J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Category: Culture Rants/Shares Page 6 of 21

What Will the Structural Collapse (or Rebirth) of the United States Look Like?

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On November 14

In Culture Rants/Shares, Politics, Utopian Speculations

Let’s start the weekend with some gloom-and-doom, shall we?

First, Chris Hedges, a journalist who has been calling out the moral bankruptcy and pyramid-scheme economy of the United States for some time.

In this short film by Amanda Zackem, Hedges highlights the bread-and-circuses distractions of entertainment, consumerism, and digital media that distract U.S. citizens from the plutocratic consolidation of wealth and plundering of the state.

Next, let’s spend some time with Peter Turchin and his mathematical approach to “megahistory” in this excellent profile by Graeme Wood. Turchin, a Russian zoologist who turned his attention to the study of mathematical patterns in human history, famously predicted the unrest of 2020 back in 2010. Turchin believes he has uncovered iron laws of human societal evolution, cycles of unrest perpetuated by the “overproduction of elites.” In the United States, Turchin asserts that 1920, 1970, and 2020 are all points of major civil unrest on his 50-year historical cycle graph.

Peter Turchin hypothesizes that too many elites competing for too few elite positions leads to the creation of “counter-elites”: troublemakers who rise to power by allying with the non-elite classes. He gives Steve Bannon as an example of a counter-elite. Bannon was raised working-class, attended Harvard Business School, got rich via various investments and a small share of the Seinfeld television show, but only rose to power via his Breitbart race-baiting tactics.

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How to Deal with Your Whiteness

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On November 10

In Culture Rants/Shares, Politics

Trump was elected because of whites. He was almost reelected because of whites.

“Rural” voters supported Trump, as did “working class” voters. But those are codes for white rural voters and white working class voters. African-American rural and working class voters didn’t support Trump. Asian-American rural and working class voters didn’t support the “kung-flu” president either.

Trump ran on whiteness and was nearly reelected on whiteness. His language regarding the “greatness” of America was code for a white-dominated America protecting itself against non-white foreigners. Given multiple opportunities, he consistently refused to denounce white supremacy.

Despite his utter incompetence, open racism, misogyny, and catastrophic mishandling of the pandemic, Trump won the majority of the white vote. Again. Whites, as a group, failed to denounce Trump and all that he stands for.

White people, including white liberals such as myself who didn’t vote for Trump and spoke out against for him for four years, have a problem. And that problem is whiteness itself, and our stubborn, overly sensitive refusal to acknowledge and deal with it.

Triggered

Are you triggered, being referred to as part of the white voting bloc? I know I am. I want to be seen as an individual. I don’t want to take responsibility for the collective actions of my broad cultural category. Why should I? I didn’t vote for Trump. I hate the guy and everything he stands for.

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Nostalgia

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On August 28

In Culture Rants/Shares

Lately I’ve been taking a megatrip down memory lane over on the new Qoöl Instagram, sorting through the bazillions of snapshots taken from the heyday of my clubbing past life in the late 90’s and 2000’s.

Were we happier back then? Maybe, maybe not. I remember joyful nights and great friendships but also stressful times and some not-so-great decisions. Most of us (not everyone) made it through and are now thriving.

I used to regard nostalgia with suspicion, but I’ve revised my view. Part of that is just getting older and realizing that I have as much of my life behind me as in front of me (if I’m lucky). But looking back is important even for young people. Our identities are formed from our experiences, and if we don’t examine those experiences, we don’t understand ourselves. The past is just as important as the future.

And looking back is important for hope, especially now. We looked carefree because we were young, but also because the world wasn’t quite as on fire as it is now (here in California, literally). Those fires will burn themselves out, as will our current tyrannical government and the hatred, fear, and stupidity that consumes our nation.

Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Three Overlapping Problems: Racist Police, an Authoritarian Police State, a Complacent Citizenry

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On June 8

In Culture Rants/Shares

In recent weeks, police forces have brutally assaulted U.S. Black Lives Matter protestors in record numbers. Here are numerous graphic examples if you’ve somehow been unaware of this epidemic of unnecessary violence. Here’s a massive Twitter thread with more examples. Police have violently attacked peaceful protestors, bystanders, medics, and journalists in thousands of reported cases, many of which have gone viral on social media. The evidence is right there in front of us, for everyone to see. I’ve been trying to understand how we got here and what we can do about it.

If you’ve been paying any attention at all, you know we’ve been here a long time. Police brutality and the abuse of police power has been around longer than our republic.

In the recent BLM protests, cops are triggered by being called out about their historically abusive and racist behavior. In many cases, police have reacted with even more intensively abusive behavior, not only against peaceful Black protestors but against anyone who dares to criticize police behavior. Sure, cops are people too, just as stressed as the rest of us from the global pandemic, stressful working conditions, and whatever personal problems they might have. But what we’re seeing is highly reactionary and racist. When heavily armed White protestors protested pandemic restrictions on government property, cops reacted calmly. But peaceful BLM protestors demanding that police no longer casually murder Black citizens in the “line of duty” have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and medieval military tactics.

Not all the protests have been peaceful, and some individuals have reacted to police murdering citizens by destroying property and looting. But the vast majority of reckless, abhorrent behavior has been on the part of police themselves, who have systemically and brutally attacked peaceful protestors, and willfully turned peaceful protests into chaotic melees.

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2019: Fun Times and Existential Dread

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On December 27

In Culture Rants/Shares, Politics, Problem Solving

2019, for me, was a combination of fun times and existential dread. I love my family and friends and the time I spend with them. I released my second novel, completed the first draft of a third, and started on my fourth. I had plenty of consulting work and money in the bank. I had great times playing Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon GO, poker, and a bunch of other games.

At the same time, I worried for my daughter’s future. Climate change is an existential threat, guns in schools are a constant worry, and every major city in California has tent cities filled with homeless people, many who are drug addicts and/or mentally ill. And our leader? We have a racist, short-sighted, vindictive president backed by at least 40% of the country.

I worry for myself as well. Will I stay healthy? Will I continue to have enough work as a freelancer? Will enough people buy and review my novels that publishers stay interested? But in my wiser moments I can see that these worries are just manifestations of my desires (longevity, wealth, fame in my profession) and are self-inflicted; being grateful for what I have in the moment is usually the remedy.

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