This might be his manifesto. If it's the same guy, then he's not a Trump supporter, just some nut who took advantage of the circus being in town. EDIT: Do not read the comments on that link, there...
This might be his manifesto. If it's the same guy, then he's not a Trump supporter, just some nut who took advantage of the circus being in town.
EDIT: Do not read the comments on that link, there is some vile stuff in there.
I saw a guy holding a “Ponzi Papers” protest sign walking through Washington Square Park earlier this week. If it wasn’t the same guy, then he has at least one follower, which is disconcerting. I...
I saw a guy holding a “Ponzi Papers” protest sign walking through Washington Square Park earlier this week. If it wasn’t the same guy, then he has at least one follower, which is disconcerting.
I had been outside the courthouse for Trump’s initial arraignment for this hush-money case, and the park had so many wild protestors who had come out of the woodwork for the event. A person dressed as a pile of shit holding a sign with indecipherable screed, a black woman who painted herself white sexually harassing the pro-Trump protestors, a guy in a banana costume, and many other political factions waving their various flags.
It seems the circus these events have become attracts the people on the fringe including the mentally ill. They don’t even need to be directly addressing the court case itself, just taking advantage of the limelight. Perhaps even the media coverage itself is introducing people to these fringe views, furthering radicalization.
I’m not sure what the solution is, but I’m not looking forward to the run up to the election this November as tensions will certainly be ramped up.
Wait a minute, I think I saw him too! When I was walking to work yesterday there was a guy with a Ponzi Papers sign by NYU. I think it said something about NYU itself being a ponzi scheme. I don't...
Wait a minute, I think I saw him too! When I was walking to work yesterday there was a guy with a Ponzi Papers sign by NYU. I think it said something about NYU itself being a ponzi scheme. I don't know, I just took a quick glance and then went on about my business, because (as you know) in New York there's always something weird to look at.
Yes! That’s the one! I had the same reaction as you, so I didn’t focus too much on what he looked like, but I want to say he seemed younger/college-aged and so unlikely to be the one who...
Yes! That’s the one! I had the same reaction as you, so I didn’t focus too much on what he looked like, but I want to say he seemed younger/college-aged and so unlikely to be the one who self-immolated.
There's a photo of him in the NYT article about halfway down if you wanted to check. His sign in that photo is about a Biden/Trump combined fascist coup though.
There's a photo of him in the NYT article about halfway down if you wanted to check. His sign in that photo is about a Biden/Trump combined fascist coup though.
I've not heard of this performance artist, and I struggle to understand her art. One of the YouTube commenters said that they want the best for her as an artist and it's a shame because the kind...
I've not heard of this performance artist, and I struggle to understand her art.
One of the YouTube commenters said that they want the best for her as an artist and it's a shame because the kind of people who commission art galleries etc tend not to appreciate chaotic and visually violent content outside of the frame.
If she shoots pictures or videos of herself nearly naked or even completely naked, then superimposed upon protest sites, and appears "out of character" for the meet and greets, I feel like she would see commercial success.
And she says she doesn't care but she very clearly is wounded by people's rejection and how they see her. Her being outrageous and courting rejection probably feels good, because they're rejecting something she can choose to stop being. But it's a double edge sword: her fans love the controversial version of her. She has to keep raising the bar to hold onto this love. Who else loves her for who she is? Her mother is struggling as well but she's trying.
She doesn't seem like a happy person doing what makes her happy. Is fame and success and acceptance that important?
Offhand thoughts - the main goal of this type of art is disruptive. Successful performances involve rattling people who put on a generally secure persona as they move through the world. Art isn't...
Offhand thoughts - the main goal of this type of art is disruptive. Successful performances involve rattling people who put on a generally secure persona as they move through the world. Art isn't necessarily about being happy - it's about self-expression and honesty.
Also, that camera guy is totally in love with her.
Paranoia, fueled by the opaque dealings of power elites. Some people just can't believe that the movers and shakers are indifferent to us rather than being malevolent Lex Luthor style.
Paranoia, fueled by the opaque dealings of power elites. Some people just can't believe that the movers and shakers are indifferent to us rather than being malevolent Lex Luthor style.
Lastly, we string these major discoveries together: Cryptocurrency is an economic doomsday device; our government is a secret kleptocracy; The Simpsons exists to brainwash us.
I mean, he’s not wrong in a general way. His mistake is to think he is the first to discover these truths, and to think they are absolute. Another mistake is to think this is the only game in...
I mean, he’s not wrong in a general way.
