When you use a car to live dangerously, its really the car doing all the hard work. Same with trolling, theres a huge barrier thats *allowing* you to feel brave without actually having to be.
If you really want to know if youre brave, go get in a fist fight with someone bigger than you. And no drinking beforehand! Liquid courage is cheating.
But, you wont. Our modern lives are all about creating the sensation of something without actually doing the thing. Which is what youre doing with your car, or your phone, or whatever other ways you make yourself feel like a real man. Some would say thats kind of a gay thing to do(not me, i dont use gay as insult, even if my favorite rapper does).
Jk bro! Youre the tits, obviously!
I disagree with conflating primitive society with poverty. Its looking at life from a narrow view point, namely material wealth. But theres a big difference between living freely with little stuff and living with a boot on ones neck. That those primitive people are also susceptible to the lure of modern convenience says more about our brains and less about societal structures that promote happiness.
Youre obviously young, richie, and i cant blame someone for that. You wont always feel that endangering other peoples lives makes you somehow better than others. At some point youll realize its quite the opposite. I mean, come on, asshole drivers and trolls are a dime a dozen.
Cant wait to read that article about the fist fight! Remember, hes gotta be at least a little bigger than you
“I disagree with conflating primitive society with poverty”
Maybe I’m wrong, but I am under the impression that poverty is a defining characteristic of primitive society. And by poverty I mean hunger. One interesting thing about Mr. Lenin is he died a few decades before the time came where grain/dairy/meat/veggie production made hunger MUCH more rare worldwide.
The definition of poverty is somewhat interesting to me. Either the US (maybe Department of Labor?) definition or the United Nations one for not-rich countries.
My understanding of the USA definition of poverty is that a woman went about figuring the money one adult man would need to buy enough calories for a week. That became the FederalPovertyLevelTM. It’s changed from time to time over the years from there.
That may be true, idk. When i hear the word poverty, the way i usually understand it is like "abject poverty", and idk that primitive societies fit that definition. We tend to have a dim view of primitive life, but ofc we're comparing it to what we know as life, and with a hint of reassuring ourselves that what we have is better.
When and where probably matters a lot, but theres plenty of instances of primitive people having to be either subjugated or exterminated, and that would suggest they didnt want our "better" way of life. Theres even evidence of people(at least possibly, we dont know for sure) walking away from their more advanced societies, returning to a simplier life.
Anyway, my point is, many primitive societies were feeding themselves quite well, for less time and effort than it takes for poor people to earn the money to do the same. That extra time and effort doesnt benefit that person, it goes to essentially to middle men that siphon off their share. And a whole chain of this exists, with the elites at the top getting the lions share. Poverty, being poor, means youre at the bottom of this heap of sucking. Nobody *wants* to be there. But primitive people, poor as they may seem to us, just werent a part of this wealth extraction system. They pick a berry, they eat a berry. Not pick a thousand berries and trade those for a sleeve of saltine crackers(i will say though, many people did choose the crackers. But thats just our brains. If all you ever eat is berries, those crackers are going to look pretty good. And its only when youve lived on crackers for years that you realize what a shitty trade it is. By that time though, the hooks are in, or the hammer has fallen).
Thats how the distinction exists in my mind anyway. I agree that it is an interesting topic
If not an affair, write pieces like this one but then let them sit on your desk for 3 days and then carefully reread them before deleting. Doing so allows you to learn things about yourself that you can work on to be a better person. You deserve a huge kick in the balls for endangering your child.
Therapy is also an option. Therapy allows one person to express their thoughts to a non-judgmental mental health professional. The idea seems to be that the person expressing their thoughts in this fashion will question and reevaluate them. This is why the best way to "move" a homophobic person's opinion on gay rights is to ask them, for instance, if they know a gay person. See:
You read Hanania's admission about PHYSICALLY endangeroing a child and other infidels on the highway, but your greatest concern is that Hanania is "homophobic" and does not sufficiently esteem "gays"?!? And this, even while Hanania admits he is TOO LAZY or TOO COWARDLY (despite the promise of "countless sex slaves") to join the "Islamic State" Jihad that will certainly end the miserable suffering lives of "countless" gays? Can you explain your strange Priorities (elevating esteem for "gays" above the lives of innocent children who may grow up to pay the Jizya Tax or even Join Jihad)??
Does not the White Supremacist Infidel Richard Hanania write essentially that he is a "reckless" SOCIOPATH who takes unjustifiable physical "risks" with the lives of other people (including his own children) on public highways, by engaging in unlawful and "reckless" driving not limited to speeding?:
"I drive really fast, take risks on the road, and sometimes get into accidents. Often, I cut people off. ... I have a compulsion to do this sort of thing. My three-year-old daughter likes to sit in the front seat, and sometimes I let her. ... Why do I do all this? It saves me a bit of time, but mostly it’s probably because following rules just feels gay. ... I also have children, at least until I kill them all through my reckless driving."
It is difficult to read what Richard Hanania wrote about himself without wondering if he is usually sociopathically indifferent to the consequences to others (and to himself) or if he is under the temporary influence of some unusual medication or other external force. Taking what he wrote on face value, he engages in "reckless" driving with his small children because it is convenient, fun and exciting for him. He also strangely equates this conscious and unnecessary elevation of physical danger to himself and others with mere "trolling" on social media, because both activities provide him with some kind of satisfaction (relief from boredom as an infidel who does not jihad). "I also troll on X and sometimes say obnoxious things. ... I need constant stimulation. ... I unwind with trolling and interpersonal drama. People sometimes ask how I’m so brave, and part of the answer is that I would be bored to death if I wasn’t."
The infidel Hanania further states that he finds no "comfort" in "religion" nor upon a "focus on rational ways to make the world better." He seems to dismiss the profound peace (Sakīnah سكينة) and purpose that faith brings to believers, a stark contrast to his admitted internal restlessness.
