CuriousCat Archive Page 27 of 202

  1. Why did you exclude any of the streaming crowd from you examples of deradicalization YouTubers? You said in HTRAN "what doesn’t get Gabe out is an argument that proves all his facts wrong and his ideology bunk." I think video essays, while important, don’t deradicalize young men who are more responsive to how ideologies feel and sound to them than how logically true they are. Meanwhile, streamers like Hasan, Destiny, Vaush, and Keffals can make content on a much more regular basis covering trending topics that young boys are likely to find. I’m aware there are problems with the debate format, but I think we can’t neglect that a big part of the reason folks Andrew Tate gain popularity is because they fill a niche that I don’t think essayists making videos every few months can provide.

    in response to Why did you say on Curiouscat a while back "I’m not here to convert young men, I’m here to defeat them". Why don’t you have sympathy for the plight of half the population?

    "exclude"?

  2. Are you saying racism wasn’t present in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas before European cultures spread there?

    in response to Why is your definition of racism so strict? If you’re prejudiced towards women, that’s sexism. If you’re prejudiced towards Arab people, that’s racism. If you’re prejudiced towards left-handed people, well there’s no specific word for that, but it’s still a type of discrimination.

    yes, of course. what do you think "race" is?

  3. Why does the definition of racism matter so much? Words evolve over time. It shouldn't matter if for the majority of history racism meant something else. If enough people start using a word in a new way, it will gain a new meaning. What harm is there to use "racism" as a shorthand for a broad ethnic prejudice, and "systemic racism" as a shorthand for the system of racism? (not trying to be confrontational)

    in response to Why is your definition of racism so strict? If you’re prejudiced towards women, that’s sexism. If you’re prejudiced towards Arab people, that’s racism. If you’re prejudiced towards left-handed people, well there’s no specific word for that, but it’s still a type of discrimination.

    because this was not a natural evolution, but a political one. and the attempt to change it back is also political. why, if the definition doesn't matter so much, are people so opposed to it changing again?

    like, if you don't give a shit, stop giving a shit!

  4. I think the antagonization of young men in your language is what's problematic. Patriarchy is a system that benefits men, but no one alive is responsible for its creation. Likewise, most conservatives happen to be men, but the problem isn't with men, but with conservatism. Don't hate the players, hate the game.

    in response to Why did you say on Curiouscat a while back "I’m not here to convert young men, I’m here to defeat them". Why don’t you have sympathy for the plight of half the population?

    you are, again, conflating "young male conservatives" with "men"

    inasmuch as I am dismissive towards anyone, I am dismissive of a specific subset of men, not because they are men, but because they are doing harm. if you're reading that as a criticism of masculinity as a whole, maybe you need to unpack why you think that?

  5. (Different anon)If that’s true than what’s the point of “systemic racism”?

    in response to (different anon) what's the difference?

    to avoid the argument I'm having to have right now

  7. hey maybe Cuba should become a democracy and perhaps then America will lift its embargo

    in response to The centralization of its economy?

    if you wanna talk about that we can talk about that but I'ma need to you acknowledge you've moved the goal post

  8. With regard to racism: The big asterisk over it is that because it exists to concentrate power / diminish the ability of people without power to engage in collective action (please don't get sidetracked by this digression), we can be "racist against anybody" the Italian and the Irish were also victims of racism in the US until after WW2. Those "Irish Need Not Apply" signs weren't cute little jokes, they were real notices that the person doing hiring for a task would not hire you if they thought you were Irish. The tension, the fear (I think) for a lot of "I'm not racist, but..." racists is the gut knowledge that if we don't toe the line, we could be next in the wall. And, THAT IS TRUE, but we could also be next on the wall regardless of how well we toe that line. (Where my White Latinos at? How well did you deal with the cognitive dissonance of a US president in our lifetimes calling us rapists and murderers?) The only way not to be at risk is if the systems that would put anyone against that wall are made impotent.

    people were racist against Italians because *Italians weren't considered white*. those signs went away when Italians were assimilated into whiteness. we also know, full well, that whether or not Italians could be discriminates against was decided *by white people*.

    you can be "racist against anybody" except white people, because racism is an institution that white people invented and control.

