Yes, yes, yes to all of this. In particular, I despise people refusing to admit to the consequences of their religious beliefs. If "sex work is work" then the appropriate punishment for rape is a fine, unpaid wages plus a penalty. That's horror-novel territory.
Holly, what a great point to make about prostitution. I honestly never made that connection. Of COURSE “sex work” is on a different moral plane than factory work or hanging drywall, and it seems obvious when you think about it. But I generally do tend to think and argue that people should be free to sell services to other willing buyers without infringement. Any kind of services, including sexual ones. Obviously something is different about this kind of “work,” though.
Your point is a proverbial rock in that libertarian shoe I’ve been wearing for a long time.
I wonder what the solution is. I’ll have to take some time to really think about it and check my premises. Although I’m unsettled, thank you for making this argument and giving me something to think about.
The occasional woman who had a healthy upbringing and never experienced sexual violence and then decided to become a whore does exist, but that shouldn't be who we create policy around. The average prostitute was raised from early childhood to think of herself as nothing but a whore, ever. She was raped by all of her mom's boyfriends and ran away before she was 13 and then started dating a pimp. She doesn't think she's a victim, she thinks he loves her, and she's just helping him out. Then she turns 20 and, I just .... I almost always support the "sucks about your childhood but you're an adult now, deal with your problems" viewpoint, but this is one that the coddling makes sense. Prostitutes largely don't have the mental capacity to cope.
In my area, the rule is that prostitutes have to go to treatment and if they refuse treatment they go to jail. That seems pretty reasonable. Either you're a victim or you're a whore. Johns always go to jail. (Or pay fines, community service, whatever.)
Isolated fun fact for your enjoyment. I read the results of a police sting operation to catch johns: cops posted as a prostitute online, scheduled men to come to a certain hotel room, and arrested men as they arrived. About 20 men responded to the ad. 2 or 3 of them responded, scheduled their arrival, and then texted like a dozen pictures of their dick. And then they no-showed. I was obsessed with the story here for a while until someone put it in perspective. Like, to me, I couldn't understand why they were, what, trying to seduce a whore with a dick picture? She's a sure thing, she doesn't care, what are you doing? And also, oh my goodness they sent these pictures thinking just a single prostitute will see it and instead it's an entire police department, lawyers and their entire staff, judges and their staff, the DA and their entire staff, who knows who else. Then someone put into perspective for me that the kink is the sharing of their dick picture. They never planned to have the actual sex, all they needed was to share the picture with someone who wouldn't argue. If they knew how many dozens of people ended up seeing their dick, they'd get off on it even more.
The other point to learn from these men, not that I want to help johns but just in general here, is that every single man ended up getting convicted of soliciting except for the single, solitary guy who didn't say a word to the cops except "I want a lawyer." Every other man immediately fell for the good cop act: "Yeah, you didn't expect this, did you? What were expecting? Did you do anything like this before? What will your wife say?" And every man immediately confessed every aspect of their actions and their intent. Further proof that fornication is emasculating: when you get caught, you won't shut up talking about your feelings.
This might be a feminist urban legend, I certainly don't know if it's true because I couldn't read any primary sources on the topic, but a good 10 years ago, maybe longer, the radfem internet was freaking out because Germany was denying welfare payments to women after prostitution was legalized because they require people to look for work and those women didn't apply to work in the local whorehouse. Or something like that. Again, could be an urban legend, could be a glorified game of telephone, could be an outright lie since you can't trust a thing leftists say, but even if not specifically true, it's hard to argue against the logic. If sex work is work, then women ought never receive welfare payments.
This is so true and it’s great that you have called attention to this issue. You hit right on my pet peeves, too! These are the top 3 for me, in addition to using “undocumented” for illegal aliens. It really grates on my nerves when I hear any of these terms used. And I’ve seen their use skyrocket so that now it’s unusual to hear the terms, “prostitution” or “homeless”.
Having considered myself a feminist from a young age, I still occasionally feel a knee-jerk reaction to side with female victims of male aggression. Much of this impulse subsided after I read one story after another showing that plenty of the MeToo-type cases were about spite/jealousy/money grubbing/revenge against influential men. False victimhood cases piss me off to no end because they cast doubt on the cases of real victims, both male and female, of violence and abuse.
