Charlie Kirk – Now, Watch the Narcissists
Charlie Kirk – Now, Watch the Narcissists. Learn how the death of Charlie Kirk is leveraged and also ignored by the narcissists and why.
138 thoughts on “Charlie Kirk – Now, Watch the Narcissists”
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I Think Charlie Kirk was definitely having a An Affair with Hannah Brusven
I Think Charlie Kirk was a Vile Man
I Think HG Tudor Is a Vile Man
A quick word from my agent there.
1. It’s spelled Villa.
2. Nope, he is a City Man.
Oh–is that a song title?
I fell asleep at 3 a.m….. because I decided to read that thread to the end. 😅
Pure bliss!!!✨💖
I Stand with Ninaki Priddy
On what basis? In relation to what?
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,”-Voltaire’s famous quotes
I Think Charlie Kirk was a beta male
Some might even say Charlie Kirk was a Master beta.
Boom Tish!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the joke. I put into Google, and it autocorrected it to masturbate.
Lol.
Hahaha – this whole thread!
I Think Donald Trump Is on the same level as Jim Jones, Anton LaVey, David Koresh, Alexandrian Wicca, Charles Manson, Alex Sanders, Shoko Asahara, Baron Samedi, Marshall Applewhite, Guede Nibo, David Berg, Grigori Rasputin, Warren Jeffs,
Is this comment steered more toward Trump’s speculative level of rizz, or the intelligence of his base?
I Think Charlie Kirk was a Members of the Illuminati
Dear Mr Tudor,
Your Charlie Kirk series on YT are not only informative but eye opening.
The vemon and retribution video, wow!
His death has not only created a massive public reaction, but alas has brought out the ugly and nasty side of humans as well. The great divide.
Whatever happened to, “agree to disagree”, respectfully?
Now his funeral looks to be contentious…oh boy 🤦♀️
Amongst all this commotion, I see Japan’s Prime Minister has resigned….interesting and challenging times, what say you Mr Tudor ? I wonder if it’s the start of a domino effect ?
Best buy more cleaning products for the fan, I anticipate it’s going to get “ultra” dirty.
HG,
Here are some facts and evidence in relation to Charlie Kirk.
1. Turning Point USA, the so-called “non-profit organisation” founded by Charlie Kirk, is exempt from income tax due to its corporate status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation.
2. The sole purpose of the organisation is to receive funding and donations in order to promote the Republican Party to students at schools, colleges and universities.
3. The “Full Filing” for the fiscal year ending June 2020 for Turning Point USA Inc can be found online.
4. The Full Filing shows that Turning Point USA’s revenue for the fiscal 2020 year was approx. $US40million. This is exempt from tax.
5. The revenue of Turning Point USA was raised via solicitation and fundraising events.
6. Charlie Kirk was paid “reportable compensation” of $US330,000 as the organisation’s CEO during the 2020 fiscal year.
Some other facts about Charlie Kirk:
– he attended Harper College, a community college, but dropped out after one semester;
– when he was 18 years old, he co-founded Turning Point USA with funding provided by much older prominent Republican ‘megadonors’;
– Turning Point USA’s activities include publication of the ‘Professor Watchlist’ and the ‘School Board Watchlist’. These watchlists are criticised because they threaten academic freedom and have resulted in targeted harassment of academics.
I think it’s a very valid point to make that Turning Point USA’s mission is to recruit and indoctrinate students and young people in order to make them support the Republican Party.
In the course of doing this, the organisation openly targets and harasses teachers and professors at academic institutions.
The targeting and harassment of ‘intellectuals’ is one of the ways that authoritarian and totalitarian governments have historically sought to manipulate political discourse and political dissent.
Charlie Kirk did this while also continually bringing religion into the public debate with evangelical ideals that ran counter to foundational ‘Christian’ values.
HG,
You have compared the so-called ‘free speech’ by Charlie Kirk as the CEO of Turning Point USA (an untaxed and highly lucrative organisation) as being on the same level as the ‘free speech’ by random, unpaid, unorganised individuals on social media.
I think that comparing these vastly different ‘speakers’ without highlighting the differences behind each kind of public expression is not only a glaring example of ‘false equivalence’ but also disingenuous, pointedly self-serving, and irresponsible toward your audience.
Wrong.
The videos I have created concerning the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the varying reactions thereafter address the following :-
1. The use of his death by narcissists for their own purposes;
2. The silence of certain narcissists who speak out about similar events;
3. Assisting people in understanding the driver behind those who have delighted, revelled in or celebrated his death; and
4. Highlighting the empathy deficit and using the reactions to the assassination of Charlie Kirk as an example of this deficit in practice.
You only have to look at the comments to the various videos to see how repeatedly people have found my balanced observations insightful and helpful.
There is no comparison of free speech. Free speech is the right to state a view, opinion or observation even when that view may be controversial, provocative and/or ill-informed.
What Charlie Kirk stated and what people have stated in response to his death (across a wife range of reactions) all amount to free speech. Your suggestion of a false equivalence is nonsense and irrelevant to the points I made.
Your comment “disingenuous, pointedly self-serving, and irresponsible toward your audience” is not only incorrect but it is not borne out by audience responses.
We get it; you did not like Charlie Kirk. You could have just written that rather than the irrelevance you spouted.
I did not like Charlie Kirk. I do not agree with his views and find what I have heard of his arguments unconvincing, to put it mildly. However, I found HG’s videos related to the whole matter to be on point. I would like them even better if we could get his perspective on comparable cases and other more important matters where the roles of the different sides of the political spectrum are reversed as well.
Hi AP,
Before September 10th, I hadn’t heard of Charlie Kirk.
When I heard the news about the shocking way he was killed, my very first thought (before I knew anything about him) was that extreme political violence in the US has definitely increased since Trump’s presidencies.
Then I did some internet searches and found out who Charlie Kirk was and what his beliefs were. In addition, I listened to HG’s videos about him.
My comments here have absolutely nothing to do with whether I like him or not. I don’t know anything about his personality apart from the quotes that have been mentioned most frequently in relation to his podcast and interviews, etc.
In the days after the shooting, I read and listened to various news stories, podcasts, and videos. I didn’t see any hateful or vitriolic comments like the ones HG highlighted in his videos. Instead, I saw commentary that was measured, thoughtful, generally respectful, and relevant.
To me, the claims being made that blame the ‘left’ for violence and hateful speech are inaccurate and outlandish. Such claims sound more like projection.
Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute did a survey of politically motivated violence in the US since 1975. If you exclude the 9/11 attacks, which are responsible for 87 per cent of the total number of victims alone, you arrive at this picture:
Right-wing attackers are responsible for 63 % of murders, islamists for 23%, left-wing perpetrators for 10%. (If you include 9/11, I don’t think many people would try to count them as left-wing.)
Of course these numbers will not be believed by the Fox audience, because they came from somewhere outside their pre-approved circle.
Hi AP,
The numbers you mention regarding politically motivated violence are an interesting example of ‘evidence.’
When I first read your comment, it made me consider ‘right-wing’ beliefs in general.
Of course, like many things, there is a spectrum involved when it comes to right-wing beliefs. There can be neutral, or moderate, or extreme right-wing beliefs. They all fit within the same ‘general’ definition even though such beliefs can vary by a lot when you delve into them in more detail.
Your comment also made me think that, if considering the ‘right-wing’ spectrum and looking at the very extreme ‘far right’, political tyrants, dictators, despots, etc, all have extreme far right beliefs in common.
Is it possible to have a ‘democratic’ dictator? From what I know of world politics at a fairly basic and superficial level, I don’t think it is. The term sounds to me like an oxymoron.
“Your comment also made me think that, if considering the ‘right-wing’ spectrum and looking at the very extreme ‘far right’, political tyrants, dictators, despots, etc, all have extreme far right beliefs in common.” No shit, just a wild guess but I should imagine that might be what makes them far right.
For a regime to be regarded as a democracy there must be
1. The chief executive must be chosen by popular election or by a body that was itself popularly elected.
2. The legislature must be popularly elected.
3. There must be more than one party competing in the elections.
4. An alternation in power under electoral rules identical to the ones that brought the incumbent to office must have taken place.
A dictatorship may achieve the first three but not the fourth.
In my opinion there is no meaningful difference between the far right and the far left. I imagine them on a circle, with the political centre at the top. Start from there to the left or right and the fringes will be right next to each other.
It wasn’t called national socialism for nothing in Germany. The far right and far left have very similar policies. Both of them are happy to silence opposition with violent means while claiming to defend freedom of speech. Nationalisation of assets is not exclusive to the left either, as seen with Trump’s “investment” in Intel. Imagine the uproar if a left-wing politician wanted the state to acquire what is effectively a controlling stake. In Germany, the far right AfD as well as the far left Linke are conspicuous by their closeness to Russia, both of them advance Russian interests and receive financial support from there.
