Smug

Fellow writers here at POM: Feel free to write over this. It needs no top-of-page time. It’s just a little venting on my part.

James Corbett has a nice little video podcast about the term “conspiracy theorist,” its origins and use. It is, of course, used as a thought-stopper, but honestly, with most people what is there to stop? We are dealing with products of the American education/information system who were trained to memorize, obey and to never question authority.

The term is devastatingly effective when used in the media and by officials, but these people control public opinion anyway, so that is to be expected. But I do have a problem with the expression, and it is this: Those who use it do not know how to think or reason, and their heads are often full of strong opinions placed there by others. So be it. But the thing that bugs me most about it is that they are smug about their stupidity.

I hate several things about our emotional lives. For instance, the form of angst called “jealousy” is one of the most useless and painful means of self-inflicted harm. I have been jealous in my life on many occasions, and I hate that about myself. What’s the point? Say it is about a girl I liked – others are going to like her too, be attracted to her too, and she might respond to that. There are a lot of good looking, smart and funny guys around. I can’t compete with them. I can only hope she chooses me, and that we enjoy each other. She is a free human being. How am I hurt by her personal choices? If she opts to be with someone else, I need to internalize the pain and move on, and not dwell on it. That’s what I tell myself, but in my life and before I met my life partner, I would often be jealous. How pointless is that?

Another form of self-inflicted angst is hatred. Do I have enemies? Beyond my ex-wife, no. Hardly anyone thinks about me enough to hate me. Do I hate groups of people, say Jews or Muslims or Democrats? Of course not! But there is a lot of hatred in this world. At our local hardware store I made the mistake of engaging the clerk there about the coronavirus hoax, and her head almost exploded. She started complaining about the Chinese, how they ate bats, and gave the whole world this virus. She spewed out pure hatred. Much the same happened with Muslims and Arabs after 911, much of that manufactured hatred still present. The degree of hatred in an individual must correlate inversely to IQ. Smart people don’t hate other people. They just avoid the ones they dislike. 

But there is one aspect of humanness that bugs me more than any other, and that is smugness. Of course it is a defense mechanism. It is a sign of fear and insecurity. But still, it annoys me beyond words. Use of the expression “conspiracy theorist” carries with it a boatload of smug. It says “I don’t think well, I don’t know how to weigh evidence, but that doesn’t matter. I don’t have to try because I am not a conspiracy theorist.” It’s a way of not thinking that makes people think they are smarter than others who do know how to think and reason. It is smugness blanketed in a protective layer of stupidity.

I hate smug. Have I mentioned that before?

42 thoughts on “Smug”

  1. I’ve read articles about “conspiracy theorists” which posit that our beliefs are rooted in a delusional sense of superiority. I’ve seen conspiracy theorist characters on TV and in movies who are stereotyped as smugly sure of themselves. So the reaction to us you describe in mainstream folk may be a classic example of projection.

    On the other hand, as I become more aware of how ridiculous our simulated consensus reality is, I find myself struggling with that smugness. Don’t you? How do we NOT feel smug watching people walking around outdoors and driving by themselves in cars wearing face diapers? Ugh.

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    1. I have been calling these victims of mass brainwashing sheep and zombies since 8 woke up 4 years back. I am going to make an effort to stop calling them those names as if I am somehow superior to them, I have no idea why I was so fortunate to wake from my sleep like state at age 44 but I need to be more grateful and less proud I believe.

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  2. As long as we objectify our own being via “thought” that sense of being (awareness of our own wholeness and a true sense of sacredness) remains largely lost to us, which prevents our seeing (in awe) the soul of all the rest of life that surrounds us. Recognizing the difference between knowledge and knowing emerges when “thinking” subsides. “Reality” is found within ourselves, not in the external “conceptual” thoughts of others, and our own ego. This is only my opinion, and subject to change based upon further consideration.

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  3. I am fascinated that “conspiracy theorist” has become a weaponized term, and yet according to mainstream narratives, everyone is now a conspiracy theorist one way or another.

    Are you a Democrat? Then you are required to believe that Trump conspired with Putin in the last election.
    Are you a Republican? Then you are required to believe that the Democrats conspired to come up with the election conspiracy theory.

    Then there’s the mainstream pandemic narrative. If you swallow the whole story, then you believe that the Chinese conspired to keep their failures to contain the outbreak secret. Or that the US Government conspired to suppress early warnings. And on it goes.