Sort of related, I was just listening to an interview with David Horowitz on his book "Final Battle: The Next Election Could be the Last." The Left has all sorts of hyper negative terms for conservatives: insurrectionists, white supremacists, racists, misogynists. And in return, conservatives call them "liberals." They're owning the language, and conservatives respond to this in a much to "nice" of a way. BTW, Horowitz is one of the first radicals to leave the Left that I heard of back in the early 2000s. You should consider doing an interview him. I think it could boost your show.
I was super annoyed when I noticed the novel I’m currently reading capitalized Black but not white when used as an adjective to describe a character’s ethnicity. I was also reading some older classics recently (Brave New World and 1984 - it’s been dystopia week at my house 😉) and noticed how freely they described characters’ physical characteristics, including those denoting ethnicity, in ways that feel uncomfortable today. But why is it inappropriate to describe facts about what a person looks like? It shouldn’t be.
What a great article! Welcome to all those who are moving away from the woke and the stuff that goes along with it.
Before the 2020 election, there was a huge movement called #WALKAWAY, which was a welcoming place for ex democrats who were disaffected by the party but didn't feel welcomed as a new sort-of conservative or whatever. On this page there were beautiful self-recorded videos and written testimonies of those people and how their journey progressed and ended up. Thousands of welcoming comments from people following the page. The movement was started by Brandon Straka (please look him up - ex-Democrat) and it went from a few hundred to half a million testimonies in the months leading up to the election. So much hope and joy between a hugely diverse group of people welcoming other people. It broke off into state-by-state groups it was getting so big. So of course, Facebook had to shut down all the groups. As we now know they were being pressured by the government to muzzle conservatives, and this was horrible for their brand.
Fast forward, and Brandon was arrested for being present on January 6 at the Capitol, giving a speech the day before. The details are murky, but it depends on the new channel you read as to what he is guilty of, if anything, since he never entered the capitol or had any weapons. As I see it, he was also part of the "Stop the Steal" ideas, and that sealed his fate. The government cannot allow intelligent well-spoken people like him not toeing the party line, and in fact speaking out against it. Let's stop this Uniparty regime from stealing our country, support one another, and be WE The PEOPLE once again!
The “alternative transportation” world has their own set of magic propaganda words.
Part of it is about gate keeping. Only devoted cult members keep up to date on the lingo. If you use out-dated terms, it’s a good indicator you’re not running the latest edition of Cult.exe
There’s “people who X” to describe pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, rollerbladers, transit users, etc.
Point (apparently) is that the original terms are dehumanizing. 🙄
But there’s no “people who drive cars” it’s instead “drivers”
The term “accident” is unacceptable. It was “collision” or “crash” for while but it’s now settling on “traffic violence”
In order to solve “traffic violence” there’s of course the need to incorporate “transportation justice.”
Just today I called my health care provider’s billing office and found it’s also doing word-play. It is now called the “patient financial experience department”!!! Haha, so laughable! 🤣
Haha, yes, I see your point! I hadn’t even thought that this could also be an example of propaganda phrasing. But there is a reason why I used that term. Some providers who see patients independently are not doctors - so this is terminology I’ve used for many years, due to my background as a nurse practitioner. It doesn’t have the same feel to me as the other propaganda terms but that could just be my bias affecting my perception.
Makes sense. Jargon has a legitimate purpose in professions, and it can be clarifying in that context. So much of it has leaked into the public in a way that obfuscates that I'm hyper-sensitive.
"Patient Financial Experience" is just plain insulting. Frankly, it's offensive. But then, I think Human Resources is offensive, and I think grocery stores calling customers "guests" is offensive, too.
It's all smarmy and evasive, rather than brisk and brightly business-like.
I agree, and those in professions (including myself) are so used to using jargon that we do it when we shouldn’t. I was so taken aback by the new “patient financial experience” label but shouldn’t have been, knowing the direction that this large, bureaucratic, academic medical center has been going for quite some time. My husband and I laughed about it and made many rude jokes about the new name. You’re right, it is offensive. It implies that dealing with their billing office will be like going to the spa or an amusement park or something. Using “guest” and “Human Resources” are great examples too, which I hadn’t even thought of. Smarmy and evasive are good descriptions. And this new Tower of Babel-speak is always wordy and long. Should be short, descriptive, and to the point.
