I recently watched a movie called, The Brainwashing Of My Dad. The title caught my attention because I love anything and everything to do with “brainwashing.” I love persuasion, influence, coercion, “mind control,” cult tactics and behaviors. As someone said about me on a livestream a little while back, “It’s my wheelhouse.”

What is this film about?

It’s about a daughter, who is now middle-aged, doing a documentary on her father. About how when she was little, he was kind, and mellow, and laid-back. But then he found Rush Limbaugh. And over time, her father changed.

He became irritable and angry. He was so mad about the current events in the world. He truly changed. He became insufferable.

Granted, the film has a somewhat “left leaning slant,” but if that matters to you, then this post is for you.

It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you sit on. Left or right, conservative or progressive. They are nothing more than two sides of the same coin. Both are miserable, outraged, and angry. And most of the time, they have no idea why they are angry when you truly press them.

I went down the rabbit hole of outrage a few years ago. It was a major part of the demise of a great relationship that I had. I was so angry about feminism and the “left.” I was angry about women being women. I was angry about shit that I had no control over and shit that ultimately had little to no impact on my life. But that anger cost me a lot. In some ways, it cost me everything.

I have watched my Father watching TV. He doesn’t watch Fox, but he watches the local news, and he’s angry and parroting slogans that the TV talking heads have promoted. It has shocked me because the words that he is uttering aren’t part of his normal vocabulary. When I have questioned him about it, he doesn’t have an actual well thought out answer to give me. Only more jargon and slogans from the TV. My Father too, has been “brainwashed.”

But you and I are no different. Sure, we look down our noses and mock “mainstream media.” But you and I are both getting a steady diet of social media. You laugh, jest, mock, and sneer at the “left.” But that’s only because you have been gulping down a diet of “right wing” nonsense.

Are you angry? Are you incensed? Are you outraged? Welcome to the tactics of both the “left” and the “right.” Congratulations, you’ve been had. To quote the Last Psychiatrist, “If you’re reading or watching it, it’s for you.” You are the mark. You are the demographic. You are the target.

I remember 4 years ago, Rian Stone made a video about Gillette and Outrage. That video got me out of the outrage from feminism and the “left.” When I watched it, I literally had a moment where something inside my head just “popped.” Gillette wasn’t after me, I wasn’t the demographic. I felt a sense of relief when I realized that it wasn’t about me and ultimately there was nothing I could do about it. I found “peace.” I found quiet.

And that has carried on to this day, for the most part.

But over the last year I found myself getting annoyed and angry again. But now it’s not feminism and the “left.” It’s the “right.” Traditional Conservatives. It’s even guys that are “red pilled.” It’s Fox News, and conservatism, and it’s everywhere on social media, and most of the people I follow on social media are more “right leaning conservatives.” I see the checklists and the “listicles.” And when I watched “The Brainwashing Of My Dad,” another “bubble” popped:

Conservatives are just as fucked as liberals. You’re all poisoned. Both sides have drank all the Kool-Aid. I can’t abide that, it doesn’t work for me.

I made a tweet the other day:

“I’m seeing a lot of responding to outrage from you guys.

For supposedly being “red pilled” and “unplugged from the matrix,” and being your own “point of mental origin,” I’m seeing a lot of the opposite.

You’re outing yourselves.

I can’t stand it anymore.

And then there’s the classic comeback:

Amen, hallelujah. “It’s engagement, bro.”

So dance, monkey, dance.

Do it for the algorithm. Do it for the merchandise and to make a buck. Nothing wrong with that. Do it for the “likes” and the engagement. Do it for your own “personal brand of me.” But I’m unfollowing or muting you, because I don’t have the time, patience, or the energy to watch you do your nonsense. You’re manufacturing your own version of outrage, just like your “enemy” the “left.” Ultimately your actions and behaviors show me who you truly are, and honestly, I don’t know if I want you in my life. Sure, we can have a drink together, but I won’t be introducing you to my women or my Father any time soon.

What’s that line from Robocop?

