Sunday School

[TheEncogitationer]

Jake,

Who sings that song about Buffalo Soldier?

That was Bob Marley. Who not only sang in tribute to the Manifest Destiny-enforcing Buffalo Soldier, but he was also a misogynist, a homophobe, a rich Socialist hob-knobber, and just a crappy human being made worse by his Rastafarian religion.

The more I learn about celebrities, the less I am wow-ed by them.

Bob Marley’s Misogynist and Homophobic Side No One Wants to Remember
Isabel Carrasco by Isabel Carrasco June 16, 2023 in Music

Bob Marley’s Misogynist and Homophobic Side No One Wants to Remember

[Simon Paynton]

jakelafort wrote:

Regardless it is a woeful history. A history of classism. A history of exploitation. Native peoples divided and conquered. Their resources taken. White man’s burden and all of that, what? If that is not tribal, us and them, then what is it? Charley Dickens and exploitation of children… Having said that English are just human and i left out all of the good things. Their food sucks though, right? Fish and chips. Is that it? kippers. meh.

All of that’s true.  I’m just saying it’s a lot more relaxed to live in the UK right now than the polarised and aggressive USA.

I am not buying the competition and dominance notion.

The reason is that we don’t have a narcissist heading the country winding everything up as hard as he can.

People and groups either cooperate, or compete.  Those are the two dimensions of social life.

 

[jakelafort]

Enco,

Thanks for the Marley link.

Quoting that article, “He had eleven children with seven women, abused his wife, and hated gays.” So doing the lefty calculus being a noble savage and oppressed it means cultural relativism applies and he is an upstanding citizen.

I had a Jamaican gf and have spoken to other women in Jamaica and they confirm the homophobic men in Jamiaica and also quite sexist. Generalization i know. Interestingly Jamaica which was a stopping off point in the Atlantic slave trade had Brown people who made slaves of Black people. Jamaica is very diverse in terms of ethnicities that are nicely blended. Irish, Indian, various African, Chinese..

[jakelafort]

Simon,

You wrote, “All of that’s true. I’m just saying it’s a lot more relaxed to live in the UK right now than the polarised and aggressive USA.

I am not buying the competition and dominance notion.

The reason is that we don’t have a narcissist heading the country winding everything up as hard as he can.

People and groups either cooperate, or compete. Those are the two dimensions of social life.”

I think there is a cultural norm among traditional Brits of being chill. Blitz? Still cool. I know the few Brits i have met have been that way.

The issue of being relaxed always depends on who you are and where you are. So i am not denying your circle and locale is relaxed. In Chicago which is like a war zone it is totally chill if you are White and in an affluent section. In UK it is apparently brutal for Jews. Just read an article indicating Jews there do not feel safe and many will leave. The pact between far left and Islamism is a deal with the devil and just one more betrayal of Jews and humanist values.

Cooperate or compete? It is both. First they come together. They cooperate and then they compete. Like Seinfeld said the far left and far right are comprised of people who are looking for consensus and agreement. After that happens they are fucking assholes competing with their scapegoats and advancing their ideology.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-859412#google_vignette

[Reg the Fronkey Farmer]

@Strega – I feel less weird about it now 

I don’t think you have ever written anything that was not well reasoned and on point.

[TheEncogitationer]

Simon and Jake,

A note about competition: You say this like it’s a universally bad thing.

Competition in the provision of goods and services in a marketplace makes for better quality of goods and services and it impels the competitors to better practices to produce these goods and services.

Also, Wafa Sultan noted that true civilizations do not clash, but compete, so again, competition is positive in this context.

Perhaps a better term for the fanatics you speak of would be “One-Up-Manship” or “Gamesmanship” where the game is destruction.

[TheEncogitationer]

Jake,

I had a Jamaican gf and have spoken to other women in Jamaica and they confirm the homophobic men in Jamiaica and also quite sexist. Generalization i know. Interestingly Jamaica which was a stopping off point in the Atlantic slave trade had Brown people who made slaves of Black people. Jamaica is very diverse in terms of ethnicities that are nicely blended. Irish, Indian, various African, Chinese..