I know it’s been too much Kath & Kim for me when I can’t read oxymoron without thinking “foxymoron”. WN, did you mean to ask can there be a left wing dictatorship? A dictatorship by nature is undemocratic (even if it gives the illusion of being one by holding “elections” which are always won)
Thank you for your comment, HG. The points you have outlined are helpful.
I can see that a term like ‘democracy’ can be defined (or contemplated) in various ways.
At first glance when reading your reply, the thought that a ‘regime’ can be a ‘democracy’ seemed a contradiction. Although, the way you have outlined the criteria, I can see that both can occur simultaneously.
Without a focus on the underlying criteria and ‘tests’, my thoughts about the meaning of a ‘democracy’ were based on a ‘philosophical’ kind of definition, while your definition is an explicit set of criteria.
Considering the criteria you have outlined, my initial thoughts are that there is still room for ‘bending’ of the rules, despite the way they are framed with words like “must be” and “must have”, etc. This is especially the case with legislature.
The term “popularly elected” sounds egalitarian and benign on the surface, too. I imagine there are voters (in the public or within the government) who can be swayed or manipulated or coerced or intimidated into voting a certain way depending on a number of things – if they are inclined to take voting seriously in the first place.
You are welcome.
AP,
You make some interesting point about the far left and far right. The definitions and beliefs start to get murky and counterintuitive either way.
It makes me think that extremism – not only in politics, but in anything really – is problematic. Moderation or balance leads to more progressive results overall.
Hi annaamel,
Yes, that is what I meant to ask.
After considering HG’s reply here, I can see how important valid elections and electoral rules are regarding the choice of government leaders. Although, there are also factors that affect the electoral processes that individual voters have limited power over.
On the subject of Kath and Kim, I laughed at your comment. Sometimes when I walk past the Babybel mini cheese portions at the supermarket, I think of the Christmas episode and the statue of “little baby Jesus” – 😊
“It wasn’t called national socialism for nothing in Germany.“
Hi AP
What did the Nazis do that you would consider socialist?
Hi annaamel,
going back to the roots, i.e. Hitler on the one hand and Marx on the other, there are certain parallels in their world view. Both ideologies are based on social theories and derive instructions for political action from them.
Both are based on the conflict of what they view as largely homogenous social groups – the working classes v the capitalists in the case of Marxism, the fight between different peoples and “races” for Hitler, as opposed to viewing humans on an individual level with widely diverging interests and needs.
Both of them see a violent revolutionary event as the only way forward, they do not accept gradual change as being able to solve what they see as the problem. Socialism requires revolution, Hitler saw war as the only solution for the “Lebensraum” problem.
Both of them postulate the existence of limits to economic expansion.
Both of them are characterised by the expectation of catastrophe and see their ideology as the only possible alternative to barbarism. Rosa von Luxemburg saw it as a choice between “socialism or perishing in barbarism”, Hitler wrote that “only the rigid application of ironclad natural laws” can save humanity from “barbarism and chaos”.
Both explain human behaviour and societal relations with the necessities of the struggle of life, and both aim to derive political actions from these laws and principles. Marx and Hitler were convinced that they had discovered the decisive causal forces of human history. And both ideologies posit that they alone have identified the decisive cog in the machinery that allows control and development of new structures of society. Marx identified it as the transference of the means of production into communal ownership, Hitler thought the decisive factor was the elimination of the non-arian and above all Jewish influence on society.
Both ideologies accept the necessity of a strong leader or leaders who can make the masses follow their own “true” interests.
Both see the abolition of certain detrimental conditions and protection from potential dangers as a main objective, they share negative prime aims (as opposed to positive in the sense of creation and crafting of something new) as well as negative means to achieve said aims (revolution, domination, abolition, destruction, elimination).
Looking at the practical political measures, I see parallels in
– the nationalisation of industries (such as shipping, though this was reprivatised in 1942) and property or, failing that, strict regulation and routine state intervention, with supposedly collective ownership of almost all industrial entities in socialist and communist regimes on the one hand and examples such as the demand for nationalisation of trusts, sharing of profits of large corporations, expropriation of large department stores, gratuitous expropriation of land for communal purposes, abolition of interest in the 25 points program the NSDAP accepted in 1920. This is one reason why the NSDAP had very little support from large corporations and those famous captains of industry in the beginning. Once they were in power, their tune changed of course. The Reichswerke Hermann Göring was a mining and metallurgical conglomerate with 600,000 employees at the height of the war, many of them forced labourers, that was 90 per cent state-owned from its beginning. It never turned a profit.
– the establishment of a plan economy (for military purposes mostly in NS Germany)
– the intertwining of state and party in the economic as well as administrative arena
– the abolition of a free press and state control of media companies (the 25 points program already called for judicial intervention against the spreading of lies by the press, something we are familiar with in the current political climate)
– the centralisation of power and the weakening or abolition of federalism or regional autonomy
– running enormous budget deficits, with subsequent attempts to avoid the economic consequences from that by ramping up monetary supply and governmental debt creation leading to inflation and ultimately debt default (if the war had continued, default would probably not have been far off)
– large-scale state intervention in the labour market (in 1935 the Nazis spent 6.3 billion Reichsmark on job-creation schemes alone)
– a general focus on the demand side of the economy
– expensive infrastructure programmes such as Autobahn building and housing programmes, often with questionable cost-benefit relations
– intervention in and regulation of capital and currency markets
– the neglect of the production of consumer goods in favour of industries that produce goods needed by the state
– price controls. The history of the Kdf car, the supposed “Volkswagen”, is a prime example of state-controlled economic failure: Within 10 years every working German was supposed to possess such a car. 336,000 Germans made weekly advance payments to the tune of 275 million Reichsmark in total. But the government decreed that the price of the car should not exceed 1,000 RM, so no company was found that was willing to produce said car and not a single one was produced during the time of the Third Reich. Those savers never saw their money again.
Of course there were many aspects of Nazi policy that ran contrary to socialist ideas, such as their prohibition persecution of members of the original socialist party SPD or their anti-union stance.
Hi Anna.
Thankyou for your considered response. It was very interesting.
I think you are German and if so you will understandably have strong feelings about socialism.
The version of you’ve discussed sounds like communism to me – a government installed via a coup, aggressive in its resource redistribution and sometimes harsh on its people. It’s true there have been communist regimes which have been autocratic and become corrupted. And I agree there are definitely parallels between the behaviour of those regimes and that of the Nazi party.
Socialism can also exist in the democratic form which comes into leadership through the electoral process. People vote for socialists and socialist policies. Once in power those governments are kept in check through further democratic processes. It’s a superior form of socialism as far as I’m concerned but is much slower to achieve and requires much broader support.
Hitler and the Nazis gained power on a platform of caring about hard done by workers and Germany itself (they deliberately added Nationalist Socialist to their name to win over people who cared about these issues) but pretty quickly ignored the socialist aspect, got rid of those who were keen to see socialist advances, and focused their attention on (as you mentioned) claiming land they believed the Germans were entitled to and other nationalist agendas.
Here’s another fact, HG:
It is well known – especially by the people here who have been impacted by narcissistic abuse – that narcissists and psychopaths are pathological liars.
Thanks for telling us what we already know. I can imagine your impotent rage.
Your imagination is misleading you, HG.
I find that facts are quite calming.
Oh but it is not. I am basing it on your previous comments and also your other post about the financial structure of Turning Point. That post has no relevance to the matter and you posted it because of an emotional reaction.
Hello HG:
As long as politicians can be bought for policies, positions and money, no real democracy exists. Masses are a threat, they have influence but a true democracy? Maybe Iceland.
According to the Democracy Matrix there are 35 working democracies in the world, which are led (unsurprisingly) by several Nordic countries. Denmark leads, followed by Norway, Finland and then Sweden. Iceland comes in at 15th. Your fair nation is described as a deficient democracy in 36th position. Eritrea is bottom as a Hard Autocracy.
Some more facts about Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA, HG …
In my previous comment about Turning Point USA, I referenced financial information for the fiscal year ending June 2020 only. After further research, here are the financial details regarding the non-profit organisation for more recent years:
Fiscal year 2023:
Total revenue: $US82 million
Reportable compensation:
Charlie Kirk (CEO): $US393k
Daniel Flood (Manager): $US277k
John Mcgovern (Director of Major Gifts): $US224k
Fiscal year 2024:
Total revenue: $US85 million
Reportable compensation:
Charlie Kirk (CEO): $US390k
Daniel Flood (Manager): $US331k
John Mcgovern (Manager): $US457k
Keep in mind, the revenue of Turning Point USA is tax exempt. Also, donations to the organisation are tax deductible.
Thus, the so-called “charity” does not pay tax. Plus, the donors who contributed to the charity can deduct their donations, reducing the tax they pay.
How’s that for patriotism?
Meanwhile, Turning Point USA advocates “love of country” and “America’s future” …
… yes, as long as some other American – probably someone who is black or an immigrant – pays tax. Someone who works harder and longer with much less to show for it while facing prejudice, the risk of unemployment, and the fear of homelessness.
Why is it only a white man´s organisation that you highlight for utilising tax exemption?
