That was a tasty piece, my friend. Well written. Been having this sentiment for years now. Nietzsche has definitely articulated a lot for me about what I’ve been seeing. Glad you quoted him here.
Always glad to see I sparked something, it was interesting reading your thoughts (and brief note: Erik with a 'k' rather than 'c' - it's a very common misspelling)
My cursory reading is that both pieces suffer from unclear definitions of what they are talking about. "Karen" for me has connotations of people who are unnecessarily trying to involve the police (a force of violence) in some petty dispute, trying to invoke the cops as Customer Service for anything that upsets them in life. Nazis still exist, if not the exact same ones in power in Germany in the 30s and 40s. "Woke" means one thing in African American lingo and another thing as a right-wing bogeyman for a largely imaginary left that they oppose.
Interesting piece, Samuel. I was surprised to see you write about something political since it seems you generally steer clear of that arena (not a bad call!). I agree with you that culturally and politically Americans have obviously picked sides. But I think much of this is also media-driven white noise. The truth is there’s a third way, which isn’t right or left: The side of Reality. Neither fringe seems have anything like a healthy relationship to facts, rational thought, critical thinking.
My Substack, for example--‘Sincere American Writing’--seeks to find the truth for truth’s sake, regardless of the dysfunctional left/right binary. It’s tough because in my opinion both sides are contributing to racism, ignorance, delusion, foolishness. My vote is: Instead of picking sides we should THINK. It’s not so much the binary left/right as the loss of good-faith honest intellectual debate that worries me. Polarization has become incredibly extreme. Neither side will take ownership. It’s what I’d call an ‘alcoholic’ political-historical moment we’re living in right now. Completely black and white.
Re ‘Karens’: I think the label is silly, as most contemporary labels are in the end. It seems to have no real meaning other than blaming others (the new norm). Here’s your definition: “What Hoel makes clear is that anybody can be a “Karen,” regardless of political affiliation, gender, creed, or ethnicity—“Karens” are simply self-righteous moralists who believe they are so fundamentally “good” that they must stop “evil” wherever they see it.”
Well. According to this definition, you know who the worst ‘Karens’ are: Woke people. And it’s woke people who created the ‘Karen’ label to begin with. Calling someone a ‘Karen’ is just another way of picking sides and keeping the chaos on high. It’s a dumb media term. The popularity of words like ‘fascism’ and ‘Naziism’ in contemporary times simply shows a lack of historical context and awareness. I do see tendencies of these words on both extremes. But tendencies aren’t the same as being the thing itself.
One final note: Kmele Foster of The 5th Column did a fantastic deep investigation of the Karen Central Park incident. Shocker: it was largely bullshit. The guy had attacked several people previously and had a sketchy reputation amongst other birders in the park. He also had attacked a younger black man not long before this. And she had a history of sexual assault. So, what we hear in mainstream media in 2020/2022 needs to be DEEPLY questioned. Here’s the Kmele link: https://www.commonsense.news/p/the-real-story-of-the-central-park
Re Nazis: Yes, I agree: It’s not so much a matter of good or evil; as discussed we all have some of both. Jung writes a lot about this with his ‘shadow’ side of human nature. Of course Nietzsche writes on this. I’m a Substack writer but also a book editor. As you know one of my clients was a former neo-Nazi who changed his life and became an anti-hate activist, Christian Picciolini. He isn’t an evil person; he was young, neglected and desperate to belong to a group. And that’s what I think drives most people’s behavior: group incentives. Tribalism, if you will. People throughout history--as you astutely noted--have done horrific things to one another. The people doing it rationalize their actions in order to belong. This is true on the extreme right and on the extreme left. In the end I don’t think far left and far right are that different. When you go far enough to the left you end up holding hands with the right. It just doesn’t look like that externally. Remember this: 14% of Sanders supporters in 2016 switched for Trump in the general election. That’s really fascinating.
Anyway, interesting, timely, well-written essay my friend.
Awesome post, Samuel! I really liked your piece and had a similar reaction to Erik Hoel's excellent insights. I'm so tired of the nonsense that passes for political conversation in the US these days. Even the writing community is thoroughly infected with cancellations, posturing and all kinds of self righteous virtue signaling, often by the most privileged. I used to have political discussions on FB but I left it over two years ago because the tone and thought process became so narrow and shrill. I've had an essay brewing but have to find the right channel...
Nicely presented debated here, adding in a necessary philosophical element to complicate the superficiality of so much of what are (paradoxically?) the deep divisions and felt experiences of who and what is right and wrong today.
