Hi all,
Good night

Interesting article. If you happen to be a "radical loser"...follow Gagliardi's law:

So you say you want to kill a lot of people? Start with yourself and save the rest of us the grief.

Re: Han's essay
How can a man find light in a dark world where his own heart thirsts evil?
...Only in faith.
The 'terrorist' is 'dieing' for control, control that they'll never feel as a perpetual loser. The sense of control they seek over their victims, as a martyr, is false. The only way to gain control is by giving it up…
Keep up the good fight.
Keep up the ‘Cross’fit.
1st post. Seeing huge results in training. Thanks.

This stuff should be illegal! Causes loss of senses, feeling of euphoria, and impaired vision...... Crossfit, the super drug

One Melbourne's best criminal lawyers, Robert Richter QC, was once asked how he could represent some of our community's most despised individuals: murderers, rapists, child molesters and so on.

He said words to the effect that: "you have to try to understand the poetry of their lives." Suggesting, I imagine, that everybody is shaped by an intricate and complex web of events that has its own story, if you take the time to try and understand it.

Suggestions in the article, that suicide bombers "may be just fifteen and having a hard time with his spots" I suspect is a bit glib.

The conclusion too, that their "attacks represent a permanent background risk, like ordinary everyday deaths by accident on the streets, to which we have become accustomed" might also be self-fulfilling.

Unless we try and comprehend the real reasons why people feel so helpless that they are prepared to kill themselves and others, sadly, the writer is probably correct.

When is this months CFJ coming out?

Quite a thought-provoking article. I forgave the writer some odd word choices after reading at the bottom that it was translated from German.

My initial reaction is to be weary of the blanket statements. However, in light of the support Hans brings to his case, I will hold my reaction and choose a response when I've had time to digest it all. There is a strong historical link to his arguments - just overlay this definition of "loser" to your favorite world history book and watch the patterns emerge.

Thanks for the link, coach.

In my opinion, the fundamental loss of the "radical loser" is their failure to understand two truths: 1.) that God loves them and 2.) that God commands them to love others.

Perhaps the greatest challenge we face as individuals is developing the faith and character that enables us to forgive these radical losers.

Nothing like a little light reading before bed. Enzensburger has some interesting insights, but I think it is ultimately dangerous to dismiss jihadists as self-loathing losers. There is an unfortunate trend in academia to avoid morale judgements of wrong-doers in favor of deconstructivist/psycho-analytic approaches that reveal that the subject is in fact a self-deluded, pitialble creature who is not fully aware of his own motives. It may be cathartically satisfying to call Osama and his ilk losers, but that does little to help the policymakers or the foot soldiers attempting to prevent more evil acts. Is Osama a loser? Maybe and maybe not. But he is definitely evil and definitely dangerous. Chris

Lino,
Crossfit Jersey Shore. Spent my 1st 20 years there (Bricktucky). I'll look youse guys up when I'm in town visiting family. (usually for the fourth). Have Fun this winter.
Ex-jerseyite

MLM,
The Journal comes out on the 1st of each month.
If you did not receive your Journal, I would suggest checking your spam filter and making sure that lauren@crossfit.com is added to your email list.

If you do not find it, please contact me.

Thanks,
Lauren

Honestly.
First impression..(seperate from the content) is that....
The style of the article:
excessive, at times pseudo-intellectualized verbiage is itself a characteristic of the same pathological individual he tries to enlighten us about....I, perhaps errantly, distrust such authors.
There are many more insightful concise and straightforward reads on environmental and genetic cause and effect on social/emotional disenfranchisement and aberrant/destructive behavior.
Most don't use colloquialism's such as 'loser'....

http://media.putfile.com/1993_Tournefier

http://media.putfile.com/1993_Chakarov

enjoy!

I agree with some about the sweeping generalizations and the use of the colloquial "loser", however, Enzensburger makes some very cogent points. Having served in the Arab world quite a bit, I would have to agree (unfortunately) with a good chunk of what he says. I invite anyone to read Dr. Serge Trifkovic's "Sword of the Prophet" (subtitled "the Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam") for a much more in-depth historical discussion of the origins of the "Islamist" hate that this article talks about. Trifkovic also clearly has an agenda to put forth, but it doesn't make his historical analysis or points any less compelling.

