#first world privilege

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

[pennysparrows]

You exist on a scale between 1 and 8,000,000,000. Consider your place on that scale... And be grateful.

[valhalla-awaitsfor-us]

Im gonna say it. Im fucking tired of people that don't speak spanish, especially english speakers, ESPECIALLY people from USA, to just reply with "Ups I don't know spanish hehe" when they say something offensive without realizing whats the real meaning of what they said, and we are like "Dont problem, let me teach you"… but when WE DO? When we messep up in english and say something that can be offensive? Oh, we are the worst peple on earth.

Im tired of us being so accepting just to be treated like trash.

[paddysnuffles]

First World Media: OMG, THERE WERE 2.5 MILLION PPL OVERALL AROUND THE WORLD AT THE WOMEN”S MARCH, THAT”S GIGANTIC!!! 

My Mom: *rolls eyes* First World people are so self-referential. I’ve been in marches with 2.5 million people in a single place. 2.5 million people overall isn’t that impressive.

Iraqis: 20 million of us marched in protest of Daesh on November 24th.

My mom: See, now that’s impressive.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

On this 250th Anniversary of American Independence, Try Gratitude Instead of Grievance.

As America marks 250 years of independence, a global perspective reminds us why gratitude—not cynicism—may be the most authentic form of pat

By: DK

Published: Jul 4, 2026

This morning, I did not need to boil my water to drink it. My power has been on uninterrupted for many months. When I go out later, the vast majority of other drivers will be predictable and follow traffic laws. I will inevitably, at some point, criticize people in power in a very direct and public way, and I will not fear retribution from the government or other powerful people for doing so. When I go to the store, prices will be higher than I like, but they will probably be exactly what’s listed on the shelf, and the products I buy I can almost certainly expect to work properly. If I go for a walk in the park, strangers will greet me with a smile and a “hello.” I will drive past a farmstand that consists only of a shelter, products, and a box to put money in, unmonitored, and there will be both cash and products there. I recognize this isn’t universally true. Prices are unaffordable for some families and a walk in some neighborhoods carries real risk. These are real exceptions, and they matter. But my point is that these are exceptions, not the rule.

I type this from a nation about to turn 250 years old, having spent a great deal of my life in places where all of the above have not been true.

No, I have not described a utopia, but I have described a place we have all taken for granted — or even worse, needlessly denigrated, at one point or another.

Although I do not use social media, I know well that if I took a look at any social media platform I would be bombarded by nonstop cynical rhetoric about how America is a great evil in the world, a failed state, a terrible place to live, a place some long to escape from — a pox on the earth that would be best undone and abandoned.

I think we can reasonably expect that rhetoric to escalate quite a bit at the least appropriate time, as we celebrate 250 years of independence. But I believe a bit of thanks for that independence feels more in order.

Gratitude work has become widely regarded as a huge boost to mental health. The concept is simple: spending time intentionally focusing on what we are happy about in our lives can give us (according to an article from Harvard Women’s Health Watch) “… greater emotional and social well-being, better sleep quality, lower depression risks, and favorable markers of cardiovascular health.”

So, gratitude is good for us. Knowing this makes many anti-America remarks and the deep and unrelenting cynicism on social media look as bad as a pack-a-day cigarette habit.

Some will criticize the US as being “no better than a third-world country”, losing sight of the incredible comfort that we (yes, even many poor people) experience here compared to the vast majority of other countries. Others will talk about how the founders guaranteed only the rights of “rich white men”, willfully disregarding the slow but undeniable progression to guaranteeing those rights for everyone and how absolutely novel that is in history. Others will claim that America “has no culture,” an odd statement to make about the greatest cultural exporter in modern history — a culture that would not be nearly as rich without the contributions of those people they see as “systemically oppressed”.

They’ll make these criticisms from their safe, comfortable, air-conditioned homes. They’ll make them with zero fear of retribution or consequence. They’ll make these criticisms to an audience of similarly cynical, resentful, and ungrateful people who will reinforce their vitriol.

To me, this is like the teenager in the McMansion who screams at his parents, storms out, and speeds off in the BMW they bought him. Where are you going, kid? You’ll be back in your nice bedroom with your childhood toys tonight, and your parents probably won’t even ask you to apologize for your behavior.

That said, there is absolutely plenty to be unhappy about. I believe that on almost all fronts, American society is declining and losing much of what makes us special. I fear that my ability to live on my own terms here is under threat more and more as time progresses. But I also believe that a big part of the reason these problems exist is because so many in our “intellectual” classes are demoralized by this relentless strain of perspective-free self-hate.

