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One of the best things about growing up in the age of Smokey and the Bandit was the notion of adventuring just for the hell of it. Hop in a car and drive from Omaha to Canada just to get a beer. Why not!? It will be fun!! And you know what? It was!

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They want to create learned helplessness. Once conditioned to obey and stay in the approved limits, they would dare question anything and just be the good NPC serfs they want everyone to be.

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

Thank God my kids are so not this. My son went off at 19 to live in Tanzania. He climbed Kilimanjaro at the end of the time (with asthma) just because some Australians he'd met were going. No training - he made it to the top. He's done survival school, hunts, fishes, goes off alone in the boat he and my husband went in on together. One son-in-law was an Eagle Scout. He and my daughter drove around the country camping for 5 months, visiting and hiking and camping in 12 national parks. He started a very successful small business. Other son-in-law was in the military (when it meant something), then a cop (ditto), and now teaches firearms and builds furniture. They go off hiking all the time. I blame parents as much as anyone. There is no way I'd have let my kids be this wimpy!

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

Well, first of all, that was a very bigoted video. How do we know that Julia is a SHE? Did she inform us that was her preferred pronoun?

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Great read. And here’s France banning outdoor events (ala Covid lockdowns) because of heat. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/outdoor-events-banned-over-heat-in-parts-of-france/ar-AAYA7SX?ocid=U452DHP&li=BBnbfcL

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There is death in it. A death rattle.

I’m so proud of my surfing, skateboarding, dirt bike riding masculine teenagers and I’m proud of the hickey one of them is sporting right now. I am. It seems like every day in CA kids become more spiritually dead and neutered.

In my 20s I was in a band and we used to have a joke “people who never do anything”. Someone was reading Ayn Rand and if a possible road adventure or detour came up we’d eventually yell “people who never do anything!” to the person who was pointing out possible obstacles or financial or time constraints, etc.

I was so freaked about this shot but no one needs it to die. People are spiritually dying right now. It makes me seriously wonder what my area will even look like in 18 months.

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

Stanford’s article was a spectacularly long winded way of advising parents of the availability of on-campus child care.

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I watched a news segment recently where a doctor was being interviewed for her genius idea of prescribing “green spaces” to people with mental and medical issues. They talked about it like it was such a fantastic and innovative idea. And alllll the research that goes into proving that green spaces, like parks or hiking trails, improve your health.

That. That is where we are.

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With respect Chris, I think you missed the full point they are making at Stanford.

It isn't simply that "you can't", it's that "you can't" *IF* you are underprivileged*/minority/LGBTQIA+.

It's recognizing that incredible feats like climbing a mountain, camping outside, or playing frisbee are only achievable by Cis White Heteronormative Men.

I hate to send you and your readers further down the rabbit hole, but I encourage reading the student letter prostrating to this madness:

https://stanforddaily.com/2021/04/20/the-future-of-outdoor-house/

Can't make this stuff up:

"As we prepared our application, we took a hard look at the systemic problems that Outdoor House has perpetuated. We recognized that despite our desire to be an inclusive community, Outdoor House has been a center of whiteness, wealth and privilege on the Stanford campus. Centered on expensive hobbies, the house has not shown enough regard to the people we exclude, the land on which we recreate or perspectives outside the mainstream interpretation of outdoor recreation. We realized this was an opportunity to reorient our community, and create a space actively opposed to the harmful norms of “outdoorsiness” in America."

___________

*prior to roughly 2015 I would have not thought the words "Standford student" and "underprivileged" could be combined in a sentence unironically

Bonus - Anyone care to read through the 5 entries into (I swear to god this is real) "Essays that got us into Stanford" substack? https://stanforddaily.substack.com/

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

That’s not what I got from that. Not, “It’s too hard, don’t do it,” but “You’re privileged to be able to do that. Others are not so privileged. Therefore you shouldn’t do that.”

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SAFETY LAST!!!!!!!!!!!

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/john_muir_menu_j_parker_huber.aspx

"When asked what kind of bread he took to the mountains, Muir replied, "Just bread.""

These days a Stanford apparatchik would run screaming towards him and bat it out of his hand in case the gluten was bad for his constitution.

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Dear Jesus. What have we become.

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

They should just go to Cal State at Stanislaus. Much cheaper and closer to Yosemite.

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

I am in MA and have never seen the Life of Julie ad before. Maybe they thought better of running here as it was actually Romney that invented state run healthcare. Either way it epitomizes not only the arrogance that is Obama, but the difference between liberals and conservatives. I look at that and think WTF Obama is such a creep.

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I lead/run/manage/work a third shift grocery store stock crew…and I’ve said for years now that most folk are unwilling to make decisions.

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