‘There’s more than that to being poor.’ A discussion on the disconnect between pundits and the working class.
The question as to whether or not I should upload this… was answered – when I did a random search for Free Domain music on the Internet Archive and found a song with the title: ‘There’s More Than That To Being Poor’
The Sketch of Sam Monroe is a weird fiction thriller. Follow the adventures of five quirky Black Ops pharmacologists as they globetrot their way to the Mato Grosso jungles. Philosophy, psychedelics, and banter are infused throughout this literary comic-book.
“How old are these stories?” Graham asked tapping Fabre’s Bible.
“Depends on a lot of factors…” Cook said puzzling over the possibilities.
“Which stories are you referring to exactly?” Bohm inquired.
“Soddom and Gomorrah.” Hoyt replied.
“Buttstuff.” Sam sniggered.
“Well, I honestly have no idea.” Cook said. “It’s not my area.”
“Do you think they are original?”
“The stories from the Bible?”
Graham nodded.
“The modern convention suggests that some are borrowed from earlier civilizations such as Sumeria. And I believe that Abraham’s origin is somewhere around Iraq.”
“If the children of Israel borrowed from Sumeria. Is it possible that Sumeria also borrowed.”
“Certainly, but that isn’t archeology…that’s sheer speculation.”
“Of course.” Graham exhaled smoke. “But entertain the thought.”
“Ok.”
“Who is God?”
“Christ.”
“His Father?”
“Yahweh.”
“Who is Yahweh?”
Cook shook his head.
“Baruch…Elohim…Adonai.”
“I am not Jewish.”
“Neither am I…but you see how we got trinitarian…and then downright polytheistic.”
We were all blankfaced.
“Do you really not remember my uncle’s record?”
It was so long ago. We were again blankfaced.
“Names, divine identities, these are human inventions, they are descriptors of the indescribable. Something that can never be grasped. Grandeur that one cannot gaze upon. What happens when you gaze upon it?”
“You are burned away…by the glory of the most High.” Fabre piously muttered.
Hoyt smiled his Cheshire smile, “…and what happened to them?” He jerked his thumb towards the monitors.
“You are suggesting that this is the site of Sodom?”
“What was Sodoms sin?”
“Buttstuff!” Sam repeated excitedly.
“Which is the first commandment?”
“Thou shalt have no other gods….”
“What presumption is implied by gazing upon the face of God?”
“Omnipotence, omniscience, a Luciferian entitlement.”
Hoyt nodded. “There is something of the cleric about you Doctor.”
“I fail to see what this has to do with anything here.”
“They were burned away and something fertile grew in its stead. Something fertile and primitive…a humbling occurred.”
I am an American. I came to this country when I was very young and have made an extensive study of the enlightenment era values and principles it was founded on.
That doesn’t mean I ignore my background. Nor does it mean that I sit around feeling kosher as corporate media constantly insults and berates the country of my birth.
Pictured – Russian SCUM
It’s a highhorse, soapbox, fingerwag that I’m talking about. The idea being that here in the West we have press freedom and journalistic ethics.
Julian Assange who has been in confinement for nearly a decade was just arrested.
Is this Putin’s doing?
Will there be the same sort of outcry about “the fourth estate” from CNN, MSNBC, etc. that happens when Trump sends a spicy tweet to a journo?
Pictured – Guccifer
I didn’t necessarily want to comment on this unfortunate situation from this angle. Maybe that’s exactly why I should. There is information aplenty about Julian Assange and the sort of work he has done. I encourage you to seek it out and form your own opinion. I suppose my little part in decrying this outrage will be to point out the eternal hypocrisy of corporate media.
An apparatus that has overseen decades of war, income disparity, and social decline with folded arms.
I do not deny that Russia has many problems. I do not know enough about Putin to approve or disapprove. Poor behavior in the United States is certainly not an excuse for poor behavior on the part of Russia.
But one must ask who grandstands the most on these particular issues?
Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. And I do indeed hope that ‘The West’ bears the standard it promotes in regards to Mr. Assange.
The Sketch of Sam Monroe is a weird fiction thriller. Follow the adventures of five quirky Black Ops pharmacologists as they globetrot their way to the Mato Grosso jungles. Philosophy, psychedelics, and banter are infused throughout this literary comic-book.