How is it that only blacks or immigrant are the ones paying the taxes and the ones who are working harder and longer?
Your prejudices are showing. Again.
Why, HG. Don’t you know that it’s white men who are the root of evil? I even think we Blacks should be allowed to, say, delete innocent white women on public transport to restore balance. Or burn the cities. Or shoot each other in great numbers. Or spout racist claptrap. Or over represent in comitting homicide and other crimes. WiserNow seems quite measured. We’re oppressed.
Hi Allison,
Not sure why you’re mentioning the “root of evil” … ? Although it does make me think of the biblical verse:
“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”. 1 Timothy 6:10
Similarly, I don’t know how you have interpreted my comments in order to think that “blacks should be allowed” to do the things you mentioned … ?
To respond to you, though, I would like to mention two examples of social commentary I have heard and read about in the past week. These two examples illustrate what I interpreted as ‘measured’ and ‘thoughtful’ in my earlier comment here.
1. In one TV program I watched, there was discussion about Charlie Kirk’s alleged murderer, Tyler Robinson.
The 22 year old Robinson was described as a young man who had spent his teenage years heavily involved in online gaming communities. Over that time, his relationships; experience of the world; and socialisation were elements of his life that were shaped by online gaming and the people he communicated with online but did not actually know in real life.
The engravings on the shell casings found at the scene of the murder were also discussed in this TV program. After days of speculation, it is now believed that the engravings show that Robinson was influenced by video games and an online video gaming state of mind. The quotes, memes, throwaway lines and messages found in video game terminology are now being described as “nihilistic violent extremism”. These observations refute initial speculation that Robinson had an ‘anti-fascist’ ideology.
The commentary on the TV program discussed the effects of Trump’s leadership since he first became president in 2017. Since that time, eight years ago, teens and young people have been immersed in a highly online world while watching divisive, violent politically motivated views and actions among other things. This is the world in which young people – particularly young males – are being socialised. It is particularly evident that boys and young men are being influenced by this type of online world in large numbers.
2. The second example I’d like to mention is about the murder of Iryna Zarutska. Her killer, Decarlos Brown, is a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia. His mother said that he had been living at home after serving five years in prison. At home, he displayed violent behaviour and his mother said she attempted to have him involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility. However, involuntary commitments are difficult to obtain without a court order and his mother’s request was denied.
This commentary led me to look into the “deinstitutionalisation” of mental health hospitals and facilities in the USA. The process of deinstitutionalisation spans about 60 years from the late 1950s.
Briefly, the process began in the 1950s after it was found that psychiatric hospitals and facilities were abusive and inhumane. At that time, it was considered that community care facilities would provide more constructive and helpful assistance to those with mental health diagnoses.
Fast forward to the 1980s …
During the Reagan administration, the economic measures called ‘Reaganomics’ resulted in budget cuts to mental health funding. These budget cuts were made after a conservative backlash against the so-called ‘welfare state’. While these cuts satisfied special interest groups and the business community, they ended direct federal funding for some community-based mental health care facilities, shifting the financial burden back to the states.
The budget cuts during the Reagan era exacerbated already restricted community mental health care resources. This led to disorganisation of the mental health care system and a fragmented array of community services. It also meant that many people with serious mental health issues became homeless.
The growing homelessness of individuals with serious mental health issues meant that homeless shelters and prisons have become the replacement “facilities” that treat the mentally ill. In addition, there are many individuals with mental health issues who are homeless and living on the streets.
Allison,
My overall point is that these issues are not as simple or ‘black and white’ as making sweeping, blanket statements that blame all white men or all black men.
There are systemic and historical processes and social changes that have led to the current issues.
We are living through difficult times in which many people are facing direct living hardship and social pressures, plus there are looming environmental pressures as well. We’re in this together. It doesn’t help anyone to point the finger and find a scapegoat to blame. That will not solve anything.
Agreed to the extent not all white men, only racist men and women….Allison, I filed a 10 million dollar civil rights action on that point this week. Btw there are ways to create change beyond violence;)
HG,
You are the only one here who has mentioned the word ‘only.’
This post is about one man who happened to be white, that is, Charlie Kirk. It is his one organisation that I commented on.
Also, I said, “some other American” and “Someone who works harder and longer with much less to show for it.”
I said ‘someone.’ This could be any American of any ethnicity or background.
I also said, “probably someone who is black or an immigrant.”
I said this because it is more ‘probable’ that someone in America who is black or an immigrant is working for relatively modest wages, and therefore paying taxes. It is far less probable that such an American would co-found a multimillion dollar ‘charity’ exempt from tax at the age of 18.
Please consider what I said without generalising or jumping to conclusions.
WN,
While HG can jump to conclusions, as we all can, it’s rare for him to do it. However, he has established that a narcissist will manipulate often. Do you think he could be manipulating here rather than jumping to a conclusion?
Hi annaamel,
Yes, I do think that HG is manipulating here and elsewhere.
I read HG’s posts and listen to his videos with one ear listening in order to learn and contemplate and the other ear hearing (and seeing) red flags and telling signs that he is a narcissistic psychopath. I process both kinds of information.
I think that this ‘duality’ in my own reactivity or responses can be advantageous and it can also be problematic. This is the case with everyone, not just with HG.
I think it results in me being more defensive and wary than most people. I find it very hard to trust. I also find that small things that most people would consider inconsequential or ‘neutral’ become red flags for me.
Another aspect of my comments here on the blog is that I am aware that there are many different kinds of people reading the blog, many of whom do not comment themselves.
I am not simply commenting or replying to HG alone. I am commenting to an audience. That means that my reasons for commenting and the way I comment are different from what they would be if I was simply having a conversation solely with HG.
While I agree the top 2 percent in all countries avoiding taxes, buying politicians and oppressing the middle class and the poor, I simply think assassination of a man you don’t like it wrong. Go after the root of the problem, don’t kill a person you don’t agree with. How is that right on either side? Do you see it as a civil war? I feel many countries are coming close to it. We are the Divided States of America. But truly, I see a man of whom I don’t share an ideology with completely who was shot dead at a young age and a wife and children losing their father. It ends there for me. I don’t see him as Hitler or Pol Pot but a man with a political agenda who took advantage perhaps tax wise from a broken unfair system that needs to be corrected.
Well HG…. President Trump admitted paying 700$ in taxes for a year….
Ronald Reagan, a staunch Republican taxed the top two percent at 70%.
Today it’s 28% I believe.
So proportional to wealth and taxes, the middle and lower classes are paying way more in the USA.
The problem with disproportional wealth by avoiding fair contribution via proper taxation in my opinion is it creates the hoarding of money, demonetizes the system, creates undue oppression and diversion in a society , a decline in marriage and birth rates, and a lack of a true democracy as special interests gain political favors, positions and not the voters…but throughout history that very oppression eventually causes the pendulum to swing…. The masses have numbers and despite the cheap fast food that keeps them from starvation so that a French Revolution or Russian Revolution of yesterday may not happen. It is a legitimate threat to the status quo. We may be dead before it really swings.
Throw in AI, finite resources that well are finite and the state of our environment. It guarantees change.
Anyone see a desperate last grab?
Hi HG:
With a heavy heart, I agree the nonstop shooting deaths are often used to support a right or left wing agenda as with Kirk. I didn’t know him but looked him up a right wing Christian against rap music, gay + rights, and a Trump devotee. A week or so earlier it was children in a Catholic Church and so on.
People are angry worldwide at the high cost of living and stress of surviving, and blame the “ other.” Some just like to take their anger and scapegoat. Others it’s control.
But in the end of the day, a young man lost his life and earlier children in a Catholic Church were shot and so on in the weeks of the USA. It’s ALL sad and tragic and fueling division only makes it worse.Gun laws won’t change too engrained in American psyche. Prisons won’t stop the mentally ill. There is no money worldwide to treat the mental illness. I would say the best we can do is foster change as an individual. Help our young and support each other. Other than prayer which Kirk would agree it’s a never ending cycle of shootings in the USA.
Contagious,
Given the number of firearms per capita vs the shootings per capita, I would not agree with your assessment regarding the never ending cycle of shootings. Has the mindset in America changed in the last 60 years regarding the value of life? I believe for many it has. Do we almost promote violence, and certainly desensitize to it, through the media and social media? Yes. Do we know much more about events across the country now than we once did, via media and social media? Yes. Is much of our media and social media controlled? I believe so. Do we have more narcissism and narcissistic behavior due to some of these changes? Again, I believe so.
Charlie Kirk would’ve agreed with prayer. He also adamantly believed in our Constitution which gives us the second amendment, and he could’ve, and did, explain why that was a right in our country with fighting for.
Hi AV,
I was watching a news program last night that had 3 young men on it. One of the young men spoke about changing the algorithms on social media. He believes that the flood of certain videos is part of the problem. I know its only one piece of the problem. But maybe if we start there we can start to bring back feeling human decency for one another.
Its all very sad.
Hi Leigh,
When it comes to social media, nothing surprises me. It is one reason I largely don’t involve myself with it, though this blog and YouTube I do. Thanks for the comment, I’ll watch for information regarding that.
