Entry 2334, on 2024-03-30 at 18:49:12 (Rating 5, Comments)
If you don't have some unpopular opinions you probably should examine your perspectives and consider whether your opinions are really yours or whether you are just parroting what other people think you should say.
By "unpopular" here, I don't necessarily mean opinions which would not be supported by the majority of people. What I mean is those which are contrary to the standard narratives advocated for by the majority of the media, and mainstream institutions.
In fact, it is surprising how often what i think might be a controversial opinion is actually supported by many people, including those who I might expect wouldn't agree with it. I found this out recently with my pro-Israel blog post "Which River?" from 2024-03-21 where several people told me privately they agreed but didn't want to say so publicly, along with a few people who agreed in the comments, and one who didn't.
I have already written one post on this subject, titled "Unpopular Opinions" from 2022-05-24, but this is more a follow up. So what other unpopular opinions do I have? Well, first let me say that I am not particularly committed to any of these. I could be wrong on them all, and I will accept that if the facts change, so these are opinions based on what I see as the facts now. OK, here they are...
1. Donald Trump. We're off to a good, controversial start, right? I actually quite like Trump. I mean, he obviously has some faults, the main one arguably being that he doesn't have a "filter" and just says whey he thinks. But I prefer that to the dishonest drivel we get from most politicians. I agree with about half of his policies, which isn't bad, and the main reason I might not vote for him is because he's so divisive, but who isn't?
2. Obama. Maybe the antithesis of Trump and admired by so many for his speaking skills, but look at his record. He won the Nobel Peace Prize while bombing 8 Muslim countries, including hospitals, yet people have the cheek to say Trump is anti-Islamic. Really?
3. The origin of COVID. I think the lab leak theory is seriously worth considering. I mean, a new disease appears right next to a lab researching that exact type of modified virus. What are the chances? I don't think it was deliberately released, because why do that right next to the place researching it? It was very likely an accident. And before you say that's a conspiracy, remember some conspiracies are true!
4. Jeffrey Epstein. I think you would have to be pretty naive to think that Epstein's death was a suicide. He was self-centered and not the sort of person I would consider would take his own life. And he had so many contacts in high places that surely there were plenty of people out there who might have felt more comfortable with him out of the way. I have some good cartoons about this. One shows a message: "Hilary Clinton sent you a suicide request" and has 2 options "Accept" and "Accept". Another shows Bill Clinton saying "I did not have suicidal relations with that man"!
5. Climate Change. I have mentioned this before but for completeness I will add it here as well. I think the climate is changing and very likely a significant part of that is a result of human activity. But I think we are fooling ourselves if we think we can fix it. While countries like China are furiously building new coal fired power plants we are making tiny but expensive changes to the way we live. Why? It can't be because it makes any difference, so it must be pure virtue signalling.
6. Minority groups. If I haven't offended you yet, this should do it. I think so-called minority groups, like black people in the US, Maori in NZ, and women are actually inferior to "old white guys" in some ways. It isn't necessarily a matter of the genetics of their sex or race, it is a cultural issue. Back people have a massive rate of broken families which relates directly to their education and then success in adult life. Women are more likely to want balance in their life and tend to be less aggressive in attaining their work goals. So there is no systemic anti-black racism and there is no gender wage gap. It's all nonsense because people are not prepared to accept their own deficiencies. Note that any criticism above is of a statistical nature because there are plenty of highly successful black people, Maoris, and women, which proves my point that anyone can succeed.
7. Activism. There used to be a time when activism in support of "minority groups" (sorry to keep using that term with the scare quotes, but I just can't think of a better one) like gay people, women, etc was necessary, but eventually it reaches a point where it becomes counter-productive. Many forms of feminism today are just making everyone less happy, and the trans activists must be a constant source of annoyance to many trans people, who might want to just live their lives like everyone else instead of being at the center of a massive political debate. Surely the activists are making life worse for many of the people they think they represent.
Well, that's probably enough naughty opinions for today. I suspect no one will be offended by them all, but there probably won't be too many who agree with them all either. Remember, they're just opinions, which I might change in future, not some call to action for genocide or even cancellation. Try not to be too offended!
Comment 1 (7630) by Jim Cable on 2024-03-31 at 17:23:12:
Owen, you're my kind of guy. Every one of your submissions is a stand alone item, impeccably reasoned. From Trump to minority groups you've dealt with the essentials of the subjects that so many of our programmed "thinkers" are congenitally unable to steer themselves, either from or towards.
Delightful and widely-embracing, your angles on so many of today's hot potatoes were so honest and refreshingly bold. Over the decades I, for one, have been beaten down to the point where addressing the constantly bizarre oddities of female gyrations and convolutions (with the pronounced exception of those of female politicos) has become all but taboo - largely on the strength of the irrationality that's constantly provoked in response - yet you've sailed in in such a way you've left potential rebutters with nothing to assail. Prof Henry Higgins' injunction, "why can't a woman be more like a man" also suffers because with the slackening standards of education, so many of today's men are exhibiting once solely female forms of "rationalisation."
Loved the spectacularity of your insights !!!
Comment 2 (7631) by OJB on 2024-03-31 at 22:42:52:
Thank you for the support, but I think there are far more people who agree with us than you think. As I said above, I have a couple of anecdotes of people agreeing with some of my unpopular opinions but not feeling comfortable sharing that publicly. We have have got to the point where fair opinions are being repressed. But, I think I see woke-ism being pushed back. We just have to be brave enough to say what we think.
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