A lovely little MGTOW meme for Friday night. Inside of every Man Going His Own Way is a delusional doofus who fantasizes about society collapsing in a heap so that he can say “told you so” to all the women he’s ever had an unrequited crush on.
Now, I’m no expert in post-apocalypse survival, but I’m pretty sure that if (when?) society collapses no one will be feeling particularly cocky. And that it will be the people who cooperate with one another who will be the most likely to survive, not the prickly MGTOWs still holding a grudge about the girl who turned them down in 8th grade.
EDITED TO ADD: I found this meme on a MGTOW Facebook page here. Lots more ridiculousness there.
I took an interest in survivalism for a while so I had so much to say, but ya’ll got there first!
[spoilers]I second The postman the book being so much better than the film. I especially loved the whole “President Eden” style AI bit that they totally left out of the film. The whole thing should come with a trigger warning and doesn’t, but I’m used to that. Many books are horrible beyond words and you’d have no idea till you open them up. But its usually worth it for the stories.
I recently chucked a Ben Bova post-apocalypse after chapter one because there was just sooo much rape and all of the female characters left alive were poorly written manipulative bitches. Are all his books like that does anyone know?
I think the thing about the post-apocalypse when you live in Britain is that a full scale breakdown would be the most unlikely event. All sorts of things could stop working but we would still form orderly queues for what was left. Its just that much easier to organize a small island in time of disaster than a continent wide, unevenly populated amalgamation of states. There are no great empty wilderness in which warbands could form and there wouldn’t be unless tens of millions were to die. Nothing short of that would do it. So what I expect from the future is a slow worsening and rationing out of such things as electricity, imported goods, luxury foods. So ‘prepping’ in the UK is about co-operation in the community and maybe having a secret stash of spam.
I love spam
I feel it should also be mentioned that in post-apocalypse times, women won’t be shaving their legs or underarms and won’t be using makeup or spending hours on their hair, so these sad little Miggies wouldn’t want any of the horrible ogre-women that remained.
@misophistry
Did you ever read a YA novel called ‘Noah’s Castle’ by John Rowe Townsend? It describes an authoritarian father in the 1970s who stockpiles food and resources and refuses to share with locals in need, to the dismay of his children, who try to rebel against his control. (Apparently it was a TV series too, though it was a bit before my time). The story essentially shows that ‘prepping’ is synonymous with ‘hoarding’. It’s worth a read to look at some of the moral dilemmas that would result from long term ‘shortages’.
@ asabovesobelow & peevee
Glad you liked the pics. It is a magical place. It still sort of works; it’s almost impossible to light a roll-up there, they just get too soggy. Apparently it was even wetter when operational cos the waterwheels threw up yet more spray. But some of the artificial waterfalls are still working a bit.
http://www.thatsmycornwall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/14260508423_4ff36853d7_k.jpg
@ danholme
Ah kids’ TV in the 70s. If a water ghoul didn’t drown us then we could look forward to the collapse of society before our inevitable fiery death in nuclear oblivion. It’s amazing we’re not all still just huddled under the stairs.
http://www.tvcream.co.uk/telly/tv-a-z/n-z/n-is-for/noahs-ark/
@AlanRobertshaw
Cracking photos sir, I love the green of wet moss. I can almost smell it from here. If you’re ever near Matlock, visit Lumsdale, which is similar, and worth a look.
@AlanRobertshaw
It was the boy who goes into the electric substation to retrieve his football that did it for me. To this day I shiver when I walk past them, and I hate walking under pylons, too.
His smoking corpse haunts my nightmares…
No I never read that one Danholme but I know what you mean. Best keep the secret stash of spam small and very very secret.
@ danholme
Just had a quick google at the pictures. Wow, it is very pretty. I love C19th hydraulic engineering. It’s so beautiful in that form follows function way. And of course, to keep on topic, it’s relatively apocalypse proof. Its not like we’re going to run out of rain (specially in the Peak District).
Hello.
Hmm, they seems to forget that it also could be an androcalypse, removing any human biological male on earth, or a gynocalypse, being the opposite of the former. In both cases, they would be busted.
And if it is the religious Apocalypse, with her trumpets and her four hoursemen, they can stick it themselves where the sun does not shine, because they would hardly get any sexual partners this time too…
On other words, being an asshole will not get you laid, apocalypse or not.
Have a nice day.
