Ace of Spades HQ

September 11, 2013

Obama, the Izikhothane president?
— Purple Avenger

What is Izikhothane you ask? Fair question, I'd never heard of it until I read this story.

They burn money [literally], destroy expensive clothes [on purpose] and pour bottles of alcohol on the ground. The 'Izikhothane' live well beyond their means, spending more money than they and their parents can afford in order to be cool. This South African craze is as intriguing as it is shocking...

Simply put, the practitioners of Izikhothane seem to be an extreme form of anti-Kaboom kids. Thrift, or even mild restraint is not valued in this "culture". Ostentatious display of the destruction of wealth is. The more you have and can destroy, the greater your prestige.

This would be relatively harmless were it the trust fund babies of the super-wealthy doing it, perhaps even beneficial as a inefficient form of bottom up "economic stimulus" in that saner more pragmatic people are selling them the stuff they're trashing and making a living off it. But...its not the children of the super-wealthy who've embraced this lifestyle. The super-rich aren't even doing it.

...
The 'Izikhothane', known for their eccentric and wildly-coloured clothing, are typically aged between 12 and 25 and mainly come from the black middle class...

Of course, the quickest way to become NOT-middle class is to embrace wild spending habits. So, what happens when you run out of money, and face the grim prospect of returning to Kaboom kid obscurity rather than being able to run with your preferred crowd?

...Â“Young people tell me theyÂ’re prepared to do anything, including hitting their parents, to get money.Â”...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 05:20 AM | Comments (124)
Post contains 265 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Comments look to be crashing.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 11, 2013 05:23 AM (dEC8z)

2 Nah, he's just a run of the mill leftist idiot.....'cept he got elected..twice.

Posted by: BignJames at September 11, 2013 05:24 AM (ZNQKl)

3 It's called a "Potlatch" by the Northwest Indians.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 11, 2013 05:24 AM (gqgiP)

4 Well, at least that one made it.

Pixie, save us.

You're our only hope!

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 11, 2013 05:24 AM (dEC8z)

5 stupid. when i first saw that i was thinking of the old
'opposite" superman comics.

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 05:25 AM (zZbNF)

6 So they're not all that different from the London riotors, who, having nothing (nor aspiring to word hard enough to earn the money to buy cool stuff), just destroyed their neighborhoods and stole a bunch of stuff. An orgy of destruction for the thrill of it. Fabulous generation we have here.

Posted by: Lizzy at September 11, 2013 05:25 AM (ZFdsD)

7 Really, this subject rates a post? On 9/11? Maybe this should be pulled and reported late in the day, when news is running slow and the memories have run their course. Seriously, this post feels like it has to go.

Posted by: Moron at September 11, 2013 05:27 AM (qf2kI)

8 wouldn't this also apply to such as Kennedy's?

Posted by: willow at September 11, 2013 05:27 AM (nqBYe)

9 "assholes" in English.

Posted by: real joe at September 11, 2013 05:27 AM (5wsCu)

10 Why those people are just a hop skip and a jump away from believing that having sex with a virgin will stop aids, rhino horn increases potency or that eating the flesh of an albino will cure all disease. Oh, sorry. They are part of that same demographic.

Posted by: Jack at September 11, 2013 05:27 AM (gWHwW)

11 "Izikhothane"? Is that South Austrian for "Idiocracy"?

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at September 11, 2013 05:27 AM (eHIJJ)

12 Imma burn up this comment!!!

Posted by: Bigby's Colorful Fine Leather Gloves at September 11, 2013 05:27 AM (3ZtZW)

13 As long as they destroy only their own possessions, I'm cool with it.
And they sign a waiver stating that their new found poverty is by choice, and they vow to never ask for government or private assistance afterward.

Except for maybe a government furnished cardboard refrigerator box, delivered to beneath the overpass of their choice.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 11, 2013 05:29 AM (dEC8z)

14 Pete Townshend and The Who did this back in the 70's. It was called 'conspicuous consumption'.

Posted by: EC at September 11, 2013 05:29 AM (GQ8sn)

15 Pixie, save us.

You're our only hope!

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 11, 2013 09:24 AM (dEC8z)

Whelp, we're boned.

Posted by: Austin in TX at September 11, 2013 05:29 AM (GBY9g)

16 Here's a feel-good video post for the day: 911 Bikers on their way to DC. The real fun will start at 11 am. Let's get a live webcam up - http://tinyurl.com/nucbdkb

Posted by: RondinellaMamma at September 11, 2013 05:29 AM (EJ/Tn)

Looks like we're not the only ones who can't fix stoopid.

