"...people who do TRULY BELIEVE in their stands (even wrong ones!), and who actually THEMSELVES live as they preach, earn much more respect from me..."
Absolutely. And consider that those woke leftists are few and far between. The vast majority are lying hypocrites.
Alex, you are a very good writer. You’re absolutely right about so many things. I have to say this, your Substack blog really stands out from the rest. It’s unique. And in this essay in particular, you are on target.
I’m a psychiatrist, so I’m speaking professionally in what I have to say below. Because every psychiatrist is in a sense also a sociologist. Thanks for your excellent Substack blog!
Your comments here remind me of something that I feel, which is that there is nothing in the world that I hate more than superficiality. And this is what you are describing: the superficiality of the liberal narcissist.
Superficiality is a characteristic of liberalism, or what I would prefer to call “pseudo liberalism” in order to distinguish it from the classical liberalism of the 19th century, which is what created the best aspects of our modern capitalist and democratic world. Democracy is liberal. And so is capitalism, and that is something that every pseudo-liberal does not understand. Every conservative or almost every conservative is essentially a classical liberal. In fact, we are the true liberals! Many of us have had to ally ourselves with conservativism not because we are natural conservatives, but because we are true liberals with nowhere else to go! Because the people calling themselves liberals and progressives are actually communists. And they don’t even understand that about themselves. They have convinced themselves that they are “intelligent,” but in fact, they are too fucking dumb to even see what they really are.
Many of the best of them wind up eventually becoming “conservative” because they see the light.
While I’m at it, and I’ve made this kind of comment before on your Substack site, in my opinion there really are two different different kinds of “fascism.” There is the fascism of the extreme right, but there is also the fascism of the extreme left. The “red fascists.” And that is what we are dealing with, and they are especially dangerous because they don’t understand that this is what they are! And that’s because of their superficiality and narcissism!
And when it comes to aggression: there is nothing on earth, more aggressive than a red fascist. They are far more difficult to defeat than the classic right wing fascist. One of the reasons for that is that the right wing fascist, who we could call a “black fascist” to contrast them with the red fascists, usually will tell you out loud what they are and what they plan to do. But red fascists are expert and highly intelligent liars. The black fascists like the Nazis and the Japanese imperialists, were difficult to defeat. But not as difficult as defeating communism. And the statistics show that the communists have killed the farm people, including their own citizens, the black fascists ever did.
Communism is a lot like a cancer. Right wing fascism is like a heart attack. It’s simple, obvious, and quick. But cancer spreads and metastasizes, sometimes so slowly that often you don’t even know you have it until it’s too late.
I have to tell you also that as a psychiatrist who treats both adults and children, what I have seen often is something similar to some of the things you describe in your essay here: the pseudo liberal talks about how much they care about everyone, but in my observation often (of course not always) terrible, neglectful parents. And this is in striking contrast to the classical conservative family, which tends to be very family oriented. Of course conservative parenting has its downsides: it’s strict, it’s controlling, it’s authoritarian. But the conservative parent tends to be very heavily involved in his child’s life.
And when it comes to authoritarianism, there is no one who is more authoritarian than the red fascist. They make the regular old right wing fascists look like libertarians, liberals!
I believe that much of what governance political behavior is at its steepest level, simply anxiety. Anxiety that then gets transformed into rage and a desire to control everything. This is pseudo liberalism: fear of everything and a maniacal desire to try to control everything in order to control the fear.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).” -Mark Twain
I would say also that their “entitled” attitude is also actually a sign of their authoritarianism. They feel that they should be making all the decisions, and they also feel so convinced of the rightfulness of their views that they feel that justifies their being in charge of the rest of us “deplorables,”, and they are determined to achieve that end either democratically or otherwise. To them, the goal justifies any means. So does that sound liberal? No!
“But true goodness does NOT like publicity though. Good people help for the sake of helping, NO receiving accolades for their help.”
