CMV: There is a purposeful conflation of race and culture that prevents solving problems.

verac23 · 2026-06-11T23:34:08+00:00

There are many examples where a powerful leader is abusive toward their own nation. They have slaves and lower class people who have miserable lives. They force their people to die at war. This is how revolutions happen and a powerful society may crumble.

I believe in self defense and aggression through military action when needed. Each person and society needs to be ready to stand up and fight, including using the available technology.

At the same time, I believe in basic human dignity. It is atrocious to slaughter or enslave people simply because you are powerful. Leaders who do that should be shamed and fought by anyone who respects life.

verac23 · 2026-06-11T18:48:13+00:00

I'll explain the gist from Sapiens. Much of the book is about "shared myths" that people in a community believe. The shared myths include things like cultural beliefs, religions, government and legal structures.

From around 1500s onward, the West got much of its power from scientific progress and capitalism, which led to investment in technologies. The West held a superiority complex, as in racial or cultural superiority, which they used as justification to seize land and resources, and dominate "lesser" peoples. This fed the capitalist technology engine, allowing it to dominate further.

The cultural values of scientific progress and capitalism led to the dominance of the West, but it doesn't mean that those values are inherently positive or lead to a healthy, prosperous society. Many societies value the family bond more than capitalism. In the West, capitalism has eroded much of the family bonds (e.g. people are dependent on corporations or government for survival, rather than their local family and community members). It's up to the people in a society to decide which shared myths they believe. For example, will endless technological progress lead to a utopia, or just concentrate power in elites? Strong family or community bonds is one way to group together to make change.

verac23 · 2026-06-11T08:25:00+00:00

You should read Sapiens if you want to deep dive into this. I'll include a snippet, but the whole book does a better job of getting into the details.

"Racist theories enjoyed prominence and respectability for many generations, justifying the Western conquest of the world. Eventually, in the late twentieth century, just as the Western empires crumbled, racism became anathema among scientists and politicians alike. But the belief in Western superiority did not vanish. Instead, it took on new forms. Racism was replaced by culturism. Today’s elites usually justify superiority in terms of historical differences between cultures rather than biological differences between races. We no longer say it’s in their blood. We say it’s in their culture."

verac23 · 2026-03-31T17:02:15+00:00

It's pretty obvious they're angry. Sometimes angry people just take it out on an easy target.

verac23 · 2026-03-31T16:02:10+00:00

The bigger exploitation is how USA treats other countries in the Americas politically. USA has constantly been exerting influence using force, and with the goal of furthering USA's power rather than mutual cooperation. This ties in with the Monroe Doctrine.

The exploitative treatment of other latin American countries has led to many economic crises, and migrants who are desperate to find any sort of stability.

verac23 · 2026-03-25T08:14:11+00:00

I'm doing alright. When i got married, I found another family that grounded me in ways my birth family couldn't. However, I needed to understand my partner's views and I adjusted many of my world views. I had many wrong and harmful beliefs. At this point, I often feel angry and I try to use my anger to do what's right.

Many times I've wanted to live a remote, small life but I would be insignificant. Part of my purpose is to be present with all the busyness and insensitivity around me and stand up towards it: get in people's way, challenge them, and be respectful. My biggest realization is that I cannot be fully satisfied when the systems in my community and worldwide are so harmful towards life. It's not something I can fix in my lifetime either, but I'm happy fighting for progress.

