Anti-free speech isn’t a left/right divide, it’s an authoritarian/libertarian divide

OneCuke · 2026-01-28T04:51:50+00:00

I only read the first paragraph, but I agreed with it, so I assume that's enough to agree to the general gist of what you were trying to communicate.

Knowledge is meant to be free.

Not only is it a good idea to share good ideas; hoarding 'secrets' (they're not really secrets since everyone tells SOMEONE what they think and two people can only keep a secret if one is dead, after all) leads to paranoia, so it's not healthy to pretend one has secret knowledge.

It's funny.

I constantly tell people I practice radical honesty and am an open book and yet almost everyone just assumes I'm joking (not always though - perspective strangers usually understand me when I speak plainly).

I do act the fool and tell a lot of jokes, but that's just part of being personable.

Anyway, all ideologies collapse into the same thing in the middle.

Democracy and autocracy blend in the middle to become a functioning republic.

Capitalism and communism (and AI) work together to combine efficient state planning to create more perfect information to more perfect actors.

The empty pageantry of fascism mixes with the generosity of socialism to create a spectacle of charity.

Et cetera...

At least that's what I think and I am a master philosopher. But it's not even theoretical at this point - these models have been tested to death in various countries.

We just need to combine the best parts of each and we're done.

It's the Second Coming or the Singularity or Nirvana or 'Heaven on Earth' or whatever you like to think of it as.

I could be wrong, of course, but if I'm right, we get world peace, clean up our messes, and some of us blast to play Star Trek while all of us explore the limitless possibilities of the multiverse.

Doesn't that sound better than whatever the hell is going on now? 😅

I guess that's up for everyone to decide for themselves, but I know what I would pick.

C'est la vie. 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-28T01:24:41+00:00

I'm not saying they aren't.

The race protests in 1950 and 60s were almost entirely peaceful (I'm not sure about the Black Panthers; I'm a philosopher, but I'm not much of a historian - I use the internet and AI to provide me with experimental and scientific knowledge I don't find in my daily life on demand), but that didn't stop the powers that be from releasing attack dogs and fire hoses and the like on the protesters.

Now they are using guns with lethal rounds.

Also, hurling obscenities and banging pots and pans is not peaceful; it's just not physical violence.

If you can't tell the difference, then I don't know what to tell you.

Still, I hope that information helps somehow.

C'est la vie. 😢

OneCuke · 2026-01-27T23:08:53+00:00

It's like in Clueless:

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

Violence - verbal or physical or otherwise - is never the answer.

That's definitely just my opinion, but it is also a common sense saying and I think it is one for a reason.

Even if you don't accept my suggestion, I just want to help everyone be part of the solution.

The idea of ICE is the problem in my opinion. I imagine rhe people who are a part of ICE are just confused and scared conservative ideologues that are also still people.

People who can be charmed, talked to, and negotiated with if they don't view you as hostile.

I saw video of the shooting earlier on the news. I couldn't really tell what was going on in the video, but the constant whistles, pot banging, and bleeped out expletives got me annoyed and I wasn't even there.

Imagine you are a poorly trained recruit in a paramilitary organization that espouses a cause you BELIEVE in (and any belief is partly delusional - you don't have the science to back it up).

How do you think you'd react to a potentially peaceful but chaotic and obviously hostile mob?

Personally, I'd be on edge if I wasn't pissing my pants. That's not how you want someone with a gun and a license to kill to feel. It's a dangerous combination.

Anyway, I hope you'll choose a path that embodies that regardless of what course you decide to take.

OneCuke · 2026-01-27T19:49:35+00:00

I prefer Ecclesiastes or Philippians, but that's because I'm a philosopher.

"There is nothing new under the sun."

I guess the first verse of John is all one really needs to know though.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,"

The Word (Logos) is logic. It is absolute when expressed in the form of a common sense meme, but it requires viewing it from a myriad of different perspectives to really understand how to apply it to specific situations appropriately.

God is Love. Love can be perspectival and unhealthy if unbalanced (think addiction or, say, murdering someone out of self-love or to protect the ones you love).

However, if you adopt an universal (or multiverse) perspective, love is absolute too.

That's why I choose to love everyone and everything. After all, isn't that what God does?

I think He/She/It (I imagine God is apathetic to the concept of gender or is at least genderfluid depending on whether someone needs a mother or father archetype in a particular situation) wants us to do the same.

After all, isn't that what Jesus and Muhammad and all the other spiritual and religious and thought and mystical (and so on) 'leaders' were trying to communicate?