@misophistry
It was his smoking legs… Brrrrrr…
@AlanRobertshaw
Water power is how we intend to keep the lights on in the Independent People’s Republic of Mouldridge Mine (President-for-Life DanHolme); underground farms are a ‘thing’ now so I confidently predict increased crop yields throughout the first Five Year Plan.
Lumsdale is, apparently, where the shirts for the 1966 World Cup were dyed. One of the mills was used for grinding the pigments, they were dyed in one of the troughs, and then pegged out to dry in an adjacent field. This was told to me by a well-informed but occasionally hyperbolic local and may, in fact, be bollox, but it’s a well-established story nonetheless.
I think it’s very telling about the level of privilege these men have that they think of an apocalypse, and can only imagine that it would /benefit/ them.
Sure, they see that bad conditions might result from the collapse of society – but they can only foresee those bad conditions impacting other people. Somehow, they will be an alpha male super-protector and provider, and also have the energy to f*ck all the women they assume will be falling at their feet.
Anyone with a real concept of what an apocalypse would be like (at the very least, a lot of hard work and manual labor…exhausting, annoying, kind of gross depending on the conditions) wouldn’t be fantasizing about it. But they assume the apocalypse will treat them well…because they are cishet white men and conditions have always treated them well.
@Misophistry
I’ve never managed to get far enough in one to find out. Or, as best I can recall, meet a female character. So…
@DanHolme
He’s remarkably lucky the neighbours didn’t just kill him straight out after the first time he refused to share. Or at least make him share at gunpoint. A single person, or family, that sets up a big hoard to keep for themselves may as well paint a bullseye on their backs.
@ Alan, Dan, and other fans of mossiness and boskiness, or fans of human endeavour in creating the kind of world you want to live in:
If you are ever in north Queensland, check out Paronella Park.
https://youtu.be/vCcu1Hzqr_s
It’s a physical and aesthetic pleasure to be there.
There’s a brief construction history here: http://www.paronellapark.com.au/about/brief-history
My remarks :;Jose and Margarita were working class immigrants. They could have considered themselves lucky to just build a house to live in. Instead, they also built these stairs, castle, pavilion, crenelations, pleasure gardens, parklands and so forth, solely with their own planning and labour.
For things like the hydroelectric generator, tunnel, suspension bridge, and fountains, they also contracted help from professionals (hundreds or thousands of miles away), and paid for it. And made it work.
@Dalillama
RE the neighbours shooting the hoarder – yes, and that gets mentioned in the story (they move to a crumbly estate with high walls and do their best to be inconspicuous), though it would have been more of a case of pitchforks and cricket bats than guns in 1970s suburbia.
@Croquembouche
That does look awesome! My chances of getting to Queensland any time in the next decade are remote, but I’ll add it to the list of places to go.
@ croquembouche
I had to look up ‘boskiness’. I will now though be trying to squeeze it into conversations.
I like Paranella Park. Nice one Jose and Margarita. I’d love to build somewhere like that; then populate it with rescue donkeys (that’s pretty much my ambition these days).
Sticking with the Cornish moss theme, there’s an old Iron Age village near here. It has a fogou. That’s a kind of underground passage that you find in this region. No-one’s quite sure what they’re for. Suggestions range from defence to ritual to storing cheese. But the one at Carn Euny has moss that’s phosphorescent. It’s pretty spooky.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/remote/www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/images-new/visit/special-interest/2769818/3063639/three-things2.jpg
(If it’s the case that all moss glows please don’t spoil the magic for me 🙂 )
I tink we are in the same Postcode Alan. wazzon m’cok.
@ misophistry
Right on me lover.
I’m in glamorous Perran these days (actually it doesn’t look too bad today)
http://i.imgur.com/yFlnPez.jpg
But was over in West Penwith for a while indulging my love of all things standy and stoney.
Stones wot stand, we do have a lot of em. Good luck with the rescue donkeys!
@ misophistry
Indeed you do. You ever get up to Boscawen-Un? Love that place. If I ever get hitched that’ll be the venue.
All of the above: A ritual for defending cheese?
@ subtract hominem
Or a defence using cheese? You could probably have someone’s eye out with a slingshot and one of those mini Babybels.
I have impressive fat reserves, am strong as an ox, can spin wool and make stuff with yarn, and have been trained to choke a man unconscious in less than two seconds. That must count for something.
Fear me, for this is what I can do:
(Simulation of how much electricity a 250W solar panel will produce, depending on how you tilt it, in Iqaluit.)