There's a stock gag a lot of comedies use where a character is charged with a series of crimes, some of which are serious, but one of which is just annoying. For example, murder, arson, and taking your shoes off in an airplane. The joke is that the annoying thing is treated as as serious as the really bad things.
These anti-American conservatives seem like people who don't get the joke. They really think that woke people being stupid and annoying is so bad that tolerating a violent dictator is acceptable price to pay to stop them. Their myopia is insane.
This is a great summary and the bit about the oppositional culture explains very well why rightoids prefer Russia over a country like Poland, which in theory should be a much better role model for their ideal society (more religious, bans abortion, better economy, generous family policies). But Polish conservatives love America, so even though they try very hard to win the sympathy of the likes of Tucker (like our president going on a pathetic interview on his old show), they’ll never get it.
Richard - this isn’t hard. And you are largely correct. The post WW2 world order is collapsing. The moderate Left is in the iron grip of its extremists. So much so that otherwise rational Progressives are forced to use their influence to agree with absurdities. Ten years ago, no Progressive university president would allow for rabid anti-Semitism on their campus. Bill Clinton (or younger Joe Biden) would never hold a trans-party on the White House lawn. Or allow Pride flags to be flown at government buildings. Our sports teams would never force-feed black national anthems or end-zone messages demanding we End Racism. Those with superior cultural influence, Progressives, have lain down and surrendered their moral authority to their enraged extremist flank lest they, too, be branded the intolerable Racist! Bigot! Xenophobe! slurs. They make too much money and live too pristine lives in their bohemian paradises to give that up.
So, rabid conservatives - instead - take on the job that was always that of moderate progressives to do. Pushing back against coercive cultural incursions. But they suck at that job don’t they? They don’t occupy those commanding heights of influence do they? So, they are clumsy. Childlike. Like third-world carpenters trying to build a house they were never trained to do. Dangerous. And more than not-quite-right.
If moderate Progressives weren’t such cowards, this clumsiness in trying to paint a persuasive alternative to racial and gender essentialism wouldn’t be happening. The people better suited to making art, literature, film, and media would be more full-throated and convincing in uniting us behind a shared heterodox society that keeps us together rather than taking a knee to the mafia protection racket which is the Woke. Who give them the Putin offer: “Support us and stay rich. Or challenge us and be destroyed”. We clearly see what bargain normal Democrats accepted.
So, yes, conservatives suck at the job of cultural pushback. They color in Crayon rather than oil paint. But somebody gotta do this unpleasant job. At least they’re standing up and DOING SOMETHING rather than taking a knee. So - good.
It's a shame because I still have a soft spot for Tucker, I even found out about you from his old show. But it's true, his recent content has been embarrassing. I think a lot of it has to do with him spending too much time with loons like greenwald, Jimmy Dore, Douglas macgregor etc. recently.
The notion of Putin as literally Hitler among 90% of educated shitlibs has caused far more human catastrophe than Putin as a savior among neck-bearded anons.
No, they don't hate humanity; they just hate modern-day America. And there's something completely rational about it.
First thing you need to know is that allegiance to a nation is not unconditional. Given that, if a given country adopts a mainstream culture and government policy whose tenor is: "Straight white man are bad and need to be brought down a notch," and then all of the major institutions of that country dedicate entire bureaucracies in order to discriminate against and talk smack of white men, then why, as a white man, would you stay loyal or even root for that country?
Great take. Very on point. My wife looked up how much a cashier is likely to make at the place Tucker went. Starting salary is $550 a month. A worker where he went couldn't have afforded what he bought on a weekly basis.
There are in fact a lot of great things about Moscow. I wonder how Tucker would feel about the massive public investment that went in to building its metro though. The commies built a lot of nice expensive monuments in the center of Moscow but go to a town two hours away and you have abject poverty.
I have seen an amusing meme comparing Carlson to Bernie Sanders, who visited the USSR in the 1980s. Sanders, too, admired its grand subways. No doubt Carlson would have mercilessly mocked Sanders at the time. If “the line goes up” in Russia, it’s because it is now more capitalist (it was never a socialist country).
