Eric

@iranidaturan @LoomerUnleashed @marklevinshow @AmyMek Yep!

Do you know why these progressive Democrats and woke pro-Palestinians are flooding the streets right now to protest the killing of Khamenei and condemn the attacks on Iran? It's not just hatred for Trump this time. On the surface, it looks wildly contradictory: the same people screaming for women's rights, LGBTQ freedoms, justice for Palestinians, and against every form of oppression suddenly align with the Islamic Regime, a regime that massacred 40,000 unarmed Iranians, women, men, and children in just two days, all because they wanted freedom. It seems insane. But dig a little deeper, and you see what really glues them together. Both sides are obsessed with the same black-and-white worldview: oppressed vs oppressor. Here's the key thing you may not know: the Iranian regime is the only Shia Islamic state out there, unlike the Arab Sunni monarchies. Shias are essentially the leftists of the Muslim world. Throughout history, they've always seen themselves as the oppressed victims of Sunni caliphs and their empires. In the video, that black flag with red Persian text is the 'Ya Hussein' flag. Hussein was the a Shia Imam that was killed by a Sunni caliph. This event is the core of Shia identity and symbol of oppression by powerful. The mullahs built their entire ideology around this victimhood: we're the eternal righteous underdogs, oppressed by the strong (Sunnis back then, now the US, Israel, and the old Shah's Iran) Sound familiar? It's exactly the same narrative the Western left uses for every 'marginalized' group. The Marxists, cultural Marxists (woke feminists, and LGBTQ activists) view the world through this same lens: if you're not with the 'oppressed,' you're evil. America, the West, Israel, the Shah's Iran? All oppressors, imperialists, colonial villains, US puppets, Zionists. So Iran's regime , because it's anti-American and anti-Israel , automatically gets a free pass as the 'victim' fighting back. This shared victimhood mindset is the real glue. It's not about genuine values like freedom or equality, it's about ressentiment, that Nietzsche concept: deep-seated envy and resentment toward anyone successful, beautiful, powerful, or winning. Instead of competing, creating, or getting better, they morally subvert everything: label the winners 'evil oppressors,' justify tearing them down, and feel righteous while doing violence. Scarcity trauma turns into: 'If I can't have it, no one can – and it's moral to destroy it.' Now you know why the regime is so fixated on destroying symbols like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Both Shias and these liberals resent prosperity, innovation, freedom, and success. They disguise their envy as justice and anti-imperialism. Their mask is slipping, and more people are seeing it: this was never about freedom or justice. If it were, they'd stand with the Iranian people fighting tyrants, not with the oppressive regime. The left is getting exposed alongside their favorite regime. Tomorrow is going to be better , not just for Iran, but for the whole world. #iranwar #ThankYouTrump #ThankYouBibi

@ScottAdamsSays Amazing Grace!….and the peace that comes…. Philippians 4:7 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I appreciate the outpouring of suggestions and questions, but what happens next is between me and Jesus. I won’t be responding to your well-intentioned messages on this topic. (There are a lot!) I hope you understand. And thank you.

@kennychesney @SphereVegas See ya’ Friday! Section 306!

When the Sun Goes Down in Vegas.

@sbkaufman “What is the meaning of life? It is not he who poses the question, but he who is asked this question, for it is life itself that poses it to him. And man has to answer to life by answering for life, he has to respond by being responsible.” -Frankl

@ByCasagrande Puke and rally….probably puke again…and pass out next to the toilet bowl…Bama this game and a microcosm of the Bama 2024 season.

You got the full Alabama 2024 experience in the first half.

@sbkaufman Just bought it!

Hi all, I'm excited to finally announce my new book coming out April 22nd- RISE ABOVE! This book puts together over two decades worth of research on what it takes to live a life full of well-being, creativity, meaning, and self-actualization. My research has found over and over again that the way we think about our experiences matter more than intelligence, talent, or other metrics we so often treat as synonymous with potential. Do you overcome ambiguous and challenging situations in life constructively and resiliently, or see yourself as a perpetual victim of life, deserving more than others because of it? This book equips everyone with the tools to overcome a victim mindset and harness what I call an "empowerment mindset". This book has implications for individuals as well as groups, and I don't hold back on anything in this book. I put my heart and soul into it this one and I genuinely hope it helps us all rise above and reach a more transcendent and humanistic society. Available for pre-order now at scottbarrykaufman.com.

@sbkaufman @DrJohnVervaeke My doctoral thesis proposed Responsibility is the root of motivation, even in the face of death (death anxiety)….

@moiabama @DrJohnVervaeke Or my book Transcend!

