MaoTheLawn

It's definitely odd, but I think I have a good insight.

I fell into that pipeline, and I think it happened in part because atheism and online atheism had that initial 'facts and logic' streak - relying on 'biology', and especially evolutionary biology (that creationists deny).

When issues of gender came to the front, an appeal to evolutionary biology made a lot of sense to me, as it was a 'language' I spoke - far more than social biology.

But that's not all. It's the free-speech and liberalism angle too - lots of atheists rallied against the Christianity in schools, in law, and the political system, etc etc - to an end that being blasphemous was the rebellious thing to do. To be able to criticise god is free speech, and for a time it did seem quite transgressive. To judge these Christian systems in the West, you inevitably must eventually critique Islam too (rightfully so) - the difficulty is that Islam is so wrapped up in imperialist messaging, foreign policy, and decades of islamophobia, that it was susceptible to highjacking by those who wanted to use it as such. It's also difficult because in most islamic countries, the west has funded far right Islam to be the very worst version of itself, and provoked it to expressing itself violently. It's this history that New Atheism was missing.

Look at the various crossovers - Milo Yiannopoulous bridged being an atheist, who was also gay, who was also was an antifeminist. Hitchens was an atheist antifeminist liberal, who switched sides in the Iraq war to be pro war. Peterson was free speech. Dawkins was a scientist, atheist, but anti feminist, and islamophobic.

It all became a real muddle, but each character in this era did have one attractive part of their calling card that sucked people in, and once you were in, the algorithm did the rest of the work and kept feeding you worse and worse.

When I was 13, I was arguing with Christians online about being pro choice, pro gay, pro blasphemy - I was a very progressive 13 year old. But with only instincts guiding me, my 'values' aligned most with libertarianism - particularly saying whatever I wanted to say, and judging other cultures for not allowing a level of 'freedom' to women and queer people - essentially believing in one part rainbow imperialism (before the trans rights debate really took off), and one part snarky British liberal intellectualism. This just sent me down the wrong path.

In hindsight, what I needed was a history lesson. Atheism will devolve into this sort of shit if it is not accompanied by anti-imperialism. As soon as I found anti imperialism, the world suddenly made sense, and I shed my manosphere exoskeleton in a matter of months (and years - I'm sure it's still an ongoing process to purge it all).

That's crazy. I wonder how much of it is in tandem with young people's religious revival.

we need some LSW emotes

I said forget about it cuh

I once went to a sit-in (UK) against a police powers bill, and police literally started beating people on the floor with their shields. Lots of people got it on video.

The order was given to disperse, most people however continued sitting. The police then advanced with their shield wall and started clobbering/raking people on the floor using bottom of their shields. Truly was one of the most barbaric things I've ever seen.

Here's the footage:

https://youtu.be/PA_3QdhyTE0

Excuse the cringe beginning, I was only a kid and I was trying out a new 'shtick'. The police violence clips you see weren't recorded by me, but I was there when it all went down - I was just too busy seeing it with my own eyes to record!

I once went to a sit-in (UK) against a police powers bill, and police literally started beating people on the floor with their shields. Lots of people got it on video.

The order was given to disperse, most people however continued sitting. The police then advanced with their shield wall and started clobbering/raking people on the floor using bottom of their shields. Truly was one of the most barbaric things I've ever seen.

Here's the footage:

https://youtu.be/PA_3QdhyTE0

Excuse the cringe beginning, I was only a kid and I was trying out a new 'shtick'. The police violence clips you see weren't recorded by me, but I was there when it all went down - I was just too busy seeing it with my own eyes to record!

from his own diapies

plus he got his ass handed to him by a mexican and a muslim

He's gotten worse ever since Israel I swear.

I don't think he's been bought blatantly, but I do think he's shown himself to be a career politician. Corbyn shook the tree, got kicked out, then re-contested his seat as in independent against a huge Labour campaign. Sanders doesn't have the guts to fight the Dems.

I also wonder if it really is that he's just become a doddering old man, and he's fallen fully for the 'Trumpist' thing. Such an individualist take.

the perfect heartbeat to a dystopia

you made the right choice

Yes, hopefully