Mister A
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Mister A last won the day on August 1 2012
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Craig24 reacted to a post in a topic: Would it be moral to kill Hitler as a baby
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ppw reacted to a post in a topic: Painbody Energy Field?
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"God Bless America" Unabashed portrayal of misanthropy
Mister A replied to Mister A's topic in Intellectuals and the Media
Natural Born Killers could at least be interpreted as relevant (at the time) social commentary. The trailer above looks more like an elitist gratification fantasy with no substantial message or redeeming quality. -
Sounds like the typical adolescent pack leader. These sort of children have an aptitude for the status power plays of a traditional school setting and invariably become bullies because manipulation and hostility are intertwined. Their over-reliance on manipulation, while rewarding in the short-term, induces a nagging sense of powerlessness that they seek to drown out by expanding their web of thralls and antagonizing the socially vulnerable. The hostility is all-encompassing and manifests differently depending on who is around; "friends" are utilized as cannon fodder who willingly accept the role lest lose their mid-level status but the pack leader will casually abandon or betray them when they exhaust their usefulness. Basically, the pack leader's view of the universe can be described as a big fish eating a smaller fish while about to be eaten by a bigger fish with an incomprehensible reality looming over all as the supreme predator. I recommend reading Rand's essays "The Comprachicos" and "The Age of Envy" for further insight.
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aequalsa reacted to a post in a topic: Ayn Rand vs. America
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It's not making money that leftists actually resent; it's the assertion of the individual mind towards self-beneficial production -and thus, putting itself beyond the reach of second-hand manipulators like the author. The whole anti-money meme is just a deceptive euphemism; as a rule, people who have blocked their minds from reality have to "communicate" via euphemisms and code language that appeal to human weakness like fear and envy. Note that for most people, religion isn't a matter of personal choice as it is a deterministic circumstance of birth.
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What is it like to have the collectivist mindset?
Mister A replied to Mister A's topic in Psychology and Self Improvement
You mean that's the root of the panic/rage exhibited in the presence of outsiders? Awareness of being observed and evaluated from a different perspective? -
Living in New York, I often feel like an alien on my own planet when I'm around those of the leftist persuasion (although I'm sure there are many "rightists" who are collectivistic themselves). They seem nice enough on casual contact but underneath the surface is a cauldron of incoherent rage. And yet there's a creepy "sameness" to this rage; like I'm dealing with programmed cultists who can't conceive of anything beyond their scriptures and repeat them verbatim. I've theorized that collectivists generally repress their individual doubts and anxiety to avoid being perceived as "outsiders" and that repression mutates into hostility towards "rival tribes". But I know that sort of speculation is really psychologizing so I'd appreciate any substantial insight particularly from those who may have gone through a collectivistic phase themselves. Hope this thread is relevant and in the correct section.
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I doubt the TSA goons are really thinking that far ahead and more likely they're just acting on short-sighted depravity like any petty bureacrat.
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Debating First Principles: Demos vs. Ayn Rand
Mister A replied to 2046's topic in Intellectuals and the Media
I'm curious about this too and I suppose that uncovering the hidden truth to this seeming contradiction can be reached by comparing premises and contexts. The most obvious difference is that an enemy nation can put up some degree of resistance while citizens are largely at the mercy of their government's monopoly on force. Rank cowardice and indifference to evil are involved in this sort of thinking. -
dream_weaver reacted to a post in a topic: The Value of Arguing With Others: Why Arguing Improves Students' R
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There's a significant difference in mental context between applying reason to integrate concepts (extremely important at young age) and applying reason to win arguments. These children are being taught implicitly that reality is little more than a gladiator arena where you desperately defend your subjectivity from outsiders.
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I'm more interested how normal people let their identities and better judgments get enveloped in an evil situation albeit a simulated one.
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I know the hardline Objectivists would hate me for posting this but I highly recommend chakra meditation. http://www.wikihow.com/Open-Your-Spiritual-Chakras
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I've recently developed a taste for unconventional movies that discard narrative and intelligible plot to create a dreamlike, post-logical atmosphere that I can't help but find fascinating. The best examples I've seen of such a style are Eraserhead by David Lynch and Gozu by Takashi Miike. I don't sense any philosophical malice or negative "sense of life" in these movies as Rand concretized in "No Skin Off Your Ass/Nose" from Fountainhead. If anything, these movies have an intellectually liberating effect by suppressing "sacred cows" that hinder innovation. If there is an anti-life message present, then it must be too subtle for me to pick up. I'm also certainly not motivated to win the approval of a snotty in-crowd by appreciating surreal art. However, by discarding conventions that are generally taken for granted as essential, are surreal movies no better than the random smearings of a Jackson Pollock-wannabe?
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A common fallacy/manipulation tactic anti-capitalists make is blurring out the difference between compulsion and desperate, extreme (yet somehow universal) circumstances that bind workers to their jobs out of fear of starvation or homelessness (hence, laying off someone is equivalent to an execution). They seem to have a cynical and nightmarish perspective of the universe where disaster and exploitation are primary forces and positive values are irrelevant.
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Developing a sense of life - how?
Mister A replied to Tenure's topic in Psychology and Self Improvement
I'm going through the same crisis as the OP at the age of 30. While I revere reason and justice, I recognize that the way I live my life day-to-day is significantly incongruous with my consciously-held values. I'm not a smug hypocrite but I know my self-sabatoging behavior is governed by irrational convictions that got entrenched into my subconscious decades ago and hence, became elusive to my identification faculties. Recently, I got into a physical altercation with someone whom I could have overpowered but I made no real effort to defend myself. Reflecting on the event, I realized that I actually had been more afraid of hurting my assailant than getting hurt myself; a wantonly irrational premise. That premise was motivated by a deeper premise: Never do harm to others. On its face, that's a palatable directive but it became self-destructive when integrated as an absolute; in reality, there are occasions when you have to step on some toes to get essential needs met especially when those toes are set to collide into your groin. I believe this is how altruism corrupts its true believers; by seeding itself into a person's moral identity to the point where irrational guilt disarms him.