Hello A Victor:
I see the shootings nonstop in America as a disgrace. I see military weapons available to citizens as a disgrace. My point is that bell will never be unsung in America like other countries ( but guns are making entry there too). I don’t know why but guns are a part of America. The second Amendment. It’s futile to think guns will go in the USA no matter what. My father was a total empath, fought in Vietnam and insisted I get a gun for myself and my children’s safety. He said to me “ well you might not use it for you but what if someone breaks in and it’s your children?” I kept it locked in a top shelf of my closest finger activated only by me. A PK. My father sent me an article of an elderly woman who was jumped but she was packing and lived. I think when you live in a country if guns, others want guns. I am registered, licensed and own a gun. I don know what to say but it’s America. I don’t see it changing no matter how many shootings. Sad to say.i know my country. It’s NOT going to change. Would I like it to? Yes. I would love it: but it us absolutely futile in my opinion.
Hi Contagious,
The shootings in America are a disgrace, we agree about that.
I hope you are correct, that our firearms and our 2A rights will not be removed from us.
Right now, today, the governor of MN, my state, held a special session to vote to restrict gun laws in my state. I haven’t heard if it passed yet. But he, and others like him in other states around the country, continue their efforts to unconstitutionally restrict our gun rights.
I think people generally should study up on what the various types of firearms actually are, there is often fear where there is a lack of education, fear of things we (humans) don’t understand.
My dad told me a story way back when news broke of the first nationally known drive-by shooter we’d heard about, who’d passed through a neighborhood randomly killing and injuring people. He said, “Take ______(small town he’d grown up in), that would’ve never happened there 60 years ago.”. (60 years being 90 or 100 now.) I was surprised and said “Why not?”. He said “They would’ve never made it to the end of town.”. I again said, surprised, “Why not?”. He finished with “Everyone on the street would’ve been shooting back at them as soon as they started shooting.”
There is something to be said for the good guys having guns and for it being a deterrent to such crimes.
I believe in prayer but I also believe in my right to defend myself and my people. Our dad’s were not wrong.
Thank you for your comments.
What’s your observation regarding the right to bear arms and the fact that the USA has the highest number of children killed by guns in the world?
Hi HG,
I have an unusual take these days, at least to those who have not been around guns and are not educated about them.
I learned to shoot at eight or nine, my dad taught us. It was for fun to us at that time, but also because he believed that it was important for children to understand the power in firearms and develop a healthy respect for that power early. Given that along with a society that had more intrinsic value for life back then, he felt there was less chance of a firearm being mishandled it misused. He always kept his guns right under his bed, in plan sight and easy reach if he needed them, none of us ever touched them without his permission, that training started from birth.
At that time there were no fun free zones either if course. I think gun free zones are ridiculous and make a target of all who enter them. Which sadly includes schools. Those looking to cause harm will not stop because there’s a sign at the door, only law abiding citizens will do so, leaving those areas completely unprotected. I very rarely go to movies any more, as one example, as a result. We have people in our church who open carry, to deter any issues, my pastor peaches with a gun in the pulpit, since he’s the one looking at the entry at all times.
My state has a high number of hunters and a governor who uses every shooting to attempt, again, to limit or remove our 2A rights. Many here are getting tired of his unconstitutional efforts and are hopeful he’s voted out at the next opportunity. There’s a lot of voter fraud at various levels in my state also though, so we’ll see.
It is my observation that if people today were educated similarly, we might not have the issues we have of shootings, of children specifically. Along with getting rid of gun free zones, I believe gun safety and training should be part of our public school education. It would likely not stop all shootings but I believe it would curtain many if them.
Now that I’ve spoken freely, and I appreciate you asking, I expect many may say differently. This is not a problem for me, I understand people have varying experiences.
Thank you for sharing your observations, I was interested to understand your perspective.
Apologies for the redundancy regarding my states governor, I just reread my prior comment.
You’re welcome HG. I hate that I can proofread twice and still have errors! I hope my comment made sense, it has many.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts, AV. I’ve enjoyed reading multiple perspectives here about this issue. Thank you for sharing.
Hi AV,
I agree with Dani. I appreciated reading your thoughts here.
I’m afraid of guns but I’ve never been taught to use one. If I had been shown as a child, then I could have a healthy respect instead of fear. I had a friend growing up who would go hunting with his older brothers and father all the time. He was probably 8 or 9 himself. He had a very healthy respect for guns.
I also agree that I don’t like schools being a gun free zone. It leaves everyone in that school vulnerable. I think there should be armed guards.
I loved your story about your pastor having a gun at the pulpit. I see that as him wanting to protect his congregation. I think that’s admirable.
I agree. Education is key. Instead of educating though, we just try to do away with it altogether. Which is never a good thing.
You’re welcome Dani!
AV,
Your reply to HG re: guns and issues of gun control was quite educational – especially as your neighbour to the north.
Thanks for sharing. Any typos didn’t obstruct what you were conveying, imo.
Leigh and WC,
Thank you for your comments, I am always happy if I can give a different perspective, and it makes any kind of sense to people. I believe now we should have armed guards in the schools, given how far things have gone.
When I was in high school, people often had their firearms in the car, to go hunting or for target practice after school let out. We did not have the issues with school shooters back then.
AV,
“When I was in high school, people often had their firearms in the car, to go hunting or for target practice after school let out. We did not have the issues with school shooters back then.”
This is worlds away from my experience of guns. It’s also reminds me of some stories Windstorm told here on the blog, where some of her family’s events revolved around target practice. Somewhat foreign, yet fascinating to me to be completely honest.
Recently, where I live there was a double shooting homicide. And this is rare here. Rare enough that I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard first heard it – I was buying corn on the cob from a local market stall. One of the two vendors was on her phone and exclaimed “Oh my god, there was a double shooting.” I was just selecting my ears of corn. The other lady commented, “Oh geez, probably in _______”…and she named a neighbourhood here known for violence. As I was leaving the market, this news was making its rounds. And it turns out the second lady was correct as to the location of the shootings. (I have also lived in Toronto as well, for comparison of its regular newsreel of local crime and shootings.)
Where I am, in northern Ontario, many people have guns here for hunting but it’s still relatively rare to hear of shootings. I don’t fear going to the movies and I hope I never do.
My most memorable experience related to guns was when my son and I were still trapped at camp with my ex. We decided that we were going blueberry picking and my ex said he had heard of a good spot. We drove a long ways down a logging road and eventually turned into a large open, flat area surrounded by a ridge on two sides. The ridge was a bit steep but worth climbing because there were the most gigantic, beautiful wild blueberries growing there – the kind where you wonder if you should pick them all or just stuff your face because they are so delicious…and then you begin to wonder about the local bear population and their knowledge of this treasure. I was already watching for bears, because the ridge made it difficult to see from all directions and our son was with us. He wasn’t as into the blueberries and was collecting rocks below the hillside. I joined him eventually and I helped him look for rocks of certain colours. That’s when I discovered part of the flat area was littered with shotgun shells and it dawned on me that this was either a shooting practice area or a place where people hunkered down to wait for bears to shoot. Then I became too wary to stay much longer for fear of a stray bullet – nevermind bears foraging for berries. And I commented to my ex: “Where did you bring us?”
That was most concerned I have ever felt about the possibility of being shot…and I still dream about those blueberries.
WC,
Your last line made me laugh! Still dream about those blueberries! Lucky bears, who get to eat them! Hopefully without being shot, unless it’s the season.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. Gun experiences are different for people, as I said, I understand that. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to having the 2A freedoms we once did in the US, some things have already been changed which would prevent this. But I don’t want to see that freedom removed any further either. And it is different in Canada I’m sure also., I don’t know much about gun laws there.
A Victor, your attitude toward firearms, in my opinion, highlights the barbaric mindset of a caveman:
“I believe gun safety and training should be part of our public school education.”
Your country would do far better to educate children on the use of their brains and tongues, not firearms.
How ironic that Charlie Kirk – who embodied that – was shot by a degenerate who was, indeed, well-educated in the use of firearms.
Hi, AV–
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful take. I am not in favor of removing any amendment to the Constitution. Especially those in the Bill of Rights. I’m not a Constitutional scholar, but to me it’s the 2A that puts the teeth in all the others. The 2A is a check against tyranny. There’s still the possibility that any government will go nuts and try to destroy us all, but I prefer the fact that the populace is armed. I like that the 2A is an acknowledgement that any government can go to shit and it deals directly with the reality.
I suppose too that if guns were somehow outlawed we’d have the highest rates of children killed by other weapons. Actually I think the next leading causes are car crashes and drugs. As a Texan, I have the best ideas about violent, early death. I should be consulted.
Nevertheless, if somehow the 2A was neutered, our American exceptionalism would surely single us out for excellence in the area of child death no matter what. We just have to apply ourselves.
Yet I still love this place more than any place.
“We don’t need no gun control…we need some bullet control…I think all bullets should cost five thousand dollars.”