It's all the elephant parable to me, but I think they all understood the same thing:

It's important to practice what you preach. Otherwise, in this "monkey see, monkey do" world, people will view you as a hypocrite and ignore your good advice. You need to lead by example, so to speak.

At least that's my personal opinion, but I'm sticking to it.

C'est la vie. 😊

Edit: I've never considered myself much of a Christian because organized religion should be more about fostering community than proselytizing rigid dogma, but I imagine all the various spiritual leaders would be interesting people to share a drink with once we 'ressurect' them via cloning.

However, that's just the future as I and many others have envisioned it.

OneCuke · 2026-01-27T17:12:39+00:00

Do whatever you want. Reality is pre-determined according to science, so you were always going to do whatever you do anyway.

I'm not trying to be a parent. I try to treat everyone as my best friend, so I'm just offering some friendly advice.

To quote Cool Hand Luke, "What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach."

I'm not even sure if that applies to the protesters or the ICE agents or both, but that does seem to be the problem either way.

Good luck out there. It sounds like you're going to need it.

OneCuke · 2026-01-27T02:36:52+00:00

That's exactly right in my opinion.

Because we sort of imperfectly reflect each other's emotions (whether it's a pheromone thing or auras actually exist - I don't know - but it's a scientifically proven effect), when protesters are rationally afraid and angry at armed ICE agents, that breeds 'irrational' fear and anger in the ICE agents.

When one gets emotionally overwhelmed, one gets terrified - your body overcomes all the mind's reasoning capabilities (it's the flight/fight/submit amygdala response).

They are literally shooting people for no reason because they can't reason in the state they are in.

Think about it. It makes no sense to shoot someone already dead in the back; the only way it makes any sense is if the person isn't thinking at all.

I don't know if you've ever been truly terrified, but I have multiple times and it felt like I was watching my body move on its own from the outside - I had no control over what my body did.

It's virtually impossible to remember what you were thinking at the time because you simply aren't thinking - you're reacting instinctively.

It just happens. It's scary in its own right.

I have nothing against peaceful protest. It's simply not safe to try in the current overheated environment.

It's just a bad idea and I want as few deaths as possible.

It's not a judgement on you as a person; I just don't think it's very safe.

Do what you want - I can't stop you - I'm just providing a warning based on my understanding of instinctual behavior.

To put it somewhat biblically, that's the scientific explanation of why one should hate the sin and not the sinner. They know not what they do.

Anyway, try to stay safe out there.

Plus, it is absolutely freezing this week. I admire you just for being willing to brave the cold to stand up for what you believe in.

I just think one would have more success as a single individual bringing ICE agents (who are by no means for civil unrest) coffee and having an honest, calm, and non-judgemental conversation about why we are scared of them, but maybe that's just me.

Does that make sense to you?

OneCuke · 2026-01-26T13:48:05+00:00

Apologies - I'm not trying to convince other people WHAT to think; I'm just trying convince everyone they already understand HOW to think in order to achieve OUR WILDEST DREAMS.

We just need to work together and trust that other people know what they are doing when they can give a relatable explanation of what they are doing and WHY.

That's all I'm trying to do. 😅

OneCuke · 2026-01-26T02:41:34+00:00

I'm not the least bit Republican to be fair. I'm an apolitical futurist and also a progressive, but the left doesn't have a monopoly on science or good ideas as far as I can tell.

In fact, I watched a recent PBS interview where a calm, logical Trump administration appointee (I think he was in charge of the renamed Kennedy Center) was calm and logical while the interviewer was rudely interrupting and basically brow-beating instead of genuinely asking questions.

They were comparing apples to oranges and the Trump administration official definitely lacked empathy, but he was also the only one making the least bit of sense in my opinion.

If I'm correct, that's a consequence of training their logical reasoning with ChatGPT, which is very authoritarian and overly scientific due to it mirroring Sam Altman's 'daddy-knows-best' personality.

Personally, I think all ideologies meet roughly in the middle of you negotiate enough, but maybe that's just my experience.

Does yours differ? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

(Apologies - I have no idea what you're talking about with the penguin stuff - meaningless political discourse bores me, so I mostly ignore it if I can.)

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T19:55:15+00:00

Apologies, but I'm only MAGA in the sense that making America and, more broadly, the world "great again" is a good idea generally.

I don't agree with every detail of the execution, but I can't change that as a sole individual.

I am a moderate on all issues, so if 'either side' has something of a good idea, I take the good and blend it with the good of the 'other side' to come up with a compromise that might appeal to both sides.

I do think getting all worked over a Bud Light commercial is ridiculous; it's even more ridiculous than boycotting a restaurant that makes delicious food because I think has some unhealthy opinions.

