As info trickles out about Tyler Robinson I'm seeing a lot of new questions. Whatever the guy's motive his was not a typical leftwing background. His father was a former sheriff and is a current minister-- I don't know what church (probably not LDS since their leaders are called Elders and Bishops). He appears to have a fairly fanatical gamer and the symbols on some of the bullet casings have been identified as being from a fairly violent shoot-em-up game called Helldiver2. So far I have seen almost no mention of a mother (except her name) or of siblings. Nor of any girlfriend (or boyfriend) past or present. He registered as a non-partisan voter but apparently has not voted. No hint of a past of mental illness, though that could come out later. Also no hint of where he came by his marksmanship skills. He was in an electrical engineering apprenticeship program (after a single pre-engineering semester at a university). He appears to have been in contact (via Discord) with someone who messaged him about the rifle he used.
"As they did with George Floyd’s killing, there should be an expectation that the institutions of society collectively act to shut down behaviors that create a fertile climate for this sort of thing."
Did you mean there was a fertile climate for police slayings prior to Floyd's death? Or that there was an effective institutional response to it? Not sure if you've elaborated on this elsewhere.
What I mean is, after George Floyd, every institution in America was expected to do something. My expectation is that they will do something in response to this as well.
My two cents: On Charlie Kirk I agree that conservatives need to refrain from making threats, but my personal disposition and I suspect that of a lot of other people is that whatever remaining grace I was willing to grant the left is gone. They simply need to be defeated as thoroughly as possible and I am more willing than ever to lend my time and money to that.
On the Gen Z divide this is interesting *but* it's easy to say one thing when polled when real life's incentives may steer you in a different direction. The low priority these women have on having kids is disturbing, but I suspect that softens quite a bit once they are in a relationship that appears to be significant. At the end of the day, there is a finite pool of potential mates for these young women and it overwhelmingly consists of young men who want a family. Women will give these men what they want for the sake of a long term relationship, and deep down most of these ladies will discover it's what they wanted, too.
Good post about Charlie Kirk. As Christians, we need to remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Ephesians 2 reminds us that we were objects of wrath like the rest of humanity, but God is rich in mercy toward us. Likewise, 2 Tim 2:24-25 reminds us that we ought to remember that we once walked in the same folly of thinking. This is not an occasion of arrogance toward the world but of care and pity for the way the world thinks.
I didn't follow Charlie a lot, but I would see some of his videos on Facebook. One thing I really appreciated about him was how uncompromising he was about the evil underlying worldly assumptions about humanity, but how his genuine respect toward those lost in such beliefs was. Very often, people think they need to choose between the two.
Love the story about "Philies Karen". I feel bad for people named Karen. Apparently, in Europe, being called a Kevin has a similarly derisive connotation.
There is a realization here that a lot of people in this country would have me murdered in front of my children for speaking my beliefs. I might be less Trumpy than Kirk but I’m not exactly to his left. But that also goes with the territory here. I’m angry, but more sad than angry.
As for Karens, I’ve only ever known sweet and kind women named Karen, so I always hated this meme and discourage people from using that term.
But in this specific case, it’s rather comical that the whole Karen thing started with this exact haircut. She couldn’t be a more perfect exemplar of the meme if she tried.
“ again see people on the right posting things to the effect that, “We can’t live with these people.” Well, you do live with them. And they live with you. And that’s not likely to change. So we have to find a way to live together.”
Well, I mean they’re being reasonable so far, I’m sure they’re open to suggestions.
Unfortunately I can't read the Financial Times article due to the paywall. But I'd be inclined to disagree with the one sentence you quote: “Whereas traditional media catered to a range of views, with moderate positions well-represented, extreme views — of both left and right — are heavily over-represented on social media.” I think just the opposite is true: traditional media over-represented moderate positions, whereas social media allows for representation of viewpoints in closer proportion to their actual share of the population.
Thirty years ago, the range of views represented in the media ranged from, say, Russ Feingold on the left to, perhaps, Newt Gingrich on the right. That left lots of people to the left of Feingold or to the right of Gingrich without any voice.
Fully one-fifth of Americans are in the most extreme deciles (Ieftmost 10% and rightmost 10%) of the political spectrum. Thirty years ago, the media wouldn't have given voice to their views at all. Now, even if those people combine to generate one-fifth of all political content on social media, they're simply speaking in proportion to their numbers.
Yep, the stupid new deal forced consensus shut out a lot of voices. Now those voices dont have to be silenced and be told to shut up by new deal "elitists".
Trump should finally do what he should have done with blm. Declare blm and antifa domestic terrorism, use Rico and crush the democrat paramilitary wing along with the illegal wing once and for all.
As a Landlord I've seen dozens of credit reports from young single women who want to rent one of my units.
The scores are terrible--usually the low 600s or worse. Mostly it's due to student loan debt. I've seen women who are in occupations with a hard cap on what they can earn--i.e. healthcare or public education--with $60k to $100k of student loan debt, not to mention car loans (always small new Korean or Japanese cars--presumably because they're afraid of having an older car that might break down on a dark road). Apparently, they're getting terrible advice, but they're also being set up and fleeced by the system. To get the jobs they want they have to be certified and certification often requires a college degree they can't afford.
Their happiness and emotional security are at odds with their priorities listed in chart above.
