In the last article, I pointed out that we've hit a record number of suicides in this country. I also pointed out that the left wrongly tried to blame this on guns because that's what their ideology/theology wants it to be. But guns have nothing to do with it. Let's talk about what is causing this, because I'm pretty sure it's the same thing that's causing a massive spike in mass shootings.
Let me start by noting Kyle's response in the comments, which I thought was thoughtful and really put a finger on it. He blamed the loneliness of modern society (please correct me if I've misunderstood you) deriving from a society that no longer offers the unifying forces of traditional values. Instead, it pushes values which drive people into single lives without families or the attitudes and skills to maintain them. Other aspects include the drive away from religion and with the substitution of materialism.
I agree.
Modern society has broken down the institutions that gave people a place to "feel part of something." That's bad for humans. Marriage has been shown over and over and over in study after study to be better psychologically and health-wise. People who are married are simply better off and happier. Their kids are better off in every category. Kids make life better too. And yet, the feminist left has spent decades undermining marriage. They want women to be economic engines and they know that marriage and children disrupt that. So they paint men as abusers, children as a burden and motherhood with disdain. They've made divorce easier than marriage, and abortion the most fundamental of rights for young women. All of this has cheapened families and made them harder to get, leaving people lonely. Television adds to this by putting out the most obnoxiously narcissistic values as normal through reality TV, teaching people to behave in ways guaranteed to disrupt families and friendships.
Then you have the undermining of religion, which provides community and comfort in bad times. It also provides the code that tells us how to live our lives in fulfilling ways. There is the undermining groups like the Scouts to weaken societal bonds and make friendships harder to find. There is the undermining of police to make the streets more dangerous and keep people scared and hidden indoors. Work from home is killing our last regular human contact.
All of that makes us increasingly lonely. But that's only half the picture...
Our culture machine (Hollywood, advertisements, books, celebrities, social media) pushes false expectations. Even the worst losers in our films and books and ads are surrounded by friends and wealth and respect most people don't have. Social media is ten times worse. It presents a fantasy ideal as normal, leaving people deflated. What? You don't vacation with movie stars on a yacht or fly on private planes? You've never been alone on a Moroccan beach? You don't have dinner parties with a dozen rich friends? Your parties aren't packed with young hotties? Loser. Even the mommy bloggers sell a level of perfection in their diets and housekeeping and consistent happiness no human can achieve (they don't actually achieve it either, they lie about it). By comparison, 99% of the human race compare as utter losers. That's not good for people.
Then it gets worse.
For about a decade-plus now, the left has been pushing hard on an ideology of hate called 'Identity Politics.' The idea is to unify non-white men under a banner of hate aimed at white men. They push this in every aspect of their lives too. So imagine if you are a young black kid. The world lies before you. The future is bright... only, everyone you know from black 'leaders' to your liberal white teachers to every talking head to characters in films tells you that white people will not let you succeed. They hate you because of the color of your skin. Even friendly white people secretly hate you. In fact, their hate is so ingrained that they aren't even conscious of how secretly they hate you. They hate you so much they plot against you. White cops are going to kill you if they get the chance -- heck, even worse, brainwashed black cops will too. Doctors use your kind for experiments. Employers cheat you.
How does that make you feel?
Young women are told men want to rape them and beat them. Hispanics are told the same thing as blacks (A line from Blue Beetle: "It used to be we had the wrong side of the tracks, not they want that too."). Affirmative action is actually meant to keep Asians out of college.
And it keeps coming in other ways too.
Environmentalism: The world is dying. We're killing it. If we don't stop somethingsomething it will be too late in3 5 10 15 years. The ice caps will melt. Your city will flood. The polar bears will die. Oh, you had a fire? Global warming! A heat wave? A cold snap? Global warming! YOU are destroying the world! Why won't you change?!! Don't you care?
Guilt trips, hate and paranoia are shoved on people 24/7. Fear. You will lose your job if you don't conform. The world is dying because you like baths. All the black/white people you see hate you. Why won't you save the world from you? Add the fear that you will never have friends or family. Add the feeling of failure when you watch the internet or television and you see the fake-perfect lives being shoved into your face. Is it any wonder suicides are up? Is it any wonder some guy becomes unhinged and shoots up a building full of people of a different race or gender or a school full of kids who mocked them? Have you realized how many films promote gun violence as an heroic solution?
