Yuri's review of "The Coddling of the American Mind", a documentary film directed by Ted Balaker based on the book by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Loukianoff
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
Exactly correct and reflected in a theme of Robert Woodson's criticizing the social activist/defund movement and how those who promote the BLM-style demonstrations do not suffer the consequences of their advocacy.
I sat next to Woodson many years ago at an awards dinner. He's an amazing man. He told me of an initiative he began in the public housing in DC (I think) where he negotiated with HUD to turn title over to the apartments to the tenants after they paid the 'mortgage' on their apartments for $1/mo for 5 years. What happened? The tenants began showing pride of ownership. Graffiti disappeared, people started a neighborhood watch, flowers started popping up, stairs/stairwells were cleaned, gangs moved along. He asked me who I thought the biggest opposition was to this clearly solid movement - I said I couldn't imagine who would oppose that. His response: Jesse Jackson.
It is often hard for those of us 50 and over to understand what social media had done to people.
I use several platforms online but seldom cared what others thought when I was younger and certainly seldom worry about it now. Maybe I'm just an ornery Irish red-head and always have been? 😉
Yes. I was going to remind Mary that the older among us know what it was like before the internet. It was good and bad. The MSM had near total control of what we 'knew', so there wasn't very much contention. The contention was itself moderated by the MSM, not by 'The People'.
With the internet, we have constant turmoil of ideas. We have constant revelation of information that could easily have been kept buried, previously. Those who fear stress and who want easy answers, would have loved the old days. That is why, today, they favor censorship in the guise of curating of 'disinformation' and 'hate speech'. It all fits their desire to believe that their side is always right, and that the other side is always wrong and must be silenced. Such people strongly desire a totalitarian state. The intelligent among us do not.
As one of the “older of us,” I agree. I was shocked the day I discovered kids could have their phones in the classroom. I’m supposed to be retired, who is responsible for this? I have always believed the internet was such a blessing because there is so much knowledge to access so easily. Well that was for a certain period of time, anyway. Now it feels like everything has hit fan and is speeding full force at us.
Thanks Comrade. I'll have a look at the film when my schedule permits. Haidt does a good job with this topic, but I also appreciate the work done by James Lindsay at New Discourses. He does not pull any punches and gives his followers a much needed look behind the curtain (people should search for the series James Lindsay and Michael O'Fallon did with Stephen Hicks titled, 'Changing Tides'). Administrators like Gay et al are not innocent bureaucrats simply doing their job, they are, most generously, useful idiots of the astroturfing left who intend to humiliate, embarrass, and condemn the 'normal' masses. The result of their actions is a more polarized society with children developing mental health issues. These people need to be resisted and called out at every turn. Do not use their manipulated language as a way to communicate with them because the words they use do not have an agreed upon definition. For example, the term 'biological sex' is a useless term. Is there any other sort of sex than biological. By agreeing to use this phrase you are tacitly admitting that other forms or sex are possible (gender fluid enters the chat).
In conclusion, I leave you with a quote I have posted before by Theodore Darlymple:
“Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.”
I am in my late-30's and I consider myself very fortunate to be the last generation to grow up without social media and the internet available 24/7. We have a different perspective on life that is being lost.
Social media rewards many folks in the same way as the Skinner Box did with rats, aside from the tech upgrades the only real difference between the two is the bait used.
The Woke Mind Virus takes its template from Mao and Stalin. Whether they realise it or not.
Marxism is not just the abolition of all private property. It is also the demolition of EVERY boundary imaginable for sane living and civil society. A quick definition I have come up with is this: Resentment and revenge against reality for the sin of existing. Cain from Genesis in the Bible had this issue. The world apparently did not comport with his views so his sacrafices were insufficient. God's response was (paraphrasing) "Hey Cain, try again. If you do well, I will accept you." What was his response? He killed the model or idol he had to show him how to navigate reality.
You should look up Dr. Jordan Peterson's lecture on Cain and Abel. Cain was told by God himself that he could get Hid approval if only he did better. In other words, try again. His answer was to kill his brother for the sin of doing it right.
Definitely essential to name and shame. It's no use moaning about the blob, aim at specific individuals, that's what the left does, give them their own vile medicine. Don't get ulcers...GIVE THEM!
Pierre Polievre the conservative opposition point man against Trudeau’s WEF planned demolition of Canadians and their country’s sovereignty and Charter of Rights is calling the Trudeau government out. No one of clout would speak out about the massive immigration crisis that Trudeau forced on Canadians as they would immediately get demonized by the government propaganda press ( called racists )or even call out the nonsense about gender identity…well it looks like Polievre has pushed back and it’s gaining momentum.
