Daily Archive: 06/05/2014

When your enemy is making a mistake we should still correct them.

06/05/20140

In the feminists lie and make shit up group the AvFM conference in Detroit — which had to raise monies for police as they were told this was a requirement now is being accused of running a shakedown scam, because Paul Elam wrote a letter to those who are not like that asking them to support the fundraising. I quoted Paul yesterday, and that is up. Like Bill Price, I thought the conference was being scammed by someone who wanted them to have to pay for extra police shifts (and increase the cost of the conference –these things have to break even at least).

There is a redacted version of this letter out on the internet; I understand that people are threatening others if it is up, but it does exist, and since I am (a) not American and (b) consider all US lawyers to be scum I’m attaching it.

AVFM-Security-Letter-REDACTED

Well, I am cynical. And I have run conferences: they take a lot of work. But those who are anti this conference are running into the Streisand effect — their opposition is making it news.

This is really turning into a fascinating situation. The irony is that by itself, the conference probably wouldn’t have accomplished all that much. The feminist reaction to the conference, and the reaction to the reaction, is going to be a much bigger and more important story.

The civil rights leaders of the 50s and 60s understood this dynamic. The purpose of those marches in the South was as much to provoke a reaction from anti-civil rights groups and local authorities as it was anything else. They wanted to expose those people and show the world how oppressive and violent they had become.

It is extremely important that AVFM bring video recorders to this event, and thoroughly document all of the actions of the protestors, as well as the police in dealing (or failing to deal) with them. That is going to be the real story of the conference.

Well, it reinforces one of my attitudes: stay out of the USA, and stay out of Detroit. But the snark from the left is illuminating. Dirty tricks are all too common, as a commentator at Judgy Bitch’s place points out.

As to the none reporting of death threats, the answer is simple – they have not been judged credible, but the business is obliged to act in such a way as to ensure should there be any possibility of follow through they have acted in such a way as to reduce litigation liability. I have dealt with this very issue since the 1990?s and police (in Europe Anyway) only act on a Credible threat – a vague report of a vague phone call is not seen as credible. Even deranges nutters follow well known patterns that show credability.

Phoning up, making a nebulous death threat and shifting massive financial obligation onto others is a very old trick – and one well known to those in the field of Business Liability and Indemnity. It’s called pass the buck and make an insurer have liability.

The only other explanation that holds any water is that the person who has made report of Death Threats is a feminist plant within DoubleTree/Hilton or a unionised member who has been Knobbled by others and become convinced that they should make False Report from a position of privilege and opportunity to obstruct the conference. It is far less likely but I’ve seen it happen.

I’d advise that worthless “Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc” analysis is a waste of resources (time, energy, focus) and needs to be stopped Pronto. It also diverts from what the opposition are planning next which is where the focus should be … the future and advance and not looking over shoulders.

What comes next (given that the hurdle of financial failure has been so promptly side stepped)? Easy – they are on a disinformation roll, using any scarp of tosh to misdirect, so I would prepare solid arguments to respond and leave the past game analysis until after the conference.

Well the cops will now be there. The attendees are forearmed. The press are alerted there will be a story. Now, if I was a feminist activist the correct thing to do would be do… nothing. Do not let the press get pictures of women screeching, being dragged away, flinging scat at attendees, or in other ways acting like the fascists that you are: instead say that this is a trivial meeting and we will let it go ahead because we believe in free speech, even those we disapprove of.

But that is not the way to bet. They are more likely to protest publicly. And increase the publicity for the conference. My advice? Ladies, stand for free speech. The best response to bad speech is more speech. However, apparently change.org is involved, so stupid is the way to bet.

Daybook, Quotage

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Do not pretend living well is not a struggle.

06/05/20142

IMG_20140601_130550

For those who cannot reat the sign, the warning is that “Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free kitten”. Which should be enough to put the fear of consequences into any parent, dealing with ten to twelve hours of calvinball and whining about can I keepz the kitteh. Even if you like cats, there are limits.

Yesterday I put up two posts about opposition, and today we are hit with this passage. Paul confronts us all about the habits of this world we have internalized, from the way that the sexual marketplace works to being snarky and angry. The opposition has no rules, but we are told to obey Christ.

And we all need to be told because we tend to revert to our old ways of thinking, each day, habitually.

Ephesians 4:17-32

and becoming one with those who oppress you.

17Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. 19They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20That is not the way you learned Christ! 21For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. 22You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and do not make room for the devil. 28Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

I have a list of good posts sitting in tabs I could cite, but that would dilute the point of this post. There are many bad examples: you can find them in any aggregator. A large amount of what makes “news” is bad behaviour.

What is more interesting is that Paul describes the consequences of this behaviour.

  • You lose sensitivity . Your ability to see the beauty in each day diminishes. Instead of enjoying the ephemeral: the leaves have just changed here, or the college students walking to work, or the coffee, one is consumed with lust, or greed, or envy. It ruins the enjoyment of the moment. It also means that you cannot converse, understand and help, because your internal dialogue is going to leak. You have to disavow these thoughts to help anyone.
  • Your heart is hardened. You do not see anything wrong in what you are doing. You are justified. If needed, you make stuff up to justify your position. Your conscience is seared away. You are functioning as a psychopath, perhaps using the language of self-esteem.
  • You are abandoned to your desires . Disciplines reinforce each other, and letting one’s desires loose in one area tends to open others to exploitation. It may be that one reason so many of us are fat is because we neither discipline what we eat nor do we schedule exercise: we have not been taught any form of self-discipline or duty. We have forgotten that almost everything worthwhile requires hard work. and we criticise and call horrible those very people who say that we should be fit, or continent, or dress nicely, or do any of the other behaviours that used to make up adult behaviour.
  • We lie , We are too guilty, and do not want to be caught, or we are afraid of the Social Justice Warrior dogpile, and use as many weasel words as needed so that we do not offend. It is interesting that Paul moves from speaking the truth in love to anger: for if one is told that one is failing from a brother the usual response is either shame or anger. And we should not hang onto the anger, for that will poison us as surely as the American (sugar laden) diet.

Finally, Paul is not writing to the pagans here. He is writing to believers. We are not immune. The second we think we are immune to the errors of this world and this time we are close to falling. Yes, this is a daily struggle. But Christ promised us a cross, not a life of ease.

Lectionary


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