” ‘Man I would blow your fucking head off…if I could afford it.’ “
Thank you Allison.
Thank you for sharing your perspective and background AV, I found it very interesting. I’m aware being from the UK, where there isn’t much firearm usage by the “average Joe” that it’s easy to sit in judgement but there is a very different history and backstory in the States that calls for a more nuanced and all encompassing approach.
Hi Allison,
“I suppose too that if guns were somehow outlawed we’d have the highest rates of children killed by other weapons.”
Yep. There’s mostly stabbings in London…
“Man, I would blow your fucking head off… if I could afford it.”
That is not a paradigm shift either.
Dig deeper.
A Victor: show me the change as to gun laws and violence in the USA over 60 years… please. Love to be wrong on this point.
I believe in prayer.
As to guns in the USA, it’s futile to think any change will ever come ever. The best we can do and hope and pray for is our attitude to mental health. Early morning intervention. Psychopaths, schizophrenics, maybe narcs. A psychopath is born with brain differences liked a loaded gun but neglect and abuse cock the pistol full throttle. I often think where was the teacher, the neighbor, the religious leader, the friend, the family member, the nurse, the doctor? No child of society should be left to neglect or abuse! I know the children of my neighborhood , they knock on my door daily mainly for cookies, candies, to play with my dogs but also for nurture. They seek a safe place. They want to be heard. They want live and to be brought layered and validated at their own self worth. I give my time to do so. Where were the community when little Sybil was abused developing all her personalities to survive? I hate the doctor who treated all her in juries without intervening. Empaths! It is up to us in small ways to make a difference. As Mick Jagger sang “ After all, it was you and me.”
Per Dr Hare, psychopaths are 1% of all humans but reek harm in 70” but it is shown coming from an abusiv or neglectful home makes them worse. Mire than worse fully cocked and loaded. We don’t do enough. Not for kids or the mentally ill. We throw them to the streets, to families who suffer or to prisons.
But our sentences are harsh, I watched a show on Canada versus US. A man raped two girls in Canada got 2-4 years. A man here did the same, 50years. No sought laws are changing.
Most psychopaths mellow in age, per Hare, they burn out.
Interested in learning more about this comment, Contagious and HG… I guess that’s different to narcissists?
“Most psychopaths mellow in age, per Hare, they burn out.”
You’ll be half and half, HG?
Use Know the Narcissist from the Knowledge Vault.
Thank you.
A Victor, I agree. I own a gun and am licensed. If you live in a country with guns. You should have one. My father made me buy it. A Vietnam vet post divorce. He said you may not use it for you but you need it to protect your children. Yup. All empathy ends when protecting my children. Didn’t need to. Kept it locked up in a closet where only my finger prints could …. I once read a story many years ago where a little old lady was attacked and robbed by a couple of young men in NYC. She shot them. Welcome to the USA. I don’t mind that story but AKs? Military weapons available to the public. We are the only country I think that could fight our own country. Not sure that military weapons should be available but I don’t trust the government either. Regardless too many shootings of innocents! How about we put the wealth to early intervention to childhood development and go back to pre- Reagan years where there was money for mental health institutions. But…no money in it. Instead they dump the problems on the streets and the families… tragic …
Bubbles and others: I have seen it in countries recently. The UK, France and Scandinavia. The Middle East and Africa has spilled over first it was colonialism ( which gives a home to modern illegals), some it was a liberalism that these war torn countries with refugees needed a home ( which gave a place and job for illegals, then the legal systems were slow to adjust putting people into housing, giving them food and health care while their own people were homeless. Oops Inn is full! Now Europe like the US is changing. Crushing down on it but also engaging in injustice and violating human rights. Sending people to Rwanda and other places that are worse than prisons. Immigration is a problem especially illegal whether a socialized system or a capitalistic system it presents a burden on health care. Many countries including my own husband don’t realize we treat everyone insurance or not. Illegals have on insurance but we treat them. Makes health care go up. America is a big old melting pot and big. While illegal immigrants come here all over, most are our border. Mexican, Central American even South America. But our country is vast and predominantly Christian and most but not all assimilate in this big melting pot. I love the hardworking, Catholic, family oriented Mexicans. Ok not the cartel that brings fentanyl and other drugs. But Europe is bordered by Africa and the Middle East., They come from war torn, improvised countries, often men leaving their women behind. They do NOT assimilate as well as some colonial ancestors did. They join small homogenous countries often Christian but all religions are declining. The Muslims are the fastest growing. They are illegal, angry, young men who can’t find jobs. They don’t assimilate. They create crime. The good Man slims living there many years don’t like it either. But there’s a huge crackdown in Europe. Huge. When I was last in England, 70,000 took to the streets. Same in France or worse. There will be laws and policing throughout Europe to stop illegal and even asylum seeking entry. I imagine Australia will hoping the band wagon. The laws are strict. It won’t keep desperate people from coming, no. But there’s pendulum is swinging and will swing. The rides are turning as are the governments. Do I see immigration a problem? Yes. But less so then the income equality that has invaded this world. That’s the real cause of the high cost of living .
Hi Contagious & AV
Have you seen Mr. Tudor’s video about why the world is more narcissistic. I think its worth a listen. I found it very helpful.
https://youtu.be/pDLP1rBb20o?si=UbWhPNm16jsfRVqX
Thank you for the link Leigh. Yes, I saw it when HG published it, but it is worth a relisten now.
@contagious
He shouldn’t have been murdered. He wasn’t violent, he encouraged people to debate him and challenge him using intellect – there was plenty of opportunity to wipe the floor with him when is came to some of his views which were irrational and hypocritical
Which views were irrational and hypocritical?
His pro life views and comparing gun deaths to car crashes, I agree with him that fundamentalist Islam is a threat but so is fundamentalist Christianity which seeks repeal abortion rights and marriage rights for same sex couples
Agreed.
Witch : I love how his wife forgave the killers in the name of Jesus. It doesn’t get better than that.
@contagious
I thought it was ironic considering Kirk’s views on the death penalty
I didn’t know he was for the death penalty but I always find that Christians are wrong, maybe the Bible but no t what Christ said. I know when I interviewed with the US Attorneys Office, I said no. Yet I got assigned to a potential death penalty case of a serial rapist and killer. What he did. I get it. But I could never pull the switch. But the irony is if he was in my house attacking my daughter. Bam . Dead. I would not seek twice. I am not Jesus.
The great thing about this is that it also works backwards. In order to find out their allegiance and agenda, watch which narcissists are making a lot of noise now about Kirk’s murder and see how they have been completely silent on the politically motivated murders of Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman as well as the attempted murders of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman less than three months ago on June 14, 2025. Who did or did not not attend their memorial service then, and how are they behaving now? And who did not utter a word about these murders while utilising Charlie Kirk’s case now for their purposes?
Hi AP,
I was just talking about those assassinations with my daughter last night. Its happening in both directions. Our country is suffering. There’s a huge divide. The US hasn’t seen assassinations at this level since the 60s. But everyone is so busy pointing fingers and nobody wants to compromise so the divide just keeps getting wider and it doesn’t get fixed. Its incredibly sad.
Hi Leigh,
social media and the opinion bubble the algorithms create by recommending ever more similar content to what you already like and by people increasingly consuming only on demand will make it much more difficult to bridge that divide. Nowadays you can go through life without ever encountering a diverging opinion, whereas in the age of tv, radio and newspaper dominance you would at least become aware of other things simply by watching a whole news cast from start to finish before the movie or buying a newspaper where your eye would fall on an op-ed. If you always have to go to the effort of clicking on something outside of your comfort zone or even searching for other opinions, many people will be content to leave it be. When they then are confronted by the reality of somebody on the street or in the family having a different idea of how things should be, they will tend to think that this must be some kind of weirdo, because they have become so used to seeing people with the same views. Paradoxically, it has never been easier to find so much information, but it seems like many people are less informed than before, because the algorithm spoon-feeds you stuff that is so similar to what you already know.
When I think of the experience of talking to people about narcissism who have never heard of HG Tudor, it is hard enough to imagine that they do not see what we see, simply because we are so used to discussing it all in detail, even for someone like me who has been here a very short time compared to some of you. Bringing politics and ethics into the mix makes it far more explosive.
The US system is even more polarised than other countries with only two big parties and no need for coalitions and because the primary system tends to select for ever more radical candidates. Moderates no longer get through the primaries.
Fair observations.
Hi AP,
I often have to watch different news programs and read different articles so that I can get info from both sides. Its exhausting! How can anyone make an informed decision if they only hear one side? Why can’t I hear both sides in one place? Is that too much to ask. Apparently so!
There are extreme views on both sides and those happen to be the loudest right now.
But after the murder of Kirk, I saw a news program with 3 young men on it. They were talking about wanting to bridge the divide. They also spoke about the algorithms on social media and how their feeds are flooded with info from one side only. They want to change that though. Hearing that gave me a little hope for the future.
