On Writing, Out of Code Wiring, and Bad Behavior

Started by The Good Reverend Roger, May 15, 2014, 04:01:38 PM

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The Good Reverend Roger

I'm really exhausted and may be babbling.  I'm okay with that.

A long time ago, some really unpleasant shit happened around me.  Most of you already know about it, so I don't feel the need to go into it now.  But after it happened, I got some counseling.  As an unintended side-effect of the horrible shit and the counseling, I discovered my QUIET place.  It's a glass hallway, from which I can clinically look at all manner of carnage (Desert Storm, Tucson Moments, etc) without sicking up or going bugshit.  Needless to say, I didn't see the need to tell the military shrinks about the QUIET place, because it worked just fine and they'd just try to find a way to fuck with it, because it ain't exactly factory issue, and military shrinks are pathologically incapable of leaving well enough alone.

I've been in and out of that QUIET place for 27 years or so now, and it's where I go when I write.  On one side of the glass hallway is the regular world we all have to put with, with all it's callousness and mundane, tedious, small e evil.  On the other side is whatever I'm writing about.  Usually other versions of our world, where the evil at least has the decency to be capital E Evil.  Widescreen evil, not the horrible dribble of cold pus we get treated to in THIS world, by bankers and political fixers and preachers and thieves.

Because I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to live in a world where evil was Evil, 2-dimensional perhaps, but quantifiable and identifiable.  Not fuzzy at all.  Dr Fu Manchu, Dr No, Dark Empress Nigel and her self-directing flensing dress.  That sort of thing.  Battle-suited pyschopaths are, to my mind, utterly superior to poison gas in the trenches and the "showers".  Mr Remorse and Mr Regret are preferable to a black bag on your head and a C130 flight to Egypt for some blowtorch & pliers business. 

But why is that?  I think it's because it's some muhaha Jeremy Irons bad guy doing the Evil, instead of our elected governments doing the evil.  The G-Men.  The people that were supposed to be the good guys.  Us.  And while we do it, we mumble shit about "terrorists" that nobody believes anymore.  Not even the far right.

And it occurs to me, here in my clean and QUIET glass hallway, that maybe all that is needed to tie off the bleeding stump of the 20th century is to get people to examine the fact that they don't believe in any of that shit anymore.  That our bad behavior is just a habit.  A reflex.  To remember that it is not only possible to be a good guy without wanton killing and torture, but that it is a REQUIREMENT that we do not do these things.  An evil person is a person who does evil things; An evil nation is a nation that does evil things.  The reasons why evil things are done is immaterial...The ends never justify the means.

More on this later, but now it's time for you to get out of my nice glass hallway, and go back into the muck outside.  It's time for me to dance, and I kinda prefer to do it alone. 

Or Kill Me.



" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

LMNO

An Evil that is singular, a thing, no matter how monstrous, has nads you can squarely kick.

An evil that has no center and no boundaries has no nads.

The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on May 15, 2014, 04:17:51 PM
An Evil that is singular, a thing, no matter how monstrous, has nads you can squarely kick.

An evil that has no center and no boundaries has no nads.

That's basically the gist of it.

Also, you get what you put up with.  This can make you yourself evil, even if you don't actively do bad things.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

LMNO

This worries me, when I consider I am an American citizen living in 2014.

Q. G. Pennyworth

Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on May 15, 2014, 04:17:51 PM
An Evil that is singular, a thing, no matter how monstrous, has nads you can squarely kick.

An evil that has no center and no boundaries has no nads.

Permission to steal this out of context?


Roger, as always OP is A++ grade TROOF. One of the things that rattles around my brainmeats a lot is the difference between "identifying as a good guy" and "doing good."

LMNO


Mesozoic Mister Nigel

You know, I think the OP is something that is worth saying, and if necessary, worth saying over and over and over again. Because I  think that it's RIGHT, especially that second-to-last paragraph.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 04:37:46 PM
You know, I think the OP is something that is worth saying, and if necessary, worth saying over and over and over again. Because I  think that it's RIGHT, especially that second-to-last paragraph.

Many evil people don't know they're evil because they lie to themselves.  But MOST evil people don't know they're evil because they've forgotten that there are any alternatives.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 04:47:25 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 04:37:46 PM
You know, I think the OP is something that is worth saying, and if necessary, worth saying over and over and over again. Because I  think that it's RIGHT, especially that second-to-last paragraph.

Many evil people don't know they're evil because they lie to themselves.  But MOST evil people don't know they're evil because they've forgotten that there are any alternatives.

