Quite recently, I covered at this site the insidious anti-human cult that is “socialism”, and how it operates: in short, socialists believe nobody has achieved anything in life on merit, but purely because they have had unfair advantages, such as rich parents or a private education.
The people who try to slam you Miri, have no idea about so many things it seems, and that they're only recourse is to try and unsettle you with really dumb stuff (OMG you've lived in 2 different locations, you must be up to something sinister or you "came out of nowhere"....really?).
I know (simply by reading) that you, Miri, are one of the most 'on the mark' journalists out there and you do it in the most intelligent, witty way for anyone to understand. Too bad for those that want to waste their time on such laughable triviality. But hey, if it brings you more subscribers, then that is the bonus.
Many thanks, Farleyboy! The problem with the conspirasocialists (and indeed the socialists generally) is as the great Thomas Sowell put it: "the problem isn't that Johnny can't read. The problem isn't even that Johnny can't think. The problem is that Johnny doesn't know what thinking is. He confuses it with feeling".
The government has recently, and quietly, incorporated counter-terrorism policing into the D-notice system. (A D-Notice instructs news outlets not to print sensitive details for national security reasons).
The extension restricts the media from providing details to the public on matters of counter-terror policing that the government decides should be kept from the public. D-notices are usually issued to protect the identity of intelligence officials or specific ongoing military operations; now, they also cover public order concerns.
We are witnessing the further descent into state control.
There's a sub-variety of them here in the States. They drive Subarus with COEXIST bumper stickers and drive 5 miles an hour below the speed limit, because they not only OBEY (especially since 2020), they obey HARDER, which makes them a better person evidently. Except when you go to pass them, then they speed up and block you at every opportunity so they can exert what little control they have in life by fucking with a complete stranger. Someone's going to give them more than the finger one of these days. Not that I would dream of such a thing myself...
As a woman who has more degrees than a thermometer (academically) and who has made some very tough, heart-wrenching professional decisions since the Human Rights Heist of 2020, on principle, I can relate on multiple levels.
Like you, I have been called every name under the sun and accused of being an intelligence agent, controlled op, etc. I'll take the compliment of being intelligent, but I am entirely independent, make less money than I made waiting tables two days a week in high school (and many tens of thousands less than before March 2020), and write/investigate with little monetary or professional or personal return of any kind. I feel more professionally alone than I have in my entire life (and that's saying something because I was an independent consultant for 15 years!)
You are right to restrict comments to paid subscribers. I did the same this past summer; some of the reasons are similar to those you've mentioned, plus others, and have no regrets.
"Conspirasocialists" are one brand of (what I consider) predators. Another term I've used with friends is "Substalkers" - people who co-opt comment space to draw attention to themselves/their ideas but really need to maintain their own Substack.
I've paid fairly close attention to Commentors on this platform in the COVID Space and am still deeply unsettled by the patterns I observe on the Substacks of people I love and respect. Make no mistake: this platform is Enemy Territory. Proceed with caution.
At the end of the day, I can only 'control' so much.
Woolf, Austen, Wharton, and the Bronte sisters remind me that I have to set my own terms and draw my own lines - whatever the opinions of onlookers and associates.
Thank you, Jessica, and I'm sorry but not at all surprised to hear you've experienced the same. It's endemic all over the internet for anyone with any significant platform since, as you say, this is enemy territory. You're absolutely right that the "Substalkers" simply want to use your comments' section to draw attention to themselves, since they know they could never get the attention they crave - and, as covered, feel they're entitled to - on their own merits.
I'd really like to see more content creators restrict their comments to paid subscribers only, because it cuts these insidious creatures off at the source. Let them build an audience on their own merits, if they've got anything of significance to say, rather than freeloading off of others.
The problem is, a lot of people are honestly quite scared of them (and for good reason, because some of them are severely unstable and I know of one who had to be reported to the police as his harassment of one particular content creator became so aggressive) and are worried about a backlash, being called all the names, etc., but as you say - one simply cannot worry about this. These people will call us names whatever we do, there is literally no pleasing them and nor is pleasing them a desirable goal.