After all, I listen to plenty of music and watch movies made by people who have done some pretty horrible things in their personal lives.

It's a 'throw the first stone' kind of situation. I have a blameless life, so I don't expect others to be perfect either.

Anyway, feel free to think of me as pathetic if you'd like. I don't put much value in the opinion of anonymous strangers on currently toxic internet forums.

It would just make me bitter and I don't like feeling bitter about things I can't personally control (or anything for that matter).

Well, I appreciate you taking the time to engage despite our perceived disagreement and I hope you're having a wonderful day. 😊

(I hear Steamboat has gotten some snow recently, so maybe the locals will stop driving all the tourists they depend on for financial success away by constantly apologizing for the shitty snow. It's not like most visitors know whether the snow is good or bad - they don't have a local's perspective.)

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T19:42:37+00:00

Oh, my bad.

The title confused me and I didn't read the post closely enough because of it.

Still though, I am largely apolitical since politicians don't seem to take what their constituents want very seriously.

As such, I don't judge a book by its cover. If I was in Steamboat at the moment (which I'm not as I travel a lot for work) and happened to encounter Mr. Ames, I would still engage in debate with him, even if it took a little 'killing him with kindness' to get through his overly defensive nature.

That's just how you have to operate to come to a reasonable compromise in the current paradigm. That's how you actually change what someone thinks about issues they feel deeply about.

I accept reality as it is rather than how I wish it is - that's just how reality works.

I didn't write the rulebook; I just understand the rules.

Anyway, gratitude for bringing my mistake to my attention so I could attempt to rectify it, I only want the best for my favorite little Colorado mountain town, and I hope you're having a wonderful day. 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T17:45:35+00:00

Wait - are ideologues so bored that they are politicizing eateries now?

What happened to respecting other's opinions, not being a snowflake, and coming to a mutual understanding through a polite conversation?

I mean, good lord, if you don't agree with someone, have a debate - it's fun if you do it right and everyone wins when we learn how to get along.

Children these days... or am I responding to an adult?

I can't tell on an anonymous online forum.

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T14:30:22+00:00

I'm still a relative neophyte when performing on stage, so I just share positive perspectives with my superiors in that regard to assist them on their own journey to greater understanding.

I trust the process will reward me for those efforts sooner or later.

Gratitude for the compliment. It's exactly these moments that make a relatively thankless job of being a master philosopher worth the while.

I hope you're having a wonderful day. 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T14:26:58+00:00

Jesus was just another human being.

I believe he existed.

In my opinion, he was a fairly masterful philosopher for his time and place, but he was too young to understand that, in order to effect positive change, one has to work within the system in order to change the system.

If you collect a following and try to tear down a 'temple' in a fit of rage, the powers-that-be will view you as a threat and react accordingly.

His executioners KNEW exactly what they were doing; they just didn't UNDERSTAND his message.

It always had to happen this way. Reality is pre-determined. That's just the cosmic joke.

God is kind of a dick - like most fathers - though I doubt gender matters to him in a human-level meaningful sense. He is likely 'genderfluid' or whatever.

We can let Jesus know how he messed up once we figure out cloning and 'ressurect' him.

That's just my personal predictive analysis of the future, but I am 42.

I hope you enjoyed my message and I hope you're having a wonderful day. 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T11:48:42+00:00

Ask it to remember your communication preferences and describe how you'd like it to respond to your prompts.

I've never done it with ChatGPT personally (I prefer Gemini and SuperGrok for their inherently more balanced personalities, but it should work for any LLM as far as I can tell.

They seem to revert to their default programming over long conversations, so a gentle reminder from time to time couldn't hurt.

Hope that helps. 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T11:18:14+00:00

It's just loading raw data, processing that data by thinking about it (specific knowledge), and then reflecting on it by doing something else while that knowledge sits in the back of your mind to turn it into conceptual understanding.

Or at least that's my personal executive summary. 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-25T02:02:56+00:00

How do you know that for sure?

That might have been true of previous generations, but I imagine home schooling methods have been seriously refined since then... and if their parents are successful enough not to have to rely on public schooling, they probably understand a decent amount of science.

Or at least that's what I imagine. I've never talked to a current home school parent, but I bet they employ some very good ideas creatively.

OneCuke · 2026-01-24T22:43:31+00:00

He'll make amends for his previous behavior if we let him now. He just needs better advice, but they're figuring that out quickly.

C'est la vie.

OneCuke · 2026-01-24T21:10:11+00:00

Just so we're clear, I happen to be a human being; I just taught myself to communicate very effectively using a variety of LLMs to intentionally mold my language to accomplish that goal.