I think this part of the explanation is correct, but incomplete. What I offer I am admittedly stealing from Russian-born political philosopher Vlad Vexler (who I recommend checking out on YouTube!).
Russia has struggled for centuries with its relationship with the West. Is Russia part of the West? Should it be? Should it be partially Western? Etc. etc. etc. Currently, there are some in Russia who would say:
"We are not part of the West, because the West has lost its way. You Westerners have been corrupted by LGBT activists, neoliberalism, and globalism. We wish to be like you were before you lost your way, the fact you lost your way is why we cannot get along with you".
In case it isn't already obvious, this fits pretty well with what Tucker Carlson propagates to his audience. The reason Tucker and Putin thought they could use one another is their shared understanding of and hatred for the West.
Practically every major city -- and especially capital city -- has much to like. Money goes there and governments in repressive countries make (parts of) their capital look impressive. This is even true in North Korea. Did Carlson take the standard tour of the good parts or did he shuck off handlers and visit the less pleasant parts of Moscow and the many places outside Moscow? I would recommend reading Robert Heinlein's account of his travels in the Soviet Union (shortly before it collapsed). You can find this in the superb collection Expanded Universe. It is not current but Heinlein did push to see beyond the usual areas.
You're right. It's much more important that Big Line go up. If my son has to get his penis cut off, and go a school where he is a minority and is targeted for racial abuse, well that's just the price we have to pay to satisfy Big Line.
An alternative explanation for why cons Stan Putin is not because of stats like "drag queen per capita", but like all traditionalists, they respect the rule of a competent strongman. If anything the Tucker interview highlights, it's the absolute disparity between Putin who can construct a coherent, historical argument for their invasion of Ukraine, vs. Biden who just ducked a cognitive test. Try selling "democracy" to the pro-Bukele crowd in El Salvador and see how much they prefer that to someone who can actually come in and get the job done... Anatoly Karlin has a good twitter thread on the net positives of Putin's reign since the 1990s, including drastically reducing crime, increasing fertility (from a 1.2ish to now comparable level with the US). Not to mention, ofc, that word is just an obfuscation on the actual governing system of the US, which has been an oligarchy ever since the leftists took power in the 60s.
So while yeah, Tucker reverse Gorbacheving Moscow supermarket is kinda cringe, retard pols standing Putin on horse is mega cringe, that does not completely negate the fact that Putin is a competent strongman.
It makes sense that Biden wants to prop up the Ukrainians, as he doesn't want a complete strategic defeat of the Ukrainians in the middle of his re-election. Unfortunately, even if the House approves more money, Ukraine might collapse this summer regardless. We watched the counter-offensive, and we saw that the Ukrainians are incapable of taking back lost territory. They lack the population to match the Russians in a war of attrition, and the West has demonstrated that it lacks the military-industrial base to match the Russians in the production of basic weapons and munitions. We can't produce enough artillery rounds to keep up with the Russians, and the Ukrainians will never have enough soldiers to fire the rounds we can't produce. Not sure who the planners for this proxy war were, but they make the Bay of Pigs planners look competent.
Also not sure what RH means by "misanthropy" but all propping up Ukraine will do is ensure that Ukraine losses even more people and even more territory before it ultimately capitulates, not to mention the Russian army gets bigger and more experienced every day. Will it be better for NATO if Putin takes Odessa and Kiev? Will it be better for NATO if the Ukrainian army breaks and Ukraine capitulates? Russia isn't morally superior, it is superior 5 to 1 in population and 10 to 1 in material, which is the kind of superiority which makes this war a suicide mission for Ukraine. If you really like Putin and you are a misanthropist, you should support aid to Ukraine, because you will be helping him to butcher Ukrainians in greater numbers and for longer.
Not clear on Russia's "moral superiority" but they do seem to limit their military adventurism to scenarios where it actually serves their national interest, rather than waste blood and treasure to please ethnic lobbies and military contractors.
There's a stock gag a lot of comedies use where a character is charged with a series of crimes, some of which are serious, but one of which is just annoying. For example, murder, arson, and taking your shoes off in an airplane. The joke is that the annoying thing is treated as as serious as the really bad things.