As they say, "I don't know the secret of success, but I do know the secret of failure, and it's trying to please everyone".
Heck, The Wall Street Journal charges me $38 a month for a subscription and the privilege of commenting if I choose. You and I aren't the WSJ, but there is a reason many news outlets moved to that model long ago.
Restricting the comments also improves comment quality (and my responses to comments).
I've considered switching back to no comments at all. Katherine Watt did that earlier this year and I don't blame her.
I don't blame anyone who switches off the comments entirely, especially a bigger account like Katherine. Traditionally, the job of an author / journalist was simply to write, and obviously that's still a completely valid contribution. Nobody is obliged to provide a comments' section on their pieces (let alone a free one!),
These conspirasocialists do not sound unlike my children (none of whom are older than 12).
Put that next to an assertion I heard made a few years ago from a completely different kind of source, that it is considered there is a global epidemic of immaturity, then this all fits somehow.
But then for light relief, consider the green, woke / leftists who proudly bought and drove their Teslas to save the polar bears and now Musk has gone and pulled a blinder by aligning with the orange one who chants “drill, baby, drill”. LOL
Thanks Johan, and absolutely. I characterised them as demanding, egocentric toddlers ("GIMME! MINE!"), because that is how they are. Being egocentric and demanding is a normal stage for a young child to pass through, but with proper parenting, children do indeed pass through it. It's been very credibly argued that socialism is a developmental disorder induced by poor parenting, as per the book "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness" by psychiatrist Lyle Rossiter. A really invaluable insight into why these people are how they are.
There's nothing new under the sun ... I'm well into my 70s but my ex-wife (we divorced some 25y ago) used to recount how her maternal grandfather had been the first socialist/communist mayor of a borough in eastern England. His daughter (i.e. my ex mother-in-law) used to say that his philosophy - and attitude towards his children & others - was to say that WHAT'S YOURS IS MIINE AND WHAT'S MINE IS MY OWN. Pretty well sums up what you have been saying about this topic Miri :-) :-)
Have you stopped doing the audio versions of your missives, Miri? I can't find any recent ones. As I often listen when travelling, this is the best option for me to take in your excellent work. I would appreciate a response. Thank you
Hi Doris, thanks, and yes, actually I had stopped them. The reason for this is that my former laptop, having reached the grand old age of (nearly) ten broke, and I got a new one that doesn't support the same software that I used to create my audio versions. I wasn't sure if people would miss them if they stopped, so before downloading and learning how to use new software, I wanted to see if anyone did actually miss them. Well, you are the first person to say they do! So I will look into re-establishing them.
I, too, appreciate the audio versions as my sitting and reading time is limited. I presumed that you stopped because it wasn't giving a satisfactory return on investment.
I thought you were taking a break from the audio versions to make us all read as it's better for us ha ha my husband and I really miss your dulcet tones and often listen to you when exercising et cetera so please do bring back the vocal versions. Would be much appreciated in Cricklewood!
Socialists, like Marxists and communists, are – or ought to be – critics of capitalism, a system in which the relation between how jolly hard you work and what you get paid has very little correlation. So this has nothing to do with envy at some who “enjoy the fruits of their labour”.
Admittedly, all of this has been obscured by the sad fact that the covid coup of 2020 was cunningly pitched “from the Left foot” as it were ... and the sadder fact that most on the Left fell for it. Ever since that viral fraud, it has been “The Left” who have served as the dupes and “The Right” who have been mostly ...well, right.
We simply don't have 'real' capitalism, which is a genuinely free-market economy, which is a true meritocracy that is not, in any way whatsoever, 'interfered' with by the state.
Of course, many have been hoodwinked into thinking that 'neoliberalism' is somehow a 'free-market' approach - but that's a total bastardisation, deliberately put into place to demonise free-markets, because 'spontaneous order' (the very essence of free-markets) can never be even remotely realised whilst the state is in any way involved.
This is because the state will create, infiltrate, back, promote, and endorse their 'preferred/created' players...
