you are powerful and you are good. i’m sorry you were treated poorly by insecure people. you are allowed to be the unique human you are. if they want to bring you down because they feel low, you rise above. i understand that feeling of brokenness. do some focused healing and be there for yourself ♥️
Ever since I remember, I've encouraged people around me to embrace their "abnormality" as something good by saying, "You're weird? Good. Normality is so boring." and I really hope that at least some of them really got what I was trying to say this whole time. Great video, I will be sharing it with my friends. I hope they'll like it too. Cheers!
I like being boring and being an outlier in a normal distribution is not automatically good for example I made bad grades as a kid, it wasn't normal, I wasn't in the norm, but it was not an improvement to the norm by any stretch I was never held back bc I scored high on the standardized testing but being an outlier there was not good either, bc I formed a poor acedemic work ethic and eventually quite school when if I had been more normal I probably could have achieved a much better career than the military if I had applied myself acedmically instead of signing up for service to pay for my education I get the idea that "measuring people by some standard metric is wrong as an excuse to justify how individuals should be treated" what I don't agree with is the idea that when people volunteer to submit to having information about them collected in some or many metrics, and then plotting that information with distribution stastics is not useful or beneficial in any way for example I would be happy to find out that in a cancer screening survey of a normal distribution I am not an outlier in the since that I am at a much higher risk for some cancer than the group norm so I would say sometimes being "normal and boring" is preferable to being "abnormal and dramatic"
I was a weird kid growing up but entering the workforce, I became a mindless drone like everyone else. I’m just now going back into my weirdness because it’s more creative and separates me from the rest
As a neurodivergent Queer, I can confidently say that this is really euphoric for me to hear that me being "outside of normalcy" is good. Thank you for the video.
when being a bloodthirsty self serving psychopath who rejoices when they are able to cause other people to starve is the only thing considered "normal" ... i dont think being normal should be rewarded
20:08 It's weird that black women with intellectual abilities were seen as "a threat". Somehow they're characerized as weak and incompetent, but also capable of overthrowing power structures.
To be honest when you read early mesopotamian or ancient Chinese legislation or read their rulers, there is already this idea (although less successfully wielded) that standardisation is needed to create a society they could exploit. All forms of hierarchies rely on this praise of a specific deemed more "normal" and "good" than others. One very good exemple is the drive of States over history to suppress cultural and linguistic diversity. There's quantitative studies on that too. James C Scott "seeing like a State" has some good bits on that. Overall I agree with the video, of course
This contradicts revolutionaryth0ts idea that normalcy is a recent invention. People wanted other people to be normal as early as during the ancient times.
My weirdness is my strength. It's weird to be compassionate towards oneself. Literally and figuratively. It feels weird to steer one's emotional ship. The more I respect my weird ability to actively empathize with random folks, the more I can breathe a sigh of relief and just observe. There's no need to compete. Being me is the greatest gift I can give.
It is interesting that this essay is opened with an observation that children posses natural tendencies to ostracize against kids who are different. This is not something that children has to be taught by parents through social learning, it is a behavior that is exhibited by children on their own, without a need for prompting. This suggests that there is an evolutionary advantage for people to ostracize people who are different from them. Us versus Them mentality is a widespread phenomenon that can be observed in all cultures which also speaks to it's adaptive nature.
I'm neurodivergent, queer, fat, and I tried converting to Buddhism when I was a teenager. Now I'm disabled too. First I was bullied by my peers, now by the government.
@@nilsmadej9091 Picking a struggle is a matter of privilege for those with intersectional identities... Picking a battle on the other hand, that's a whole other thing. The difference I think, is in scale and pace.
@@danielsmokesmids you misunderstand what I meant. Trying to rid the world of conflict would be impossible. Conflict is currently at the heart of our world's power base. I want conflict to not be the MAIN reason things happen.
@@TheMayonakaMidnighter Youre gonna have to be more specific about what you consider "conflict;" that word encompasses everything from a mild disagreement to nuclear war
@@scottbuck1572 If you don't understand the concept of a "Central Fiction" you shouldn't be trying to talk to me, otherwise you're literally proving my point.
