I fucking love Bear
There's something about blog posts & how commentary and arguments play out on Bear that just ... that I just love.
Some time ago, there was a post about how Bear moves at a slow pace - somebody posted a thing 4 weeks prior and there's still a slow & steady conversation going about it.
I like that part, but ... I don't know. Bear just feels special.
This exchange (paraphrased) triggered this post:
X: You're only mad because "they" want you to be and you have no agency
Fractious Thoat: Actually here's why mad
X: You just proved my point
OKAY, MAYBE part of why I love Bear is the community here. I hope X stays around and keeps blogging. Keep pushing out bad commentary. You do you.
But I just love the writers here, especially the ones with good takes (i.e. takes I agree with), like Thoat's.
And hell, even though I dislike X's conclusion, I DO really like their 3 questions in their original post.
- What is the headline trying to tell me to feel?
- why does it want me feeling this way?
- what do I think about this before others even mention it to me? Not the collective narrative, what do I MYSELF, WHAT does MY OWN BRAIN think?
I would, however, propose a 4th question for X: What would it take to convince me to take a principled stand, however messy it may be?
And sometimes, I do believe, we must lean on our people. We are individuals and also we are pieces of a collective. We are neither and we are both. We are both infinitely connected and infinitely alone.
I also want to call attention to this post about ICE murdering a woman:
careful you don't split your ass sitting on the fence like that | Absurd Pirate's Internet Blog
(sidenote: I am a teeny weeny lil bit jealous their post blew up when my ice murder posts got less (but still plenty) attention. I'M STILL A PETTY HUMAN, OKAY? I do love their post though.)
It must be nice being so damn obtuse to the situation at hand that you can sit in a nice place of privilege and arrogantly try and claim both sides as just as bad.
And then let's recall X's post, and an Aristotle Quote they shared:
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
It is actually quite uncomfy to temporarily role-play as somebody who you disagree with, but it is a good exercise.
But I propose that, after entertaining some thoughts, you actually make up your mind.
Lastly, I'll mention Minnesota Meltdown | Classidential, which is a bad take that sits squarely on the fence.
BUT THEN, I find this post: Is Having Pets Evil? | Classidential
And oh man, I LOVE this. It's nice and interesting seeing a person's breadth and hating on their opinion in one moment, then nodding along with them in the next.
(also, I see your reply to my reply Re: Re: Minnesota Meltdown, which I'm excited to read. For now, I have therapy to go to though!)
And while we're here, especially if you're in the U.S., you should WATCH THE VIDEO of the ICE murder.
And these ones are a little off-topic, but man sometimes people do just be writing great, thoughful content. I love both these posts:
Why Imperialism is Inevitable | Rishiraj's blog
How do I eat Meat being a Brahmin | Rishiraj's blog - This post is excellent and insightful. They do have commentary on the inherent violence in existence, and I love their commentary there. However, they do not address animal subjugation, which I'm far more concerned by than I am the killing of animals.
P.S. X made a later post on cooking that I absolutely adore, regardless of their other posts mentioned above.