Ugh, when I take a closer look at “Human Resources” it sounds so cold and dystopian, and I never thought about it that way until now. We are not employees, we are just the resources they need to run the business, and we happen to be human vs machines or materials. Ick. Thank you for shining a light on all of this.
And I just thought of another one that has always rankled me: “pre-owned” - but lately I’ve seen a couple of used car dealerships with signs advertising “used cars”, so maybe there is hope! :)
This question comes sort of out of left field, but I am bursting to ask this. Ill sort of hope I can put it under the umbrella of modern-speak, or teminology.
When I say " Thank You" to a twenty something student type who is an employee who deals with the public, why is the response invariably " Of course " ?
This is always stated in a breezy and off hand way.
I don't know what this "Of course ! " is supposed to convey.
I am wondering what happened to " You are welcome."
It’s just another evolution of “you’re welcome.” I don’t know why the “you’re welcome” sentiment is so prone to lexical evolution, but it is. (c.f. “no problem.)
I interpret “of course” as “it has been my duty and pleasure to serve you.” Like, “of course, I am only doing what’s right, but it was gracious on your part to express thanks regardless.”
They all hit the wrong tone. They all have a (even if unintentional) implication that the person saying thank you is somehow on the back foot, or has said something weird. Do you feel that too?
Yes, exactly this! My nephew says "No problem!" a lot, and I've told him by even mentioning the word "problem" in his response, he is inadvertently telling me that i may have been a slight bother to him. I've tried to coach him into using a more positive response such as "my pleasure!" or "anytime", or plain old "you're welcome".
And, dare I say, ‘thanks for reaching out’. For me this has always implied that ‘it is you, the customer, who is asking for US, the service provider, to help you or do you a favour’. When usually, the problem lies with bad service or product.
I was deep in the middle of all this 10-15 years ago, downloading and installing every latest version of cult.exe (this term is so funny...can’t stop laughing). The ongoing manipulation of language is nothing more than a secret handshake, one that enables cult members to recognise other members and stratify them in the hierarchy...the high priests create the new language and it filters down, enabling a cult-confined social credit system. My reform (you’re never really cured, just sober) began 15 years ago and coincided with me starting, building and owning my own business. You very quickly become aware of the burgeoning, unproductive regulatory class that makes endless rules, has no personal stake in anything and stifles the enterprise of truly productive people, all ‘for the common good’ of course. All of this was brought into stark relief over the last few years. Their world depends on top-down control, telling everyone what is wrong and right, good or bad, allowed or illegal, constantly changing the goalposts to suit themselves. It often starts with controlling language and quickly moves to picking winners and losers in society. I now see through all of it pretty quickly.
Nice analysis! It reminds of how adopting the "frame" of your interlocutor (e.g. the "un-housed") traps you into tacitly accepting their viewpoint in a way. I would say the term "trans woman" is the same thing...instead, I use "trans identifying male" to remove myself from the frame that a man can be a woman at all.
People of colour is one that I have resisted. When I was growing up in the UK, it was considered racist to describe someone as 'coloured'. So how come coloured is not acceptable but people of colour is? And what does it mean, someone who is not 100% white? It is propaganda.
Josh, it must have been a fluke that I was unable to comment on your morning thoughts post....'cause here I can....only to say I'm so thankful that you survived an unholy upbringing and can so exquisitely describe your observations of the world in which we find ourselves. Thank you.
Admittedly, I have wanted to reach out for sometime. You’re even a freaking # on my iPhone! #Disaffected.
I am a little tipsy atm so liquid courage (which you appreciate) here we go! Pls excuse my grammar.
I also can totally relate as someone similar in age and as a former leftist who fights against my initial programming from my messianic late teenage years.
I have been listening to you for the past 2-3 yrs and I too surprisingly find solace in Matt Walsh and the Daily Wire. I cannot believe how tyrannical the West has become. I am a blend of emotions as the amazing Lisa Feldman Barrett (whom I TOTALLY recommend someone lime you read and perhaps interview!! As she is not a postmodernist hack but though counterintuitively to humans and herself; follows straight empirical scientific data) am enraged, hopeful and discouraged.
