(Scott Meyer’s website)
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From the NYTimes review of a new book on “the pathological altruist“:
… Because a certain degree of selfless behavior is essential to the smooth performance of any human group, selflessness run amok can crop up in political contexts. It fosters the exhilarating sensation of righteous indignation, the belief in the purity of your team and your cause and the perfidiousness of all competing teams and causes.
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David Brin, a physicist and science fiction writer, argues in one chapter that sanctimony can be as physically addictive as any recreational drug, and as destabilizing. “A relentless addiction to indignation may be one of the chief drivers of obstinate dogmatism,” he writes. “It may be the ultimate propellant behind the current ‘culture war.’ ” Not to mention an epidemic of blogorrhea, newspaper-induced hypertension and the use of a hot, steeped beverage as one’s political mascot…
So… what’s on today’s group learning indignity agenda?
WereBear
I’ve always thought of it as Anger Addiction: but this is a bit more sweeping.
We all have to feel things as a condition of being human. When happy thoughts elude someone… anger is always available.
Rihilism
I’m sure that there are plenty of folks more internet aware than I am who are already familiar with Bad Lip Reading (I just found out about it), but I had to share this Michele Bachmann version.
Absolutely, fucking hysterical!
Jackpot, fishy, poopy-pants, everyone!…
ETA, I just can’t stop watching this and every time I watch I pee my pants a little…
Menzies
My group learning agenda involves teaching ninety-six young men (in five distinct and discrete groups) Latin and Spanish.
As far as the other stuff, I’ll vouch personally for the fact that few things feel as good as being completely righteously angry. That said, I can also vouch personally for the fact that being angry all the time also tends to do a number on your digestive system.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Rihilism:
Pure poetry, some of that.
It reminds me of one of the other funniest things I’ve seen over the past few years, more like bad lip-hearing than reading but a similar idea:
youtube.com/watch?v=3xJWxPE8G2c
frapalinger
Last night I was at an Occupy Philadelphia meeting in center city where nearly 1000 people were in attendance. Occupy Philadelphia will begin camping out tomorrow morning at 9am at City Hall.
amk
cain raises hell and his numbers. kicks gov good hair on his nuts. mittens is next.
cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20115655-503544.html
Go teabaggers.
cleek
@amk:
tee hee.
Formerly (formerly Formerly)
I feel indignant that there are commenters posting here with whom I disagree. Why are you trolls all over my Inter-tubez? You are wrong – about everyghing!
SiubhanDuinne
@Bill E Pilgrim:
I only heard about BLR last night, when I caught a few minutes of Rachel. Very funny stuff.
Caravelle
The problem with altruism isn’t just that it isn’t easy to come by, but that once it’s there you notice that the more altruistic individuals are within a group, the more vicious and effective they are in screwing over any individual outside the group. Just look at ants.
arguingwithsignposts
Anyone want to bet that the group in question doesn’t know he’s talking about them?
opal
You’re deleting posts again.
Kind of hard to have a discussion when the comment vanishes.
Shlemizel
I have to admit that Chris Cristie scares the hell out of me. Did you see that presser yesterday? He sounded reasonable and likeable, two things no other R can do. Thank God he is not running, although Romney could do worse that picking him for VP.
FlipYrWhig
How DARE he!
debit
I am here to tell you there are bacon flavored toothpicks. And envelopes. And rolling paper. And lip balm. I just…I can’t even…LIP BALM.
debit
And weirdly enough, I don’t have permission to edit my own comment. I was going to add: I know they are gags, but even so, what kind of sick mind would pervert the most delicious of breakfast meats in such a manner?
4jkb4ia
All baseball-related matters are sad and disgusting.
I am really embarrassed about what I wrote yesterday. I think I was trying to say that John Cole, a lowly citizen and proud amateur blogger, could figure out that the Republican Party did not deserve his support because of what was known about torture in 2006. (Of course, John is no fool. Never said he was.) And other lowly citizens can make that political judgment, although from Danner’s latest in the NYRB you have to make limited assumptions about what they know. Legal proceedings cannot prevent the Republican Party from being crazy in all kinds of other ways. But it can put into relief that what they are doing is defending convicted felons. Put that in front of the rank-and-file Republicans who cheer for punishment. At the very least, the right-wing noise machine would have to fall back on mistakes being made at the time–not that torture is right. I.e. going back to John’s ancient post on this subject, the Republican Party may have completely lost the right to see the kids. But it is better to get therapy than not. It could hasten the process of the kids rejecting the father’s bad behavior instead of the father as a person.
kindness
Did you know that the IRS has come out and ruled that Medical Marijuana Clubs should not exist?
MSNBC Link
One of the better local California State sanctioned Medical Marijuana outlets, Harborside Health Center in Oakland Ca has lost a ruling with the IRS. Harborside is an excellent example of doing everything right, by the State of California’s rules but the IRS now is pushing to close all Medical Marijuana clubs with this ruling.
The IRS ruled that because Harborside sells ‘illegal’ drugs it can not deduct the costs of rent, employee labor and the costs of buying the product it sells from it’s tax liability. The IRS has put a $2.5 million lean on Harborside which will effectively shut them down. Not only that, with this ruling no Medical Marijuana Cooperative or club will be able to stay in business, thus eliminating access for all intensive purposes.
For the record, I am a card holder here in California and I do use Harborside myself. My wife is a breast cancer survivor and I can’t tell you how much cannibis allowed her to make it through chemotherapy intact.
What was all that bullshit about Barack Obama saying he will respect states who have laws allowing Medical Marijuana? Guess the IRS just spanked his ass on that one. I really hope this isn’t the end of legal access. Granted, it shouldn’t be a Schedule 1 drug to begin with but being that our elected representatives are too chicken shit to force that change, this was the best next thing, until now.
piratedan
@debit: yummmmmm bacony goodness on my lips at any time……
Villago Delenda Est
@FlipYrWhig:
How did he figure this out? By observing “Christians” going after the heathens?
Judas Escargot
I realize that the current crop of scifi writers tend to be either wingnuts, libertarians, or “above the fray” apolitical types (with a few exceptions like Ian Banks, that prove the rule)… but that’s just a really weird comment from Brin.
He normally comes off as a clever, decent guy in interviews.
4jkb4ia
In other words, we have a Bill of Rights for things that theoretically the people could decide politically to enforce. But going to courts means that there is guaranteed enforcement–in our society it’s unacceptable.
Arclite
I don’t understand how you go from selflessness to indignation.