  9. Why do you think have most of the Left on Youtube not made any Videos about Depp v Heard?

    Princess Weekes has made multiple excellent videos on Depp/Heard

  11. Do you ever feel jealous as a cis het white man that you don’t get any of the "minority" recognition like Black History Month and International Women’s Day, that you will always be the oppressor, not the oppressed that others are supposed to care about?

    no

  12. Do you have any idea what the "conclusion" video(s) of Alt-Right Playbook are going to be about?

    yes

  13. (yet another different anon) Regardless of the origin of the term, in popular usage racism usually means race-based prejudice. why do you think it's politically useful to only use racism to describe a system as opposed to calling said system "systemic racism" or what have you?

    ^among white people

  14. venezuela

    damn you got me

  16. Why is your definition of racism so strict? If you’re prejudiced towards women, that’s sexism. If you’re prejudiced towards Arab people, that’s racism. If you’re prejudiced towards left-handed people, well there’s no specific word for that, but it’s still a type of discrimination.

    in response to Why can’t you be racist towards white people in a prejudiced, non-systemic way?

    because that's the definition. racism was the institution that created and enforced slavery. it's always been a system. for the overwhelming history of racism the idea that it was about "personal prejudice" would be laughable; do you think field hands who whipped the enslaved called it "racism" if the enslaved disliked them? be fucking serious.

    "personal prejudice" is a thing white people introduced after Civil War to imply racism was REALLY just about feelings, and therefore you could be racist against anybody. I'm sorry that's the version your elementary school teacher taught you but it's wrong and it's always been wrong. let it go.

  18. Do you have opinions on it?

    in response to do you have wii fit

    my sweat is so shiny and beautiful

  19. Why did you say on Curiouscat a while back "I’m not here to convert young men, I’m here to defeat them". Why don’t you have sympathy for the plight of half the population?

    in response to What do you think about the recent survey that young women are going further to the left and young men are going sharply to the right?

    ooh, lot to unpack in that question!

    first, the obvious: half the population is not young men; children and older men exist. and, as you know, not all young men are people I would need to convert: many young men already agree with me, and far more are apolitical and not really a concern. we are, of course, talking about the segment of the population that OP was saying I should convert, and I said converting that segment is not a priority to me.

    pointing this out is not simple pedantry: your reframing of the question implied that all the men on Earth are young conservatives, which would be a very nice position for conservatives to be in. I'm obviously not going to accept that reframe; it is how conservatives would like to be perceived, and it is very, very false. I dunno if you did it to make conservatives look good or make me look more unreasonable, but I reject the premise.

    but anyway: why don't I want to convert them? well, a few reasons: 1) a lot of YouTubers are already doing that work - attempting to, anyway - and I'ma trust Contra and Shaun and Hbomb and Three Arrows and all the rest have it as covered as it can get on YouTube; 2) I think deconversion is a morally good thing to do, but, as a political strategy, it's a dead-end - it's the same flaw with Democrats thinking the key to victory is converting moderate Republicans, treating young, white, conservative men as the centers of the universe when you ALREADY HAVE THE TOOLS TO WIN WITHOUT THEM; and 3) by and large, the best way to convert young men IS to defeat them; the conservative mindset is one that is VERY concerned with being "normal," and if the world changes around them they will adapt rather than be out of sync with it.

  20. Is this that thing you keep talking about where people care more about the conclusion of an argument than the argument itself? If one argument that justifies/denies Israel's genocide becomes untenable, they'll accept whatever the next one is because it brings them back to being able to justify their conclusion? Is there a better way to push back against this than debunking the individual arguments, one that doesn't leave an opening to just accept the next IDF talking point?

    in response to Doesn't Israel call Gazan citizens to tell them where their bombs will be dropped so they can go to safety?

    probably

  21. (Diff anon) Plus, y'know, even if the IDF does tell people before an air strike, and does give them sufficient warning to evacuate, "we're not killing them, we're just driving them from their homes so we can settle there" is ethnic cleansing which is still extremely bad if "not technically genocide".

    in response to Doesn't Israel call Gazan citizens to tell them where their bombs will be dropped so they can go to safety?

    in fact, forced relocation of a civilian population is, according to the ICC, "technically genocide"

  22. Yes the best path to redemption is in committing yourself to the federal prison system

    in response to Thoughts on the last season of better call Saul?