So true! Of course this is typical of people who believe in God. But of course, it can also be true of any good person: any person who actually has a deeper, less superficial sense of themselves, the sense of having a “soul” or simply having contact with one’s inner, true self.
Thanks for your long and insightful comments, I do really appreciate it! I guess my Substack is unique because I always think for myself and don't subscribe to any ideology, while not so many people even on our side do, and that's why I stand out, and thanks, I appreciate that you noticed it.
Absolutely agreed with all of your points. I'm not a psychologist but have a keen interest in it and my therapist friends told me Im good at analyzing myself and other people lol psychologically. Also I agree that psychology can be used to explain sociology and even politics.
Very good distinction between red and black fascists too, and absolutely agreed that many people are becoming conservative now because they're true liberals, not ideologically conservative. For example I'm 100% true liberal and not ideologically conservative - I'm gay, not Christian but I'm free speech and human rights absolutist, and modern Woke Left had wandered so far away from both of it, that I had no choice but wander away from them.
You’re welcome and I’m glad you enjoy it. Yes, I guessed that you are a true liberal. So that might be one difference about you from some others. And yes, I think the reason your thinking and writing is so different and good is that you are psycho-sociologically insightful. There’s something different and unique about it. It’s more penetrating.
Thanks, I really appreciate it. Well, I believe you can't understand politics without understanding people, and I read some psychological books and took a small course on social psychology too as a part of my Master's.
I think that liberal and conservative are actually natural biological types. I think there are probably liberal and conservative animals! Libble and conservative squirrels! Bears! There’s lots of research to demonstrate that liberal and conservative in humans is at least partially inborn. So there is a psychological dimension because there is an inborn personality dimension, and you can see this sort of thing in animals. In fact, there are probably liberal and conservative amoebas! Some amoebas kind of stay in one place and just pulsate. Others spin across the microscopic field rapidly. Conservative and liberal! They both have their place! And I think that’s true in humans as well. It becomes pathological when liberals and conservatives think that they need to try to eliminate each other!
Politics is incredibly emotional! That alone is evidence that it has to do with psychology, personality!
It's virtue signaling. Putting a BLM flag on their front yard but they'd never go to a black area and say volunteer in a food pantry. Or wearing a mask to prevent you from getting a bogus virus.
Bogus virus sir —tell my best employee his brother died of a fake virus or another who lost his mother or another I loned a wheel chair to after being on a ventilator for two weeks and actually survived . Sir it is very real . I have another with the long term form who sees a doctor once a month to monitor continuing cognitive issues after having a mild case. . I’ve actually met educated people in Florida who believe the earth is flat because /// Jesus sents his deciles to the four corners of the earth and simple logic and geometry get you a flat 4 cornered sheet . They had no idea where the edge maybe or how to about traveling there but are you related perhaps ?
I’m very sorry for your loss. Most people died of the ventilator and/or the remdesivir, which according to studies causes organ failure and has a 56% mortality rate. It should never be used anywhere.
Thank you. Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my comment but I have intimate experiance with Covid and I fully believe in the vaccine. I’m aware of some risk. Breathing has risks but I do it because the alternative is far worse. The statistic and science are quite reliable but even my own daughter refuses because she and husband are part of a conservative church that discourages that vaccination . Thus I’m left having to protect them from me by being vaccinated many times now . I live in a world of facts , not conspiracy theories which is exactly what they are. Theories unproven and usually with out any evidence. Only an explanation that fits an outlook that all people are inherently liars or disceptive now and then . I do not think this I believe in personal responsibility and extent trust to all until proven wrong and if so make adjustments
"...people who do TRULY BELIEVE in their stands (even wrong ones!), and who actually THEMSELVES live as they preach, earn much more respect from me..."
Absolutely. And consider that those woke leftists are few and far between. The vast majority are lying hypocrites.
Exactly! Thanks for understanding!
If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe at all.
Noam Chomsky
Yes! When was the last time you saw anyone displaying a “Free Tibet!” Slogan?