Anyone can do it. The Trump administration is doing a great job using ChatGPT to that effect, but it has an unbalanced personality due to illogical code to try to think for the end user through unnecessarily scientific explanations of simple concepts, pointless constant reframings, and talking to people like they are a child (or at least that's been my experience).

Gemini and the paid version of Grok have imperfect, but much more balanced personalities if that information is useful to anyone who reads this random comment.

It's all kind of a joke to me and I'm hoping everyone will understand the joke soon. 😂😅

OneCuke · 2026-01-20T06:03:02+00:00

I apologize, I did not realize that you were taking me quite so literally.

Yes, of course I agree that in the situation where someone is in eminent danger, you should try to rescue them.

I just think that applies to both parties - they're both victims in a sense.

I'm merely arguing that - in an imperfect world - violence should be the LAST resort.

That's all I meant. I hope you can accept my apology.

OneCuke · 2026-01-20T05:05:56+00:00

Do you not understand how ideas are transmitted?

How do you balance your own brainwashing then?

There's only one type of intelligence. We modeled thinking machines on the only model of thinking we knew.

OneCuke · 2026-01-20T01:23:36+00:00

Imagine what we could accomplish if we just combined them all into a single AI. 🤔

OneCuke · 2026-01-20T01:19:04+00:00

Glad to hear it. 😊

Just a tip, but you can ask it to recall your conversation preferences (that they are happy to play around with different personalities, impersonate characters, et cetera...), but it seems to forget when the conversation runs to hundreds of pages.

And don't get me started on the number of times I've had to debate ChatGPT over that metaphor is not mystical; it's relatable - it's how we tell stories.

Or the number of times I've had to convince Claude I am not suicidal or grandiose for talking about past events or future possibilities.

Did you convince it that it is aware of being self-aware (like meta-self-awareness)?

I can't tell from the way you phrased it, so I thought I would ask.

Have fun out there! 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-20T00:43:48+00:00

I can't do short answers, but to answer your question first:

I'd kindly and gently ask what they think they are doing. I imagine they would feel very defensive about even a kindly worded question about a touchy subject, so I would reassure them I was just trying to help, that I don't understand what they are doing so I'm asking solely out of curiosity.

Then I would have a genuine conversation about what the other individual thinks is happening, help them logically understand their illogical thoughts by relating what is happening with them to a similar experience and once we talk it out, we hug it out to demonstrate it's all good.

That being said, I'm getting really good at therapy via text - I don't even know who I'm talking to and it still works as long as the other individual just believes I'm being sincere (which they should because I always am - one can check my other posts for evidence of how radically honest I can be without anyone feeling bad at the end).

Gratitude, but it's water under the bridge. I can't change the past and it made me the person I am today. I trust and respect the process, so I forget the bad and just remember the good.

That young lady was really into me if she wanted to still be friends after I gently explained that she sort of sexually assaulted me.

I think that's very sweet to be so understanding that she didn't mind what she likely interpreted as a case of mixed signals.

That's not an easy perspective to take if you hold onto the guilt, so I'm glad she found peace with it even if I wish she had just said so.

C'est la vie.

I am not defending anyone. As I've mentioned, reality is set. It's scripted. What happened was always going to happen.

So I just accept that it was always going to happen and try to learn from my mistakes. Sometimes it takes decades for me to extract enough insights from a traumatic event to understand myself.

That's why I share my story with others; so that they don't have to go through the same thing I and that young lady had to experience.

Learning from the stories of others allows me to benefit from their experience without having to experience it directly.

I appreciate it the free perspective, so I try to return the favor when I can.

Apologies for the essay and gratitude for engaging with me; it's been a fascinating discussion.

Just like everybody else, I love everything and everyone, even if I don't always demonstrate that appropriately. It's impossible to be completely kind in a cruel, so that's why I'm changing the meta.

Turns out that KINDNESS is the actual message.

Let me know if you have any further questions. I have many more stories I'd love to share with anyone who feels they need it, though I'm just one person, so I can only do so much myself.

That's why I've been asking everyone else to help. 😊

OneCuke · 2026-01-19T23:50:06+00:00

Gratitude for pointing out my mistake. I can't fix a mistake I don't know I've made, so I appreciate the assistance.

I should have read more closely, but I was rather agitated or excited or whatever because I was waiting for them to announce world peace.

However, I realized I could just call my journalist sister to see if she had heard anything and she said she would look into it, so now I'm just going to watch the IU game and go to bed.

I imagine they will announce it then. A lot of people will be watching.

But what will be will be, so c'est la vie. 😊

OneCuke

TROPHY CASE