A beginner's guide to the Redpill Right

[andy_hilmer]

Under the influence of the red pill, there are no variables but one: your status in the dominant group.

[OtherMichael]

@shaddack

Who should get the right to usurp what variable is The One?

Somebody more famous than @a_man_in_black?

 

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NB: I was referencing this comment.

[sprocket]

So whether they think they’re on the left or not, they’re on the right.

It’s not clear that the people in the graph hold the views that are ascribed to them by the author of the piece. I would assert that the people on the left of the graph are in fact left, by your definition of the term. The right-wingers that the author describes (e.g. neoreaction) exist but are probably on the right side of that graph.

I think the broader goal of the piece is to redefine leftism for the techno-literate, progressive BoingBoing audience. For example, we learn that gender egalitarianism is not a left position and that you have to buy into modern tumblr-style “rape culture / schroedinger’s rapist / check your privilege / mainsplaining” feminism in all its glory (edit: I’m kinda wrong about this, see below). I feel that’s a bit like trying to label everyone as right wing who doesn’t buy into dialectical materialism and the coming end of history. (And then you complain because all of a sudden everyone else looks like a fascist.)

[morganmay]

@sprocket

For example, we learn that gender egalitarianism is not a left position and that you have to buy into modern tumblr-style “rape culture / schroedinger’s rapist / check your privilege / mainsplaining” feminism in all its glory.

Citation needed.

FWIW, I’ve seen that position articulated elsewhere, but not in this post.

[shaddack]

@popobawa4u

So when you are interacting with people in your daily life and want to know what gender they are, which do you check? Their DNA or their genitals?

Given that neither is absolutely reliable, asking may work best.

[sprocket]

I guess I misremembered and overstated my case (mea culpa, edited my post above). I was referring to this part:

Despite the anti-feminist focus of MRM groups, members describe themselves as believers in real equality, identifying with euphemistic labels like “men’s rights advocate” (MRA), “egalitarian”, or “equality feminist”.

So, replace “gender egalitarian” with “egalitarian” and “equality feminist” in the above. And strictly speaking, you are right that he is not saying that all egalitarians/equality feminists are bad MRMs. Still, there’s an insinuation that the implication goes the other ways as well, i.e., that ‘equality feminist’ is a euphemism for being a bad right-winger.

[anon24181555]

Crap. I think I subscribe to Scientism. I also consider myself an artist.

[anon73629133]

@boingboing

Conspiracy theorists, Men’s Rights Activists, Pick-Up Artists, GamerGate, even the Neoreaction: all of these communities share a common creed…the Red Pill worldview

I think a particularly noteworthy nexus is the connection between Clarkhat and Heartiste. It’s like a fedora-tipping, nodding and winking alliance between sexist pickup artistry, anarcho-capitalism, attempts to create plausibly deniable racism, and denigration of progressive ideals.

For those who don’t know…

Clark is a sometimes-blogger at the estimable Popehat.com, who is credited as posting one of the better attempts to defend GamerGate.

The always lucid David Furtrelle has described Heartiste as “a proudly racist, woman-hating “pickup artist” guru known for advocating manipulative and often quite abusive “game” techniques to give men the upper hand in relationships and in the dating market.” If you want to know more about what Heartiste thinks (trust me, you don’t), here’s Futrelle’s take on his “race realism.” [not safe for anybody]

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There’s been a fair bit of discussion of what is meant by the “Redpill Right.” One uniting factor that I see is a hatred of John Scalzi: both Clark and Heartiste (this is a do-not-link) are serial haters of Scalzi. I think that’s in no small part due to Scalzi’s great distillation of intersectionality in his Easy Mode essay.

Thus, when I read this article, I interpret “Redpill Right” as describing those on the reactionary end of the struggle for women’s rights. (and civil rights for non-whites, though some tend to be a bit more careful about hiding their racism than their sexism).

[robulus]

@sprocket

If a social justice warrior is lying about statistics, should we applaud them for their progressive activism, or should we boo them for obfuscating the truth. What’s more important?