This is an interesting topic, because having taken an enjoyable detour from my grim reading list and reading a couple of amusing books about biology, after I finish up the one about epigenetics I just started I'm about to go ahead and delve into a deeper examination of Zimbardo's research, and after that I'm reading Waller's "Becoming Evil", which comes highly recommended.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 05:22:21 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 04:47:25 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 04:37:46 PM
You know, I think the OP is something that is worth saying, and if necessary, worth saying over and over and over again. Because I  think that it's RIGHT, especially that second-to-last paragraph.

Many evil people don't know they're evil because they lie to themselves.  But MOST evil people don't know they're evil because they've forgotten that there are any alternatives.

This is an interesting topic, because having taken an enjoyable detour from my grim reading list and reading a couple of amusing books about biology, after I finish up the one about epigenetics I just started I'm about to go ahead and delve into a deeper examination of Zimbardo's research, and after that I'm reading Waller's "Becoming Evil", which comes highly recommended.

Is that layman-friendly?  Because I'm downloading it if it is.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 08:58:11 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 05:22:21 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 04:47:25 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 04:37:46 PM
You know, I think the OP is something that is worth saying, and if necessary, worth saying over and over and over again. Because I  think that it's RIGHT, especially that second-to-last paragraph.

Many evil people don't know they're evil because they lie to themselves.  But MOST evil people don't know they're evil because they've forgotten that there are any alternatives.

This is an interesting topic, because having taken an enjoyable detour from my grim reading list and reading a couple of amusing books about biology, after I finish up the one about epigenetics I just started I'm about to go ahead and delve into a deeper examination of Zimbardo's research, and after that I'm reading Waller's "Becoming Evil", which comes highly recommended.

Is that layman-friendly?  Because I'm downloading it if it is.

Yes, I'd say that it is, from what I've thumbed through so far. Zimbardo's book is called "The Lucifer Effect" and it's an in-depth exploration of his Stanford Prison Experiment, related to other case studies.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 09:34:30 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 08:58:11 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 05:22:21 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 04:47:25 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 04:37:46 PM
You know, I think the OP is something that is worth saying, and if necessary, worth saying over and over and over again. Because I  think that it's RIGHT, especially that second-to-last paragraph.

Many evil people don't know they're evil because they lie to themselves.  But MOST evil people don't know they're evil because they've forgotten that there are any alternatives.

This is an interesting topic, because having taken an enjoyable detour from my grim reading list and reading a couple of amusing books about biology, after I finish up the one about epigenetics I just started I'm about to go ahead and delve into a deeper examination of Zimbardo's research, and after that I'm reading Waller's "Becoming Evil", which comes highly recommended.

Is that layman-friendly?  Because I'm downloading it if it is.

Yes, I'd say that it is, from what I've thumbed through so far. Zimbardo's book is called "The Lucifer Effect" and it's an in-depth exploration of his Stanford Prison Experiment, related to other case studies.

That sounds great.  The downside of a Nook is that I have now read every book I've been trying to find for decades (at $0.99/per, still racking up a bill), and this sounds like it's worth reading.

" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 09:38:19 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 09:34:30 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 08:58:11 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 05:22:21 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 15, 2014, 04:47:25 PM
Quote from: All-Father Nigel on May 15, 2014, 04:37:46 PM
You know, I think the OP is something that is worth saying, and if necessary, worth saying over and over and over again. Because I  think that it's RIGHT, especially that second-to-last paragraph.

Many evil people don't know they're evil because they lie to themselves.  But MOST evil people don't know they're evil because they've forgotten that there are any alternatives.

This is an interesting topic, because having taken an enjoyable detour from my grim reading list and reading a couple of amusing books about biology, after I finish up the one about epigenetics I just started I'm about to go ahead and delve into a deeper examination of Zimbardo's research, and after that I'm reading Waller's "Becoming Evil", which comes highly recommended.

Is that layman-friendly?  Because I'm downloading it if it is.

Yes, I'd say that it is, from what I've thumbed through so far. Zimbardo's book is called "The Lucifer Effect" and it's an in-depth exploration of his Stanford Prison Experiment, related to other case studies.

That sounds great.  The downside of a Nook is that I have now read every book I've been trying to find for decades (at $0.99/per, still racking up a bill), and this sounds like it's worth reading.

Oh, absolutely! I just ordered Stanley Milgram's book as well, it's called "Obedience to Authority" and it's a particularly important piece of the puzzle. When I get through a few more of my pile of books I plan to order this one: http://www.amazon.com/The-Individual-Social-World-Experiments/dp/1905177127/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F3ANYNEGFFP49NY4CZ8
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


MMIX

You could also try "Eichmann in Jerusalem" by Hannah Arendt (1963).
"The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make and could just as easily make differently" David Graeber

LMNO