Sign in with Facebook
2,257 books
—
2,433 voters
“The more I have studied disparities in multicultural societies, the more I have found the language of “overrepresentation” and “underrepresentation” to be fundamentally misleading. These words assume that there is something normal or “to be expected” about seeing different ethnic groups represented at precisely their share of the total population in every domain, statistic, and occupation, when in fact nothing is more normal than for different subcultures to specialize in particular sectors and occupations and experience very different group-wide statistics as a result. The vast majority of such disparities are not plausibly explained by bigotry, systemic racism, or unfairness but by demographic and cultural differences between the groups in question at a particular time.”
― The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America
― The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America
“The Cheery and the Damned
Why are drugs, prostitution, gambling and suicide illegal, when they clearly give so much relief to suffering people? I think it is because, at a societal level, we are deluded into thinking that happiness is possible, maybe even easy or likely, without these things. I have called this "cheery social policy.”
― Every Cradle is a Grave: Rethinking the Ethics of Birth and Suicide
Why are drugs, prostitution, gambling and suicide illegal, when they clearly give so much relief to suffering people? I think it is because, at a societal level, we are deluded into thinking that happiness is possible, maybe even easy or likely, without these things. I have called this "cheery social policy.”
― Every Cradle is a Grave: Rethinking the Ethics of Birth and Suicide
“I was ashamed of myself when I realised life was a costume party and I attended with my real face”
―
―
“If I could, I would choose every day another form, plant or animal, I would be all the flowers one by one: weed, thistle or rose; a tropical tree with a tangle of branches, seaweed cast by the shore, or mountain whipped by winds; bird of prey, a croaking bird, or a bird with a melodious song; beast of the forest or tame animal. Let me live the life of every species , wildly and un-self-consciously, let me try out the entire spectrum of nature, let me change gracefully, discreetly, as if it were the most natural procedure.”
― On the Heights of Despair
― On the Heights of Despair
“There's a reason that education sucks.
And it's the same reason
that it will never ever, ever be fixed.
It's never going to get any better,
don't look for it,
be happy with what you got.
Because the owners of this country don't want that.
I'm talking about the real owners now.
The real owners.
The big, wealthy business interests that control things
and make all the important decisions.
Forget the politicians.
The politicians are put there
to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice.
You don't.
You have no choice.
You have owners.
They own you.
They own everything.
They own all the important land.
They own and control the corporations.
They've long since bought and paid for the Senate,
the Congress, the state houses, and city halls.
They got the judges in their back pocket.
And they own all the big media companies
so they control just about
all of the news and information you get to hear.
They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying,
lobbying to get what they want.
Well, we know what they want.
They want more for themselves and less for everybody else.
But I'll tell you what they don't want.
They don't want a population
of citizens capable of critical thinking.
They don't want well-informed, well-educated people,
capable of critical thinking.
They're not interested in that.
That doesn't help them.
That's against their interest.
That's right.
They don't want people who are smart enough
to figure out how badly they're getting fucked
by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago.
They don't want that.
You know what they want?
They want obedient workers.
Obedient workers.
People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork
and just dumb enough, to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs,
with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits,
the end of overtime, and the vanishing pension
that disappears the minute you go to collect it.
And now, they're coming for your Social Security money.
They want your fucking retirement money.
They want it back,
so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street.
And you know something, they'll get it.
They'll get it all from you, sooner or later,
because they own this fucking place.
It's a big club, and you ain't in it.
You and I are not in the big club.”
― Life Is Worth Losing
And it's the same reason
that it will never ever, ever be fixed.
It's never going to get any better,
don't look for it,
be happy with what you got.
Because the owners of this country don't want that.
I'm talking about the real owners now.
The real owners.
The big, wealthy business interests that control things
and make all the important decisions.
Forget the politicians.
The politicians are put there
to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice.
You don't.
You have no choice.
You have owners.
They own you.
They own everything.
They own all the important land.
They own and control the corporations.
They've long since bought and paid for the Senate,
the Congress, the state houses, and city halls.
They got the judges in their back pocket.
And they own all the big media companies
so they control just about
all of the news and information you get to hear.
They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying,
lobbying to get what they want.
Well, we know what they want.
They want more for themselves and less for everybody else.
But I'll tell you what they don't want.
They don't want a population
of citizens capable of critical thinking.
They don't want well-informed, well-educated people,
capable of critical thinking.
They're not interested in that.
That doesn't help them.
That's against their interest.
That's right.
They don't want people who are smart enough
to figure out how badly they're getting fucked
by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago.
They don't want that.
You know what they want?
They want obedient workers.
Obedient workers.
People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork
and just dumb enough, to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs,
with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits,
the end of overtime, and the vanishing pension
that disappears the minute you go to collect it.
And now, they're coming for your Social Security money.
They want your fucking retirement money.
They want it back,
so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street.
And you know something, they'll get it.
They'll get it all from you, sooner or later,
because they own this fucking place.
It's a big club, and you ain't in it.
You and I are not in the big club.”
― Life Is Worth Losing
BACK<<<to the CLASSICS
— 290 members
— last activity 4 hours, 37 min ago
With a classic book, you don't need a flux capacitor you don't have to hit 88 mph and you don't even need a DeLorean to go back in time. So why not ...more
Existentialism
— 926 members
— last activity Jan 03, 2021 11:51AM
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that claims that individual human beings have full responsibility for creating the meanings of their own li ...more
Non-Stupid People
— 3 members
— last activity Jan 19, 2016 01:16PM
Most people are stupid. This is a group for those who are not.
Innovative Horror
— 314 members
— last activity Oct 18, 2023 01:37AM
E.T.A. Hoffman, H.P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson and (arguably) Clive Barker all moved horror fiction forward in their time. Who's doing so today? I t ...more
The Fyodor Dostoyevsky Group
— 646 members
— last activity Aug 20, 2024 03:59PM
We are dedicated to discussing books by one of the greatest Russian writers ever. But 2014 will be focused on conducting a joint reading of 'The Broth ...more
J’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at J’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
5,629 books
|
1,187 friends
1,220 books
|
291 friends
3,213 books
|
56 friends
1,153 books
|
1,336 friends
1,359 books
|
760 friends
1,139 books
|
177 friends
2,695 books
|
136 friends
4,625 books
|
2,931 friends
More friends…
Polls voted on by J
Lists liked by J