    We are all theorizers of conspiracy nowadays. But the label is only for those who question the more basic premises, like “Every vote counts.”

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    1. The term has never bothered me. Yes, I am a conspiracy theorist. At a time where propaganda is ramped up so comically high, it is not as much of a smear as it might have been in different eras. Right now, I think there is a deep subconscious acknowledgement by some people that the conspiracy theorists must be right about something if this is where we have ended up.

      A conspiracy theorist is just a person who has crossed some hypothetical barrier limit of cognitive dissonance and are able to accept alternate explanations beyond the socially-acceptable explanation or belief.

      We are each still a wide spectrum of approaches beyond that barrier of cognitive dissonance. Myself, I avoid certainty like the plague. Never stopped asking questions, realizing that there is always more to understand. It is certainty and overconfidence that most often makes fools of us.

      There will always be insufferable people out there. Growing up a Millennial, I have been consistently disappointed in the character of the people in this country, at virtually all levels. So I understand calling out the smugness.

      Anyway, I am a conspiracy theorist! It’s not something we should shy away from. We should own it.

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  4. My view is now that there are no “conspiracies”. Everything is out in the open, the plans laid out for us, the Event 201/2/3’s planned, the Agenda 2030, 21 et al. for all to see, (((they))), the Animal Farmers, are crystal clear about “the New Normal” (World of Maskedness) and “The Great Reset” (World War W), if it is out in the open, there is no “conspiracy” (a secret plot) and by definition no “conspiracy theory” and thus no “conspiracy theorists”.

    There are only people using their own brains and people sheepily following the ideas of others without critical review (outsourcing their powers).

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    1. I agree. Conspiracy theory to me is just a label, a construct although it does feel weaponized to work on those still trapped in the matrix.

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  5. I just wrote a lengthy screed, channeling my inner MM, that might (to be on topic) suffer from a little “smug” (from our side of the aisle.)

    I will post it below this comment; if it’s too long or too off topic, please delete. Feel free to use it as a fresh post if you think it’s worthy of that (although it’s written aimed a little more at a general audience than a POM audience specifically.)

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    1. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/comparing-covid-19-deaths-to-flu-deaths-is-like-comparing-apples-to-oranges/

      Omg… These people are HILARIOUS. They are so FUNNY it defies belief.

      Every paragraph of this Scientific American article is just dripping with irony and unintentional hilarity. Of course it’s also very sad, that people read this level of BS bogosity, and think they’re “scientifically literate” and becoming an “informed citizen.”

      What a joke. That anyone could write this stuff with a straight face, and people swallow it down and ask for more.

      But I sense you’re skeptical. Surely I’M the one who’s full of it, right? No way these top science writers could be showing their rona-covered boxers in public, you say. Well let’s just look at this article then shall we, and use their own words against them…

      Their goal here, topical once again even though it’s a few months old, is to try to debunk claims that Covid is “just the flu.”

      Amazingly, to do that, the author decides to take the tack of just admitting that THE FLU NUMBERS ARE TOTALLY BOGUS, AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

      Here’s one quote, not even the most jaw-droppingly mind-melting, but pretty brazen:

      “The CDC should immediately change how it reports flu deaths. While in the past it was justifiable to err on the side of substantially overestimating flu deaths, in order to encourage vaccination and good hygiene, at this point the CDC’s reporting about flu deaths is dangerously misleading the public and even public officials about the comparison between these two viruses.”

      Read that again and if you aren’t ready to send every one of these rona-pimping charlatans packing, you may need to titrate your dose. The author tries to act blasé about it, and brush over what should be screaming out at you as a gross betrayal of public trust, but even the most mind-numbed drone should feel at least a tickle of insult to their personal autonomy and self-determination.

      The guy is telling you that flu numbers have been a “Noble Lie,” purposely feeding you erroneous information, to get you to change your behavior because “we know best” and you can’t be trusted to make up your own mind based on the actual data. AND, he doesn’t even see anything ethically wrong with that. Yep, all good, nothing to see here.

      The important thing, to him, is that if you still believe the OLD lie, you might not swallow the NEW lie.

      Here’s another quote, where he’s even more emphatic about just how much bullshit you’ve been fed in the past:

      “The question remains. Can we accurately compare the toll of the flu to the toll of the coronavirus pandemic?
      To do this, we have to compare counted deaths to counted deaths, not counted deaths to wildly inflated statistical estimates.”