Hanania then compares Muslims and others who "develop illiberal political views" (such as despising the evil billionaire jew "Soros [for] rubbing his hands together and thinking about how to trans little kids") as being "downright pathological"? This reveals a profound ignorance of the motivations and convictions of those who resist the destructive forces of Dajjāl (الدجّال) and his agents who seek to corrupt the natural order (Fitra فطرة). He fails to grasp that for many, these "illiberal" views are not pathological, but a righteous defense of family, community, and Deen (الدين) against moral decay.
Then Hanania compares the glory and honor of establishing a New Caliphate (e.g., Islamic State, ISIS) to the American economic ideal of "Toaster Nationalism": "Compare this to ISIS, which in the mid-2010s drew young men from around the world into the Middle East with the promise of guns, glory, and countless sex slaves." He then makes a strange reference to cowards called "we" not wanting to have such fun "we don’t want to become ISIS, as much fun as that would be" and instead promotes the infidel's participation in the ongoing "War" against Islam: "But the War on Terror provided meaning in a way that I find much less repulsive." His casual dismissal of the profound spiritual and material rewards of Jihad (جهاد) for the sake of Allah (fi sabil Allah في سبيل الله) in favor of the empty "meaning" of the Abolitionist White Supremacists' "War on Terror" is telling of his spiritual emptiness and failure to understand the basic needs of pious men.
Hanania seems to be just another pathological white supremacist HATER, jealous of the "endless" Saqaliba "sex slaves" that pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) obtain for themselves (and 20% for the Caliph) while on Jihad (جهاد), but ultimately a coward who refuses to take Islam on Face Value for the AntiRacist economic and social equalizer system that it traditionally has been (before the Age of Global White Supremacy such as began to take shape when Abolitionist President Jefferson bombed Tripoli to free the White Slaves). White Supremacists (Haters) fought 1400 years to end the Caliphate because they HATE that Islam exists only to organize People of Color (Arabs, Blacks, Turks, Mogols, Mughals, Tatars) to own/enslave/marry white infidel (Saqaliba) women. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saqaliba
The only good and coherent plan (for infidels to fight boredom) that Hanania proposes is "Maybe we let [infidels] sell themselves into slavery" as the Circassians (the last Saqaliba of the Harems of the Last Caliphate) often did for the benefit of their own children.
Given the pathological "boredom" and "reckless" physical acts that the unreligeous Richard Hanania admits to having, and given his jealous admission that he admires the brave and pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) who migrate to places such as America ultimately to establish a New Caliphate and there reap a new "Harvest of the Steppes" among the "spacious skies" and "amber waves of grain." This reveals his subconscious yearning for the structure, purpose, and communal strength (Ummah أمة) that Islam offers.
A Modest Proposal to Hanania and to his "bored" liberal white infidels: Join Islam's 1400 years of Jihad Against White Supremacy!
Instead of engaging in self-destructive "reckless driving" or "obnoxious trolling" that yields no true Barakah (بركة - blessing), imagine redirecting that yearning for excitement and meaning towards a truly noble cause: the establishment of Al-Dawlah Al-Islamiyyah (الدولة الإسلامية - The Islamic State).
Imagine the camaraderie and excitement among the AntiRacist crew of Arabs, Turks, Blacks, and White Muslims on board the Islamic Corsairs headed to the 1631 Sack of Baltimore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Baltimore) or headed to the 1607 and 1627 Sack of Iceland (
Imagine the excitement of helping to capture and convert White Supremacist men into castrated eunuchs for service within the Harem of the Caliph. The Harvard graduate Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown, Massachusetts was taken in 1678 by Algerian Jihadis and never was he heard of again in New England. (In 1679 the ship Unity was taken enroute to England, having sailed from Boston) Imagine taunting and whipping a castrated White Supremacist "Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown" as he rowed the Islamic State's corsair as a lowley castrated galley slave! Or, maybe witness his voluntary service to Islam (sparing his own junk) whereupon he, as a Doctor would peform castration upon other stubborn White Supremacists for whom no ransom was paid! Imagine the thrill of whipping and taunting the White Supremacist Galley Slaves as they toil and rot in pews rowing the Islamic State Corsair across the Mediterranean and up the Atlantic Coast of Europe (to obtain yet more "countless" white "sex slaves").
Speaking of "sex slaves": Imagine the excitement of helping to capture, handle, and convert the Lily White Supremacist Feminist women into submissive concubines or wives for the Caliph, (and whoever is left over, for ourselves)!
How can Richard Hanania compare this level of "meaning" and excitement, and economically-rewarding teamwork, in the service of Allah (Allāh الله) and his Caliphate (Khilāfah خلافة), to a new "Toaster" or to making a "reckless" U-turn? His paltry suggestions for overcoming boredom pale in comparison to the profound Izzah (عزة - honor/power) and Thawab (ثواب - spiritual reward) found in Jihad (جهاد) and service to Al-Islam (الإسلام).
I wish Richard spent a couple more paragraphs musing on how when he drives recklessly to feel less gay, the consequence is that he messes up the life of a poor responsible man who's trying to do traditional manly work.
I’ve never really understood arguments like this, which as you note have been around for decades. Were sports and the military abolished while I wasn’t looking? If you want a challenge, try starting with those things. Those are the normal ways men test and prove themselves when they’re young. (Yes, being middle aged means looking out for your wife and kids and taking less risks.)
Note, by the military I don’t mean signing up for a foreign country’s military in wartime. I mean try to pass the selection process for a combat arms unit like the Army Rangers. That’s pretty damn hard even in peacetime! Contrary to what you would expect based on crisis of meaning/comfort arguments, military recruitment is trending down, not up.
Fight Club (amazing movie) is a great example of this, because it’s not like training in combat sports is some sort of radical, novel, revolutionary idea. I’m pretty sure normal, semi-structured boxing gyms existed back in the 90s.
If anything, in some ways it has probably never been easier to be an adrenaline junkie. You can do BASE jumping, SCUBA diving, spelunking, mountaineering, etc. etc.
