Instead, we have largely replaced the old authorities with new ones, while still believing that we are using reason to arrive at our conclusions. We flatter ourselves. It’s a risky delusion. have courage to make use of your own understanding. If all we are doing is finding experts to make decisions for us, we have handed over the “tiresome job” of thinking for ourselves.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. So, you can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”~ Dr. Seuss
Could not agree more. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry, still getting used handling two newsletters simultaneously. Above was MaMu
Thoroughly enjoyed this read, mostly due to the fact I agree with everything you said 😂 but also due to how you framed it.
It’s like you can hear the conversation in my household and put it all together in writing 😆
Now we have folks who proclaim to be “waking up” because they believe in a deep state 😵💫 Some of us were never asleep and know it’s ALL one giant crock of dung.
Some of us researched history.
Some of us have researched geopolitics, read books like The Art of War.
Some of us read Dostoyevsky or Oscar Wilde instead of government textbooks on sociology 😂
Some of us don’t just rely on so-called “Alt media” and regurgitate what they say 😂
Some of us question everyone and everything we’re told and the response can tell us if they truly believe or know what they’re talking about (it’s why I spent most of school life in a corridor/broom cupboard or head teacher’s office 😂).
Ive subscribed and look forward to reading more.
Doomsday mongery and „me smart“ vs „them stupid“ is the most banal sh*tshow of all, and usually whenever I find myself thinking „gosh, ppl are stupid“ I have to admit I‘m not the tiniest bit smarter, so we’re all in this dumbfuckery together and it’s up to us to smarten the heck up, starting with the knowitall in the mirror, instead of rumbling about „da peopl“.
Agree with Uturn- you spoilt a good rant with suggesting RFK might be an option. Not clear how the uniparty system can be stopped either in USA or UK where I am. Not voting does not work - as THEY still 'elect' the one with the most votes no matter how few. Starmer in the UK only has 20% of the population's support. We might not need a hero but we do need a meaningful way out of this mess. Sadly THEY also appear to 'own' the religious sector. And the impending crackdown on social media means we soon wont be able to 'speak' to each other like the delivery boys did.
Or we learn to talk code. Become telepathic again. Someone said the Australian Aborigines could do that. The can own the religious sector but true spirituality is free and unownable. In other words, Life is too intelligent to be stifled by controlling anal trans human technocrats, of that I am sure.