SNAFU.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at September 11, 2013 05:29 AM (0HooB)

18 Reposted from dead thread because 9/11, durn it. I was on I44, had just cleared Springfield, MO, we were going to Indiana for my Dad's birthday (13th) and a big surgery he had scheduled (12th). We stopped at a place with a TV and saw the second tower fall. We kept going. Just outside of St. Louis, we heard that every single used cheap car in the city was gone--sold to groups of people banding together to get home after the airport was closed. We kept going. By the time we got to Indiana, gas was $5.00 a gallon. When we got to my folks, my Dad was so sick and in so much pain, I took him to the hospital ER. My Dad was a rock, so when he said the pain was unbearable, I freaked. On the 12th, he was in surgery for 8 hours, so we sat in a hospital waiting room and astched the towers fall again and again. The Dr finally came out said he had removed most of Dad's intestines and gave him 6 months to live. He lasted until July, 2003.Â I spent a month in NYC as a consultant. My suite at the Hilton overlooked the Towers.Â I will never forget.

Posted by: Sherry McEvil, Stiletto Corsettes C'est Magnifique at September 11, 2013 05:29 AM (h6CXW)

19 Social peer forces act very powerfully on many individuals. It is but one more indication that we have yet to leave monkey logic and embrace civilization. We are all still monkeys at heart. Emotion and social status move us far more than does logic.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 05:30 AM (bb5+k)

Sounds like these kids have a promising future as Congressional Democrats.

Posted by: Insomniac at September 11, 2013 05:31 AM (DrWcr)

21 Parents can put a stop to it before they get "hit" but do not.

Posted by: Victor/Victoria at September 11, 2013 05:32 AM (WdWRd)

22 Really, this subject rates a post? On 9/11?

Right, we should all spend the day weeping into pillows or vowing to do "something".

fuck you troll

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 05:32 AM (9MLX+)

23 Obama, the Izikhothane president? I read several years ago that this is a big thing in China as well. People with newfound wealth often work at out doing each other in ostentatious destruction. One guy destroyed $10,000.00 worth of Wine just to show that it meant nothing to him. Human nature is pretty universal. This is just another manifestation of vying for higher status in the social pecking order. I wish people would grow up.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 05:33 AM (bb5+k)

24 sounds like some bad parenting going on in south africa

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl at September 11, 2013 05:34 AM (8JJ6O)

25 Izikhothane coming to a neighborhood near you!

Posted by: wrg500 at September 11, 2013 05:34 AM (L9Mr/)

26 "Izikhothane"? Is that South Austrian for "Idiocracy"?

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at September 11, 2013 05:36 AM (eHIJJ)

27 the bike video doesn't work for me. blank black screen.
is there another option for video?

Posted by: willow at September 11, 2013 05:36 AM (nqBYe)

28 Bastiat writ large.

Posted by: jakeman at September 11, 2013 05:36 AM (GXKTh)

29 comments are failing

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 05:38 AM (zZbNF)

30 So where's that guy who also comments "Burn it down, salt the earth, blah. blah, blah?"
That's my favorite part.
Like the Joker said, some people just want to watch the world burn.

Posted by: Izikhothane Kids at September 11, 2013 05:39 AM (ZFdsD)

31 New Comment Thingy is stuttering with a vengeance. Wake Pixy. Let Ace sleep, though. He had a late night.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at September 11, 2013 05:39 AM (eHIJJ)

32 Already contacted Pixy.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 11, 2013 05:39 AM (gqgiP)

33 While we're on this topic, this behavior has the exact same root causes as the desire to wear Jewelry and ostentatious clothes. The point of such things is to demonstrate to your peers (and your inferiors) how WEALTHY you are, because in all societies, Wealth translates to higher social status. Those ridiculous clothes people used to wear in the previous centuries? Just to show other people that the wearer is special and doesn't have to work. Indeed, the clothes are so ridiculous as to make it impossible to do any actual work, and that is entirely the point; it is exactly the message which they wish to be conveyed. People are at heart, primal creatures.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 05:40 AM (bb5+k)

34 Try this for the video of the bikers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7-RlOQifNM

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at September 11, 2013 05:40 AM (gqgiP)