His mistake is to think he is the first to discover these truths, and to think they are absolute. Another mistake is to think this is the only game in town.
But I get it. People can be awful, and the only mechanism of justice in the world is …more people. Who can be awful. Despair is not irrational.
Uh he's pretty wrong from what I'm seeing. Cryptocurrency is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an economic doomsday device. The government is not a kleptocracy, secret or otherwise, as the...
Uh he's pretty wrong from what I'm seeing.
Cryptocurrency is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an economic doomsday device.
The government is not a kleptocracy, secret or otherwise, as the many people who have lived in those kinds of countries will tell you. It is faaaaaaar from perfect, but this is extremely hyperbolic.
I'm not even going to touch on the simpsons. If it exists to brainwash us it's got to be some of the worst government funding in a long time given the quality drop over the years.
I don't think it makes sense to compare the United States to other countries to rule it out as a kleptocracy. Sure, there are other countries where the corruption is much worse, but we most...
I don't think it makes sense to compare the United States to other countries to rule it out as a kleptocracy. Sure, there are other countries where the corruption is much worse, but we most definitely have bribery, kickbacks, and insider training that is utilized by politicians because of their power. That doesn't seem hyperbolic at all to me
If “having some level of corruption” is the same as kleptocracy, then it’s a useless definition because every country has these problems. It is a fairly useless term as is but you are vastly over...
If “having some level of corruption” is the same as kleptocracy, then it’s a useless definition because every country has these problems. It is a fairly useless term as is but you are vastly over applying it
I think I am making an assumption about a common understanding of kleptocracy that we may not share based off your response here. If we're going to have a discussion I'd like to know what your...
I think I am making an assumption about a common understanding of kleptocracy that we may not share based off your response here. If we're going to have a discussion I'd like to know what your operating definition of a kleptocracy is.
I'm fine with basically any of the definitions that come up on google. Seems to be the most succinct. If you want to get more polisci about it Chatham House has a nicely detailed article:...
I'm fine with basically any of the definitions that come up on google.
government by people who use their power to steal their country's resources.
So I think, like many things in life, that states and politics are like a spectrum. For me, one of the main things that define a kleptocracy is no formal repercussions for politicians after they...
So I think, like many things in life, that states and politics are like a spectrum. For me, one of the main things that define a kleptocracy is no formal repercussions for politicians after they have been found out for corruption. We have several examples of this in recent years.
Now, certainly it's not as bad as other countries, but I think it's a matter of degree. And I think the more blatant instances could slide us further in the scale towards an all out kleptocracy.
This is crazy. First the Israel/Palestine conflict self-immolation by a servicemember and now a suspected Trump supporter self-immolation. People on all sides are getting so worked up over...
This is crazy. First the Israel/Palestine conflict self-immolation by a servicemember and now a suspected Trump supporter self-immolation.
People on all sides are getting so worked up over politics that they are killing themselves in spectacular and public fashions. This does not bode well for the election this fall.
Edit: I read his manifesto, it seems like he's just generally an anti-government conspiracy theorist. I wouldn't actually classify him as either a Trump or Biden supporter, but his suicide definitely seems to be in protest against the prosecution of Trump.
I know I got flack for it before, but I believe this is a mental health issue, possibly coupled with the phenomena of young people, men in particular, increasingly being radicalized in online echo...
I know I got flack for it before, but I believe this is a mental health issue, possibly coupled with the phenomena of young people, men in particular, increasingly being radicalized in online echo chambers. I wish people had access to better care and would utilize crisis lines.
It is mentioned his family didn't know what's going on him untill after the incident. I guess he had no one to talk to irl and found solace in online conspiracy theories. He likely found some...
It is mentioned his family didn't know what's going on him untill after the incident. I guess he had no one to talk to irl and found solace in online conspiracy theories.
In an interview that day, he said his critical views of the American government were shaped by his research into Peter Thiel, the technology billionaire and political provocateur who is a major campaign donor, and into cryptocurrency.
He likely found some online community that not only agreed with his world view but gave further ideas. Ironically some people are there for memes and fun but give the edgiest opinions and few take it all on face value.
I agree that genocide is worth being upset about. Self-immolation just seems like a last desperate attempt to make your voice heard. While it is important to speak out against genocide, I would...
I agree that genocide is worth being upset about. Self-immolation just seems like a last desperate attempt to make your voice heard. While it is important to speak out against genocide, I would argue that people in the US have many other forms of protest that politicians have been hearing and responding to even if the response is slow or not enough.