These anti-American conservatives seem like people who don't get the joke. They really think that woke people being stupid and annoying is so bad that tolerating a violent dictator is acceptable price to pay to stop them. Their myopia is insane.
This is a great summary and the bit about the oppositional culture explains very well why rightoids prefer Russia over a country like Poland, which in theory should be a much better role model for their ideal society (more religious, bans abortion, better economy, generous family policies). But Polish conservatives love America, so even though they try very hard to win the sympathy of the likes of Tucker (like our president going on a pathetic interview on his old show), they’ll never get it.
Richard - this isn’t hard. And you are largely correct. The post WW2 world order is collapsing. The moderate Left is in the iron grip of its extremists. So much so that otherwise rational Progressives are forced to use their influence to agree with absurdities. Ten years ago, no Progressive university president would allow for rabid anti-Semitism on their campus. Bill Clinton (or younger Joe Biden) would never hold a trans-party on the White House lawn. Or allow Pride flags to be flown at government buildings. Our sports teams would never force-feed black national anthems or end-zone messages demanding we End Racism. Those with superior cultural influence, Progressives, have lain down and surrendered their moral authority to their enraged extremist flank lest they, too, be branded the intolerable Racist! Bigot! Xenophobe! slurs. They make too much money and live too pristine lives in their bohemian paradises to give that up.
So, rabid conservatives - instead - take on the job that was always that of moderate progressives to do. Pushing back against coercive cultural incursions. But they suck at that job don’t they? They don’t occupy those commanding heights of influence do they? So, they are clumsy. Childlike. Like third-world carpenters trying to build a house they were never trained to do. Dangerous. And more than not-quite-right.
If moderate Progressives weren’t such cowards, this clumsiness in trying to paint a persuasive alternative to racial and gender essentialism wouldn’t be happening. The people better suited to making art, literature, film, and media would be more full-throated and convincing in uniting us behind a shared heterodox society that keeps us together rather than taking a knee to the mafia protection racket which is the Woke. Who give them the Putin offer: “Support us and stay rich. Or challenge us and be destroyed”. We clearly see what bargain normal Democrats accepted.
So, yes, conservatives suck at the job of cultural pushback. They color in Crayon rather than oil paint. But somebody gotta do this unpleasant job. At least they’re standing up and DOING SOMETHING rather than taking a knee. So - good.
It's a shame because I still have a soft spot for Tucker, I even found out about you from his old show. But it's true, his recent content has been embarrassing. I think a lot of it has to do with him spending too much time with loons like greenwald, Jimmy Dore, Douglas macgregor etc. recently.
Still think there's hope for him though.
The notion of Putin as literally Hitler among 90% of educated shitlibs has caused far more human catastrophe than Putin as a savior among neck-bearded anons.
No, they don't hate humanity; they just hate modern-day America. And there's something completely rational about it.
First thing you need to know is that allegiance to a nation is not unconditional. Given that, if a given country adopts a mainstream culture and government policy whose tenor is: "Straight white man are bad and need to be brought down a notch," and then all of the major institutions of that country dedicate entire bureaucracies in order to discriminate against and talk smack of white men, then why, as a white man, would you stay loyal or even root for that country?
Great take. Very on point. My wife looked up how much a cashier is likely to make at the place Tucker went. Starting salary is $550 a month. A worker where he went couldn't have afforded what he bought on a weekly basis.
https://twitter.com/TradeandMoney/status/1758534591185326294
There are in fact a lot of great things about Moscow. I wonder how Tucker would feel about the massive public investment that went in to building its metro though. The commies built a lot of nice expensive monuments in the center of Moscow but go to a town two hours away and you have abject poverty.
In half a century Russia will not have imported large portions of subsaharan Africa; we likely will. Lets compare living standards then
I have seen an amusing meme comparing Carlson to Bernie Sanders, who visited the USSR in the 1980s. Sanders, too, admired its grand subways. No doubt Carlson would have mercilessly mocked Sanders at the time. If “the line goes up” in Russia, it’s because it is now more capitalist (it was never a socialist country).
