Zuckerberg's Neck (No, really)

The Democrats botched, yet again, another opportunity with all their stupid "weird" shit some months back. JD Vance is weird because he doesn't know how to order donuts. Who cares? How about, JD Vance is creepy because he made no objections to the guy characterizing his wife and kids as shit-eating, goblin-worshippers?

Weird is not intrinsically bad; creepy is. Being unusually thin is kinda weird--as is being unusually fat or tall or short. I've known a couple of people who were like 6'7" or 6'8". They had to stoop a little to pass through doorways. It was weird. Whatever. Creepy is something else entirely--like obsessing over your "masculinity" or talking about "ancient regimes" and thinking you're a part of them.

These guys are all creepy and they are people you would not trust around kids. That is significant. All these people who are all, "I don't like the guy personally and he's done some heinously awful shit in the past, but his (nonexistent and incoherent and insane) ideas are...", are either delusional or disingenuous. This ain't no Operation Paperclip, and we're not pretending to "rehabilitate" these monsters; rather, we're unleashing them.
 
parmalee said:
The Democrats botched, yet again, another opportunity with all their stupid "weird" shit some months back. JD Vance is weird because he doesn't know how to order donuts. Who cares? How about, JD Vance is creepy because he made no objections to the guy characterizing his wife and kids as shit-eating, goblin-worshippers?

Weird is not intrinsically bad; creepy is. Being unusually thin is kinda weird--as is being unusually fat or tall or short. I've known a couple of people who were like 6'7" or 6'8". They had to stoop a little to pass through doorways. It was weird. Whatever. Creepy is something else entirely--like obsessing over your "masculinity" or talking about "ancient regimes" and thinking you're a part of them.

These guys are all creepy and they are people you would not trust around kids. That is significant. All these people who are all, "I don't like the guy personally and he's done some heinously awful shit in the past, but his (nonexistent and incoherent and insane) ideas are...", are either delusional or disingenuous. This ain't no Operation Paperclip, and we're not pretending to "rehabilitate" these monsters; rather, we're unleashing them.
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Yes, I don’t think “weird” vs. “creepy” is worth spending much time on.

The real point of Rusbridger’s piece, I think, was to expose Zuckerberg’s (inept and thus amusing) attempt to reverse his previous caring and moderate image and reinvent himself and his business as aggressively “masculine” (in a ridiculously outdated way), in order to curry favour with the new president and his entourage. And also to have some fun at his expense for taking himself so seriously, while doing it.
 
exchemist said:
Yes, I don’t think “weird” vs. “creepy” is worth spending much time on.

The real point of Rusbridger’s piece, I think, was to expose Zuckerberg’s (inept and thus amusing) attempt to reverse his previous caring and moderate image and reinvent himself and his business as aggressively “masculine” (in a ridiculously outdated way), in order to curry favour with the new president and his entourage. And also to have some fun at his expense for taking himself so seriously, while doing it.
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I still think it somewhat important though in that there are certain attributes and personality traits that we cannot ignore. And they do very much have bearing upon how they will, or are likely to, act in whatever professional capacity. No matter how competent or brilliant a person is, in whatever arena, if they strike you as someone you would not trust around kids that should be a huge red flag.
 
Tangentially, I've been thinking a lot about Operation Paperclip lately, but also about post War Germany and it's administration of, basically, a lot of former Nazis. If anyone happens to know any particularly good books on either subject, recommendations are appreciated. There is something about knowingly putting monsters in charge...

At the other end of it, the Rote Armee Fraktion had some compelling arguments and grievances--and I've always been an admirer of Ulrike Meinhof, and this has long fascinated me:
In late 2002, following investigations by her daughter Bettina, it was discovered that Meinhof's brain had been retained (apparently without permission) following the autopsy performed as part of the investigation into her death. The original autopsy had found brain injury near the amygdala, resulting from successful surgery in 1962 to remove a (benign) cyst. The unpublished autopsy results at the time stated that the brain injuries "justified questions as to the culpability" of Meinhof. Bernhard Bogerts, a psychiatrist at Magdeburg University, later re-examined the brain and also doubted that Meinhof was fully criminally responsible.[48][49] On Bettina's request, the brain was interred in Meinhof's burial place on 19 December 2002.[50][51]
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en.wikipedia.org

Ulrike Meinhof - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
(Emphasis added.)

I'm not gonna pretend that there haven't been dozens, maybe hundreds, of discussions over the years as to whether or not I could get away with murder, owing to a very similar brain injury. I've fantasized about representing myself at my own murder trial and making this "argument":

"Well, sure, I did it--I killed the guy. Buuut..."

And then I'd present the Meinhof material to establish precedent.
 
parmalee said:
... if they strike you as someone you would not trust around kids that should be a huge red flag.
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The problem with this, of course, is the implied corollary: that someone that strikes you as OK to be around kids is a green flag. Feeding in the myth that attractive people are more trustworthy.
 
DaveC426913 said:
The problem with this, of course, is the implied corollary: that someone that strikes you as OK to be around kids is a green flag. Feeding in the myth that attractive people are more trustworthy.
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I wasn't going by appearance though, I was thinking more based upon their words and actions. Take Trump, for instance: there is, of course, the Jeffrey Epstein stuff, but there's also things Mary Trump, his niece, has said about interactions with him when she was a kid. And, sadly, a whole lot more. But this goes for most (all?) of these guys. Obviously, I'm not saying they're necessarily gonna molest kids (Trump and Gaetzs excepted), but they're likely to put unsavory ideas into their heads, make them extremely uncomfortable with their words and actions, etc.
 