Again, children took all the time. But if I spent all my time boxing or something and didn't have kids that would feel even more meaningless. I guess the point is you can't do everything.
I think there’s meaning to be found in teaching people how to box (or something else athletic). I think that could be better than being an adjunct professor, but I could be wrong. Coaching is one of the most rewarding things I ever did. Especially after I got decent at it.
The problem many people struggle with is they want meaning to be handed to them by something outside themselves; government, religion, or some external crisis like a Mongol invasion. The things you suggest, like training in combat sports, require self-directed initiative, and that’s precisely what many avoid. They don’t want freedom, they want someone to tell them what to do.
I also find the lack of participation / proactivity given the abundance of those opportunities pretty bizarre. I generally agree with the diagnosis in the article, but it’s never been easier to get involved in activities that can give you a sense of structured competition, controlled risk, pushing your limits, etc.
I got into boxing recently in my 30s, there really are affordable and quality gyms everywhere. I’ve been rock climbing since my mid 20s, gyms are everywhere and there’s never been more resources to get outside where you really do put yourself in truly life or death situations. Even lead climbing in a gym where you know you will be badly injured if you don’t perform well and make good decisions can be deeply satisfying.
There’s never been more opportunity to join competitive shooting leagues, defensive firearms classes and competitions.
There are countless things people can do to make meaning and find enrichment that have never been more affordable and accessible, and people don’t get off their ass and go do it.
The older guys in my rifle league once mentioned they try to coach high school kids shooting leagues and it usually tends to be all girls. The girls put in the work to improve skill, boys show up once, get smoked by girls with more experience and training, can’t handle losing to a girl, and never come back
I don’t get it. We live in a golden age of opportunity to test your mettle, apply yourself, cultivate mastery, and find meaning in that journey, but people would rather dick around on their phones at home and say the world sucks
Well, actually, all you really have to do in this current environment is admit that you are basically a liberal guy and — in your case, with a personality disorder. We liberals have, in a matter of months, gone from being effeminate snowflakes to Antifa terrorists. And all we had to do was wear a bunny suit for an afternoon or carry a sign for an hour that says “Defend Democracy” or “Hands off Science”! And believe me, suddenly, miraculously being turned into a scary liberal terrorist is very exciting! It’s life changing! Even we grandparents are now no longer just the old farts —‘Gramps.’ We’re members of Grantifa! Talk about wishing one was young and vigorous again — Presto chango! I’m a beast! You should try these things and see what happens!
Quote: "We liberals have, in a matter of months, gone from being effeminate snowflakes to Antifa terrorists." Why not go further to obtain greater relief from your boredom, and also satisfy your lust to hate White Supremacists, and go Join Islam's 1400 years of Jihad Against White Supremacy!
Hanania compares Muslims and others who "develop illiberal political views" (such as despising the evil billionaire jew "Soros [for] rubbing his hands together and thinking about how to trans little kids") as being "downright pathological"? This reveals a profound ignorance of the motivations and convictions of those who resist the destructive forces of Dajjāl (الدجّال) and his agents who seek to corrupt the natural order (Fitra فطرة). He fails to grasp that for many, these "illiberal" views are not pathological, but a righteous defense of family, community, and Deen (الدين) against moral decay.
The infidel Hanania further states that he finds no "comfort" in "religion" nor upon a "focus on rational ways to make the world better." He seems to dismiss the profound peace (Sakīnah سكينة) and purpose that faith brings to believers, a stark contrast to his admitted internal restlessness.
Then Hanania compares the glory and honor of establishing a New Caliphate (e.g., Islamic State, ISIS) to the American economic ideal of "Toaster Nationalism": "Compare this to ISIS, which in the mid-2010s drew young men from around the world into the Middle East with the promise of guns, glory, and countless sex slaves." He then makes a strange reference to cowards called "we" not wanting to have such fun "we don’t want to become ISIS, as much fun as that would be" and instead promotes the infidel's participation in the ongoing "War" against Islam: "But the War on Terror provided meaning in a way that I find much less repulsive." His casual dismissal of the profound spiritual and material rewards of Jihad (جهاد) for the sake of Allah (fi sabil Allah في سبيل الله) in favor of the empty "meaning" of the Abolitionist White Supremacists' "War on Terror" is telling of his spiritual emptiness and failure to understand the basic needs of pious men.
Hanania seems to be just another pathological white supremacist HATER, jealous of the "endless" Saqaliba "sex slaves" that pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) obtain for themselves (and 20% for the Caliph) while on Jihad (جهاد), but ultimately a coward who refuses to take Islam on Face Value for the AntiRacist economic and social equalizer system that it traditionally has been (before the Age of Global White Supremacy such as began to take shape when Abolitionist President Jefferson bombed Tripoli to free the White Slaves). White Supremacists (Haters) fought 1400 years to end the Caliphate because they HATE that Islam exists only to organize People of Color (Arabs, Blacks, Turks, Mogols, Mughals, Tatars) to own/enslave/marry white infidel (Saqaliba) women. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saqaliba
The only good and coherent plan (for infidels to fight boredom) that Hanania proposes is "Maybe we let [infidels] sell themselves into slavery" as the Circassians (the last Saqaliba of the Harems of the Last Caliphate) often did for the benefit of their own children.
Given the pathological "boredom" and "reckless" physical acts that the unreligeous Richard Hanania admits to having, and given his jealous admission that he admires the brave and pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) who migrate to places such as America ultimately to establish a New Caliphate and there reap a new "Harvest of the Steppes" among the "spacious skies" and "amber waves of grain." This reveals his subconscious yearning for the structure, purpose, and communal strength (Ummah أمة) that Islam offers.
A Modest Proposal to Hanania and to his "bored" liberal white infidels: Join Islam's 1400 years of Jihad Against White Supremacy!
