Abiogenisis - Chapter 1 Taking Cocaine On The Oregon Trail
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TheLebigski: Welcome @Moustachio’dPistachio
Moustachio’dPistachio: It is often said that the conflict between the West, and autocratic nations is one of individualism versus collectivism. I shall now argue that it is a matter of how collectivism is enforced. That is to say, a matter of passive versus active ‘groupthink’. The West practises passive ‘groupthink’, that is, voluntary collectivism, through the form of citizen collectives, such as volunteer organisations. This is particularly evident when the term “the West” is used, with its close association with democracy and freedom being a form of passive ‘groupthink’. Autocratic nations tend to enforce ‘groupthink’ as opposed to the passive promotion utilised by the West. This may include an increased usage of military parades, and other such demonstrations of national strength and unity.
ForbidFapForever: stfu nerd
Moustachio’dPistachio: no u
ForbidFapForever: no no u
Moustachio’dPistachio: no no no u
ForbidFapForever: no no no no u
ForbidFapForever: I win.
***
You step out of your small apartment, a relic from the bygone days of the Soviet-Sino friendship. Out into the drab stairwell, greeted with each passing floor by a block of a door, dull festive decorations lingering on a few. You walk out of the island of a courtyard, past the cracked footpath and onto the main street.
And there you are, greeted by a bleached city, greeted by an old black and white film of a city, forever stuck under that grey sky, forever trapped in the past.
The sun, as always, appears ashamed.
And so you walk down the streets, mindful of the city’s own tune, the honking of cars, the characteristic ka-pu! of spit being flung at the pavement.
And it all seems like a pastiche of past relics, hastily captured by an aging camera.
You’ve heard your parents tell you that Beijing is a wonderful city, a growing city, o how wonderfully it’s changing. You hear them ask “do you consider yourself to be from Beijing?”
And all you can do is be glad that you’re not caught in one of those duststorms you’ve heard so much about.