35 I spent a month in NYC as a consultant. My suite at the Hilton overlooked the Towers. I will never forget. Posted by: Sherry McEvil, Stiletto Corsettes C'est Magnifique at September 11, 2013 09:29 AM (h6CXW) I am sorry for your loss.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 05:40 AM (bb5+k)

36 That's why Canada banned the potlatch.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potlatch#History

Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at September 11, 2013 05:41 AM (YD2FC)

37 Moron: "Seriously, this post feels like it has to go."

Seriously, don't poke the Ewok. I say this as an internet friend in a box.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at September 11, 2013 05:41 AM (eHIJJ)

38 This is great! These kids are creating so much wealth, because someone has to produce and sell replacements for all of the stuff these kids destroy. Broken windows and all that jazz, amiright? Right???

Posted by: Robert Reich at September 11, 2013 05:42 AM (ZFdsD)

39 It looks like the London Boys were crossed with Ben Bernanke.

Posted by: Roy at September 11, 2013 05:42 AM (VndSC)

40 Moron

Plenty of other blogs out there. Why not give one of them a try if this one's not cutting it for you.

Asshole.

Posted by: Turnip Defense League [/i] at September 11, 2013 05:43 AM (O7Q1u)

41 Every one of those guys has a free Obamaphone.

Posted by: Roy at September 11, 2013 05:43 AM (VndSC)

42 Why am I reminded of Rick James grinding muddy boots into Eddie Murphy's couch?

Posted by: LibertarianJim (team #letitburn) at September 11, 2013 05:44 AM (XMDuf)

43 30 So where's that guy who also comments "Burn it down, salt the earth, blah. blah, blah?" That's my favorite part. Like the Joker said, some people just want to watch the world burn. Posted by: Izikhothane Kids at September 11, 2013 09:39 AM (ZFdsD) I consider that dude an ally. I will point out that his commentary in this regard is more of a lament that things have gotten so bad that it is the only method by which they can be repaired, than it is a desire to see such things happen. As I have said before, when the ship has been taken over by Pirates, sometimes the only course of action left is to burn the ship. Better it be destroyed than to remain in their hands.

Posted by: Stephen Decatur. at September 11, 2013 05:44 AM (bb5+k)

44 Remember this? Kid buys an iPad, destroys it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o35KRUUspTY

Posted by: Mike Hammer at September 11, 2013 05:44 AM (aDwsi)

Obama is not a "run of the mill leftist idiot."

I will explain again. Obama has a special ability to make leftist positions which have always been unpopular sound like mainstream American values. Then he insults bitter clingers with a smile on his face while claiming to reach out in bipartisanship. The guy is half chameleon and half snake, not run of the mill.

Ace's early morning post is another example. If you barely listened to Obama's speech it seemed reasonable. But if you dissect it just a bit suddenly you realize he called you an amoral warmonger while allegedly seeking bipartisan support.

Posted by: Beagle at September 11, 2013 05:44 AM (sOtz/)

46 I heard they twerk over the flaming remains of their possessions. Count me in!

Posted by: Miley Cyrus at September 11, 2013 05:44 AM (S+el1)

47 Bastiat writ large.

It's not even that. The misguided assumption that the "destruction" eventually gets fixed or replaced is the force behind stimulus. Here, no such replacement occurs once the money runs out.

These people are incredibly stupid.

Posted by: EC at September 11, 2013 05:44 AM (GQ8sn)

48 An orgy of destruction for the thrill of it.

Yeah. I'm not seeing much difference between these young people and the young people who vandalize their schools and neighborhoods in our finer Democrat-run-for-generations urban areas, except for "who's paying for the stuff that gets destroyed."

Posted by: HeatherRadish™ needs a beer at September 11, 2013 05:44 AM (/kI1Q)

49 From the article, a photo is captioned "On social networks, each group posts ever more eccentric photos to show off their wealth."

Consumption is not wealth. I pity the parents and grandparents, who spent their lifetimes building up some equity, only for these useless youth to throw it away.

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at September 11, 2013 05:45 AM (Q80i9)

50 Testes... Testes... One, two, three.

Comments are working fine for me.

heh heh huh heh heh heh.

Posted by: Bill Clinton at September 11, 2013 05:46 AM (3kf8y)

51 It's early, but I nominate #39 for threadwinner.

Posted by: LibertarianJim (team #letitburn) at September 11, 2013 05:46 AM (XMDuf)

52 I saw the bikers headed to DC this morning on my way into work. There are going to be 10's of thousands of them. I wonder how many muzztards are going to be there.

