alexanderg Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Hello everyone at Freedomain Radio, My name is Alexander, I'm 29 years old 30 years young, from Melbourne Australia, and have been listening to FDR since about June of 2013. I am also known as The Critical G on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/thecriticalg) and Blogspot (http://thecriticalg.blogspot.com.au/), where I talk mainly about libertarianism, atheism, philosophy, and indulge in the occasional critique of statism and feminism. For what it's worth, my YouTube channel recently passed the milestones of 2,500 subscribers and 350,000 lifetime views, and my blog has over 75,000 page visits. Listening to FDR has had a profound effect on my life. The most obvious change has been political -- it marks a major stage in my journey from standard-issue politically correct Statist in that I've finally accepted the general validity of anarcho-capitalism, rather than the comfortable position of small-government libertarianism. There are a couple of particular details, eg restrictions on mass migration, that I'd like to explore with people here though. However, the most important change has been in my personal relationships, especially with my parents. TALK THERAPY I started going to a psychologist about 10 years ago; although talk therapy has been instrumental in identifying the origins of my troubles and developing the capacity to observe myself from a distance, I believe I was being tripped up by what we here would call bad philosophy. SOCIAL LIFE A very large part of my social life is swing and blues dancing, of which there is a great deal in Melbourne, Australia. Unfortunately, this means that my social circles are filled with Leftist, trendy, hipster types; I greatly enjoy the dancing and get along with people, but I feel like a Marano Jew in Inquisition Spain once people start talking about politics. Not that “right-wing” Australians are generally any less statist than Leftists, to be honest, but they're at least tolerant of different opinions. This means that I love dancing, but can't really connect with the people on anything but the most superficial level. PARENTS However, with my parents there has been a tectonic shift. Although my parents did not discipline me -- no spanking, no time-outs, etc -- they did let me down in a number of profound ways, which left me with much to talk about with my psychologist over the last ten years. For the most part they are kind, loving, approachable, willing to discuss difficult matters; however, they are reluctant to talk about where they went wrong, or the legacy of their own childhood experiences, and most certainly would not bring it up without my insistence. Nevertheless, they allow themselves to be pulled into serious conversations -- it's hardly ideal for the child to have to cajole his parents into meaningful discussions, but I make do with what I've got, and I believe I have good cause to be optimistic. POLITICS To make a long story short, my philosophical and political thinking has passed through the following checkpoints: Being trapped in a radical feminist English Department at university for four years; Discovering Men's Rights Activism and avoiceformen.com in 2011; Witnessing the disintegration of freethoughtblogs.com at the hands of feminists; The Ron Paul craze of 2012; Reading up on Austrian economics General acceptance of the NAP and the “taxation is theft” argument Implicit (although unconscious) acceptance of UPB as the basis for moral behaviour You could say that all this took me along the following path: Lukewarm socialist Socially liberal and economically conservative Right-wing conservative / libertarian, acceptance of NAP and UPB Tacit acceptance of anarcho-capitalism After the great disappointment of Ron Paul's bid for nomination in 2012, I remained interested in libertarian thinking, but what that really got me interested in FDR was Stefan Molyneux's playlist about Ron Paul: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B883EE065DC5B8C As soon as he posed the question of what would happen if Ron Paul miraculously became president, my doubts about the efficacy of political action and education crystalised. It was at that point that I began to seriously consider anarcho-capitalism, but more importantly, I have since come to accept as supreme the need to apply the NAP and UPB in our personal lives, especially in our dealings with children. The resources available at FDR have helped me to shed light on innumerable matters of concern, and have given me the tools to initiate deep and meaningful conversations with important people in my life. All of this has had a profound effect on my personal relationships with my parents and friends, and has enriched the content of my own YouTube channel and blog. (http://www.thecriticalg.blogspot.com/) The call-in shows have also provided me with inspiration for my first major writing project, The Odessia (www.theodessia.com), in which I have begun to explore philosophy through fantasy fiction. I'll talk about that in the Listener Projects section. I want to thank Stefan and Mike for providing one of the most valuable resources on the web and look forward to participating in discussions with all of you in this forum.
ProfessionalTeabagger Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Hi Alexander. It's very cool to see you on the boards. I subscribe to you on you tube and am a fan. A big welcome to you.
Kevin Beal Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Hi Alexander! Welcome! I'm one of those 2,500 subscribers (and congrats on that). I thought that your criticisms of the fatalism in some MGTOW work was spot on and very insightful. And I'm sorry about the childhood you've had to go back and process. In some ways those more subtle traumas are even worse since they are so much harder to point to and communicate to other people, especially people who haven't done any work on themselves. And I can relate about the friends who would rather party than talk about anything meaningful Thank you for the comprehensive introduction
Gunnhvatr Posted March 8, 2014 Posted March 8, 2014 I saw the shaggy display pic and thought: that guy looks like he could be Crit' G.
Whiskers Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Hi Alexander! Nice to meet you. I have subscribed to your channel I found this post because I was searching for people on FDR who are in Melbourne. I also live in Melbourne (but am in Spain atm until July) and would really like to start a Melbourne FDR or philosophy group or something. Or at least, make some friends who I can relate to (more). Please feel free to email me [email protected]. Speak soon
TDB Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Thanks for the intro. I stumbled on this thread following the UPB tag. I've started reading the Odessia and plan to look at your blog soon. I usually don't have enough patience for videos, do you have a particular recommendation for one of your videos relevant to UPB? One side-comment on the story, it is a bit of a headache finding the first chapter, then navigating to the second. Is there a trick for the lazy? Some table of contents page somewhere?
alexanderg Posted June 7, 2014 Author Posted June 7, 2014 I'm delighted to see some subscribers here! As for The Odessia, the easiest would be to download the Google Doc. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ymCkQCBqimkE7OX27LBCccZABAeFZUNKlTb4wbu8bnU/edit#bookmark=id.gjdgxs
PatrickC Posted June 7, 2014 Posted June 7, 2014 Ah Alexander (Critical G), why am I not surprised. What a great introduction and welcome to the boards. EDIT - Ahem, technically 30 now I hear..
thelizardking52 Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 Welcome Alexander. I'll have to check out your youtube channel sometime.
alexanderg Posted June 10, 2014 Author Posted June 10, 2014 Ah Alexander (Critical G), why am I not surprised. What a great introduction and welcome to the boards. EDIT - Ahem, technically 30 now I hear.. Yes, 30 -- I'll amend it! Are you going to the FDR meetup on Thursday?
PatrickC Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 Yes, 30 -- I'll amend it! Are you going to the FDR meetup on Thursday? Yea, just kidding with you, you were of course 29 at the time of posting. No, I wasn't aware of any meetup this Thursday. Is it reasonably local for me in London? Or is this a Melbourne event perhaps. That said, I have organised a Skype call for those tentatively interested in meeting up in the UK for this Sunday. Excuse my blatant marketing here. https://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/39956-a-google-or-skype-hangout-for-those-interested-in-meeting-before-any-plannned-events/
alexanderg Posted June 11, 2014 Author Posted June 11, 2014 Yea, just kidding with you, you were of course 29 at the time of posting. No, I wasn't aware of any meetup this Thursday. Is it reasonably local for me in London? Or is this a Melbourne event perhaps. That said, I have organised a Skype call for those tentatively interested in meeting up in the UK for this Sunday. Excuse my blatant marketing here. https://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/39956-a-google-or-skype-hangout-for-those-interested-in-meeting-before-any-plannned-events/ It'll be at a bar in Melbourne, so it'll be strictly a local event, but feel free to market as blatantly as you like
Recommended Posts