Jackson’s Blog
The Autistic Resistance
Philosophical Stampede Trail
Philosophical Stampede Trail is a great place to be because it is the easiest answer to every question. One need not ponder much business ethics or relationship boundaries because capitalism and dating are far beneath you. It is the reason Christianity is a harder religion than Buddhism. Eternal existence as a Heavenly society is aContinue reading “Philosophical Stampede Trail”
Dogwhistles and Karens: A Kinder, Gentler, Sadism
When talking about prejudice, for the most part, one must have explicit and gory stories or evidence of maltreatment for people to take it seriously. Luckily, I have that. Yet, it doesn’t cover the overwhelming majority of the inhumanity I have endured. Most of the overt bullying was “circus monkey” bullying for which my bulliesContinue reading “Dogwhistles and Karens: A Kinder, Gentler, Sadism”
PTSD from Social Situations
My last article detailed some of the horrors of being autistic but how people usually respond is less than ideal. They believe that the best recourse is punitive. However, punishment and revenge are not only inner-demons I’d rather stay dormant but have no therapeutic effect on me. My greatest issues after are not aContinue reading “PTSD from Social Situations”
The Dark Side of Autism
Ariana Grande, in her piece, Thirteen Reasons Why, said she was trying to be so “real”. The revenge fantasy followed too many stereotypes to be real. The plot was a Nancy Grace “True Crime” episode about a victimized suburban white girl. As a religious man, I can say that God weeps just as much forContinue reading “The Dark Side of Autism”
Gender Borderlands: The Frontier of the Cis and Straight
In the realm of gender studies there is a glaring omission, that of the frontiers. I am a cis, straight, male and I am a heteroromantic asexual tomgirl. I fall into a macro category that would suggest that I’m something that I’m not. That I am a man in the masculine sense of that term.Continue reading “Gender Borderlands: The Frontier of the Cis and Straight”
There Are No Poets in This War
For all of the human suffering and depraved human folly involved in waging the Vietnam war, it is reputed to have had the best soudtrack of any tregady in history. Most of Classic Rock was a direct or indirect result of the anti-war movement. The current crisis, however, lacks much of a soundtrack or evenContinue reading “There Are No Poets in This War”
Mental Health & Liberalism
In Francis Fukuyama’s 1989 essay “The End of History”, he expounded that history ended in 1806 with the defeat of the Holy Roman Empire by Napoleon at the Battle of Jena. His reasoning was that this was the moment Enlightenment ideas in politics had crossed the point of no return and would remain the foundationContinue reading “Mental Health & Liberalism”
Trauma and Autism
For therapy to be effective it is usually required that the cuases of one’s trauma be sympathetic. If they refect upon one’s reputation unsympathetically then it is sometimes almost impossible to get effective treatment. Many of the earliest articles on this blog concerned themselves with the overreaction to minor social mistakes. A serious reason forContinue reading “Trauma and Autism”
Autism & Empathy
One commonly cited symptom of autism is our apparent lack of empathy. It conveys the idea that we’re hard, STEM-oriented, robots without the capacity for human connection. The fact is, while there are large portions of the autistic population who don’t compensate for their low oxytocin and other sympathetic neurochemical levels with other means ofContinue reading “Autism & Empathy”
The System To Handle Bullying
When I expound on my history of being bullied, my tactics regarding how I handled it are almost universally objected to. That of peer-to-peer diplomacy as opposed to beating them up or involving vice principals or the police. The idea that I forgave them is also either shocking to or opposed by them. Yet, ironically,Continue reading “The System To Handle Bullying”
The College and Mental Health
By, Jackson Hamilton To my name, I claim 135 college credits at the College of Charleston. To graduate, I would need 122. The reason for the difference is largely owing to a myriad of factors but all summing up to say that the college’s mental health infrastructure is sorely lacking. I am autistic and, additionally, ADHD,Continue reading “The College and Mental Health”
A Story of Obviousness
My surname is Hamilton and I live on the political left so I feel compelled to address the widespread criticism over Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In The Heights” movie. It was criticized for being colorist and not casting darker-skinned hispanics in the lead roles. It was so bad that Lin-Manuel Miranda issued an apology. It’s quite ironicContinue reading “A Story of Obviousness”
Jeffery Toobin’s Return and the State of Moral Panic
On this blog, I usually try to steer clear of clickbait scandals like Jeffery Toobin’s. The scandal he is a part of seems overblown and the reaction disproportionate. Many editorials called for his arrest and charge with public indecency. Given the popularity of online pornography, it would both seem that self-service in front of aContinue reading “Jeffery Toobin’s Return and the State of Moral Panic”
The Normative Ethics of Ghosting
One of the concerning phenomenon of the Zoomer generation is the ubiquity with which they ghost. If this were just a means of ending romantic or sexual relationships, that would be one thing. Yet, platonic and professional relationships are equally or almost equally the subject of it. Ghosting is, when not avoiding a truly dangerousContinue reading “The Normative Ethics of Ghosting”