“I’m cashing you out, Bob.”

Take your outrage, your left or right wing rhetoric, and your politics, and shove them up your ass.

Ah “Servant Leaders…” Those guys who tell you that in order to be a leader, you must “serve” first and foremost.

Go on, lad, bend the knee.

Everybody has a system or an idea that they want to pitch and sell to you. They want your time, your money, and in their own way, they want you to bend the knee to them.

All religions do this. The State does this. Anyone telling you otherwise is lying to you. Even I’m doing it to you right now as you read this. I’m wanting you to NOT bend the knee to me, but to only bend it for yourself, when it benefits you. Stay sharp, stay alert. Stay focused. Use your critical thinking skills. Realize that damn near everyone “out there” has an agenda.

These agendas may not be “negative” per se, but they are agendas nonetheless. The question is, does their agenda benefit you? If so, great. If not, why should you bend the knee to it? Again, what’s in it for you?

I got pitched an agenda a few days before New Year’s on Twitter. I was told that there was a solution to our modern problems. Would I support it?

I asked, “What’s in it for me?”

You want me to kiss a new ring, which is really the old ring. You want me to swear loyalty and fealty to your “new way” which in the end, is just the old way.

“We will get rid of divorce,” they said.

“Okay, what else?”

“You can’t have it both ways,” they said.

“I understand what you are saying, but what is in it for me?”

“We’ll get rid of the drag-queen show in schools,” they said.

“That is irrelevant to me, for I have no children of my own, and I don’t care about your children.” I said. “Again, what is in it for me? Here is a serious question for you, can I have multiple wives?”

“No. Monogamy is what we are offering.”

“Then you have nothing to offer me, for I already have multiple women in my life who understand that I am non-exclusive and non-monogamous. Why would I choose just one when I can have many?”

The new crown is the old crown, without even a new veneer. Religion has nothing new to offer me. No new answers, no actionable solutions, just more bend the knee. Thank you, but I’ll pass.

From my blog post New Years 2020

A guy brags about doing the laundry or doing the dishes. He’s a leader, just ask him.

A guy nuts in a woman and knocks her up, so he’s an “alpha male!” He’s got a legacy!

Dude, let me get this straight, you got a woman to spread her legs for you, you came inside her, and she got pregnant and gave birth to a child. Welcome to what humanity has been doing since the beginning of time. Congratulations, you are the baseline. Sit down.

A guy takes a photo of his newborn children and posts it on Twitter for all the world to see. That’s not a publicity stunt! He was “genuinely and authentically” showing you how happy he is now that he’s a Dad.

But like the proverbial question about trees falling in the forest, but if no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound? If you don’t post the birth of your children on the internet, did it really happen? And more importantly, are you even a “Real Dad?”

If you don’t proclaim your undying faith to a deity and advertise that fact in your bio, are you even a “Real Christian/Muslim, etc?”

These people are no better than the “pronoun people.”

What are these “Servant Leaders” offering you except more bending of the knee?

Like my quote above, from New Years 2020 no less, what’s in it for you?

Remember, you are not a “real man” unless… (Insert whatever he or she has as the list of requirements.) Or, only a “real man” would/does/has… (Insert that list of requirements again.)

Swap out “real man” for “masculine man,” “masculinity,” whatever, and it’s the same thing.

It’s more hoops for you to jump through. It’s more bullshit for you to achieve. It’s more nonsense that benefits someone else at your expense. It’s another way to keep a boot on your neck and nothing more. Keep that in mind.

Feminism isn’t the only “enemy,” guys. Traditional Conservatives want to put a boot on your neck and keep you on a leash just as bad as feminists, the only difference is the “TradCons” will pretend that they are your friends. They aren’t.

“Servant Leaders” are nothing more than men (usually) who are bending the knee and want you to bend the knee too. “Be like me! It worked for me!”

I’m personally choosing the “Path of the Adversary” on this one.

I bend the knee to no man, no woman, and no deity.

