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When an intellectual, a privileged position in society, writes "Only someone who has always had enough privilege to never have to reckon with the consequences o

When an intellectual, a privileged position in society, writes "Only someone who has always had enough privilege to never have to reckon with the consequences of one’s words could participate in such a movement and keep up with the profound disengagement it demands. Kierkegaard’s ironist, in other words, has to be a straight white man." about guys who work in gas stations in rural America, I have a hard time taking them seriously.

throwaway1216 10y ago
I find it hard to believe that the average poster on 4chan's /pol/ board works at a gas station. Unless you're telling me that the median gas station employee makes $72,000/year. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/05/05/donald-trump-average-voter-income-72000-middle-class/83972800/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/... I was hoping for a good faith discussion of this article, but it seems I was mistaken.
akhilcacharya 10y ago
Doing that in a rural area is privilege compared to doing it as a member of a group they actively demean, such as being a Muslim working in a gas station in urban America. I've dealt with these people before (and I have friends that are like this). They're completely out of touch with reality and the consequences of their beliefs.
- angersock 10y ago
  > They're completely out of touch with reality and the consequences of their beliefs. Are you referring to the Muslims, or to the 'channers? 'Cause, you know, an argument could be made for the extremists in either set.
  - akhilcacharya 10y ago
    I don't think there is anybody that does not believe that extremist Muslims are completely out of touch with reality or the consequences of their beliefs. So yes, both.
    - telecroutonics 10y ago
      There are the enraged, violent, gun-toting psychotic Islamic militants that I tend to equate with cult members. But then, there are belief systems in general (which need not be folksy rural superstitions), which I also find to be out of touch with reality. Pretty much anyone practicing odd rituals and harboring irrational opinions about tradition and funeral practices is going to catch this bug. We don't go anywhere when we die. We didn't come from anywhere when we were born. When bad things happen, without obvious cause and effect, it's not cosmic justice at work. To make claims otherwise is to be out of touch with reality, no? So maybe an "extremist Muslim" is No True Scotsman?
- logiczero 10y ago
  >They're completely out of touch with reality and the consequences of their beliefs. That only applies to people in rural areas. It is not true of urbanites in any way. /s
striking 10y ago
I can't believe someone took the time to compose this article, honestly. I read your comment and thought "perhaps it's a cherrypicked quote; the whole article couldn't possibly read like that!" Nah. Someone wrote a postmodern analysis about a bunch of kids stitching together green frog pictures in Photoshop and screaming "DUBS GET" because they have nothing better to do. But I read it. Who's the fool here, the author or the reader?
- deleted 10y ago
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- rednerrus 10y ago
  This was the other point I was going to make, these people don't have anything going for them for the most part. They don't have anything else to do.
deleted 10y ago
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srslack 10y ago
The kicker is that reality isn't in line with your, or the author's, pre-concieved notions. While it's just a sample size of under ten people, the cultural identity of frog shitposters I know about is diverse: a Yemeni, an Asian-American, along with a Brazillian and Argentinian of the black persuasion. With the Brazillian being a "flaming homo" who cross dresses. And posts the images peseudo-anonymously. Imageboard culture is quite the ride. Yes, you don't have to be a "straight white male" to spend time photoshopping MAGA hats onto japanese anime girls, or ironically calling for "RACE WAR" while "worshipping" an ancient Egyptian god of chaos. Big shocker: you don't need to invoke white privilege to bring trolling and ironic shitposting into the world. It's actually only a shocker if you 1) don't understand the culture and 2) look at the world through a lens of overt racism yourself.

throwaway1216 10y ago

I find it hard to believe that the average poster on 4chan's /pol/ board works at a gas station. Unless you're telling me that the median gas station employee makes $72,000/year. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/05/05/donald-trump-average-voter-income-72000-middle-class/83972800/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/... I was hoping for a good faith discussion of this article, but it seems I was mistaken.

akhilcacharya 10y ago

Doing that in a rural area is privilege compared to doing it as a member of a group they actively demean, such as being a Muslim working in a gas station in urban America. I've dealt with these people before (and I have friends that are like this). They're completely out of touch with reality and the consequences of their beliefs.

angersock 10y ago
> They're completely out of touch with reality and the consequences of their beliefs. Are you referring to the Muslims, or to the 'channers? 'Cause, you know, an argument could be made for the extremists in either set.
- akhilcacharya 10y ago
  I don't think there is anybody that does not believe that extremist Muslims are completely out of touch with reality or the consequences of their beliefs. So yes, both.
  - telecroutonics 10y ago
    There are the enraged, violent, gun-toting psychotic Islamic militants that I tend to equate with cult members. But then, there are belief systems in general (which need not be folksy rural superstitions), which I also find to be out of touch with reality. Pretty much anyone practicing odd rituals and harboring irrational opinions about tradition and funeral practices is going to catch this bug. We don't go anywhere when we die. We didn't come from anywhere when we were born. When bad things happen, without obvious cause and effect, it's not cosmic justice at work. To make claims otherwise is to be out of touch with reality, no? So maybe an "extremist Muslim" is No True Scotsman?
logiczero 10y ago
>They're completely out of touch with reality and the consequences of their beliefs. That only applies to people in rural areas. It is not true of urbanites in any way. /s

striking 10y ago

I can't believe someone took the time to compose this article, honestly. I read your comment and thought "perhaps it's a cherrypicked quote; the whole article couldn't possibly read like that!" Nah. Someone wrote a postmodern analysis about a bunch of kids stitching together green frog pictures in Photoshop and screaming "DUBS GET" because they have nothing better to do. But I read it. Who's the fool here, the author or the reader?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
rednerrus 10y ago
This was the other point I was going to make, these people don't have anything going for them for the most part. They don't have anything else to do.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

srslack 10y ago

The kicker is that reality isn't in line with your, or the author's, pre-concieved notions. While it's just a sample size of under ten people, the cultural identity of frog shitposters I know about is diverse: a Yemeni, an Asian-American, along with a Brazillian and Argentinian of the black persuasion. With the Brazillian being a "flaming homo" who cross dresses. And posts the images peseudo-anonymously. Imageboard culture is quite the ride. Yes, you don't have to be a "straight white male" to spend time photoshopping MAGA hats onto japanese anime girls, or ironically calling for "RACE WAR" while "worshipping" an ancient Egyptian god of chaos. Big shocker: you don't need to invoke white privilege to bring trolling and ironic shitposting into the world. It's actually only a shocker if you 1) don't understand the culture and 2) look at the world through a lens of overt racism yourself.