#Arkhaven INFOGALACTIC #Castalia House
“Mark Skelton – Art Director – has quit CIG.”
In case you didn’t know who that is, Mark Skelton was, until now, the Art Director for Star Citizen. I also understand that at least one top-level suit will be announcing a similar departure soon.
But don’t worry. There is always Elite Dangerous. To say nothing of what looks like the incredibly exciting Goats In Space.
It’s not the plot of a new gay teen drama on Nickelodeon, it’s merely Caleb Q. Washington explaining the intergenerational conflict within the Right:
Liberal Fascism attacked left-wing identity in its very title and cover. It was an attack that demanded rebuttal by the left. In effect, it benefited from the forces which people like Milo Yiannopoulos and, dare I say it, Donald Trump, have explicitly made use of for their advantage.
If The Tyranny of Cliches had been re-titled, and I’m just spit-balling here, “The Left’s Biggest Lies” with a cartoon of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama dressed as Pinocchio, it might have been more of a success.
Milo Yiannopoulos, on the other hand, has risen to prominence (eclipsing Goldberg’s Twitter follower count this spring) by harnessing these very same forces to his benefit. Milo first came to my attention when he dropped the first supportive piece on GamerGate from any well-known news outlet.
The political genius of this was entirely lost on the rest of the right. Becoming the champion of gamers against the worst elements of the left, he forced people on the left to defend their most despicable elements, stay silent, or join him. It forced the left to fight on its own turf.
He’s done the same thing with the zaniness on college campuses. With his speaking tour, Milo has repeatedly stirred controversy. This has led to forcing people on the left to distance itself from the worst of the craziness in a way no other conservative has done.
Milo has reaped huge dividends from this strategy, both as a proponent for the right, and personally.
So, why is there conflict?
The simple answer is that Jonah and Milo are avatars for each side of the generational schism on the right. While not an old man himself, Jonah is their representative. The old men on the right seek to hold the line in a conflict of attrition with the left over disputed ground. The young men seek to fight on what the left thought was safe turf.
This brings us to the specific conflict today.
There are two groups of people on the right Jonah, and the rest of the old men revile. The first are agitators who knowingly say extreme things aimed to upset the old men. They are getting trolled, and are looking bad as a result. The whole point of the activity is to make the old men angry, and in their anger for them to act in a way that turns people off from them. It’s a classical rhetorical move explained by Aristotle. They seek to inspire anger in their targets and succeed. The other group are simply people who take a more extreme right-wing view than is considered socially acceptable.
The old men and Jonah Goldberg hate these people more than they hate the left, as they seek a monopoly of right wing though, and Milo Yiannopoulos has no interest in condemning them. He even delivers apologia for them.
This also explains why I am on Milo’s side, despite being of an age with Jonah. Now, I actually like Jonah. I understand him, and I think his Liberal Fascism was a very good and important book. I even paid homage to it with the cover of SJWs Always Lie.
But being an editor at National Review, Jonah has always been allied with the Old Men of National Review, while I have always been Too Extreme for them despite being identified as the most talented right-wing columnist of my generation by Universal Press Syndicate and being signed as a prospective replacement for William F. Buckley by them.
And wow, did that ever fail!
I am middle-aged, but being a game designer, my heart is with the brash young gamers of #GamerGate, not the aging cuckservatives of National Review. I don’t pretend to be with it – I have no idea what the equivalent of early techno in the 1990s might be these days – and considering how long it took me to recover from an intra-club scrimmage with the prima squadra and having to defend 19-year-old wingers, I am VERY aware of my age these days.
But Jonah, Rod Lowry, Rod Dreher, and other 40-somethings need to realize that we are no longer the Young Turks of the Right, and it is time to either get with the #AltRight and support the up-and-coming new guys or wander off into the pastures of political irrelevance.
MidAmericaCon II refuses to include a Hugo-nominated work in the Hugo Packet:
As the World Science Fiction Convention, MidAmeriCon II has members from 35 countries. Safe Space as Rape Room quotes extensively from a written work containing explicit descriptions of children engaged in sexual activities. This material may be illegal in some home countries of members. MidAmeriCon II does not wish to put any member at risk of inadvertently violating the law in their country of residence by downloading it in the packet without intent. As such, under legal advice, we are not hosting or distributing this material directly.
The “written work” referred to in the above is the novel Hogg, by the SFWA’s Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Samuel R. Delany.