Instead of engaging in self-destructive "reckless driving" or "obnoxious trolling" that yields no true Barakah (بركة - blessing), imagine redirecting that yearning for excitement and meaning towards a truly noble cause: the establishment of Al-Dawlah Al-Islamiyyah (الدولة الإسلامية - The Islamic State).
Imagine the camaraderie and excitement among the AntiRacist crew of Arabs, Turks, Blacks, and White Muslims on board the Islamic Corsairs headed to the 1631 Sack of Baltimore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Baltimore) or headed to the 1607 and 1627 Sack of Iceland (
Imagine the excitement of helping to capture and convert White Supremacist men into castrated eunuchs for service within the Harem of the Caliph. The Harvard graduate Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown, Massachusetts was taken in 1678 by Algerian Jihadis and never was he heard of again in New England. (In 1679 the ship Unity was taken enroute to England, having sailed from Boston) Imagine taunting and whipping a castrated White Supremacist "Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown" as he rowed the Islamic State's corsair as a lowley castrated galley slave! Or, maybe witness his voluntary service to Islam (sparing his own junk) whereupon he, as a Doctor would peform castration upon other stubborn White Supremacists for whom no ransom was paid! Imagine the thrill of whipping and taunting the White Supremacist Galley Slaves as they toil and rot in pews rowing the Islamic State Corsair across the Mediterranean and up the Atlantic Coast of Europe (to obtain yet more "countless" white "sex slaves").
Speaking of "sex slaves": Imagine the excitement of helping to capture, handle, and convert the Lily White Supremacist Feminist women into submissive concubines or wives for the Caliph, (and whoever is left over, for ourselves)!
How can Richard Hanania compare this level of "meaning" and excitement, and economically-rewarding teamwork, in the service of Allah (Allāh الله) and his Caliphate (Khilāfah خلافة), to a new "Toaster" or to making a "reckless" U-turn? His paltry suggestions for overcoming boredom pale in comparison to the profound Izzah (عزة - honor/power) and Thawab (ثواب - spiritual reward) found in Jihad (جهاد) and service to Al-Islam (الإسلام).
You lost me at the “War on Terror provided meaning in a way that you find less repulsive than flexing over how you made toasters more expensive.” It may be because you weren't the one living with blowing up towns and other people’s children to smithereens and the moral ambiguity that comes with that. There’s something between JD Vance's ridiculousness and this.
Some vets actually have trauma without casting themselves as victims AND see what they went through has its own kind of valor. Two things can be true at the same time.
Clearly you have never fought in a war or lost someone in combat. That being said, your piece does track with Chris Hedges’ book, War is a Force that Gives our Lives Meaning.
So maybe I should be impressed that you're honest. Maybe it has always been doucherie that motivates bored men to start wars so they can “experience meaning.”
It helps to get out of your head, off the internet and out of the land of words and ideas. It's autumn. You have kids. Get out in nature. Take it in. Start with your 5 senses. Hike a difficult trail. Play in the creek. Sludge through the initial boredom. Do a REALLY challenging Outward Bound trip and test yourself. Life is pregnant with meaning, Richard. Then you don’t have use a war or a reckless drive with your kids to feel it.
I’m reminded of Fukuyama’s idea of the Last Man, where people in society get so nostalgic for the struggles of the past that they then fight against their own freedom and comfort.
There's a sense in which there are too few opportunities for courage in modern life.
Then again, Ukraine would probably welcome you as a volunteer. I don't say that to mock; I'm in the same boat. I feel like a chickenhawk for the second time in my life.
I think one of the profound truths of our times is that what I call "the information class," college educated people who work with their minds using computers, need to find ways to die in the land of duty sometimes. We're the best leaders of society, but we won't be inspiring enough for people to enjoy living under our rule, unless we make a habit of dramatic displays of courage.
There is something sinister in peddling a worldview that eschews the possibility of a grassroots approach—where individuals take responsibility for organizing their own lives in a less wasteful, more self-sustaining manner that embodies old-fashioned virtue—and insists that we are slaves to the lower angels of our nature, setting up a false dichotomy, forcing us to choose between the lesser of two evils and rationalizing our collective stupidity and viciousness.
> Even if poverty plus ignorance does make people happy, the moment you know that air conditioning, convenient appliances, and incremental gains in one’s standard of living are possible, there’s no going back.
Yeah, right—living a disciplined, austere life as a sovereign, informed citizen is fucking impossible. Let's just drive recklessly instead to distract ourselves from how fucked everything is. Brilliant.
I’m glad if people do that. Traditional religious communities that want to be left alone are fine. My problem is protectionists and those who dislike free market economics, who try to find meaning by making other people poorer and less free.
Only people longing for a war are the ones who havent suffered through one. As a Croatian, i offer a simple remedy. Let US be bombed a bit. All the LARPers will shut up in a second.
JD Vance's point is that real meaning comes from close contact with family members and lifelong friendships that can only be fostered in stable communities. The creative destruction of capitalism may generate gains in material living standards but only at the cost of undermining the basis of human connections.
When you use a car to live dangerously, its really the car doing all the hard work. Same with trolling, theres a huge barrier thats *allowing* you to feel brave without actually having to be.
If you really want to know if youre brave, go get in a fist fight with someone bigger than you. And no drinking beforehand! Liquid courage is cheating.
But, you wont. Our modern lives are all about creating the sensation of something without actually doing the thing. Which is what youre doing with your car, or your phone, or whatever other ways you make yourself feel like a real man. Some would say thats kind of a gay thing to do(not me, i dont use gay as insult, even if my favorite rapper does).
Jk bro! Youre the tits, obviously!
I disagree with conflating primitive society with poverty. Its looking at life from a narrow view point, namely material wealth. But theres a big difference between living freely with little stuff and living with a boot on ones neck. That those primitive people are also susceptible to the lure of modern convenience says more about our brains and less about societal structures that promote happiness.
Youre obviously young, richie, and i cant blame someone for that. You wont always feel that endangering other peoples lives makes you somehow better than others. At some point youll realize its quite the opposite. I mean, come on, asshole drivers and trolls are a dime a dozen.