Real vs. Cheap Meaning Something has been weighing on my mind awhile. I've been thinking a lot about it, and my observation is that since so many people are experiencing a crisis of meaning today due to such uncertainty (@DrJohnVervaeke), it seems like so many people are desperately turning to meaning via the route of mocking and belittling the "other"-- whatever your tribe has deemed to be the group that you would like to reduce to a mere label. I call this "cheap meaning". This has been bothering me because a big part of my life mission is to help people find a meaning that transcends, that uplifts, that contributes positively to the lives of others. Let's call this "real meaning". I wonder: How we can help build structures and social media algorithms that support real meaning and that discourages cheap meaning? I believe the algorithms reward cheap meaning and lead people to falsely believe that just because they are getting a lot of "likes" from their tribe and people who think just like them, it's making the world a better place. It's not. Good faith critique is good. Thoughtful nuanced debate is good. Welcoming people who are very different than you to be a part of your cause is good. Mocking a whole group of people for literally no other reason than to get a quick boost of ego and increase your follower count? That's fucking cheap. Thanks for listening, love you all.

@sbkaufman @DrJohnVervaeke Read it…and took your Transcend class!

@sbkaufman Nuts!

This is really interesting: Researchers developed a "toxic masculinity scale" which includes items such as "there are only two genders". Do you agree that if a man believes humans only have two genders they are displaying "toxic masculinity"? Full paper: mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/1…

@TheBearsBurner Derrick Thomas!

If you could only choose one player in Alabama history as your favorite. Who would it be? Mine is Julio Jones and has been since he put on that script A in 2008.

@sbkaufman Responsibility

What quality in a human is more important than character? I'm having difficulty thinking of something.

@sbkaufman I propose that self-actualization is the only “zone” that gets stronger with time f(t). All others “zones” weaken over time if not fed more. Once self-actualized, No going back?

I like thinking of enlightenment as a state where you can never go back to where you were before. People who are enlightened are forever changed in their worldview, abiding love, and sense of calling.

@nntaleb @joerogan Leave it to pride to be the black swan event to prove we are all fragile.

The central problem with any such debate involving a real scientist is that @joerogan's audience is sooooo dumb (& so statistically unsophisticated) that they will never figure out who won the argument.

@sbkaufman Is this not the deficit vs growth needs…literally, by definition?

Some additional nuance surrounding my work on the “victim mentality”: 1. Suffering isn’t a competition. We all suffer at times. There is a profound common humanity in that truth. (Yes, I practice Buddhism.) 2. Those with a pervasive victim mentality are hurting themselves just as much, if not more so, than they are hurting others. Many people with a victim mentality have been legitimately victimized in their lives or have suffered abuses, yet they are not ready to remove their defense mechanisms. Many are still in survival mode. Ultimately this won’t lead to growth, and can even lead to destructive behaviors, but it is up to the person to decide when they are ready to move forward with their lives. 3. I do not like it when people reduce a person’s expression of pain completely to having a “victim mentality” in order to demean or belittle their experience. It’s possible to simultaneously have been a victim of a terrible situation and also have a pervasive victim mentality that has generalized to many situations in one’s life. 4. It’s also possible to have been a victim and not have a victim mentality. We are all at different stages of the journey. We can listen with an empathetic ear and validate someone’s experiences of hurt no matter where they are in their journey. 5. At the same time, I do not believe in enabling maladaptive thinking patterns or destructive behaviors. Sometimes the highest form of kindness is not feeding into someone’s delusions. That doesn’t mean you have to be a colossal asshole about it though. I believe in treating people with loving-kindness. But ultimately it’s up to each individual to take responsibility for how they project their traumas onto others and how they react to situations. By acknowledging that responsibility in all of us, I am treating people with a victim mentality as fellow humans, also capable of autonomy and wise decision-making. These are just some of my thoughts on having a victim mentality. It’s an important topic, but I think the nuance and compassion is important too.

@TexRenegade @ScottAdamsSays HBCU undergraduate here (Lincoln University). Also completed two masters. Defending doctorate dissertation now. Working as a Senior Director at a Fortune 250. Made the promotion list to Brigadier General last month (Army National Guard). Calling this data point a win….

I like the Historically Black Colleges. Does everyone understand the benefits?

@ConceptualJames Cognitive dissonance…you just explained it.

I've been thinking back, and every time there's some big narrative and people are rage-unfollowing me for being "wrong" about it, I'm much closer to right about it than they are. They persist in saying I'm crazy forever afterwards, though. It's weird!

@ConceptualJames Chill

Fuck this guy

@nntaleb youtu.be/T-Hgw0LFK88

Ominous: I just received by regular mail the Ukrainian re-edition of The Black Swan, sent from Kyiv.

@WarintheFuture Sappers lead the way

16/25 Sixth, both sides will need to fight in combined arms teams that are well lead and logistically supported. This means tanks, accompanied by infantry, logistics, UAVs, repair and recovery assets, and many, many combat engineers.

14/25 Fourth, we can’t visualise this as a single massive battle. It won’t be. It will be thousands of micro-battles between different combatants in streets, buildings, rubble, tunnels, towers, in the air & info domain. This will be very difficult for either side to control.