Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Aurini" data-source="post: 1179691" data-attributes="member: 4778">Another angle worth considering:There is a subset of men (White, sometimes Asian) who bitch about media portrayals because it disadvantages them in the sexual market.&nbsp; I can't emphasize the following strongly enough: that's nothing but whiny idiocy.On a demographic level this propaganda works; but on the individual level, race is just a small part of your reality.&nbsp; An important part, certainly - but it's just one factor among many.An Asian guy who works out, learns game, and makes bank will out-compete the White weenie standing next to him.&nbsp; It's the old joke of &quot;I don't have to run faster than the lion, I just have to run faster than you!&quot; In economics, there's a concept of &quot;local monopoly&quot;: the gas station might not have the best prices on Candy Bars, but the grocery store is ten minutes away.&nbsp; Similarly, you might be perceived as less &quot;Alpha&quot; than &gt;Insert Famous Rapper Here&lt;, but the girl you're talking to doesn't have access to him.&nbsp; You just need to be more &quot;Alpha&quot; than the other guys in her circles.This goes back to an ongoing frustration of mine: people who are first order thinkers.&nbsp; They can only think in one pattern at a time.&nbsp; They either take the pure individualism route, or they obsess over demographics.&nbsp; A proper assessment of the situation requires that we do both: we acknowledge the demographic shifts, while approaching our own lives as individuals.It's not an either-or - it needs to be both.&nbsp; Obsess over demographics, and you'll miss out on the opportunity staring you in the face.&nbsp; Ignore demographics, and you'll be blindsided when the storm hits your neighbourhood.&nbsp; Racial conversations shouldn't devolve into simplistic othering and hatred - this blinds us to the reality of individuals having moral worth, and if you dehumanize the other you wind up dehumanizing yourself as well.&nbsp; I'd like to think we're better than that.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Aurini, post: 1179691, member: 4778"] Another angle worth considering: There is a subset of men (White, sometimes Asian) who bitch about media portrayals because it disadvantages them in the sexual market. I can't emphasize the following strongly enough: that's nothing but whiny idiocy. On a demographic level this propaganda works; but on the individual level, race is just a small part of your reality. An important part, certainly - but it's just one factor among many. An Asian guy who works out, learns game, and makes bank will out-compete the White weenie standing next to him. It's the old joke of "I don't have to run faster than the lion, I just have to run faster than you!" In economics, there's a concept of "local monopoly": the gas station might not have the best prices on Candy Bars, but the grocery store is ten minutes away. Similarly, you might be perceived as less "Alpha" than >Insert Famous Rapper Here<, but the girl you're talking to doesn't have access to him. You just need to be more "Alpha" than the other guys in her circles. This goes back to an ongoing frustration of mine: people who are first order thinkers. They can only think in one pattern at a time. They either take the pure individualism route, or they obsess over demographics. A proper assessment of the situation requires that we do both: we acknowledge the demographic shifts, while approaching our own lives as individuals. It's not an either-or - it needs to be both. Obsess over demographics, and you'll miss out on the opportunity staring you in the face. Ignore demographics, and you'll be blindsided when the storm hits your neighbourhood. Racial conversations shouldn't devolve into simplistic othering and hatred - this blinds us to the reality of individuals having moral worth, and if you dehumanize the other you wind up dehumanizing yourself as well. I'd like to think we're better than that. [/QUOTE]

Verification