The feeling of people that self-immolation is the only way forward shows that people are feeling desperate about politics on all sides of the political spectrum in the US. Whether or not the thing people feel desperate about is valid, the fact that they are desperate enough for self-immolation is concerning.
Someone on twitter pointed out that self immolation has been tracked since the 1940s in the US, and that around 25% of those have occurred since 2020. See post here.
Someone on twitter pointed out that self immolation has been tracked since the 1940s in the US, and that around 25% of those have occurred since 2020. See post here.
That sounds like an exaggeration, but I could believe being able to feel the initial fireball from a fair distance away. I've been to events at stadiums where they have a pyrotechnic display in...
That sounds like an exaggeration, but I could believe being able to feel the initial fireball from a fair distance away. I've been to events at stadiums where they have a pyrotechnic display in the center. You can definitely feel the heat from a small fireball from a ways away.
I'm sure it's a typo as they quickly update the developing story. One of the free rines you catch them live from the times is when there it's something breaking.
I'm sure it's a typo as they quickly update the developing story. One of the free rines you catch them live from the times is when there it's something breaking.
Gifted NYT link. Sad to potentially see people taking politics to a level of self harm. I hope he recovers. Edit: It turns out the man is a conspiracy theorist unrelated to this particular...
Gifted NYT link. Sad to potentially see people taking politics to a level of self harm. I hope he recovers.
Edit: It turns out the man is a conspiracy theorist unrelated to this particular political situation. Very sad that someone so wanted the world to pay attention and take heed that he was driven to this extreme.
This might be his manifesto. If it's the same guy, then he's not a Trump supporter, just some nut who took advantage of the circus being in town.
EDIT: Do not read the comments on that link, there is some vile stuff in there.
I saw a guy holding a “Ponzi Papers” protest sign walking through Washington Square Park earlier this week. If it wasn’t the same guy, then he has at least one follower, which is disconcerting.
I had been outside the courthouse for Trump’s initial arraignment for this hush-money case, and the park had so many wild protestors who had come out of the woodwork for the event. A person dressed as a pile of shit holding a sign with indecipherable screed, a black woman who painted herself white sexually harassing the pro-Trump protestors, a guy in a banana costume, and many other political factions waving their various flags.
It seems the circus these events have become attracts the people on the fringe including the mentally ill. They don’t even need to be directly addressing the court case itself, just taking advantage of the limelight. Perhaps even the media coverage itself is introducing people to these fringe views, furthering radicalization.
I’m not sure what the solution is, but I’m not looking forward to the run up to the election this November as tensions will certainly be ramped up.
Wait a minute, I think I saw him too! When I was walking to work yesterday there was a guy with a Ponzi Papers sign by NYU. I think it said something about NYU itself being a ponzi scheme. I don't know, I just took a quick glance and then went on about my business, because (as you know) in New York there's always something weird to look at.
Yes! That’s the one! I had the same reaction as you, so I didn’t focus too much on what he looked like, but I want to say he seemed younger/college-aged and so unlikely to be the one who self-immolated.
There's another post on that substack link about how "NYU is a mob front," FWIW.
There's a photo of him in the NYT article about halfway down if you wanted to check. His sign in that photo is about a Biden/Trump combined fascist coup though.
"A black woman who painted herself white sexually harassing the pro-Trump protestors"
good ol' crackhead barney, at it again.
I've not heard of this performance artist, and I struggle to understand her art.
One of the YouTube commenters said that they want the best for her as an artist and it's a shame because the kind of people who commission art galleries etc tend not to appreciate chaotic and visually violent content outside of the frame.
If she shoots pictures or videos of herself nearly naked or even completely naked, then superimposed upon protest sites, and appears "out of character" for the meet and greets, I feel like she would see commercial success.
And she says she doesn't care but she very clearly is wounded by people's rejection and how they see her. Her being outrageous and courting rejection probably feels good, because they're rejecting something she can choose to stop being. But it's a double edge sword: her fans love the controversial version of her. She has to keep raising the bar to hold onto this love. Who else loves her for who she is? Her mother is struggling as well but she's trying.
She doesn't seem like a happy person doing what makes her happy. Is fame and success and acceptance that important?
Offhand thoughts - the main goal of this type of art is disruptive. Successful performances involve rattling people who put on a generally secure persona as they move through the world. Art isn't necessarily about being happy - it's about self-expression and honesty.
Also, that camera guy is totally in love with her.
