If the world is destroyed, it will be a white-collar crime, done in a business-like way, by large numbers of individuals involved in a chain of actions, each one having a touch of innocence.
Howard Zinn
– From Dow Shall Not Kill
I’ve come across Uncommon Sense – a book of quotes from the speeches and writings of Howard Zinn [amazon] – it is a fabulous “toilet tank book”, something you can read in those short pauses to contemplate.
“toilet tank book”
I don’t see the joy of reading while shitting or pissing, and that’s the only reason I use the toilet. Well, also to spew on the odd occasion, but same thing applies.
(How bored can one get in a few tens of seconds at most?)
John Morales
Agreed. I’ve never understood people spending 10 to 15 minutes sitting on the pot.
If you don’t need to shit, go do something else until you do need.
I was raised to be comfortable and more or less enjoy most of the things of the body. Those are some of the things – so I never felt hurried or uncomfortable. Also, in my parents’ house the bathroom had a huge radiator and it was always super warm in there – I suspect that had something to do with it.
When I was a kid I turned every “sit and read”-able spot into a reading spot. Including the toilet. But I found that things like short stories, magazines, etc., were good for short browsing.
Honestly, I thought everyone did this. Because, of course, the whole world is like Me!
You might find this amusing, Marcus. Although you already deny the legitimacy of “institutions” anyway, but can a society exist in a state of perpetual and total skepticism? I’m not sure.
His theme is that if you destroy all faith in institutions, you are reduced to not the libertarian/anarchist paradise, but Big Man Autocracy. Which too many people WANT anyway.
http://www.ginandtacos.com/2018/02/08/the-narrative-future/#comments
I feel mighty uncomfortable without something to read because then one has to focus only on the task at hand. So…I am with both sides here. :)
Toilet books are a thing in the UK probably because of far too few vegetables in the diet. We always had a pile of articles clipped from the Guardian in our toilet when I was a kid, my mother’s guts had been affected by her bout of polio and it could take her a long time to go, because she was also lame from the polio jumping up to go and do something else wasn’t that easy so she used the time to catch up on the think pieces. Plus with six kids in the house I suspect sitting on the loo was amongst her very limited guaranteed quiet time.
bmiller@#4:
His theme is that if you destroy all faith in institutions, you are reduced to not the libertarian/anarchist paradise, but Big Man Autocracy. Which too many people WANT anyway.
I’m probably in agreement with that. When you destroy government, you open the door for the next Stalin. [stderr]
The whole premise of my exercise on Badgeria and Badgerian politics is around the idea that government should be destructible by the people, but only piecemeal and that there should be a framework for peaceful and effective substitution of new components of government when and if necessary. I like the idea that We, The People, should be able to have a mini-revolution against, say, the Department of Motor Vehicles and replace it without tearing the whole government down.
Honestly, I thought everyone did this. Because, of course, the whole world is like Me!
I have also experienced countless such situations where I assumed that other people are like me only to get informed that they aren’t.
By the way, I don’t read in the toilet. Apparently my diet is healthy enough to not need to spend much time there.
Ieva Skrebele@#8:
Apparently my diet is healthy enough to not need to spend much time there.
It’s not diet, it’s that it’s a comfortable place where I get intermittent “couple minute” sanity breaks a couple times a day. Perhaps it is my “comfort zone” and perhaps I am sharing too much information.
While I’m at it: most of my best ideas come in the shower. I have no idea why. My theories might be the hot water does something to my head, and/or that I can’t be reading a book in the shower so I do nothing but think my own thoughts. On the other hand, I don’t get great ideas sitting on airplanes or driving – just showers. There is probably an explanation in evolutionary psychology.
It’s not diet, it’s that it’s a comfortable place where I get intermittent “couple minute” sanity breaks a couple times a day.
For me at home “a comfortable place where I get intermittent ‘couple minute’ sanity breaks” is my bed. Every now and then I just lie down and rest or think for a moment. Outside of home, couches and chairs are valid substitutes too. In toilets I just do what I need to do there and don’t stay any longer than necessary.
and perhaps I am sharing too much information
When it comes to sharing information online, I look at whether sharing some bit of information could be potentially harmful for me (for example, an embarrassing fact that might make a potential employer decide not to hire me) and whether this information is something I prefer to keep secret. If answers to both questions are “no”, anything is fine, I can just let the conversation go anywhere. Granted, most of the time I don’t share personal information, only because generally people I’m talking to aren’t interested in knowing facts about, for example, some random stranger’s bowel movements, medical conditions or sex life. Usually this kind of information is not relevant for a discussion and people just aren’t interested in it. This attitude of mine is also largely influenced by the fact that I don’t inherently care about social norms, and among the norms I don’t care about are also “rules” about topics you aren’t supposed to discuss publicly. And, speaking of social norms, many of them are plain stupid anyway.
While I’m at it: most of my best ideas come in the shower.
This is true also for me. I enjoy hot showers, so I spend there more time than really necessary.
I also tend to get ideas while walking. Walking is my primary method of transportation, so I walk around a lot.
I like the idea that We, The People, should be able to have a mini-revolution against, say, the Department of Motor Vehicles and replace it without tearing the whole government down.
My personal experience with the DMV (Illinois) has been nothing but pleasant and efficient, but I understand they’re pretty high on many people’s “first against the wall” list.
On a slightly less revolutionary scale, it would cut down a lot of this insanity of laws that include a multitude of unrelated provisions. Both pork and horse trading would be gone.
California DMV has always been “fine” imho as well. They have moved to enabling a lot of things on line.
In defense of DMV employees….their “clients” don’t want to be there, it is amazing how many people cannot follow or read simple instructions, there are serious consequences for not following the rules….surliness is inevitable. Unless you all want to just eliminate vehicle registration and driver licensing, and I am in no way a pure enough “anarchist” to jump on board that train.
I know, I know, privatize it. Turn to DMV into Comcast or the electric company. Somehow….that does not seem like the kind of revolution I would join.
I know, I know, privatize it. Turn to DMV into Comcast or the electric company.
My example of what the absence of net neutrality will look like is the road right outside your house turning into a pay road. This is because I know more than most people about networking and have some very, very rough ideas about how much these big ISPs like Comcast are ripping off their customers.
The reality is if Comcast owned the DMV, I’d be lucky if they didn’t make me pay rent for parking in the driveway and again for parking in the lot at work. My odometer would probably have a credit card slot, too and a nice, pleasant sounding voice telling me “You have exceeded your pre-paid mileage for today. Please insert credit card for 5 more miles.” Oh and they’d probably charge me for my license too, so I could pay them for the privilege of having them track me everywhere.