09-17-2018, 04:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-17-2018, 04:22 PM by Eric the Green.)
(09-05-2018, 05:49 AM)Teejay Wrote: I have been trying to get my brain about the phenomenon which have occurred in the political sphere in the last decade. I have personally been going about with my life and not being too concerned about what is happening politically. Although I have been going through an existential crisis over the last year or so, after a long-term relationship I was in fell apart.
My life so far has been a curious mixture of one of those nerds from the film “Revenge of the Nerds” and the classic Nomad “wild youth” type as Strauss and Howe described. I know ever since I first read “The Fourth Turning” a long time ago, I never identified with the Millennial generation, instead I identified strongly with Generation X. Right now, I am in the process of becoming a “young fogey”, I am surprised how Conservative in my world outlook I have gotten compared to many in our society When I was young back in the turn of the millennium I would have never seen myself as Conservative in any way. For example; as a teenager I would never voted for a Far-Right party like One Nation, however now I am more than prepared to vote for a similar party.
As I have stated earlier I was born in 1983, however Australian generations are a little bit behind America's and don't see my age cohort being a part of the Millennial generation. However, I do see those born about say 4 years later as part of another generation.
The Fourth Turning started with the Global Financial Crisis here in Australia, however it wasn't a dramatic way like it did in Europe. Rather the transition in hindsight has been rather gradual, which is different from the last Fourth Turning here which had a much more dramatic transition. I believe has to do with Australia having escaped the Global Financial Crisis so far.
Lately I have been getting myself up to speed about political developments which have occurred and only recently I have noticed these phenomena happening here in Australia.
I am wrapping my brain about various phenomena and putting them into a generational context such as identity politics, social justice warriors, the alt-left and alt-right. Personally, as a decent minded British style Liberal, I have to say I do not approve of developments and consider identity politics in any form extremely toxic to body politic and I am worried about the increasing restrictions on free speech all in the name of offending as few people as possible.
Also, some of the stuff the left wing SJW's are arguing runs what we know about human behavior from evolutionary psychology. Since I believe that human behavior can be explained through our evolution as a species. For example; gender identity is not a social construct and it is obvious that male and female brains are structured differently. When it comes to transgender people I have read scientific research which showed their brains were structured in the way of the gender they identified with.
I could wrong, however as I see it the leaders of the alt-right or white identarian movement are Mid Life X'ers for the most part, with the alt-left they are more dominated by Millennial's. Although the followers of both movements seem to be predominately Millennial. Also, I see the whole Social Justice Warrior phenomenon seems to me as a female Millennial phenomenon.
I know in YouTube and elsewhere I am often attracted to Gen X'ers who are of a similar mind to me in being critical of identity politics and SJW's, along share passion for defending free speech even if it offends people. People for example; such as Jordan Peterson (b.1962), Carl Benjamin or Sargon of Akkad (b.1979) and others.
Physical evolution has long since run its course. What has happened in civilization is social and spiritual evolution. Brains may shape people, but people also shift their brains, and culture shifts brains. The statement "gender identity is not a social construct and it is obvious that male and female brains are structured differently" seems too dogmatic to me.
It seems a virtue to try not to offend, and it seems a virtue to not be too easily offended. I am seeking, somewhat, to learn to deal with both vices.