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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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A solid third of my best memories start with someone shouting ROAD TRIP.

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

And now, you can't afford the gas. --- It's not only learned helplessness, some of it is forced.

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When I was in college, I would literally pack up a backpack and tent and wonder into the Allegheny Mountains by myself for a week or more. Without a map or cell phone (we didn't have them back then). Was it stupid? Probably. Did I learn? You better believe it. Some of the best memories I have to this day.

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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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That's exactly it. Eternal toddlers make for compliant peasants.

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Thank you for "learned helplessness". The term very aptly describes the apparent primary goal of modern "education".

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But hasn’t this always been in play? Hasn’t every society had those who said “no” to ideas, adventures, and risk? And haven’t those who didn’t care to listen just not listened and gone anyway? I get it, I’m with you all, but this self-selection for perfect safety just clears the path for those who are going. My children are not stopping to wait for the crossing guard, they’re already on the other side.

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The problem is the safetyists are enforcing this on everyone else. They are empowered the oligarchs, who want ways to control the people. So, yes, we have always had the extremely risk averse, but they were ignored by the rest of us. Now they are being used by the powerful to restrict, which is new.

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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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Love this.

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Ditto! I raised two kids in the Australian bush and they now traipse off to wherever they want completely dauntless. I’m forever grateful they elected not to go to university (for now) given the breading ground for weakness universities have become in Australia.

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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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**literally trembling**

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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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yes! my god!!!! i read that today! is the government now going to decide if it's too hot out for you? what's the problem? people who are outside aren't using any air conditioning, not maxing out the grid. it's hot- get over it! bring some water and a sweat band and when you've had enough, find some shade or go inside. or really plan ahead and bring a parasol (umbrella in modern lingo) or are they forbidden now because you might impale someone? the french should revolt!

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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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See, I was unable to even notice this theme, because I'm a white male who goes camping.

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people want to hang with the people who they want to hang with. they can't be forced into "inclusive" and "diverse" groups on command.

you're always excluding other people- if you choose to date a certain person, or 10 certain persons, you have automatically excluded all the people you aren't dating. when you marry someone, you have excluded the people you haven't married. you will preferentially spend time with your children and exclude all the other children in the world.

to say that i shouldn't go hiking until everyone on earth can go hiking to the exact places i enjoy is ridiculous. some people don't like hiking. maybe they like biking and so they'll form groups of bikers that will not include everyone. some people collect stamps and they'll form groups with other stamp collectors to the exclusion of people who don't collect stamps. that's how it is. can we get over it and move on? this continual apologizing for the normal state of humanity is so tiresome.

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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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I'd put it this way: They're saying it's too hard for students who aren't white and male, which adds a remarkable undertone -- barely "under," but a tone -- of racist and sexist condescension. The white male students get the message about stopping because they're privileged, but everyone else gets the message about weakness and debilitation. It's a remarkable performance.

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Certainly. “The soft bigotry of low expectations.”

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Jun 18, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

What I dont get is the seeming absence of what I'd always assumed was a permanent feature of youth: rebellion. Where are the punk rockers of this age? Where are the groups saying,"Screw you, we'll go wherever we damn well please and do it in a car we built to run on radioactive coal dust just to fuck w you."

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My observation in my own town is that the people still wearing masks everywhere are mostly the young adults. It's really sad.

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Jun 18, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

It's so much worse than that. My daughter teaches public hs and reports that kids *like* the muzzles and have become so attached to them they feel self conscious and awkward without them. Grrrrreaaaat. We've got a generation of kids with serious social dysphoria. $^#^×>@&.

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To answer your question about where are the rebellious spirits? Well, we've all been labeled domestic terrorists for whatever that's worth.

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Punk rock was never about rebellion. It was always a fashion statement. Punk Rockers were also always the first to adopt the products that are commonplace today like Apple and Starbucks which never was that rebellious in the first place.

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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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"In the autumn of 1872, Muir set out for the summit of Mt. Ritter, a crust of bread fastened to his belt."

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'I wore an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time.'

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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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UC Merced, ten minutes away.

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Jun 17, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

I went there when it was Stanislaus State. Knew one guy that bicycled to Yosemite. He passed cars coming back down.

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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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