I’ve heard Jamaica described as the most homophobic spot on Earth. It would have to be worse than the Islamic world to earn this label. I haven’t yet heard of any homophobic behavior among Caribbean immigrants locally, but then again, they could be escapees from that culture who want away from it.

Paul Harvey’s pregnant-paused proclamation remains the best thing to remember: “It…Is…Not…One…World!”

• This reply was modified 9 months, 1 week ago by TheEncogitationer. Reason: Addendum

[jakelafort]

Enco,

I have nothing against competition. It is human nature. It is fun if directed or chanelled into something constructive like play or sports. And its application to capitalism is apt. Humans have competed to see which nation can explore such and such a hostile environment first, get to the moon first, climb a forbidding mountain first. Dumb shit that will drum up patriotism.

In Jamaica i think gay men are known as battie boys. Not sure of spelling. I got ok with patois. Even fooled a Yardie over the phone that i was a yardie.

[Reg the Fronkey Farmer]

Wagwan Jake 🙂

[jakelafort]

Nailed shit out of that Reg.

[Simon Paynton]

jakelafort wrote:

In Jamaica i think gay men are known as battie boys. Not sure of spelling.

Because they do it in the bottom or battie.  Men of Jamaican or African descent are usually pretty homophobic in the UK, but they keep it to themselves out of politeness towards the prevailing norm of tolerance.

Rivalry or healthy competition can be very productive.  Zero-sum competition is often less so.

[jakelafort]

Out of curiosity i asked an LLM the least homophobic nations in Africa. And guess what? Those nations all have low percentage of Muslims. Not that Christianity is any font of tolerance but it has progressed somewhat.

[Simon Paynton]

I read a book about the development of Christian sexual morality recently.  (“From sin to shame” by Kyle Harper.)

The Romans had very patriarchal attitudes towards women, and they said it was OK for a man to sleep with whoever as long as they were “smooth” (a boy or a woman) and didn’t take the passive part.

The new Christians were at odds with Roman society and wanted to differentiate themselves by being more “pure”, which translated into restricting sexuality more and more until only sex within marriage was acceptable, and then, it couldn’t be enjoyed.  They thought the Romans were very corrupt and louche.

Islam was a new streamlined version of Christianity and as far as I know, it was completely tolerant of homosexuality until the 18th century or so, when they came into contact with Western Christian imperialists.  The Muslims were under threat by Christianity and wanted to prove they were big manly warriors instead of embarrassing battie boys, so they clamped down on homosexuality and suddenly hated it.

Islam was set up as a reaction to and an alternative to Christianity.

[Reg the Fronkey Farmer]

Jared Bernstein, former chair of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, explains why he and other long-time “budget doves” now believe America’s debt has become dangerously unsustainable. He now considers himself a Hawk because America’s budget math just got a lot more dangerous.

For decades, low interest rates relative to economic growth made it safe for the U.S. to run deficits, like a student whose income grows faster than their student loans. But now, interest rates have risen (due to pandemic spending and inflation) and are matching economic growth rates, changing the debt sustainability equation.

Trump’s recent policies worsen the problem:

• His tariff regime (now effectively at 15%, the highest since the 1930s) will lower growth while increasing inflation and interest rates.
• His new policy bill will significantly increase debt, potentially raising the debt-to-GDP ratio by 30 percentage points over a decade and further increasing interest rates.
• Persistently high deficits are deepening the debt problem, with Congress using “excavators” instead of “shovels” to dig deeper.

Bernstein warns that if a debt crisis forces rapid tax increases or spending cuts, it would damage the economy and lower living standards. To avoid this, he proposes:

1. Pre-defined “break-glass” triggers for action.
2. Calibrated fiscal adjustments tied to these triggers.
3. Binding policy responses to enforce action during crises

While past triggers and constraints often failed or backfired, Bernstein argues action is needed now to prevent a future crisis, as it is too risky to hope interest rates fall and growth rebounds.

[jakelafort]

Here is another cheerful story. Any time now the protests will begin.

The allure of off the grid in the forest i don’t know or need to stay apprised as a better way to see saw.

https://www.jpost.com/international/internationalrussia-ukraine-war/article-860415

[Author]

Posts