Dumb and Nihilist?

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Dumb and Nihilist?

Let me go all Leonard Peikoff and stuff on people a little this morning.

First, his famous quote about what Ayn Rand said about streaking.

The passage is from "My Thirty Years with Ayn Rand--An Intellectual Memoir" by Peikoff, published in The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought.

Having grasped the streaker's nihilism, therefore, she was eager to point out to me some very different examples of the same attitude. Modern literature, she observed, is distinguished by its creators' passion not to offer something new and positive, but to wipe out: to eliminate plots, heroes, motivation, even grammar and syntax; in other words, their brazen desire to destroy their own field along with the great writers of the past by stripping away from literature every one of its cardinal attributes. Just as Progressive education is the desire for education stripped of lessons, reading, facts, teaching, and learning. Just as avant-garde physics is the gleeful cry that there is no order in nature, no law, no predictability, no causality.

If anyone is interested, some of us were discussing it here and here.

Now, using this same frame for judging glamorous culture in public events, what can we say about the hooting and hollering and mocking of beauty pageant contestants when they screw up? Here are a couple of examples that went viral.

Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question (over 58.7 million YouTube views right now)

2013 Miss Utah Marissa Powell Messes Up Miss USA Question Big Time! (only 500k+ views so far)

http://youtu.be/jHEFIhdkgFA

What does this say about our culture?

We humans glorify human beauty so much, we stage lots of events to showcase it. But what about the part of all the mocking when a beautiful person in the spotlight messes up? As anyone can see, the 2007 screw-up by Ms. South Carolina, Aimee Teagarden, isn't going away anytime soon. The cultural ripples go on and on...

Going Peikoff for a minute, is this a sign of nihilism in the mainstream? A sign of hating the beautiful for being beautiful? Of wanting to tear it down, mock it and stomp on it?

What does this say about you if you laughed, too?

Hmmmmm?

Things to ponder...

btw - I got these videos from TheBlaze here: Obama Supporters Asked Same Questions that Resulted in Infamous Beauty Pageant Answers, Hilarity Ensues.

You will find another interesting video in that article, one that deals with the headline:

The Obama Supporter Beauty Pageant #WCS13

Obama supporters were asked by Caleb Bonham the same questions as the beauty queen contestants were. And they came out with the same answers or those equally inane.

Now I have another question.

I would love to say I came up with it myself, but I heard it from Glenn Beck on his radio show this morning. He mentioned that the only difference between the pageant contestants and the Obama supporters Caleb Bonham interviewed is beauty. The contestants are beautiful and the interviewees are ugly.

I say that fully aware that I ain't no Adonis myself.

As Glenn noticed--and he didn't mention nihilism--being dumb and beautiful is one thing, but what if you are dumb and ugly?

Michael

[caroljane]

Michael,

If you are dumb and ugly, you have just as good a chance of being a reality TV star as do the dumb and beautiful!

God bless the pursuit of happiness!

[syrakusos]

Who cares?

[caroljane]

Who cares?

Several million viewers - it isn't too late! How about Objectivism's Dumbest Moments? It could be a cult hit!

[syrakusos]

Who cares?

Several million viewers - it isn't too late! How about Objectivism's Dumbest Moments? It could be a cult hit!

As much as I would like to lift your hoopskirts and celebrate life, I must say that you are wrong about the consequences of the premise. Indeed, we are amusing. However, the philosophy must stand apart from those who advocate it. Poor young Stephen Galois was silly enough to take up a sword, but his arithmetic passes the muster that he never did. So, too, with us. Let Nathaniel sleep with Kat, the axioms still hold true.

[caroljane]

lol! How about Dr Diana blushingly accepts the rose from Binswanger, while Dr Paul stands by in dignified silence.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Who cares?

Michael,

Certainly no one who might be dumb and ugly. The others laugh, but they don't.

(You set that one up too good to resist. )

Michael

[syrakusos]

lol! How about Dr Diana blushingly accepts the rose from Binswanger, while Dr Paul stands by in dignified silence.

I do not understand the reference. I mean I figured it out that you are referring to the Hsiehs and Harry Binswanger, but what about the rose and the dignified silence? Is that like from Dr. Phil or Jerry Springer or something?

You ever watch the crime drama "Bones"? I like the way she never gets the cultural references even though she is an anthropologist.

MSK: I get it! You are saying that I think that I look fat and dumb and ugly, so I do not find your humor funny. You know... about five or six years ago, I recommended OL to someone and she visited your site once but said that you look like a bully.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

MSK: I get it! You are saying that I think that I look fat and dumb and ugly, so I do not find your humor funny. You know... about five or six years ago, I recommended OL to someone and she visited your site once but said that you look like a bully.