Sarkus said:
FWIW - 6'0" with collar of 17.5"
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We've always suspected that you've been using neck iron. I'm 6'1", neck size 15.5". I assume that is the perfect size so you must be a little fat? Have you considered neck reduction surgery?
 
parmalee said:
I wasn't going by appearance though, I was thinking more based upon their words and actions. Take Trump, for instance: there is, of course, the Jeffrey Epstein stuff, but there's also things Mary Trump, his niece, has said about interactions with him when she was a kid. And, sadly, a whole lot more. But this goes for most (all?) of these guys. Obviously, I'm not saying they're necessarily gonna molest kids (Trump and Gaetzs excepted), but they're likely to put unsavory ideas into their heads, make them extremely uncomfortable with their words and actions, etc.
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Are kids extremely comfortable with your words and actions?
 
Seattle said:
We've always suspected that you've been using neck iron. I'm 6'1", neck size 15.5". I assume that is the perfect size so you must be a little fat? Have you considered neck reduction surgery?have a large cranium, to keep all that intellect in, which requires a larger neck to take the weight. ;)
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It's the weight of my intellect, I'm afraid. My massive brain needs a larger neck to take the strain. At least that's what I think they mean when they tell me I'm a big-head! ;)
 
Sarkus said:
It's the weight of my intellect, I'm afraid. My massive brain needs a larger neck to take the strain. At least that's what I think they mean when they tell me I'm a big-head! ;)
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My brain is large. They tell me it is probably one of the largest but it's extremely well balanced, so 15.5 is perfect, so they tell me.
 
Sarkus said:
It's the weight of my intellect, I'm afraid. My massive brain needs a larger neck to take the strain. At least that's what I think they mean when they tell me I'm a big-head! ;)
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The actor Dave Bautista, who kind of resembles The Thing from Fantastic Four, is quite plainly a genius.
 
Has anyone looked up those neck iron things? I thought it would be weighted, but you attach it with a leash:

51zZa5UkQsL._AC_UF350,350_QL80_.jpg


Silly. I've recently contemplated buying or making a battle rope. They look fun and I like that they're called battle ropes.
 
parmalee said:
Has anyone looked up those neck iron things? I thought it would be weighted, but you attach it with a leash:

51zZa5UkQsL._AC_UF350,350_QL80_.jpg


Silly. I've recently contemplated buying or making a battle rope. They look fun and I like that they're called battle ropes.
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Maybe get that neck size down to 12"?
 
Seattle said:
No, I wouldn't trust you with kids. So you like to hang around kids do you?
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Ha ha. So you can insinuate that I'm a pedo--can you back that up with anything?

I can claim you're a racist and a misogynist and borderline illiterate, and I can back up all of those claims with dozens and dozens of posts by you. Is that the route you wish to go?

Maybe you could re-tell that story about how Black kids were mean to you in high school, 'cuz all that integration bullshit, and that's why you're a racist?
 
parmalee said:
Ha ha. So you can insinuate that I'm a pedo--can you back that up with anything?

I can claim you're a racist and a misogynist and borderline illiterate, and I can back up all of those claims with dozens and dozens of posts by you. Is that the route you wish to go?

Maybe you could re-tell that story about how Black kids were mean to you in high school, 'cuz all that integration bullshit, and that's why you're a racist?
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You can't back up anything. Your interpretation means nothing. I didn't mention pedo, it's interesting that you did. That seems to be the way it works though. Maybe you were a camp councilor or a Boy Scout leader? It is a little creepy but I'm not judging.

Borderline illiterate. Back that up. Misogynist, back that up. Racist, back that up.

I get that you don't fit in with society in general and that you do fit in, to an extent here. Good for you, really.

I'm sure kids were cruel calling you pencil neck back in the day and that's got to leave a mark. That's why I give you a lot of slack.
 
parmalee said:
And, yeah, besides being awful in pretty much every respect, these people are seriously creepy.
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In the moment, I can't help recalling that one of the actual, self-identified tescrealists is an advisor to Mark Zuckerberg.

I mean, don't get me wrong, Andreessen is influential in his own way, but still.

(Coincidentally, one of the more nuanced considerations of the larger circumstance is Spiers' reflection↱ on the Slate Star debacle. While the whole thing might be a bit complex↗ for some, sure, we can tell ourselves it probably really is merely coincidence that the example of rationalist shortfall had to do with misogyny. Nonetheless, it's not any great leap from the masculinity of neck size to the masculinity of tech sector apologism.)​
____________________

Notes:

Spiers, Elizabeth. "Slate Star Clusterfuck". My New Band Is. 14 February 2021. MyNewBandIs.Substack.com. 19 January 2025. https://bit.ly/3dB68My
 
Seattle said:
Borderline illiterate. Back that up. Misogynist, back that up. Racist, back that up.
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Nope. I've already provided this information to you--more than once. Do you seriously not recall?

If anyone else requests clarification on my claims, I'll provide links.

Also:
Seattle said:
No, I wouldn't trust you with kids.
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That's clearly not what was intended by "you?" I was re-directing your own question back at you: "Are kids extremely comfortable with your words and actions?" Is there a reason you chose to evade this?
 
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