The Clock Strikes Thirteen

"What happened? It’s like a spell broke. Since November’s election (re-election?) of President Donald Trump, the woke is going away, and all sorts of problems are resolving themselves. But why? There are several reasons, but basically, it’s a preference cascade.

In law they talk about the proverbial thirteenth chime of the clock, which is not only wrong in itself, but which calls into question everything that has come before. Most of our institutions have been chiming thirteen for quite a while, and people have noticed. But it’s not enough to notice.

Soviet citizens knew their system was founded on lies, too, but the system kept them isolated, unaware that so many of their fellow citizens felt the same way, and unable to come together to act. This technique, used by totalitarians of all sorts, is called “preference falsification,” in which people are forced to profess belief in things that they know not to be true. If the powers that be are good at it, virtually every citizen can hate them and want them out, but no one will do anything because every citizen who feels that way thinks they’re the only one, or one of a tiny number.

In his classic book, Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification, economist Timur Kuran notes how governments, and social movements, do their best to enforce this sort of ideological uniformity. People tend to hide unpopular views to avoid ostracism or punishment; they stop hiding them when they feel safe......."

In America, the left spent years bullying people into accepting “woke” ideas on race, gender, and politics. There’s considerable reason to believe that a majority of Americans never accepted these ideas, but between constant media repetition, and the risk of being mobbed and canceled if you disagreed with them, most people for years were afraid to stand up. But two things put a stop to that.

One was Donald Trump’s election. The other – and the two are related – was Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now X, which is now a free-speech platform with roughly equal representation of Democrats and Republicans. Both had the effect of blowing up the lefty bubble and letting people realize that they, not the woke, were the actual majority......" - Glenn Reynolds

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In the name of fairness, here's a word from the opposite side alternative universe:

CNN’s Van Jones Frets ‘Fringe’ Has Replaced ‘Mainstream’ Media: ‘We’re on Cable News Getting 1-2 Million’ While They’re ‘Getting 14 Million Streams’

“Woke” Squad Decrying Sex Bias in Dead-Animal Studies

I hereby proclaim, by no other authority but my own, that 'Wokeness' will be from this day forward officially deemed and refered to as a mental illness. I present the latest evidence for your consideration:

According to researchers at the Natural History Museum in London, the world’s top natural history museums in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., London, and Paris, are misogynistic because their animal exhibits contain more males than females. They found a slight bias towards males in birds (40% females) and mammals (48% females),” according to a research report. The report warns that scientists must be vigilant about rooting out “undetected male bias” when conducting research on dead animals. 

The lead author of the study was a female: Natalie Cooper, a researcher at London’s Natural History Museum. The research team was comprised of two women and four men. In other words, the group contained 67% men and only 33% women. It’s unclear why a “woke” squad decrying sex bias in dead-animal studies was not more vigilant about ensuring against sexism in their own work. Hello!

Cooper concedes that the males of many animal species are “larger and more colorful” than females and that could be a major reason for the slight male-to-female skewing in the animal exhibits. Uh. Ya Think!  However, Cooper insists that sex bias abounds in the field of dead-animal research, and this sexism must end.

I rest my case.

[Natural History Museum]
[BizPac]