This is what the left doesn't want to talk about when they whine about guns. Their behavior is unhinging society and if it isn't guns causing these things then it's time for serious self-reflection, something most people do not like to do. So it's better to blame guns than to admit that I've harmed my kids by preaching the end of the world to them, by making them hate, by taking away their hope, and by isolating them.
Thoughts?
Let me start by noting Kyle's response in the comments, which I thought was thoughtful and really put a finger on it. He blamed the loneliness of modern society (please correct me if I've misunderstood you) deriving from a society that no longer offers the unifying forces of traditional values. Instead, it pushes values which drive people into single lives without families or the attitudes and skills to maintain them. Other aspects include the drive away from religion and with the substitution of materialism.
I agree.
Modern society has broken down the institutions that gave people a place to "feel part of something." That's bad for humans. Marriage has been shown over and over and over in study after study to be better psychologically and health-wise. People who are married are simply better off and happier. Their kids are better off in every category. Kids make life better too. And yet, the feminist left has spent decades undermining marriage. They want women to be economic engines and they know that marriage and children disrupt that. So they paint men as abusers, children as a burden and motherhood with disdain. They've made divorce easier than marriage, and abortion the most fundamental of rights for young women. All of this has cheapened families and made them harder to get, leaving people lonely. Television adds to this by putting out the most obnoxiously narcissistic values as normal through reality TV, teaching people to behave in ways guaranteed to disrupt families and friendships.
Then you have the undermining of religion, which provides community and comfort in bad times. It also provides the code that tells us how to live our lives in fulfilling ways. There is the undermining groups like the Scouts to weaken societal bonds and make friendships harder to find. There is the undermining of police to make the streets more dangerous and keep people scared and hidden indoors. Work from home is killing our last regular human contact.
All of that makes us increasingly lonely. But that's only half the picture...
Our culture machine (Hollywood, advertisements, books, celebrities, social media) pushes false expectations. Even the worst losers in our films and books and ads are surrounded by friends and wealth and respect most people don't have. Social media is ten times worse. It presents a fantasy ideal as normal, leaving people deflated. What? You don't vacation with movie stars on a yacht or fly on private planes? You've never been alone on a Moroccan beach? You don't have dinner parties with a dozen rich friends? Your parties aren't packed with young hotties? Loser. Even the mommy bloggers sell a level of perfection in their diets and housekeeping and consistent happiness no human can achieve (they don't actually achieve it either, they lie about it). By comparison, 99% of the human race compare as utter losers. That's not good for people.
Then it gets worse.
For about a decade-plus now, the left has been pushing hard on an ideology of hate called 'Identity Politics.' The idea is to unify non-white men under a banner of hate aimed at white men. They push this in every aspect of their lives too. So imagine if you are a young black kid. The world lies before you. The future is bright... only, everyone you know from black 'leaders' to your liberal white teachers to every talking head to characters in films tells you that white people will not let you succeed. They hate you because of the color of your skin. Even friendly white people secretly hate you. In fact, their hate is so ingrained that they aren't even conscious of how secretly they hate you. They hate you so much they plot against you. White cops are going to kill you if they get the chance -- heck, even worse, brainwashed black cops will too. Doctors use your kind for experiments. Employers cheat you.
How does that make you feel?
Young women are told men want to rape them and beat them. Hispanics are told the same thing as blacks (A line from Blue Beetle: "It used to be we had the wrong side of the tracks, not they want that too."). Affirmative action is actually meant to keep Asians out of college.
And it keeps coming in other ways too.
Environmentalism: The world is dying. We're killing it. If we don't stop somethingsomething it will be too late in
Guilt trips, hate and paranoia are shoved on people 24/7. Fear. You will lose your job if you don't conform. The world is dying because you like baths. All the black/white people you see hate you. Why won't you save the world from you? Add the fear that you will never have friends or family. Add the feeling of failure when you watch the internet or television and you see the fake-perfect lives being shoved into your face. Is it any wonder suicides are up? Is it any wonder some guy becomes unhinged and shoots up a building full of people of a different race or gender or a school full of kids who mocked them? Have you realized how many films promote gun violence as an heroic solution?
This is what the left doesn't want to talk about when they whine about guns. Their behavior is unhinging society and if it isn't guns causing these things then it's time for serious self-reflection, something most people do not like to do. So it's better to blame guns than to admit that I've harmed my kids by preaching the end of the world to them, by making them hate, by taking away their hope, and by isolating them.
Thoughts?
