can't necessarily think of any good stories, but people I know around my age who turned into chuds generally meet all of the following criteria:
contrarian
upset about idpol
rich
"intellectual" (ivy league education, reads the wsj... that sort)
if they satisfy 2 or 3 of the above, then they're generally neolibs instead.
that said... I arguably fit all of the above--which is part of how I know so many people like that.
I think what allowed me to make the transition to leftism is
becoming less contrarian
realizing that the problem isn't idpol; it's idpol without material analysis.
realizing that intellectualism is kind of masturbatory. it feels good, and there's a time and place for it, but it doesn't accomplish anything on its own. praxis > theory, material conditions > ideology.
Also, preemptive disclaimer that this is very much stream of consciousness.
aww, thank you! I think it's hard because each of these things kind of feed the others. So breaking through that is tough.
Looking back, I think I was really lucky to have good people close to me. My brother and I have always been really close, and he basically bullied me into being a better person. Like, we'd hang out and he'd just straight up tell me "your opinions are shit. no, shut up. I'm not going to debate you. your opinions suck, quit being a loser. now let's talk about sports." Two of my closest friends are more or less apolitical, but I think they are very "go with the flow" types and that helped me become less rigid and contrarian generally. It got me out of my comfort zone and helped me realize that, for example, even if I don't like weed, my friends can smoke it and it's actually not a problem. And then finally, I think as I was dating, I realized that being nice to people and making them feel good about themselves made for more enjoyable dates than being a contrarian asshole.
Without that though, it's kind of scary to think that I could have become a rather terrible person.
I like to think that maybe innate empathy or compassion would have eventually made me feel bad and brought me back to the right path, but idk... The more right wing you get, the more distanced you become from the harm you're causing and the less you see it.
I read WSJ too. It was either that, NYT, or Washington Post and I figured more of a finance tilt will be less insufferable than more of an electoral politics tilt. I don't touch the opinion section with a ten foot pole though.
How is being a chud contrarian though? Like 30% of the country is straight chud.
Just talking about my own experiences and social circles. I think in young, rich, upper class circles, chuds tend to be people who tend to be contrarian. Kind of that Ben Shapiro / debatebro type mentality. Like "ah, yes, let's put to test in the marketplace of ideas the humanity of [marginalized group]."
can't necessarily think of any good stories, but people I know around my age who turned into chuds generally meet all of the following criteria:
if they satisfy 2 or 3 of the above, then they're generally neolibs instead.
that said... I arguably fit all of the above--which is part of how I know so many people like that.
I think what allowed me to make the transition to leftism is
Also, preemptive disclaimer that this is very much stream of consciousness.
That's a fascinating look into how one is radicalized and how we can approach deradicalization. Thanks!
aww, thank you! I think it's hard because each of these things kind of feed the others. So breaking through that is tough.
Looking back, I think I was really lucky to have good people close to me. My brother and I have always been really close, and he basically bullied me into being a better person. Like, we'd hang out and he'd just straight up tell me "your opinions are shit. no, shut up. I'm not going to debate you. your opinions suck, quit being a loser. now let's talk about sports." Two of my closest friends are more or less apolitical, but I think they are very "go with the flow" types and that helped me become less rigid and contrarian generally. It got me out of my comfort zone and helped me realize that, for example, even if I don't like weed, my friends can smoke it and it's actually not a problem. And then finally, I think as I was dating, I realized that being nice to people and making them feel good about themselves made for more enjoyable dates than being a contrarian asshole.
Without that though, it's kind of scary to think that I could have become a rather terrible person.
I like to think that maybe innate empathy or compassion would have eventually made me feel bad and brought me back to the right path, but idk... The more right wing you get, the more distanced you become from the harm you're causing and the less you see it.
I read WSJ too. It was either that, NYT, or Washington Post and I figured more of a finance tilt will be less insufferable than more of an electoral politics tilt. I don't touch the opinion section with a ten foot pole though.
How is being a chud contrarian though? Like 30% of the country is straight chud.
Just talking about my own experiences and social circles. I think in young, rich, upper class circles, chuds tend to be people who tend to be contrarian. Kind of that Ben Shapiro / debatebro type mentality. Like "ah, yes, let's put to test in the marketplace of ideas the humanity of [marginalized group]."