It’s probably partly generational. I mean the old guard got pensions and we get wtevs.
People who aren’t in leadership often have no idea how to judge actual merit anyway. Especially among engineers who often develop very myopic views informed by their tech specialties. I am often gob-smacked by the incredibly stupid ideas otherwise brilliant engineers have about how the world works.
So sadly folks like your brother are probably feeling validated for their racist feelings right now.
Thank you.
Yes, I agree black and white categories aren’t the ideal way to describe people.
But there comes a time when nuance is used against the compassionate to normalize reprehensible actions. We are in that time now.
It is for these reasons that I cannot stand listening to NPR anymore. The ineffectual hand wringing and disingenuous ’liberal self-reflection’ is tiresome and we are well past the time for thoughtful think-pieces.
The way it is playing out in my family has led me to have to totally reevaluate my perception of my own father.
He is a generally kind man. He stayed with my mom for two decades as she declined with Parkinson’s. He took good care of her when so many people might have ghosted.
But based on his inability to see the danger here to things he himself values, I can no longer think of him as a good man. He has always valued knowledge and reason yet he swallowed the cat-eating crap out of Ohio in spite of the clear bullshit of it.
He is Mormon and very faithful. So I don’t know what he gets out of this all, except that it has required me to grieve him before his passing.
He is not actually a good person I am afraid, but he is very obedient. Learning that distinction is very painful. He does not possess the moral clarity to know the difference between what is legal/popular and what is right.
I always idolized my dad as a child because he was in so many ways a good father. We will probably never speak again.
Due to my natural temperament and a series of life events over the years, my breaking point was 15 years ago.
Since then I have shed a lot of professional aspirations because I just can’t even anymore. Nor do I want to. My health and friendships are about all I care about anymore. I work to live and choose jobs based mostly on the quality of the interpersonal environment and the type of daily activity (I cannot abide much sedentary work, it degrades my mental health very quickly).
I have been patiently waiting for many others to catch up. I am currently flabbergasted at the level of self censorship people are doing as they struggle to somehow let all this be normal.
But I also see the cracks showing in some facades as the contradictions are just too powerful to ignore.
There were many points in the past when The People should have flipped the fuck out, but this time it’s different. Mostly because it is now too late to prevent horrific damage to our civilization. Damage control is the order of the day now.