Posted by: Truck Monkey at September 11, 2013 05:46 AM (32Ze2)

53 now, now Purp...

"racist"...

there go forth and sin no more

Posted by: Miguel Ambivalence@sven10077 at September 11, 2013 05:46 AM (9jfyN)

54 Some people just gotta run the outrage meter at eleventy, 7x24 so they can feel superior. I'm not one of them.

There isn't a damn thing that could be written about 9/11 today that hasn't been said a thousand times before and probably better.

A moment in quiet reflection this morning was more useful to me than the production of boilerplate.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 05:47 AM (9MLX+)

55 Â“Young people tell me theyÂ’re prepared to do anything, including hitting their parents, to get money.Â”>>

Money would not what I would have gotten if I would have tried this method. Though if a good ass beating improved my social standing I would have been golden.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at September 11, 2013 05:49 AM (wrS2o)

Someday we'll have an HQ that isn't powered by asthmatic gerbils with a dose of the clap.

And someday Dita Von Teese will give me a private lap dance.

Keep hope alive!

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at September 11, 2013 05:49 AM (zF6Iw)

57 You have my permission to carry on.

Posted by: Todd Beamer at September 11, 2013 05:49 AM (32Ze2)

58 55 Purp,,

I was not implying you weren't outraged enough...more mocking the internally schizoid idiocy our nation has embraced...

I liked your post.

Posted by: Miguel Ambivalence@sven10077 at September 11, 2013 05:49 AM (9jfyN)

59 I saw the bikers headed to DC this morning on my way into work. There are going to be 10's of thousands of them. I wonder how many muzztards are going to be there. Posted by: Truck Monkey at September 11, 2013 09:46 AM (32Ze2) I wonder if they'll follow the muzzie march so they drown them out with Harley noise. And speaking of the marches today, OPM sent out a notice to expect major delays a few weeks ago when there was a march at the Department of Labor. It was BS. Nobody was on the road that day and I breezed to work. Today? Took me an hour to go about 5 miles.

Posted by: Mainah at September 11, 2013 05:49 AM (659DL)

60 Or we have this -- Clint Eastwood's daughter destroys a $100,000 purse for a photo shoot:

http://tinyurl.com/dya2esz (yahoo)

Conspicuous consumption and destruction is nothing new.

Posted by: GnuBreed at September 11, 2013 05:49 AM (ccXZP)

...Â“Young people tell me theyÂ’re prepared to do anything, including hitting their parents, to get money.Â”...

I would open my wallet and pull out a few hundred dollars worth of whoopass.

Posted by: Insomniac at September 11, 2013 05:50 AM (DrWcr)

62 And someday Dita Von Teese will give me a private lap dance.

It was awesome.

*lights cigarette*

Posted by: EC at September 11, 2013 05:51 AM (GQ8sn)

63 look how these sweet American teen girls put a kitten in the microwave and laugh! what the hell is going on in the world? thank God the kitten is ok.....jeez http://tinyurl.com/nbhsy53

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl at September 11, 2013 05:52 AM (8JJ6O)

64 Islam is the seamless union of the spiritual and the temporal, it is the reign of dogma, it is the heaviest chain that mankind has ever borne. In the early Middle Ages, Islam tolerated philosophy, because it could not stop it. It could not stop it because it was as yet disorganized, and poorly armed for terror... But as soon as Islam had a mass of ardent believers at its disposal, it destroyed everything in its path.... Islam has been liberal when weak and violent when strong...- Ernest Renan (1823-1892)

Posted by: Mike Hammer at September 11, 2013 05:52 AM (aDwsi)

65 Those ridiculous clothes people used to wear in the previous centuries? Just to show other people that the wearer is special and doesn't have to work. Indeed, the clothes are so ridiculous as to make it impossible to do any actual work, and that is entirely the point; it is exactly the message which they wish to be conveyed --- Yeah, George RR Martin has a whole lot on this kind of crap in the book series Game Of Thrones is based upon. My favorite bit has to be the one about the armies of 7-foot tall warriors on stilts and ostentatious outfits who serve as an army for a 5-foot tall guy.

Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at September 11, 2013 05:53 AM (/Crba)

66 Noted from the S Africa article -- Many of the participants are from single parent families...

I guess I'm glad!?! to see that it's not just a US problem.