The divided states of America. I personally think the high cost of living is driving the anger in the Western world. Immigration is a big target. Countries are going far right: France ( le pen) Italy, Netherlands etc… the thousands marching in the streets of the UK waving flags, the uprisings in France and the gun toting young males in USA shooting people. It is all of this anger. Since Covid I have sensed an increase of anger and in the USA our youth has a mental health crisis. I sometimes wonder 💭 s it I am older that I believe the world is getting worse? Is it the internet where we hear about our world in an instant? History is filled with violence. Are things just the world per usual? One thing I have noticed is the cruel positions take on which side they stand in the USA. I didn’t know who Kirk was but my best friends son was friends with him and my son was upset. Other friends spoke about how Kirk was not a good person. To me, a young man died with a wife and child. When Diane Feinstein husband was attacked the same result. My Jewish friends can be cruel or indifferent to the Palestini plight. For me, we are all humans walking this Earth doing the best we can. I think personally that income inequality… the gap that has grown too much… is the problem. The poor have always been poor but those in between are under attack. The cost of housing, interest rates, the cost of food and about any bill you can think of has risen and salaries have not. Anger is rising. I see more and more violence maybe on a greater scale in the future especially if Mother Earth increases environmental disasters and ends finite resources like oil, water etc…throw AI in to the mix…. I will most likely be dead when big changes occur. Consider all great empires with wealth held by a few… ie Rome. The pendulum swings… always.
Hi Contagious,
I’m curious about your thoughts on something. Why do you think young people are taking matters into their own hands?
Dear Contagious,
This is why I asked the question about what’s happening regarding immigration numbers in various countries, as I did not trust social media (TV) and wanted some form of confirmation.
We can all see the collapse and betrayal of our governments along with their deaf ears. They are ploughing at a hundred miles an hour and using “climate change” as their main diversion. Wind turbines, solar panels, net zero, what a load of bull! Now our beaches are polluted with “algae bloom” (man made pollution btw, but the govt won’t admit it) and millions upon millions of sea creatures are dying along with those that go to beach and breathe toxic fumes that can kill you and your dogs.
All the western countries are suffering from exploding mass immigration, rising housing costs, interest rates and housing shortages, massive gas and electricity costs, along with huge inflated food increases. Farmers, small businesses, hospitals, paramedics, job losses, aged care and more are all being affected. Robberies, stabbings, rapes, violent assaults, theft, house break-ins have all increased.
These immigrants are of a certain ethic background who do not have the same values as our western world. They are not being vetted, checked for disease or even being vaccinated. Oil and water do not mix period! They are unskilled, living off govt benefits (taxpayers money) and do not obey law and order. The governments are bending over backwards to cater to their every whim and desire. Politicians, Judges, Police are all turning a blind eye and have been given orders to give them carte blanche license, whilst at the same time allowing dubious characters of allegiance and religious backgrounds, hold senior, political and powerful positions so as to create their own independent two tier legislation and legal systems.
The govt and social media are creating division within our own people by fuelling hate and violence. Charlie Kirk’s death has fuelled this even further. Personally, I admired his debating style as he was trying to make young misguided adults think for themselves and research answers rather than just follow the sheep.
I feel Mr Tudor, with his connections, has information on the world as it stands and what’s about to take place. Most importantly, why ?
I believe it’s about money, power and control ……in that order ! Currently, it’s a waiting numbers game, the more numbers, we all lose? Our way of life is changing as we speak, that’s why we ALL need to stand up and be heard.
.
‘Dear Contagious, This is why I asked the question about what’s happening regarding immigration numbers in various countries, as I did not trust social media (TV) and wanted some form of confirmation.’
Hi Bubbles.
I know you directed your response to Contagious but I am Australian like you and I have very different opinions to you. I’m curious why. You and I look out our front doors and see similar things. Yet we have very different outlooks.
You say you’re not confident in social media but then put in brackets TV – I’m not sure which one you are distrustful of. Is it both?
If you distrust both, where do you get your news and information about the world from?
Bubbles,
You and I see things very similarly. Can I ask your thoughts on Trump’s actions regarding immigration in the US? Is it completely narcissistic of him to want only Americans and those in America legally within our borders? What do you think his reasons are? Thank you for your comment, I agree about what Kirk was trying to do and about our voices also.
Hi AV,
I hope its ok if I comment too. I’m a direct descendant of an immigrant and wanted to throw my two cents in. My father did things properly. He came here on a temporary visa, applied for permanent residency and then became a naturalized citizen.
I largely agree with Trump’s policies. I want the borders to have restricted access, especially our southern border. We need to keep the criminals and drugs out. I like that he’s deporting undocumented immigrants that are criminals. I’m even ok with him deporting undocumented immigrants who aren’t criminals. But I do question why we can’t help them get documented. But I do also understand that’s not always easy either.
I have two real concerns though. My first concern is that there are many here that have temporary status, which means they are documented. But when they go to reapply for temporary status, they’re being denied. Many have been here for years. They work. They pay there taxes. Their only fault is that they haven’t applied for permanent residency. Instead they choose the less expensive route and just reapply for temporary status every two years. If they’ve been here for years, why not help them take the next step to permanent residency?
My second reason is more selfish. If this was going on when my father was trying to come here, he might not have been granted permission and then there’d be no me.
Dear annaamel,
Another proud Aussie, yay!
I try and dig as deep as I can. Regarding the news on tv, I like to verify it by searching the whole story and not just the snippets. The more sources the better.
What and who do you trust these days, that’s the question ?
Different opinions and outlooks are good, makes the world go round.
Thankyou Bubbles.
“I try and dig as deep as I can. Regarding the news on tv, I like to verify it by searching the whole story and not just the snippets. The more sources the better.”
That’s interesting. I don’t do that at all. I have a few sources I trust and I rely on them.
“What and who do you trust these days, that’s the question ?”
I know you mean this rhetorically but I would like to answer. I get my news from government broadcasters and broadsheet newspapers (online). For more in-depth analyses I will go to other publications I see as reliable but it’s still a fairly narrow set of resources.
I’m guessing you wouldn’t trust these sources.
“Different opinions and outlooks are good, makes the world go round.”
Issues always have persuasive arguments on both sides so different opinions on complex topics (or even simple ones) are normal.
But I see that more and more people not agreeing on the same facts anymore. And opinions become less useful if we can’t agree on what’s true and what’s not.
Hi AA,
By listening or only reading a few sources, do you think you’re getting both sides? That’s what always concerns me. Am I getting enough info from both sides. I want to be able to make a well informed decision.
Hi Leigh.
I don’t want two sides to my news. I just want facts. I read and watch the news to get facts. If trust the source (and there are factors that go towards that judgement) as far as I’m concerned I’ve been given facts so I don’t need to double check or confirm them.
What kind of decision do you mean? Voting?
Hi AA,
Sometimes news program don’t give all the facts. They only give the facts that support their views. I need to hear all the facts. I don’t want a skewed view.
Here in the US, I have found that I can watch two different programs who are both talking about the same event, they’re both giving facts and they’re still saying two different things.
As for what kind of decision, I mean where I stand on the subject.
Hi again Leigh.
‘Sometimes news program don’t give all the facts. They only give the facts that support their views. I need to hear all the facts. I don’t want a skewed view.’
The PBS NewsHour airs here in Australia. It’s a non profit which presents verifiable facts then has people from both sides of the political spectrum discuss that information.
Thanks for your insights Contagious. ♥️
Hi Leigh:
The millennials were the first generation to not be as wealthy as the generation before. And it continues. They have student debt ( USA), they can’t afford housing. Some can’t afford rent and live at home. Groceries, utilities, everything has gone up but salaries. My son once said “ my generation is screwed.” They aren’t having children because of the cost of living. The poor have always been poor but the middle class is under fire. 75% of corporate wealth is in the top 2% and 60% more of land. Everything you buy basically goes to an elite group. There are three corporations… Vanguard, Black rock and another who own most of the Fortune 500. On top of it, the lockdowns created a mental health crisis with youth for many reasons. And social media is proven to have adverse effects on the youth. I didn’t grow up with it. Gen X. So people are angry, divisive, blame immigrants. And there is truth to it. I have seen it. Some immigrants move to other countries in large numbers and don’t assimilate into an established culture. They even hate the new culture they joined. Others come illegally which means they burden the health care, and other services without paying taxes. BUT nothing compares with the two top percent obtaining all the money and finding ways not to pay taxes. Hoarding money which demonetizes the system. If everyone paid taxes great, if antitrust continued to function great but without it the masses will get beat up and this has lead to a youth unable to buy homes and have a family. This is my opinion but I educate myself on it. I hate to say it but the poor Germans went along with Hitler and blamed the Jews as their lives sucked and they were angry. Personally I blame fast food. In history when masses were starved they rebelled. French Revolution. But no matter what the oppression I think in time the pendulum swings. I am hopeful the youth creates change. Studies show they think the environment is a top priority… etc…now… I also blame the entitlement on the youth and the parenting. When I was young, mom made a cake on your birthday. Christmas was 4 gifts. You had to beg to have a phone at 16. Your parents shared a car. Vacations were to see family or a week not far from home. Children today have no concept. The parties for a two year old have voice houses and extravagant parties. Children get a cellphone young. Travel is big with the young who live at home or stay in a cheap apartment but spend money traveling. The expectations of a lifestyle are higher for children and youth, the sacrifices not. Social media helps here but as do Hoover parents, over indulging parents. Pull yourself up by your own boots was a 1950’s slogan. Today it’s victimhood. Being a disciplined soldier in life will get you much farther than whining and not doing.