Oh boy. I'll second my statement about mental health and internet echo chambers. Poor guy.
Edit: NYT article is reporting it being this guy.
Paranoia, fueled by the opaque dealings of power elites. Some people just can't believe that the movers and shakers are indifferent to us rather than being malevolent Lex Luthor style.
I am in a state of hypnosis now.
I mean, he’s not wrong in a general way.
His mistake is to think he is the first to discover these truths, and to think they are absolute. Another mistake is to think this is the only game in town.
But I get it. People can be awful, and the only mechanism of justice in the world is …more people. Who can be awful. Despair is not irrational.
Uh he's pretty wrong from what I'm seeing.
Cryptocurrency is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an economic doomsday device.
The government is not a kleptocracy, secret or otherwise, as the many people who have lived in those kinds of countries will tell you. It is faaaaaaar from perfect, but this is extremely hyperbolic.
I'm not even going to touch on the simpsons. If it exists to brainwash us it's got to be some of the worst government funding in a long time given the quality drop over the years.
I don't think it makes sense to compare the United States to other countries to rule it out as a kleptocracy. Sure, there are other countries where the corruption is much worse, but we most definitely have bribery, kickbacks, and insider training that is utilized by politicians because of their power. That doesn't seem hyperbolic at all to me
If “having some level of corruption” is the same as kleptocracy, then it’s a useless definition because every country has these problems. It is a fairly useless term as is but you are vastly over applying it
I think I am making an assumption about a common understanding of kleptocracy that we may not share based off your response here. If we're going to have a discussion I'd like to know what your operating definition of a kleptocracy is.
I'm fine with basically any of the definitions that come up on google.
Seems to be the most succinct. If you want to get more polisci about it Chatham House has a nicely detailed article: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/07/what-kleptocracy-and-how-does-it-work
So I think, like many things in life, that states and politics are like a spectrum. For me, one of the main things that define a kleptocracy is no formal repercussions for politicians after they have been found out for corruption. We have several examples of this in recent years.
Now, certainly it's not as bad as other countries, but I think it's a matter of degree. And I think the more blatant instances could slide us further in the scale towards an all out kleptocracy.
This is crazy. First the Israel/Palestine conflict self-immolation by a servicemember and now a suspected Trump supporter self-immolation.
People on all sides are getting so worked up over politics that they are killing themselves in spectacular and public fashions. This does not bode well for the election this fall.
Edit: I read his manifesto, it seems like he's just generally an anti-government conspiracy theorist. I wouldn't actually classify him as either a Trump or Biden supporter, but his suicide definitely seems to be in protest against the prosecution of Trump.
I know I got flack for it before, but I believe this is a mental health issue, possibly coupled with the phenomena of young people, men in particular, increasingly being radicalized in online echo chambers. I wish people had access to better care and would utilize crisis lines.
It is mentioned his family didn't know what's going on him untill after the incident. I guess he had no one to talk to irl and found solace in online conspiracy theories.
He likely found some online community that not only agreed with his world view but gave further ideas. Ironically some people are there for memes and fun but give the edgiest opinions and few take it all on face value.
Not that I want to defend self immolation, but I think genocide is something which it is natural to be "getting so worked up" about.
I agree that genocide is worth being upset about. Self-immolation just seems like a last desperate attempt to make your voice heard. While it is important to speak out against genocide, I would argue that people in the US have many other forms of protest that politicians have been hearing and responding to even if the response is slow or not enough.
The feeling of people that self-immolation is the only way forward shows that people are feeling desperate about politics on all sides of the political spectrum in the US. Whether or not the thing people feel desperate about is valid, the fact that they are desperate enough for self-immolation is concerning.
Someone on twitter pointed out that self immolation has been tracked since the 1940s in the US, and that around 25% of those have occurred since 2020. See post here.
This seems highly unlikely.
That sounds like an exaggeration, but I could believe being able to feel the initial fireball from a fair distance away. I've been to events at stadiums where they have a pyrotechnic display in the center. You can definitely feel the heat from a small fireball from a ways away.
I'm sure it's a typo as they quickly update the developing story. One of the free rines you catch them live from the times is when there it's something breaking.
Hah, I'm guessing that is a typo.
Gifted NYT link. Sad to potentially see people taking politics to a level of self harm. I hope he recovers.
Edit: It turns out the man is a conspiracy theorist unrelated to this particular political situation. Very sad that someone so wanted the world to pay attention and take heed that he was driven to this extreme.
He died hours later according to the article, I assume It's been edited since you posted.