Book Review: The True Believer by Eric Hoffer – Marc MacYoung

  Mythology / fable / beliefs that gives life order and comprehension Tribalism Identity creating narrative Beliefs shaping world view Moral, ethics and conduct arising from the above Repudiation of other belief systems and/or facts to preserve belief “Saints,” prophets, icons Preachers Group think / dogma / heresy Internal standards of behavior and expectations Proselytizing … [Read more…]

Overlay – Rory Miller

  Working on a model. A lot of things have puzzled me for the last several years, especially things that look, to me, like people fighting against their own self-interest; people blind to the disconnect between their own peaceful words and violent actions; people arguing and even rioting against their own civil rights (WTF, people?); … [Read more…]

My Personal Story of Internet Otherism: What it is, Who Does it and Why – Erik Kondo

Video link. Otherism also known as Othering is when a person is considered to “not be one of us.” It is the exclusion of a person who deviates from “acceptable” norms. The exclusion can be based on race, religion, ethnicity, country of origin, social economic factors, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and more. Many forms of … [Read more…]

A Plea … Before the Bullets Start Flying – Marc MacYoung

Congratulations, you smeared distinctions to create a bigger political block, raising an inclusive banner to seem to present a unified whole for your cause. Good idea right? After all, your PR to create and identify a large, unified group to the outside world worked. Except now everyone else can’t tell the difference between you and … [Read more…]

Take a Breath – Rory Miller

There’s a lot happening in the world right now. More than you know, but probably less than you fear. Take a breath. Tension, fear and anger all make you stupid. And the resultant stupidity is a tool for someone else. Don’t be a tool. People learn through story. News outlets make money through advertising. People … [Read more…]

The Farm Boy Workout – Rory Miller

One of the things I missed from being raised in ranch country was the work. No running water, we (I) packed it from the creek in five-gallon buckets. Enough for all household use and enough for all the animals that were penned and couldn’t get to the creek themselves. The first two years, until dad … [Read more…]