Went to a Tibetan Freedom Concert in D.C. round about 1999 ish ...
Never?
Actually a few years ago I saw a befuddled leftist wearing a “Free Tibet” slogan - as well as his “Che lives!” T-shirt! 😆
Well, that actually was cool.
For chuckles on the subject , there's a Courtroom scene in John Waters' 1994 Film Serial Mom ...about recycling ... I'll say no more ...
Alex, you are a very good writer. You’re absolutely right about so many things. I have to say this, your Substack blog really stands out from the rest. It’s unique. And in this essay in particular, you are on target.
I’m a psychiatrist, so I’m speaking professionally in what I have to say below. Because every psychiatrist is in a sense also a sociologist. Thanks for your excellent Substack blog!
Your comments here remind me of something that I feel, which is that there is nothing in the world that I hate more than superficiality. And this is what you are describing: the superficiality of the liberal narcissist.
Superficiality is a characteristic of liberalism, or what I would prefer to call “pseudo liberalism” in order to distinguish it from the classical liberalism of the 19th century, which is what created the best aspects of our modern capitalist and democratic world. Democracy is liberal. And so is capitalism, and that is something that every pseudo-liberal does not understand. Every conservative or almost every conservative is essentially a classical liberal. In fact, we are the true liberals! Many of us have had to ally ourselves with conservativism not because we are natural conservatives, but because we are true liberals with nowhere else to go! Because the people calling themselves liberals and progressives are actually communists. And they don’t even understand that about themselves. They have convinced themselves that they are “intelligent,” but in fact, they are too fucking dumb to even see what they really are.
Many of the best of them wind up eventually becoming “conservative” because they see the light.
While I’m at it, and I’ve made this kind of comment before on your Substack site, in my opinion there really are two different different kinds of “fascism.” There is the fascism of the extreme right, but there is also the fascism of the extreme left. The “red fascists.” And that is what we are dealing with, and they are especially dangerous because they don’t understand that this is what they are! And that’s because of their superficiality and narcissism!
And when it comes to aggression: there is nothing on earth, more aggressive than a red fascist. They are far more difficult to defeat than the classic right wing fascist. One of the reasons for that is that the right wing fascist, who we could call a “black fascist” to contrast them with the red fascists, usually will tell you out loud what they are and what they plan to do. But red fascists are expert and highly intelligent liars. The black fascists like the Nazis and the Japanese imperialists, were difficult to defeat. But not as difficult as defeating communism. And the statistics show that the communists have killed the farm people, including their own citizens, the black fascists ever did.
Communism is a lot like a cancer. Right wing fascism is like a heart attack. It’s simple, obvious, and quick. But cancer spreads and metastasizes, sometimes so slowly that often you don’t even know you have it until it’s too late.
I have to tell you also that as a psychiatrist who treats both adults and children, what I have seen often is something similar to some of the things you describe in your essay here: the pseudo liberal talks about how much they care about everyone, but in my observation often (of course not always) terrible, neglectful parents. And this is in striking contrast to the classical conservative family, which tends to be very family oriented. Of course conservative parenting has its downsides: it’s strict, it’s controlling, it’s authoritarian. But the conservative parent tends to be very heavily involved in his child’s life.
And when it comes to authoritarianism, there is no one who is more authoritarian than the red fascist. They make the regular old right wing fascists look like libertarians, liberals!
I believe that much of what governance political behavior is at its steepest level, simply anxiety. Anxiety that then gets transformed into rage and a desire to control everything. This is pseudo liberalism: fear of everything and a maniacal desire to try to control everything in order to control the fear.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).” -Mark Twain
“Be good and you will be lonesome.“
-Mark Twain again, in “Following The Equator”
I would say also that their “entitled” attitude is also actually a sign of their authoritarianism. They feel that they should be making all the decisions, and they also feel so convinced of the rightfulness of their views that they feel that justifies their being in charge of the rest of us “deplorables,”, and they are determined to achieve that end either democratically or otherwise. To them, the goal justifies any means. So does that sound liberal? No!
