Horseshoe Theory

[AndersonsBiographer]

Been thinking of this, after my convos with Chloe Tzang and others.

One of my sisters likes to say that I don't really have any moral or ethical foundations for my beliefs. While she hesitates to use the term "psychopath" or even "anti-social" (her words: "I'm a psychiatrist, but I'm not your psychiatrist"), she does say that there's very little willful conviction that goes into my ideology. I'm a Marx-Leninist just because it's what I was exposed to, and what was most socially acceptable for my background and social surroundings. If I had grown up in the Deep South or in Ukraine, or if I had read Francis Parker Yockey in my formative years instead of Huey P. Newton, I could have just as easily become a fascist. Or at least that's what she thinks.

I have to admit, there's probably a kernel of truth to that. Though, oddly, I can see myself as a fascist far more easily than I can see myself as a Republican, or even as a Democrat. Perhaps non-standard political ideologies really are a product of one's mental programming and not the other way around? I don't just "fit" into the bourgeois mold that we're all expected to be hammered into. There are elements all across the supposed political grid that I like. I like guns, I like abortion, I like free healthcare and worker-based economies, I like... uh... um, I honestly can't think of anything on the auth-right that I like.

She recently admitted to me that she doesn't believe in free will anymore. Seems to be causing a fair bit of turmoil for her, almost like someone who lost her religious faith. I never had either one, so I never lost sleep thinking about what I am or why. For me, it's just a matter of idle curiosity. Some people say that they "struggle" with their demons. I get along splendidly with mine.

 

[DeluxAuto]

You're a Playgrounder masquerading as a GeeBee'r on the Politics Board.

That should help your confusion

 

[RoryN]

You're a Playgrounder masquerading as a GeeBee'r on the Politics Board.

That should help your confusion

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

You're a Playgrounder masquerading as a GeeBee'r on the Politics Board.

That should help your confusion

I don't give a shit about your decades-old forum drama.

I have over a thousand posts on here, much to my lament. Whatever I am, I think I've made my bones here by now.

I like... uh... um, I honestly can't think of anything on the auth-right that I like.

Families? Yes. The auth-right likes families, and so do I. In theory, at least.

 

[DeluxAuto]

I don't give a shit about your decades-old forum drama.

And like a typical Playgrounder, your comprehension skills are shit. I never said anything about any of that.

 

[Rightguide]

She recently admitted to me that she doesn't believe in free will anymore. Seems to be causing a fair bit of turmoil for her, almost like someone who lost her religious faith. I never had either one, so I never lost sleep thinking about what I am or why. For me, it's just a matter of idle curiosity. Some people say that they "struggle" with their demons. I get along splendidly with mine.

Free will is essential for moral responsibility. If individuals have the freedom to make choices, they can be held accountable for their actions. This accountability is crucial for ethical behavior and justice, as it underpins the concepts of reward, punishment, and legal responsibility. Absent those concepts America as we know it might not survive. I suspect though a true Marx-Leninist might welcome that eventuality.

 

[ll74]

From what I gather, you just want to be a violent person to get your position established and you don't understand why anyone has ethical lines that shouldn't be crossed.

I.e. you are an anarchist

Your posts never are about discussions or information. You just want to show people that you're a badass with a lot of words.

Reichy, Rory, Lav and AJ do that as well. .it's an odd practice that makes no sense, but to each their own....ego stroking is for those who need it

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

From what I gather, you just want to be a violent person to get your position established and you don't understand why anyone has ethical lines that shouldn't be crossed.

I.e. you are an anarchist

Your posts never are about discussions or information. You just want to show people that you're a badass with a lot of words.

Reichy, Rory, Lav and AJ do that as well. .it's an odd practice that makes no sense, but to each their own....ego stroking is for those who need it

Funny. Some of Stalin's enemies said much the same about him.