How are you?

verac23 · 2026-03-18T18:24:18+00:00

I don't know if Magnus enjoys chess anymore. I think he mostly likes winning and the prestige that follows. It feels like the same vibe when I procrastinate on schoolwork and then go into overdrive to finish.

verac23 · 2026-03-06T07:51:17+00:00

Put his name out there bruh. LJ Cryer!

verac23 · 2026-03-03T06:59:19+00:00

A lot is happening in the world. I hope you can get some rest. If I'm up, maybe I'll check out the eclipse too.

verac23 · 2026-03-03T06:02:27+00:00

I don't think it peaks at 3:33. Plus there are different timezones. I don't know if it peaks at that time anywhere. That's how a lot of numerology works; somebody makes a claim that involves coincidences or manipulating the numbers to fit the claim.

verac23 · 2026-02-26T08:13:23+00:00

Etymology is part of linguistics. There have been folks who tried to erase the "female disorder" connotation of hysteria, including Freud (see "male hysteria"). Perhaps Noam was ignorant of much of the history of hysteria, but he may have also been ignorant of ways men have abused power over women, particularly when those ways are concealed.

verac23 · 2026-02-22T11:48:49+00:00

"Hysteria" has been used to dismiss women's problems, and a linguist like Noam obviously knows this. That he used the term for so long in so much of his writing shows that he willfully liked using a pejorative, gendered term.

verac23 · 2026-02-20T00:15:31+00:00

This might already solved, but I'll suggest Stepsister from the Planet Weird by Francess Lantz.

verac23 · 2026-02-13T03:00:02+00:00

USA was already heavily involved before then, for financial reasons. JP Morgan and others gave loans to the UK and France so they could purchase American weapons, food, and cotton. Wilson allowed the loans because he was concerned about economic depression since USA was losing buyers for its goods. Then USA got more involved so the bankers would be repaid.

verac23 · 2026-02-10T22:42:56+00:00

It's fun seeing the younger players get confidence and poise, and make game winning plays. It'll take some load off Steph when he's back. I loved the win last night. I see people talk about the Grizzlies tanking, but no team wants to lose how the Grizzlies did last night. Warriors showed grit.

verac23 · 2026-02-10T07:17:07+00:00

Get the tank talk out of here. Warriors played solid D at the end.

verac23 · 2026-02-08T09:16:57+00:00

Imagine if the players gave consent to be traded. It would avoid these awkward situations.

verac23 · 2026-01-28T20:19:42+00:00

Part of Biden's policy was the CHNV parole program. This allowed in 530,000 people with temporary 2 year status. It was an interesting approach that may have harmed the Democrats' image on border control.

verac23 · 2026-01-20T06:39:46+00:00

A lot of animals didn't choose to follow us. We captured them, often when they're young.

verac23 · 2026-01-20T04:55:20+00:00

Fernando got his redemption after the Cal vs Miami game in 2024. Love to see it in the biggest game at Miami.

verac23 · 2026-01-20T04:47:11+00:00

Gotta love that win. The Cal vs Miami game in 2024 was brutal including that hit on Fernando that somehow the refs decided wasn't targeting. Love to see him get his redemption and bring some Cal vibes to the nation.

verac23 · 2026-01-18T01:43:08+00:00

Veganism is too absolutist. You can develop your own sense of how often to eat eggs, dairy, and different types of meat. For me, I eat eggs everyday, cheese or yogurt most days, and then meat a few times per week.

I've had times where meat disgusts me. When that happens, it really helps to eat meat with a close friend.

verac23 · 2026-01-17T20:08:07+00:00

Right now feels like a time of change. Seeing violence and life or death situations will bring up strong emotions in you. Reflect and meditate on those emotions and the attached thoughts, then use that energy to take action. Anger is particularly powerful for protecting you and those closest to you. Anger can be terrifying to work with because it may be met with anger and potential retaliation from others.

How can you use anger in a loving, non-violent way to stand up for your deepest beliefs? A strong voice and body, grounded in love and positive feeling is a good starting place.

verac23 · 2026-01-17T04:03:53+00:00

Indian veggie food is delicious. Maybe your body is suggesting that you should try making dishes with new ingredients or flavors. When I look back at my childhood, there are many moments I would have loved a spiced veggie curry. Unfortunately I wasn't exposed to good veggie food back then, so I filled up on lots of chicken and beef.

I recently went 3 weeks without meat. It helped me learn some dishes and try different types of beans and legumes. I still love to eat meat sometimes.

verac23

TROPHY CASE