Yes she was younger than me and what she described was so different than my childhood and my relatives.
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Yes she was younger than me and what she described was so different than my childhood and my relatives.
I'm reading Chris Hedges' America: The Farewell Tour.
I've always been interested in him. This is the first book of his I've read. Interesting guy. Obviously, from the title you can infer that this is not a book that promises a rosy picture of the future, and he blames capitalism for most of the ills of our, in his words, hedonistic, narcissistic society--from igniting foolish wars, to exploiting the poor, to advancing consequences of climate change, to buying politicians, to warehousing and exploiting prisoners, to setting the stage for mass malaise leading to addiction.
A searing indictment of capitalism published by Simon and Schuster and available through Amazon.Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
Fighting fire with fire as it were.Quote:
Originally Posted by LDAHL
Come the Revolution, everybody will self-publish.Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
Everyone will publish. Will anyone read?Quote:
Originally Posted by LDAHL
On a serious note, I'm also compelled to buy another book that looks fantastic: The Hound of Distributism. I've talked about Distributism before as an alternative to good old conservative vs liberal politics. I'm feeling disenchanted by liberal politics these days, and I certainly don't see myself as a conservative, so I'm back to dreaming about the politics of a distributist model.Quote:
Originally Posted by LDAHL
A really nice, concise definition of distributism is on the book jacket:
The essence of distributism is self-government, self-control, and self-sufficiency. The foundation of distributism is ownership. The heart of distributism is the family. The state and the marketplace must serve the family--not the other way around.
LDAHL, because this model was born out of Catholic social teaching, I'd think you'd be kind of into it.
Only those with proper state authorization.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
Most librarians will be in re-education camps as a measure against deviationist tendencies.
Conservatives' fantasies of what Democratic Socialism actually is are a laugh riot.
Keep your eye on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez--she's not letting grass grow under her feet.
To stay on point, I'm still enjoying The Soul of an Octopus.
Absolutely. It's either a laugh riot or scary, because it highlights the huge barriers to actually being able to pass laws that will improve the quality of life for everyone. I saw a show about the British monarchy last night and they said that during WWI, Edward VII changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor in order to distance the monarchy from Germany. The Democratic Socialists need to similarly re-brand themselves.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
I remember discussing distributism and subsidiarity in a high school theology class many years ago. The concept has much to recommend it in principle, but I see some practical difficulties with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
There are some things we need that require large pools of capital to produce. Things Iike attack submarines or Marvel Comics movies. Also, not everyone is capable of succeeding in small family businesses or cooperatives. What happens when they run through their capital? It would seem we’d need a vast state apparatus for keeping the failures above a certain level and the successes below a certain level.
It’s early days yet, but based on her statements to date she could well become the Joe Biden of her generation.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
Yeah--politicians with heart--what a concept!Quote:
Originally Posted by LDAHL
Sometimes when one faculty is underdeveloped others expand in compensation.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
Or it could be a crazy-like-a-fox strategy taken from Trump: say any crazy, untrue thing you like. When you get called crazy and misinformed, your base rallies to your defense.
As usual, we're seeing things through our own polarized lenses.Quote:
Originally Posted by LDAHL
She seems very bright and focused to me. Much more so than I was at that age. I have a lot of faith in the generation coming up; I hope they don't get distracted by toxic, pervasive greed, and I don't think they will.
Small Fry
His Bloody Project
The Other Woman
Reporter
And four lesser lights I will only post about if they grow on me.
Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. A very illustrative telling of a huge culture in our country. It was very enlightening.
Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Science fiction about a settlement on the moon (and Earth politics) set 50 years from now. I'm about 1/2 way through and thoroughly enjoying it.
I finally have something to contribute here!
I'm reading Less by Andrew Sean Greer and I'm really enjoying it. Funny thing is that I only bought it to meet the Amazon free shipping limit when I was buying two other books. It was cheap and won a Pulitzer, so what the heck. I've ended up liking it way more than the other two books I bought.
The Book of Unknown Americans
Geila, I really enjoyed Less too.
Really enjoyed The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Also, been reading a number of books on Gaslighting. The best so far is Gaslighting by Sarkis, Stephanie. It is something everyone should read IMO. It is shocking behavior. A person does not even know it is going on. Turns out my MIL was also a covert narcissist too. After being told about this, I see this behavior in a few other people I know.
These Truths, a sprawling history of the United States.
Still working my way through Empire of the Summer Moon - wow...what short, brutal lives our pioneer ancestors lived.
Also reading Heartland which explains some of the reasons we see so many broken people nowadays.
One of my pioneer ancestors died during the journey--of cholera, I think--and was buried near the Barlow Trail. At least she made it to Oregon...
I'm reading Into the Gray Zone, by Adrian Owen, an exploration of the space between life and death where comatose people dwell.