Death Before an Inch: The Urge for Homeostasis
Recently, I published an article regarding entropy as the current bane of society and how our institutions are unable to resist the inevitable deterioration that comes with the lack of ability to coordinate and plan on the part of the people within the institutions. A related question is why when things get so bad doContinue reading “Death Before an Inch: The Urge for Homeostasis”
Villian Without a Reason: Outgroup Bias and Autistic Life
Earlier on this blog, I’ve written about how being autistic can lead to misunderstandings and how others can form inaccurate moral judgments based on those. I more than welcome any new reader to browse my website and also share any content they find worthy of it. Yet, for this article, I will expound upon theContinue reading “Villian Without a Reason: Outgroup Bias and Autistic Life”
Anatomy of a Failed State: The Entropic Death of Society
Without question, I come from the political left but my primary concern in politics is not whether my side wins or whether other ideas and people gain more. That’s a concern. When I work for Democratic candidates, I try to do my best to ensure the best position for the party. Yet, the game ofContinue reading “Anatomy of a Failed State: The Entropic Death of Society”
In His Mother’s Basement: Failure and Moral Judgment
In my studies of moral judgment, what and who people think are moral seldom comport with what is actually moral. The title of this piece refers to the common trope that losers get what they deserve as if there is some great moral justice that is awarded to people on Earth. If someone is downContinue reading “In His Mother’s Basement: Failure and Moral Judgment”
Social Media & Moral Judgment
Before on this blog, I have detailed ideas about moral thinking and I’ve written about social media but how does one affect the other. In many ways, of course. The worst thing about social media is that it amplifies everything wrong with the regular media. The stories for which “If it bleeds, it leads” appliesContinue reading “Social Media & Moral Judgment”
Postmodernism and Power: The Politics of Reality and its Manipulation
When I talk about the bullying I experienced for being autistic, people tend to take the wrong things away from what the worst parts of it were. The worst parts of it were not being urinated on or even being groped. Those were actually some of the least worst parts of my being bullied because,Continue reading “Postmodernism and Power: The Politics of Reality and its Manipulation”
The Politics of Restraining Order
A lot has been said about how authorities coddle Gen Z and Millennials and how this generation has not learned how to tolerate the mildest forms of being offended and being made uncomfortable. I would agree, in part, but the issue is not so much that the adults taught them that they were special andContinue reading “The Politics of Restraining Order”
The “Music” Movie: Another Autistic Evisceration of it
Many of my compatriots on the spectrum have lambasted the movie for many reasons. It seemed to be an attempt at adapting the horrendous 1970s-set 2003 movie “Radio” to low-functioning autism and using digital music instead of handheld radios. The movie posits that autistic people are childish, awe-filled, people with preschool imaginations filled with lollipopsContinue reading “The “Music” Movie: Another Autistic Evisceration of it”
Is Being Popular Immoral?
Of course, not, per se. That is not the question I actually seek to answer. A lot of the work I do in disability advocacy, more than the other politics I do, involves fighting the sociology of cliques and even this far into my adulthood, the world is still very high school-esque. The questionContinue reading “Is Being Popular Immoral?”
Network Theory: Reinventing the Clique
One of the perineal obstacles in this line of work, disability advocacy, is social inclusion and integration. To do this, I have suggesting things like extracurricular exchange programs in which clubs and sports would exchange members to decrease prejudice between the cliques and subcultures through what in social psychology is known as contact theoryContinue reading “Network Theory: Reinventing the Clique”
The Demon-Haunted World
With the rise in Q-Anon, the issue of sensationalism has become one of existential danger. Our school system and our police culture was and is embedded with the toxic beliefs about superpredators and pedophiles. Children were thrown into cells and had their lives ruined, SPED classrooms became detention centers with panicked faculty at what wasContinue reading “The Demon-Haunted World”
#Free Britney: A Rational Perspective
I don’t care about celebrity culture and I have no parasocial relationships. I did not watch The New York Times documentary “Framing Britney Spears”. Which is not to say I don’t care about Britany Spears. I care about her. She’s my sister in the human family and I love her deeply for that. Am IContinue reading “#Free Britney: A Rational Perspective”
Autism Advocacy: Was This My First Choice in Politics?
The answer to that question is no. My first major foray into politics was the Obama campaign in 2008 and my first major protest was Occupy Wall Street in 2011. Neither of those concerned themselves, in any significant capacity, with disability rights. My views on the anti-bullying movement back then were cynical because while IContinue reading “Autism Advocacy: Was This My First Choice in Politics?”