As info trickles out about Tyler Robinson I'm seeing a lot of new questions. Whatever the guy's motive his was not a typical leftwing background. His father was a former sheriff and is a current minister-- I don't know what church (probably not LDS since their leaders are called Elders and Bishops). He appears to have a fairly fanatical gamer and the symbols on some of the bullet casings have been identified as being from a fairly violent shoot-em-up game called Helldiver2. So far I have seen almost no mention of a mother (except her name) or of siblings. Nor of any girlfriend (or boyfriend) past or present. He registered as a non-partisan voter but apparently has not voted. No hint of a past of mental illness, though that could come out later. Also no hint of where he came by his marksmanship skills. He was in an electrical engineering apprenticeship program (after a single pre-engineering semester at a university). He appears to have been in contact (via Discord) with someone who messaged him about the rifle he used.
Aaron, what did you mean by this?
"As they did with George Floyd’s killing, there should be an expectation that the institutions of society collectively act to shut down behaviors that create a fertile climate for this sort of thing."
Did you mean there was a fertile climate for police slayings prior to Floyd's death? Or that there was an effective institutional response to it? Not sure if you've elaborated on this elsewhere.
What I mean is, after George Floyd, every institution in America was expected to do something. My expectation is that they will do something in response to this as well.
Thanks, makes perfect sense!
My two cents: On Charlie Kirk I agree that conservatives need to refrain from making threats, but my personal disposition and I suspect that of a lot of other people is that whatever remaining grace I was willing to grant the left is gone. They simply need to be defeated as thoroughly as possible and I am more willing than ever to lend my time and money to that.
On the Gen Z divide this is interesting *but* it's easy to say one thing when polled when real life's incentives may steer you in a different direction. The low priority these women have on having kids is disturbing, but I suspect that softens quite a bit once they are in a relationship that appears to be significant. At the end of the day, there is a finite pool of potential mates for these young women and it overwhelmingly consists of young men who want a family. Women will give these men what they want for the sake of a long term relationship, and deep down most of these ladies will discover it's what they wanted, too.
Good post about Charlie Kirk. As Christians, we need to remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Ephesians 2 reminds us that we were objects of wrath like the rest of humanity, but God is rich in mercy toward us. Likewise, 2 Tim 2:24-25 reminds us that we ought to remember that we once walked in the same folly of thinking. This is not an occasion of arrogance toward the world but of care and pity for the way the world thinks.
I didn't follow Charlie a lot, but I would see some of his videos on Facebook. One thing I really appreciated about him was how uncompromising he was about the evil underlying worldly assumptions about humanity, but how his genuine respect toward those lost in such beliefs was. Very often, people think they need to choose between the two.
Love the story about "Philies Karen". I feel bad for people named Karen. Apparently, in Europe, being called a Kevin has a similarly derisive connotation.
Well said.
There is a realization here that a lot of people in this country would have me murdered in front of my children for speaking my beliefs. I might be less Trumpy than Kirk but I’m not exactly to his left. But that also goes with the territory here. I’m angry, but more sad than angry.
As for Karens, I’ve only ever known sweet and kind women named Karen, so I always hated this meme and discourage people from using that term.
But in this specific case, it’s rather comical that the whole Karen thing started with this exact haircut. She couldn’t be a more perfect exemplar of the meme if she tried.
I wish there was a Laugh emoji...
“ again see people on the right posting things to the effect that, “We can’t live with these people.” Well, you do live with them. And they live with you. And that’s not likely to change. So we have to find a way to live together.”
Well, I mean they’re being reasonable so far, I’m sure they’re open to suggestions.
Unfortunately I can't read the Financial Times article due to the paywall. But I'd be inclined to disagree with the one sentence you quote: “Whereas traditional media catered to a range of views, with moderate positions well-represented, extreme views — of both left and right — are heavily over-represented on social media.” I think just the opposite is true: traditional media over-represented moderate positions, whereas social media allows for representation of viewpoints in closer proportion to their actual share of the population.
Thirty years ago, the range of views represented in the media ranged from, say, Russ Feingold on the left to, perhaps, Newt Gingrich on the right. That left lots of people to the left of Feingold or to the right of Gingrich without any voice.
Fully one-fifth of Americans are in the most extreme deciles (Ieftmost 10% and rightmost 10%) of the political spectrum. Thirty years ago, the media wouldn't have given voice to their views at all. Now, even if those people combine to generate one-fifth of all political content on social media, they're simply speaking in proportion to their numbers.
Yep, the stupid new deal forced consensus shut out a lot of voices. Now those voices dont have to be silenced and be told to shut up by new deal "elitists".
Trump should finally do what he should have done with blm. Declare blm and antifa domestic terrorism, use Rico and crush the democrat paramilitary wing along with the illegal wing once and for all.
As a Landlord I've seen dozens of credit reports from young single women who want to rent one of my units.
The scores are terrible--usually the low 600s or worse. Mostly it's due to student loan debt. I've seen women who are in occupations with a hard cap on what they can earn--i.e. healthcare or public education--with $60k to $100k of student loan debt, not to mention car loans (always small new Korean or Japanese cars--presumably because they're afraid of having an older car that might break down on a dark road). Apparently, they're getting terrible advice, but they're also being set up and fleeced by the system. To get the jobs they want they have to be certified and certification often requires a college degree they can't afford.
Their happiness and emotional security are at odds with their priorities listed in chart above.