19 comments:
Excellent thoughts, especially on the issue of identity politics. Do you think the identity politics thing also applies to how men and women are treated today - men being shamed and painted as either abusive, misogynistic jerks or complete morons, and women being shoved in the direction of "girlboss who doesn't need a man or kids" and femininity painted as something wrong and weak?
Yes, you nailed it Andrew. This is exactly what I was trying to convey in my post.
Our out of touch elite class has really undermined society through Film & Social Media. Even old shows I enjoy like “Seinfeld” portray marriage as a terrible trap.
Identity politics have been an absolute cancer on our society as well. Everyone is walking on eggshells in fear of offending someone and getting cancelled as a result... There have been many cases of people losing their jobs due to ID-POL confusion and fallout. It just creates a horrible, accusatory and hostile environment for everyone involved. As a result many people are just checking out of society in general. Or worse some are actually offing themselves.
On one point you make: Working from home has affected me personally. It can be nice but it can also be a curse as well. I spend hours on end in isolation speaking to no one in person. I cant imagine living like that for days or even months with little human contact.
Environmentalism seems to have turned into a new Religion of sorts IMO.
In regards to Politics replacing Religion; I think a lot of political movements in general have been used by individuals to fill a god shaped hole in their life's. A lot of this is driven by social media and the attention it brings... It makes people feel apart of something they can believe in. It's just not all that healthy when practiced in real life. It just leads to more social alienation.
-Kyle
Thanks!
The answer is yes, but it requires a complex answer.
For starters, I don't see any evidence of broad strokes in the public. In other words, while you hear it in culture, the public doesn't apply it. The bigger issue is for those who have bought into this garbage.
For them, it depends on the message when they grew up. For example, a number of the women in my generation (late 70s-1980s) grew up having no idea how to be feminine because they were told to be like the worst asshole males only a girl. Those that bought into it have generally struggled with finding males and keeping males. They are very bitter. The next generation of girls (say 1990s) was made to feel a failure if they weren't athletes, action heroes, and CEOs. They became the "Fifty Shades of Gray" generation... overly submissive. They were also the first group to rise in suicides -- I believe they were the first group where more girls killed themselves than boys did, though don't quote me on that.
The 2000 generation is where the anti-male stuff finally took hold. But it's muddled in these women. They adopted anti-male, anti-white, anti-Western, anti-everything attitudes and have become weaponized snowflakes (think of Taylor Swift as their role model, she smears all her ex's and claims to be mistreated by men even as she's literally treated like a rock star). The result is that no one dares goes close to them. Studies actually suggest they are "waiting longer" to get married, but I suspect it's from lack of mates.
Don't know yet about the 2010s.
I actually see no evidence of the "girl-boss" thing working with women except for the 1980s group, who saw career as a substitute for men (it's no surprise the people writing "girl boss" films are in their 50s -- things written by younger women are much more S&M vampire porn and things written by the youngest women tend to be politicized erotica).
On the flip side, males are largely unchanged. In the 1990s, a small group changed by getting angry about this. They became the "incels" (involuntary celibates), who are total losers, and the "men's rights groups" which are largely bitchy males who complain obsessively about ex-wives. Both groups are homicidal, not suicidal. The more recent (2000s) males who have fallen for this tend to be eunuchs. These are the guys who are afraid to be naked in locker rooms, grow beards so people stop calling them "Miss" and seem to be duds all around. They seem pretty pointless.
But remember, you're talking about a small percentage of basically upper-class white kids who are falling into these things. You don't see it among blacks at all. You don't see it among Asians or Hispanics or low-income whites.
So all told, yes, it has affected people, but only a small number, and women much more so than men. Women are the prime victims of feminism, which is basically a rich, white woman thing.
Andrew
Huh. No idea why everything is in italics.
Wow, comparing your husband to a “Friends“ character… how awful lol.
I couldn't imagine expecting a lover of mine to be straight out of a 1940’s film noir crime drama lol.
It really is a good example of how easily people can be manipulated into thinking something is normal via watching others interact. Sort of a “monkey see, monkey do” situation playing out in society.
Remember Annie Lennox from Eurythmics? She had stupid politics but her lyrics and music were excellent. Annie was very inspirational and gave hope to many people via her Art.
Compare that to modern Taylor Swift who is just a poser and professional victim IMO… she is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the uninspiring crap that our media elites create. Its not Art, her lyrics are essentially “Ex’s, am I rite?”. But look at her face, shes so pretty... That really is all shes selling: An unrealistic cartoony fabrication of a woman.