      “Wildly inflated statistical estimates.” Nice how honest they can be, when the propaganda line changes, isn’t it?

      And what is the new propaganda line? Here we go:

      “From this perspective, the data on coronavirus and flu actually match—rather than flying in the face of—our lived reality in the coronavirus pandemic: hospitals in hot spots stretched to their limits and, in New York City in particular, so many dead that the bodies are stacked in refrigerator trucks. We have never seen such conditions.”

      “Bodies stacked in refrigerator trucks.” Ooh, yeah, that has so much credibility, coming from a guy who just admitted that he’s perfectly fine with lying to your face for years and years, to get you to adjust your behavior to better suit him.

      There may have been body trucks for all I know, I wasn’t there and it’s not my “lived reality”; but I’m not trusting this guy to tell me about it. How do I know that 20 years down the line, his kid (freshly minted science propagandist) won’t be explaining: “Oh yeah, Covid. See, we had to report misleading info to get people to take it seriously. We even went so far as to fake some video footage in NYC, yep, had to be done for the public good.” I don’t know if they ever even showed footage of bodies in refrigerator trucks, or just made the claim. Either way, how can you trust these people???

      So even IF this writer goes on to say that “This time we’re not kidding,” and tries to tell you that “We fooled you on the flu, but you can trust us on Covid,” it’s the old Boy Who Cried Wolf. The amazing thing is that he blows his own cover in the very same article, and no doubt thousands who read it accept it as a reason to “take Covid seriously.” That’s how dazed and confused the public is, from decades of indoctrination and schooling that rewards obedience, rather than asking questions. They can lie to your face, admit they do so, and you just sit there and take it.

      Now, maybe at this point, some of you are saying, “Well yeah, they lied to me about flu. But they WERE doing it for noble reasons. They just wanted to protect my health. So, I don’t really care if they’re lying now, because I trust them to have my best interests at heart. They may be lying liars, but they’re GOOD-HEARTED lying liars…”

      Well, I’ve got news for you. World don’t work that way… Propagandist ain’t gonna spill all the beans, even if he does turn the can of gooey glop far enough over that the pork just about slides out. By admitting openly as much as he does there.

      If nothing else, you at least can’t pretend that you’re “following the science.” No, you’re following the Trusted Paternalistic Authority Figure. Let’s be honest here. Let’s not kid ourselves. You’ve turned your welfare over to some distant shadowy bureaucracy, and they can tell you whatever the flying fuck they want to, and you’ll nod, and swallow, and ask for more.

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    2. P.S. WordPress removes the section breaks where I used asterisks- ******-like so. Kind of helped with the readability, oh well.

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      1. I can fix that, maybe. I did – I used the proper names “bullshit” and “fuck.” WordPress allows those fine words to go through without trouble. I can take them out if you don’t like your good name associated with swearing.

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        1. That’s fine by me, I was really referring to breaks I put between sections… Such a long read onscreen, it helps to have intro, body, and conclusion divided, to let the reader take a breath and pause, but WordPress doesn’t like long strings of characters used on their own line

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  6. By the way, since it somewhat relates to the topic, I ‘ll share this. I posted it to my FB page (yeah, I still have one), which means hardly anyone will see it. Would love it if someone with an actual social media presence shared it. (I anticipate my already marginal “Friends” list diminishing rapidly):

    For all citizens dutifully obeying and complying in these difficult times, I offer a revised psalm:

    The State is my shepherd; I shall not want.
    He maketh me to sit down in front of glowing screens; he leadeth me beside the polluted waters.
    He restoreth my anger: he leadeth me in the path of self-righteousness for his powers’ sake.
    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of conspiracy theories, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy news anchors and thy pundits they comfort me.
    Thou preparest a vaccine before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my face with cloth; my syringe runneth over.
    Surely safety and security shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the State for ever.

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  7. Says MM on 49 minute film regarding the class action lawsuit concerning Covid-19:

    For instance, I plan to show it to any new girl I start dating, so that she doesn’t look at me cross-eyed everytime I bring something like this up.”

    I would call that a very effective means of birth control.

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    1. Now there’s one smug character for you.
      According to one of his recent outbursts he only dates beautiful, sensitive women. And he’s the judge of course!

