2021: The year the 21st century began

Covid-19 has ruptured the 21st century and in my view has put a full stop to all that was before. Life will NEVER be the same again. We are now truly in the 21st century, and no generation from now will know what it was like before. The effects of Covid-19 are also speeding up the future, with increasing surveillance capitalism to manage the West’s slow decline. I think Western history will look upon the last 30 years like this:

1989-2007: The golden years of liberal democracies

The fall of the Berlin wall signals the end of the Cold War. Politically, a swathe of left of centre parties gain power across Europe. In the UK, Labour sweeps into power in 1997. Things can only get better.

In 2001, there is a terrorist attack in the United States.

Facebook launches in 2004 and takes social media mainstream.

In 2007, the iPhone is released, and suddenly the internet and social media is in your pocket and in your hand.

2008-2020: The rise of populism

Following the financial crash and the ‘we must all tighten our belts now’, there is a massive redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich, which allows populist and conservative parties to gain votes from those they’ve just fucked in the ass.

In 2016, the English vote to leave the European Union and drag us with it, against our will. Donald Trump is voted US president.

Technology has become a key tool of mass manipulation as social media has become more entrenched in people’s lives, and increasingly people live in differently mediated realities. Increasing use of media manipulation and propaganda techniques by political parties to build culturally-induced ignorance (agnotology).

Technology-enabled personalised realities and social media filter bubbles lead to increasingly politicisation of all aspects of public and professional life that divides people and increases mental health problems. A rise of extreme left and right views as well as irrational / non-scientific beliefs / conspiracy-theories.

In 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) attacks the world.

2021-present: Decline and fall of Western democracies

This is the beginning of the end. The 20th century is truly over, and the 21st century has now begun. No way back. The macro-environment is fucked right now and public discourse is quite fucked up too. We’re living in a digitally mediated multi-truth environment where much of reality is individually experienced therefore nothing is commonly true or trusted any more.

Actually that’s why I stopped reading the news and still haven’t gone back. It’s been really good and I’ve not missed a thing! It’s been enjoyable to focus on my micro-environment instead.

England lost.

People with dicks can now legally share my (female) prison cell (WTF!)

Not looking at the news means that, whenever I do find out something by chance, I totally don’t get WTF is going on as it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. I found out this morning that people with dicks (PWD) can now legally be housed in a closed, confined space with women. At least in England and Wales.

It’s kinda weird / doesn’t make sense because dicks are an ‘out of the box’ rape weapon that some people come equipped with at birth, and so PWD carry that weapon around with them. In Scotland, a PWD can in theory rape a woman, then claim to BE a woman, so that in the crime statistics police record it as a F2F rape. WTF! I mean seriously – it wasn’t a F who raped me vaginally, anally and orally. It was a PWD.

It’s one thing to be whoever you want to be (gender), but quite another to erase the distinct F category of SEX (= not the same as gender) from law, and from statistics. It’s kinda anti-science and anti-biology. It’s also scary to see yourself (F) slowly being erased, and PWD demanding that they, with their built-in guns, have the legal right to share my (no gun) space. Or compete in F Olympics despite their biological, scientifically proven, physical advantages.

To help with the confusion around SEX (not gender), I propose that, rather than delete and erase F and F rights (= what seems to be happening), to create a third category, called ‘D’, in the law, for legal, statistical, operational, administrative etc. purposes. That could stand for ‘Diverse’ and encapsulate people who for whatever reason feel oppressed by being M or F biologically (SEX, not gender). Germany does that already (job ads are open to M/F/D).

This solution would also mean that D people can get rights and SEX-category-based equality, without erasing F and all that F have fought for. 

The more I think about it, the current assault on F almost looks like the ultimate, final victory of patriarchy:

Deleting and erasing F as a distinct legal category, with her SEX-based legal rights and protections, for good. 

Prince Philip is dead, apparently

Someone told me that today Prince Philip has died, this morning (Friday 9th April 2021). He was 99 years old.

I’ve still not actively looked at any news this year but I caught bits and pieces accidentally, over the last couple of months. Examples:

• Kim Kardashian and Kanye West divorcing
• A woman got raped, murdered, dismembered by a police officer (in London??)
• A ship got stuck in the Suez canal (?)
• From yesterday: troubles in Northern Ireland

Last week, I stopped subscribing to a print news magazine, because I’ve not been reading it, and I also deleted Facebook a couple of months ago.

I’ve lately been imagining the world as The Matrix, where all the digital people permanently plugged into information are like the Matrix human pods. I’m like Morpheus – I’ve stopped taking the blue pill, by disconnecting from the constant stream of information. It feels very freeing – I can breathe!

Another useful side-effect of deprogramming myself and reducing noise from irrelevant sources has been clarity of thought. With fewer content to clog up my bandwidth, I see everything crystal clear.

For example:

• Language and communication is just a tool that you can use to ‘build reality’ (discourse)
• Politicians and other people who want to manipulate you in some way or other (e.g. your employer / manager etc.) will use it as such
• Because of this, you can (and should) do it too
• That doesn’t mean it’s real what you read / hear / see etc.

Another film (alongside The Matrix) that is a good example of what deprogramming feels like is John Carpenter’s (1988) film They Live. It’s about some guy who finds sunglasses and, when putting them on, realises that the ruling class (= rich cunts) are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to consume, breed, and conform to the status quo via subliminal messages in mass media. Basically like what Boris Johnson and his pals have been doing for the last 5 years or so.

The final good thing about unplugging from The Matrix has been that I’ve had a lot of room to do good stuff – for example, I’ve started playing Final Fantasy VII Remake, which was a freebie on the PlayStation Plus in March. I’m really enjoying it!

Life is so rich.

Trump’s coup to stay in the White House – My first 2021 News (by accident)

Today, I talked to someone about how my year without news was going. I said something like,

“It’s not as if I would miss anything important. I’m sure that, if there was a war or something, I’d find out some way or another.”

And the other person said: “Well… you’ve not looked at the news at all, then?”

Me: “No, not at all. My mum said something around Christmas that Boris had finally caved in (re. Brexit), but other than that I’ve no idea.”

It turns out there’s been some sort of coup in the USA, where Trump supporters stormed the White House and 4 people died! I asked a few questions about the story as if the Internet didn’t exist and the person was my only source of information, like in the olden days (imagine the early 1990s for example, if you’re old enough!). I didn’t google it (and haven’t since), so that piece is the only information I know. Oh, and apparently it was 2 days ago and there has also been some issue with Twitter where Trump had to delete some Tweets (?).

I think I’m going to do a post throughout 2021 where, whenever I hear or otherwise encounter a news item despite my active avoidance, I’ll post here what it is.

I could also add the source i.e. where I got it from. I won’t further investigate or research it – no googling! That means I’ll probably have to limit my use of Google too, as it often  displays fresh content / news stories.

I mean, is it even possible to completely escape the news, when you’re a professional currently working remotely from home?