beiser
Well-known member
so much has been written about the religious right that it seems almost unfair to go deeper on the topic. I think the key thing to realize is that these are the people who have out-organized and built a stronger coalition than the mainstream institutions. The American east coast, which is essentially the governing body for all the "respectable" parts of the state, has all the inherited belief in existing institutions and systems that Europe has, but none of the institutional memory required to keep things running. Eurocrats at least believe something, I think.
And then the leftists are also imagining up novel ideological hellscapes.
And then there's California. I've heard stories at parties from venture capitalists that are so absurd I could never write theory fiction; what is "fake" is so much less absurd than what is real that I could never hope to parody it. There are grifters all over; I know a woman who once worked as a hired tutor for a billionaire's kids, who has transitioned to a neo-fascist account (notably, not a Trumpist), which combines in a voice of pure terror the politics of the far right with the whiny self-importance of the identitarian left. Billionaires flit around in conspiracies of silence—hedonism, omerta, lots of hallucinogens and ritual practices, occasional violations of SEC guidelines. They're sharp, but the most distinctive thing about them is how quickly they can multiply very large numbers together. Secrets are easy to keep, at least out of the public eye. Magazines run by "operatives," domestic propaganda outlets, writing about urban planning, meme accounts that turn into centers of libidinal interest for entire industries. Con-men who become legitimate by accident. The problem with europe, of course, is that nobody wants anything badly enough.
And then the leftists are also imagining up novel ideological hellscapes.
And then there's California. I've heard stories at parties from venture capitalists that are so absurd I could never write theory fiction; what is "fake" is so much less absurd than what is real that I could never hope to parody it. There are grifters all over; I know a woman who once worked as a hired tutor for a billionaire's kids, who has transitioned to a neo-fascist account (notably, not a Trumpist), which combines in a voice of pure terror the politics of the far right with the whiny self-importance of the identitarian left. Billionaires flit around in conspiracies of silence—hedonism, omerta, lots of hallucinogens and ritual practices, occasional violations of SEC guidelines. They're sharp, but the most distinctive thing about them is how quickly they can multiply very large numbers together. Secrets are easy to keep, at least out of the public eye. Magazines run by "operatives," domestic propaganda outlets, writing about urban planning, meme accounts that turn into centers of libidinal interest for entire industries. Con-men who become legitimate by accident. The problem with europe, of course, is that nobody wants anything badly enough.