A part of how we got here is social media: cynicism, self-righteousness, and snarky jabs at those who are perceived as “powerful.” Hot takes generally play better there, as they drive engagement. That seems to reinforce the shibboleth-like nature of American self-hate as a means of accessing the purported “intelligentsia”. As Benedict Beckeld, author of Oikophobia: Why Successful Societies Turn Against Themselves, says:

“Like Diogenes’ sneers and sarcasms about his fellow Greeks, or Voltaire’s snarkiness about French tradition and religion, little virtue-signaling asides about American faults are de rigeur for those Americans wishing to communicate how cosmopolitan and superior they are.”

It should not be news to anyone that spending all of one’s time incessantly criticizing others is not a strong indicator of moral superiority, but rather a substitute for it. Confidence and competence are quiet because security does not require belittlement.

Having spent half my adult life living in the People’s Republic of China and a great deal of time traveling the rest of the world, I can tell you this: having a global perspective puts the contrast between American society and most others in the world in stark light.

My anecdotal experience aside, simply looking at net migration numbers tells you an undeniable story: In 2025, enough people chose the United States over their home country that, standing in a line holding hands, they would stretch from New York City to Miami.

Being grateful does not mean willfully ignoring real problems or being revisionist about history. But willful ignorance and revisionism cut both ways: as much as they can be used to “whitewash” true evils, they can also be used to reinforce needless negativity. You know what’s wrong with America today. You’re probably bombarded with these problems in your social media feeds, so I’m not going to spend time discussing them here. I, too, am feeling the embarrassment of our broken political system and the existential dread brought about by the state of our economy.

Yet despite the challenges we face today and the many ghastly moments of our history, what we choose to focus on is key to the solution. Allow me to anthropomorphize our nation for a moment. Have you ever loved someone whose bad choices brought them to a bad place? If you truly wanted them to get better, would you spend your time constantly berating them for their flaws and proclaiming how bad they are to everyone you both know? Once you’ve acknowledged their reality, what is the purpose of staying critical? To feel better about yourself? Because some part of you fears you’re just like them? Be honest.

So on this anniversary of independence, if you feel compelled to say that we are inappropriately celebrating 250 years of oppression, imperialism, exploitation, racism, slavery, brutality, and warmongering, spare us the complaints. Take that energy and go make something better instead.

We here in the USA are so damn lucky. Yes, even you. And while things may feel dystopian at this particular juncture in our history, only by choosing to be grateful for what we have can we stave off those threatening to take it away from us.

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, join FAIR in cultivating a common culture of gratitude. The more of us who do, the less we’ll have to criticize.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Frontiers | Symbolism of the US battlefield cross: how boots, rifles, and helmets reinforce masculinity

This paper explores unconscious symbolism of the battlefield cross memorial for fallen soldiers that consists of combat boots and a rifle, o

Abstract

This paper explores the unconscious symbolism of the battlefield cross memorial, which is comprised of combat boots and a rifle, often with dog tags attached, topped by a helmet. While the memorial's manifest function is to provide solace, build solidarity, and convey respect for patriotic sacrifice in response to grief, the battlefield cross also exalts masculinity at a subliminal level. Because of the latent ways in which the components of the battlefield cross reinforce fallen soldiers' masculinity, the memorial provides an outlet for bereavement according to a masculine script that treats virility as sacrosanct. The resonance of the battlefield cross and its synergism with unrecognized gender coding in broader society illustrate how a powerful symbol intended to honor members of the military also valorizes machismo. This qualitative interpretation could help explain impediments to women achieving parity with men in the military.

==

Imagine the unrestrained psychopathy to look at a memorial to a man who died for his country, inventing a non-existent problem with it, then having no more pressing issues, no more troubling concerns, no greater life stressors, the privilege of all the time you need – thanks to the sacrifice of the men you're denigrating – to write a navel-gazing paper to lecture the world about how your retarded, mentally unwell preferences should be treated as moral imperatives for society as a whole, because you're just that deep and insightful.

Trying to shame the same evolved masculine impulse to fight and protect that gave you the comfortable first world privileges you spit on, while writing deranged propaganda from your comfortable office – that men built – is utter demanted narcissism.

Perhaps it's time to start publicly executing the worst published academics alongside the worst convicted felons.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Why privileged young New Yorkers love socialism — and Zohran Mamdani

By: Rob Henderson

Published: Oct 23, 2025

For a downwardly mobile generation of elite grads, the mayoral candidate is the answer to their dreams

A recent survey by the Cato Institute and YouGov reveals that 62 per cent of Americans aged 18–29 say they hold a “favourable view” of socialism, and 40 per cent agree that “violence against the rich can be justified”.

Such findings, along with 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani’s likely victory in New York City’s upcoming mayoral race, has left many asking why socialism is now so popular among young Americans.

There are two reasons for this.

First, it is not that the country’s young people suddenly became socialists. It is that older generations were turned off by socialism for specific historical reasons — they remember the final years of the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, the triumph of capitalism in the 1990s. If that period shaped your political outlook, it is hard to hear the word “socialism” without thinking of failure.