I read some of the article, then realized I was tired and hungry. I'll read it tomorrow.
In the mean time, for reading that touches on this point, go to: http://www.theartofdansilver.com and read the "Goth Kids" essay. Good times.

Whoa .. a smart guy, but maybe too smart.
I think he missed it on radical Islam. I recommend "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" available on Amazon.com.
On the American version of the radical loser, such a man/boy (very few women do these things) would have been regarded a century ago as a spoiled, selfish coward. I think such individuals would have turned out very differently had they done a little hard work growing up u8nder the supervision of fathers who taught them respect for authority.

Murph,
That's the subtitle to the book I cited above. It's real title is "The Sword of the Prophet" (then in a yellow banner on top it says "the politically incorrect guide to islam") but I think the subtitle is a little misleading and more of a marketing ploy. By Serge Trifkovic. I think there is more convergence on these two authors than you might think. Enzensberger looks at things from a psychological standpoint while Trifkovic's is more sociological, but both are right on about the continuing insult that Western pre-eminence imposes on the Islamic psyche. Bernard Lewis, perhaps the pre-eminent scholar and author on Islam, has written a number of books about this including "What Went Wrong with Islam" and several others.

On a similar vein, I urge everyone to read two books by Karen Armstrong. The History of God, and The Battle for God. These are very detailed historical analyses of the three monotheiistic traditions. "History" covers them from their beginnings, while "Battle" covers the modern phenomenon of fundamentalism in all three.

I have her other books in my queue to read when I have time.

I have problems with such generalizations. Radical Islam has been around since Muhammod. The Radical Islam movement that started in Iran in the 60s is similar to the socialist(leftists) movement in Russia at the turn of the century. Both movents were started and executed by society elites that were interested in power. They recruit "losers" or what I would call poeple with out direction or purpose and the leaders provide that for them. Many poeple wake up every morning and go to work and do not really know why. To pay bills? They breath in and out turn O2 into Co2, food into s@#$ etc. The 5th level of the "Higher Archial of needs" is self realization. Instead of Crossfit (which for me is like waiking up Christmas morning every morning)it is Jihad or just raw gread and power. The Middle East and S.E. Asia are prime grounds to recruit because the educated middle and upper class have a way out and the ability to attain resonable goals that will give them the satisfaction their life needs. The Lower class have little option for education "Madrasa" schools where the students learn the Koran by what we would consider harsh standards. Or in SE Asia no education at all. These groups of poeple are an easy mark. Add heat you have fire. We are going to have to deal with this kind of thing for the rest of our existance. Open any history book and read. Conflict is not a new thing it just changes idiology. Our western society has become soft and is all to willing to turn a cheek just to get slapped. What it comes down to is that the poeple that have the most to lose are the least willing to do anything about it. Bill Wittle has got it right www.ejectejecteject.com. I usually don't like to rant so I opologize

Coincidentally...
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/14/family.killed.ap/index.html

Awesome video's! - thanks Ian.

Anyone else traps/neck sore from yesterdays WOD? I'm thinking it was maintaining active shoulder position? Otherwise I'm not sure how it happened.

Some points of interest:

Comparing the individual loser to collectives that go as far as a whole country. The only difference is no feelings of group-think/patrotism with the individual.

Western influence on modern terrorism. From their presentation and Hollywood inspired massacares to being tooled up with western gear.

The benefits to a government whose country is under the attack of terrorism. " It can create a general atmosphere of fear and trigger counter-reactions based on panic. It boosts the power and influence of the political police, of the secret services, of the arms industry and of private security operatives; it encourages the passing of increasingly repressive laws and leads to the loss of hard-won freedoms...There is nothing better than an external enemy with which to justify surveillance and repression."

The claim that the change in the US after 9/11 was minimal based on the stock exchange reopening next monday and little change to financial markets is laughable and "feel good propaganda". See above.