The WorldCon convention has also issued at least two other “warning labels” to two other Hugo-nominated works in the packet, one a Best Related Work by Moira Greyland, the other a Best Short Story by Chuck Tingle.
Speaking of Pink SF, now that John Scalzi’s new book has been announced, it’s time to congratulate everyone who had “Isaac Asimov”. I’m sure we all look forward to reading the adventures of Eli Seldom and her psychic predictions of how the Galactic Empire would collapse as a result of interplanetary menstrual synchronization.
Given that I’m plugging away at the sequel, it’s encouraging to see that people are still discovering, reading, and enjoying A Throne of Bones. A book review by the Witchfinder General:
‘A Throne of Bones’ is superior and intelligent fantasy. It is like a novelisation of ‘Julius Caesar’, with a serious tone and detailed exposition – then with the acid trip of high fantasy. Where it differs from the works of the bard to Vox’s detriment is that this is not tabloid entertainment. Shakespeare is remembered precisely because he was producing the tabloid mass market entertainment of his day. Being considered vulgar by the so-called great and good did not stop the masses flocking to his plays.
‘A Throne of Bones’ has the sophistication but not perhaps the populist appeal. Intelligent, educated people who enjoy fantasy may appreciate the detailed rendering of ancient pseudo-Rome and the classical references. That will certainly stand him in good stead in parts of the fantasy niche market but does not have the sales reach of Mills and Boon or Conan the Barbarian.
Even so the writing is clear and sharp. There is no problem here with quality, exposition or characterisation. A strength of Vox’s writing is to create a cast of believable characters each with their own strengths and flaws, goals, passions and fears.
Despite its intellectual depth Vox’s work certainly appeals more than the loathesome, deathly dull cookie-cutter work of his rivals in which historical accuracy and human nature are often cast aside to match the narrative. Many people would rather read ‘Summa Elvetica’ fifty times over than have to struggle through ‘The Subtle Knife’ by Philip Pullman.
Indeed, to some extent Vox appears to benefit from the relatively unique political and religious perspectives of his work. The historic depth and reach of fantasy unconstrained by the politics of identity is (as Vox himself has argued) a rarity amidst the modern staple of virtue signalling fantasy fiction.
It’s going to be interesting to see what the reaction to A Sea of Skulls will be later this year. I think I can safely say that the cultures are deeper, the action is more intense, and there is less coming-of-age and more philosophy. But then, the author is seldom a reliable judge of his own work.
What I can say is that there will be orc, elf, and dwarf perspective characters in addition to the human ones. And I will also note that I am very conscious of the problem George RR Martin created for himself by allowing his perspective characters to grow from 9 to 22.
Ace of Spades wonders if #NeverTrump “conservatives” were always just Democrats all along:
Please explain to me the continuing hardcore commitment to #NeverTrump.
Is it…
1. Disliking the fact that the Upper Middle College Educated Class controlled the party for decades, and made a sport of ignoring the Working Class, but now the Working Class has reasserted itself and taken over and the members of the displaced Upper Middle College Educated Class just can’t stand not being in a poll position any longer?
2. Showing off to one’s liberal comrades that one isn’t One Of That Kind of Conservative? That is, Virtue Signalling?
3. Attempting to save one’s professional reputation? I get this one myself — someone asked me why I was so anti-Trump, and I said the man was so vulgar, stupid, and crass that he made it necessary to oppose him simply to preserve one’s professional standing.
So I get that idea. I get that idea an awful lot.
But we happen to be talking about the Republic at this point.
One of two people will be president in January — Hillary Rodham Clinton, a sociopath who was a corrupt politician even before she entered politics (remember Whitewater? Her $100,000 cattles future trading) or Donald Trump.
What is the fear, here? That Donald Trump might be nearly as bad as Hillary Clinton certainly will be?
Name one issue on which Hillary Clinton is superior to Trump. The most I ever here is “We don’t know what Trump will do, he could be just as bad as Hillary.”
Oh? He could be that bad?
Look, Drew asked a while ago: What makes obviously liberal-cultural-values Republicans actually Republicans, apart from habit?
Maybe it’s time for the great re-sorting to begin. It’s time for actual Democrats, who are most comfortable with Democrats, and feel the most affinity for Democrats, to make their party allegiance official and simply declare for Hillary Clinton and join the Democratic Party…. all around me I see people who are far too over-proud of their Upper Middle Class Background willing to elect Hillary Clinton just to prove they graduated (or at least attended) college.
No one who votes for Hillary Clinton – or who voted for Barack Obama – can reasonably call themselves “conservative”. What, precisely, do you think you are conserving?