That's not a level playing field, at all, which the 'left' (socialists/communists - socialism being the temporary, state controlled, theoretical stepping stone to all out communism, where everything is owned/run by 'the people', regardless of the average person's ability) absolutely lack the capacity to comprehend.
And this is where the 'envy' of the 'left' really kicks in...
Because people with these particular leanings have been, as Miri rightly states, utterly brainwashed into having a totally unbalanced and particularly spiteful, downtrodden world view (of both themselves and others - which is ironic, as they also believe we are all equallly 'capable' - please see quote below).
I remember speaking to a self-declared 'socialist' in 2020, who actually thought the 'pandemic' was a "good thing, because it will level the playing field".
In other words, it doesn't matter how hard anyone has worked, or what skills and knowledge they have developed, because all that really matters to these people is that we're all 'equal'...
Even if that means being equally fucked.
"There is a cult of ignorance... The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'"
Dear Mark, I used to wake up every morning even a decade ago ready to work. Hard work, careful choices (not my strong point) and hopefully reward.
The now infamous Covid-19 Public Sector jolly rollocks crushed everyone.
For the first time I was working for the mean, petty, pointless Public Sector, without an interview or being paid by them. No, I was paying them, as usual.
It was totally depressing - shouty idiots with no imagination or drive but with bottomless vindictiveness.
I'm not quite clear of the Public Sector - but will soon be free. Of course, I worked throughout, but working with such mill-stones is not easy.
I am no longer dominated by the Public Sector mantra 'I am what I spend', and intend to keep it that way.
We’ve never had “real capitalism”. We have never had a “meritocracy”. Nor have we ever had any society that is not “interfered with” by the state. For one thing the state is needed to apply the institution of private property that is necessary for capitalism to work. Thus “real capitalism” is a sheer chimera existing in some kind of idealistic cloud.
And what is “spontaneous order” in a large society? Again, the state is always involved. And necessarily so.
“That's not a level playing field, at all, which the 'left' (socialists/communists - socialism being the temporary, state controlled, theoretical stepping stone to all out communism, where everything is owned/run by 'the people', regardless of the average person's ability) absolutely lack the capacity to comprehend.”
Where is this “Level playing field” that can magically exist without any state intervention?
What the “right” lack is the capacity to comprehend that we live by definition in a collective condition. They always seem to assume that every individual exists in some kind of Biblical ex-nihilo state where he/she created the world from scratch.
“Of course, many have been hoodwinked into thinking that 'neoliberalism' is somehow a 'free-market' approach - but that's a total bastardisation, deliberately put into place to demonise free-markets, because 'spontaneous order' (the very essence of free-markets) can never be even remotely realised whilst the state is in any way involved.”
Here we have the staggeringly naïve idea that somehow the UK or whatever could have generated some kind of utterly spontaneous “level playing field” if only that pesky state didn’t get involved. How does that happen?
Where are these “free markets”? Everyone needs to buy through earning money which has to be regulated somehow. Who regulates it? Or is it some kind of free-for-all?
Miri, I'm quite surprised at your rant against socialism. I understand the caricatures that you use and what they are directed at but your mental model of socialism as a movement is one dimensional. Many societal changes we have benefitted from come out of the socialist movement. To me, it is a series of pastiches borne more from your own prejudices than an objectively accurate picture. I thought you had a wider, more balanced view of history and sociology.
Application of the terms "Socialism", "Communism", "Marxism" to the new aggressive fascistic moves since covid have become depressingly common. Admittedly, our system chiefs have decided to ditch the neoliberal rhetoric for a "Leftist" tone. You'd think that from some channels there's even been some kind of revolution! But there hasn't been. Our overlords have now decided "we're all in this together" but of course that's just a spin on the latest mutation of ever mutating capitalism. "The Left" is now "in" and "The Right" are the "Evil Ones". But this is all theatre.
Brilliant article! The amount of material spewing from people that is at the same time nonsensical and highly abusive I'm finding more and more disheartening.
But what is heartening is how you respond to it, Miri, and how you don't let it grind you down.