I dabbled in anarchism for a time, actually. Never could "get" it, unless you mean anarchy that exists as a prelude to the coming of a Lenin or a Stalin. Or a Mussolini or a Hitler, for that matter. You seldom see any serious moves towards coherent stateless societies in places where state authority has disappeared, such as post-communist Eastern Europe or post-colonial Africa. There are some movements that come close, in Chiapas and Kurdistan for example, but those have always been anomalies.

 

[ll74]

Funny. Some of Stalin's enemies said that same thing about him.

Yes, I gather your ego is quite inflated.

I dabbled in anarchism for a time, actually. Never could "get" it, unless you mean anarchy that exists as a prelude to the coming of a Lenin or a Stalin. Or a Mussolini or a Hitler, for that matter. You seldom see any serious moves towards coherent stateless societies in places where state authority has disappeared, such as post-communist Eastern Europe or post-colonial Africa. There are some movements that come close, in Chiapas and Kurdistan for example, but those have always been anomalies.

Thanks for confirming my comments

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

Free will is essential for moral responsibility. If individuals have the freedom to make choices, they can be held accountable for their actions. This accountability is crucial for ethical behavior and justice, as it underpins the concepts of reward, punishment, and legal responsibility. Absent those concepts America as we know it might not survive. I suspect though a true Marx-Leninist might welcome that eventuality.

 

[ll74]

Free will is essential for moral responsibility. If individuals have the freedom to make choices, they can be held accountable for their actions. This accountability is crucial for ethical behavior and justice, as it underpins the concepts of reward, punishment, and legal responsibility. Absent those concepts America as we know it might not survive. I suspect though a true Marx-Leninist might welcome that eventuality.

Free will also allows moral irresponsibility.

Strange enough

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

Thanks for confirming my comments

I confirmed nothing. I'm clearly not a philosophical anarchist in the way that, say, Bookchin or Chomsky might be. Not even in the way that the US Libertarian Party might be. The only other definition of anarchy that I know of is "the short period between one social order being replaced by another," and how do you possibly create a philosophy built around something like that?

 

[ll74]

I confirmed nothing. I'm clearly not a philosophical anarchist in the way that, say, Bookchin or Chomsky might be. Not even in the way that the US Libertarian Party might be. The only other definition of anarchy that I know of is "the short period between one social order being replaced by another," and how do you possibly create a philosophy built around something like that?

Of course you didn't

You rebel....nobody can define you.....your cause is always just and above reproach!

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

Of course you didn't

You rebel....nobody can define you.....your cause is always just and above reproach!

facts

 

[ll74]

facts

Yes, confirmation of what I said .. even down to the inability to agree with anyone unless it strokes your ego.

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

Yes, confirmation of what I said .. even down to the inability to agree with anyone unless it strokes your ego.

I admire your willingness to accept my sharp and biting acuity.

Now kneel before me. Prostrate yourself in my honor, and perhaps I'll accept your token of submission.

 

[ll74]

I admire your willingness to accept my sharp and biting acuity.

That's not what I'm doing

Now kneel before me. Prostrate yourself in my honor, and perhaps I'll accept your token of submission.

Of course

 

[Saint_Ann]

Introspection is good except when it isn't.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Some people say that they "struggle" with their demons. I get along splendidly with mine.

Most people deny that they have any demons because it would be cause to be judged negatively by those whose approval they seek. When a person grows past that childish need, then one can befriend their demons as being the things that keep us from being amorphous blobs. It's nice for a person to have some nooks and crannies - I.e., character.

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

Introspection is good except when it isn't.

She recently admitted to me that she doesn't believe in free will anymore. Seems to be causing a fair bit of turmoil for her, almost like someone who lost her religious faith.

Worth mentioning: my New England family was all lukewarmy WASPy Prod, but my French Canadian ancestry is pretty hardcore pre-QR Catholic. While my family hasn't been explicitly religious in generations, I think we inherited a lot of the memes and mindset from the latter.

So, in that sense, to admit that human psychic determinism is probably correct is like one of our ancestors living under the seigneurial regime having to admit that the Mother Church is probably wrong and the dread Calvinists are probably right.

Interesting.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

That's facing some for-real demons.