Do Neurotypicals Have Social Skills?
As someone with autism, it is always taken for granted that neurotypicals have excellent social skills and I should aspire to one day attain their level of acumen in that field. In earlier blogs, I have mentioned how society treats a lack of social skills, those resulting in offensive or otherwise abnormal behaviors, asContinue reading “Do Neurotypicals Have Social Skills?”
Paradoxes of the Suicide Rate
Is society opposed to suicide? While as a normative value, by the indications of its expressed position, it is resoundingly opposed to suicide and wishes to reduce the incidence of it to the maximum degree possible the suicide rate in Western societies is exploding. Curious is it that a society with such a strong normativeContinue reading “Paradoxes of the Suicide Rate”
Ugliness & Moral Perception
Long in the history of our culture have our monsters been ugly and the heroes who slay them been handsome. While it is a cliched point of ethics that one’s character is mostly separate from one’s exterior, the great question remains to what extent does the average cognitive bias judge, not social acceptability, butContinue reading “Ugliness & Moral Perception”
How to Represent Asexuality in the Media
According to many surveys the answer to that is around 1% but those surveys are probably worded incorrectly to ascertain an accurate figure since it most likely measures what are known as hard asexuals. Asexuals who lack any attraction whatsoever. If the heteroromantic, homoromantic, and biromantic asexuals were taken into account, and you include peopleContinue reading “How to Represent Asexuality in the Media”
Screwing Our Next Environment: Environmental Issues of Space Colonization
Whenever humans set foot in a parcel of nature, they set forth to destroy it as much as possible. That has been the way of our species for most of its history and as we begin to settle space some of the most enthusiastic minds have dreamt up ways that we could do just that.Continue reading “Screwing Our Next Environment: Environmental Issues of Space Colonization”
Failures in Meritocracy: Why Good People and Ideas Go Unused
Why don’t good ideas win? Why don’t talented people get ahead? This is not about the relative fairness or lack thereof of the system toward people with disabilities or ethnic minorities. That is a major issue but that argument is problematic because it would posit a hierarchy based on intellect or talent rather than anyContinue reading “Failures in Meritocracy: Why Good People and Ideas Go Unused”
Liberality and Reticence
I’ve written a lot about grudges and how quick people are to hate over so little so intensely for so long. And the increase in loneliness and the decline in romantic relationships. All of these fall along the spectrum of liberality versus reticence. In the earlier article where I illustrate the differences in theContinue reading “Liberality and Reticence”
Populism & Civil Liberties
While civil liberties are associated with democracy, the public doesn’t like their existence. Civil liberties are based on a universal love that people are quite averse to. The natural rights posited by enlightenment individualism may not include among them the right to be loved or some minimal agape everyone is duty-bound to have for everyoneContinue reading “Populism & Civil Liberties”
Advocacy and Self-Pity: How to Avoid the Latter While Doing the Former
As an extrovert with an expertise in communications and politics, it is a civic duty that I represent my people and my best utilities to do that include my own personal experiences and using them means telling sob stories from my personal history. In doing so, I feel less emotional about them than I’mContinue reading “Advocacy and Self-Pity: How to Avoid the Latter While Doing the Former”
From Westies to Weebs: The Diversity of the Spectrum
Autism is a polyphyletic group. It hasn’t been proven to be one conclusively but I think it is safe to assume that it is a group of similar conditions rather than a singe condition. The diversity of the spectrum is not spoken about often except to delineate the higher from the lower functioning among us.Continue reading “From Westies to Weebs: The Diversity of the Spectrum”
Running a Friendship: Aspie Style
While this is about platonic friendships, I’ll begin with something less than platonic: flirting. Flirting has been explained to me as attempting to romantically or sexually woo a partner without them realizing it, usually with a stranger. It seems dishonest because it is and I would never do it. It represents the deceit with whichContinue reading “Running a Friendship: Aspie Style”
Social Age: Should an Official Age be Adjusted for Development?
One of the biggest problems with regards to developmentally different people is that their stages of development are slower and longer than neurotypicals. Now to abate any anticipated fears, the idea of adjusting someone’s age to their level of development would not normalize, justify, or validate anything sexually perverted. The maximum difference that this wouldContinue reading “Social Age: Should an Official Age be Adjusted for Development?”