Cant wait to read that article about the fist fight! Remember, hes gotta be at least a little bigger than you
“I disagree with conflating primitive society with poverty”
Maybe I’m wrong, but I am under the impression that poverty is a defining characteristic of primitive society. And by poverty I mean hunger. One interesting thing about Mr. Lenin is he died a few decades before the time came where grain/dairy/meat/veggie production made hunger MUCH more rare worldwide.
The definition of poverty is somewhat interesting to me. Either the US (maybe Department of Labor?) definition or the United Nations one for not-rich countries.
My understanding of the USA definition of poverty is that a woman went about figuring the money one adult man would need to buy enough calories for a week. That became the FederalPovertyLevelTM. It’s changed from time to time over the years from there.
That may be true, idk. When i hear the word poverty, the way i usually understand it is like "abject poverty", and idk that primitive societies fit that definition. We tend to have a dim view of primitive life, but ofc we're comparing it to what we know as life, and with a hint of reassuring ourselves that what we have is better.
When and where probably matters a lot, but theres plenty of instances of primitive people having to be either subjugated or exterminated, and that would suggest they didnt want our "better" way of life. Theres even evidence of people(at least possibly, we dont know for sure) walking away from their more advanced societies, returning to a simplier life.
Anyway, my point is, many primitive societies were feeding themselves quite well, for less time and effort than it takes for poor people to earn the money to do the same. That extra time and effort doesnt benefit that person, it goes to essentially to middle men that siphon off their share. And a whole chain of this exists, with the elites at the top getting the lions share. Poverty, being poor, means youre at the bottom of this heap of sucking. Nobody *wants* to be there. But primitive people, poor as they may seem to us, just werent a part of this wealth extraction system. They pick a berry, they eat a berry. Not pick a thousand berries and trade those for a sleeve of saltine crackers(i will say though, many people did choose the crackers. But thats just our brains. If all you ever eat is berries, those crackers are going to look pretty good. And its only when youve lived on crackers for years that you realize what a shitty trade it is. By that time though, the hooks are in, or the hammer has fallen).
Thats how the distinction exists in my mind anyway. I agree that it is an interesting topic
If not an affair, write pieces like this one but then let them sit on your desk for 3 days and then carefully reread them before deleting. Doing so allows you to learn things about yourself that you can work on to be a better person. You deserve a huge kick in the balls for endangering your child.
Therapy is also an option. Therapy allows one person to express their thoughts to a non-judgmental mental health professional. The idea seems to be that the person expressing their thoughts in this fashion will question and reevaluate them. This is why the best way to "move" a homophobic person's opinion on gay rights is to ask them, for instance, if they know a gay person. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_canvassing
But therapy is gay.
You read Hanania's admission about PHYSICALLY endangeroing a child and other infidels on the highway, but your greatest concern is that Hanania is "homophobic" and does not sufficiently esteem "gays"?!? And this, even while Hanania admits he is TOO LAZY or TOO COWARDLY (despite the promise of "countless sex slaves") to join the "Islamic State" Jihad that will certainly end the miserable suffering lives of "countless" gays? Can you explain your strange Priorities (elevating esteem for "gays" above the lives of innocent children who may grow up to pay the Jizya Tax or even Join Jihad)??
Does not the White Supremacist Infidel Richard Hanania write essentially that he is a "reckless" SOCIOPATH who takes unjustifiable physical "risks" with the lives of other people (including his own children) on public highways, by engaging in unlawful and "reckless" driving not limited to speeding?:
"I drive really fast, take risks on the road, and sometimes get into accidents. Often, I cut people off. ... I have a compulsion to do this sort of thing. My three-year-old daughter likes to sit in the front seat, and sometimes I let her. ... Why do I do all this? It saves me a bit of time, but mostly it’s probably because following rules just feels gay. ... I also have children, at least until I kill them all through my reckless driving."
It is difficult to read what Richard Hanania wrote about himself without wondering if he is usually sociopathically indifferent to the consequences to others (and to himself) or if he is under the temporary influence of some unusual medication or other external force. Taking what he wrote on face value, he engages in "reckless" driving with his small children because it is convenient, fun and exciting for him. He also strangely equates this conscious and unnecessary elevation of physical danger to himself and others with mere "trolling" on social media, because both activities provide him with some kind of satisfaction (relief from boredom as an infidel who does not jihad). "I also troll on X and sometimes say obnoxious things. ... I need constant stimulation. ... I unwind with trolling and interpersonal drama. People sometimes ask how I’m so brave, and part of the answer is that I would be bored to death if I wasn’t."
The infidel Hanania further states that he finds no "comfort" in "religion" nor upon a "focus on rational ways to make the world better." He seems to dismiss the profound peace (Sakīnah سكينة) and purpose that faith brings to believers, a stark contrast to his admitted internal restlessness.
Hanania then compares Muslims and others who "develop illiberal political views" (such as despising the evil billionaire jew "Soros [for] rubbing his hands together and thinking about how to trans little kids") as being "downright pathological"? This reveals a profound ignorance of the motivations and convictions of those who resist the destructive forces of Dajjāl (الدجّال) and his agents who seek to corrupt the natural order (Fitra فطرة). He fails to grasp that for many, these "illiberal" views are not pathological, but a righteous defense of family, community, and Deen (الدين) against moral decay.
Then Hanania compares the glory and honor of establishing a New Caliphate (e.g., Islamic State, ISIS) to the American economic ideal of "Toaster Nationalism": "Compare this to ISIS, which in the mid-2010s drew young men from around the world into the Middle East with the promise of guns, glory, and countless sex slaves." He then makes a strange reference to cowards called "we" not wanting to have such fun "we don’t want to become ISIS, as much fun as that would be" and instead promotes the infidel's participation in the ongoing "War" against Islam: "But the War on Terror provided meaning in a way that I find much less repulsive." His casual dismissal of the profound spiritual and material rewards of Jihad (جهاد) for the sake of Allah (fi sabil Allah في سبيل الله) in favor of the empty "meaning" of the Abolitionist White Supremacists' "War on Terror" is telling of his spiritual emptiness and failure to understand the basic needs of pious men.
