On a dangerous mindset; Pence and Social Security; ‘nattering nabobs of negativism’; the octogenarian Harrison Ford; and more
I was interested to read a piece by our Jack Butler: “How ‘Bronze Age Pervert’ Seduced Right-Wing Thought Leaders.” Apparently, “Bronze Age Pervert” is the nom de plume of Costin Vlad Alamariu, who has a Ph.D. in political science from Yale.
Let me quote a bit from Jack’s piece, then tell you something personal.
If BAM were only a book-length exhortation explaining why “it goes without saying that you must lift weights,” there would be nothing much for conservatives — or even cardio nuts such as myself — to object to.
(“BAM” stands for Bronze Age Mindset, which is Alamariu’s book.)
Where Alamariu pontificates about elites ruthlessly repressing authentic masculinity, leaving behind “lower types of mankind” — or “bugmen,” as he calls them — he veers into something more dangerous.
“The bugman pretends to be motivated by compassion, but is instead motivated by a titanic hatred of the well-turned-out and beautiful” and seeks to “bury beauty under a morass of ubiquitous ugliness and garbage,” Alamariu wrote in BAM.
Standing athwart the tyranny of the bugman is the titular Bronze Age Mindset, which is “to be worshiped as a god!”
A few months ago, one of my antagonists on Twitter referred to me as a “regime bugman.” That was a new one on me. Knowing that Jack knows the “alt-Right,” or “New Right,” or whatever the appropriate designation is, I asked him about it. He said, in essence, “Where ya been?” Then he explained to me this “bugman” business. (“Regime” seems to refer to the U.S. government, or our constitutional way of life.)
“I’m wiser — but sadder,” I said to Jack. He answered, “No one ever said abyss-gazing was going to be fun.”
The 20th century saw many people who thought of others — people unlike themselves — as “bugmen.” The results were catastrophic. Ever and always, we must be on guard against the ideologues, the authoritarians, the dehumanizers. They reappear in every age.
• You might think the very name “Bronze Age Pervert” would be a turn-off. Likewise the name “Cat Turd.” Yet Bronze Age Pervert and Cat Turd are two huge influencers, adopted as gurus by multitudes.
One man’s turn-off is another man’s turn-on.
• I noticed something from Mike Pence. Speaking about the reform of Social Security, at a “closed-door event,” he said, “We could replace the New Deal with a better deal.”
In the 2000 presidential campaign, Governor George W. Bush used just such language.
On this same theme, let me recommend to you an editorial from the Washington Post: “Yes, Social Security and Medicare still need to be reformed — and soon.” Damn right.
• Earlier this week, I was watching University Challenge, as one does. This is the British quiz show hosted by Jeremy Paxman.
“Paxo” is asking a team about titles that include the word “utopia.” “Anarchy, State, and Utopia is a 1974 work by Robert Nozick that advances what political doctrine?” he says.
Talking with his teammates, one of the guys wonders whether Nozick was an anarcho-communist. The team captain says, “No, he’s a bit of a capitalist.” After deliberation, the captain guesses, “Liberalism?”
“I’ll accept that, yes,” says Paxo. “It was libertarianism, which is an extreme form of liberalism.”
Do you agree, my readers?
(To see this play out, go to about 19:26, here.)
• I don’t very often write about hockey. I come from a cold and hockey-playing state — Michigan. But I’ve never gotten involved in hockey, as a player or as a fan. Practically every other sport, yes. But hockey has never really . . . sung to me. Not sure why. Wish it did. Wonderful game.
Once, I was having a discussion with my cousin, an athlete. (In college, he played baseball. Division I.) Our question: Which sport requires the most athletic talent? I argued for basketball or tennis. My cousin said: hockey. “They have to do all that stuff you’re talking about, only on skates.”
Anyway, I’m not going to write about hockey now. But I’m going to write about social-political matters, through hockey.
The NHL has an initiative called “Hockey Is for Everyone.” In conjunction with this initiative, the Philadelphia Flyers have an annual “Pride Night,” intended to support gay rights. On the night in question this year, Flyers sported rainbow colors during warmups: They wore rainbow-colored jerseys and used sticks wrapped in rainbow-colored tape. Declining to participate was Ivan Provorov. “I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices,” he said. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”
The Flyers’ coach, John Tortorella, backed him. And the NHL issued this statement: “Clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how — with League counsel and support. Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues.”
Sounds about right to me — although we should always beware the coercive, in the guise of the voluntary.
The pressure to conform starts early. Kindergarten, right? Pre-school? And it continues right on through adulthood (trust me). Sometimes conformance is right. And sometimes . . .
Anyway, big subject.
• Antisemitism is an old, old subject. How did it originate? Why does it endure? Why does it turn murderous, even genocidal? Bright people have tackled these questions in long books. Let me recommend, now, a Twitter thread by David Frum: here. He seeks to explain why so many anti-vax theorists, and other conspiracy theorists, arrive at antisemitism.
Those who are puzzled by antisemitism will be less so, when they have read David’s thread.
What is it about Jews and money, by the way? Recently, Joe Rogan, a wildly popular podcaster, said on his show, “The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. Listen, it’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza. It’s stupid. It’s f***ing stupid.”
Let me recommend a piece by Jonah Goldberg, “Rogan’s Jews.” There is much learning in it, much illumination. (Not to be confused with the Illuminati.) (You don’t belong, do you?)
• On Twitter the other day, Michael Beschloss, the historian, quoted FDR, speaking in 1934: “Are you better off than you were last year? . . . Is your faith in your own individual future more firmly grounded?”
Like you, I bet, I thought of Ronald Reagan, debating President Carter in 1980: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” I wonder whether he got it from FDR (a hero of his, as for a great many).
• On Election Night last November, Ron Klain, who was then President Biden’s chief of staff, sent a note to a political journalist, Chris Whipple: “Maybe we don’t suck as much as people thought. Like maybe the nattering negatives who dumped to Politico were wrong!”
(Read about this here.)
You remember Vice President Agnew, laying into the media: “In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism.”
• I wish to recommend an interview — a superb interview, conducted by James Hibberd. His subject, his interviewee: Harrison Ford. The actor is now 80.
Maybe I could paste a sample:
Q.: “Are you surprised to still be doing this, acting?”
A.: “I think it’s the place I feel most useful. It’s what I know the most about. I lost my chops as a carpenter. [Ford once worked as a carpenter.] I haven’t ever played fiddle. But I feel comfortable wrestling with how to make behavior out of words on a page and tell a story, and I’m still excited about the prospect of telling a story. I think this is a service occupation — telling stories. We need it.”
Great stuff.
• A little language? A headline in the Telegraph reads, “Do you have what it takes to become a conductor?” The subheading goes, “A top British maestro shares the recipe for greatness: an elephantine memory, nimble fingers and a disinterest in drink.”
(Article here.)
But that’s not what “disinterest” means, y’all! Is this cause lost? (S’pose so.)
• Above, I wrote, “One man’s turn-off is another man’s turn-on.” With that in mind, check out this article, the subheading of which is: “Some 7-Eleven stores in Texas and California have been blasting classical music, such as the opera, to shoo away homeless people from camping out at the entrance of their stores.”
Oh, dear. Well — a happy Thursday to one and all.
If you would like to receive Impromptus by e-mail — links to new columns — write to jnordlinger@nationalreview.com.