Posted by: GnuBreed at September 11, 2013 05:53 AM (ccXZP)

67 Are comments better now? Think I found the problem.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at September 11, 2013 05:54 AM (2yngH)

68 Are comments better now? Think I found the problem.

Stabbed the hamsters with a syringe full of epinephrine?

Posted by: EC at September 11, 2013 05:54 AM (GQ8sn)

69 22 fuck you troll ============ Nah, thanks though. I prefer women. Teenage alienation is South Africa is interesting to some, I know, somewhere. Like maybe....who the fuck knows. It's obviously a pointless, ridiculous, dumbass thing to write about, 9/11 aside. But whatever.

Posted by: Barf at September 11, 2013 05:54 AM (bmHOj)

70 American teen girls put a kitten in the microwave and laugh!

There's a generation out there with no souls or moral compass. Its fucking scary

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 05:55 AM (9MLX+)

71 I think some people are confused about the Bastiat broken window fallacy. Breaking things does not improve the economy. While it may make work for some people it takes away work from others.

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 05:55 AM (zZbNF)

72 55 There isn't a damn thing that could be written about 9/11 today that hasn't been said a thousand times before and probably better.

Amen. I'm running silent for the most part today. I can't imagine what more needs be contributed. I'm going to mainly try to quietly think positive thoughts as much as possible.

Posted by: [/i][/s][/b]akula51 at September 11, 2013 05:55 AM (Tmcws)

73 64 look how these sweet American teen girls put a kitten in the microwave and laugh! what the hell is going on in the world? thank God the kitten is ok.....jeez http://tinyurl.com/nbhsy53 Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl at September 11, 2013 09:52 AM (8JJ6O) My own opinion is that much of our society has become unmoored from any spiritual anchor. We are reverting back to a pre-Christian era when Paganism and earth Worship held sway and obstructed any advancement of civilization. We are devolving culturally to a more primitive state.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 05:56 AM (bb5+k)

74 68 Are comments better now? Think I found the problem.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at September 11, 2013 09:54 AM (2yngH)

They seem to be better but it was intermittent before. So time will tell.

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 05:56 AM (zZbNF)

75 On the upside hopefully much of that which is destroyed is high in price but low in worth. For example trash some fancy purse and what you're really losing is the cost of a brand. The actual materials are comparably trivially expensive. In such destruction at least valuable materials aren't lost, just the perception of that collection of materials.

Still, to be that self-absorbed and foolish is sinful. And I'm Agnostic.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at September 11, 2013 05:57 AM (eHIJJ)

76 Teenage alienation is South Africa is interesting to some, I know, somewhere. Like maybe....who the fuck knows.

If you can't see it in larval form here walking around any large mall in the US, then you ain't looking too hard.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 05:57 AM (9MLX+)

77 Stabbed the hamsters with a syringe full of epinephrine? That's actually pretty accurate.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at September 11, 2013 05:58 AM (2yngH)

78 78 Pixy Misa,

we call it the "Captain America" Method...

now the hamster slings a mean shield

Posted by: Miguel Ambivalence@sven10077 at September 11, 2013 05:59 AM (9jfyN)

79 If those girls were mine I would strap them to a whipping post and beat the living shit out of them with a belt.

Of course if they were mine they would have been raised better to begin with.

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 05:59 AM (zZbNF)

80 ty, CharlieBrown.

Posted by: willow at September 11, 2013 06:00 AM (nqBYe)

81 Yes, Pixy. The script seems to be working now. I was getting zero-value content returns from my earlier posting - like the post was in queue but my connection timed out before your server sent a response packet.

The script is now responsive.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at September 11, 2013 06:00 AM (eHIJJ)

82 Back in the olden days, a good old world war, kill or be killed, then starve to death, would clean out all the drecks (and unfortunately the good people, too).

Posted by: Jesse Pinkman at September 11, 2013 06:00 AM (WdWRd)

When did we become this mourning society? We don't do this for Pearl Harbor or the SF Earthquake.

Am i a bad person because i feel like i've fulfilled my quota of 9/11 mourning?

Posted by: Buzzsaw90 at September 11, 2013 06:00 AM (SO2Q8)

84 >>Teenage alienation is South Africa is interesting to some, I know, somewhere. Like maybe....who the fuck knows. And yet, here you are, commenting on it. Irony ain't just a river in Egypt.

