{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Jared White",
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/links/20250314/brilliant-satire-of-owning-libs",
"published": "2025-03-14T19:24:52-07:00",
"content": {
"html": "<blockquote>\n <h2><a href=\"https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/dont-let-the-fact-that-i-only-criticize-democrats-and-always-defend-trump-confuse-you-im-an-independent-centrist\"></a></h2>\n\n <p>But remember, I\u2019m not actually committed to anything I say or do that provokes them into wokesplaining conniptions. I\u2019m just asking questions. Or playing devil\u2019s advocate. Or trolling for the lolz.</p>\n\n<p>Life would be much easier for the woke if they remembered that, at the end of the day, virtually no contentious pieces of legislation or civil rights issues ever affect me personally. Politics, government, and public policy are just games for me, and I play to win. So, when I throw out a whataboutism here and a \u201cboth sides\u201d there, I\u2019m just tossing curve balls to strike out the libs who get so mad they start yelling. When they quit the debate and block me online, I win.</p>\n\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Everything about this satirical essay by Dash MacIntyre is <strong>genius</strong>\u2014and what makes it scarily good is <em>just how close it is</em> to literal reality. Some days I still find it hard to believe that this is the state of <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/politics\">#politics</a> in America today, but the sad fact of the matter is that <strong>trolls are routinely rewarded</strong> in the digital media landscape we find ourselves in. Until that somehow changes, expect more of the same.</p>",
"text": "But remember, I\u2019m not actually committed to anything I say or do that provokes them into wokesplaining conniptions. I\u2019m just asking questions. Or playing devil\u2019s advocate. Or trolling for the lolz.\n\nLife would be much easier for the woke if they remembered that, at the end of the day, virtually no contentious pieces of legislation or civil rights issues ever affect me personally. Politics, government, and public policy are just games for me, and I play to win. So, when I throw out a whataboutism here and a \u201cboth sides\u201d there, I\u2019m just tossing curve balls to strike out the libs who get so mad they start yelling. When they quit the debate and block me online, I win.\n\n\n\nEverything about this satirical essay by Dash MacIntyre is genius\u2014and what makes it scarily good is just how close it is to literal reality. Some days I still find it hard to believe that this is the state of #politics in America today, but the sad fact of the matter is that trolls are routinely rewarded in the digital media landscape we find ourselves in. Until that somehow changes, expect more of the same."
},
"name": "Link: \u201cGovernment and public policy are just games for me, and I play to win\u201d (satire)",
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "44204752",
"_source": "2783"
}
I will never understand the latent power that many people willingly give up, because somehow they’ve become convinced they lack the agency to design the kind of life they would prefer to live.
Perhaps I’m just an oddly independently-minded person, with a high tolerance for nonconformance. “I just want to fit in and be accepted like everyone else” is a suit that I did try on for a while in my early adulthood and eventually found that it never fit my skull.
Virtually everyone I’ve ever personally admired has been deeply eccentric in unusual and unique ways. I’m not not sure why I ever thought I could get by not being an eccentric myself. I suppose it’s natural when you’re young to want to be part of a “tribe” that everyone else seems to be a part of and having a good time. You want to be in that club, not out of it. Only losers are out of the club.
The truth is that nobody inside the club is having fun either. It’s a show. It’s a performance. It’s a lie.
Once you break free of that deception, once you shed the blind desire to conform, you discover that life on the other side is actually great. The grass actually is greener.
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Jared White",
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/20250313/you-can-literally-just-do-something-else",
"published": "2025-03-13T21:46:35-07:00",
"content": {
"html": "<p>I will never understand the latent power that many people willingly give up, because somehow they\u2019ve become convinced they lack the agency to design the kind of life they would prefer to live.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps I\u2019m just an oddly independently-minded person, with a high tolerance for nonconformance. \u201cI just want to fit in and be accepted like everyone else\u201d is a suit that I did try on for a while in my early adulthood and eventually found that it never fit my skull.</p>\n\n<p>Virtually everyone I\u2019ve ever personally admired has been <em>deeply eccentric</em> in unusual and unique ways. I\u2019m not not sure why I ever thought I could get by not being an eccentric myself. I suppose it\u2019s natural when you\u2019re young to want to be part of a \u201ctribe\u201d that everyone else seems to be a part of and having a good time. You want to be in that club, not out of it. Only losers are out of the club.</p>\n\n<p>The truth is that nobody inside the club is having fun either. It\u2019s a show. It\u2019s a performance. <strong>It\u2019s a lie.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Once you break free of that deception, once you shed the blind desire to conform, you discover that life on the other side is actually great. <strong>The grass actually is greener.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Mic \ud83c\udfa4 drop \u2b07\ufe0f \ud83d\ude0e\u270c\ufe0f</p>",
"text": "I will never understand the latent power that many people willingly give up, because somehow they\u2019ve become convinced they lack the agency to design the kind of life they would prefer to live.\n\nPerhaps I\u2019m just an oddly independently-minded person, with a high tolerance for nonconformance. \u201cI just want to fit in and be accepted like everyone else\u201d is a suit that I did try on for a while in my early adulthood and eventually found that it never fit my skull.\n\nVirtually everyone I\u2019ve ever personally admired has been deeply eccentric in unusual and unique ways. I\u2019m not not sure why I ever thought I could get by not being an eccentric myself. I suppose it\u2019s natural when you\u2019re young to want to be part of a \u201ctribe\u201d that everyone else seems to be a part of and having a good time. You want to be in that club, not out of it. Only losers are out of the club.\n\nThe truth is that nobody inside the club is having fun either. It\u2019s a show. It\u2019s a performance. It\u2019s a lie.\n\nOnce you break free of that deception, once you shed the blind desire to conform, you discover that life on the other side is actually great. The grass actually is greener.\n\nMic \ud83c\udfa4 drop \u2b07\ufe0f \ud83d\ude0e\u270c\ufe0f"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "44194659",
"_source": "2783"
}