As an individual who is on hiatus from my training to become a Canadian psychiatrist, I have many trepidations to returning to my studies at a woke school who leans left. I worry greatly that if they come for JBP they’re likely to come for a loudmouth outspoken filters a severe ADHD woman like myself.
Short of moving to Flordia (haha I know you get this!), I am just wondering if I should put a face on complete the woke training and board certification if only to then be in a position to service individuals like us who need a more logical-minded sensible therapist who has a good head on their shoulders.
Shrug.
- Rosie.
Thanks!
Would love to shoot the shit! I have been studying this from various angles from quote sometime!
Josh, thank you for this essay. I’ve been compiling a growing list myself, some of which are simply words that have been so captured that when I hear them now I simply roll my eyes. They include exclamations of racist, homo or transphobia, and most other Ist and phobe utterances. Add the idea of “harm-reduction” which of course indicates that harm is being produced deliberately, “tolerance” ( you know the kind I mean) and let’s not forget the importance of “lived experience” ( which again is only the experience of the few whose voices are allowed to be heard and promoted).....
Yes, yes, yes to all of this. In particular, I despise people refusing to admit to the consequences of their religious beliefs. If "sex work is work" then the appropriate punishment for rape is a fine, unpaid wages plus a penalty. That's horror-novel territory.
Holly, what a great point to make about prostitution. I honestly never made that connection. Of COURSE “sex work” is on a different moral plane than factory work or hanging drywall, and it seems obvious when you think about it. But I generally do tend to think and argue that people should be free to sell services to other willing buyers without infringement. Any kind of services, including sexual ones. Obviously something is different about this kind of “work,” though.
Your point is a proverbial rock in that libertarian shoe I’ve been wearing for a long time.
I wonder what the solution is. I’ll have to take some time to really think about it and check my premises. Although I’m unsettled, thank you for making this argument and giving me something to think about.
I do not recognize the dynamic "It is always an exploitative man forcing an innocent woman into exploitation."
Yes, that sometimes happens.
No. It is not true that the women are only exploited. Lots of them choose to do this to themselves.
I'm not going to accept without comment the proposition that this is yet another way the men are devils and the woman are angels being predated upon.
The Nordic Model is an institutional feminist excuse to let women out of any responsibility.
EDITING TO ADD: This comes off as more aggressive than I intended, Penny. My apologies. Please don't be afraid to comment back:)
The occasional woman who had a healthy upbringing and never experienced sexual violence and then decided to become a whore does exist, but that shouldn't be who we create policy around. The average prostitute was raised from early childhood to think of herself as nothing but a whore, ever. She was raped by all of her mom's boyfriends and ran away before she was 13 and then started dating a pimp. She doesn't think she's a victim, she thinks he loves her, and she's just helping him out. Then she turns 20 and, I just .... I almost always support the "sucks about your childhood but you're an adult now, deal with your problems" viewpoint, but this is one that the coddling makes sense. Prostitutes largely don't have the mental capacity to cope.
In my area, the rule is that prostitutes have to go to treatment and if they refuse treatment they go to jail. That seems pretty reasonable. Either you're a victim or you're a whore. Johns always go to jail. (Or pay fines, community service, whatever.)
Isolated fun fact for your enjoyment. I read the results of a police sting operation to catch johns: cops posted as a prostitute online, scheduled men to come to a certain hotel room, and arrested men as they arrived. About 20 men responded to the ad. 2 or 3 of them responded, scheduled their arrival, and then texted like a dozen pictures of their dick. And then they no-showed. I was obsessed with the story here for a while until someone put it in perspective. Like, to me, I couldn't understand why they were, what, trying to seduce a whore with a dick picture? She's a sure thing, she doesn't care, what are you doing? And also, oh my goodness they sent these pictures thinking just a single prostitute will see it and instead it's an entire police department, lawyers and their entire staff, judges and their staff, the DA and their entire staff, who knows who else. Then someone put into perspective for me that the kink is the sharing of their dick picture. They never planned to have the actual sex, all they needed was to share the picture with someone who wouldn't argue. If they knew how many dozens of people ended up seeing their dick, they'd get off on it even more.
