Earlier quoted context omitted.
That was true maybe 10 years ago.
And it's true now.
Name one counter-cultural thing on 4chan today.
The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
231–240 of 292 posts
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
Networks of cottage industry. During Covid lockdowns I joined a powerlifting gym that was a startup in an old dry cleaners, had to “try out” to get in (make sure I wasn’t a narc), was the only gym in a city of 5+ million that was open and they had papered over the windows so prying eyes couldn’t observe the no-masks inside. I had the fewest tats in the place, you only wear black, there will never be any TVs and the h…
(Make sure I wasn’t a narc) What does this mean in the context? Were they afraid of getting shut down during covid or something? I’m assuming that is what you meant.
> papered over the windows so prying eyes couldn’t observe the no-masks inside
I inferred it was lockdown/facemask or otherwise Corona related. I knew a couple of underground bars/restaurants that operated in a similar "speakeasy" fashion back in the 'rona times.
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're missing the point of the comment. Saying "don't do these things" isn't helpful because people are going to do them regardless. OP is saying it should not be on the mainstream internet, ie, the open "gatekeeping required" statement.
That post does make it sounds very cool to do all these things though, so I'd say it's good to have a balancing post that says that risking body parts for a thrill is uncool.
I don't believe that everyone does these things to be cool. You can't really say what drives people to do what they do, there are endless reasons. Trying to make something "uncool" isn't going to cut it.
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#234The real counterculture right now is non-participation . In a world where virtually everything is either designed to completely waste your time or fail and not be repairable, it's a highly radical act to stop consuming like the 95%, preferring to spend time with other humans in reality doing something that isn't technological. In spite of the popular world pushing the message that you will be fulfilled living in virt…
I always think it’s so interesting that on the threads about counterculture, nobody brings up the obvious counterculture that is a huge topic of conversation in America: Homeless people. A large group of individuals who live their life very differently from the mainstream (countercultures do not have to be opt-in), who have completely different goals/morals/motivations than the mainstream, and are fully and violently…
> I always think it’s so interesting that on the threads about counterculture, nobody brings up the obvious counterculture that is a huge topic of conversation in America: Homeless people.
I don't think homelessness is a counterculture, unless it's been adopted as a conscious choice/preference. My understanding is the vast majority of homeless are such because of involuntary mental health/substance abuse issues or poverty. It might be a subculture, but not all subcultures are countercultures.
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Conspiracy theory" is nothing more/less than attributing the cause of something to manipulation by some (usually secret) group, i.e. a conspiracy. Some are correct, some are wrong. Believing the Earth is flat isn't a conspiracy theory; believing that a secret organisation is suppressing this knowledge in favour of a false globe model is a conspiracy theory. Believing that certain social structures/institutions disad…
I agree about conspiratorial thinking, I think you wrote a good exposition on that subject, and I think the way you incorporated Bayesianism is interesting. I disagree with the part where you say "merely," a conspiracy theory plays a particular role within political discourse. Conspiracy theories are intimately connected with power relations and ideology. They are also syncretic (or at least, the ones that fail to be…
True, the dynamics I stated are pretty broad (scarily so!): they don't describe why any particular set of ideas will take hold or not. The ones which appear will certainly depend on politics, as various goals/agendas are pushed (some good, some bad; subjectively speaking). There's also an aspect of cultural darwinism, that certain theories/agendas/politics are good at "reproducing" and others go "extinct".
I suppose the best we can hope for is to try and remain grounded in empiricism; call out incorrect arguments when we notice them (even for causes we agree with; we should prefer alternative, better arguments); and always allow for the possibility that we're wrong ;)
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#236Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#237The real counterculture right now is non-participation . In a world where virtually everything is either designed to completely waste your time or fail and not be repairable, it's a highly radical act to stop consuming like the 95%, preferring to spend time with other humans in reality doing something that isn't technological. In spite of the popular world pushing the message that you will be fulfilled living in virt…
the radical sets their phone to "do not disturb" and plays frisbee-golf or pub trivia I have recently been surprised to learn how robust both the stamp collecting and model railroading hobbies are these days. Living in the HN bubble, I just assumed they were both dead. They're not. Not by a long shot. I wonder what other "old timey" hobbies are still popular.
that's funny, I saw a thing recently covering the death of stamp collecting, with participants obsessive but aging, very few young people entering the scene and very few interesting stamps (to collectors) being made.
I'm confident railroads will continue to be a thing though, its ajacent to wargaming which I know is going strong from my own participation :)
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A large group of individuals who live their life very differently from the mainstream (countercultures do not have to be opt-in) Yes, it does, and it has to have aspirational elements, distinct from those of the mainstrram it is defined against. Otherwise, while it is a a distinct (possibly sub-)culture, it isn’t a counterculture. When you have to alter the widely understood meaning of a term to argue everyone else…
So the Roma aren’t a counterculture? I agree homeless people aren’t a political movement that’s trying to abolish homes, but they are completely rejecting mainstream culture (by choice or not). > Countercultures are often described as radical groups of people who reject established social values and practices and who embrace a mode of life opposed to the mainstream. Countercultures emerge in the wake of dramatic econ…
Roma have their own culture. It is not counterculture, it is just how their traditions developed.
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
4chan is about as mainstream as it gets. Being edgy and racist isn't countercultural, certainly not nowadays.
> 4chan is about as mainstream as it gets. 4chan certainly isn't mainstream. Being somewhat well-trafficked != mainstream. > Being edgy and racist isn't countercultural, certainly not nowadays. That's just so obviously wrong, it's hard to know where to start. I mean, pretty much the entire media and business apparatus of the country spends a lot of effort loudly condemning those things. You might have the arrived at…
There is also whole media apparatus and leaders of political party dedicated to promoting racism and "edgy" stuff. They even claim themselves to be the only real Americans.
Re: The internet didn’t kill counterculture, it's just not on Instagram (2021)
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
So the Roma aren’t a counterculture? I agree homeless people aren’t a political movement that’s trying to abolish homes, but they are completely rejecting mainstream culture (by choice or not). > Countercultures are often described as radical groups of people who reject established social values and practices and who embrace a mode of life opposed to the mainstream. Countercultures emerge in the wake of dramatic econ…
Roma have their own culture. It is not counterculture, it is just how their traditions developed.
Romani culture developed and maintained a nomadic lifestyle in areas where non-nomadic people already lived. To the point of choice, most Romani people are born into it.
If that's not a counter-culture, then what is a counterculture exactly?