I hope you get to grips with the new software soon so we can hear your amazing missives in your dulcet tones soon! Have a grand Christmas, and give my love to your dad, if you see him. Annelise, aka Doris
There is nothing wrong when the host does not let people the one does not like into the party. The only risk is the party may become boring or irrelevant in a long run as the supply of new people for joining may dry out. There are more good people around than bad ones...I still believe. Just an observation. May be three strikes and ban would remove bad behaved characters away but keep door opened for good people? But in this case the host is to become the judge and executer...Hmm, you have difficult work, Miri. Be Strong.
Thanks Dmitri, I just don't have the time to moderate hundreds of comments on every article and keep a detailed record of how many times people have behaved inappropriately. That's a full-time job in itself, and an unpaid one at that.
Yes, it's true that genuine people are by default "penalised" because of the poor behaviour of others, by not having free access to my comments, but it's not a very difficult penalty to get around. They just have to pay a small fee. Few things in life are available for free and - while the actual content of my articles is - my comments section is not.
To whom is this post addressed Miri? If it is to your detractors I doubt they will pay any serious attention to it and they will continue doing what they've been doing. If it is to the rest of us, frankly it doesn't interest me much, since all those points that you are highlighting are, I think, pretty obvious and whenever any moderately experienced internet user stumbles upon such comments he automatically ignores them and moves on. In short I think you are wasting effort here, better invested in more meaningful content (I loved the article about socialism for example, even though experience has led me to the conviction that the truth is always somewhere in between).
In short, just ignore them as the rest of us do and focus on the actual work.
Thanks Tryfon, of course I know this post isn't of interest to all subscribers (I doubt any of my posts are). But as you can see, it has interested a lot of other people, and provoked some interesting discussions, especially with fellow content creator, Jessica Hockett. I could turn this to you and say "if this post doesn't interest you, just ignore it and focus on the ones that do" - !
The people who try to slam you Miri, have no idea about so many things it seems, and that they're only recourse is to try and unsettle you with really dumb stuff (OMG you've lived in 2 different locations, you must be up to something sinister or you "came out of nowhere"....really?).
I know (simply by reading) that you, Miri, are one of the most 'on the mark' journalists out there and you do it in the most intelligent, witty way for anyone to understand. Too bad for those that want to waste their time on such laughable triviality. But hey, if it brings you more subscribers, then that is the bonus.
Many thanks, Farleyboy! The problem with the conspirasocialists (and indeed the socialists generally) is as the great Thomas Sowell put it: "the problem isn't that Johnny can't read. The problem isn't even that Johnny can't think. The problem is that Johnny doesn't know what thinking is. He confuses it with feeling".
The government has recently, and quietly, incorporated counter-terrorism policing into the D-notice system. (A D-Notice instructs news outlets not to print sensitive details for national security reasons).
The extension restricts the media from providing details to the public on matters of counter-terror policing that the government decides should be kept from the public. D-notices are usually issued to protect the identity of intelligence officials or specific ongoing military operations; now, they also cover public order concerns.
We are witnessing the further descent into state control.
There's a sub-variety of them here in the States. They drive Subarus with COEXIST bumper stickers and drive 5 miles an hour below the speed limit, because they not only OBEY (especially since 2020), they obey HARDER, which makes them a better person evidently. Except when you go to pass them, then they speed up and block you at every opportunity so they can exert what little control they have in life by fucking with a complete stranger. Someone's going to give them more than the finger one of these days. Not that I would dream of such a thing myself...
Brilliant post, Miri.
As a woman who has more degrees than a thermometer (academically) and who has made some very tough, heart-wrenching professional decisions since the Human Rights Heist of 2020, on principle, I can relate on multiple levels.
Like you, I have been called every name under the sun and accused of being an intelligence agent, controlled op, etc. I'll take the compliment of being intelligent, but I am entirely independent, make less money than I made waiting tables two days a week in high school (and many tens of thousands less than before March 2020), and write/investigate with little monetary or professional or personal return of any kind. I feel more professionally alone than I have in my entire life (and that's saying something because I was an independent consultant for 15 years!)
You are right to restrict comments to paid subscribers. I did the same this past summer; some of the reasons are similar to those you've mentioned, plus others, and have no regrets.