Confessions of a sociopath - 4 stars
Staring into the Sun - 5 stars
Yeah, thanks to whoever recommended Confessions of a Sociopath. I read it. This author’s brutal honesty is what makes this book unique. I don’t think there are any other writings by self identified sociopaths out there. The web forum she runs for sociopaths would be interesting reading if one wants more of this sort of thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tammy
It was interesting how she outlined her lack of fear and anxiety. She relates many stories of her life where she doesn’t have normal cautionary approach to activities. For instance, she lived in very cheap housing in very bad neighborhoods because she has no fear, and as a result she was able to get cheap accommodation. She drives quickly and forcefully taking risks often. She said she finally put away sharp kitchen knives because she cut herself too often, she simply was not careful.
In my 64 years of life, I cannot think of when I’ve been “gaslighted.” I don’t think I am clueless, and neither am I so sophisticated that these manipulators dont try me as a victim. I just have not had it happen, I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by frugal-one
I do know people who are liars, people who do not present the truth in all kinds of ways, and after figuring that out I stay away from them so maybe that’s my protection against “gaslighters. “
Different personalities can gaslight. I read about a situation that I had with my MIL years ago. I never liked her and now I know why. She was a covert narcissist that had gaslighting tendencies. An example... she kept asking us when we were going to have children? I finally had to tell her we weren't going to have any so she would leave me alone. THEN when we told her we were going to have a child she says to me "Don't ask me to babysit, I already raised my child!" WTFQuote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
I can see how you don't get gaslighting--You are probably ultra-certain of your own reality and not easily swayed. (At least that's how I see you). If your DH were gas lighting he would repeatedly tell you you that your irises and lilies could never compete with other people's. Maybe he'd be the kind of person jealous of your talent, so he would try to manipulate you into believing that you are a failure at raising irises and lilies so that you would be around to give him more attention. That's an example of gas lighting.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
Gaslighting isn't just lying, or just manipulating--it's coercion by getting people to doubt their own reality. Narcissists and charismatic personalities are very talented at achieving this.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, an audible book.
Also, something about miracles* by Elizabeth Berg. I vaguely remember not liking Berg or the book I read by her, so not sure why I was in queue for this. Maybe my evil twin put this on hold. :devil:
*Night of Miracles
ETA: I had Berg confused with Elizabeth Gilbert. Sorry, Liz. Carry on.
Yes, probably. People with healthy views of themselve, good self worth ideas, do not often succumb to the gaslighters I think. Still those of us who wish to live an honest life need to occasionally “check in” with oother members of society to check our worldview as factual, so if we have only gaslighters as contacts, I guess they would screw up our checkin process.Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
If someone outside of the fancy tried to tell me that my iris and lilies wouldnt compete with those grown by other people I would think ”what the F do you know, buddy, you dont grow or show these things, your opinion has 0 validity.” Just like the opinions of my parents on the opposite side of the spectrum, they used to annoy me for being overly positive. My parents genuinely thought my work in several artistic areas was splendid! Yeah ok mom, thanks, but I know better.
One of my cousins wrote a book about her abusive marriage and gaslighting was a large part of her relationship with that dickhead. But from the very beginnng it was a dance that she embraced. I suspect that had she had been in our circle of influence here in the Midwest rather than out thereon the East Coast, she would have had more reality checks to keep her from embracing the views of the controller/gaslighter.
I am thoroughly enjoying The Maisie Dobbs Series by Jacqueline Winspear. She's a psychologist and investigator in London. She was a nurse in France in 1915, the stories are in the 20s and 30s in London. They have some predictability, but the stories move quickly and immerse me in an unexplored area for me. I'm glad I discovered her so late so I can immerse myself in the 5 books of the series so far.
What is the ultimate goal of the gaslighter? To pump up hisown ego? To tamp down the enthsiasm for life of his victim? To manipulate the victim into taking actions he wants?
There are a few different motivations:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/b...e-what-they-do
I loved the Masie Dobbs series as well. I requested that the local library purchase "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling. They did! I now have it to read. I really enjoyed his TED talks so looking forward to the book and the discussion with some friends.
Really good YouTube by Inner Integration tells about narcissism and gaslighting.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
I’m not sure how I’d not read this book before. A recent trip to the local Salvation Army yielded me two interesting finds:
A Teac AG V3050 surround sound receiver for $7.99 and Rand Paul’s “Taking A Stand” circa 2015 for $2.70.
Maybe some people are still of the notion I am a Trump supporter. Depends on what he is doing at the time. With respect to Rand Paul, I pretty much support him ...period. I’m for a smaller Federal government, a fourth amendment that isn’t trampled by the executive office and fiscal responsibility. The subtitle to Paul’s book is ironically and quite appropriately “ Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America.”
The Other Wes Moore about two Baltimoreans with the same name who take different paths in life. It is nonfiction.
I am currently reading The Witch Elm by Tana French. I still have a ways to go and will comment again when I'm done, but it does remind me a little bit of The Goldfinch, so IL, you may wish to check it out. It certainly isn't just like it of course, but I do see some similarities. I do tend to like Tana French.