politics is astrology for incels.

Anti-politics.

I am a political writer. I have been blogging about politics since I was 12 years old. I find politics interesting, as does anyone reading this article. But I am also introspective, and a bit self-hating. As a result, it takes a political junky like me to accurately and viciously deconstruct the uselessness of political pornography.

If we are to be fair, a vicious deconstruction must also be psychoanalyzed. “It’s all useless bro” is a nihilistic cope of the weak who fail to achieve their goals. Just because some individuals might be politically useless does not mean that politics itself is useless. To avoid political pornography, to gain self awareness, and to live an examined life, each individual must know themselves and understand their relationship with politics. For most, politics is just astrology for incels.

Political Pornography

The existence of pornography does not eliminate the reality of sex. Real people have real sex every day. Right now, someone somewhere is getting impregnated: this is the most real form of sex. Less real is non-reproductive sex. Even less real is virtual sex, and less real than that is pornography. Similarly, politics exists on spectrum from most real to least real. In the same way that sexting can lead to real sex, or vice versa, political pornography also has a tenuous relationship with “real politics.”

A man can consume millions of hours of pornography and never inch closer to real sex, let alone actual reproduction. Similarly, it is possible to consume millions of hours of political pornography and never affect or change political reality. I would also extend this metaphor into the religious realm: it is possible to collect thousands of icons, trinkets, to memorize religious trivia, to attend church on a daily basis, and to never approach anything resembling a “divine experience.”

spectator sports.

Politics is like sports. There are a few thousand players who play the game at the highest level. The rest of us are mere spectators. Sports are entertaining, because they tap into the deepest human desires for identity, telos, tribalism, and belonging.

“You may not care about politics, but politics cares about you.” Now, let’s reverse that.

“You may care about politics, but politics does not care about you.”

Both of these statements are true in different contexts.

In the first case, politics intimately affects every facet of our lives, even if we claim to be “apolitical.” As Ted Kaczynski discovered, you cannot hide in the woods. The loggers will come for you. Politics is unavoidable. You may think you are a colorblind moderate, but actually, colorblindness is white supremacy.

In the second case, political opinions, on an individual level, do not matter at all. Tens of thousands of votes do theoretically have an impact on electoral politics. But no one’s political opinions are formed in a vacuum. Independent voters may seem to be decisive in elections, but their votes are swayed by smear campaigns and propaganda that comes from dedicated, hardcore minorities — not individual actors.

masses don’t matter.

In 2016, many people didn’t vote for Hillary because of how she treated Bernie — by American standards, a communist. These Bernie-bros could be described as moderates, centrists, or independents, but they were still motivated by an obscure and niche corner of American politics.

Others didn’t vote for her because of PizzaGate. PizzaGate required the infrastructure of 4chan and 8chan, server hosting costs, and advertisers to make the websites profitable. On the second layer, each of the “researchers” into PizzaGate was dedicating hours of their time to scanning Instagram pages, compiling evidence, reposting images, connecting the dots like Glenn Beck.

From 2009.

Just like astrology, millions are interested, but very few actually dedicate their lives to understanding the magic behind the mirror. Few people have “astrological agency”; most just have a casual interest. Similarly, becoming a person with “political agency” is not possible for the vast majority.

Part of the reason why men are obsessed with politics and women are obsessed with astrology is that both genders are looking for sources of psychological stability.

ghosting as war-rape

To understand how we got here, let’s look at the forces of instability in our society which only seem to get worse.

When a woman has multiple one night stands, she begins to have an intimacy crisis and loses her sense of self. Each time the man leaves her, in terms of our evolutionary history, this would be equivalent to the following:

1. A band of pirates invades, killing her family. They ravish her and leave.

2. Another band of pirates comes, kicking the corpses of her dead family. They ravish her and leave.

3. A third band of pirates comes, throwing the corpses of her dead family off a cliff into the ocean. They ravish her and leave.

4. A fourth band of pirates fishes the corpses of her dead family out of the ocean, puts on a ghastly Halloween display. They ravish her and leave.

Most historical “one night stands” were part of Dionysian sex cults, or pre-Indo-European matriarchal poly-cules. However, in those cases, the slutty partners would at least get to cuddle afterwards and wave hello at the next orgy. Today, the Tinder hookup ghosting carousel does not even allow for the courtesy of a “let’s get breakfast” post-hookup ritual.

The problem here is not “sluts.” People have been having “casual sex” since our last common ancestor with bonobos. The problem is not the casual sex, it is ghosting.

Tribal societies, where everyone knows everyone, do not allow for “ghosting.” Ghosting only becomes possible when you introduce rape as a weapon of war. The trauma of being ghosted by Chad after a Tinder hookup is the trauma of war-rape.