For younger Americans, the story is different. I am 35, one year older than Mamdani, and I can tell you that Millennials and Gen Zers have not really been taught about the failures of socialism.

I will point out, with a bit of hyperbole, that in US high schools we get 155 hours on Hitler, three minutes on Stalin, zero on Mao and zero on Pol Pot.

And socialism is an idea that sounds good on face value. It promises to take from the rich and give to the poor. That means not only “free stuff” for everyone, but also a sense of fairness. And the human desire for fairness runs deep. In fact, the more equal a society becomes, the more acutely aware people become of any remaining inequalities. The interesting question is not why so many support it, but why people reject it.

This is known as the “Tocqueville Paradox,” named after the 19th-century French diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville who observed that as societies enjoy more economic and moral progress, people get more frustrated by injustice. This explains how today’s society can be outraged at minor social injustices, despite being surrounded by unprecedented equality.

Today’s young adults live with a level of convenience and abundance unmatched in history. Flights are affordable, meals arrive at the tap of a screen and college graduation rates have skyrocketed. They enjoy endless entertainment for a few dollars a month, cheap and fashionable clothing and handheld devices that deliver limitless information. Yet despite all this progress, homeownership in major cities remains out of reach. That matters.

There is a second reason why the popularity of socialism is growing: downward social mobility among educated young people. The sociologist Musa al-Gharbi, in his 2024 book We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, argues that the decline in status among children of privilege is one of the key contributors to radical political sentiment.

To outsiders, this may seem like a trivial problem for the affluent, but the basic promise of socialism carries special weight for those who thought they were born to succeed and now see that success slipping from their grasp.

These young people, born into privilege, came of age after the Great Recession. They saw job security vanish as technology changed the economy. They discovered that the elite jobs they were promised in media, the arts, academia and politics were scarce. Al-Gharbi writes that these experiences fuelled the “Great Awokening”. Disillusioned strivers have turned their anger toward the system that failed them, along with the fortunate few who managed to hold on to their place in society.

Mamdani himself is a member of this downwardly mobile generation of elite aspirants. Raised by a Columbia professor father and acclaimed filmmaker mother in a comfortable faculty apartment on Riverside Drive, he attended the private Bank Street School for Children, which costs up to $66,147 a year. His alma mater is Bowdoin College in Maine, where there are more students from families in the top 1 per cent of the income scale than there are from the entire bottom 60 per cent.

Before being elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, Mamdani only managed to string together three years of employment.

This includes a short-lived rap career and a spell on a film project for his mother, Mira Nair, the director of Monsoon Wedding. He has joked: “You know, nepotism and hard work goes a long way.” Now, through a modern social-media-driven campaign that values style over substance, he has finally found success.

Unlike the working classes they claim to represent, today’s downwardly mobile elites still possess the advantages of their upbringing. They have degrees, contacts and cultural capital. Given these advantages, it is no wonder that their concerns — such as not being able to buy an apartment in Manhattan — which seem trivial to most Americans, dominate the national conversation.

Some of this decline in status is voluntary. As al-Gharbi points out, many young college graduates would rather be freelance writers or part-time professors than manage a restaurant. The dream is freedom and creativity. The reality is disappointment when success and wealth do not follow.

Once upon a time, their education and résumés guaranteed them prestige. Now, many educated young people feel themselves losing ground. Socialism provides a comforting solution. It explains failure as injustice and promises redemption through redistribution.

“Take from the rich and give to the poor” is one of the oldest and most powerful ideas in politics. It is simple, moral and emotionally satisfying. Competing with it has never been easy. And any movement that hopes to win young people must offer a message that sounds just as good.

[ Via: https://archive.today/aOOMs ]

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The Tocqueville Paradox

Socialism's enduring appeal

By: Rob Henderson

Published: Jun 26, 2025

The luxury belief class has just done the equivalent of plucking a random grad student from an Ivy League Hamas encampment and nominating them for mayor.

Take the New York City subway early in the morning from the outer boroughs and you’ll find it packed with cleaners, nannies, restaurant staff, hotel workers and construction workers coming off the night shift. Some are heading home. Some are just starting their day. It’s “the help” arriving and departing.

Like many other large cities, New York runs on a two-tier system. There’s the professional class clustered in the centre, and there are the people who keep the centre running but can’t afford to live in it.

And so they must endure long rides on public transportation to get to work. They keep their heads down and ignore the trash, the smell, the homeless men passed out across the seats. Working-class commuters see the sprawled-out bodies and try to make it through the ride without being harassed or stepping in puddles of urine.

Many politicians and media outlets act like the public disorder problem is overblown. But fare evasion, open drug use and serious mental illness on the subway are still part of daily life.

