Mark O'Neill's Blog

Why “Assholes Online” Keep Finding Me

Apparently, according to Google, one of the top ways people stumble onto my site is by typing “assholes online.” Now, I don’t know what’s worse — that people are out there actively searching for assholes, or that Google thinks my little corner of the internet is the promised land of bums. Either way, here we...

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Young People Claim COVID Has Destroyed Their Lives & Given Them Mental Illness. I Call Bullshit On That

Scroll TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter and you’ll see the same refrain: “COVID stole my youth. COVID gave me depression. COVID destroyed my life.” Young people, barely out of high school, narrate their existence like they survived trench warfare. They act like missing two years of normality equals permanent psychological damage. No, COVID didn’t “destroy your...

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The German Far-Right WILL Get Into Power One Day — It’s Only a Matter of Time

Mainstream German politicians keep repeating the same mantra: “The far-right will never rule here.” They cling to the idea that the lessons of history, the safeguards of democracy, and the strength of the political center will hold the line forever. It’s comforting. It’s also complete bullshit. Take it from me, someone who has lived in...

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Everyone Loves to Hate the EU — But It Actually Keeps The World from Falling Apart

If there’s one thing Europeans agree on, it’s that the European Union is an easy punching bag. Farmers block roads and scream about Brussels. Politicians blame the EU for everything from butter mountains to bent bananas. Pub bores rant about unelected bureaucrats. It’s the world’s favourite scapegoat: too slow, too bloated, and too meddling. Everyone...

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How Woke Became a Dirty Word

Once upon a time, “woke” meant being awake to injustice. It came out of Black communities, tied to civil rights, police brutality, and systemic racism. To be “woke” was to be alert, conscious, and unwilling to swallow the lies society feeds you. It was a badge of awareness. Fast forward to now, and “woke” has...

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Why Are People So Unhinged About Transgender People?

Transgender people make up a small percentage of the world population. Estimates hover around 0.5–1%. They’re a minority of a minority. And yet, if you listen to the news, politicians, or your ranting uncle on Facebook, you’d think they were single-handedly dismantling civilisation. Bathrooms. Sports. Pronouns. Drag shows. Children’s books. Entire elections are now fought...

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Compassion Is Humanity’s Sharpest Weapon

Say “compassion” and most people roll their eyes. They imagine squishy self-help books, yoga moms whispering affirmations, or politicians cynically shoehorning the word into speeches before voting for bombs. It gets branded as weakness, softness, and naivety. Society worships “toughness” and “grit,” while compassion gets shoved into the corner with the therapy dogs. Here’s the...

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Why the World Has Turned Into a Planet of Insufferable Selfish Assholes

Forget pandemics, forget climate change — the real global plague is selfishness. Everywhere you look, humanity has devolved into a planet of insufferable selfish assholes. Drivers cutting each other off. Shoppers fist-fighting over discounted TVs. Tourists trampling sacred historical and religious sites for selfies. Politicians hoarding power while citizens hoard toilet paper. It’s not just...

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Why Germany Will Never Be Allowed to Forget the Nazis

Eighty years after World War II, Germany still lives under the shadow of the swastika. Every history class, every documentary, every museum exhibit circles back to Hitler and the Holocaust. It needs to damn well stop.

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Why Governments Fear Writers More Than Weapons

Governments like to pretend their biggest fear is tanks rolling across borders or bombs going off in crowded squares. That’s their story. The truth? They’re fear writers more. Weapons can topple buildings. Writers topple regimes. A bullet can kill a man. A book can kill an idea that props up an empire. And ideas, unlike...

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