The Unsaid Lesson of the GameStop Short Squeeze
The immediate aftermath of the GameStop Short Squeeze saw a flurry of headlines, screams by panicked rich people, and cheers from populist-minded onlookers. Those panicked screams claimed among them the exasperated and metaphorically teary begging to regulate the industry answered by the angry yelling by the left that such begging was shamelessly hypocritical. If anything,Continue reading “The Unsaid Lesson of the GameStop Short Squeeze”
The Rules: Liability, Paranoia, and the Death of Informality
The greatest impediment to my personal success has been the rules. I’m not a delinquent, not even close. I’ve never touched alcohol, recreational drugs, tobacco, been in a fight, shoplifted, had my first kiss, I don’t even have a tattoo, and so on. I have never been the type of person whom the rules shouldContinue reading “The Rules: Liability, Paranoia, and the Death of Informality”
Being an Aspie in Politics
So, how does the spectrum affect my involvement in politics? I try to avoid the sentiments of chauvinism in writing about the spectrum but this is going to convey some because this has to do with how neurotypicals do politics and how they’re worse. The first thing is that since neurotypicals live in a worldContinue reading “Being an Aspie in Politics”
Words and their Penumbra: An Unsaid Burden of the Spectrum
It has been a long time since this blog has concerned itself with the issues of being autistic. Once again, we shall return and this is about one of the more common autistic problems which I refer to as “words and penumbra”. When people communicate, they communicate through not merely nonverbal queues but ones thatContinue reading “Words and their Penumbra: An Unsaid Burden of the Spectrum”
Coed Platonic Friendships: Long Experiences in Platonically Hitting on Girls
I pursue women, regularly. Exclusively platonically. I have never had a real girlfriend, if a real girlfriend is one I had after I hit puberty and actually kissed. The market for platonic relationships is ever thinner and I’m painfully aware of that. I’m also, as mentioned on this blog before, a tomgirl. I’m aContinue reading “Coed Platonic Friendships: Long Experiences in Platonically Hitting on Girls”
The Freakish Organics: The Platonic Version of Pornography
It has often been said that social media avatars are a perfected version of the people behind them and that this elicits the dismay of whoever compares themselves to that avatar and this contributes to numerous psychological maladies. There is, however, another aspect of the avatar that likewise contributes to such maladies and thatContinue reading “The Freakish Organics: The Platonic Version of Pornography”
The Psychology of Calling the Police
In my last article, I wrote about the exploitation and social invisibility of janitors at my school. The police are a similar class. They have low paid and often miserable jobs. They have the distinct honor of holding a profession where almost everyone they interact with doesn’t like them. They are also the collective bitchContinue reading “The Psychology of Calling the Police”
Saga of the Domestics: The Invisible World Below Us
Of all of the activist groups and activists at my college, the College of Charleston, I am the only I am aware of to have concerned myself with the food workers and the janitors. In the myopic and solipsistic purview of the average student and member of faculty, they don’t exist. The minimum wage workersContinue reading “Saga of the Domestics: The Invisible World Below Us”
Consumerist Media & Anxiety: Paranoia, Self-Pity, and their Origins in Clickbait
Many vices have been attributed to the newer generations, the Zoomers and Millennials. They have mostly been along the lines that our generations are entitled and coddled. We are the loneliest and most anxious generations in recorded memory. Mental conditions of depression and stress are exploding as is the suicide rate. I have experiencedContinue reading “Consumerist Media & Anxiety: Paranoia, Self-Pity, and their Origins in Clickbait”
The Science of Forgiveness
Why is it so difficult for people to forgive or makeup with others over fairly asinine and petty causes? One of the major reasons, it seems, is a cognitive bias known as the “End of History” bias which has that people, mostly, see their current selves as the epitome of their lives and that theirContinue reading “The Science of Forgiveness”
Metaphorical Cocaine: The Social Effects of Dopamine’s Zombies
Almost everyone who went to my high school hated it and I have written repeatedly as to my own experiences and why I came to hate it. I have analyzed the cognitive biases and insularity of cliques and ingroup/outgroup biases. Yet, possibly, on the most fundamental level the reason why people were so cruel andContinue reading “Metaphorical Cocaine: The Social Effects of Dopamine’s Zombies”
The Consequences of Perpetual Revolution
There are many reasons for the mistrust of institutions in recent years, one in particular that I’ll focus on for this piece is that of authority being the villains in every social struggle in the past few centuries. Social analysis tends to be more restricted in the timescales it considers yet I think we haveContinue reading “The Consequences of Perpetual Revolution”
The Death of Humanity: Lessons From the Mice of Universe 25
Originally posted on The Autistic Resistance:
In the 1960’s, a psychologist in Chicago did an experiment in population density. It was to determine how populations react to increasing density with no material stresses and under ideal living conditions. Famously, within two years, the mice in the study abandoned their young, fought each other regularly, and…
Tipper Gore Versus Burning Man
I spend my life on the political left and usually find myself on the libertarian side of it. One of the first articles I posted on this website was The Death of the Libertarian Left. There is a huge divide on the left between the libertarians and the not. Those who want Woodstock and TheContinue reading “Tipper Gore Versus Burning Man”
The Death of Eccentricity
Recently, I was reading Jonathan Haidt’s dissertation from 1992 entitled “Should you eat your dog?” A paper that covers an issue very important to many people on the spectrum. It focuses on the morality of harmless offenses that are considered offensive. Now, I will avoid using the term harmless in favor of the word eccentricContinue reading “The Death of Eccentricity”
Dalliances in Marxist Analysis: The Religions of Young Idealists
I often deride postmodernism but as much as I deride it, I am very grateful for it. In terms of social deconstructionism, of course, I have absolutely no use for its approach to hard science or morality and ethics. I may no longer be the nascent adolescent I was marching with Occupy Wall Street, readingContinue reading “Dalliances in Marxist Analysis: The Religions of Young Idealists”
The Science of Credulity
Malcolm Gladwell’s most recent book was Talking to Strangers. Given the content, I disagree with the title. So long as it’s daylight and there is no fear of danger, strangers should be talked to as that makes people more multicultural, worldly, and empathetic to people of diverse backgrounds. Without question, as long as it’s safe,Continue reading “The Science of Credulity”
Is The Zoomer Mind Coddled?: Answering the Gen-Z Bashers Most Common Critique
It has often been argued that the Zoomer generation has been spoiled and demand everything be their way and this has attributed to helicopter parents, safety guidelines, the campaigns against bullying, and the abolition of corporal punishment. While there is truth to the idea that the modern world has been coddled overly, it isn’t becauseContinue reading “Is The Zoomer Mind Coddled?: Answering the Gen-Z Bashers Most Common Critique”
Will Sex Return?
One of the great less broadcast questions infecting the minds of sociologists is whether the decline in romantic relationships and sexuality is temporary or not. It seems that the decline will never fully reverse and human sexuality will seldom return to late-twentieth century levels. Some of the reasons are more physical than sociological, theContinue reading “Will Sex Return?”
The End of Facebook: And the Future of Social Media
Facebook’s popularity is beginning to wane in the very place where it was born, the American middle-class. There has been a general burnout and the shiny toy, like all shiny toys, has lost its novelty and faded to metaphorical grey. Mark Zukerburg failed to make it the utility that he wished to. That utility wasContinue reading “The End of Facebook: And the Future of Social Media”
The Universal Boogieman: Autism, Pseudoscience, and Why They Go Together
It has been a while since I last wrote an article pertaining to autism and life on the spectrum. I prefer to not reduce my class of people to their conditions and nothing more. Yet, in a pandemic of increasing conspiracy theories one Aspie experience becomes creepingly obtrusive. That is being the universal boogieman. MostContinue reading “The Universal Boogieman: Autism, Pseudoscience, and Why They Go Together”
The Testament of a Gentrifier
Gentrification is both beautiful and ugly, each in many senses. It brings aesthetic benefits and social liberalism to areas formerly devoid of those things and it often drives the weaker members of our society from their homes and into less humane circumstances. Myself, I am gentrifier, I live in an apartment in the East CentralContinue reading “The Testament of a Gentrifier”
The Encroaching Green Angel: How to Make Super-Blocks and Pedestrian Malls Politically Feasible
The greatest challenge to creating a psychologically and environmentally healthier land for people to live in are NIMBYs and their tendency to oppose density and physically and socially interconnected and interdependent communities. As a political scientist and worker, I count the result of political challenges to be as much on the shortcomings of my ownContinue reading “The Encroaching Green Angel: How to Make Super-Blocks and Pedestrian Malls Politically Feasible”
Urban Planning in Space Colonies
In the next few years our species is going to build its first cities in space and one of my great fears is that when they do, the cities will grow organically based on the utilitarian needs of the first settlers. Building cities from scratch comes with the wonderful opportunity to create something beautiful andContinue reading “Urban Planning in Space Colonies”
Kanye’s Presidential Run: The Precedent for Crazy is Fully Set
As Taylor Swift is in the front picture of this website, it is incumbent upon me to comment on the presidential campaign of Kanye West. A part of me absolutely finds his presidential ambitions to be thoroughly pleasurable on the level of Fentanyl. For the same reason, in 2013, John Oliver begged Donald Trump toContinue reading “Kanye’s Presidential Run: The Precedent for Crazy is Fully Set”
How the Police Caused the Virus