So that’s my personal take on today and our youth. I am a big believer in not doing for a child that they should do for themselves. My children are very responsible and independent. BUT I still worry if I will have grandchildren. I saved all their childhood books for my grandbabies and other treasured items. If they don’t, ok. But a mother can wish!
Hi Contagious,
Thank you for your insights here. I worry about today’s youth as well. I agree that their not as wealthy as the generation before and they’re struggling more as well.
I have two daughters in their mid 20s and they both still live at home. I went from my mother’s home to my own home. I want the same for my children. But I don’t know if that’s feasible. The price of homes in my area are insane. I live in the suburbs of NYC. I agree that the cost of living has skyrocketed.
I worry about grand babies too. One of my daughters doesn’t want children because she wants to break the cycle of narcissistic abuse. It breaks my heart but it also makes me immensely proud of her.
With all that said though, I’m still astonished that so many young men are taking things into their own hands. Crooks, Robinson & Mangione are all in their 20s. As a lawyer, I had wondered if you can see more clearly why these young men are going to such desperate measures.
Its interesting about immigrants. It was totally different when my father came here. He came in the 60s. He assimilated. He wouldn’t even speak his native language to us. He only spoke English. I agree. Many immigrants come here and hate it here. Why come then? Well, we know the answer to that. That’s why I’m ok with what Trump is doing about immigration. There’s a couple of things I might do differently but for the most part, I’m on board with it.
Dearest A Victor,
I’m so pleased you’re on the same page AV.
Trump right now, is doing what’s best for America and his people. You need to be a narcissist to do what’s he doing and make a serious plan of action, which takes balls. He sees what’s happening in the UK, Canada, Europe and Australia and calling these countries to account but the leaders are not listening as they have a world plan in order.
The illegal immigants and asylum seeker intakes (plus those already in the country) need to cease immediately and must be detained and deported, pronto.
Poland and Hungary have put their foot down and are trying desperately to keep their country and people safe as well. They are respected by the UAE for being strong and not weak like all the other western countries. The UAE have strongly reiterated that these intakes we are allowing in, are murderers, rapists, thieves, thugs and prisoners that are not wanted in their own country and we are fools for letting them in.
We all have immigrants, but they have been rigorously scrutinised and processed prior to entry and WANT to assimilate into “our”way of life. We are all witnessing the crime, mayhem and destruction and it’s clearly not working.
They can also deport our treacherous PM as well! (The majority of Australians didn’t even vote for this idiot)…don’t ask, our voting system is complicated.
If they don’t stop immigration now AV, the inevitable will definitely take place.
Dear annaamel,
I feel we need to acknowledge and take action at what’s literally staring us in the face.
If we don’t, they will.
“I feel we need to acknowledge and take action at what’s literally staring us in the face.
If we don’t, they will.”
If I believed what you believed I’d probably feel the same way.
Dear Bubbles,
The immigration cannot be stopped.
People want a better life, especially if their country is at war or heavily corrupted or has an oppressive political regime. It’s understandable desire. Some just think that a grass is always greener on the other side. They are impacted by media, movies, thinking that the west world is where the dreams come true easily. Many before migrating not even checking basic information on that country: medical care system, social benefits, child care, school, education cost, taxes, cost of living, vacation policy, tolerance to the different religion belief/nations/race etc. Just bought the tickets and then Arrivedechi. Obviously, it would lead to a disappointment when facing the reality. And consequently, some immigrants resort to a crime.
“We all have immigrants, but they have been rigorously scrutinised and processed prior to entry and WANT to assimilate into “our”way of life.” Two points I want to add to that.
1. “Rigorously scrutinised” – is difficult to do for many reasons. First, not all countries have an open access to a criminal database of another country to do a proper security check. It has to be a certain dyplomatic ties in place to do that, I believe. A person could easily hide a criminal record. Secondly, this person could have a status of refugee, due to war, for example. It’s pretty much a green light for migration, barely any check is done what actually this person was doing at his/her home country. There are other factors as well, including the bureaucracy at receiving country, corruption etc.
2. “Want to assimilate into our way”. Have you ever lived in a different country, with a language to your mother tongue? Not travel, but live? I have. It’s an interesting experience. Many people don’t realize how patriotic in reality they are till they migrate. They live in their country (doesn’t matter which one) often complaing non stop about their country leader, government, political regime, cost of living, laws, etc etc. As you know, anyone can find smth they want to change in their country and they believe it would lead to a better outcome. At the same time, if a person is given a freedom to built a world they consider to be perfect, it actually, even worse than a real one. HG series, “if I rule the world” confirms that.
Anyway, so then, this constantly complaining person migrates, hoping for a better life and does want to assimilate, actually. But it’s way more difficult than it seems. The age plays a big part here. Nostalgia starts hitting you hard. You miss a lot of things. You speak with an accent that not everyone understands and you have to repeat yourself, or sometimes you can even be mocked for your pronunciation. You don’t understand slang initially, you don’t understand jokes, you sit/stand and everyone around you burst into laugh, and you sit feeling stupid putting a smile, pretending you got the joke. Later maybe you can ask tet a tet someone to explain it to you. Humour is very cultural thing. And many other things like that. If on top of that a person is struggling financially, basically trying to survive, and he/she got used to complain and blameshift at their homeland, he/she would resort to such mentality again at a new place, and possibly, it could lead to a desperation state, and then committing some type of crime. Not all immigrants were criminals at their homeland.
Regarding rape. Ofc, people from middle east have a certain attitude towards women. I recall many instances in my life where I felt it strongly. One of them was in US, me and my male colleague were presenting a project, he did one part, I did another. The audience was our clients from certain country in Middle East. I was wearing a typical office attire, a suit with jacket, nothing provocative. When I was presenting, they were looking at me, like I was showing them striptease or smth, not explaning them serious stuff. I felt very uncomfortable. After we finished presenting, time came for questions. And when they started asking questions related to my part, and I was answering to them, they were ignoring me, deliberately looking at my male colleague D, who was standing at other side of the screen. I stopped and gave a look at D, like WTF is happening? He showed me with hand and eyes, “calm down, let’s discuss later, let me answer for you”. And our management (all males too), who was also in the room didn’t do anything/intervene. It was bizarre experience. I was very angry.
Ofc, when men with such mentality come to a country, where women barely dressed in their opinion or behave not like they got used to, they might go off rails and rape. I agree with you , this difference in culture regarding women is a big problem.
I’m curious about some of your statements, if you can clarify:
“If they don’t stop immigration now AV, the inevitable will definitely take place.” What do expect to happen which you deem as “inevitable”?
“I feel we need to acknowledge and take action at what’s literally staring us in the face.
If we don’t, they will”. What particular action do you suggest?
Dear annaamel,
What is your perception at what is currently happening and what do you see as the future outcome?
‘Dear annaamel,
What is your perception at what is currently happening and what do you see as the future outcome?’
Hello Bubbles.
To help me answer, I’ve tried to summarise what I think your position is on what is currently happening and its future outcome. Can you please tell me if this is correct.
1. You believe there’s a global (Islamist?) world takeover underway which aims to destroy as many western democracies as possible, uncontested or assisted by the leaders of those democracies whose communist leanings make them weak or corruptible. You believe countries like Poland, Hungary and the US are among the few doing anything to challenge the takeover, and you wish other western democracies would emulate their approaches.
2. You believe climate change is at minimum exaggerated and forms part of the disinformation being spread to control the masses and make people more amenable to decisions which might erode their freedoms or way of life. You think the 2030 agenda has been created for a similar purpose.
1. You believe many many of the most recent immigrants to Western Countries have been criminals and barbarians who inbreed, don’t work and turn their adopted counties into filthy cesspools. You believe their introduction into Western democracies is part of the long term plan to gradually turn Western Democracies into Islamic states, reducing the white, Cristian populations until they are minorities with no power.
4. You believe the only way for this to be stopped is for the regular populations of these western countries, particularly the white Christian populations, to show their governments that they are onto them and onto the plan, show they oppose this plan and show they are prepared to rise up and challenge the plan (by violent means if necessary) to prevent the plan from being fulfilled.
5. If the population doesn’t rise up, our future is Sharia Law throughout Australia and the Western World.
Dear Arya0901,
Thank you for your reply and observations, I understand and appreciate your concerns.
Immigration should be controlled rather than open slather, it’s unsustainable and implodes on our infrastructure otherwise.
I know we can’t ascertain everyone’s background without proper records, that’s why we need to detain people (border security) for further verification, otherwise they should be placed on probation.