The other point to learn from these men, not that I want to help johns but just in general here, is that every single man ended up getting convicted of soliciting except for the single, solitary guy who didn't say a word to the cops except "I want a lawyer." Every other man immediately fell for the good cop act: "Yeah, you didn't expect this, did you? What were expecting? Did you do anything like this before? What will your wife say?" And every man immediately confessed every aspect of their actions and their intent. Further proof that fornication is emasculating: when you get caught, you won't shut up talking about your feelings.
This might be a feminist urban legend, I certainly don't know if it's true because I couldn't read any primary sources on the topic, but a good 10 years ago, maybe longer, the radfem internet was freaking out because Germany was denying welfare payments to women after prostitution was legalized because they require people to look for work and those women didn't apply to work in the local whorehouse. Or something like that. Again, could be an urban legend, could be a glorified game of telephone, could be an outright lie since you can't trust a thing leftists say, but even if not specifically true, it's hard to argue against the logic. If sex work is work, then women ought never receive welfare payments.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/1482371/If-you-dont-take-a-job-as-a-prostitute-we-can-stop-your-benefits.html
Oh hey thanks.
Definitely not an urban legend. I recall reading about it.
'If sex work is work, then women ought never receive welfare payments'. Nor men.
Happy to say I don't do any of these. Guilt free, here :)
Those three are off to a great start. Keep going ❗️
This is so true and it’s great that you have called attention to this issue. You hit right on my pet peeves, too! These are the top 3 for me, in addition to using “undocumented” for illegal aliens. It really grates on my nerves when I hear any of these terms used. And I’ve seen their use skyrocket so that now it’s unusual to hear the terms, “prostitution” or “homeless”.
The use of the term “illegal” hit the nerve of the woke/PC crowd about ten years ago with a burrito restaurant called “Illegal Pete’s.”
https://www.grubstreet.com/2014/10/illegal-petes-burrito-shop.html
Having considered myself a feminist from a young age, I still occasionally feel a knee-jerk reaction to side with female victims of male aggression. Much of this impulse subsided after I read one story after another showing that plenty of the MeToo-type cases were about spite/jealousy/money grubbing/revenge against influential men. False victimhood cases piss me off to no end because they cast doubt on the cases of real victims, both male and female, of violence and abuse.
Sort of related, I was just listening to an interview with David Horowitz on his book "Final Battle: The Next Election Could be the Last." The Left has all sorts of hyper negative terms for conservatives: insurrectionists, white supremacists, racists, misogynists. And in return, conservatives call them "liberals." They're owning the language, and conservatives respond to this in a much to "nice" of a way. BTW, Horowitz is one of the first radicals to leave the Left that I heard of back in the early 2000s. You should consider doing an interview him. I think it could boost your show.
Nah, some conservatives use terms like libtard, demorat, snowflake, etc. It’s cutting both ways.
I was super annoyed when I noticed the novel I’m currently reading capitalized Black but not white when used as an adjective to describe a character’s ethnicity. I was also reading some older classics recently (Brave New World and 1984 - it’s been dystopia week at my house 😉) and noticed how freely they described characters’ physical characteristics, including those denoting ethnicity, in ways that feel uncomfortable today. But why is it inappropriate to describe facts about what a person looks like? It shouldn’t be.
What a great article! Welcome to all those who are moving away from the woke and the stuff that goes along with it.
Before the 2020 election, there was a huge movement called #WALKAWAY, which was a welcoming place for ex democrats who were disaffected by the party but didn't feel welcomed as a new sort-of conservative or whatever. On this page there were beautiful self-recorded videos and written testimonies of those people and how their journey progressed and ended up. Thousands of welcoming comments from people following the page. The movement was started by Brandon Straka (please look him up - ex-Democrat) and it went from a few hundred to half a million testimonies in the months leading up to the election. So much hope and joy between a hugely diverse group of people welcoming other people. It broke off into state-by-state groups it was getting so big. So of course, Facebook had to shut down all the groups. As we now know they were being pressured by the government to muzzle conservatives, and this was horrible for their brand.