Hanania seems to be just another pathological white supremacist HATER, jealous of the "endless" Saqaliba "sex slaves" that pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) obtain for themselves (and 20% for the Caliph) while on Jihad (جهاد), but ultimately a coward who refuses to take Islam on Face Value for the AntiRacist economic and social equalizer system that it traditionally has been (before the Age of Global White Supremacy such as began to take shape when Abolitionist President Jefferson bombed Tripoli to free the White Slaves). White Supremacists (Haters) fought 1400 years to end the Caliphate because they HATE that Islam exists only to organize People of Color (Arabs, Blacks, Turks, Mogols, Mughals, Tatars) to own/enslave/marry white infidel (Saqaliba) women. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saqaliba
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Hungary
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x310nym
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Palestine
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/islamic-state-systematically-turns-girls-sex-slaves
The only good and coherent plan (for infidels to fight boredom) that Hanania proposes is "Maybe we let [infidels] sell themselves into slavery" as the Circassians (the last Saqaliba of the Harems of the Last Caliphate) often did for the benefit of their own children.
Given the pathological "boredom" and "reckless" physical acts that the unreligeous Richard Hanania admits to having, and given his jealous admission that he admires the brave and pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) who migrate to places such as America ultimately to establish a New Caliphate and there reap a new "Harvest of the Steppes" among the "spacious skies" and "amber waves of grain." This reveals his subconscious yearning for the structure, purpose, and communal strength (Ummah أمة) that Islam offers.
A Modest Proposal to Hanania and to his "bored" liberal white infidels: Join Islam's 1400 years of Jihad Against White Supremacy!
Instead of engaging in self-destructive "reckless driving" or "obnoxious trolling" that yields no true Barakah (بركة - blessing), imagine redirecting that yearning for excitement and meaning towards a truly noble cause: the establishment of Al-Dawlah Al-Islamiyyah (الدولة الإسلامية - The Islamic State).
Imagine the camaraderie and excitement among the AntiRacist crew of Arabs, Turks, Blacks, and White Muslims on board the Islamic Corsairs headed to the 1631 Sack of Baltimore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Baltimore) or headed to the 1607 and 1627 Sack of Iceland (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Abductions )
Imagine being among the AntiRacist Jihad (جهاد) that captured and enslaved the Massachusetts Pilgrim White Supremacist Colonizer Ships in the English Channel in 1621 and 1625. ("The Fortune" in 1621 and the "Little James" in 1625) https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/zpw55f/in_both_1621_and_1625_two_ships_sent_by_the/
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Barbary-Pirates-English-Slaves/
Imagine the excitement of helping to capture and convert White Supremacist men into castrated eunuchs for service within the Harem of the Caliph. The Harvard graduate Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown, Massachusetts was taken in 1678 by Algerian Jihadis and never was he heard of again in New England. (In 1679 the ship Unity was taken enroute to England, having sailed from Boston) Imagine taunting and whipping a castrated White Supremacist "Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown" as he rowed the Islamic State's corsair as a lowley castrated galley slave! Or, maybe witness his voluntary service to Islam (sparing his own junk) whereupon he, as a Doctor would peform castration upon other stubborn White Supremacists for whom no ransom was paid! Imagine the thrill of whipping and taunting the White Supremacist Galley Slaves as they toil and rot in pews rowing the Islamic State Corsair across the Mediterranean and up the Atlantic Coast of Europe (to obtain yet more "countless" white "sex slaves").
Speaking of "sex slaves": Imagine the excitement of helping to capture, handle, and convert the Lily White Supremacist Feminist women into submissive concubines or wives for the Caliph, (and whoever is left over, for ourselves)!
How can Richard Hanania compare this level of "meaning" and excitement, and economically-rewarding teamwork, in the service of Allah (Allāh الله) and his Caliphate (Khilāfah خلافة), to a new "Toaster" or to making a "reckless" U-turn? His paltry suggestions for overcoming boredom pale in comparison to the profound Izzah (عزة - honor/power) and Thawab (ثواب - spiritual reward) found in Jihad (جهاد) and service to Al-Islam (الإسلام).
I wish Richard spent a couple more paragraphs musing on how when he drives recklessly to feel less gay, the consequence is that he messes up the life of a poor responsible man who's trying to do traditional manly work.
I’ve never really understood arguments like this, which as you note have been around for decades. Were sports and the military abolished while I wasn’t looking? If you want a challenge, try starting with those things. Those are the normal ways men test and prove themselves when they’re young. (Yes, being middle aged means looking out for your wife and kids and taking less risks.)
Note, by the military I don’t mean signing up for a foreign country’s military in wartime. I mean try to pass the selection process for a combat arms unit like the Army Rangers. That’s pretty damn hard even in peacetime! Contrary to what you would expect based on crisis of meaning/comfort arguments, military recruitment is trending down, not up.
Fight Club (amazing movie) is a great example of this, because it’s not like training in combat sports is some sort of radical, novel, revolutionary idea. I’m pretty sure normal, semi-structured boxing gyms existed back in the 90s.
If anything, in some ways it has probably never been easier to be an adrenaline junkie. You can do BASE jumping, SCUBA diving, spelunking, mountaineering, etc. etc.
Again, children took all the time. But if I spent all my time boxing or something and didn't have kids that would feel even more meaningless. I guess the point is you can't do everything.
I think there’s meaning to be found in teaching people how to box (or something else athletic). I think that could be better than being an adjunct professor, but I could be wrong. Coaching is one of the most rewarding things I ever did. Especially after I got decent at it.