    I don't like the prison industrial complex but I'm not gonna reject every narrative that doesn't end with the forming of a transformative justice pod

  23. (different anon) How do you think these trends will effect the political landscape of the future ( 10-20+ years from now )?

    in response to What do you think about the recent survey that young women are going further to the left and young men are going sharply to the right?

    I don't predict the future. in and of itself, I don't assume it will change much. the Right is already male-dominated and has been shrinking in absolute numbers for some time.

  24. Why can’t you be racist towards white people in a prejudiced, non-systemic way?

    because that's prejudice, not racism

  25. Things go viral all the time these days, what's the new word for this phenomenon that carries the same weight as viral once had or are we just like Past the ability for virality outside of algorithm bubbles

    given how the US has handle COVID, I think "things go viral every day, over and over" is still an apt metaphor

  27. Were the early conservatives really defending the monarchy after the French revolution, or were they criticizing the excesses in the aftermath like the reign of terror?

    they were criticizing the revolution before it was over

  28. you seem like the kind of guy who has a hot take about little shop of horrors

    uh. what is the consensus opinion on Little Shop? I know my take but dunno how hot it is.

  29. do you have wii fit

    in response to do you have a waifu

    I have ring fit

  30. What do you think about the recent survey that young women are going further to the left and young men are going sharply to the right?

    unsurprising

  32. Doesn't Israel call Gazan citizens to tell them where their bombs will be dropped so they can go to safety?

    in response to pretty much ye

    over 70% of all homes in Gaza have been bombed, exactly what are you defining as "safety"? also, who did you hear that from, the fucking IDF? call them with WHAT? do you think the fucking phones are working?

    this is the "god of the gaps" of genocide denial: the criteria by which it's "not technically genocide" gets narrower and narrower but y'all stay committed.

  33. Thoughts on the last season of better call Saul?

    it good! I liked the ending a lot.

  34. I feel like you're getting a lot of crap about the different art in the new ARPB, but I actually really liked and how it was used to contrast the crap show TV debate from real life. Thought it was neat.

    in response to So, what's the deal with some of the art in the new video? I know you partially do your own art for ARPB, so was the mspaint style solely stylistic, or also partially a time-saving measure?

    am I getting a lot of crap??

  35. Which is more important: political democracy or economic democracy?

    how are those not the same thing

  36. Happy Friday! Hope you're taking a break from stupid curious cat asks!!

    nope!

  37. Debate doesn’t discover truth, only discovers who is most convincing

    in response to "Debate Bad" a resonable conclusion to draw from ARPB?

    sure it can, if you're in a philosophy class and the purpose is to interrogate an idea. that is not the purpose of political debate; political debate is more like the thing you said.

  39. You mention in a video that Obama could never have been "a white president," but would that be untrue if he was a Republican? You've talked a few times on here about the way members of certain groups have "conditional whiteness" usually based on their proximity to reactionary politics or white supremacy, and it seems like a multi-racial person should fall into that category, right? (Most people seem to think of Andrew Tate as a white guy, for example, unless I'm wrong about that)

    proximity to whiteness has a lot of cultural components, it's true, but you also have to pass. Obama doesn't pass.

  40. What do you think about "color revolutions"?

    you mean like the spinning color wheel when your Mac freezes?

  41. How can Israel fight Hamas without committing genocide Gaza if Hamas uses civilian homes and schools as bases?

    are you under the impression that Hamas uses every single school and home in Gaza as a base?

  42. Movin' to the country
    Gonna eat me a lot of _____

    penis

  43. do you have a waifu

    I have WiFi

  44. "Debate Bad" a resonable conclusion to draw from ARPB?

    "debate not do what you think it does"

  45. In your "Didoing" video, you brought up the "gulf of iniquity" - did you mean inequity?

    ...uh...

    that was my, uh... accent...

    (I apparently thought those were synonyms)

  47. Have you heard Ben’s sick new rhymes?

    no, does he say "p-word"?