This summer has seen two major political crises, that of the virus and that of the police (and racism generally). From the surface, it doesn’t look like these have much in common but if one steps aback, they do. One of the great criticisms of the police is that they have become the primary socialContinue reading “How the Police Caused the Virus”
John Smith Hits Rock Bottom: The World of Universal Celebrity
I have a relative disdain for celebrity culture but, in recent years, as celebrities have not only become political but Hollywood has become another branch of government. Selena Gomez is effectively a US senator along with ever other A-list celebrity. While the nature if celebrity has changed in the recent cultural shift, the condition ofContinue reading “John Smith Hits Rock Bottom: The World of Universal Celebrity”
Reticence: The Anglo-American Suppression of Emotion
One of the sad facts of our culture is that expressions of emotion are likely to viewed with derision or fear or, when not dangerous, get the cops called or HR involved. Sorrow, laughter, anger, joy, longing, and many more are feared when manifested outside the confines of a therapist’s office. Last time I criedContinue reading “Reticence: The Anglo-American Suppression of Emotion”
Losing a Pity Contest: The Shamelessness of Glamorized Tragedy
Whenever I talk about my past, I don’t feel sorry for myself and I try to not sell myself as a sob story. Which is a lot of the reason I try to use humor when talking about it. Alas, in a capitalistic society where pity can get many forms of capital, I haveContinue reading “Losing a Pity Contest: The Shamelessness of Glamorized Tragedy”
Hugging and Affection in the Era of COVID
Prior to COVID, I hugged girls and shook hands with or fist bumped boys. It was my invariable style. Every person is my sibling in the human family and it is my duty to express my love for them. To my surprise, when COVID hit there was not only a resignation to less tactile interactionsContinue reading “Hugging and Affection in the Era of COVID”
The Religious Left: Christian versus Buddhist Socialism
Religion and politics are inseparable because religion is the underlying foundation behind everyone’s ethical philosophy and within the definition of religion I include secular religions like secular humanism which is often practiced through Unitarian or Quaker services. For this piece, I will focus on two religions as they are the two theistic religions withContinue reading “The Religious Left: Christian versus Buddhist Socialism”
Death by Holistic Medicine: My Mother’s Losing Battle With Paltrow Disease
How the Illuminati Killed My Mother (Fake Title) Jokingly, I sometimes refer to the Illuminati as a Satanic organization since its purpose was to promote Enlightenment Deism to the detriment of Christianity. My Christianity is liberal but I like pretending it’s paleoconservative. However, that regards the actual Illuminati of the 18th century which wasContinue reading “Death by Holistic Medicine: My Mother’s Losing Battle With Paltrow Disease”
Myths Versus Men: Options for Replacing Statues
Recently, there has been controversy about statues remaining up. Not only confederate statues but also statues like Winston Churchill, Cecil Rhodes, and many others. These statues have had their strident defenders, as well. Yet, from my perspective the purpose of statues is aesthetic more than commemorative. Instead of focusing the bulk of our statuesContinue reading “Myths Versus Men: Options for Replacing Statues”
Survival on the Spectrum: The Long, Uncertain, Road to Adulthood
So far, I’ve written a lot about all of the obstacles an autistic person must endure. You’re coming from Syria and the xenophobes and racists do not want you. The obstacles they put in place to keep you from succeeding are too many to count. There is no affirmative action, few accommodations, and fewContinue reading “Survival on the Spectrum: The Long, Uncertain, Road to Adulthood”
John Rawls & Early Childhood Development
Having spent a lot of time in Special Ed and currently working on disability issues and also having done lots of sociology and political science, I spent a lot of time thinking about how those fields intersect. One of the places they intersect is in the area of childhood neglect which has serious negative consequencesContinue reading “John Rawls & Early Childhood Development”
A Lamentation of Art: An Old Romantic’s Longing for Depth
As I say elsewhere on this website, I’m an old-timey romantic. I dearly miss the old anthems and as a youth who drinks the pop culture, as I must, I miss the haunting spirituality, ethereal eternalism, and stalking timelessness of the fables and folktales of the older genres. The dubstep, mainstream hip-hop, and electronic popContinue reading “A Lamentation of Art: An Old Romantic’s Longing for Depth”
Novel Uses of Comedy: A Means of Dousing Flame Wars, Online Vigilantism, and Stopping Cyberbullying
As I have written elsewhere on this website, humor and comedy are one of best and most effective means of reducing hatred, increasing civility, and facilitating forgiveness of opponents. My last blog, the one of the Daily Kos, was banned for having a joke account and having a joke account was one of the biggestContinue reading “Novel Uses of Comedy: A Means of Dousing Flame Wars, Online Vigilantism, and Stopping Cyberbullying”
The Passions and the Prefrontal Cortex in Politics
