Will Shetterly's Blog, page 30

Things shared on Jan 23rds: punching Nazis, free speech, the authoritarian left

If the Nazi is not a threat, don't punch him. If the Nazi is a threat, don't punch him—kill him. - The authoritarian left hates the libertarian left more than they hate either wing of the right. And they're making it reciprocal. - The hardest part of defending free speech: you must defend the right to speak of people you really wish would shut up.

Things shared on Jan 22nds

2017: Two years ago, the left cheered the suckerpunching of Richard Spencer by a masked coward. Now the left wants to punch a teenager who grinned at a vet who came up to him with a drum. Will we be kicking babies in two more years? - Anyone who shares the name of individuals to shame them should be mocked if they use the word "systemic." - Many identitarians feel entitled to speak

Things shared on Jan 21sts: whataboutism, "trust no one"

When people accuse you of whataboutism, they usually mean they want to stick with their reductionism. - The tactics of Martin Luther King and his allies ended legal segregation in the US. The tactics of his critics have not accomplished a thing. - "Trust no one" is not paranoia. It's advice to keep an open mind. Even the best sources are wrong sometimes. - Why procrastinate today when you

Things shared on Jan 20ths: Protester advice, Electoral College, etc.

Protesters, it's about effectiveness. Are you helping the cause, or are you saving the state from having to pay more provocateurs? - When I tell someone "Go in peace," I always mean it. But sometimes I wish they would go more quickly. - How can the US explain to the world that our version of democracy sometimes lets the losers win? #EndElectoralCollege - I am sadly amused when people who

Things shared on Jan 19ths: asterisking words

Before people disguised vulgar words with asterisks, they used dashes. This is what Charlotte Bronte thought of that: “The practice of hinting by single letters those expletives with which profane and violent people are wont to garnish their discourse, strikes me as a proceeding which, however well meant, is weak and futile. I cannot tell what good it does—what feeling it spares—what horror it

Things shared on Jan 18ths: Neofeudalism, Searching for Sugar Man, etc.

Capitalism is neofeudalism. The system is improved, but the world is still divided into lords, knights, and serfs. - Phrase of the day: "bourgeois professoriate". It makes me laugh. I am almost certain to use it. (Comment made two years ago. Haven't used it yet. Still makes me laugh.) - To say Obama lost voters in 2012 because of racism is to say his personality was so awful that he made

Things shared on Jan 17ths: toxic femininity, cults

If the internet doesn't turn you into a misanthrope, nothing will. - While googling about cyberbullying, I was struck by how many articles report that girls are twice as likely to be cyberbulled and how few report that girls are also twice as likely to be cyberbullies. #ToxicFemininity If you read about the ways girls and women bully, you will see that the perfect tool to empower female

Things shared on Jan. 16ths

Most “best actor” awards should be called “best role” or "best part" or "best character" awards. - Toxic masculinity exists—there is nothing that humans believe that does not have a toxic form somewhere. It’s usually promoted by authoritarians. - People who use asterisks in troublesome words expect you to fill them in. Trying to avoid vulgarity, they are coyly vulgar, and by making you guess

Things shared on Jan. 15ths: on religious wars and violent protesters

What are called religious wars are not about religion. They're simply wars between people who have different religions. Most wars can be called religious wars if religion is the only lens you use to understand the war. In many revolutions, a rich minority has one religion and a poor majority has another, but religion is not the reason for the war. Referring to the rich by their religion is

Things shared on Jan. 14ths

An early recognition that some socialist men fail at feminism: "we often witness psychological contrasts in the same mind. A man is a sound communist devoted to the cause, but women are for him just “females,” not to be taken seriously in any way." —Leon Trotsky, 1923 - “I don't have to agree with you to like you or respect you.” —Anthony Bourdain - "A revolution does not deserve its name if