NotDarkYet

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Great topic! My guy friends give eachother shit all the time. It's fun. But... My older brother (15 years older) would make me feel like the most worthless piece of shit - - under the guise of "teasing". Pure injustice. What is the difference? Equality. If two people are at the same 'level' they can tease each other. If not, it's bullying.

Aesthetics start where property violations end.

Are you planning on recording an audio version of this? That's how I consume things. Looong commute.

Assuming he DID turn out alright: "My mother got drunk a lot during pregnancy, and I turned out all right." Would that mean it's ok for mothers to drink during pregnancy?

Are you advocating violence to support your opinion? As a side note, what profound arrogance (economic, moral, personal) to assume you know what's best for 2 strangers. This is why the world is broken.

Using violence to interfere with peaceful cooperation is wrong. But more specifically: If Bob is not worth the minimum wage he becomes unemployed, thus.... 1. Robbing society of Bob's productivity 2. Robbing society to pay for Bob's Welfare checks 3. Preventing Bob from developing skills 4. Robbing Bob of pride

Early experiences with money: I remember fearing adult life....feeling like I won't be prepared (my parents taught me nothing, and gave me zero advice on how to be an adult). So, I still feel that way. I feel inadequate for life. Spending money is what confident people do. Saving. That's safe.

Hmm. No. I think the future me is more important than the present me. Although, come to think of it, I can't imagine when that switch will flip and I'll be ok with spending money.

What are the origins of cheapness? I'm super cheap. Spending money is somewhat anxiety inducing for me. I avoid going to a movie, buying restaurant food, drinks at a bar, new clothes, watering the lawn, etc I didn't grow up poor, or rich. What's the deal? I see other people around me throwing around money easily on concert tickets, 6 dollar beers, 15 dollar sushi, etc...and it freaks me out. How can they spend their hard earned money so easily while I'm so tight with a buck?

Wow. Thank you for the thoughtful response to my meandering post. Regarding therapy. It was once a week. It helped, but after the 15th session, we were covering the same subjects again and again. My self-therapy = listening to FDR Since listening to FDR (I started early, around the time of UPB) my life has improved. I've removed the bad people (and politics) from my life. I don't see my mother more than once a year now, and I've cut out my brother completely (he was a horrible dick to me growing up and never even visited me (or replied to emails) when I came back from China after 8 years abroad). I don't argue with bad people either, which used to be a core part of my day. But my inferiority complex stuff still remains.

To 'fix' 'problems' with 'inequality' would require giving violent power to certain people. Thereby creating the greatest inequality of all. Yes, it's self-detonating if the person is implying that privilege needs to be 'fixed'.

1) Severely alcoholic father. He took zero interest in me. None. Zip. He didn't come to my graduation. He had no interest in speaking to me about anything (or anyone in the family) . He constantly made me feel worthless (silently, and with eye rolls) I never had a real conversation with him until my teens (when he started taking interest in my musical talent). He never looked me in the eyes, or gave me any good advice that I remember. He died in my early 20s. 2) A platitudinous mother whom you can insult to her face, and she'll just accept it...and even apologize. Her entire life was spent placating my father. She "spoiled" me, by giving me anything physical that I wanted (video games, mostly, I was not a materially interested kid) but never wanted to talk intellectually. I remember the first time she asked me my opinion (what to name our dog, when I was 8) and I NEVER forgot that rush of pride I felt. It was such a shock. 3) Never heard, or spoke the phrase "I love you". (to this day I can't say those words out loud without feeling massive discomfort). I refuse to use those words now. 4) No 'rules' in the house (except for the unspoken ones). I was allowed to fail any class, no questions asked. No parent teacher meetings. No dietary suggestions (it was hamburgers and potatoes most nights) I could leave for days at a time to stay at friends families. No curfeiw. How does this childhood affect me? How might I fix it? How I turned out: --------------- I had massive panic attacks in high school and university (and still some anxiety problems, especially with conflict and speaking my mind...or others speaking their mind). Of course I didn't want to 'burden' my family with my issues, so I kept silent. I'm anxious, and sometimes awkward. I'm not comfortable hanging out, because I feel I always have to be "on" and clever and funny - and I've developed a great skill of being entertaining around others. In relationships, I don't like to be challenged, or to challenge them. I have a difficulty showing or accepting affection. Alcohol calms my nerves and has become part of my life. Although I've cut down recently. I'd say I have about 2-3 drinks a day on average. I'm extremely tight with my money, refusing to spend on anything unnecessary (movies, shows, furniture, haircuts (I cut my own hair half of the time). Perhaps I've answered my own question. But I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. Solutions? -------------- I did 4 months of therapy which were alright. It helped me be more comfortable with defining my boundaries and speaking my mind BEFORE I explode with hatred and resentment. But I still have all of the issues above.