  48. How do you feel about Darth Plagueis the Wise?

    misleading name

  49. I live in the Boston area. I have a DS I never use. You want it, it's yours.

    in response to I feel like for some folks: You are a Reviewer. As a result, your primary job is to affirm and produce compelling words to justify their (perhaps I should say our?) feelings. Therefore, it is a mortal imperative that you both play and agree with me on the supremacy of the DS version of Ghost Trick.

    leave it under the second trashcan in the Prudential Center and I'll pick it up

  50. okay so on a scale of one to ten, what's your opinion

    anti

  51. So, what's the deal with some of the art in the new video? I know you partially do your own art for ARPB, so was the mspaint style solely stylistic, or also partially a time-saving measure?

    that was the opposite of time-saving. I did it to mix things up.

  57. (diff anon) as somebody who has no idea who Vaush is and has no desire to, I second that.

    in response to On a scale from one to ten, how much do you dislike Vaush?

    I stg, I get so many of these you aren't even aware of. vds affects fans and haters alike, with very different symptoms.

  58. I feel like for some folks: You are a Reviewer. As a result, your primary job is to affirm and produce compelling words to justify their (perhaps I should say our?) feelings. Therefore, it is a mortal imperative that you both play and agree with me on the supremacy of the DS version of Ghost Trick.

    mm. well, to some folks who are me: I am not a reviewer, the audience's perception cannot dictate what my job is or isn't, and buy me a DS already

  61. Fiddleford Hadron McGucket

    in response to Stanley Pines.

    Chrissy Wolpert Goddammit the Third

  62. Pinesol

    in response to Stanley Pines.

    Solomon Lane

  63. Stanley Pines.

    in response to Urkel.

    Stanford Pines

  65. Do you think it’s unethical to make a fashy villain like Darth Vader who is, for lack of a better word, cool?

    it's okay so long as you go back and show he's just a whiny little incel under the mask

  66. Will you admit that you align yourself closer politically to anti-Stalinist streamers like Vaush than you do Marxist-Leninist YouTubers like Hakim, even if you happen to not like the former's personality?

    "admit"?

  67. Lefties go on about how terrible the U.S. empire and NATO are, but how many wars would there be if they DIDN'T exist? Why isn't China invading Taiwan? Why isn't Venezuela invading Guyana?

    in response to What’s so bad about imperialism?

    do you want the list of wars that WOULDN'T have happened?

  68. Urkel.

    in response to Beatles.

    Grunkel

  69. Will all Onlyfans stars be prosecuted after the revolution?

    I'd give them medals

  70. This is the worst lineup of candidates I’ve ever seen my god, is it justifiable to vote for Trump just to kick everyone in the nuts so that they actually pay attention next time and stop propping up MBAs and religious goons

    lemme get this straight:

    001 Trump gets elected
    002 Trump is succeeded by the worst Democratic President we've seen in ages
    003 we currently have the worst slate of candidates we've seen in ages

    ...and your suggestion is GOTO 001?

    did it wake people up LAST time? why would it be different now??

  71. …it’s not the 1950s anymore. No offense, but do you have any idea what the dating scene is like for the average man these days? There was even a recent survey that most women in their 20s are in relationships and most men in their 20s are single (don’t ask me how the math on that checks out).

    in response to But why isn't the reverse true? Why don't women have to be untrained from treating men poorly?

    the way that math checks out is when those men are in their thirties they will date women in their twenties

    why don't you look up the gender breakdown of sexual and/or domestic violence and get back to me about whether men have it worse than women

  73. Beatles.

    in response to Toby Keith

  74. Is it better to attempt to do the right thing and fail, or attempt a more limited approach and succeed? Because if the former is correct, that would suggest that John Brown was the only abolitionist in the north to do the right thing because he is the only one who attempted to start an anti slavery revolution and most of the underground railroads conductors only helped free the enslaved people who were able to get to them. But materially, John Brown was captured and hanged, and the Underground Railroad conductors helped free tens of people, and they did so at great personal risk.

    P.S. I am not the anon who called the emancipation proclamation severe, but I did talk about when the emancipation proclamation was issued as it was.

    in response to (diff anon) He's clearly not arguing it would have been "going too far", he's arguing it would have been *impossible to achieve* at that time.

    you just keep fuckin going, you just literally have no idea whether what you're saying is true

    if you're talking about necessary compromises you would get more traction talking about the 13th Amendment. the Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order.

Anon commented:
Ian replied: