Tyler Durden

You can have him adopt an orphan, or you can make him rise to fame with a sculpture of Socrates. But in order for it to be realistic, there needs to be some form of troubled background. If he's really found philosophy and virtue it doesn't make sense that he would suddenly be tempted to choose vanity and lies. So maybe you can make him someone who escaped an abusive household and even tries to rescue a sibling or something, only to be corrupted by that sibling.

I really enjoyed the first couple of seasons and thought it was the best comedy ever, but the show lost much of its appeal to me after that so I stopped watching. It became sort of a mixture between comedy and drama, but not quite succeeding at either genre, at least in my opinion. So I haven't seen the finale either, but after reading your post just now, I think they ended it well. We've all grown up with this Disney narrative of what love should look like and it's simply not a useful narrative to have. It inspires white knightism and causes men to ignore all the red flags that particular women throw at them, and it inspires women to act like, well, princesses. So yeah, I think it's great that popular shows like HIMYM are breaking that narrative. And if people are having a hard time dealing with that it only shows how necessary it is.

Parents physically and verbally abuse children, they put them into schools where they are forced to perform random tasks regardless of whether they're even remotely interested in them, when they don't carry out these tasks in the way that teachers expect them to they are forced to take drugs, these drugs cause a whole variety of severe problems. So what can we do to make the situation better? O wait, I know! We can torture mice!

I wanted to type something but the YouTube video says it all.

I am no expert on laws and regulations. But can't you just find a country in the EU that has relatively little restrictions on homeschooling, move to that country without much hassle because you're already in the EU, tell the local government that you're homeschooling, and be worry-free from that point on?

I'd say so, yes.

Technically yes, because you would be deceiving me. But because it's such a trivial topic it would barely register on my morality meter. It would be about as insignificant as stealing a pencil from my home or something.

It is of consequence, just not of any moral consequence. People play it because they think it's fun, it's social, and it's a way to sharpen cognitive abilities. From an evolutionary standpoint it's logical to value social and cognitive skills and to value getting better at them. The opponent is just a way to measure your own level. That's why it feels better to beat a professional than to beat someone who plays for the first time.

It all depends on what kind of game you're playing. If you're playing a game of "who can be the most virtuous", then yes, winning is objectively better than losing. But if you're playing a game of "who can steal the most money" then it's the exact opposite. And if you're playing a game of checkers it just doesn't really matter.

The advantage is of schooling is that it gives you credibility in most people's eyes. If you don't want to go through school you need something else to give you credibility. As mentioned before, you can call yourself a "life coach", or a "personal coach", or anything else that is not a protected title. But the real challenge is obtaining credibility. There are many ways to do that but they all require some form of investment. The best way in my opinion is to create something that proves that you're an expert. This could be a website where you post interesting articles that you've written on your topic of expertise. It could also be a YouTube channel where you post videos, preferably in combination with a website. Or you can go the classic route and write a book, also preferably in combination with a website. In the meantime you should try to get as much experience as you can and charge people a reasonable price for what it is you offer. The more you've established yourself as an expert the more you can charge people for one on one sessions.

That's quite a story, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Let me just make 2 quick comments before I address your actual question. A belt is damn serious. You've done a really good job of being honest about what was done to you throughout your entire post, but in this sentence you're minimizing something that's actually very serious. Your English is excellent and your story was well communicated. There is no need for you to ever apologize for those things. As for your main question. I don't think you're doing anything wrong. You did make some mistakes, but given the circumstances they were definitely understandable mistakes. You corrected your mistakes in time, you stayed alive, you didn't get pregnant, you didn't follow in your mother's footsteps, you accepted help from someone, and you worked on yourself up to the point where you got all the abusive people out of your life, got your life back on track, and are now asking for advice to improve yourself even further on the finest philosophy website the world has to offer in a foreign language that you've mastered to a great degree. You did a damn good job. Naturally there are some things that you still need to process, but that's not because you're doing anything wrong. It just needs time. I think talking about it to someone can certainly help, writing it down might also be a good idea, but even if you don't do those things it will resolve itself over time. Just allow yourself to feel whatever emotions come up and express them in whatever way you think is best.

That's a challenging situation for sure, sorry to hear that. Much respect for refusing to take meds though, I share your point of view on that. So in light of the new information, let me try to give you something useful. Feel free to ignore my advice completely if it doesn't resonate with you, but these are my thoughts: There are clearly significant obstacles for getting a regular job: the financial situation, the physical location, the mental health problems, and that's not even taking into account that you're probably way too smart to feel fulfilled with a regular job. So, I recommend you don't pursue that route but instead go another route and turn some of these obstacles into assets. You're a man with a history, in a challenging environment where you feel stuck, but with a lot of potential and a desire to break out of it. That's a story right there! That's something A LOT of people can relate to. Now if I combine that with what I read over here where it says that you "have been studying all aspects of video production for years now, and want to start working on videos". It becomes quite clear what you need to do: start a YouTube channel. But, in order for you to get something out of it I wouldn't make it about anarchy and religion and that sort of stuff, I would make it about you, your passions, and your journey. What is the cause of your PTSD? How did you get into that situation? How did you get out? Why have you decided not to take meds? What are you doing instead of meds? And you like tennis? What's awesome about tennis? How does that sport even work? Can you make a video montage of cool tennis moments? And how did you learn to create such awesome videos? What are ten things that every beginner should know about camera settings and lighting? Where do you get your background music? What tips do you have for editing? In order to make money off it I would combine that YouTube channel with a website where you offer your services in video production. In that way every YouTube video serves as an advertisement for your services, and at the same time you're expressing yourself and you're connecting to people who actually have something in common with you. Watch these videos for inspiration:

It's only difficult in the beginning, once you get the hang of it it's actually not that hard to do. Since you don't know where to start, let me give you some advice on that: Start with what is least controversial. It's not all or nothing, you need to build that shit up gradually. When you've never been to a gym in your life you don't start with the heaviest weights you can find. Don't pick up more than you can handle, don't bite off more than you can chew. The 4 things you named range from one end of the controversy spectrum all the way to the other end. Anarchism is probably the most controversial idea in the world. Atheism is not nearly as controversial, it might be controversial where you live, but a billion people in the world are non-religious. Tennis is not controversial at all in most places. And having a job is actually the norm, pretty much everywhere. So what you need to do is simple, leave the anarchy for now, leave the atheism for now, don't pay too much attention to tennis, and go get a job. Tell everyone who discourages you to get a job to go fuck themselves, or don't if you're really dependent on them, but realize that they are not on your side and should be ignored at all costs. Once you get the job, get a place of your own and find yourself some tennis loving friends. Then, and only then, is it time to alienate all of those new found friends with atheism and anarchy. No, but seriously, just get a job and move out man. That should be your one and only focus, leave the rest for later.

Obviously it would be the right thing to do, but talking strictly in terms of moral obligation: No. You did not cause the problem, you were not involved in any way shape or form, so you have no obligation to do anything.

AccuTron, let me try to explain this in another way: 4 people were having fun and as far as we know were not disturbing anyone 2 other people who carried weapons came by and without provocation forced the 4 people into a position where they could not easily defend themselves while in this vulnerable position the 4 people used their own language to communicate with each other about weapons ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What I am wondering, and I think the others are too, is: 1. why don't you criticize the actions of the 2 aggressors? 2. why are you giving advise on how to aggress more successfully?

Fuck yeah. You can, and you should. The key is to live on passion instead of planning. You want to sell stuff on ebay and you're good at it, great! It's especially great because the only thing you need is stuff, and it just so happens to be that stuff is about the most common commodity that one can find in this modern world we live in. So this is what I would do: Go around your neighborhood, ring people's doorbell, tell them that you are a professional reseller, and ask them if they have any objects in their home that they don't use and would be interested in selling. Everyone has stuff that they no longer use. Maybe offer them some suggestions that they wouldn't think of themselves. And if they say yes, ask them if you can check it out, and if you think it's valuable offer to buy it from them on the spot. Then go home, put it on ebay, and make a profit. You can do the same thing with companies. Lots of companies have storage boxes full of stuff that they no longer use but simply haven't bothered to sell. You will have to try it out to see what works best of course. But it's an actionable plan that you can start with today, and once you get started your experience and expertise will grow, which in turn will lead to more ideas to try out.

I would recommend a mainstream haircut. And possibly a collared shirt and a more neutral background, such as Stef in this video: Stefan Molyneux: U.S. Destabilizing The Ukraine - An American Coup But those are of lesser importance, the haircut is my main suggestion.

With regards to your title, you don't have to choose between virtue or well being. Virtue and well being are linked to each other, being virtuous is the most effective way to increase your well being. Also, I would advise you not to think in terms of "force" and "obligation". You can never force people to stop doing bad things, because if you try to force them they will just become defensive. But if you approach people with the genuine belief that they are misguided and in need of guidance, then they are much more likely to respond. In your situation, you're not obligated to do anything, but you want to be virtuous because it's best for the children, it's best for the parents, and it's best for your own well being. So just do what is most effective. Gather the evidence on spanking, print it out, meet up with them. Tell them that you genuinely belief that they care for their children and don't want to hurt them, and show them that what they're doing now is actually very harmful and only leads to more problems along the way both for their children as well as for them. Or, if at all possible, don't start with their children, start with them and their own childhood experiences. If you can help them reconnect to how they felt when they were being spanked as children you are much more likely to succeed. Just open the dialogue, make this a topic of discussion, and work towards non aggression. You understand these people, I'm sure you'll be able to have some impact.