"Their attacks represent a permanent background risk, like ordinary everyday deaths by accident on the streets, to which we have become accustomed." Does this mean they don't matter anymore...maybe a green cross code for avoiding terrorist attacks needs to be produced...or does it mean this "evolution" of the world stage is a natural process when viewed from afar?

I would comment on the use of language and generalisations (allthough generalising was the aim of the essay) but it's already been said.

When you consider that the radical loser(s) is (are) out there, the 21st rule of gunfighting comes to mind:

21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

WHAT THE H3!!?
There is a blazing & blatant flaw here that is readily apparent to anyone who has spent time in the domains of these cultures; THEY AIN'T NOTHING LIKE US!
I don't say it that way to in anyway debase the writer; he has done an admirable job of tying-up many of the nagging loose threads that the 6-o'clock news never seems to quite grasp.
There is considerable danger however in using Western thought, philosophy, or even theology to attempt to understand Islamic culture.
Better stop there...

Sean G - Noticed your post after I poted mine. The book to which I refer is by Robert Spencer and the full title is "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)." I have also read Sergei Trifkovic's book and thought it was excellent.
Both of these books will give one a much clearer view of what America is up against than one will find on most media sources.

I think Cates makes an excellent and often overlooked point. In many (most?) cases, these "radical losers" come from cultures that are very different from our own. In the end, we are attempting to understand their motives and actions while viewing them through a western Judeo-Christian filter. This may, in fact, be impossible to do. The point Cates raises reminds me of something that I've read (trying desperately to remember the titles of books) in several accounts of Vietnam...that in many cases the way the Veitcong and North Vietnamese treated POWs, villagers, etc. was the reflection of a very different view of human life that was culturally inherited/propagated.

At the end of the day (so to speak), some culture is going to be at the top of the food chain. I would like to to show respect and recognition to all people and their belief systems. But I'm not going to shed a lot of tears if we ("America") end up imposing our will to some degree. Someone is on top, someone is on the bottom. It's the nature of things, and trying to deny it (particularly by presenting such denial as some form of enlightened thinking) is, in my opinion, both foolish and futile.

My opinion tends toward those already expressed here(Cates, Graham, Sean G etc.) The generalizations made in the latter part of the article seem unsubstantiated at best, perhaps even bordering on hysteria.
If anything the writer has provided an unwitting indictment of western culture. The views regarding the individual as a "radical loser" (the colloquialism is almost laughable and I would hope that it is just a bad translation) seem more applicable to the U.S. than any other nation or culture. Also isn`t neo-nazism a global movement bearing similar characteristics to the author`s definition of a "radical loser" collective?
To say that increased terrorist acts in the Middle East are the result of a mass inferiority complex seems overly simplistic and just plain poppycock. The author himself admits,

"Experts around the world are not the
only ones wondering how the Islamist
movement has been able to recruit so
many activists with its promises, far
outdoing its secular rivals.
No clear answer is in sight. "

Do these kinds of political discussions show up often at crossfit?

I can`t shrug my shoulders today...is that normal around here? Looking forward to next workout. Thanks crossfit for starting something radical and revolutionary yet directed toward building winners.

Hmmm... interesting article - it raises a few questions and begs separation of arguments. However, I think that comparing radical losers with a situation that breeds "immoral" violence is a bit of a problem.

Humans (especially human males) are hierarchical beings who want to know where they belong in the "pecking" order of life. One of the great things about being an American (if not "the" most important thing) is that over the course of a lifetime one can move up (and, very importantly) down)the "dominance hierarchy" in our society based upon merit (work, intelligence, etc.). In other words, what makes this country great is our middle class, and I worry when it shrinks. Without this, I believe (I haven't collected data) a society becomes unstable and violent, with large numbers of individuals in that society willing to attack another group if they believe that group is taking away their status, and maybe even attack their fellow country-men.