My male audience will probably not understand how destabilizing modern sexual behavior is for women. Even African women, who originate from a more Dionysian, polyamorous continent, complain about the lack of commitment they receive from men. It is deeply painful for women of all races and cultures to be ghosted.

Thanks to the magic of Instagram and mass social media, it is no longer necessary for a woman to be a “slut” to lose her sense of reality and stability. Alienation and rejection can be experienced “vicariously” through e-dating.

Women are inherently political, but in a different way from men.

Women are inherently conservative. This is not to say that they do not long for danger, adventure, and excitement — but these experiences are almost always mediated through their connection to a male love.

Once a woman becomes a mother, she seeks familiarity, certainty, and comfort. This is why women love interior decorating — it is a ritual of self-signaling: “I am ok, I am safe, I am in control.” When you see a woman’s house which is extremely well-decorated, know that she is overcompensating for some kind of trauma in the same way that a middle age man with a Ferrari and a big gun is compensating for trauma.

Men post Ferraris and guns to social media to scam other men who have anxiety over their masculinity. Similarly, women create entire magazines dedicated to interior decorating to appeal to other women who are anxious about their lack of control over their space.

The constant anxiety for men is, “Am I dangerous enough? Sexy enough? Strong enough?” The constant anxiety for women is, “Do other women like me? Is my style in fashion? Do these curtains look tacky?” Men seek the approval of other men, women seek the approval of other women.

Two magazines targeted at men’s anxieties and women’s anxieties.

Women, like men, can become anxious at any time, but it tends to get worse with age. Whereas men tend to be anxious about active abilities (strength, erections, money), women tend to be anxious about their ability to control their environment in a chaotic and ever-changing world. This is where astrology comes in.

Anxious women consult schizophrenic self-help columns to win back a sense of stability. Whether you believe in astrology or not, women are interested in it for the same reason that men buy dick pills. Both are seeking a relief from the fear that they are “out of touch,” “losing it,” “having a mid-life crisis.” While your dad bought that sports car or boat, your mom became a certified yoga instructor.

politics as interior decorating.

The term incel refers to a man who is a romantic failure. More broadly, it is a pejorative for a whole swath of men who are unsuccessful, alienated, and alone. They see politics as representative of what they are missing: power and acceptance.

A nerd who obsesses over sports doesn’t become strong; a fat guy who watches football doesn’t lose weight; a porn addict doesn’t get laid; and an incel who lives and breathes politics will never impact the world around him.

When you ask me my political opinions, and you try to force me into the label of fascist, conservative, communist, or liberal, you are the same as the astrology girl who gets angry when I refuse to tell her my sign. In both cases, the attachment to weak or even harmful conceptual systems exposes a void of identity. Those who have nothing real in their life cling harder to simulacra.

I have contempt for this way of life because I hate what it does to people. It is infectious like herpes, disgusting like Ebola, repulsive like toe fungus. I see millions of men jacking off to political Only Fans, and I am horrified in post-nut clarity. At least we know porn is fake. But these people really believe their own lies!

I love beauty, nature, strength, and health. The more I can be surrounded by beauty, nature, strength, and health, the better. Whatever achieves this is good. Whatever promises this but does not deliver is evil.

Interrogating my political label, asking whether I am “really a leftist” or not, is about as useful as interrogating my favorite color of ferrari, or my astrology chart. If you believe in these things, obsess over these things, or ask me about these things, you are not going to make it. You are my enemy. You’re part of the mass of sheep who want me to participate in a masochistic psychodrama at my expense for the benefit of a few political grifters and e-celebs. You’re in the gutter, drowning in sewage, and you want to drag me down with you. Misery loves company!

Mass politics is a product of democracy.

In feudal Europe, no peasant asked another, “how do you think things should be run? What religion should we have? Who should we choose as a leader?” To ask these questions would be mental illness. It is the same today. To promote, profit off, and participate in this is to spread parasites in the minds of the mentally ill masses.

Every political position is a psychological operation. It is a mind virus and a war on your soul. It is the reduction of humanity to ballot boxes. Do you support the blue geriatric boomer or the red geriatric boomer?

Politics is a dirty and vicious game. Few are cut out for it, in the same way that very few people will ever make money gambling, playing the stock market, or trading crypto. Some of it is luck, some of it is connections, and some of it is the willingness to do anything and everything to win.

People born with the mindset necessary to win politically will not be dissuaded by this essay. Their brains are built to reject doubt in any form, so they can single-mindedly pursue victory. These are the only people who will ever actually have an impact on politics. The rest of you are just spectators.

The fact that most people are spectators to politics shouldn’t be a message of despair, but of liberation. Instead of trying to be someone you are not, or getting caught up in someone else’s game, focus on your skills, your accomplishments, your love, hope, dreams, and passions. If politics is not your purpose for living, find what is.