The tent was hastily assembled on the periphery of what we surmised to be a drowning pool. Syncretism wasn’t unthinkable but it still surprised Cook to see Mayan rites along an Incan road through Kuikuro lands. That is if that’s what we were currently seeing on our monitors.
“So you don’t have to preprogram it?” Lobo was incredulous.
“Nah, this Israeli shit is pretty good.”
“South Korean.” Lucas corrected.
“Jointly developed.” I finished.
“So..100 feet…there’s no way radio waves can penetrate the water…”
“Ultrasound.”
“Yep, that’s real time response.” Lucas said proudly. His brother in law headed up R&D in Seoul.
We hovered over the submarine ossuary. It was a grim show indeed. I counted at least seven skulls. Who knew how many more lay beneath the silt?
“These aren’t children’s bones.” Bohm said.
“So it’s not likely that it’s Incan.” Cook elaborated.
“Either way that’s bad Voodoo.” Fabre said clutching his Gris-gris. I smiled at the syncretism among syncretism. A Catholic holding an IslamoPagan charm for protection against Mayan wells in the green hell.
“There is no sign of trauma?” Bohm stated and asked simultaneously.
“Not that I can see.” Cook replied.
“We’d see a lot better if we were down there.” Sam whinged.
“With the roots, silt, and currents?” Lobo challenged drily.
“With dignity, manhood, and not being a little pussbag.”
“Idiot.”
“Did you note the discoloration?” Graham surprised us.
“…no…but now that you mention it…”
“This couldn’t be any clearer.” Hoyt said flatly.
“…phh..hm…well why don’t you just tell us then.” Cook was beginning to get irritated.
“It would be unsportsmanlike.” Graham Hoyt replied exhaling smoke.
“O?”
“Tell me doctor have you ever been to the Ganges?”
“Yes. Many times.”
“Did you witness the pyres?”
“Si.”
“Well, than it’s all in hand.”
Cooks face took on a look of extreme concentration. Just as I was sure the vein on his forehead would burst he exclaimed. “Pugilistic positioning.”
He extended a finger toward a skeletal forearm and fist.
“They were burned.”
“I am not aware of any Mesoamerican rite involving fire.” Bohm said.
“It wasn’t a rite.” Hoyt added in his detached way.
“Shit!” Sam cried out. “I had a dream about a fire last night…they…they were trying to escape the fire.”
I’ve heard several people weigh in on a series of articles describing troubles faced by men and boys (eg). These articles point out the higher rate of suicide, the unemployment, the crime, and the failure to form relationships.
These are certainly problems that need addressing. Yet, the way they are addressed both by mainstream media and various gurus like Dr. Peterson is lacking. It also seems to often veer in a unecessiraly condescending direction.
Part of the problem is an inaccurate view of the modern world. Just today I heard Tim Pool quote an article that said the job market currently valued brain over brawn. Then there were some vagaries about the trucking industry.
This is an odd diagnosis when mapping the problem of male under achievement since most technology is built and operated by men. Given the level of female interest in coding/engineering/etc. it is likely to remain that way. So no males aren’t getting shafted because we’re living in a high-tech society.
Tech may be a contributing factor but it is certainly second fiddle to outsourcing, population growth, Boomers that haven’t retired, and a host of other demographic issues. There are only so many positions available. There can only be so many surgeons and there can only be so many janitors. When women, your grandpa, and Bangladesh enter the US job market you’re gonna get a little sign that says: the position has been filled.
Are Opas and ladies in the workforce a bad thing? No. But, whether competent or not they do fill positions. So, talk show windbags should consider demographics instead of whinging on and on about MUH TECH while being confused by the difference between a composter and a compiler.
C++ via BoomerVision
It’s odd that a lack of college completion as a sign of underperformance is mentioned in the same breath as Coding. Since tech firms will hire people with demonstrable skills and a willingness to work with or without degrees.
Viewing IT and coding as the salvation of the millennial male is bizarre. To me it stinks of people who think they’re making savvy observations. ‘We understand the times you see. Automation is here and only the cognitive elite will fare well. Brawn is no longer necessary peasants.’