The "radical loser" the author starts off the article with is referred to as an "outgroup omega" as they are individuals who think of themselves as leaders, but because no one is following, they believe there is a conspiracy against them. These are the types of individuals (mainly teenage boys) who end up commiting the type of violence experience at Columbine, and here in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I've known kids like this, and trust me, they can easily obtain weapons that threatens mass deaths (one of these "types" I knew in high school has a "LAW" rocket he managed to appropriate from the local national guard armory).

But then the "radical losers" that the author seems to refer to later in the article appear be an conglomeration of people in a society that does "immoral things". These people may be seeing their lack of status through television and other forms of communication, and see no "real" way of obtaining status, and thus become very, very frustrated, then angry - which of course leads to violence.

The Islamic world (and I claim no extensive knowledge) that I'm most afraid of is the one ruled by an elite group and populated by very poor individuals (in other words, with a very small middle class) - in other words, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Kuwait, etc. Notably, Saudi Arabia is a cauldron ready to explode - as we know by the majority of terrorists of 9-11 coming from that country, as well as Osama bin Laden.

But then, this is just a quick response - I might be so far out there... and I haven't even touched the role of religion, and perhaps most important - that of sex/reproductive interests (the mark of middle class societies is one man-one wife; the mark of monarchies/oligopolies/etc. are many wives for those in charge, none for those on the bottom - and with it (especially in Islam) is the promise of loads of wives in the afterlife when one dies for a "just" cause).

But I ramble - the semester is over and my brain goes too far!

Despite battling a cold, date with Linda this morning.

BW=170, "Linda" BW=120 (180DL,120BP,90SqCl)

18:40

Three hours later, still decimated. 20 second PR. Probably need to jack the weight up a bit.

I'll try to read the "the radical loser" later today.

doooooood...my shoulders are fried from yesterday!

Card PT:

Hearts: pullups
Spades: squat thrusts
Clubs: 55-lb DB swings
Diamonds: 20-lb DB TGE

38 minutes for the full deck.

TGE very hard.

No rest for the wicked today ...

"Fran"
21, 15, 9 rep rounds of:
-Thrusters, 100lb
-Pull-ups

6:13 - 7 sec PR and nearly 30 secs better than my last outing
Pull-ups nowhere near where they were but I attacked the thrusters today which helped keep things moving. Knowing that I would be resting during the pull-ups made this a sensible choice. Scary to think what this will be like with unbroken or minimum rest pull-up sets!!

Three hours later hit the power-clean/ press-up combo

5 rounds for time of:
-10 Power-cleans, 110lb
-15 press-ups

7:39 over 90 secs slower than last time. No surprise after Helen, yesterday's WOD and then Fran earlier today but still enjoyed this.

Cheers, kempie

Murph,
Thx (and my apologies). Something new for my Christmas reading list!
Re: shoulders & traps - I've noticed today that it's my delts and traps that are cooked. As someone noted yesterday, that was 150 presses (of various kinds) of 95 lb. That will tend to smoke the shoulders. I'm curious to see what pops up for tomorrow (please, please, please, no hspu's!!)

That's really tempting fate Sean - you really want to practice keeping anti-wish lists to yourself. How do you think "Kelly" came about?!?

Cheers, kempie

It's a bit off-topic, but I want to second Andy Shirley's recommendation of "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong. Wonderful book! I haven't read "Battle for God", but it just went on my Christmas list.

Another book worth reading (with a considerably less "balanced" view) (but still worth reading) is: "Mythology's Last Gods: Yahweh and Jesus" by William Harwood.

The Radical Loser. A Very Old Story.

"And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth...and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."

Loser kills his brother... rejection, jealousy, anger, violence.

A couple of weeks ago, a guy I went to high school with, waited in his ex-girlfriend's house for her to come home, killed her, and then himself. I found myself asking, what is it that brings a person to do this?

He had recently been suspended for DUI, leading to the breakup with his girlfriend.

Rejection.

She began a relationship with someone else.

Jealousy.

He used his position in law enforcement to check up on her, and got caught, resulting in several more serious charges.

Anger.

On the day of his court appearance to answer to the charges, he is unwilling to face up to his mistakes, he lashes out at the one he blames, and finally, kills himself.

Violence.

Enzensberger relates the same story as it applies to Islam.