Victimhood is an asset which can be compounded by accruing various social status classifications.
Given the success of victims in obtaining money and capturing the public stage, victimhood will be difficult to dislodge.
Nonetheless, unless the country wishes to be dominated by this thinking, which appears to already be the case given the installation of victim leadership in government and the private sector, someone must give it a try.
I haven' t watched the doco and really appreciate your summary. This to me is what forced assimilation into a cult run by irresponsible adult children looks like. Glad these kids have been rehabilitated and can try to reverse the infection of their peers.
Hi Yuri -- is the film available to any Substack subscriber or do we need to subscribe to the particular account for the film? Dumb question maybe, but needed to ask.
thought the print version of tcotam was meh. authors pointed out the fragility of the liberal mentality and its inability to reason and defend its positions and ideas via debate….then claimed that “the right” instigates the same liberal mentality. gtfo.
When I selected “subscribe” it automatically subscribed me to the free version, no option to become a paid subscriber. I can see no way to pay. So I unsubscribed, selected subscribe again and the same thing happened. What am I doing wrong?
I agree with you about adding Christian conservative white and asian men and further with women as well from those demographics as we've traditionally been at the bottom of the totem pole.
I can't wait to watch the documentary this weekend. Looking at that teal graphic with the horizontal red line bifurcating good and bad makes me think of woke character taxonomies – World of Wokecraft. All the races and classes above the line are the deplorable "Horde" and all those below are the virtuous "Alliance". It's not red versus blue, city versus rural. No, it's bad-good versus good-bad! Zug Zug!
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
Thomas Sowell
It's even worse when they're paid to be wrong
Friggin' BINGO!!!
Like the UN, the WHO, the IMF, the WEF …
I'm stealing this quote!
me too along with sharing the article
👏👏👏
Exactly correct and reflected in a theme of Robert Woodson's criticizing the social activist/defund movement and how those who promote the BLM-style demonstrations do not suffer the consequences of their advocacy.
I sat next to Woodson many years ago at an awards dinner. He's an amazing man. He told me of an initiative he began in the public housing in DC (I think) where he negotiated with HUD to turn title over to the apartments to the tenants after they paid the 'mortgage' on their apartments for $1/mo for 5 years. What happened? The tenants began showing pride of ownership. Graffiti disappeared, people started a neighborhood watch, flowers started popping up, stairs/stairwells were cleaned, gangs moved along. He asked me who I thought the biggest opposition was to this clearly solid movement - I said I couldn't imagine who would oppose that. His response: Jesse Jackson.
👍🏽Thanks for this. Really fascinating.
Sounds like a great start for this new endeavor.
It is often hard for those of us 50 and over to understand what social media had done to people.
I use several platforms online but seldom cared what others thought when I was younger and certainly seldom worry about it now. Maybe I'm just an ornery Irish red-head and always have been? 😉
We are lucky to have grown up without social media. Save Ireland!
Yes. I was going to remind Mary that the older among us know what it was like before the internet. It was good and bad. The MSM had near total control of what we 'knew', so there wasn't very much contention. The contention was itself moderated by the MSM, not by 'The People'.
With the internet, we have constant turmoil of ideas. We have constant revelation of information that could easily have been kept buried, previously. Those who fear stress and who want easy answers, would have loved the old days. That is why, today, they favor censorship in the guise of curating of 'disinformation' and 'hate speech'. It all fits their desire to believe that their side is always right, and that the other side is always wrong and must be silenced. Such people strongly desire a totalitarian state. The intelligent among us do not.
As one of the “older of us,” I agree. I was shocked the day I discovered kids could have their phones in the classroom. I’m supposed to be retired, who is responsible for this? I have always believed the internet was such a blessing because there is so much knowledge to access so easily. Well that was for a certain period of time, anyway. Now it feels like everything has hit fan and is speeding full force at us.
We're the last of a dying demographic. The most educated and largest demographic on this demoralized planet. Lost Millenials (Xenials)
Thanks Comrade. I'll have a look at the film when my schedule permits. Haidt does a good job with this topic, but I also appreciate the work done by James Lindsay at New Discourses. He does not pull any punches and gives his followers a much needed look behind the curtain (people should search for the series James Lindsay and Michael O'Fallon did with Stephen Hicks titled, 'Changing Tides'). Administrators like Gay et al are not innocent bureaucrats simply doing their job, they are, most generously, useful idiots of the astroturfing left who intend to humiliate, embarrass, and condemn the 'normal' masses. The result of their actions is a more polarized society with children developing mental health issues. These people need to be resisted and called out at every turn. Do not use their manipulated language as a way to communicate with them because the words they use do not have an agreed upon definition. For example, the term 'biological sex' is a useless term. Is there any other sort of sex than biological. By agreeing to use this phrase you are tacitly admitting that other forms or sex are possible (gender fluid enters the chat).
