It’s been a while since I penned something, but I was pondering something that I would like to run by you.

Disclaimer, I am basically left winged. You might not think it judging from my posts, but I actually am. I’m a classic liberalist and egalitarian when it comes to democracy, free speech and how the state should take care of the people. I’m of the school of thought of de Toqueville and his contemporaries. This also means that I personally think that the current “left” has little to do with being left. It seems that what has replaced the left nowadays are whiney antidemocratic socialists and communists. 

That’s what I’ve seen it called. And it’s quite apt. And true too. May signed the Brexit letter and now the negotiations start with two possible outcomes: Either the UK finishes negotiations with the EU, or they crash out of it. Either way, the UK will be out of the EU. It can’t be blocked, or reverted (no matter how much the remoaners cry about it).

Now, I’ve seen the news reports, and the mainstream media is quite busy scaremongering about it, especially towards expatriates that live and work in the UK. Oh dear, they would have to get visas and work permits. What a bother. Ask any American, Indian, or any non-european that works in the UK (there are quite a few of them) how much of a chore that is (hint: it isn’t). If you have work, you won’t get kicked out. If you’re married/widowed to a UK citizen, you’ll be okay too. 

Just to clarify, I’ll explain what my policial and social viewpoints are. I often disagree with liberal leftists, who then promptly assume I’m on the right-hand side of the political spectrum, while I’m actually pretty far removed from that, other than that I agree with a few things that the conservatives like to put forward. Just because I think modern day feminism and social justice is dangerous and harmful, doesn’t mean I’m automatically part of the alt-right. I find many of the alt-right viewpoints deplorable. But the so-called ‘liberal left’ likes to lump people into boxes, I guess.

So, I’ve been withholding direct interaction on social media for a while now, and I have to admit that I sometimes miss posting random thoughts into that churning mess. But other than that, I’ve been lurking in every now and then and several things come to mind when reading what people post and share.

• Most things that people post are inane and of little importance.
• Most times it’s not even their own material.
• When they do editorialize, they just sheepishly copy opinions from somewhere else.
• Most ‘debates’ end in identity politics and Godwin’s law is often in effect. The level is often times ‘everyone that disagrees with me is literally Hitler’.

I often have to fight the urge to jump in, only to wait and see that the intellectual level is definitively subpar and the person that attempts to inject common sense is called a fascist, racist, xenophobe, or whatever label seems the most apt to shut down the discussion. And then I’m glad I never participated. For the people that are getting tired of all the bullshit, I can certainly recommend switching to read-only mode on social media.

The Dutch elections of 2017 came and went, and we’re stuck with 4 more years of a VVD coalition. While Groenlinks won big (relatively seen), and all the pro-euro trash is patting themselves for stopping the “wrong kind” of populism (what an abject terminology), they are dismissing that PVV and also DENK won seats in parliament. The media likes to gloss over this and ignore it, but they shouldn’t. As Wilders influenced the campaign, while he’s in the opposition, he can still steer the discussion. Now with even more people.

For the longest time I was torn between the Dutch pirate party, and the direct democracy initiative of Geenpeil. I was really conflicted. But I went for Geenpeil anyway. The reasons:

• It’s a social hack. As someone with a hacker mindset, this appeals to me.
• It’s an idea that needs it’s tires kicked, so actually getting to use it is a pretty good road test. Yes, there are security concerns, but the risk is acceptable since the concept can now be battle tested (if they do win some seats)
• I can change my alignment at will. The system they want to implement will not inundate you with voting requests. You can pick and choose the things that interest you.

This is what tided me over. The concept of direct democracy has always had my fancy. I hope I convinced others to give geenpeil a go.

You’re all a bunch of idiots. It’s their choice to make. Conversely, to all the people that get flak for their choices; more power to you. Screw the naysayers. Don’t let them influence you into making a different choice. 

Because then you will exactly get what you never wanted.

It’s how we got into this utter mess in the first place.

David Cullen has hit upon a stark realisation. With all the crap and hatchet jobs from the ‘old’ media (and the inevitable hurd of sheep falling for it), it seems the candle burns brightest when it’s about to snuff itself out. 

Quick post. This echoes exactly what I’m thinking. 

Please watch this video:

When the Milo slander piece appeared, I was surprised to see that everyone lapped it up, without actually checking for context, where it came from, and where it originated from. The above video gives ample context and sources. I was surprised that many of my friends of which I hold many in high esteem stooped so low as to just echo this, without asking questions. Yes, I am disappointed. I thought you guys were better than that.