Donald Trump officially has enough delegates to become the Republican nominee:
It’s official – Trump reaches the magic number of Republican delegates to clinch nomination. Donald Trump now has 1,238 delegates in the latest Associated Press tally of primary results and the intentions of the other party delegates. Trump was put over the top in the Associated Press delegate count by a small number of the party’s unbound delegates who told the AP they would support him at the convention.
This tweet illustrates SJW posturing, incivility, and ignorance in a nutshell:
Supreme Dark Lord @voxday
The #cuckservative is Saruman. He counsels surrender and submission to Mordor because he despairs. The #AltRight are the Men of the West.Richard GadsdIN R@po8c
*headdesk* Even granting the racist his premise, that’s Denethor, not Saruman.
He’s completely wrong. Denethor despairs, to be sure, but even in his despair he neither surrenders nor submits to Mordor. You do recall the grand scene when Denethor ends the siege of Gondor by opening the gates to the army of the Witch King, right? Of course you don’t, because it never happened.
Denethor despairs and commits suicide. Saruman, on the other hand, despairs, submits, and surrenders to Sauron, with the idea that by doing so, he can eventually achieve some level of influence over Sauron. Consider his address to Gandalf, after revealing himself to be Saruman of Many Colors:
“A new Power is rising. Against it the old allies and policies will not avail us at all. There is no hope left in Elves or dying Numenor. This then is one choice before you, before us. We may join with that Power. It would be wise, Gandalf. There is hope that way. Its victory is at hand and there will be rich reward for those that aided it. As the Power grows, its proved friends will also grow; and the Wise, such as you and I, may with patience come at last to direct its courses, to control it. We can bide our time, we can keep our thoughts in our hearts, deploring maybe evils done by the way, but approving the high and ultimate purpose: Knowledge, Rule, Order; all the things that we have so far striven in vain to accomplish, hindered rather than helped by our weak or idle friends.”
Kunae @Kinslaughterer
It’s worse: Saurman, after preaching moderation, turns on his erstwhile allies and attacks them with words, then armies.
In other words, I was correct. Saruman is a true cuckservative.
The #AltRight will never join with that Power. We are the Men of the West and we will neither bow to Mordor nor listen to the mouths of its emissaries sent out to deceive the ignorant.
UPDATE: Give Richard some credit. Unlike many, he can admit when he is wrong.
Richard GadsdIN @po8crg
I’ve read your blogpost and I owe you an apology. I’d forgotten the post-Helm’s Deep stuff and you were right.
I’m not going to say there is absolutely no chance I will get something wrong about The Lord of the Rings, but let’s just say the odds are very, very, very low considering how many times I have read the books over the years. As a general rule, if it is a) Tolkien, b) economic theory, or c) computer games from 1980 to 2000, think twice, then think again before you call me out on what you think is an error.
Peter Thiel was fundamental to dealing Gawker what appears to be its death blow:
Billionaire Peter Thiel, PayPal cofounder and early investor in Facebook, called financing the $150 million crushing lawsuit against Gawker filed by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan “one of my greater philanthropic things that I’ve done” in a revealing interview Wednesday.
“I saw Gawker pioneer a unique and incredibly damaging way of getting attention by bullying people even when there was no connection with the public interest,” he told the New York Times, telling them it was “less about revenge and more about specific deterrence.”
This is first interview Thiel has granted after it was revealed that he had helped fund former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against the gossip blog for posting a secretly-recorded sex tape. While a Florida jury originally rewarded Hogan with $115 million in March, the amount has since climbed by the tens of millions in further damages from Gawker Media and founder Nick Denton.
It’s pretty incredible. He spent $10 million in order to take down Gawker. Reprisals are good. Deterrence is even better. If you’re on Twitter, express your appreciation by using the #thankyoupeter hashtag.
Even Rod Dreher, among the cuckiest of cuckservatives, sees that civilization’s hope rests upon the Alt Right.
Middle-class male culture, at least white male culture, doesn’t know how to nurture a healthy masculinity. The middle-class white American church certainly doesn’t. Eventually, the provocations of Social Justice Warriors, especially when they are race-based, is going to empower the militant whites, especially those drawn to pagan masculinity, and they are going to do what the rest of us would not do: Fight. This, because the best — that is, those who want peace, civility, and tolerance — lack all conviction to defend the conditions under which we can have those things against their enemies.