The opposite of Tay Tay is the bro male fitness influencers like Andrew Tate. They lead men down the knuckle head path of materialism and narcissistic crap.
-Kyle
My post is in italics too... Blogspot glitches strike again.
Great reply, and these are points I'd never considered before. On a related note, if you ever do your movie reviews again, I'd love to read your takes on the most recent Disney live-action remakes, which seem to be suffering from the identity politics infection (among other things).
I agree that these things are contributing. personally, I think the educational system is heavy villainous as well. The Gobalist elites want to destroy the middle class and replace with essentially elites and (I don’t know… peasants) entirely dependent on the government ( which replaces religion.)
I don’t know if they actually think that way, but the policies certainly reflect that way. Sure the Clintons at Yale realized how powerful their good Hollywood friends with, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt they may actually think no one can run the worked as well as they can given total power. The result in all of this is what we are talking about. The reason I worry about this is, of course for my kids and grandkids, but I fear the millenials may have been indoctrinated in the wrong things.
Jed
I apologize for the typos. On my smart phone- Jed
It's a wonder that suicides are up and not tribal violence. Not that I'm counting that as any kind of silver lining. But that math that might get us there yet isn't hard to do.
[You're a loser if you don't have all the things] + [People who look different than you are keeping all the things for themselves] = Well, do I have to even say it?
Kyle,
Exactly! You would think no rational person could look at what they see on television and then compare real life to it. I mean, we all know that television is fake... right?
Apparently not.
And like I said, I've watched for this throughout my life and I've come to realize that a huge swath of humanity simply can't make that distinction. Time and again, people truly internalize fantasy as reality and then become upset that reality isn't as good as fantasy. And for some people, that's a catastrophic departure from reality.
Agreed on Lennox and Swift. I did not agree with Lennox's political views, but I love her music. It's deep, beautiful and thoughtful on some things that are fundamentally important to us. Swift is basically talking trash -- as you say, "my ex -- and I right?" Lennox made you think, Swift tells you not to think too hard about it.
Totally agree on Andrew Tate too. He gives aid and comfort to the worst instincts of some seriously loser men. Unfortunately, a lot of our culture is exactly that. So much of our current culture is about acting on your most petty impulses and throwing the blame everywhere but you.
Andrew
Anon, Thanks! I might go back to the film site at some point. I do miss it.
As for Disney's live action movies.... ugh. Wow. It's like watching someone rape a painting. Not only are they a giant middle finger to the audience, but they seem to be written by idiots who didn't understand the originals, are cast by someone who doesn't understand acting, and are directed by people with no eye whatsoever for film, no sense of pacing, and no idea how storytelling works.
Jed, I agree with you completely with this caveat: I don't think they intend to hurt the middle class, I think it is simply a by-product of their selfish behavior.
I think you have basically two societies: the elite and the rest. And the elite take whatever they want for themselves and their kids now without giving a crap of the harm they do. What's more, these elite all help each other do it. In so doing, they crowd out the middle class.
Look at the Kardashians. They got into the elite and have since weaseled their ways into modeling contracts, television contract, producer contracts, pod cast deals, record deals, clothing lines, makeup companies, a tequila brand, front row seats at sporting events, seats on boards of directors, a crazy number of sponsorships, etc. etc. In the past, these things went to dozens of people... now they go to one family. And hundreds of elite families are doing this.
The tequila brand is particularly galling. What does Jenner know about tequila? Nothing. She bought a brand, and that brand (818) is actually a total rip off of another brand called 512. So one company by normal people will be killed so an ultra-rich girl can claim to have a tequila line.
Look at Hawaii right now and watch how many billionaires own "property" in the neighborhood and how much land they owned. Bill Gates currently owns 4% of all farmland in the United States. That should never be legal.
But they don't care. They see it as a great way to make more money or take care of the family. That's how a guy like Tom Hanks can be so tone deaf about his kids getting unearned roles in movies. It doesn't even occur to him that he is using influence to fill films with his nepo-baby kids, making it impossible for other people to become actors. He sees it (as he said): "This is just the family business." When did Hollywood become his?
The problem with education is that no one in it cares about educating kids. I should talk about what I've seen with my kids and how little their teachers cared. It was shocking.
Andrew
tryanmax, I think "tribal violence" is growing, but we haven't quite crossed that magic line yet.
I think it takes a lot more for normal but angry people to turn to violence than it does for unstable people to turn to suicide. Stable people still have that ingrained resistance to hurting others and have a fear of being hurt if they turn to violence -- we are a country who shoots back. Suicide is much more internal and final.