There’s this guy they call Trump, maybe you’ve heard of him? Rumor is that his political opponents might be trying to imprison him...
I won't lie I want to see Russia win, because I see it as a symbol of resistance against global Wokeism.
I think this part of the explanation is correct, but incomplete. What I offer I am admittedly stealing from Russian-born political philosopher Vlad Vexler (who I recommend checking out on YouTube!).
Russia has struggled for centuries with its relationship with the West. Is Russia part of the West? Should it be? Should it be partially Western? Etc. etc. etc. Currently, there are some in Russia who would say:
"We are not part of the West, because the West has lost its way. You Westerners have been corrupted by LGBT activists, neoliberalism, and globalism. We wish to be like you were before you lost your way, the fact you lost your way is why we cannot get along with you".
In case it isn't already obvious, this fits pretty well with what Tucker Carlson propagates to his audience. The reason Tucker and Putin thought they could use one another is their shared understanding of and hatred for the West.
Practically every major city -- and especially capital city -- has much to like. Money goes there and governments in repressive countries make (parts of) their capital look impressive. This is even true in North Korea. Did Carlson take the standard tour of the good parts or did he shuck off handlers and visit the less pleasant parts of Moscow and the many places outside Moscow? I would recommend reading Robert Heinlein's account of his travels in the Soviet Union (shortly before it collapsed). You can find this in the superb collection Expanded Universe. It is not current but Heinlein did push to see beyond the usual areas.
You're right. It's much more important that Big Line go up. If my son has to get his penis cut off, and go a school where he is a minority and is targeted for racial abuse, well that's just the price we have to pay to satisfy Big Line.
An alternative explanation for why cons Stan Putin is not because of stats like "drag queen per capita", but like all traditionalists, they respect the rule of a competent strongman. If anything the Tucker interview highlights, it's the absolute disparity between Putin who can construct a coherent, historical argument for their invasion of Ukraine, vs. Biden who just ducked a cognitive test. Try selling "democracy" to the pro-Bukele crowd in El Salvador and see how much they prefer that to someone who can actually come in and get the job done... Anatoly Karlin has a good twitter thread on the net positives of Putin's reign since the 1990s, including drastically reducing crime, increasing fertility (from a 1.2ish to now comparable level with the US). Not to mention, ofc, that word is just an obfuscation on the actual governing system of the US, which has been an oligarchy ever since the leftists took power in the 60s.
So while yeah, Tucker reverse Gorbacheving Moscow supermarket is kinda cringe, retard pols standing Putin on horse is mega cringe, that does not completely negate the fact that Putin is a competent strongman.
It makes sense that Biden wants to prop up the Ukrainians, as he doesn't want a complete strategic defeat of the Ukrainians in the middle of his re-election. Unfortunately, even if the House approves more money, Ukraine might collapse this summer regardless. We watched the counter-offensive, and we saw that the Ukrainians are incapable of taking back lost territory. They lack the population to match the Russians in a war of attrition, and the West has demonstrated that it lacks the military-industrial base to match the Russians in the production of basic weapons and munitions. We can't produce enough artillery rounds to keep up with the Russians, and the Ukrainians will never have enough soldiers to fire the rounds we can't produce. Not sure who the planners for this proxy war were, but they make the Bay of Pigs planners look competent.
Also not sure what RH means by "misanthropy" but all propping up Ukraine will do is ensure that Ukraine losses even more people and even more territory before it ultimately capitulates, not to mention the Russian army gets bigger and more experienced every day. Will it be better for NATO if Putin takes Odessa and Kiev? Will it be better for NATO if the Ukrainian army breaks and Ukraine capitulates? Russia isn't morally superior, it is superior 5 to 1 in population and 10 to 1 in material, which is the kind of superiority which makes this war a suicide mission for Ukraine. If you really like Putin and you are a misanthropist, you should support aid to Ukraine, because you will be helping him to butcher Ukrainians in greater numbers and for longer.
Not clear on Russia's "moral superiority" but they do seem to limit their military adventurism to scenarios where it actually serves their national interest, rather than waste blood and treasure to please ethnic lobbies and military contractors.