Main thing that came to mind while reading is that even true believers will be tempted to reduce the quality of their art. As we've seen with progressive thinkers, once almost anything that agrees with the Current Thing gets heaps of praise, artists have little incentive to push hard. An example would be the garbage Disney is putting out. The DR has had to produce material that's too good to ignore, which gained us victory. As the DR becomes the Current Thing, if it does, we'll face that same temptation to laziness.
Just because someone creates a bit of media doesn't mean it's art or they're artists. These essays, for instance may have artistry, but they are not art and the writers are not artists--they're pundits, journalists, thinkers, etc. Not artists.
I think a big problem here is that the last 20-30 years have been 'filters-off' for creativity, with every human under 45 having been told they can paint, draw, write or sculpt their way out of history. True artists always see what everyone else misses and they will always be the first to abandon any ship of fools once they see where it's headed. True artists are unicorns, which is why the DR discussion about trying to seize the means of art production (and criticism) are terminal. You can't get there from here because 'trying to capture the art' is already priced in and the real artists are already on to the next thing.
I think you’re right. Summoning a force of “art footsoldiers” to push our agenda forward will get us products and pabulum. Exactly the problem the Progressives have now. Groundbreaking artists have already broken new ground and will do so regardless of the Current Thing.
Maybe it's why I like memes so much. They have a sublime quality that conveys multiple levels of insight simultaneously. they may be timeless but they aren't beautiful. Memes are somewhere between art and propaganda--like the Lascaux cave paintings.
So "The Parallel movement" is that just another term for Game B?
I'm looking at 50 this year, so let's just say I've seen a few 'scenes' come and go, and as a Gen Xer, I'll never join any of them because I believe in nothing, Lebowski. (Ok, I jest--I believe that one should seek truth and personal growth, and maybe a few other things). That said, this all seems so specific to a set of hyper-online young people, I'm not sure I should really care. Should I?
I've been aware of HDB, etc. stuff for maybe a decade now (probably first learned about it from Scott Alexander's SSC blog) but the Dissident Right is pretty much a new thing to me, since Substack Notes, and I just presumed I got here because of some algorithm that matches what I already think to the people who are saying it. I don't expect the Dissident Right to 'be a thing' 5 years from now, because my Bayesian priors are really high for this type of stuff vanishing overnight.
...And I think that's what you're trying to say when you talk about a "Parallel movement." Something that persists through time and across political boundaries because its essence is truth seeking not ideology or consensus. If that's what it is, then I'll surely be part of that as long as I live as it's the only movement I've ever cared about. Thing is...most people can't hoe that row. They hit their first 'rock' and quit. And it's a lonely field full of stones. When the dust settles and the DR is gone, then we'll see who's left--those will be the people to follow--which I think is the gist of your piece.
Completely fair point. I have moved out to the PNW, found a group of guys who are actually building things and they make this point all the time. They are constantly running into people who seem motivated to get involved and will invite them to come to some work party helping people with projects and there is a large drop off when the slightest issues arise.
That being said, they do have a solid group at this point after weeding people out and these homegrown networks are starting to find each other and find ways to share information, strategies, and resources.
I am very much of the opinion that the first step in parallel movement is networking and really getting to know the people you are working with. You need to know they are trustworthy, but also that they have the motivation and discipline to stick with it. Once you find those people (and they don't have to be many guys) you can start to find projects to work on
I would also say that I don't think of parallel movement work as plan b, but can be things like running a local bar which supports the right culture in your area, getting people together for work parties, or running a local business. Bigger efforts might involve building education resources, travel networks, or even moving people together into a community
The point with parallel movement is to break from the mainstream solutions and become more independent so that you can build things in a healthy and positive way and that when broader systems collapse as they will due to competency crisis and corruption, you aren't left stranded.
Do you have a good material for learning about Natural Law? Cause I'm not sure where to go, I either find a painfully vague synopsis or "go read Aquinas".
Honestly, most of my understanding of natural law is through discussion and first hand experience. I think many of the meta patterns of nature can be discerned by what is lindy, that is to say has lasted a long time. Nuclear families, natural foods, traditional gender roles, hierarchy.
Trying to think of a good podcast to listen to, I might recommend stone-choir.com as they do a great job of breaking down a lot of wisdom in a way that is thorough and interesting
I'm subscibing because I like the cut of your gib -- but honestly on this issue, you are overthinking it.
Simply shifting the Overton Window to include these ideas is a HUGE rhetorical victory, regardless of whether those who speak about them are fickle/transitory.