That was a tasty piece, my friend. Well written. Been having this sentiment for years now. Nietzsche has definitely articulated a lot for me about what I’ve been seeing. Glad you quoted him here.
Always glad to see I sparked something, it was interesting reading your thoughts (and brief note: Erik with a 'k' rather than 'c' - it's a very common misspelling)
My cursory reading is that both pieces suffer from unclear definitions of what they are talking about. "Karen" for me has connotations of people who are unnecessarily trying to involve the police (a force of violence) in some petty dispute, trying to invoke the cops as Customer Service for anything that upsets them in life. Nazis still exist, if not the exact same ones in power in Germany in the 30s and 40s. "Woke" means one thing in African American lingo and another thing as a right-wing bogeyman for a largely imaginary left that they oppose.
Hope is a verb mmmmmmmhhjmmmmm!!!! <3
Interesting piece, Samuel. I was surprised to see you write about something political since it seems you generally steer clear of that arena (not a bad call!). I agree with you that culturally and politically Americans have obviously picked sides. But I think much of this is also media-driven white noise. The truth is there’s a third way, which isn’t right or left: The side of Reality. Neither fringe seems have anything like a healthy relationship to facts, rational thought, critical thinking.
My Substack, for example--‘Sincere American Writing’--seeks to find the truth for truth’s sake, regardless of the dysfunctional left/right binary. It’s tough because in my opinion both sides are contributing to racism, ignorance, delusion, foolishness. My vote is: Instead of picking sides we should THINK. It’s not so much the binary left/right as the loss of good-faith honest intellectual debate that worries me. Polarization has become incredibly extreme. Neither side will take ownership. It’s what I’d call an ‘alcoholic’ political-historical moment we’re living in right now. Completely black and white.
Re ‘Karens’: I think the label is silly, as most contemporary labels are in the end. It seems to have no real meaning other than blaming others (the new norm). Here’s your definition: “What Hoel makes clear is that anybody can be a “Karen,” regardless of political affiliation, gender, creed, or ethnicity—“Karens” are simply self-righteous moralists who believe they are so fundamentally “good” that they must stop “evil” wherever they see it.”
Well. According to this definition, you know who the worst ‘Karens’ are: Woke people. And it’s woke people who created the ‘Karen’ label to begin with. Calling someone a ‘Karen’ is just another way of picking sides and keeping the chaos on high. It’s a dumb media term. The popularity of words like ‘fascism’ and ‘Naziism’ in contemporary times simply shows a lack of historical context and awareness. I do see tendencies of these words on both extremes. But tendencies aren’t the same as being the thing itself.
One final note: Kmele Foster of The 5th Column did a fantastic deep investigation of the Karen Central Park incident. Shocker: it was largely bullshit. The guy had attacked several people previously and had a sketchy reputation amongst other birders in the park. He also had attacked a younger black man not long before this. And she had a history of sexual assault. So, what we hear in mainstream media in 2020/2022 needs to be DEEPLY questioned. Here’s the Kmele link: https://www.commonsense.news/p/the-real-story-of-the-central-park
Re Nazis: Yes, I agree: It’s not so much a matter of good or evil; as discussed we all have some of both. Jung writes a lot about this with his ‘shadow’ side of human nature. Of course Nietzsche writes on this. I’m a Substack writer but also a book editor. As you know one of my clients was a former neo-Nazi who changed his life and became an anti-hate activist, Christian Picciolini. He isn’t an evil person; he was young, neglected and desperate to belong to a group. And that’s what I think drives most people’s behavior: group incentives. Tribalism, if you will. People throughout history--as you astutely noted--have done horrific things to one another. The people doing it rationalize their actions in order to belong. This is true on the extreme right and on the extreme left. In the end I don’t think far left and far right are that different. When you go far enough to the left you end up holding hands with the right. It just doesn’t look like that externally. Remember this: 14% of Sanders supporters in 2016 switched for Trump in the general election. That’s really fascinating.
Anyway, interesting, timely, well-written essay my friend.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
Awesome post, Samuel! I really liked your piece and had a similar reaction to Erik Hoel's excellent insights. I'm so tired of the nonsense that passes for political conversation in the US these days. Even the writing community is thoroughly infected with cancellations, posturing and all kinds of self righteous virtue signaling, often by the most privileged. I used to have political discussions on FB but I left it over two years ago because the tone and thought process became so narrow and shrill. I've had an essay brewing but have to find the right channel...
Nicely presented debated here, adding in a necessary philosophical element to complicate the superficiality of so much of what are (paradoxically?) the deep divisions and felt experiences of who and what is right and wrong today.
Superbly written. Glad to know my nihilism keeps me centered in the great culture wars.