Michael,

I stand up to bullies. There's a difference.

It really pisses them off, too.

They want the OL audience to show their asses to, but then get all huffy when I don't let them.

It's a bitch when you don't own your own site, or if you do, no one shows up, and you really really really want to show your ass, ain't it?

I don't like bullies. If bullies think I bully them, well good. They'll stay away.

Michael

[caroljane]

Sorry - the ref is to "The Bachelor" where ladies vie for a man and he finally picks one, the season ending with a gag-inducing "rose ceremony".

[caroljane]

Michaels! Play nice. Neither of you is fat or ugly or a bully.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Michaels! Play nice. Neither of you is fat or ugly or a bully.

Carol,

LOL...

Of course we aren't.

You did make me think, though. With all the stuff I have studied about persuasion, I still don't know how to covertly handle the dude who shows up when people are having a good time and tries to spoil it. I always go for spoiling their spoiling--sometimes aggressively--and, while it feels good, it actually does what they want: to spoil the good times of others. (Or maybe the spoiler just wants to spoil the good times so he can then save the day with his awe-inspiring wit and superior intelligence or whatever. )

I have some books on energy vampires. I'll take a look. But I don't like using covert crap on this board. I like to alert people to social manipulation, not use it on them.

Maybe an energy vampire is a form of pre-bully, but I just don't see Michael M developing in that direction (like, say, the bigots). He just gets in bad moods, feels insecure, or whatever, then dumps on people out of nowhere at odd times. But he always goes back to his old quirky self, which I find charming.

I think he doesn't know how to deal with the fact that I--and others around here--like him for real.

Michael

[caroljane]

Michaels! Play nice. Neither of you is fat or ugly or a bully.

Carol,

LOL...

Of course we aren't.

You did make me think, though. With all the stuff I have studied about persuasion, I still don't know how to covertly handle the dude who shows up when people are having a good time and tries to spoil it. I always go for spoiling their spoiling--sometimes aggressively--and, while it feels good, it actually does what they want: to spoil the good times of others. (Or maybe the spoiler just wants to spoil the good times so he can then save the day with his awe-inspiring wit and superior intelligence or whatever. )

I have some books on energy vampires. I'll take a look. But I don't like using covert crap on this board. I like to alert people to social manipulation, not use it on them.

Maybe an energy vampire is a form of pre-bully, but I just don't see Michael M developing in that direction (like, say, the bigots). He just gets in bad moods, feels insecure, or whatever, then dumps on people out of nowhere at odd times. But he always goes back to his old quirky self, which I find charming.

I think he doesn't know how to deal with the fact that I--and others around here--like him for real.

Michael

Awww...go on Marotta, pick up the rose.

[Dglgmut]

I haven't read the whole thread, but just to clarify, Aimee Teegarden was NOT Ms. South Carolina, she is an actor and was the one asking the question.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I haven't read the whole thread, but just to clarify, Aimee Teegarden was NOT Ms. South Carolina, she is an actor and was the one asking the question.

Dglgmut,

Oops, I did that one too fast. Thanks for the heads up.

For some reason, I have always been weak on identifying celebrities. And cars, too, for that matter. People in my past who have bought expensive cars and wanted me to ooh and aah have always been disappointed in my perplexed reaction (which was usually sincere). And they have gotten frustrated when, at first, I couldn't even pick their car out on a parking lot. Sometimes I would confuse it with a cheap model and they would go nuts.

Celebrities are a bit like that with me.

And don't get me started on trying to remember names, especially of important people I did not know about before, but whom I just met. Buy, do I have some stories.

I'm not saying that's good or bad. It's just an indifferent blank hole in my mind where everyone else seems to have heightened interest and passion. I've worked at it over the years and now I can actually feel a little something more like the normal reaction. But when I get distracted, there it goes.

For the record, the Ms. South Carolina I misidentified was Caitlin Upton.

To me, the default difference between Aimee Teegarden and Caitlin Upton is like seeing two different pretzels in a bag of pretzels. If I look away, someone shakes the bag, and I look back, I can't tell the difference for the life of me. Once I learn more about the two beautiful ladies, then it sticks. For example, because of my error, it will probably stick now. But, other than write about this episode again, God knows what I will ever do with that info. But maybe pretty mental clutter is not such a bad thing.

Michael

[Dglgmut]

Sorry, I was just nit-picking. She was on Friday Night Lights, which was a great show, by the way.

Anyway, obviously people like to see people fail. Thanks for the video of Obama supporters being idiots as usual, but I'm sure Romney supporters would have been bad as well.

A beautiful person failing is what people want to see because they don't feel guilty about laughing.

People can be horrible, give them a reason not to feel guilty and they'll do anything--as long as they have low self-esteem.