Why do we expect actors to have anything valuable to say? Ben is arrogant, ignorant (they go together) and has zero interest in pushing the debate forward. And it's amazing how little interest he has in listening to Sam Harris, who clearly has a more thoughtful and nuanced position.

Sorry to bump this. I just had a thought. This scenario is not universalizable, because it involves personal value judgments. It is therefore an aesthetic question and not a challenge to moral theory. To call it a "challenge to moral theorists" is like calling a poem a "challenge to mathematicians"

Christianity is false. Christianity infects the world via child abuse. Everything else is a distraction.

The state doesn't solve those problems. It multiplies them. What if 70% of people cannot cope with a state? Think of the poverty, wars, schools, money supply, prisons...and you'll have your answer.

Trolly answer is in that video. Btw, when you have your answer, how will it change your view of anarchism?

Before requesting Stefan to answer something for you...have you done any due diligence and looked through the thousands of podcasts to find one where he addresses Life Boat Scenarios?

That makes sense. When I'm not at work I'm usually buzzed...or on Sat/Sun slightly hungover. Last night I didn't drink, and I had this electricity running through my nerves (alcohol withdrawal?)...and I had to DO something to spend the energy, so I learned how to mod a WII. I would never had done that if I was drinking. Do you have any recordings I can hear? Yes. This worked on me once. I was playing a show (sorry to bring this back to music) with Perfume Genius in 2012. We were backstage and I handed the singer a big free beer. And he said "no thanks". Being a fool, I asked why. His reply stung me like a wasp: "Because I'm an alcoholic". Pithy. Effective.

It'd be AMAZING to watch a female only society try to work. The technological/mechanical/philosophical poverty would be less than 3rd world.

Yes. It's a strange thing - intimate people who don't take the time to check out projects of huge importance to you. Last week I broke up with a girl who, after 1.5 years of asking her to read Everyday Anarchy, and Practical Anarchy, hadn't read them yet. I'd ask her every week, "how are you coming on EA and PA?" and she'd say "they're on my list". And she was 1) unemployed and 2) a HUGE reader (she even had a book club). Wow. It was indicative of the relationship. She was a music/food/nightlife reviewer in her last job...and she hadn't even listened to my record. I asked her to name ONE of the first 5 songs on the record. She couldn't name anything. Farewell baby. She was writing a book, and I constantly asked if I could be an alpha reader. So I took interest in her stuff, big time.

Guys, that means so much to me. I almost teared up myself reading that. It's rare that someone will actually listen to original music (in my life at least). My mother/brother/sister didn't bother to listening to it (until I asked them to). Imagine spending 2 years writing a novel...and nobody in your family reading it! And a record is only 60 minutes of effort. I WANT to tour, I want to spend my life doing music. I fantasize about renting out my house and just, as you say interacting....but... I'm so pessimistic. What if the reception is cold? Doesn't the world have enough music? Radiohead exits. Why would anyone care? Isn't it a selfish thing to do? Those are the things that run through my mind.

I like this. I always told myself that drinking was an ENHANCEMENT to my life. Which, I think it was at times. But now....time for a change.

Hmm The jamming/writing stopped being fun after my 4th record. Now: Every chord change sounds boring. Every beat sounds blah. Every melody seems grey. The guitar and keyboard don't seem like a playground anymore. Just grey mass of predictable patterns. Something's wrong. It never used to be that way. Strangely, the last song I wrote was this one, maybe it portends something: Summer's End: -------------------- I once saw silver linings, now I only see clouds. Where once I had a thousand friends now got a crowd. I used to say that everything will work out in the end, but to the beaten and heartbroken ones you just can't pretend. Where once I had an open heart, now I close it like a fort. With great stone walls and archers poised and a guard at every door. And if a stranger should come knocking on a cold and lampless night with a cloak and dagger close at hand I'll be safe inside. Here's three cheers for the beaten. Three cheers for the broke. Here's three cheers for the wind-blown ones at the bottom of that rope. Here's three cheers for those cannot say the glass is half full. Here's three cheers if you can't count sheep and you end up counting wolves. The birds are singin' in the trees but little do they know the very limbs they stand upon will be buried in the snow. And the wavin trees and buzzin bees and flowers pink and red will all turn grey and all fall down when summer ends. All that's good and right I've seen you could balance on a knife. You may call it cynical but I just call it life. And those few with golden souls will be trampled in the ground under the boots of those marchin fools who always run this town. Here's three cheers for the beaten. Three cheers for the broke. Here's three cheers for the wind blown ones at the bottom of that rope. Here's three cheers for those cannot say the glass is half full. Here's three cheers if you can't count sheep and you end up counting wolves. Is there nobody out there to lift the curse upon this place for sake of all us rats down here circling a maze? If a message in a bottle, then I'd send it off in haste in a rocket at the speed of sound bound for outer space!