Posted by: JackStraw at September 11, 2013 06:01 AM (g1DWB)

85 Fookin' prawns.

Posted by: Wikus Van Der Merve at September 11, 2013 06:01 AM (GQ8sn)

86 We are devolving culturally to a more primitive state. Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 09:56 AM (bb5+k) I agree. It's like Mark Steyn said about multiculturalism: If the purpose of your culture is to celebrate multi-culture, you're in effect saying that our bedrock belief is that we believe in everything, which is the same things as saying we believe in nothing.

Posted by: Mainah at September 11, 2013 06:02 AM (659DL)

87 Thanks Pixie!!

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 11, 2013 06:02 AM (dEC8z)

88 My favorite bit has to be the one about the armies of 7-foot tall warriors on stilts and ostentatious outfits who serve as an army for a 5-foot tall guy. Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at September 11, 2013 09:53 AM (/Crba) It is my understanding that Frederick William I of Prussia had a contingent of very large soldiers which he made into his honor guard. He would have them form two lines between which foreign diplomats were expected to walk before seeing the King. Having seven foot tall soldiers on both sides of you as you walk towards the King might very well leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed. His intent was to convey the impression that much of Prussia's army was filled with such super soldiers and that a nation should think twice about engaging Prussia in war. It was his son, of course, who kicked everyone's ass.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:03 AM (bb5+k)

89 Pixy, thanks for what you do here too.

Now, can you give us an update on the site upgrade? Say anything but #twoweeks.

Posted by: GnuBreed at September 11, 2013 06:03 AM (ccXZP)

90 Friggin auto-misspell

Pixie=pixy

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 11, 2013 06:03 AM (dEC8z)

91 84 Buzzsaw90,

Buzz I don't think we ever got the scales balanced..add in demcorats felexive embrace of the opfor....

allow me to quote the warrior philosopher Momjeans IV Hero of Hole 19...

They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

Yeah that's how smart we are as a culture...we elected a defacto enemy agent to run things.

Go FreeShit Army

Posted by: Miguel Ambivalence@sven10077 at September 11, 2013 06:03 AM (9jfyN)

92 dump up

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 06:05 AM (zZbNF)

93 72 I think some people are confused about the Bastiat broken window fallacy. Breaking things does not improve the economy. While it may make work for some people it takes away work from others. Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 09:55 AM (zZbNF) If you are one of the others, you don't care. There is a reason why something like 95% of the Employees of the US Federal government is made up of Democrats. Federal government Democrat employees: "Broken windows? Yes please! "

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:06 AM (bb5+k)

94 I agree. It's like Mark Steyn said about multiculturalism: If the purpose of your culture is to celebrate multi-culture, you're in effect saying that our bedrock belief is that we believe in everything, which is the same things as saying we believe in nothing.

Posted by: Mainah at September 11, 2013 10:02 AM (659DL)

_________________________

Universal Unitarianism! Might as well just stay home at watch TV

Posted by: Todd Beamer at September 11, 2013 06:09 AM (32Ze2)

95 [Farkle REDACTED - Purp] Of course if they were mine they would have been raised better to begin with. Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 09:59 AM (zZbNF) I have been noticing lately that Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) has been suggesting the horse whipping of various governmental officials for misusing their office. I hope a consensus coalesces around this idea. There are now a lot of people in society who desperately need a whipping.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:09 AM (bb5+k)

96 CIA Director Pledges to Make Benghazi Survivors Available to Talk

He didn't say when or if they would refrain from lying.

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 06:10 AM (zZbNF)

97 Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 10:09 AM (bb5+k) --- Roll out the barrel...

Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at September 11, 2013 06:10 AM (/Crba)

98 crap

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 06:10 AM (zZbNF)

99 Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 10:09 AM (bb5+k)

Ooh barrel....

Posted by: KG[/i][/b] at September 11, 2013 06:10 AM (p7BzH)

100 I think some people are confused about the Bastiat broken window fallacy. Breaking things does not improve the economy. While it may make work for some people it takes away work from others.

Posted by: Vic at September 11, 2013 09:55 AM (zZbNF)

If you are one of the others, you don't care. There is a reason why something like 95% of the Employees of the US Federal government is made up of Democrats.

Federal government Democrat employees:
"Broken windows? Yes please! "

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 10:06 AM (bb5+k)

I had to explain this very carefully to my stepsons who were under the impression that a hurricane striking our state every fall like clockwork would be gangbusters for our local economy. One of them works in a hardware type store that sells a lot of stuff to farmers and the like. Before and after a hurricane, they always meet and exceed their sales goals.

