Came here to say something from that article:
“ It was relatively easy for her to associate left with evil in many European countries, where it already has had an association with evil and bad luck since the Classical Latin era”
The Bible verse referenced here almost certainly would have used the word sinister with this double meaning in Latin.
Completely anecdotal observations, my $.02:
I go to a lot of local restaurants and breweries, generally everyone seems increasingly squeezed, & noticeably less willing to take risks than even a couple of years ago. I’m noticing unusual partnerships between businesses forming with the obvious goal of sharing risks, huge expansion plans for some that haven’t quite panned out or been put on hold, breweries cutting marketing people to make the operation leaner, etc. And I can’t help but notice when a nice new restaurant opens, it’s almost inevitably met with a chorus of “it’s good, but too expensive”.
One of my favorite Muse songs always has been Ruled by Secrecy, which is about the cabal:
Repress and restrain
Still the pressure and the pain
Wash the blood off your hands
This time she won't understand
Change in the air
And they'll hide everywhere
And no one knows who's in control
You're working so hard
And you're never in charge
Your death creates success
And you'll build and suppress
Change in the air
And they'll hide everywhere
And no one knows who's in control
I went out with a medical student many years ago, and I can very much confirm the hard partying and cramming approach her and her friend used to get through. Her friend would frequently kiss me while she was drunk. I’m pretty sure in retrospect it would have been some sort of Commie polyamorous situationship, as the girl I dated didn’t seem to care. I saw her on tinder again this year. She is now specifically an abortion doctor, married, but still looking for people on Tinder.
So yeah.. that’s my experience with medical students. Kind of fun, a whole lot of self centered shit.
I dated someone who was around that age briefly, she was half white, unsurprisingly. I straight up got tired of her hating on white people, the ham fisted “jokes” where “being so white” is the entire punchline, and the dumbass comedians she worshipped who also spewed this racist, Marxist garbage. Literally I told her that I don’t buy into this race war narrative the media wants, and she dropped me like a ton of bricks. I was distraught about it at first but I think the trash took itself out.
A local coffee place tried to get me to mask once, six months into the so-called pandemic, seriously was at least September 2020, I put the mask on a top shelf where the short girl who handed it to me couldn’t reach it, walked out, and haven’t bought from that shop ever since.
You summed it up fairly well. My professor’s joke pokes fun at how an illogical basis can get you there, but it’s usually a reference to 1984: along with “war is peace”, “freedom is slavery”, and other such party slogans, Winston Smith wonders if they’ll declare 2+2=5 and everyone will believe it just because of the perceived consensus.
The Room definitely contends with Plan 9 From Outer Space for worst movie I’ve ever seen at least.