I only reluctantly bend the knee to the State, and that’s only because the State has the ability to exert force upon me. The State is the only entity that can kill or imprison me. Anything else is bullshit.

Remember this:

The “Right Wing” is no better than the “Left Wing.” Both “sides” are of the same coin. Both want to keep you in shackles. Both want to keep you on a leash and put a boot heel to the back of your neck. Neither “side” cares about you. All they care about is what you can do for them. Once your usefulness is over, you will be discarded. You’re cannon fodder to them and nothing more.

I can remember having an almost identical discussion with guys I knew when I was younger. “Which do you want/prefer? Beauty? Or Hotness? Ah those were the days. The days of asking questions that were fun, and it seemed like they were important back then. The debates over what defined “beauty” vs “hotness,” and why which one was better than the other.

I see that Thomas Crown is on a trophy hunt, at least on the internet.

Here’s my understanding of “Hotness:” She’s sexy, healthy, has a great body, and you would definitely bang. But…

You may or may not want to take her home to meet your parents, or your boss, co-workers, friends, or anyone else in your social circle. I have seen plenty of women who are in the “adult entertainment industry,” and make no mistake, they are “hot.” Maybe it’s the lights, filters, makeup, or the boob job, but they are “hot” nonetheless. I would definitely bang.

Now “beauty” is a little less specific. I do believe that all beautiful woman are hot, but not all hot women are beautiful. But in my particular case, it all comes down to “would.”

I “would bang” a hot woman. I “would bang” a beautiful woman. So the point here is kind of moot. We are talking about splitting hairs and counting the number of angels that could dance on the head of a pin.

I don’t think that my experiences with women have “jaded” me, and I don’t believe it’s my notch count. So maybe it’s my age. Somewhere after the age of 30 or so, I stopped thinking about “beauty vs hotness” and started thinking in terms of “would or would not.” Since both beautiful women and hot women fall under the category of “would,” who cares if they are beautiful or hot? I’m not here to collect trophies to show off to the world anymore. I’m here for the experiences and for my own personal amusement, entertainment, and pleasure.

If I “would,” then she is enough. I guess she is “hot and/or beautiful” to me. And that’s good enough for me. She might have qualities beyond her looks that warrant a visit to my friends and father to introduce her to them. She’s now a part of my life to one degree or another, might as well do the rounds and let her meet those closest to me. Then again, maybe all she has is her looks. Yes I “would,” but maybe I “wouldn’t” introduce her to the people that are closest to me.

Midlife summed it up beautifully.

I have less time ahead of me than I have behind me. My days of questioning and quibbling over the nuances of beauty and hotness are all but behind me. I personally think the question is just mental masturbation, and a way of signaling that you or whoever is asking the question is “trophy hunting.” And there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you want to find a woman that looks good on your arm (and who doesn’t?) to show off to your friends and family, then good for you. Just realize that is what you are trying to achieve. Let me ask you this though:

Why do you care what other people think about the woman or women that are with you? If you like her and are aroused by her, isn’t that what ultimately matters?

Like BullRush said a while back: “If she gets my dick hard, she’s a 10.”

While we can claim that beauty can be “objective,” I tend to think that it’s primarily subjective. Sure, we can all agree that one woman is better looking than another woman, and that she is someone that we all “would.” But from there, some guys are going to see her as something potentially “serious,” while another man is going to see her as “a night of fun, and nothing more.”

Instead of focusing on arbitrary and subjective standards such as the “HB Scale,” or “Beauty vs Hotness,” how about you decide is she someone you “would,” or is she someone you “would not?” And then act accordingly.

Maybe I’m just getting old. Or maybe it’s because I would rather have experiences and enjoy the company of women. I tend to focus on what brings me pleasure instead of worrying about the details of things that ultimately don’t matter.

So yes, my “scale” is ultimately two tier:

Would

Or

Would Not.

That’s it, that’s the scale.

I’ll leave the details to be fretted about, hashed over, and jerked off about to the guys who have the time and the concern for trivialities.