Islam was once the foundation of a great civilization, but that civilization deteriorated, and remains stagnate, while the civilization founded on Judeo-Christianity flourishes.

Rejection...

Faced with the vibrancy of Western civilization, and its inroads into the historically Islamic world, where Islamic youth choose Western values over Islamic values,

Jealousy...

Radical Islamic leaders refuse to accept the failure of civilization based on the Sharia Law.

Anger...

Infused with self-righteous indignation, Radical Islam lashes out in an attempt to destroy the object of blame, willing even to sacrifice it's own youth, it's very future.

Violence.

This whole argument reminds me of the book People of the Lie, by M. Scott Peck, where he states,

"The evil of this world is committed by the spiritual fat cats, by the Pharisee's of our own day, the self-righteous who think they are without sin because they are unwilling to suffer the discomfort of significant self-examination."

That's the crux, and it's worth repeating:

"the unwillingness to suffer the discomfort of significant self-examination."

VS.

The willingness to accept the inevitability of error, of making mistakes, and the consequent need to make adjustments and go again.

Missing the mark, adjusting the aim, trying again, over and over. The very essence of life.

And there is no end to it either, unless of course you are a Radical Loser, in which case, refer the Gagliardi's Law.

"Understanding Terror Networks" by Marc Sageman is a worthwhile read. He's got an interesting bio: MD, PhD, forensic psychiatrist who was a CIA foreign service officer in Islamabad in the late 80s. Sageman charts the rise of what he terms the global Salafi jihad from its Egyptian roots and profiles approximately two hundred al Qaeda members. Along the way he debunks a number of common myths such as al Qaeda being "blowback" from US support of the Afghanistan mujahedin against the Soviets. (Turns out the "Arab Afghan" jihadis were primarily tourists and marginal players and we had little interaction with them.)

One of the common themes in Sageman's study of the core al Qaeda membership is of upwardly mobile young men from the Middle East (and to a lesser extent South East Asia) who only became radicalized after spending significant time in the West and meeting with a variety of frustrations. Part of the transformation appears to have been the experience of going from being "winners" in their society to "losers" in ours. Without putting too fine a point on it, not getting the good jobs, the fast cars and the hot chicks seems to have driven them crazy with jihad.

Overall, I believe this is a insightful analysis. I do, however, take one issue with the thesis.

Even though it is a relatively minor point, I take issue with his apparent dismissal of self preservation as the highest human instinct. While there are very rare exceptions, I believe self preservation is, at least when mortal danger is recognized, possibly the most powerful instinct humans posses.

He brings up people who use rhetoric like, "Better to be dead than red." I believe that is in large part posturing. He also brings up tight rope walkers and other extreme sport entusiasts. Couple this group with soldiers in general, and I believe a differing explanation can be offered.

As a soldier, I have unfortunately know too many of our American fighting men who have died. Some were close to me and some were only aquaintences. All in the military have a purely intellectual realization that they could be killed. However, I believe there exists a definitive difference between knowing (intellectually) and actually believing you're going to die. When a soldier runs into a gunfight, he knows, theoretically at least, that he could be killed. However, if he really BELIEVED he WOULD be killed, he might express much more hesitancy. I believe, based on speaking candidly with many soldiers, that the prevailing mindset is, "I won't be killed. That'll happen to some other unlucky guy." We know it could happen in theory, but we don't really believe it. Even when men face certain death (Thermoplyae, the Alamo), they do so with their comrades. This provides peer pressure and fear of shaming oneself. The highest form of physical courage, to my mind, is the man who forfeits his life when alone, or when no one expects him to so.

In short, even for one who conducts a suicide bombing, his death is only a theoretical excercise. I question if one who conducts a suicide bombing REALLY comprehends his own death.

Rest days are the best days! Gotta love the "winners"!

If I was still in grade school, and I knew the answer to something like "What is the state bird of Utah?", I couldn't answer, because I can't raise my arms. And that's with failing at the push jerk because I have no balance. Thanks WoD.