My dad’s side were immigrants, so I am familiar with all the implications that were endured.
Sorry your presentation was uncomfortable, I understand how you must’ve felt, it would’ve been most unpleasant.
With regard to the inevitable and what’s staring us in the face, kinda speaks for itself.
Thank you for replying, Bubbles.
If you believe, you have a power to change anything regarding this matter, then good luck. If not, then don’t let it spoil mood.
Arya,
“And our management (all males too), who was also in the room didn’t do anything/intervene. It was bizarre experience. I was very angry.”
This kind of attitude among males can literally be found in any country and in any kind of workplace. It may be stronger in some places than in others, but it’s still there.
I find that people in general – both men and women – sometimes don’t consider that women work because they need to earn a living just like men do.
A woman’s husband or father may be a narcissist or a co-dependent which means that she literally can’t depend on a man to provide for her.
It’s not like women are working for fun or because they want to annoy men or challenge them.
Dear annaamel,
Thank you for your very detailed reply, it was most observant of you and extremely appreciated
It really doesn’t matter what I think, I was just passing on the “state of play” (“world at play” more like it) as is being generally purported, seen and predicted.
I was asking your personal view and outlook, as there are always differences of opinions, perspectives and observations which all help to assist the narrative. It appears (whatever it is) it’s going to have an impact on everyone.
I don’t believe any of those ideas, Bubbles.
Dear Arya,
Thanks lovely, I will not let my mood be spoilt, life’s too short.
Dear annaamel,
I’m curious and if you don’t mind, what do you believe and what are your ideas ?
Hello WiserNow,
Yes, me personally, quite early realized that even if money don’t buy happiness, they buy independence, freedom of choice. Plus I like my job, it’s not only simply the means of living to me.
Unfortunately, in my country, there are still plenty of women whose the prime goal is to marry a man (preferably rich one) and quit a job. Then you hear/read all those life stories, how men later openly cheat or beat them, etc and woman feels trapped, with children and asking for an advice, being completely financially dependent on the husband.
I love the way you put those ideas, the words, Annaamel. I also don’t believe them.
I vote, all empaths across the world get together, the scientists, AI developers, politicians, influencers and all supporters to develop a empathogen bomb (ecstasy) and drop it onto the entire world. Like a nuclear bomb, but instead of radioactive fall out, just empathy fall out.
“Just empathy fall out” – I love this Alexis!
Hey Anna: All the muders were wrong including the hammer to Feinstein husbands head and the Catholic school girls etc… or 9/11 or Kennedy or the attempt on Trump or the people attending a concert in Nevada or the children in Connecticut and so on and so on. Murder of anyone is not the answer to a point of view. Perhaps a war or revolution, to protect the masses and end tyranny but usually we are dealing with in the USA a young angry man who kills people. I liked Ericka’s speech about forgiveness. That might help a bit.
This is so devastating. It feels like a monumental change for our country and not in a good way.
Hi Bubbles and Annabel:
While I look at the hoarding of money worldwide and the income gap as the main problem, immigration is a serious issue. Most countries don’t have the history of immigration like America. Many were smaller more homogenous countries with the same culture such as majority religion than BAM! Wars, famine, and poverty, especially those countries close to them, waves of immigrants came in. Some like Scandinavia and Germany were being liberal and let hundreds of thousands in. Now welcome to America ! only you were more homogenous and alike in culture than us and your world has changed. Illegals are a problem everywhere as they don’t pay taxes but use the health care system and social services straining it. The bigger problem is when another culture enters and doesn’t assimilate. Worse when they hate the culture they entered. Even worse when they are young frustrated job less men entering a country for hopes of a better future and they aren’t welcomed… crime…. of course… illegal. Even worse when they are mentally ill from leaving a civil war, desperate poverty and enter your country damaged young men without jobs… crime. Then the kicker is when your country puts them in housing pays for their food and leaves your countrymen homeless. YUP. I live in Southern California. Los Angeles is 51% Mexican. I love the Mexican culture. Catholic, hardworking, friendly, family oriented. These immigrants provide farming, construction, landscaping. And of course every job under the sun. I don’t see them as terrorists who want to kill Americans. They call themselves Mexican Americans. The illegals are a problem as they don’t pay taxes. Cartels are a huge issue, they funnel drugs like fentanyl and they govern 1/3 of Mexico. Different story. People mostly come from Central America, Mexico and Asia here. In Europe you have the Middle East and Africa coming in. Many were formally colonials who at one point had the green light to enter so people have family there to greet them and keep them. What I have seen is a threat to culture of original small homogenous states ( mostly as compared to the USA). But the frustration is the same. Worldwide. I know England and France and I was in Scandinavia this year. Everyone is upset at the cost of living and hates immigration. Same in USA. I have no answer as time will tell but I see it. When I was in the UK in April they didn’t have enough officials to stop the illegal boats coming in. It will get worse I am afraid. Trump is hard lined. Soon I imagine the soft gloves of other countries will change too. Sadly our third world countries like Gaza will suffer greatly. I have no answer. But I understand the protectionism spirit and I do believe an established culture has a right to stand up for itself if letting others in they should abide by the laws of the country they enter and I think personally try to assimilate and not be filled with hatred for a country they joined
Dear Contagious,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, views and perspective, whilst adding to the plate, most enlightening.
So many highly educated elite Arab Sheiks have tried to warn the west that we do not understand their culture or their way of thinking, as we are not Arab. Do not even begin to try! The west does not and will never comprehend. Sadly, the west are not listening.
Sources have confirmed, Hamas leaders (who live in ivory towers in Qatar and contemplate their navels) are worth over a staggering $11B, so then, we must ask ourselves, why do they allow their people to be poor ? To gain more sympathy and receive more money perhaps !?
Every player always has a strategy Contagious and now it’s we, the people, who must preserve and play by our rules (stand up and be heard) before it’s too late.
They are also aware oil is finite. 100 years gone. Their fathers or grandfathers were camel herders, Bedouin. Their children were raised in unbridled opulence. They are all looking to shift Western perspective to favor them. Hello Dubai. But beyond the tourist lure, sharia law lives alive and well and designed solely to keep the money with the monarchies. I agree with you. But this year the crack down on immigration is steong in Europe and some countries policies are so harsh… makes Trump look soft… it’s changing and it’s not going away.
Dear Contagious,
I hope there has been a crackdown on immigration in Europe until all the countries can get back on their feet. It’s nothing but a waiting game now.
Bubbles: Read up. Denmark is sending immigrants to Rwanda. Not letting asylum seekers in. Poland and Italy built walls, and cracking down. Latvia I think sends them to Albania and raised the fire ship to 10 years. France is blocking immigration from certain countries and cracking down. Netherlands, Italy basically France are fascist now. The UK has hundreds in the streets. Having been to London and surrounding parts, I have seen it. Areas that look like the Middle East inside of London. Burkas scare me. I don’t live me them. I literally jumped. I don’t believe in Sharia law or honor killings. It doesn’t belong in western civilization. I have Muslim m friends in the UK who aren’t extreme and this affects them too. Ruins their neighborhoods. Illegal means illegal. I do worry what Jesus would say. He saw no birders and spoke of our obligation to help the poor and the hungry. And many flee destitution. But what a read about is the crime rate going up, that angry young men are the ones illegally moving in leaving the women at home causing problems or maybe not able to find jobs, angry and resorting to crime. Regardless, people have a right to protect themselves. I think Christ would agree. When you look at tapes, knife stabbing, it is undeniable. I see it getting much worse as the rich and poor gap divides more. But history shows when great oppression the pendulum swings. I pray those war torn impoverished countries rise so that their people who would prefer staying out, stay put.
Well said Contagious. I don’t feel negatively about immigration ..I think partly my nature and because my parents were (white) immigrants to the UK and also not being poor. I’m finding the flag raising a bit disconcerting but I think we need to think of all sides and try not to be polarised, as you’ve done intelligently above.
I find people often say racist things to me, presuming I’ll agree with them, and it makes me feel that it’s skin colour that people are commenting on, not the reality, as skin colour is more obvious to them..
But it’s obviously a problem.. I often wonder if political parties want to solve it or if it benefits them to have us all blaming the other and fighting amongst ourselves… I think it’s also the people on benefits or competing with immigrants for jobs that feel the sharp end, but middle class “liberals” call them racist rather than listening to genuine concerns. It’s a tough one.. my penny’s worth..
Jade: I personally know as my ex husband was competing for benefits and felt the immigrants were favored in the UK. I think he was right from what I read. A lot of angry Brits about the money being spent on asylum seekers while they have British homeless. But this will change. Europe this year is cracking down hard on illegal and legal immigration. But I hate to say it bout personally I think the continued concentration in wealth is the real problem. The fact they escape taxes while owning the companies and the land and raise the costs unbridled. Hoarding money. De-economizing our society before the DIE. They will pass on to an oppressed youth. The pendulum will swing. The chaotic environment and AUwill leave its mark. Finite resources will end. Hang on to your hats cowboys and girls, will be an interesting ride.