Fast forward, and Brandon was arrested for being present on January 6 at the Capitol, giving a speech the day before. The details are murky, but it depends on the new channel you read as to what he is guilty of, if anything, since he never entered the capitol or had any weapons. As I see it, he was also part of the "Stop the Steal" ideas, and that sealed his fate. The government cannot allow intelligent well-spoken people like him not toeing the party line, and in fact speaking out against it. Let's stop this Uniparty regime from stealing our country, support one another, and be WE The PEOPLE once again!
The “alternative transportation” world has their own set of magic propaganda words.
Part of it is about gate keeping. Only devoted cult members keep up to date on the lingo. If you use out-dated terms, it’s a good indicator you’re not running the latest edition of Cult.exe
There’s “people who X” to describe pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, rollerbladers, transit users, etc.
Point (apparently) is that the original terms are dehumanizing. 🙄
But there’s no “people who drive cars” it’s instead “drivers”
The term “accident” is unacceptable. It was “collision” or “crash” for while but it’s now settling on “traffic violence”
In order to solve “traffic violence” there’s of course the need to incorporate “transportation justice.”
‘Running the latest edition of cult.exe’....beautiful!
Or NPC.exe 😂
Just today I called my health care provider’s billing office and found it’s also doing word-play. It is now called the “patient financial experience department”!!! Haha, so laughable! 🤣
Oh, I am sorry, but I must: you did it too (I'm saying this with a smile, but I'm serious). Your "health care provider's office."
Why not "my doctor's office?"
(Said with friendly tone, not as a gotcha.)
Haha, yes, I see your point! I hadn’t even thought that this could also be an example of propaganda phrasing. But there is a reason why I used that term. Some providers who see patients independently are not doctors - so this is terminology I’ve used for many years, due to my background as a nurse practitioner. It doesn’t have the same feel to me as the other propaganda terms but that could just be my bias affecting my perception.
Makes sense. Jargon has a legitimate purpose in professions, and it can be clarifying in that context. So much of it has leaked into the public in a way that obfuscates that I'm hyper-sensitive.
"Patient Financial Experience" is just plain insulting. Frankly, it's offensive. But then, I think Human Resources is offensive, and I think grocery stores calling customers "guests" is offensive, too.
It's all smarmy and evasive, rather than brisk and brightly business-like.
Yes.It is all dishonest and confusing and phoney. Especially this "guest" business.
And you even find that in Macy's and JC
Penney. And it's funny that with the huge decline in customer service, they simultaneously start calling you a guest!
PLEASE
I agree, and those in professions (including myself) are so used to using jargon that we do it when we shouldn’t. I was so taken aback by the new “patient financial experience” label but shouldn’t have been, knowing the direction that this large, bureaucratic, academic medical center has been going for quite some time. My husband and I laughed about it and made many rude jokes about the new name. You’re right, it is offensive. It implies that dealing with their billing office will be like going to the spa or an amusement park or something. Using “guest” and “Human Resources” are great examples too, which I hadn’t even thought of. Smarmy and evasive are good descriptions. And this new Tower of Babel-speak is always wordy and long. Should be short, descriptive, and to the point.
Ugh, when I take a closer look at “Human Resources” it sounds so cold and dystopian, and I never thought about it that way until now. We are not employees, we are just the resources they need to run the business, and we happen to be human vs machines or materials. Ick. Thank you for shining a light on all of this.
And I just thought of another one that has always rankled me: “pre-owned” - but lately I’ve seen a couple of used car dealerships with signs advertising “used cars”, so maybe there is hope! :)
This question comes sort of out of left field, but I am bursting to ask this. Ill sort of hope I can put it under the umbrella of modern-speak, or teminology.
When I say " Thank You" to a twenty something student type who is an employee who deals with the public, why is the response invariably " Of course " ?
This is always stated in a breezy and off hand way.
I don't know what this "Of course ! " is supposed to convey.
I am wondering what happened to " You are welcome."
It’s just another evolution of “you’re welcome.” I don’t know why the “you’re welcome” sentiment is so prone to lexical evolution, but it is. (c.f. “no problem.)
I interpret “of course” as “it has been my duty and pleasure to serve you.” Like, “of course, I am only doing what’s right, but it was gracious on your part to express thanks regardless.”