I explained that while the farmers would come to buy stuff to replace what was destroyed, what we aren't seeing is what the farmers would have used that money for had the hurricane not come. That's what they don't see. I asked them, if the Broken Window Theory was true, then we should be destroying our homes and property once a month to stimulate the economy. Pretty soon, we'd be up to our eyeballs in prosperity, right?

Posted by: EC at September 11, 2013 06:11 AM (GQ8sn)

101 I'm feeling generous today - Diogenes gets a mulligan

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 06:14 AM (9MLX+)

102 87 We are devolving culturally to a more primitive state. Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 09:56 AM (bb5+k) I agree. It's like Mark Steyn said about multiculturalism: If the purpose of your culture is to celebrate multi-culture, you're in effect saying that our bedrock belief is that we believe in everything, which is the same things as saying we believe in nothing. Posted by: Mainah at September 11, 2013 10:02 AM (659DL) I have long argued that it is the advent of Christianity which slowly evolved Western thought in the direction of what we now regard as civilization. Slavery is a victim of Christian doctrine, so are a lot of other vile and disgusting practices. Now don't get the notion that i'm a bible thumper because i'm not. I'm pretty much an agnostic at this point, but if looked at objectively, the fact that the more civilized portions of the world also happened to be the most Christianized is powerful evidence that the two circumstances are connected. James Burke noted this some decades ago in his "Connections" series.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:14 AM (bb5+k)

103 Yeah that's how smart we are as a culture...we elected a defacto enemy agent to run things. Go FreeShit Army Posted by: Miguel Ambivalence@sven10077 at September 11, 2013 10:03 AM (9jfyN) Who in my opinion is definitely NOT a "natural citizen" and may not even be a citizen at all. I am still researching this topic, and I am STILL finding evidence to support my position.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:16 AM (bb5+k)

104 One hopes to get the barrel right after the weekly barrel cleaning on Monday morning.
It should still have that minty fresh scent this morning.

By Sunday morning....whole different story.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at September 11, 2013 06:16 AM (dEC8z)

105 101 EC,

Broken Window Fallacy is for pussies!

//Paul "Badass" Krugman

Posted by: Miguel Ambivalence@sven10077 at September 11, 2013 06:17 AM (9jfyN)

106 98 Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 10:09 AM (bb5+k) --- Roll out the barrel... Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at September 11, 2013 10:10 AM (/Crba) What did I do?

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:18 AM (bb5+k)

107 I had to explain this very carefully to my stepsons who were under the impression that a hurricane striking our state every fall like clockwork would be gangbusters for our local economy. One of them works in a hardware type store that sells a lot of stuff to farmers and the like. Before and after a hurricane, they always meet and exceed their sales goals. I explained that while the farmers would come to buy stuff to replace what was destroyed, what we aren't seeing is what the farmers would have used that money for had the hurricane not come. That's what they don't see. I asked them, if the Broken Window Theory was true, then we should be destroying our homes and property once a month to stimulate the economy. Pretty soon, we'd be up to our eyeballs in prosperity, right? Posted by: EC at September 11, 2013 10:11 AM (GQ8sn) It's axiomatic to me that Democrat voters are of two varieties. Those too ignorant to understand basic economics, and those who benefit from artificial distortions of existing economic conditions. It is the distinction between the followers and the leadership.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:20 AM (bb5+k)

108 102 I'm feeling generous today - Diogenes gets a mulligan Posted by: Purp at September 11, 2013 10:14 AM (9MLX+) What did I do?

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:21 AM (bb5+k)

109 Oh, and thanks.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:21 AM (bb5+k)

110 109 102 I'm feeling generous today - Diogenes gets a mulligan Posted by: Purp at September 11, 2013 10:14 AM (9MLX+) What did I do? --- You reposted the entire thread in your comment.

Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at September 11, 2013 06:22 AM (/Crba)

111 106 101 EC,

Broken Window Fallacy is for pussies!

//Paul "Badass" Krugman

Posted by: Miguel Ambivalence@sven10077 at September 11, 2013 10:17 AM (9jfyN)

You mean Paul "Alien Invasion" Krugman?