Looking forward to reading posts about WOD's tomorrow. Nothing against awareness and thought provoking articles. It is just that we get that through news, mags, newspapers, radio, tv, movies, books, other websites, etc. I have enjoyed this site for its lack there of. I have enjoyed it for its raw, mind purifying, no nonsense approach to fitness. This, in turn, better prepares me to face the other stuff with all the vigor I need. Thanks CF

Hi again,
Workout as follows
{Rope jumpx200 and swinging DB curlsx20 (25# db's) }x9 (good shoulder pump).
Duration 20:30.
Remember: love your kin folk...

I thought the Heidegger pun in the website name was funny.

Brian Mulvaney makes a great point about the apparent loss of stature, and the wake up call many young well-to-do individuals go through when they hit the 'West.' I have personally witnessed the feelings and reactions of affluent young men from the Middle East coming to California. Until now I was not able to compare events I was a part of to the larger picture.

I think many people feel the same way when they think they are 'fit' and then they try CrossFit. It is always the ones who 'knew' they were in the best shape that take it the hardest, and end up being the most vehemently against it.

Of all the posts, I do seem to like Mulvaney's best (and he knows I'm not just kissing up to a mod).
My friend has a great picture as his wallpaper on his PC. It's of an Islamic terrorist wearing a Nike skicap over his face. People tend to hate that which they can't have, or have tried to get but find out it is unattainable.
Good post, Brian.

I took the article more as a way to generalize a very complex topic and put it into black and white. I applied more of the theories put forth toward domestic terrorism like a Columbine or the UT clock tower incident. Someone pushes the button and away we go.

As a jr. high teacher, we're on alert at all times for the kid who is being bullied, has become an outcast, gone sullen. We've had several incidents of students bringing weapons to school as protection; luckily, no injuries or fatalities. At times, I feel a kinship with soldiers and LEO's as none of knows whom the enemy may be and when he may be coming. It's a little scarier when you realize it could be a disinfranchised 13 year old.

That said: I fully agree with Gagliardi's law. Just wish that Rios guy in PA had followed the law.

I like these mental exercise days.

Interesting article although it just displays an old, and sad, song thats been playing since 'civilization' began.

People seem to want to play two roles increasingly. The Superstar or The Victim. These 'radical losers' seem to be a hybrid of both. They're just another criminal element that needs to be confronted and confronted some more.

I found the article intellectually invigorating. The ensuing discussion and debate even more so. The "Radical Loser" helped me to make connections in my own life and understand individuals whom I've met but couldn't relate to. Patrick Kennedy you make a lot of great points. Getting over yourself, knowing that you have a lot of work to do, and then being about doing that work is so important. Complacency leads to envy of those who strive and endeavor to improve. Not just succeed economically or socially but to improve themselves physically, mentally and emotionally as well as their economic position.

I have often wondered about the dregs of capitalism, those who have lost the rat race. We are a competitive society - we (and I'm speaking of my Democratic brothers) - often delude ourselves into thinking that "everyone is a winner" but inherently our society is based on the model of winners & losers. For those losers who buy into the current structure they continue to work. For the radical loser, they opt out and construct conspiracies against the winners.

My struggle as a compassionate citizen of the world is: Is captalism/democracy the best form of economic/political policy? Is there a win/win system of government or does there always have to be losers upon whose shoulders economic/social advancements are built?

Bob - most societies have safety nets?

An excerpt from Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller:

"I happened to see Larry King interview Billy Graham shortly after the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. I had read an article the previous month about violent video games and their effects on the minds of children, desensitizing them to the act of killing. Larry King asked Billy Graham what was wrong with the world, and how such a thing as Columbine could happen. I knew, because Billy Graham was an educated man, he had read the same article I had read, and I began calculating an answer for him, that violence begets violence, that we live in a culture desensitized to the beauty of human life and the sanctity of creation. But Billy Graham did not blame video games. Billy Graham looked Larry King in the eye and said, 'Thousands of years ago, a young couple in love lived in a garden called Eden, and God placed a tree in the Garden and told them not to eat from the tree...'. And I knew in my soul he was right."