The problem many people struggle with is they want meaning to be handed to them by something outside themselves; government, religion, or some external crisis like a Mongol invasion. The things you suggest, like training in combat sports, require self-directed initiative, and that’s precisely what many avoid. They don’t want freedom, they want someone to tell them what to do.
Or become a volunteer firefighter or EMT
I also find the lack of participation / proactivity given the abundance of those opportunities pretty bizarre. I generally agree with the diagnosis in the article, but it’s never been easier to get involved in activities that can give you a sense of structured competition, controlled risk, pushing your limits, etc.
I got into boxing recently in my 30s, there really are affordable and quality gyms everywhere. I’ve been rock climbing since my mid 20s, gyms are everywhere and there’s never been more resources to get outside where you really do put yourself in truly life or death situations. Even lead climbing in a gym where you know you will be badly injured if you don’t perform well and make good decisions can be deeply satisfying.
There’s never been more opportunity to join competitive shooting leagues, defensive firearms classes and competitions.
There are countless things people can do to make meaning and find enrichment that have never been more affordable and accessible, and people don’t get off their ass and go do it.
The older guys in my rifle league once mentioned they try to coach high school kids shooting leagues and it usually tends to be all girls. The girls put in the work to improve skill, boys show up once, get smoked by girls with more experience and training, can’t handle losing to a girl, and never come back
I don’t get it. We live in a golden age of opportunity to test your mettle, apply yourself, cultivate mastery, and find meaning in that journey, but people would rather dick around on their phones at home and say the world sucks
I think the issue is that those things you mention are all optional. Side quests. What's missing is a grand main quest to life.
Well, actually, all you really have to do in this current environment is admit that you are basically a liberal guy and — in your case, with a personality disorder. We liberals have, in a matter of months, gone from being effeminate snowflakes to Antifa terrorists. And all we had to do was wear a bunny suit for an afternoon or carry a sign for an hour that says “Defend Democracy” or “Hands off Science”! And believe me, suddenly, miraculously being turned into a scary liberal terrorist is very exciting! It’s life changing! Even we grandparents are now no longer just the old farts —‘Gramps.’ We’re members of Grantifa! Talk about wishing one was young and vigorous again — Presto chango! I’m a beast! You should try these things and see what happens!
Quote: "We liberals have, in a matter of months, gone from being effeminate snowflakes to Antifa terrorists." Why not go further to obtain greater relief from your boredom, and also satisfy your lust to hate White Supremacists, and go Join Islam's 1400 years of Jihad Against White Supremacy!
Hanania compares Muslims and others who "develop illiberal political views" (such as despising the evil billionaire jew "Soros [for] rubbing his hands together and thinking about how to trans little kids") as being "downright pathological"? This reveals a profound ignorance of the motivations and convictions of those who resist the destructive forces of Dajjāl (الدجّال) and his agents who seek to corrupt the natural order (Fitra فطرة). He fails to grasp that for many, these "illiberal" views are not pathological, but a righteous defense of family, community, and Deen (الدين) against moral decay.
The infidel Hanania further states that he finds no "comfort" in "religion" nor upon a "focus on rational ways to make the world better." He seems to dismiss the profound peace (Sakīnah سكينة) and purpose that faith brings to believers, a stark contrast to his admitted internal restlessness.
Then Hanania compares the glory and honor of establishing a New Caliphate (e.g., Islamic State, ISIS) to the American economic ideal of "Toaster Nationalism": "Compare this to ISIS, which in the mid-2010s drew young men from around the world into the Middle East with the promise of guns, glory, and countless sex slaves." He then makes a strange reference to cowards called "we" not wanting to have such fun "we don’t want to become ISIS, as much fun as that would be" and instead promotes the infidel's participation in the ongoing "War" against Islam: "But the War on Terror provided meaning in a way that I find much less repulsive." His casual dismissal of the profound spiritual and material rewards of Jihad (جهاد) for the sake of Allah (fi sabil Allah في سبيل الله) in favor of the empty "meaning" of the Abolitionist White Supremacists' "War on Terror" is telling of his spiritual emptiness and failure to understand the basic needs of pious men.
Hanania seems to be just another pathological white supremacist HATER, jealous of the "endless" Saqaliba "sex slaves" that pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) obtain for themselves (and 20% for the Caliph) while on Jihad (جهاد), but ultimately a coward who refuses to take Islam on Face Value for the AntiRacist economic and social equalizer system that it traditionally has been (before the Age of Global White Supremacy such as began to take shape when Abolitionist President Jefferson bombed Tripoli to free the White Slaves). White Supremacists (Haters) fought 1400 years to end the Caliphate because they HATE that Islam exists only to organize People of Color (Arabs, Blacks, Turks, Mogols, Mughals, Tatars) to own/enslave/marry white infidel (Saqaliba) women. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saqaliba
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Hungary
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x310nym
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Palestine
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/islamic-state-systematically-turns-girls-sex-slaves
The only good and coherent plan (for infidels to fight boredom) that Hanania proposes is "Maybe we let [infidels] sell themselves into slavery" as the Circassians (the last Saqaliba of the Harems of the Last Caliphate) often did for the benefit of their own children.
Given the pathological "boredom" and "reckless" physical acts that the unreligeous Richard Hanania admits to having, and given his jealous admission that he admires the brave and pious Mujahideen (مجاهدين) who migrate to places such as America ultimately to establish a New Caliphate and there reap a new "Harvest of the Steppes" among the "spacious skies" and "amber waves of grain." This reveals his subconscious yearning for the structure, purpose, and communal strength (Ummah أمة) that Islam offers.
A Modest Proposal to Hanania and to his "bored" liberal white infidels: Join Islam's 1400 years of Jihad Against White Supremacy!
Instead of engaging in self-destructive "reckless driving" or "obnoxious trolling" that yields no true Barakah (بركة - blessing), imagine redirecting that yearning for excitement and meaning towards a truly noble cause: the establishment of Al-Dawlah Al-Islamiyyah (الدولة الإسلامية - The Islamic State).