That said, I think there is evidence "tribal violence" is growing. On the one hand, we are seeing a lot more mass killings and they seem to be more race/gender focused. It's no longer some guy killing his ex-wife and her coworkers. People are now targeting groups. And a growing number of these are minorities.
Further, we are seeing a lot more in the way of actual "hate crimes" where unstable people decide to push (insert race) women onto train tracks or road rage each other into a barrier. You have the punch out game, which is almost always race-based. You have what corporate America wants to call "organized retail crime" which is actually single-race gangs feeling they are entitled to whatever they want, i.e. race-based looting. You also see a growing voluntary segregation.
Ultimately, I think we are creeping toward tribal violence, but that is a bigger step for rational people to take than suicide is for unstable people. It would not surprise me though if we are moving toward it.
Also, keep in mind, all of this is at the edges. Most people are simply unhappy, but not driven to these extremes.
Andrew
THANK YOU. You just summed up my thoughts about every live-action Disney remake (except Cinderella, which was gorgeous and wonderfully respectful of the original film). I really love your description "like watching someone rape a painting" - I'm going to have to steal that one! Not to mention there's so much disrespect toward the Disney princesses in these remakes. I particularly disliked the hate toward Belle with the 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast, with the sentiment being she wasn't "feminist enough." Uh, no. Belle in the 1991 film (the first animated film EVER nominated for Best Picture, by the way) was an independent spirit who subtly and skillfully rejected the boorish Gaston, and earned the respect of the Beast by standing up to him - and touching his heart by realizing there was more to him than just the animal. Not to mention she fell in love with him once he willingly began to change, as opposed to the notion that she fell in love with her captor because she was forced to. Sorry for the rant, but it irritates me when I hear people decry this masterpiece of a film as "Stockholm syndrome."
As an aside, I looked it up. Suicide rates have risen since 1996. Suicide rates rose by 2% per year between 2006 and 2014.
Interestingly (did not know this) the CDC also has noted that this rise is almost entirely in minorities. The suicide rate increased by nearly 20% for African Americans, while the Native American rate increased by 26%. White Americans were the only group in America to experience a decline in suicide rate (4%).
In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.7 million attempted suicide.
Anon, You're welcome! (Feel free to use it.)
I agree completely, especially on Belle! There is so much disrespect for the original Disney films it's sickening, and they really attacked Beauty and the Beast.
Belle is one of the smartest, strongest, most morally strong characters you will find in film. Whining Stockholm Syndrome is disparaging! And speaking of disparaging, why in the world did they make her strip to her underwear near the end the film? What is the message to little girls there?
As an aside, have you ever noticed how many "Disney's first ever openly gay character"s there are? They could honestly have a convention. LeFou had the role in this one. Ridiculous.
It's crazy. With all the crap they've been pulling, Disney is in the worst crapstorm they've ever been in, and I think it's safe to say this is even worse than the "Dark Age" they fell into following Walt Disney's death. Heck, The Black Cauldron is a work of art compared to these remakes.
If I can rant about another princess that's been trashed, let's talk about Ariel for a moment. Remake Ariel has been touted as a "fix" for original Ariel, who was deemed weak for giving up her voice for a prince and then (horror of horrors!) being rescued by him. So what do they do? Make Ariel the one who steers the ship to kill Ursula, and totally strip Eric of all personality. Worse yet, they paint him as a creepy stalker and even changed the lyrics of "Kiss The Girl" because they sounded rapey. I can't state enough what an insult this is to the memory of the late Howard Ashman, who wrote the lyrics to the songs for The Little Mermaid. More to the point, Eric is not a stalker - Ariel is the one using her body language to ask for a kiss during the song! And she and Eric actually save each other and tag-team to take Ursula down, showing that they are equals as a couple. And Disney had to remove all of this in favor of a remake that says girls don't need a man.
Anon, I agree completely about Ariel. And I agree completely with your interpretation of the original character. There was nothing "victim" about her. She was adventurous and bold. The new one is indifferent. Such ugly cinematography too.
I think the changes to "Kiss the Girl" are utterly ridiculous. It reminds me of the whining about "Baby, It's Cold Outside." This feels like it's coming from women (feminists) who have never actually had relationships... "Sex isn't rape? Men and women enjoy being playful with each other? Women too? And they don't need written contracts to understand each other's desires and intent? Well, that's not how it's ever worked for me!!!"
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