We don’t need no Thought Control…
One of Bag’s more vivid mid-1970s childhood memories was periodically “going to work” for the day with Dad (who was a CPA). We took the “L” train downtown to Lasalle Street station in Chicago, where it was maybe a 5-minute walk to his office. Right by the station exit, there was a bank of payphones, which Pops occasionally needed to use. “Stay close by,” he would say. As he climbed into the booth one day, Bag noticed a crowd gathering just outside the exit. So Bag wandered over to see the attraction, and as it turns out, a three-card Monte game was going on. Now Bag was maybe ten years old, without a dime to his name, so he was never in danger of losing any money. But that didn’t stop him from guessing which card was the Queen.
The moment Dad was off the phone, he yanked me away, and we headed to the office. On the way, he explained the whole game was a scam. Bag clearly remembers claiming he knew for sure the Queen was in the middle, because he watched it carefully - and yet, somehow, when the cards got turned over, it wasn’t there? How could this be? Dad said, “No son, they wanted you to think it was in the middle; that’s how all scams work - by getting people to believe things that aren’t true.” That was a seminal moment in Bag’s life, because from that point forward - at the age of 10 - Bag started the lifelong habit of questioning everything he was told. Bag can tell you with certainty, when you are a grade-schooler questioning everything, the teachers & the administration do not like that, Not …One…Bit.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Bag remembers social studies class in the 6th grade, where we were being instructed George Washington was the first President, Adams the 2nd, Jefferson the 3rd etc…. Bag raised his hand and asked, “Why do we need Presidents at all?” Because “we do” was the response….Yeah, but why?…Because. The teacher would not answer the question, and Bag would not let it go. The next thing you knew, Bag was in the principal’s office for being a disruption to the other students. It wasn’t the first time or the last. Bag was constantly lectured as a youth by “Guidance Counselors” about the poor life choices he was making.
Hey Teacher! Leave them kids alone…
The platitudes they dispensed, things like work harder, do as you are told, be quiet, etc…. all sounded good. But rather than take those words to heart, all Bag could do was wonder how this disheveled 40-year-old counselor with coffee stains on his tie, is even remotely qualified to be passing out life advice. The way Bag saw it, this is a guy who has been out in the world cutting his own way for the last two decades, and the best he could do is a windowless office, about 1/2 the size of your average prison cell, and directly adjacent to the poorly vented student bathrooms - And this is the guy who is going to instruct Bag about life choices??? F*ck Off.
All in all, you're just another brick in the wall.
Needless to say, Bag grossly underachieved in the public school system. Not because he wasn’t intellectually capable, he was. The problem was Bag was far more interested in HOW to think, not WHAT to think. The distinction is an important one. From day one, our schools systematically punish critical thought … while rewarding those who can, instead, mindlessly regurgitate what they are told. The schools punish curiosity & the questioning of authority … while rewarding silence & obedience. Educating our young this way is remarkably effective at fostering a self-controlling slave mentality in everyone, the ideal pre-requisite for a future corporate/government drone.
Ah, yes, yours is not a slave mentality, you say? …. Tell me, when you are driving down a desolate road at 3:00 am, without another car in sight, and come upon an intersection with a red light, do you stop? Sure, almost everyone stops - that’s the self-controlling feature of the slave mind….Or, In keeping with the theme, it’s the mortar holding each brick in place. When the newsman tells you there is a pandemic and you should take the untested experimental vaccine, do you roll up your sleeve? Sure, the majority of us might bitch & moan, but at the end of the day, 80% of this country, like herdable sheep, did as we were told. After all…
If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding.
We constantly Lie to ourselves. Maybe it’s a conscious choice, or perhaps it’s a product of our educational conditioning. We would all like to believe we are immune to the influence of others, fully capable of standing apart from the herd, making our own way. Life experience would argue otherwise. The moment anyone steps outside the consensus view on any subject, they invariably seek others who think alike. The flat-Earthers find other flat-Earthers, climate deniers find other climate deniers, etc…. We do this not because we enjoy being apart from the herd, but because we find comfort in choosing which herd to graze with.
Bag’s herd has always been the one that questions everything, starting with his own beliefs. It’s the only means to freeing yourself from the yok of educational conditioning. That 3 card Monte game back in the day was eye-opening. Not only did it reinforce the idea that everything should be questioned, but It also helped Bag recognize at a young age, there is a predator class out there that would take everything you have … for sport.
Bag will spend the next few weeks in the Den of Iniquity, better known as Las Vegas. It’s summertime, which means thousands of degenerates from all over the world will be making their way to Vegas for this year’s WSOP - World Series of Poker. Bag apologizes in advance, as there may not be any new blogs until after the WSOP is complete. For those with no idea of what the WSOP is like, feel free to read last year’s review - (linked here)
I enjoy your writing style, interesting, literate and easy.
Great thoughts especially for a younger person Right now we need to be sure and question everything .... So many adults see and believe everything they are told!. So much deception. So glad my parents taught us critical thinking.