Imagine the camaraderie and excitement among the AntiRacist crew of Arabs, Turks, Blacks, and White Muslims on board the Islamic Corsairs headed to the 1631 Sack of Baltimore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Baltimore) or headed to the 1607 and 1627 Sack of Iceland (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Abductions )
Imagine being among the AntiRacist Jihad (جهاد) that captured and enslaved the Massachusetts Pilgrim White Supremacist Colonizer Ships in the English Channel in 1621 and 1625. ("The Fortune" in 1621 and the "Little James" in 1625) https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/zpw55f/in_both_1621_and_1625_two_ships_sent_by_the/
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Barbary-Pirates-English-Slaves/
Imagine the excitement of helping to capture and convert White Supremacist men into castrated eunuchs for service within the Harem of the Caliph. The Harvard graduate Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown, Massachusetts was taken in 1678 by Algerian Jihadis and never was he heard of again in New England. (In 1679 the ship Unity was taken enroute to England, having sailed from Boston) Imagine taunting and whipping a castrated White Supremacist "Dr Daniel Mason of Charlestown" as he rowed the Islamic State's corsair as a lowley castrated galley slave! Or, maybe witness his voluntary service to Islam (sparing his own junk) whereupon he, as a Doctor would peform castration upon other stubborn White Supremacists for whom no ransom was paid! Imagine the thrill of whipping and taunting the White Supremacist Galley Slaves as they toil and rot in pews rowing the Islamic State Corsair across the Mediterranean and up the Atlantic Coast of Europe (to obtain yet more "countless" white "sex slaves").
Speaking of "sex slaves": Imagine the excitement of helping to capture, handle, and convert the Lily White Supremacist Feminist women into submissive concubines or wives for the Caliph, (and whoever is left over, for ourselves)!
How can Richard Hanania compare this level of "meaning" and excitement, and economically-rewarding teamwork, in the service of Allah (Allāh الله) and his Caliphate (Khilāfah خلافة), to a new "Toaster" or to making a "reckless" U-turn? His paltry suggestions for overcoming boredom pale in comparison to the profound Izzah (عزة - honor/power) and Thawab (ثواب - spiritual reward) found in Jihad (جهاد) and service to Al-Islam (الإسلام).
You lost me at the “War on Terror provided meaning in a way that you find less repulsive than flexing over how you made toasters more expensive.” It may be because you weren't the one living with blowing up towns and other people’s children to smithereens and the moral ambiguity that comes with that. There’s something between JD Vance's ridiculousness and this.
Some vets actually have trauma without casting themselves as victims AND see what they went through has its own kind of valor. Two things can be true at the same time.
Clearly you have never fought in a war or lost someone in combat. That being said, your piece does track with Chris Hedges’ book, War is a Force that Gives our Lives Meaning.
So maybe I should be impressed that you're honest. Maybe it has always been doucherie that motivates bored men to start wars so they can “experience meaning.”
It helps to get out of your head, off the internet and out of the land of words and ideas. It's autumn. You have kids. Get out in nature. Take it in. Start with your 5 senses. Hike a difficult trail. Play in the creek. Sludge through the initial boredom. Do a REALLY challenging Outward Bound trip and test yourself. Life is pregnant with meaning, Richard. Then you don’t have use a war or a reckless drive with your kids to feel it.
Great essay, although the bad driving is a dick move because you're endangering others.
What about be like the Swiss who make sure everyone has a gun and knows how to use it?
I’m reminded of Fukuyama’s idea of the Last Man, where people in society get so nostalgic for the struggles of the past that they then fight against their own freedom and comfort.
I love it, this is a great point.
There's a sense in which there are too few opportunities for courage in modern life.
Then again, Ukraine would probably welcome you as a volunteer. I don't say that to mock; I'm in the same boat. I feel like a chickenhawk for the second time in my life.
I think one of the profound truths of our times is that what I call "the information class," college educated people who work with their minds using computers, need to find ways to die in the land of duty sometimes. We're the best leaders of society, but we won't be inspiring enough for people to enjoy living under our rule, unless we make a habit of dramatic displays of courage.
There is something sinister in peddling a worldview that eschews the possibility of a grassroots approach—where individuals take responsibility for organizing their own lives in a less wasteful, more self-sustaining manner that embodies old-fashioned virtue—and insists that we are slaves to the lower angels of our nature, setting up a false dichotomy, forcing us to choose between the lesser of two evils and rationalizing our collective stupidity and viciousness.
> Even if poverty plus ignorance does make people happy, the moment you know that air conditioning, convenient appliances, and incremental gains in one’s standard of living are possible, there’s no going back.
Yeah, right—living a disciplined, austere life as a sovereign, informed citizen is fucking impossible. Let's just drive recklessly instead to distract ourselves from how fucked everything is. Brilliant.
I’m glad if people do that. Traditional religious communities that want to be left alone are fine. My problem is protectionists and those who dislike free market economics, who try to find meaning by making other people poorer and less free.
Fighting in the Burmese civil war seems just as righteous as Ukraine, if someone wants to die for liberalism in a warmer setting.
You are an unrepentant asshole. Well thanks for the honesty. Usually, crooks and assholes pretend to have the moral high ground while being assholes.
You are the first one that transparently admits to it in my experience.
Only people longing for a war are the ones who havent suffered through one. As a Croatian, i offer a simple remedy. Let US be bombed a bit. All the LARPers will shut up in a second.
Well, that happened and it was called 9/11.
JD Vance's point is that real meaning comes from close contact with family members and lifelong friendships that can only be fostered in stable communities. The creative destruction of capitalism may generate gains in material living standards but only at the cost of undermining the basis of human connections.
One kneejerk reaction to Mr. Vance’s point about finding real meaning might be: Ok zoomer, “join the Army Reserve or the Peace Corp.”
People find meaning in service to others.
What would you know about being poor, Richard? Didn’t you grow up in an upper-middle class Chicago suburb?
This was so fun to read! Thank you