Just my 2¢
I hate the responses today from young people:
-"No worries"
-"No problem"
-"Of course"
They all hit the wrong tone. They all have a (even if unintentional) implication that the person saying thank you is somehow on the back foot, or has said something weird. Do you feel that too?
Totally. Im almost thinking these responses are coming from some sort of HR designed employee training session?
It's puzzling.
Yes, exactly this! My nephew says "No problem!" a lot, and I've told him by even mentioning the word "problem" in his response, he is inadvertently telling me that i may have been a slight bother to him. I've tried to coach him into using a more positive response such as "my pleasure!" or "anytime", or plain old "you're welcome".
And, dare I say, ‘thanks for reaching out’. For me this has always implied that ‘it is you, the customer, who is asking for US, the service provider, to help you or do you a favour’. When usually, the problem lies with bad service or product.
I was deep in the middle of all this 10-15 years ago, downloading and installing every latest version of cult.exe (this term is so funny...can’t stop laughing). The ongoing manipulation of language is nothing more than a secret handshake, one that enables cult members to recognise other members and stratify them in the hierarchy...the high priests create the new language and it filters down, enabling a cult-confined social credit system. My reform (you’re never really cured, just sober) began 15 years ago and coincided with me starting, building and owning my own business. You very quickly become aware of the burgeoning, unproductive regulatory class that makes endless rules, has no personal stake in anything and stifles the enterprise of truly productive people, all ‘for the common good’ of course. All of this was brought into stark relief over the last few years. Their world depends on top-down control, telling everyone what is wrong and right, good or bad, allowed or illegal, constantly changing the goalposts to suit themselves. It often starts with controlling language and quickly moves to picking winners and losers in society. I now see through all of it pretty quickly.
Nice analysis! It reminds of how adopting the "frame" of your interlocutor (e.g. the "un-housed") traps you into tacitly accepting their viewpoint in a way. I would say the term "trans woman" is the same thing...instead, I use "trans identifying male" to remove myself from the frame that a man can be a woman at all.
People of colour is one that I have resisted. When I was growing up in the UK, it was considered racist to describe someone as 'coloured'. So how come coloured is not acceptable but people of colour is? And what does it mean, someone who is not 100% white? It is propaganda.
Josh, it must have been a fluke that I was unable to comment on your morning thoughts post....'cause here I can....only to say I'm so thankful that you survived an unholy upbringing and can so exquisitely describe your observations of the world in which we find ourselves. Thank you.
Admittedly, I have wanted to reach out for sometime. You’re even a freaking # on my iPhone! #Disaffected.
I am a little tipsy atm so liquid courage (which you appreciate) here we go! Pls excuse my grammar.
I also can totally relate as someone similar in age and as a former leftist who fights against my initial programming from my messianic late teenage years.
I have been listening to you for the past 2-3 yrs and I too surprisingly find solace in Matt Walsh and the Daily Wire. I cannot believe how tyrannical the West has become. I am a blend of emotions as the amazing Lisa Feldman Barrett (whom I TOTALLY recommend someone lime you read and perhaps interview!! As she is not a postmodernist hack but though counterintuitively to humans and herself; follows straight empirical scientific data) am enraged, hopeful and discouraged.
As an individual who is on hiatus from my training to become a Canadian psychiatrist, I have many trepidations to returning to my studies at a woke school who leans left. I worry greatly that if they come for JBP they’re likely to come for a loudmouth outspoken filters a severe ADHD woman like myself.
Short of moving to Flordia (haha I know you get this!), I am just wondering if I should put a face on complete the woke training and board certification if only to then be in a position to service individuals like us who need a more logical-minded sensible therapist who has a good head on their shoulders.
Shrug.
- Rosie.
Thanks!
Would love to shoot the shit! I have been studying this from various angles from quote sometime!
You’re awesome keep doing the thang mister!! ✨🧠❤️
Josh, thank you for this essay. I’ve been compiling a growing list myself, some of which are simply words that have been so captured that when I hear them now I simply roll my eyes. They include exclamations of racist, homo or transphobia, and most other Ist and phobe utterances. Add the idea of “harm-reduction” which of course indicates that harm is being produced deliberately, “tolerance” ( you know the kind I mean) and let’s not forget the importance of “lived experience” ( which again is only the experience of the few whose voices are allowed to be heard and promoted).....