Antagonism in politics is an issue that has plagued the discipline since it first arose. Throughout history, to what degree we should empathize with our opponents has been controversial. Furthermore, to what degree emotion should be balanced with science is also. These are very related issues since without the balance of science, the humanContinue reading “The Passions and the Prefrontal Cortex in Politics”
Cruise Trains: The Green Alternative to Cruises
The cruise industry has been rightly the target of derision and scorn. They are among the most environmentally toxic things one can do without being a corporate executive. Yet, in the rage against them no alternative has been proposed to fill their nichè. A novel proposal would be cruise trains. Trains have many advantages thatContinue reading “Cruise Trains: The Green Alternative to Cruises”
Adult Proms: A Way to Increase Dating Rates and More Fun Things
It has been reacted to as a crisis in the media that dating rates are down. It’s not a crisis. Yet, the pundits react to any change as a crisis. When the birth rates were going up, there was a panic about overpopulation and when the birth rates began to reverse the pundits, again, panickedContinue reading “Adult Proms: A Way to Increase Dating Rates and More Fun Things”
My City: A Charlestonian on the 5th Anniversary of the Emmanuel Nine
As a Charlestonian, I consider the Emmanuel Nine to be unfair to my fair city since Dylann Roof was not from Charleston, he was from Columbia. It sends the message that Charleston is a right-leaning city when Charleston is a left-leaning city. It combined with Southern Charm and Reckless and other items of mediaContinue reading “My City: A Charlestonian on the 5th Anniversary of the Emmanuel Nine”
Should We Bring Period Fashion Back? Yes! And Other Things.
As an adult, I am saddened by the fact that preschoolers can dress like princesses and not be judged for it and even wear it to school but adults invariably wear normal clothing almost every day. I am not saying that people dress in Halloween-type costumes where they are a character but I am sayingContinue reading “Should We Bring Period Fashion Back? Yes! And Other Things.”
The Case for Monarchy: From a Democratic Socialist
Today is the Queen’s official birthday and as I am an ardent supporter of the monarchy, I mention it. Not only am I a supporter of the British monarchy but am a supporter of monarchy, generally. In part, it is my vintage romantic and preschool heart that adores royalty. I am rare among socialists forContinue reading “The Case for Monarchy: From a Democratic Socialist”
The Values We Celebrate: A Treatise of Monuments and the Collective Psyche
Recently, there has been a resurgence in interest in taking down racist monuments and other racist things. A sentiment, I generally agree with. Especially, Confederate monuments should be demolished or moved to a museum. Although, a few monuments need be erected to Confederate people like privates William Finklea, William Boyd, Jimmy Pratt, and others whoContinue reading “The Values We Celebrate: A Treatise of Monuments and the Collective Psyche”
The Pseudo-Woke: The Dangers of Cynicism in Politics
So long as I have been in politics, one of the consistent emotions that has been expected of me and everyone else in a group is cynicism. Especially, on the left where I spend and have spent most of my time. In the ranks of the left according to the other activists, those who areContinue reading “The Pseudo-Woke: The Dangers of Cynicism in Politics”
Making Heaven the Next Nirvana: Theories on Apologetics and Aesthetics
For many decades, the Christian religion has attempted, with some but not enough success, to make themselves appealing through modes such as becoming contemporary, adopting the garb and music of the cool kids, and the like. Yet, they fail to address the principal reason younger generations are leaving religion. Simply, they don’t believe in it.Continue reading “Making Heaven the Next Nirvana: Theories on Apologetics and Aesthetics”
The Subjectivity of Kindness: Hermeneutics of what Should be Objective
Kindness. While most would agree with the concept, as an ethicist, a psychologist, and a social scientist, the word’s ambiguity is problematic. In practice, anything that can be lawyered to be ultimately, even indirectly, altruistic is argued to be “kind”. When pressed, people will exploit the word’s vagueness to paint themselves in a much betterContinue reading “The Subjectivity of Kindness: Hermeneutics of what Should be Objective”
Tribes of the Wasteland: The Atomization of the Culture
I have written often about Robert Moses’ style design and the balkanization of the culture and the effects of those things on society. One of the effects I have not emphasized is the creation of disparate subcultures and the effects that has, not only on people being unable to empathize with each other on anContinue reading “Tribes of the Wasteland: The Atomization of the Culture”
Rawls’ Liberalism: Logos, Pathos, their Divorce, and their Marriage
It has been a long debate within society on whether emotions or reason should influence more greatly our choices. This is stupid. The imagined conflict is based on the idea that the rational mind has no heart. It is a stereotype that is dangerously influential. It leads to the populist idea that experts are coldContinue reading “Rawls’ Liberalism: Logos, Pathos, their Divorce, and their Marriage”
Nuclear Clique Breaking: The Second Installment on Oxytocin (Oxytocin Blockers)