"Conspirasocialists" are one brand of (what I consider) predators. Another term I've used with friends is "Substalkers" - people who co-opt comment space to draw attention to themselves/their ideas but really need to maintain their own Substack.
I've paid fairly close attention to Commentors on this platform in the COVID Space and am still deeply unsettled by the patterns I observe on the Substacks of people I love and respect. Make no mistake: this platform is Enemy Territory. Proceed with caution.
At the end of the day, I can only 'control' so much.
Woolf, Austen, Wharton, and the Bronte sisters remind me that I have to set my own terms and draw my own lines - whatever the opinions of onlookers and associates.
Warm regards.
Thank you, Jessica, and I'm sorry but not at all surprised to hear you've experienced the same. It's endemic all over the internet for anyone with any significant platform since, as you say, this is enemy territory. You're absolutely right that the "Substalkers" simply want to use your comments' section to draw attention to themselves, since they know they could never get the attention they crave - and, as covered, feel they're entitled to - on their own merits.
I'd really like to see more content creators restrict their comments to paid subscribers only, because it cuts these insidious creatures off at the source. Let them build an audience on their own merits, if they've got anything of significance to say, rather than freeloading off of others.
The problem is, a lot of people are honestly quite scared of them (and for good reason, because some of them are severely unstable and I know of one who had to be reported to the police as his harassment of one particular content creator became so aggressive) and are worried about a backlash, being called all the names, etc., but as you say - one simply cannot worry about this. These people will call us names whatever we do, there is literally no pleasing them and nor is pleasing them a desirable goal.
As they say, "I don't know the secret of success, but I do know the secret of failure, and it's trying to please everyone".
Agreed on all points.
Heck, The Wall Street Journal charges me $38 a month for a subscription and the privilege of commenting if I choose. You and I aren't the WSJ, but there is a reason many news outlets moved to that model long ago.
Restricting the comments also improves comment quality (and my responses to comments).
I've considered switching back to no comments at all. Katherine Watt did that earlier this year and I don't blame her.
Yes, absolutely, agreed on all counts.
I don't blame anyone who switches off the comments entirely, especially a bigger account like Katherine. Traditionally, the job of an author / journalist was simply to write, and obviously that's still a completely valid contribution. Nobody is obliged to provide a comments' section on their pieces (let alone a free one!),
Exactly
Plus, with my WSJ example, those outlets comment moderation that is the full-time job of separate staff.
If I had an assistant, that would be a different story!! 😂
These conspirasocialists do not sound unlike my children (none of whom are older than 12).
Put that next to an assertion I heard made a few years ago from a completely different kind of source, that it is considered there is a global epidemic of immaturity, then this all fits somehow.
But then for light relief, consider the green, woke / leftists who proudly bought and drove their Teslas to save the polar bears and now Musk has gone and pulled a blinder by aligning with the orange one who chants “drill, baby, drill”. LOL
Thanks Johan, and absolutely. I characterised them as demanding, egocentric toddlers ("GIMME! MINE!"), because that is how they are. Being egocentric and demanding is a normal stage for a young child to pass through, but with proper parenting, children do indeed pass through it. It's been very credibly argued that socialism is a developmental disorder induced by poor parenting, as per the book "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness" by psychiatrist Lyle Rossiter. A really invaluable insight into why these people are how they are.
Off on a tangent, but I would dearly love to see Terry Christian gob off to all the farmers who frequent our local pub.
There's nothing new under the sun ... I'm well into my 70s but my ex-wife (we divorced some 25y ago) used to recount how her maternal grandfather had been the first socialist/communist mayor of a borough in eastern England. His daughter (i.e. my ex mother-in-law) used to say that his philosophy - and attitude towards his children & others - was to say that WHAT'S YOURS IS MIINE AND WHAT'S MINE IS MY OWN. Pretty well sums up what you have been saying about this topic Miri :-) :-)
Thanks Steve, and yes, funny how the "socialist" mentality doesn't extend to their contributing to anyone else, only others contributing to them!