I dunno how well versed these journalists and talking heads are in robotics but the level of sophistication required for a machine to load a UPS truck or do road work is insane. Fine motor function is a tricky business.
Blue collar work isn’t going anywhere. Except for overseas.
And so…is coding! Cause coding doesn’t take much more than an average intelligence, YouTube, a book, and patience. Which is why lots of enterprising gents in Bangladesh are writing Java for those patriotic American businesses.
So the problem with ‘ya need moar skillsz lololoololol’ is that even if everyone learned to code….there’s only so many fucking things that you can fucking code. The salaried positions will be filled quickly and the remaining scraps will be passion projects and apps that allow you to put a baboons ass on your buddies Instagram pics.
GDP boosting tech!
The problem is not the march of progress leaving men behind. The problem is as it has always been a combination of carrying capacity, undervaluing the trades, and credentialed idiots.
In a previous column, I cited an article on News Forum For Lawyers titled “Study Finds College Students Remarkably Incompetent,” which referenced an American Institutes for Research study that revealed that over 75 percent of two-year college students and 50 percent of four-year college students were incapable of completing everyday tasks. About 20 percent of four-year college students demonstrated only basic mathematical ability, while a steeper 30 percent of two-year college students could not progress past elementary arithmetic. NBC News reported that Fortune 500 companies spend about $3 billion annually to train employees in “basic English.” Many of today’s college students are not only academically incompetent but emotionally so, as well, and do not belong in college. (The Times)
Men who are financially unstable due to these economic/demographic realities often have trouble sustaining or even starting relationships. They are viewed as underachievers by people who have loaded themselves up with a lifetime of debt learning how to do Excel spreadsheets. People who inhabit make-work professions like HR departments, managerial managing management managers, and counselors. Makework professions that are often the result of affirmitive action…
Google found it paid men less than women for the same job
These sorts of folks gloat about men’s romantic shortcoming citing that women have less trouble romantically. Forgetting that hookups aren’t relationships and what’s bad for the goose is bad for the gander.
Maybe just maybe brawn is just as necessary as it ever was and brains and civilization didn’t come from the professors lounge. If you like roads and you like toasters that can tickle your tits maybe you should look at the real reason men are faring badly.
The problem is cultural. The problem is demographic. The problem is condescencion by folks who have played on an entirely different chessboard.
What troubles me in all of this is that it’s not only the ideological gloaters and misandrists and corporations that are failing men. It’s also the well wishers. It’s those that want to ‘FIX’ men.
Because they tell you to clean a room that you don’t have.
(Note – ‘Criticism’ of persons involved isn’t done maliciously. I’m simply framing my point with teasing observations consisting of my initial impressions. People are complicated and I don’t want to contribute to empty snark culture.)
Today was a research heavy day. As part of that research for projects like The Sketch of Sam Monroe I watched this video.
I was a bit grossed out by the weird suburban ‘New Age Catholicism’ on display. The Self-flagellation and self conscience ego denial (referring to humanity as monkeys in the process, repeatedly) was cringey for this Wattsian disciple.
My universe is a touch more playful. (It’s not a disappointed mother Gaia. Counterpart to disappointed Yahweh. Seriously though the parallels between this and Catholicism…anyway.)
That being said the video did have some good psychological insights. The curandero or whoever (I honestly can’t be bothered to rewatch this: I went to Christian Academies and the similarities are nauseating) said that addiction is due to a feeling of emptiness. So folk plunge into opiate escapism or whatever the drift was. (Super paraphrasing. Please watch the linked video if you want the full scoop.)
This is true…. But, instead of filling the void that you used to fill with alcohol… with Ayahuasca you should fill it with realization.
Escapism is amnesia. It’s forgetting that the point of life is to live it.
Escapism is a lack of trust. You do not trust that life will bring you interesting and beautiful experiences so you binge on carefully controlled scenarios. Some of which are chemical.
I think it’s a point worth making however brief it is.
To the credit of the film I believe it points this out towards the end.
I am an American. I came to this country when I was very young and have made an extensive study of the enlightenment era values and principles it was founded on.
The Fractal Journal 