Until just a few generations ago. ambition was wholly irrelevant to the vast majority of humans. We did whatever our parents/the community did -- farming/physical labor/factory work, and we did it from a young age. Now we've got a massive shift to a society which is so complex almost nobody can handle it, and in which we have to figure out how to make a living from scratch, often switching it up several times. Some white men got a slight head-start on this in the US but not by that much. It's not a universal principle, it isn't lasting, and it was never all the white guys profiting; I'm sure most white people have stories of grinding poverty in their family history, because grinding poverty was the norm until not too long ago.
Also this whole 'why should I weep for white men, I'm kind of glad they're suffering' is dumb and short-sighted. And mean!
I think maybe the article is kind of meant as a form of pain killer / panacea for those normal people in her audience. If you care about people as a whole, there is no way to look at the stuff Reeves sets out and come away from it with "what a nothing burger" and go about your day. So Petersen writes this article to assuage the feels caught by her more compassionate readers, and bring them back into the fold. "Remember ladies, they are the enemy and we give no quarter." The tactical mistake here is something Reeves has addressed elsewhere (I think) that regardless of what causes you ascribe to this phenomenon. We have plenty of evidence from history that a large population of any sort withdrawing from society and feeling increasingly isolated / ignored by the world they inhabit, will lead to bad outcomes for everyone. This is especially the case for young men the world over. If you want to find a common theme in failed states and terrible conditions look for countries with a large population of unemployed disaffected men. If you are uncomfortable even looking at men in general you can look at the results of that phenomenon in those places, the refusal of those societies to allow women to go to school, get jobs, and be equal in the eyes of the law / society. Consider a tendency towards compassion a form of self preservation. Great show as always!
It took me about twenty minutes to make this AI-powered video of Dame Maggie Smith reading Maggie Smith’s essay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugMdlsNE5SY
THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE AAAAAHHHH.
Until just a few generations ago. ambition was wholly irrelevant to the vast majority of humans. We did whatever our parents/the community did -- farming/physical labor/factory work, and we did it from a young age. Now we've got a massive shift to a society which is so complex almost nobody can handle it, and in which we have to figure out how to make a living from scratch, often switching it up several times. Some white men got a slight head-start on this in the US but not by that much. It's not a universal principle, it isn't lasting, and it was never all the white guys profiting; I'm sure most white people have stories of grinding poverty in their family history, because grinding poverty was the norm until not too long ago.
Also this whole 'why should I weep for white men, I'm kind of glad they're suffering' is dumb and short-sighted. And mean!
I think maybe the article is kind of meant as a form of pain killer / panacea for those normal people in her audience. If you care about people as a whole, there is no way to look at the stuff Reeves sets out and come away from it with "what a nothing burger" and go about your day. So Petersen writes this article to assuage the feels caught by her more compassionate readers, and bring them back into the fold. "Remember ladies, they are the enemy and we give no quarter." The tactical mistake here is something Reeves has addressed elsewhere (I think) that regardless of what causes you ascribe to this phenomenon. We have plenty of evidence from history that a large population of any sort withdrawing from society and feeling increasingly isolated / ignored by the world they inhabit, will lead to bad outcomes for everyone. This is especially the case for young men the world over. If you want to find a common theme in failed states and terrible conditions look for countries with a large population of unemployed disaffected men. If you are uncomfortable even looking at men in general you can look at the results of that phenomenon in those places, the refusal of those societies to allow women to go to school, get jobs, and be equal in the eyes of the law / society. Consider a tendency towards compassion a form of self preservation. Great show as always!