Posted by: EC at September 11, 2013 06:24 AM (GQ8sn)

112 On "The Fall of Rise of Reginald Perrin", this explained the popularity of Grot, a huge company that sold useless goods (e.g., ashtrays with no bottoms) to people who bought them to prove that they had money to spend on useless goods.

Posted by: gn at September 11, 2013 06:24 AM (yUKpA)

113 You reposted the entire thread in your comment. Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at September 11, 2013 10:22 AM (/Crba) Must have accidentally selected everything. I'm chastised.

Posted by: Diogenes' Lamp at September 11, 2013 06:25 AM (bb5+k)

114 Sooooo, it IS genetic? Or is it cultural, some sort of wobble in the middle class psyche? Flashy, shiny things. Garish clothing. LOUD empahis LOUD demeanor. Pendantic expression of self despite the social context. not hatin just sayin

Posted by: Todd Bridges, first to go bad, last to go down at September 11, 2013 06:30 AM (HWgnC)

115 There's a lot of people who mistake velocity and mass. That's the fundamental problem with busted windows theory.

Increasing the velocity of money, while it may have some benefits, doesn't increase the mass or "create" wealth.

New wealth is created at the intersection of raw materials and labor. Maintenance work doesn't create new wealth per se, all it does is preserve existing wealth. IOW, its not advancing anything, only reducing loss.

A huge amount of "economic activity" in this regard is related to the reduction of loss rather than the creation of new wealth.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 06:30 AM (9MLX+)

116 I thought about it, and you might be right Purp. I definitely don't get out enough. I haven't been to a mall in years, maybe a decade; my recreation is walking empty land with my pointers and a 20 gauge; my kids all have jobs (except for one in college); the wife and I are not big on movies or TV. In short, I'm not educated on the culture at all, and I didn't get the larger point you evidently wanted to make in your post. So, consider my original response one of ignorance since the "soulless kids" are something I haven't seen much of.

Posted by: Hang dog at September 11, 2013 06:32 AM (qf2kI)

117 Sooooo, it IS genetic? Or is it cultural

Nihilistic fads are symptoms of social decay.

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 06:33 AM (9MLX+)

118 "Hitting their parents." I believe in gentle parenting, but.... I do carry a gun.

Posted by: traye at September 11, 2013 06:36 AM (4S1dN)

119 Hang dog, you'll be yearning for that 20g at the mall in these parts nowadays.

Posted by: Todd Bridges, first to go bad, last to go down at September 11, 2013 06:39 AM (HWgnC)

120 "26 "Izikhothane"? Is that South Austrian for "Idiocracy"?

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at September 11, 2013 09:36 AM (eHIJJ)"

No. In their language it means "Democrat".

Posted by: Obnoxious A-hole at September 11, 2013 06:58 AM (31Nrp)

121 I'm a little skeptical of this "Izikhothane" story. It reminds me of those phony trend stories that Newsweek used to do, where they would find two people doing something and represent it as the hot new trend among young people.

Posted by: Joshua at September 11, 2013 06:59 AM (oCZ4e)

122 Well, since most in SA are no where even close to middle class, the participants are necessarily going to be limited.

This kind of behavior simply isn't possible in a ghetto

Posted by: Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at September 11, 2013 07:10 AM (9MLX+)

123 This behavior's nothing new. Potlach with the Indians, as a couple of posters have noted. And even farther back in the 13th-14th century, Dante reserved the entire fourth circle of Hell for the hoarders and wasters.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at September 11, 2013 08:35 AM (PMGbu)

124 Now don't get the notion that i'm a bible thumper because i'm not. I'm pretty much an agnostic at this point, but if looked at objectively, the fact that the more civilized portions of the world also happened to be the most Christianized is powerful evidence that the two circumstances are connected.

James Burke noted this some decades ago in his "Connections" series.

Aha. Nail--->>>HEAD. This is exactly how I feel Purp. I am very glad I went back and read through this one. I'm in the prow of the exact same boat right along with you - and even as an "N/A-theist", I can see where there were many, many positive impacts from Christianity, and as a whole, society greatly benefits from its presence.

Interesting yet predictable that Burke made the same inference, I was a very, very big fan of his in my teens and 20s.

Posted by: [/i][/s][/b]akula51 at September 11, 2013 09:01 AM (Tmcws)

Hide Comments | Add Comment | Refresh | Top

Comments are disabled. Post is locked.

130kb generated in CPU 0.0489, elapsed 0.2527 seconds.
64 queries taking 0.2205 seconds, 252 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.