Have you stopped doing the audio versions of your missives, Miri? I can't find any recent ones. As I often listen when travelling, this is the best option for me to take in your excellent work. I would appreciate a response. Thank you
Hi Doris, thanks, and yes, actually I had stopped them. The reason for this is that my former laptop, having reached the grand old age of (nearly) ten broke, and I got a new one that doesn't support the same software that I used to create my audio versions. I wasn't sure if people would miss them if they stopped, so before downloading and learning how to use new software, I wanted to see if anyone did actually miss them. Well, you are the first person to say they do! So I will look into re-establishing them.
I, too, appreciate the audio versions as my sitting and reading time is limited. I presumed that you stopped because it wasn't giving a satisfactory return on investment.
I thought you were taking a break from the audio versions to make us all read as it's better for us ha ha my husband and I really miss your dulcet tones and often listen to you when exercising et cetera so please do bring back the vocal versions. Would be much appreciated in Cricklewood!
I like your style!
Socialists, like Marxists and communists, are – or ought to be – critics of capitalism, a system in which the relation between how jolly hard you work and what you get paid has very little correlation. So this has nothing to do with envy at some who “enjoy the fruits of their labour”.
Admittedly, all of this has been obscured by the sad fact that the covid coup of 2020 was cunningly pitched “from the Left foot” as it were ... and the sadder fact that most on the Left fell for it. Ever since that viral fraud, it has been “The Left” who have served as the dupes and “The Right” who have been mostly ...well, right.
We simply don't have 'real' capitalism, which is a genuinely free-market economy, which is a true meritocracy that is not, in any way whatsoever, 'interfered' with by the state.
Of course, many have been hoodwinked into thinking that 'neoliberalism' is somehow a 'free-market' approach - but that's a total bastardisation, deliberately put into place to demonise free-markets, because 'spontaneous order' (the very essence of free-markets) can never be even remotely realised whilst the state is in any way involved.
This is because the state will create, infiltrate, back, promote, and endorse their 'preferred/created' players...
That's not a level playing field, at all, which the 'left' (socialists/communists - socialism being the temporary, state controlled, theoretical stepping stone to all out communism, where everything is owned/run by 'the people', regardless of the average person's ability) absolutely lack the capacity to comprehend.
And this is where the 'envy' of the 'left' really kicks in...
Because people with these particular leanings have been, as Miri rightly states, utterly brainwashed into having a totally unbalanced and particularly spiteful, downtrodden world view (of both themselves and others - which is ironic, as they also believe we are all equallly 'capable' - please see quote below).
I remember speaking to a self-declared 'socialist' in 2020, who actually thought the 'pandemic' was a "good thing, because it will level the playing field".
In other words, it doesn't matter how hard anyone has worked, or what skills and knowledge they have developed, because all that really matters to these people is that we're all 'equal'...
Even if that means being equally fucked.
"There is a cult of ignorance... The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'"
~Isaac Asimov
Dear Mark, I used to wake up every morning even a decade ago ready to work. Hard work, careful choices (not my strong point) and hopefully reward.
The now infamous Covid-19 Public Sector jolly rollocks crushed everyone.
For the first time I was working for the mean, petty, pointless Public Sector, without an interview or being paid by them. No, I was paying them, as usual.
It was totally depressing - shouty idiots with no imagination or drive but with bottomless vindictiveness.
I'm not quite clear of the Public Sector - but will soon be free. Of course, I worked throughout, but working with such mill-stones is not easy.
I am no longer dominated by the Public Sector mantra 'I am what I spend', and intend to keep it that way.
We’ve never had “real capitalism”. We have never had a “meritocracy”. Nor have we ever had any society that is not “interfered with” by the state. For one thing the state is needed to apply the institution of private property that is necessary for capitalism to work. Thus “real capitalism” is a sheer chimera existing in some kind of idealistic cloud.
And what is “spontaneous order” in a large society? Again, the state is always involved. And necessarily so.
“That's not a level playing field, at all, which the 'left' (socialists/communists - socialism being the temporary, state controlled, theoretical stepping stone to all out communism, where everything is owned/run by 'the people', regardless of the average person's ability) absolutely lack the capacity to comprehend.”
