If we simultaneously acknowledge that A: you're right and B: it matters, then we have to contend with the fact that C: we (as individuals) can't do anything about it - no one of us (particularly those of us without "platforms," without audiences to influence) can meaningfully change the paradigm. As you've pointed out, the social costs of opposing the cultural juggernaut you've identified here are ruinous. Human beings don't like feeling powerless in the face of destructive forces, so the tendency is simply to deny A or B.
Students on campus have, since the beginning of time, had radical and frequently stupid / misguided views. Only in the last 6-10 years did the adults in the room hand students the keys to the castle and give them carte blanche to get people fired and suppress other viewpoints.
I guess my question is, what changed? Internet/Social media? The answer can’t just be Trump, since there was equal amounts of hatred for Bush in the 2000’s but the establishment didn’t abdicate their responsibilities then.
Sometime in 2018 I was telling my mom about all the out-of-control angry SJW stuff I was seeing, and her response was usually something like "But it's just online stuff. It's not real life."
Freddie, I am a new subscriber. I would very much like to read what you’ve written about kids and depression. Is it too much trouble for you to point me to those?
Trunk or Treat sucks. I had assumed it was for narcissistic parents who wanted to show off their kids-in-costume (also, a substantial number of young parents wear costumes to these events) to their preferred peer group (who likely did not live in adjacent houses) but I'm guessing you're right that it boils down to perceived "safety" for many.
The spread of lite academic language is so weird to me, I can't stop seeing it. If you read an article in the paper about cooking or yoga or anything at all, it's no surprise to find someone talking about "centring" or "vital acts of memory" or "at once seen and unseen" or whatever. It seems a good point to suggest the power of this thinking to influence society, no matter how slowly or subtly.
I think there was an old Last Psychiatrist blog post with a line that went something like "You may not be interested in pop culture, but pop culture is interested in you." I think similar logic applies to the situations you are mentioning. Even if you genuinely didn't care or thought it to be irrelevant, these things still have widespread consequences. And I don't even think most of the people making that case even believe it's irrelevant, it's just an easy way to defend something they can't actually make convincing arguments to defend otherwise.
The Ivy League is basically just the finishing school for the US ruling class. The people there will be running the show outright in 10-20 years. Or as George Carlin once said "It's a big club and you ain't in it." Whatever proclivities the students have there (and of course, a lot of them don't stick long term) are of large consequence down the road. These are the people who will be running your life, so you better figure out what tune they'll be asking you to dance to when it's their turn at Total Request Live. It's also true to a lesser extent for every college, which is the sort of like the finishing school for the middle management of the ruling class in the US. These are the basic PMC types, a club in which I have to admit I am a member. Honesty is good I guess, we all exist within the same system, all the necessary disclaimers.
Very much agreed, but I was a bit bothered, in your earliest piece about the Hamas attack (I think from Monday two weeks ago) that you appeared to do something very similar to this when addressing hyper-progressive youth (in places like Harvard and Yale) praising the attack and dismissing it in "just a bunch of weird college kids" type phrases. I was bothered enough in fact that had comments not been closed, I would have mentioned it. I think the overall thesis of that article stands fine, including the point that praise of Hamas attack is outweighed by orders of magnitude by support for Israel coming from pretty much all of the most powerful countries and institutions. But I think it's reasonable to be troubled also at the trend of young people taking a pro-Palestinian stance in such black-and-white, "the Palestinians are the oppressed people of color so their government can do no wrong", "activist change is made my creating disruption through any means" terms that atrocities like what was done on October 7th are actually applauded: as you continue to point out, what starts as a trend among kids at elite universities can result in huge waves in our culture.
Really good point about how the people who ought to be the elders in the room are shirking their roles. It's either because, as you said, they're afraid of being seen as the actual adults because it's a role to which they give no social value (when people are botoxing at 20, aging might as well be worse than HIV). They're absolutely petrified of going against younger people and losing, thus becoming all too aware that they're no longer young. It all reminds me of that pathetic NYT piece a couple of years ago about how Millennials in the workplace were desperately trying to learn the emojis and lingo of Gen Z. Hey, you're the goddamn boss; enforce YOUR standards and predilections!
Likewise "that isn't happening, and it's good that it is".
