G.R. Mead

"Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Back in the days of Knights, a mounted knight could kill any number of peasants. Then came gunpowder. The British Government think that by outlawing guns, they've won. They're the Aristos again. But... Then came 'booby traps' and dynamite and car bombs and IEDs and drones and... We really don't need the 2nd Amendment anymore. We've got cars and household chemicals. Ever since gunpowder, you cannot put the serfs back in the fields. Not if they have any access to anything and are fed up with your shit.

Pope Leo XIV intoning the Gloria at the Mass in the Basilica of Sagrada Família in Barcelona, on the 100th Anniversary of the death of Venerable Antoni Gaudi.

Now that everyone knows how CRS-style narrative manipulation works, these statements are reliably having the opposite of the intended effect. Rather than calming the situation, the assumption is that the family was manipulated or coerced by simpering collaborationist eunuchs, which only intensifies the moral outrage. Another button on the control panel has been broken.

You could say Platner it’s still standing because the Democrats have a Will to Power, then

“Good manners and soft words have brought many a difficult thing to pass.” -Sir John Vanbrugh

Most administrations live in constant fear of a coup: After the Russia-collusion hoax, the Impeachment I hoax, the Resistance, and everything else, . . .the Trump administration leans into it.

I have heard from Christians who absolutely believe this would mess up their worldview. It has everything to do with how exclusivist their soteriology is. The reason Galileo got in trouble with Rome wasn’t because of a novel scientific theory; it was because he was threatening biblical cosmology, where the Earth was the center of the universe because it’s where God became man and redeemed the human race.

The most dangerous force on Earth is Western civilization when it remembers that cathedrals and cannons were built by the same people.

Starmer: "The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable. There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere. It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it. Those responsible will feel the full force of the law. I’ve spoken to the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to convey my thanks to them and the frontline emergency services for their bravery in keeping people safe. I’ve also spoken to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to discuss the ongoing situation. Appealing for calm must be the priority, and that is what I urge now. We must let the police get on with their work."

The Lie of Infinite Tolerance One of the strangest pathologies of the modern West is that we have become obsessed with managing reactions while refusing to confront causes. A “migrant” tries beheading someone in the shire. The community watches in horror. Then public anger arrives and suddenly an entire class of people emerges to lecture everyone about tone, restraint, optics, and behavior. Behavior. ALWAYS behavior. NEVER the conditions that produced it. NEVER the policies that enabled it. NEVER EVER the leaders who ignored it. Just endless sermons directed at the people expected to endure it. History is littered with ruling classes that mistook public anger for the disease when it was merely the damn fever. A fever isn’t supposed to be pleasant. Neither is a warning light on a f*cking dashboard. Or smoke pouring from beneath a door. Only a fool spends his or her time attacking the warning signs while the fire continues to spread. Civilizations survive hard truths. What they rarely survive is a governing or “moral” class so frightened of confrontation that it demands silence from the people while reality tears through the walls around them. Entropy has never cared about anyone’s preferred narrative. Not once. Ever. It arrives all the same. History gives you two options when it comes to entropy: 1. Confront it 2. Die

Last nights incident in Belfast is no excuse for tonights rascist attacks. Rascists are exploiting mostly young people without thought for the consequences. People deserve better. Say no to rascism.

The thought occurred to me that The Pequod is an image of modernity itself. It is at full sail atop the totality of reality. Only Ishmael really knows. Maybe Pip. Everyone else is in the deep throes of cope.

In Japan, almost no civilian owns a firearm. Not because the people are afraid of guns. Because the people, decades ago, decided that conflict ends at a conversation. Hunting license? Yes, with extensive training. Self-defense pistol? Effectively not permitted. A gun in a glove compartment, "just in case"? Unimaginable. Japan also averages fewer than 10 firearm homicides per year. Total. In a country of 124 million people. For comparison, the United States averages that number every 12 hours. Not because Japan is gentler by nature. Because Japan made a different bet: that the cost of a tense moment with no weapon is lower than the cost of an easy moment with one. Think about the last time a stranger raised their voice at you in your country. Think about whether you, or they, calculated what was in someone's waistband. Japan built a different argument. Not loaded. Not chambered. Just expected. Of everyone. Always. 🇯🇵

Or for cannon emplacement, yeah

The reason is that American team sports are all basically war games. Our basic nature is, as Jim Webb wrote: "Born Fighting." All our native sports sublimate effective approaches to mass violence. Football is group strike and run tactics - in armor. Baseball is applied ballistics. Basketball is small squad dynamic coordination tactics with ballistic components. Hockey - say no more - like a football/basketball hybrid on meth, with personal combat sidelights. I don't know what soccer is, but it isn't any of that.