Run: Fairmont Canyon-Alki 46min

REST: 10 min

200 Push-ups
80 Pull-ups
Squats: 15@135lbs
10X185lbs
10X185lbs
10X185lbs
10X185lbs
10X185lbs
10X135lbs

John,

The "Loser's" I am referring often slip through the inherent holes in those "safety nets" or the nets themselves are designed to capture and hold instead of save. Are own system of safety nets often has the effect of creating dependence instead of inspiring greatness.

Did a few squats for kicks. At 205 my form got kinda ugly. Bit of forward lean is my self diagnosis.

Going to pick up my kids from school now. . .and give them a hug; let them know Daddy loves them.
Later, I'm hitting the gym for squats and deadlifts. Maybe some pull ups and dips. Need to reaffirm some things.

Bob,

It is quite possible that human's are competitive regardless of the system of government under which they live. I think it was E.O. Wilson who said of communism: nice idea, wrong species.

Decent article (he says as if he could write better!). In reading it I too found many generalizations that were difficult to just let slip. One great resource along the same lines as this is Eric Hoffer's "True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements". The whole concept of the "True Believer" is very similar to the Radical Loser. Exercise for the mind is awesome!

There will always be winners and losers. It is the way of every creature/ecosystem on the planet. With out competition every one would be special/losers.

Obvously written in German, then translated in to English. For a moment I felt as if I was reading "The Magic Mountain" again.

His central thesis is OK (i'm resopnsible/not responsible/it's someone else's fault), but he fails to answer why the loser is willing to accept self destruction, which he needed to do in order to have a tighter argument. His synopsis of Germany after the Weimar republic is trite, but as his audience is originally German it makes sense (see "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" for a thorough analysis.

I don't know what to think about the comparison between the Third Reich and Radical Islam--this is the one part of the article that really has me curious. Need to think about it. (I'm doing the mental equivalent of "gassing" right now)

CrossFit mental workouts--I can see it now:

Read for time:

Gravity's Rainbow (Pynchon)
Remembrance of Things Past (Proust)
Ulysses (Joyce)

Post time to comments. Bonus points if Proust read in the vernacular.

threw something together
10 rounds for time
bench press 225 lbs 5 reps
db thruster 35's 10 reps
close grip push ups 10 reps
24" box jump 10 reps
total time 32:35 minutes
lifefitness bike 15 miles/60 mins earlier in day
Shoulders were definitely fried doing thrusters from yesterday but couldn't help myself with 6" of fresh snow needed to workout
have to like it when someone comes up as i am dripping sweat and asks if i am training for football ( i am 30 yr old male) i said i just like pushing myself and i told him to check out crossfit.

That article was too long and didn't have enough pictures so I went to "The Art of Dan Silver" instead. Now THAT was an experience. And be sure to read the crazy things that Tonya said.

The day this was posted my team found ourselves in Compton; where they're currently experiencing a year of tremendous increases in homicides and assaults. Our surveillance took us to a neighborhood that we had just recently been in, but this time new crime scene tape cordoned off half the block.

Unrelated to our work, a 17 year old girl had used a knife on her sister, killing her over a household dispute. A 17 year old girl; her sister. "Radical loser"? I don't know about that one.

Ron N. alluded to it in his posts. We cannot stress enough the duty we have as parents, as all members of society, to support and teach our kids and young adults the responsibility they have not only to themselves but their community. And yes, that includes a good swift kick in the ass when medically indicated...

Ahhhhhhhhh, the jersey shore, always brings back great memories and I'm already excited for summer at the jersey shore, but wait, it's not even winter time yet!!!!

--zach :)

clay - you mean people can actually finish ulysses? i always figured that book was a practical joke of some kind.

the article reminds me of the trite phrase that history is written by the victors. victors rarely call themselves losers but instead reserve that label for anyone who dares to oppose them.

are the losers the only ones willing to die for a cause? no way. do the losers hold a monopoly on killing innocents and/or themselves? no way.

when individuals and groups have philosophies that insist on being "true" they are willing to kill and die for them. win or lose.

excellent mental workout. thanks.