Trump is a vulgar, crass, alpha-male brute. But he doesn’t care what SJWs and liberals say about him. He fights, and sometimes fights as dirty as they do. That’s not nothing. White liberal middle-class society and many bourgeois conservatives have demonized within themselves, collectively and individually, the instinct that would have given them the strength to fight civilization’s enemies on the Left and on the Right.
Forget the cucks, forget the Churchians, forget the equalitarians, forget the Constitutionalists, forget the conservatives, forget the nice people, and forget the tolerant. They are worse than useless; they are the Sarumans who counsel submission and surrender due to their lack of courage and their fear of being called bad things.
The answer to this racist SJW garbage is not to embrace white supremacy! But without a forceful, effective, unambivalent response to the unhinged militant left, sooner or later the forces of white supremacy are going to organize the dispossessed, demoralized, chaotic white rabble, and the SJWs, as well as the Washington elites, aren’t going to know what hit them. God knows I’m not saying I want this to happen, but I think it probably will happen if we continue on this current trajectory. Slouching rough beasts and all that. It’s Weimar America.
The answer isn’t white supremacy because white supremacy simply isn’t true. Whites are not superior, but whites are the only tribe willing and able to maintain Western civilization because they are the only tribe that truly values it. The answer for those who support Western civilization, regardless of sex, color, or religion, is to embrace white tribalism, white separatism, and especially white Christian masculine rule.
Detroit is what happens when white rule is abandoned. The migrant invasion of Europe is what happens when masculine rule is abandoned. And the EU is what happens when Christian rule is abandoned.
The other tribes have been playing “who, whom” for decades. It is time for whites to understand that the rules have changed and begin playing accordingly.
But don’t get too carried away by Dreher’s post. He’s still a cuck. “I would much rather my kids marry Ethiopians who were believing Orthodox Christians than marry fellow white people who aren’t. I really mean that.”
I believe he does. And that’s why he is still a dyscivilizationist.
Donald Trump understands how Mexico remains Mexico, but most of the people who think he’s stupid don’t.
Anti-Americanism is the oldest Mexican political tradition for the understandable reason that the “Colossus of the North,” which has reduced so many Central American countries to banana republics, is naturally perceived as a threat to continued rule by Mexico’s elites. It’s not just aggression that worries Mexico’s top dogs, but the greater all-around competence of American culture.
While President Carranza a century ago pondered Germany’s offer in the Zimmermann telegram of “generous financial support…to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona,” more recent regimes have preferred a passive-aggressive response to America’s dominance. Mexican politicians lack the stubborn audacity of Fidel Castro.
Mexico, with its superb real estate (much of the country is at high enough altitude to enjoy a mild climate), is vulnerable to Americans simply inundating the place in pursuit of retirement and vacation homes. It always made more practical sense for American baby boomers desirous of cheap servants to retire to Mexico than to import millions of Mexicans into America.
But that largely hasn’t happened because life in Mexico isn’t attractive enough to many Americans.
In a book a half decade ago, Castañeda offered a long list of reforms that would make Mexico more appealing to American retirees, from lifting the ban on foreigners buying beachfront property to installing more traffic signals to make crossing the street less harrowing.
Most important, he asked that Mexicans stop referring to Americans with the ethnic slur “gringos.” Americans don’t care about Mexican anti-Americanism, but, Castañeda pointed out, the epithet discourages Mexicans from learning from Americans how to better run their country.
Castañeda’s recommendations weren’t very popular at home, however.
Instead, Mexicans have largely forestalled the potential American influx by keeping Mexico cruddy. Their inept infrastructure, pollution, noise, and high accident rates have gotten across the message that while Mexico is an okay place to visit, you wouldn’t want to live there.
The most striking symbol of this is the continuing confusion over whether or not it’s safe to drink the water in Mexico (roughly a century after the U.S. achieved safe municipal drinking water).
Of course, Mexicans themselves pay a huge price for their various manifestations of public incompetence. For instance, Mexicans drink more bottled water than anybody else in the world, 234 liters per person annually, more than double what even rich Americans consume.
All this is a price they appear willing to pay. Why? Because Mexicans like having their own country.
I once asked a Swiss banker why Switzerland was so ludicrously expensive. He smiled and said, “it’s the easiest way to keep people out”. Mexico utilizes a similar strategy, only their goal is to keep Anglo-Americans out, which is best accomplished by keeping the place dirty and disorganized.
Note that they treat immigrants from the south very, very differently, since people from Central and South America are not dissuaded by the chaos.