Lets just ask them if they’ve stopped beating their wife.

[sprocket]

This is referring to a specific incident described in detail here. “Andrew Cord” in the article is Arthur Cho, who is linked by Jay Allen as “further reading”. The disagreement within the left isn’t an issue as long as fundamental values align. Few people will object to a SJW who argues logically and truthfully, uses evidence-based reasoning and opposes bullying of all kinds.

An SJW who aims to be truthful and kind is unlikely to raise much ire within the left, the disagreements arise when fundamental values clash. Is the “progressive stack” a necessity in public discourse in order to ensure that the voices of the disenfranchised are heard, or is it a establishing a harmful form of discourse that values the identity of the speaker above the content of their speech? Is it ok to investigate empirical questions the outcome of which may reflect badly on minority groups? Should we encourage doxxing and bullying of people who we disagree with? Should we tolerate people who are kind and truthful, regardless of their ideology, or should we tolerate ideological allies, regardless of whether they are kind or truthful? Free speech or freeze peach?

[Lexicat]

The actual origin and meaning of the term “gender” to apply to people, as opposed to language constructs like the definite articles in the romance languages, was through psychologist John Money’s work on sexual identity around 1951.

[PhasmaFelis]

@jere7my

Here now, I think I’m better equipped to tell you what your gender is than you are.

This is delicious.

[shaddack]

@sprocket

If a social justice warrior is lying about statistics, should we applaud them for their progressive activism, or should we boo them for obfuscating the truth. What’s more important?

The truth. Because in long term, being the one with consistently undistorted stats, whether they serve The Cause In Question or not, gives a significant credibility bonus. A short term gain, acquired by distorted numbers, may not be worth the long-term loss.

[WalterPlinge]

Well, that brought me no happiness. I’ve never liked Clark, but Heartiste is like the PUA caricature that haunts my nightmares.

[retchdog]

@sprocket

This is usually the cornerstone of the “race has no basis in biological reality” claim. It turns out that the argument is only correct when you look at individual bits of genetic data. When you start taking into account multiple genetic markers, the statement turns out to be false.

What do you mean by “multiple genetic markers”? This seems very strange to me. As far as I’m aware, even accounting for standard linkage models, in-group variation is greater than between-group variation in the usual senses.

Not that this matters, per-se; the in-group variation within the patients of any single-gene disorder will be much greater than the between-group variation. This doesn’t mean that single-gene disorders are negligible.

And no, before some shrill voice perks up, I’m not comparing non-whites to hemophiliacs or anything. After all, some single-gene disorders are beneficial. I’m just saying that adding up genetic variation doesn’t mean very much, for either side.

[daneel]

Do they ever talk to @abdada?

[Corinth]

I don’t understand why BB is letting Cathy fucking Brennan troll their comment sections for trans people to insult.

[anon73430903]

Here’s a safer space policy for OARC, a space used by various left wing groups in Oxford. It is fairly typical for a safer space policy for similar spaces and groups in the UK.

It is also redpiller unfriendly. They wouldn’t last long before being kicked out of these spaces if they act in the way they do.

I suppose it could be cognitive dissonance, after all it’s not that long ago we had the SWP show themselves to be rape apologists when protecting a senior member. Even so, I struggle to believe that they share much in common with the politics of the likes of Emma Goldman, Lucy Parsons or Rosa Luxemburg.

[retchdog]

that way, when the apocalypse comes and the internet is disrupted, i can keep my hard-earned value safe from looters! i mean, yeah, it’s a bit annoying computing cryptographic functions by hand on rudimentary papyrus but just you wait. this skill is going to serve me well.

(sorry, i get the point of it and all, but the idea of long-term hoarding an imaginary “currency” that’s lost about 2/3 of its value in the past year is hilarious.)

[brian_carnell]

OMG…somebody brought Robert Welch back to life, had him smoke some meth, and and then convinced him to write an essay for Boing! Boing!

Praise be to the universe that such things are possible.