In general, you should always be honest about how you feel and what you think, to everyone. As for your specific situation. He has been dumping his negativity on you and that's very bad. You put an end to that and that's very good. I think your instincts are spot on and I would strongly advise you to use the momentum you have now to bring about a permanent change. For a permanent change there are basically only 2 options: 1. he changes his behavior significantly 2. you cut him out of your life for another specified or indefinite amount of time Both of these options require you to confront him, in fact, both of these options probably require you to confront him more than once. If you don't confront him I predict that he will instantly revert to his old behavior as soon as the 2 weeks are over. So if I were you I wouldn't look at the confrontation as something optional. There's not really any way around it, if you want to continue growing you need to confront him and you need to set some serious boundaries. So the first thing I would advise you to do is write down for yourself what you want to say to him. Don't hold back, just write everything down, express yourself completely. Then write down what you want to change. Do you want to allow him back into your life on different terms, like only once a week, no phonecalls from your telephone, and no bitching about anything? Do you want him to stay away for another 2 weeks? Another month? Another half year? Indefinitely? Write it down as specific as you can. Once you've done that the actual confrontation will be a lot easier, but probably still hard, prepare for that. The most important thing you need to do is be extremely specific in what you want. This is especially important if you decide to let him back into your life, because if he comes in and starts complaining again you should be able to say "hey, I told you I wouldn't tolerate this anymore, get out now, you can come back next week and try again". The most important thing for you in all of this is to learn how to set boundaries and enforce them. Either by limiting the amount of time or by limiting the type of behavior you're willing to put up with. You made a great first step, now it's time to make another one.

Well, it's simple really. Most people don't want to confront the people around them and they certainly don't want to confront themselves. Apart from that they're often very rational. So if you've grown up in a certain belief system, such as that of the Jehova's witnesses, where it's fine to talk rationally about the state, you can become an anarchist quite easily. But you'll meet a lot of resistance if you try to talk about God in the same way, so people tend not to do that. Another completely different example would be that almost everyone agrees that it's extremely immoral to abuse pets. But when you talk to them about eating meat they will have no problem defending animals being slaughtered. There are tons of other examples. It's just human nature. We're generally rational beings, but it's scary to deviate from the tribe and most people don't have the balls to do it.

Excellent video, your work is of a very high quality.

+1

Awesome video

I'm only hearing your side of the story so I can't be a hundred percent sure on this, but to me, they both sound kinda lame. I mean, punishing your child for ungratitude? Come on. And the taking away the car as a form of punishment. You either give it or you don't give it. There's nothing wrong with not giving your child a car, but to give her one and then take it away again, and repeat this multiple times, it just seems really immature. And the same goes for college tuition, only more so. He wanted you to be really grateful, so apparently college is really important, but then he threatens to stop paying for it. He makes it all about him and not at all about college. As for your boyfriend. Reaaaaally lame as well. I have been in a similar position in a previous relationship. I earned significantly more than my girlfriend (even though her job was actually more noble than mine) and so I payed for most of the expenses. It was only natural to me, because I wanted to be with her and this was just the reality of the situation, if she had earned more she would have done the same for me. And she was actually very grateful but I didn't want that at all, I wanted us to be equal and I didn't want her to feel indebted to me. To me it was more like, we're together now so this is not only my money, it's our money. If he is paying for stuff that the two of you are doing together and you're both having a good time then there shouldn't be any issue. If there is, I would consider the possibility that he is insecure much more likely than the possibility that you are ungrateful. I mean, who wants a grateful girlfriend, seriously. "Oh you should be so grateful to be with me because I pay for everything. Why aren't you more grateful?!" But like I said, I can't be a hundred percent sure. Maybe you're constantly planning expensive stuff and you just assume that he'll pay for all of it, and maybe you complain about everything when it doesn't live up to your standards, and maybe you value a guy's love for you on the basis of how much money he spends on you. I don't know, could be. But if you were that kinda girl, you'd probably be asking for advice on a different forum.

In my experience cheating always stems from feelings of inferiority. People who cheat feel like they can't measure up to their partner, they feel like their partner can always do better, which triggers feelings of insecurity and fear of abandonment. The more attractive or likeable they perceive their partner to be, the more insecure they become. This can manifest itself directly, either in the form of needy behavior towards their partner or in the form of trying to put their partner down. But it can also manifest itself in the form of cheating. It might be that they feel like their partner is such a superior human being that he or she gets attention and love from everyone around them, which means that their cheating is simply a way of restoring the power imbalance. It could also be because they feel like their partner isn't giving them the attention that they deserve, and may even be giving their love and affection to other people instead, which turns cheating into a form of revenge. Or it could be that they are so afraid of the idea that their partner might leave them that they feel the need to keep someone on the side as a form of insurance. Of course cheating is always a bad move because it only exacerbates feelings of inferiority and sends you into a downward spiral. As for childhood origins. I think any childhood that leaves you feeling small and insignificant is a risk factor. I shouldn't say risk factor because cheating is not something that just happens to you, it's a choice and people who cheat are completely responsible for that, but I can't think of a better word right now. Other risk factors are obviously cheating of one or both parents, especially if it was tolerated, and growing up in an environment with a high proportion of insecure people who have a firm grasp on what sex and status are but are fairly clueless when it comes to actual love.