Furthermore, the absolute state (which is deteriorating in a high-G nosedive) of Blue-dominated major urban centers is driving otherwise unthinking urbanites toward these ideas with breathtaking speed.
I have the misfortune to work in San Francisco and Oakland weekly. I cannot tell you how many casual conversations I have had in which residents of these cesspools *eagerly* want to talk about these things once they clock me as a sympathetic ear (due to the cowboy boots and TX Rangers hat and other subtle visual cues I give off).
I have definitely heard this point a few times as I have been discussing these ideas on X for a bit now
I completely agree that these ideas going mainstream is a huge win and that for many of the normies out there, we don't need them to come all the way around to becoming part of the parallel movement
The important thing to note that I probably could have dove deeper on is that there are dormant player characters out there who have the potential to move the needle in some way that are going to be helpful to unlock. The problem is that they too can get pulled into rage bait porn and end up wasting a lot of energy
It is also possible that takeseller who are successful in growing an audience among the new converts will then have more authority going into this election cycle and afterward to shape public opinion on what happens after Trump gets into office (which I am pretty confident he will)
I don't want to see people who are ok platforming toons being thought of as speaking for the counter culture right as I have little doubt they will not use this position for healthy ends. I didn't go very hard on this idea, but spirituality, morality, and virtue need to come back in a big way for the naturalist culture that I think needs to rise and I doubt they will be promoting any of that.
Currently, the best filter is (subject to change depending on how far the Overton Window continues to shift) A) do the call out the Jews and B) are they not afraid to say hurty, naughty words like “nigger”.
Dissident RW internet culture wasn’t created by HBDers who were and still are astroturfed total nobodies. Sadly, the generation of memers who mainstreamed non-cucked RWism are largely gone now.
Also, “irony” was never a thing. Screaming the so-called “N-word” unironically was. Irony doesn’t mainstream anything, it only leads to more subculture elitism. The masses don’t understand or appreciate irony. It is a mask used by effete elites like the BAPtists you are writing about in this article. They simply parasited off an existing internet zeitgeist.
Great essay, thank you.
Main thing that came to mind while reading is that even true believers will be tempted to reduce the quality of their art. As we've seen with progressive thinkers, once almost anything that agrees with the Current Thing gets heaps of praise, artists have little incentive to push hard. An example would be the garbage Disney is putting out. The DR has had to produce material that's too good to ignore, which gained us victory. As the DR becomes the Current Thing, if it does, we'll face that same temptation to laziness.
Not sure if there's a solution.
Disney != art. It was always product.
Just because someone creates a bit of media doesn't mean it's art or they're artists. These essays, for instance may have artistry, but they are not art and the writers are not artists--they're pundits, journalists, thinkers, etc. Not artists.
I think a big problem here is that the last 20-30 years have been 'filters-off' for creativity, with every human under 45 having been told they can paint, draw, write or sculpt their way out of history. True artists always see what everyone else misses and they will always be the first to abandon any ship of fools once they see where it's headed. True artists are unicorns, which is why the DR discussion about trying to seize the means of art production (and criticism) are terminal. You can't get there from here because 'trying to capture the art' is already priced in and the real artists are already on to the next thing.
I think you’re right. Summoning a force of “art footsoldiers” to push our agenda forward will get us products and pabulum. Exactly the problem the Progressives have now. Groundbreaking artists have already broken new ground and will do so regardless of the Current Thing.
Maybe it's why I like memes so much. They have a sublime quality that conveys multiple levels of insight simultaneously. they may be timeless but they aren't beautiful. Memes are somewhere between art and propaganda--like the Lascaux cave paintings.
Nicely said, subscribed.
So "The Parallel movement" is that just another term for Game B?
I'm looking at 50 this year, so let's just say I've seen a few 'scenes' come and go, and as a Gen Xer, I'll never join any of them because I believe in nothing, Lebowski. (Ok, I jest--I believe that one should seek truth and personal growth, and maybe a few other things). That said, this all seems so specific to a set of hyper-online young people, I'm not sure I should really care. Should I?
I've been aware of HDB, etc. stuff for maybe a decade now (probably first learned about it from Scott Alexander's SSC blog) but the Dissident Right is pretty much a new thing to me, since Substack Notes, and I just presumed I got here because of some algorithm that matches what I already think to the people who are saying it. I don't expect the Dissident Right to 'be a thing' 5 years from now, because my Bayesian priors are really high for this type of stuff vanishing overnight.