“But true goodness does NOT like publicity though. Good people help for the sake of helping, NO receiving accolades for their help.”
So true! Of course this is typical of people who believe in God. But of course, it can also be true of any good person: any person who actually has a deeper, less superficial sense of themselves, the sense of having a “soul” or simply having contact with one’s inner, true self.
Thanks for your long and insightful comments, I do really appreciate it! I guess my Substack is unique because I always think for myself and don't subscribe to any ideology, while not so many people even on our side do, and that's why I stand out, and thanks, I appreciate that you noticed it.
Absolutely agreed with all of your points. I'm not a psychologist but have a keen interest in it and my therapist friends told me Im good at analyzing myself and other people lol psychologically. Also I agree that psychology can be used to explain sociology and even politics.
Very good distinction between red and black fascists too, and absolutely agreed that many people are becoming conservative now because they're true liberals, not ideologically conservative. For example I'm 100% true liberal and not ideologically conservative - I'm gay, not Christian but I'm free speech and human rights absolutist, and modern Woke Left had wandered so far away from both of it, that I had no choice but wander away from them.
You’re welcome and I’m glad you enjoy it. Yes, I guessed that you are a true liberal. So that might be one difference about you from some others. And yes, I think the reason your thinking and writing is so different and good is that you are psycho-sociologically insightful. There’s something different and unique about it. It’s more penetrating.
Thanks, I really appreciate it. Well, I believe you can't understand politics without understanding people, and I read some psychological books and took a small course on social psychology too as a part of my Master's.
I think your psychological ability is probably intuitive. Can’t really be learned that much from books.😊
I think that liberal and conservative are actually natural biological types. I think there are probably liberal and conservative animals! Libble and conservative squirrels! Bears! There’s lots of research to demonstrate that liberal and conservative in humans is at least partially inborn. So there is a psychological dimension because there is an inborn personality dimension, and you can see this sort of thing in animals. In fact, there are probably liberal and conservative amoebas! Some amoebas kind of stay in one place and just pulsate. Others spin across the microscopic field rapidly. Conservative and liberal! They both have their place! And I think that’s true in humans as well. It becomes pathological when liberals and conservatives think that they need to try to eliminate each other!
Politics is incredibly emotional! That alone is evidence that it has to do with psychology, personality!
Didn't think of liberal and conservative animals, you really believe so?
It's virtue signaling. Putting a BLM flag on their front yard but they'd never go to a black area and say volunteer in a food pantry. Or wearing a mask to prevent you from getting a bogus virus.
Bogus virus sir —tell my best employee his brother died of a fake virus or another who lost his mother or another I loned a wheel chair to after being on a ventilator for two weeks and actually survived . Sir it is very real . I have another with the long term form who sees a doctor once a month to monitor continuing cognitive issues after having a mild case. . I’ve actually met educated people in Florida who believe the earth is flat because /// Jesus sents his deciles to the four corners of the earth and simple logic and geometry get you a flat 4 cornered sheet . They had no idea where the edge maybe or how to about traveling there but are you related perhaps ?
I’m very sorry for your loss. Most people died of the ventilator and/or the remdesivir, which according to studies causes organ failure and has a 56% mortality rate. It should never be used anywhere.
Thank you. Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my comment but I have intimate experiance with Covid and I fully believe in the vaccine. I’m aware of some risk. Breathing has risks but I do it because the alternative is far worse. The statistic and science are quite reliable but even my own daughter refuses because she and husband are part of a conservative church that discourages that vaccination . Thus I’m left having to protect them from me by being vaccinated many times now . I live in a world of facts , not conspiracy theories which is exactly what they are. Theories unproven and usually with out any evidence. Only an explanation that fits an outlook that all people are inherently liars or disceptive now and then . I do not think this I believe in personal responsibility and extent trust to all until proven wrong and if so make adjustments