If we simultaneously acknowledge that A: you're right and B: it matters, then we have to contend with the fact that C: we (as individuals) can't do anything about it - no one of us (particularly those of us without "platforms," without audiences to influence) can meaningfully change the paradigm. As you've pointed out, the social costs of opposing the cultural juggernaut you've identified here are ruinous. Human beings don't like feeling powerless in the face of destructive forces, so the tendency is simply to deny A or B.
Students on campus have, since the beginning of time, had radical and frequently stupid / misguided views. Only in the last 6-10 years did the adults in the room hand students the keys to the castle and give them carte blanche to get people fired and suppress other viewpoints.
I guess my question is, what changed? Internet/Social media? The answer can’t just be Trump, since there was equal amounts of hatred for Bush in the 2000’s but the establishment didn’t abdicate their responsibilities then.
Sometime in 2018 I was telling my mom about all the out-of-control angry SJW stuff I was seeing, and her response was usually something like "But it's just online stuff. It's not real life."
And then 2020 happened. Oops.
It doesn't matter until it does, and then it's too late.
Freddie, I am a new subscriber. I would very much like to read what you’ve written about kids and depression. Is it too much trouble for you to point me to those?
Kaighleigh lol 😂
Trunk or Treat sucks. I had assumed it was for narcissistic parents who wanted to show off their kids-in-costume (also, a substantial number of young parents wear costumes to these events) to their preferred peer group (who likely did not live in adjacent houses) but I'm guessing you're right that it boils down to perceived "safety" for many.
Also I think this article ties in nicely to the campus stuff in your piece: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/takeover-russell-jacoby
The spread of lite academic language is so weird to me, I can't stop seeing it. If you read an article in the paper about cooking or yoga or anything at all, it's no surprise to find someone talking about "centring" or "vital acts of memory" or "at once seen and unseen" or whatever. It seems a good point to suggest the power of this thinking to influence society, no matter how slowly or subtly.
I think there was an old Last Psychiatrist blog post with a line that went something like "You may not be interested in pop culture, but pop culture is interested in you." I think similar logic applies to the situations you are mentioning. Even if you genuinely didn't care or thought it to be irrelevant, these things still have widespread consequences. And I don't even think most of the people making that case even believe it's irrelevant, it's just an easy way to defend something they can't actually make convincing arguments to defend otherwise.
The Ivy League is basically just the finishing school for the US ruling class. The people there will be running the show outright in 10-20 years. Or as George Carlin once said "It's a big club and you ain't in it." Whatever proclivities the students have there (and of course, a lot of them don't stick long term) are of large consequence down the road. These are the people who will be running your life, so you better figure out what tune they'll be asking you to dance to when it's their turn at Total Request Live. It's also true to a lesser extent for every college, which is the sort of like the finishing school for the middle management of the ruling class in the US. These are the basic PMC types, a club in which I have to admit I am a member. Honesty is good I guess, we all exist within the same system, all the necessary disclaimers.
Another excellent DeBoer piece. Thank you
Very much agreed, but I was a bit bothered, in your earliest piece about the Hamas attack (I think from Monday two weeks ago) that you appeared to do something very similar to this when addressing hyper-progressive youth (in places like Harvard and Yale) praising the attack and dismissing it in "just a bunch of weird college kids" type phrases. I was bothered enough in fact that had comments not been closed, I would have mentioned it. I think the overall thesis of that article stands fine, including the point that praise of Hamas attack is outweighed by orders of magnitude by support for Israel coming from pretty much all of the most powerful countries and institutions. But I think it's reasonable to be troubled also at the trend of young people taking a pro-Palestinian stance in such black-and-white, "the Palestinians are the oppressed people of color so their government can do no wrong", "activist change is made my creating disruption through any means" terms that atrocities like what was done on October 7th are actually applauded: as you continue to point out, what starts as a trend among kids at elite universities can result in huge waves in our culture.
Really good point about how the people who ought to be the elders in the room are shirking their roles. It's either because, as you said, they're afraid of being seen as the actual adults because it's a role to which they give no social value (when people are botoxing at 20, aging might as well be worse than HIV). They're absolutely petrified of going against younger people and losing, thus becoming all too aware that they're no longer young. It all reminds me of that pathetic NYT piece a couple of years ago about how Millennials in the workplace were desperately trying to learn the emojis and lingo of Gen Z. Hey, you're the goddamn boss; enforce YOUR standards and predilections!
Coincidentally, I also just recently wrote about how Millennials will age terribly: https://salieriredemption.substack.com/p/millennials-will-age-terribly