Did yesterday's workout today with 75#...
13 07

I thought that the article was a stream of consciousness ramble, lots of very interesting thoughts, very little logical connection or support, no flow to the argument, a book's worth of debatable contentions in a single paragraph, things I agreed with, things I disagreed with--then I came to the end and found out the guy is a poet. It fits--a creative genius, but not so good at logical argumentation.

I do not think that the collective movements based on ideology, such as the Nazis, radical Islamists, etc are necessarily collections of individual "radical losers."

All in all, the thoughts most provoked by this article are the words to this spoof song, (especially since CrossFitters are all cultish Kool Aid drinkers).

Jonestown
(Sung to the tune of "Downtown" by Petula Clark")

When you’re broke, and your religion's a joke
Why don't you come and see ... Jim Jones
When life's incomplete, there's only one man to meet
Why don't you come and see ... Jim Jones

Chorus:
Watch him as he stirs the vat of Kool Aid that’s so lethal
Listen to the anguished cries of all the dying people
Everyone died.

The rev's the most gracious host
So, lift up your glass in the ultimate toast!
You're in Jonestown!
Drink up with reverend Jim!
Jonestown, Your chances are mighty slim
Jonestown, People are dropping like flies.

Chorus:
Watch him as he stirs the vat of Kool Aid that’s so lethal
Listen to the anguished cries of all the dying people
No one survived.

There was Congressman Ryan, on his mission a spyin'
But he would not drink with … Jim Jones
Such a public disgrace, they had to blow off his face
Now tell me who’s to blame

Chorus
Watch him as he stirs the vat o Kool Aid that’s so lethal
Listen to the anguished cries of all the dying people
Everyone died.

Jonestown ... Jonestown ...

re: radical loser
you are 100% responsible for your doings/undoings, if everyone took that mantra, we'd all be more positive

I read the article, but don't have time to read all the posts.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about the nature of Goodness, and by extension, Evil, and it seems to me there is a lot of meaning in the portrayal of Satan being cast from Heaven for the sin of pride.

We live in a world of constant change. Our bodies themselves are composed of energy fields and atoms moving and changing at the speed of light. No nanosecond is like any other nanosecond, and adaptation is a constant necessity.

As Edward de Bono pointed out, arrogance is a mistake in the future. It is staking out a position, tieing it to your ego, and refusing to change when necessary. This is a normal human tendency, and becomes especially pernicious when coupled with socially sanctioned conceptions of unique rightness, such as the perfection of the revelation of Islam, or the Historical Necessity of National Socialism, or Communism, or a specific interpretation of Southern Baptist theology.

In my view, no dogma can ever be right permanently. Perhaps, at best, it can be mostly right in the moment of its' inception. That is as far as I will go.

Spirituality, in my view, is nothing other than adapting with your being constantly, and the one absolutely, categorically essential element of this is humility.

Absent humility, the need for change cannot be seen, with the result that the afflicted individual is standing self-importantly in a room filling rapidly with explosive gas.

Skill is necessary for managing change, and it can only be developed if one is capable of learning, and one is only capable of learning if one doesn't think one knows it all already.

Wherever you "stop", I have decided to call a "qualitative horizon". It is the limit of what you will allow yourself to perceive.

I am working on a book on roughly this topic. It is an interesting fact that Adolph Hitler never held a steady job in his life, even though the seeming pride preventing it caused him to live a number of years in abject poverty.

Dan McD:

Great parody; I love it.

I live on the East Coast now, but I lived in the SF Bay Area back in the late 70's (Jonestown time). I was meeting the parents of a new girlfriend (in Seattle) the day the news broke . . . "so you're from San Francisco, eh?".

People back here on the East Coast never seemed to have heard much about it . . . it's always difficult to get them to understand why the phrase "drinking the Kool-Aid" means "total committment".

Amusingly, I work in a small startup company with a pretty maniacal managment team. After I used the phrase a few times and explained its origins, they adopted it as a shorthand for judging an employee's level of committment to the organization: "Has he drunk the Kool-Aid yet?"

Training day, ran 6-7k, etc..