luka

Well-known member
I'm an easygoing hippy mellow vibes so I'm like don't rock my boat man but not everyone is like that
 

version

Well-known member
I was reading a discussion of Vineland recently and that sort of thing came up,

You can live a life of value without having to live a life ruled by ideology (it’s safe to say that the characters ruled the most by ideology in this book are by far the unhappiest, no matter where they fall on the political spectrum) and that fundamentally life is about well…keeping your family together and being happy with them.

This is the realization that Pynchon had, the same one Mr. Finch has when he takes the LSD in V. for Vendetta, or, if you will, the one Dennis Reynolds has when he realizes getting mad at his friends for playing video games is stupid. It’s a profound realization: a lot of people never figure it out, and there have been countless families broken apart not by a difference in values, but a difference in ideology, and politics, and people don’t realize that for all your posturing, it is possible to live a life of value without thinking everyone’s out to get you and that you’re always a victim of the System...
 

luka

Well-known member
What does 555 mean? That used to be the start of my phone number when I was a child. Which was strange because on American tv dramas they always have the pretend numbers starting 555
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
That it's invariably mob activity says it all.

Anyone read Jon Ronson's So You've Been Publically Shamed? I haven't, but I've heard him talk about it quite a bit and have the basic jist. He boils it down to the mob wanting to make themselves feel 'right.' I can see where he's coming from and it's what I was getting at when I said the villain plays an important role in society. Because I don't believe that the mob genuinely feel empathy towards the victim when whipped up into a frothing rabble (some times there are exceptions when the victim is helpless) but it often stinks of self service and an outlet valve for their own personal problems. Complex stuff, interweaved through id pol, social media, wokeness etc. It's not so long ago that everyone was baying for David Cameron's blood. But as soon as he was out of the picture it was like 'who's next?' Too fickle to be taken at face value.
 

luka

Well-known member
Anyone read Jon Ronson's So You've Been Publically Shamed? I haven't, but I've heard him talk about it quite a bit and have the basic jist. He boils it down to the mob wanting to make themselves feel 'right.' I can see where he's coming from and it's what I was getting at when I said the villain plays an important role in society. Because I don't believe that the mob genuinely feel empathy towards the victim when whipped up into a frothing rabble (some times there are exceptions when the victim is helpless) but it often stinks of self service and an outlet valve for their own personal problems. Complex stuff, interweaved through id pol, social media, wokeness etc. It's not so long ago that everyone was baying for David Cameron's blood. But as soon as he was out of the picture it was like 'who's next?' Too fickle to be taken at face value.

It's true, everyone loves a pile on. They're irresistible. Kick him while he's down! But I also felt at the time there was a reactionary facet to that Ronson line. I didn't exactly sit down and analyse it, it just felt a bit off
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
the first person you're describing could be boris johnson.
Well not to me, I don't find him at all personable or charming. Many do I guess. Strange to pick your PM in that way though... it's ok for some guy you get drunk and watch films with etc
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
He did it three times, so depends which incident you're on about.
I was particularly thinking of the one against Italy, but really all of them were done so fast with a moving target... do you think he practised?
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
Well not to me, I don't find him at all personable or charming. Many do I guess. Strange to pick your PM in that way though... it's ok for some guy you get drunk and watch films with etc

Saw a line somewhere out there yesterday about how it's like wrestling after everyone finally figured out it was staged. They don't care anymore. They've picked their team and they're sticking with it. If the mascot is funny, all the better.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah it seems that way, even more pronounced with Trump from what I see... side is picked, doesn't matter what he does or doesn't do, people who've chosen that side will defend it to the death in ways that seem insane.
 

version

Well-known member
Saw a line somewhere out there yesterday about how it's like wrestling after everyone finally figured out it was staged. They don't care anymore. They've picked their team and they're sticking with it. If the mascot is funny, all the better.

This one?

David Sutcliffe
@SutcliffeDavid
Remember when everyone knew pro wrestling was fake and they finally admitted it and the fans didn't care and continued to watch anyway?

We're almost there with politics and the media.
9:56 pm · 7 Apr 2020·Twitter Web App
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Ah ok a bit wider than I understood... not that they blindly stick to a side, more that they've grasped that the whole thing is a pantomime.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
Probably that, did you post it elsewhere, version? I guess I embellished on it. Tbh I'm not sure how aware most people are, though? It feels like there's mass disassociation going on. A global head trance. Present company excepted of course.

There was that famous meme "it's still real to me damn it!"
 

version

Well-known member
It strikes me as more "everything I dislike or disagree with is fake" than everyone thinking everything's fake.
 
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