It’s in this polarised environment that the mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has gained traction among the city’s richest voters. At only 33, Mamdani is one of the youngest people ever to run for mayor of America’s largest city. Mamdani, a self-proclaimed nepo baby who has spent four years as an Albany assemblyman and is described by The New York Times as a “a TikTok savant”, has virtually no experience for the job.

And yet, what’s really worrying about this candidate is that he’s a poster child for luxury beliefs.

“Luxury beliefs” — a term I coined years ago — means opinions that confer status on the upper class at little to no cost for them, while inflicting serious cost on the lower classes. And the very people who back Mamdani are the ones who most resemble him: affluent, overeducated, and eager to prove their virtue at someone else’s expense.

As is often true of those who embrace luxury beliefs, Mamdani purports to care most about the working class. He says he wants free buses, government-run grocery stores, and a freeze on rent increases.

But his platform would hurt the working classes a lot more than it would help them.

Take, for example, Mamdani’s plan to freeze rents. Without raising rents, many landlords cannot afford to maintain their buildings, which leads to apartments becoming rundown or empty. This is one reason why, ironically, cities with rent control policies have the lowest levels of affordable housing — a policy that hurts working-class families most.

Then there’s Mamdani’s push for free public buses, a plan that would cost $630 million a year. An analysis by the Transportation Research Board found that “some public transit systems that have experimented with or implemented a fare-free policy have been overwhelmed … by the presence of disruptive passengers, including loud teenagers and vagrants.” This, too, would make life harder for low-income New Yorkers who depend on public transit every day.

Mamdani has also been a supporter of the “defund the police” movement. But a recent poll from the Manhattan Institute found that a majority (54 per cent) of New York City voters say they want to see more police officers across New York. Only 17 per cent say they want to see fewer, while 21 per cent say they want to keep the existing number as it is. Consider that compared with Americans who earn more than $50,000 a year, the poorest Americans are three times more likely to be victims of robbery, aggravated assault and sexual assault, according to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics.

It’s not like Mamdani — who grew up amid privilege — would understand any of this. Raised by a Columbia professor father and acclaimed filmmaker mother in a comfortable faculty apartment on Riverside Drive, Mamdani attended the private Bank Street School for Children, which costs up to $66,147 a year. His alma mater is Bowdoin College in Maine, where there are more students from families in the top 1 per cent of the income scale than there are from the entire bottom 60 per cent. And though he boasts he is a product of the New York City public high school system, he in fact attended the Bronx High School of Science — one of the most selective academies in the city, where many come from the elite.

Before being elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, Mamdani only managed to string together three years of employment. This includes a short-lived rap career and a spell on a film project for his mother, Mira Nair, the director of Monsoon Wedding. He has even joked: “You know, nepotism and hard work goes a long way.”

Hollywood actress Emily Ratajkowski endorsed him. One person who pretends to be someone else for a living endorses another person who pretends to be someone else for a living.

If you asked, who should lead this Fortune 500 company, or who should run this school, or who should manage this McDonald’s, the last person on earth you’d ask is a rich Hollywood celebrity. But somehow when it comes to politics, there really are people dumb enough to seek the support of an entertainer with no experience in governance, economics, or reality.

To appear humble and relatable, he wears hoodies and stages photo ops of himself eating fast-casual meals on the subway.

In reality, these are the self-fellating theatrics of the kind I witnessed as a first-generation student at Yale, which helped inform my theory about luxury beliefs.

But while Mamdani pretends to be an ordinary person for political advantage, working-class New Yorkers see right through him. A recent Emerson poll projects him winning 57 per cent of white voters, but only 26 per cent of Black voters and 35 per cent of Hispanic voters. While 57 per cent of college-educated voters support Mamdani, only 23 per cent of those without a college degree do.

The latest results show Mamdani failing to win the support of the very people he claims to champion.

Working class voters know that, with his unrealistic promises, Mamdani sounds like a kid running for student council who promises longer recess and endless free pizza. It sounds great until someone asks who’s paying for the pizza, or discovers that “longer recess” means there’s no time to teach the 3Rs.

Economist Larry Summers recently warned that “New York City is closely watched. If it adopts irresponsible budget policies or the Democratic primary chooses a candidate advocating irresponsible, semi-socialist, government bankrupting policies, the consequences will be grave for New York and progressivism more broadly.”

Mamdani is now the presumptive Democratic nominee.

If he wins the upcoming mayoral election, New Yorkers can expect to be governed by luxury beliefs. The elites will feel absolved, having elected a socialist who makes them feel less guilty about their wealth, while never having to suffer the consequences. And the working class will have to keep on struggling.

Here’s a video I did for The Times, on the luxury beliefs of Mamdani:

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

If your threshold for ”oppression” is that low, then you’re not “oppressed.”

Stop co-opting and diluting the language of those with real problems.