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    1. Can’t get the printed version for love or money here in the UK.
      Now why would that be?
      I’ve ordered from America but there’s a wait as they are currently out of stock.

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  9. Many people, “the masses”, don’t realize these are separate words, conspiracy, theory. They don’t realize conspiracy is a word that stands alone, that most every agenda on earth is some type of conspiracy.

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  10. I believe evidence supports that the earth is flat. Isn’t it a somewhat smug position to not only consider all people who have come to that same conclusion as either wrong or as attempting to discredit truthers in general? We as truthers seem to open our minds at varying rates, some faster some slower, it took me about a year to realize that mass shootings are as far as I can tell all staged hoaxes even though I had come to realize gas chambers were a lie 6 months prior, it makes nonsense to me now how i could not see it but I couldn’t. The evidence for a ball earth seems heavily dependent upon authorities and science to hold the narrative together barring in depth research which quickly erodes the lies as we so often see in other categories of systemlying. ng.

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    1. There are certain topics kept off limits because if we allow them we are overrun with commenters who use up all the oxygen. Trannies, flat earth are among them. The site becomes their oyster.

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  11. One of my favorite episodes of South Park, besides the one in which Tom Cruise spent his summer working in a fudge packing plant, was one where because of Prius owners, a huge cloud of smug was forming over South Park. In the meantime, George Clooney had given an acceptance speech at the Oscars, and a cloud of smug had formed over LA too. The two clouds collided, and the town of South park was destroyed, monster hurricane style.

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    1. Don’t forget how in that episode they liked to smell their own farts in San Francisco like it was a fine wine! They actually just did a coronavirus episode and it was pretty funny.

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    1. Love this quote: “They could also get sick and form a reservoir from which they can then again infect humans, but we can’t ask animals to wear face masks and keep physical distance.”

      Well, I mean, you can ask…

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    2. “a wide range of distantly related mammals are ‘likely’ to be susceptible”
      and
      “resistance or vulnerability is not predictable”

      Cannot go together. Either you don’t know anything and this is fearmongering, or you have thoroughly tested and reviewed it.

      I see it as a step-up in the Fake Meat Agenda, hence the importance of our MRM agenda.*

      *explained in more detail here.

      Mark Tokarski said in the other thread:

      why they are going to ramp up the testing, test everybody, put maybe 10 or 15% of the population under house arrest at any given time, make us carry a Covid card

      I used to think this also, but I have changed my mind on this. Think about any other measure taken, when has that been for “everybody”? The social security number maybe, but even a passport you can do without.

      I rather think they are creating a new class of people; the vaccinated ones. Those will get special treatment, but I don’t see it happen in the next years that “everybody” will be vaccinated (=raped) or has to carry those Covid passes.

      Think about 9/11, where did we feel the “International Patriot Act”? On airports. And that is how they are going to vaxx the in the near future hypertravelling population. Now we are the water bottles.

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      1. Rather I perceive initially the creation of a minority underclass, identified as ‘non believers’. However I really do think that 99 percent of the masked herd would voluntarily take an unknown vaccine to continue their ‘travels’. Almost everyone would be special, so that’s no good for thinning out the herd or changing behavior. I’d posit there will be additional financial or economic constraints which could easily be delivered by the agile governance system after the great reset. (Not that vaccination will be a one-off sheep dip)

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        1. Seriously, 99%? I think more like 60-40 or maybe 80-20 max of pro-vaxxers and anti-vaxxers.

          And I don’t think they will restrict us, non-vaxxers, they are going to make vaccination sexy, with traveling. Already most of the world is sick of the lockdown, the US apparently gives out $4000 travel vouchers instead of $1200 cash (that’s a clue), and the internationalized traveling class with careers (I used to be in that treadmill, 54 flights in my first year in Colombia…) will accept it. Hypertourism is what they go for to vaccinate people and as you maybe have heard in the Power of Gossip & MRM, this is done for another reason, the same why we are in lockdown now.

          But there are many people antivax, even though their voices may not be heard so much, they exist in large numbers. Maybe not in the urban environments so much, but outside of that there is enough support for keeping your immune system healthy.

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    3. As many times as one says, NOW things can’t get any crazier, they always manage to find a way…

      They used to talk about “Full Spectrum Dominance.” Now it seems we have “Full Spectrum Trolling.” The news is just a series of trolls, put out in totally deadpan manner by top PhD’s and other looney tunes characters.

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