Where is this “Level playing field” that can magically exist without any state intervention?
What the “right” lack is the capacity to comprehend that we live by definition in a collective condition. They always seem to assume that every individual exists in some kind of Biblical ex-nihilo state where he/she created the world from scratch.
And again, this:
“Of course, many have been hoodwinked into thinking that 'neoliberalism' is somehow a 'free-market' approach - but that's a total bastardisation, deliberately put into place to demonise free-markets, because 'spontaneous order' (the very essence of free-markets) can never be even remotely realised whilst the state is in any way involved.”
Here we have the staggeringly naïve idea that somehow the UK or whatever could have generated some kind of utterly spontaneous “level playing field” if only that pesky state didn’t get involved. How does that happen?
Where are these “free markets”? Everyone needs to buy through earning money which has to be regulated somehow. Who regulates it? Or is it some kind of free-for-all?
Great comment and quote.
Left / right is a fake construct designed by Big Evil. There is only right & wrong
Miri, I'm quite surprised at your rant against socialism. I understand the caricatures that you use and what they are directed at but your mental model of socialism as a movement is one dimensional. Many societal changes we have benefitted from come out of the socialist movement. To me, it is a series of pastiches borne more from your own prejudices than an objectively accurate picture. I thought you had a wider, more balanced view of history and sociology.
Application of the terms "Socialism", "Communism", "Marxism" to the new aggressive fascistic moves since covid have become depressingly common. Admittedly, our system chiefs have decided to ditch the neoliberal rhetoric for a "Leftist" tone. You'd think that from some channels there's even been some kind of revolution! But there hasn't been. Our overlords have now decided "we're all in this together" but of course that's just a spin on the latest mutation of ever mutating capitalism. "The Left" is now "in" and "The Right" are the "Evil Ones". But this is all theatre.
Brilliant article! The amount of material spewing from people that is at the same time nonsensical and highly abusive I'm finding more and more disheartening.
But what is heartening is how you respond to it, Miri, and how you don't let it grind you down.
I hope you get to grips with the new software soon so we can hear your amazing missives in your dulcet tones soon! Have a grand Christmas, and give my love to your dad, if you see him. Annelise, aka Doris
Thank you, I hope that you figure it out. I'm sure you will succeed!
Thanks you Miri for your work.
There is nothing wrong when the host does not let people the one does not like into the party. The only risk is the party may become boring or irrelevant in a long run as the supply of new people for joining may dry out. There are more good people around than bad ones...I still believe. Just an observation. May be three strikes and ban would remove bad behaved characters away but keep door opened for good people? But in this case the host is to become the judge and executer...Hmm, you have difficult work, Miri. Be Strong.
Thanks Dmitri, I just don't have the time to moderate hundreds of comments on every article and keep a detailed record of how many times people have behaved inappropriately. That's a full-time job in itself, and an unpaid one at that.
Yes, it's true that genuine people are by default "penalised" because of the poor behaviour of others, by not having free access to my comments, but it's not a very difficult penalty to get around. They just have to pay a small fee. Few things in life are available for free and - while the actual content of my articles is - my comments section is not.
Thanks for your support.
To whom is this post addressed Miri? If it is to your detractors I doubt they will pay any serious attention to it and they will continue doing what they've been doing. If it is to the rest of us, frankly it doesn't interest me much, since all those points that you are highlighting are, I think, pretty obvious and whenever any moderately experienced internet user stumbles upon such comments he automatically ignores them and moves on. In short I think you are wasting effort here, better invested in more meaningful content (I loved the article about socialism for example, even though experience has led me to the conviction that the truth is always somewhere in between).
In short, just ignore them as the rest of us do and focus on the actual work.
Kind regards
Thanks Tryfon, of course I know this post isn't of interest to all subscribers (I doubt any of my posts are). But as you can see, it has interested a lot of other people, and provoked some interesting discussions, especially with fellow content creator, Jessica Hockett. I could turn this to you and say "if this post doesn't interest you, just ignore it and focus on the ones that do" - !