...And I think that's what you're trying to say when you talk about a "Parallel movement." Something that persists through time and across political boundaries because its essence is truth seeking not ideology or consensus. If that's what it is, then I'll surely be part of that as long as I live as it's the only movement I've ever cared about. Thing is...most people can't hoe that row. They hit their first 'rock' and quit. And it's a lonely field full of stones. When the dust settles and the DR is gone, then we'll see who's left--those will be the people to follow--which I think is the gist of your piece.
Completely fair point. I have moved out to the PNW, found a group of guys who are actually building things and they make this point all the time. They are constantly running into people who seem motivated to get involved and will invite them to come to some work party helping people with projects and there is a large drop off when the slightest issues arise.
That being said, they do have a solid group at this point after weeding people out and these homegrown networks are starting to find each other and find ways to share information, strategies, and resources.
I am very much of the opinion that the first step in parallel movement is networking and really getting to know the people you are working with. You need to know they are trustworthy, but also that they have the motivation and discipline to stick with it. Once you find those people (and they don't have to be many guys) you can start to find projects to work on
I would also say that I don't think of parallel movement work as plan b, but can be things like running a local bar which supports the right culture in your area, getting people together for work parties, or running a local business. Bigger efforts might involve building education resources, travel networks, or even moving people together into a community
The point with parallel movement is to break from the mainstream solutions and become more independent so that you can build things in a healthy and positive way and that when broader systems collapse as they will due to competency crisis and corruption, you aren't left stranded.
The secret is that, this is it. There is nothing past this. Be healthy and socialize healthily.
So the parallel is more like local and simultaneously national (or bigger), not discipline A and also discipline B. I dig.
Earnt a sub with this alone.
Do you have a good material for learning about Natural Law? Cause I'm not sure where to go, I either find a painfully vague synopsis or "go read Aquinas".
Honestly, most of my understanding of natural law is through discussion and first hand experience. I think many of the meta patterns of nature can be discerned by what is lindy, that is to say has lasted a long time. Nuclear families, natural foods, traditional gender roles, hierarchy.
Trying to think of a good podcast to listen to, I might recommend stone-choir.com as they do a great job of breaking down a lot of wisdom in a way that is thorough and interesting
Just tried to sub to you, took 5 minutes and a dozen attempts until it worked.
I'm subscibing because I like the cut of your gib -- but honestly on this issue, you are overthinking it.
Simply shifting the Overton Window to include these ideas is a HUGE rhetorical victory, regardless of whether those who speak about them are fickle/transitory.
Furthermore, the absolute state (which is deteriorating in a high-G nosedive) of Blue-dominated major urban centers is driving otherwise unthinking urbanites toward these ideas with breathtaking speed.
I have the misfortune to work in San Francisco and Oakland weekly. I cannot tell you how many casual conversations I have had in which residents of these cesspools *eagerly* want to talk about these things once they clock me as a sympathetic ear (due to the cowboy boots and TX Rangers hat and other subtle visual cues I give off).
Have hope and take strength.
I have definitely heard this point a few times as I have been discussing these ideas on X for a bit now
I completely agree that these ideas going mainstream is a huge win and that for many of the normies out there, we don't need them to come all the way around to becoming part of the parallel movement
The important thing to note that I probably could have dove deeper on is that there are dormant player characters out there who have the potential to move the needle in some way that are going to be helpful to unlock. The problem is that they too can get pulled into rage bait porn and end up wasting a lot of energy
It is also possible that takeseller who are successful in growing an audience among the new converts will then have more authority going into this election cycle and afterward to shape public opinion on what happens after Trump gets into office (which I am pretty confident he will)
I don't want to see people who are ok platforming toons being thought of as speaking for the counter culture right as I have little doubt they will not use this position for healthy ends. I didn't go very hard on this idea, but spirituality, morality, and virtue need to come back in a big way for the naturalist culture that I think needs to rise and I doubt they will be promoting any of that.
Currently, the best filter is (subject to change depending on how far the Overton Window continues to shift) A) do the call out the Jews and B) are they not afraid to say hurty, naughty words like “nigger”.
That’s literally it. Everyone else is suspect.
Dissident RW internet culture wasn’t created by HBDers who were and still are astroturfed total nobodies. Sadly, the generation of memers who mainstreamed non-cucked RWism are largely gone now.
Also, “irony” was never a thing. Screaming the so-called “N-word” unironically was. Irony doesn’t mainstream anything, it only leads to more subculture elitism. The masses don’t understand or appreciate irony. It is a mask used by effete elites like the BAPtists you are writing about in this article. They simply parasited off an existing internet zeitgeist.
Strange that you made no mention of the JQ.
Not quite off the plantation yet, are we?