As I’ve noted in earlier articles, punitive anti-bullying policies have serious limitations since counter-tattling is an available tactic, especially in vigilante bullying, and some forms of bullying are consensual (e.g. circus monkey bullying) and tied to social inclusion and stopping it would have collateral damage. My suggestions were using peer allies to intervene in incidentsContinue reading “Nuclear Clique Breaking: The Second Installment on Oxytocin (Oxytocin Blockers)”
Should You Get a Face Tattoo? Ethics, Aesthetics, and the Nature of Beauty
Aesthetics has been a long debated sector of philosophy, yet, it is a difficult one to debate. For one, there is a common belief that beauty is subjective. How can one establish normative rules for something so fluid? Partially, this is a problem about philosophers not doing science. The contemporary philosopher Derek Parfit arguedContinue reading “Should You Get a Face Tattoo? Ethics, Aesthetics, and the Nature of Beauty”
Civil Liberties and Populism: A Reflection on Some of the Protests
There has been much ado about the third-degree murder charge against the officer who killed George Floyd with protesters demanding it be increased to first-degree. While I am a veteran of Black Lives Matter protests and support the peaceful parts of the protests, I do not support a first-degree murder charge and for importantContinue reading “Civil Liberties and Populism: A Reflection on Some of the Protests”
The Oxytocin Deficit: One of My Best Autistic Traits
One of the primary specific neurochemical symptoms of my Asperger’s seems to be a deficit of oxytocin. Ironically, it is the presence of oxytocin that has caused significant problems for my people. As I study cognitive biases and social psychology, oxytocin is one of the primary neurochemicals responsible for social conformity. When it comes toContinue reading “The Oxytocin Deficit: One of My Best Autistic Traits”
Social Distancing: What We’ve Learned
In watching the riots of the past week, it is clear that since this has not happened at this scale since the Rodney King Riots, and many police killings have happened since, that the changed variable was the pandemic and the psychological strain of social distancing. These riots are as much a lashing out ofContinue reading “Social Distancing: What We’ve Learned”
The Literati: They Fought Happy Endings, Won, and Got Retardation
If there is any group on the left I disdain, it would be the elites of the avant—garde. The pseudo-intellectuals whose membership on the political left is a source of snobbish pride over the less educated and less culturally literate. A snobbish pride is merited on deeper ethical issues, members of the left should laudContinue reading “The Literati: They Fought Happy Endings, Won, and Got Retardation”
If it Bleeds It Leads: The Anatomy of Click-Bait
Of the trends of the past decade, one of the more noticeable is the public having access to everything they have ever wanted in terms of media consumption. The typical person is not more mature at media selection than the typical eight-year-old is at snack selection. I haven’t touched Cheetos since I hit puberty but,Continue reading “If it Bleeds It Leads: The Anatomy of Click-Bait”
The Core of Political Morality
Having spent most of my adolescent and nascent adult life in politics, I have seen and commented on, including on this website, the tribalism and rancor both in the field of politics and outside of the field which, given the ubiquity of the politics, it doubtless influences. Yet, politics is a moral vocation for manyContinue reading “The Core of Political Morality”
Extroverted on the Spectrum: A Long Saga of Cosmopolitan Friendliness
So far, I’ve written a lot about being Asperger’s and being among the various neurological minorities that claim me as a member. For this article, I will write about what it feels like to be interested in humans when one is unlike them. Most people are interested in their kin group, their friends, and fewContinue reading “Extroverted on the Spectrum: A Long Saga of Cosmopolitan Friendliness”
The Miracle of Birth: How Abusers Can Literally Make Victims Anytime They Want
The place where people without degrees in education, psychology, or anything like that are entrusted with the care of children is in parenting. Understandably, criticizing parenting, itself, will come as offensive to many parents. Yet, there are pandemic levels of mental conditions resulting from various types and degrees of abuse and one of the mostContinue reading “The Miracle of Birth: How Abusers Can Literally Make Victims Anytime They Want”
Morality 101: What do Modern People Believe?
Of the spheres to examine in contemporary culture, one of the more fascinating is from where ethics are derived and what those ethics are. In the bio section of my website, I succinctly spell out that I am first a virtue ethicist, second, a deontologist, and third, a utilitarian. Aristotle, then Kant, then Mill. IfContinue reading “Morality 101: What do Modern People Believe?”
The Internet is Suburbia, Except Worse
As a social scientist, one of my focusses of study has been social and physical infrastructure and how those affect human psychology and sociology. Specifically, one of my greater fixations is on the many facets of urban planning and how the design of the systems and topography within a human environment affects the people withinContinue reading “The Internet is Suburbia, Except Worse”
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The Autistic Resistance 