In conclusion, I leave you with a quote I have posted before by Theodore Darlymple:
“Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.”
Live not by lies and political correctness.
You had this ol' Boomer at "must-watch white pill to see Gen Z waking up!"
I am in my late-30's and I consider myself very fortunate to be the last generation to grow up without social media and the internet available 24/7. We have a different perspective on life that is being lost.
Same. I feel really bad for younger people who have never known a world other than this one.
Social media rewards many folks in the same way as the Skinner Box did with rats, aside from the tech upgrades the only real difference between the two is the bait used.
I ❤️ Documentaries. Looking forward to watching this ASAP! Thanks, Yuri!
The Woke Mind Virus takes its template from Mao and Stalin. Whether they realise it or not.
Marxism is not just the abolition of all private property. It is also the demolition of EVERY boundary imaginable for sane living and civil society. A quick definition I have come up with is this: Resentment and revenge against reality for the sin of existing. Cain from Genesis in the Bible had this issue. The world apparently did not comport with his views so his sacrafices were insufficient. God's response was (paraphrasing) "Hey Cain, try again. If you do well, I will accept you." What was his response? He killed the model or idol he had to show him how to navigate reality.
That is a good description.
“Resentment and revenge against the sin of existing.”
God’s Commandments directly instruct on this type of behavior and the thoughts that lead to it.
Thou shalt not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
Thou shalt not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)
Thou shall not covet your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)
You should look up Dr. Jordan Peterson's lecture on Cain and Abel. Cain was told by God himself that he could get Hid approval if only he did better. In other words, try again. His answer was to kill his brother for the sin of doing it right.
Definitely essential to name and shame. It's no use moaning about the blob, aim at specific individuals, that's what the left does, give them their own vile medicine. Don't get ulcers...GIVE THEM!
That's what subverting subversion is all about ;)
Pierre Polievre the conservative opposition point man against Trudeau’s WEF planned demolition of Canadians and their country’s sovereignty and Charter of Rights is calling the Trudeau government out. No one of clout would speak out about the massive immigration crisis that Trudeau forced on Canadians as they would immediately get demonized by the government propaganda press ( called racists )or even call out the nonsense about gender identity…well it looks like Polievre has pushed back and it’s gaining momentum.
https://youtu.be/XQjuKLDX8HQ?si=VFRhPdZ3K3MgdVrx
Is 'coddled' really the right word? Seems like 'curdled' would be more accurate.
Victimhood is an asset which can be compounded by accruing various social status classifications.
Given the success of victims in obtaining money and capturing the public stage, victimhood will be difficult to dislodge.
Nonetheless, unless the country wishes to be dominated by this thinking, which appears to already be the case given the installation of victim leadership in government and the private sector, someone must give it a try.
I haven' t watched the doco and really appreciate your summary. This to me is what forced assimilation into a cult run by irresponsible adult children looks like. Glad these kids have been rehabilitated and can try to reverse the infection of their peers.
Hi Yuri -- is the film available to any Substack subscriber or do we need to subscribe to the particular account for the film? Dumb question maybe, but needed to ask.
thought the print version of tcotam was meh. authors pointed out the fragility of the liberal mentality and its inability to reason and defend its positions and ideas via debate….then claimed that “the right” instigates the same liberal mentality. gtfo.
Yuri I am subscriber , I can't watch the move ? It's asking to subscribe ? To whom am I subscribing ?
You need a separate upgrade at the website I linked to. Think of it as a movie ticket.
When I selected “subscribe” it automatically subscribed me to the free version, no option to become a paid subscriber. I can see no way to pay. So I unsubscribed, selected subscribe again and the same thing happened. What am I doing wrong?
There is no option just to see the film
I agree with you about adding Christian conservative white and asian men and further with women as well from those demographics as we've traditionally been at the bottom of the totem pole.
I can't wait to watch the documentary this weekend. Looking at that teal graphic with the horizontal red line bifurcating good and bad makes me think of woke character taxonomies – World of Wokecraft. All the races and classes above the line are the deplorable "Horde" and all those below are the virtuous "Alliance". It's not red versus blue, city versus rural. No, it's bad-good versus good-bad! Zug Zug!