@@TheMayonakaMidnighter hey I genuinely haven't heard of this concept before and when I try to google it it just comes up with a game, do you mind explaining what it means? genuine question lmao
@@leeyam2520 I have a habit of talking in admittedly overdone language, I apologize. Effectively the "Big Lie", the central "lie" that everyone, both those in power and those controlled, must believe, for a system of governance to be effective. For example, in capitalism "money = power" is a form of central fiction that must be believed for the system to function. In Neoliberal Capitalism, "Conflict = Money = Power"
I'm autistic, or, whatever term they have for us these days. I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be normal lately, so stumbling across this was a fun surprise. Of course, as I'm sure you can relate, I've been very obviously different than everyobe around me all my life. I've grown up with the enforced reality that this world simply was not made for me, and that it is my duty to find a way to work within it. Of course, being in my early twenties I also grew up surrounded by messages of acceptance and tolerance. I had been told that no matter what, I was special and unique and that was fine. Problem being, those messages coincided with relentless attempts to cordon me off, seperate me from the other children both physically and metaphorically in spec ed classrooms and so-called 'safe spaces' (not so safe when the boundaries are drawn by those that have power over you...) I really appreciate this video, because for all the people that have told me - often in the same breath - that I'm perfectly acceptably normal and utterly incapable of fitting in without help, it's nice that someone seems to understand the world that seems to be so afraid of my existence. If that's what's normal, I'm not. hopefully, never will be. Not sure what this means but everyone else has one, so 🐈⬛ Looking forward to binging the rest of your stuff
The campaign slogan of the biggest political party and premier of the Netherlands Mark Rutte for the last 10 years was 'act normal' (doe normaal), they are the "liberal" party of the country so it shows that freedom that they preach really only is for a very small group of people (also great video loved it, its such a unique and interesting topic ❤)
idk how any europeans call themselves anything but monarchists, since they all seem to be keen on tolerating monarchs in perpetuity instead of like, abolishing them to remove their entrenched power over society.
@@saturationstation1446I think that’s most (if not all) of the world, sadly. :( Us Americans can’t even scratch the monarchist itch without installing our own oligarchal monarchy like we did just recently (and worse). 🙃
@@saturationstation1446 There are six monarchies (that are not micronations) and 20+ countries with an elected head of state in Europe. So maybe don't generalize quite so carelessly?
I have been tortured and abused and neglected most of my life and I am one of those who has been incarcerated against my will in those institutions and I have also been homeless a lot. I... You know this is why people like me are punks and buddhists and anarchists... wish I could have more of a life... I feel so...😿
I'm sorry you've had a hard life, comrade, and I hope you're situation improves soon if it hasn't already. And you're right, people like us who struggle to survive because of the inherent flaws in our socioeconomic system are more likely to be aware of those flaws and radicalized against them. Capitalism makes proletariats and lumpen-proletariats out of more and more of us, and in that same action, and various others, it fills us with the revolutionary spirit to dismantle it.
I was just talking with my therapist about this exact topic a couple minutes before finding your video. It's really mindblowing to realise just how much suffering we can got trough in the search for a normalcy that neither does exist nor can we remotely fit into, particularly as a neurodivergent queer individual thats been seen as an "other" for the longest time. Great video, it hit home and helped punctualise a couple ideas I'd been chewing on recently. 🐈⬛
This is something I frequently tell my niece about. Society is a machine designed to turn out a product, a normal person. Normal in the sense of standardized interchangeable parts. Uniqueness makes for bad firewood.
when i think of average, i usually think of it in terms of the large range of values that are taken from a sample size and used to calculate a convenient number as a benchmark or reference point. Depending on the size of the values within the sample size, the average will either go up or down.
what does average even mean when you've removed 99% of the human species out of the calculation? lol. its like in eurocentric media, where the only lifestyles displayed as "the normal/average experience" are actually only what the well off in the culture get to experience, and the other 99% of the population is getting murdered with labor induced starvation while being told they are too lazy to deserve to be alive. they never even acknowledge that the other people are human or have lifestyles or cultures. those with wealth are the only ones allowed to be considered human enough to deserve agency over their quality of life.
Have lived with schizophrenia for the majority of my life now. While I appreciate disability, which covers food/shelter/medical, the quality of life is pretty horrible. I have enough money to not die, but not enough to live. I've been getting 2% increases per year, which never quite match inflation. On top of that, since the state says I "make more money" with each 2% increase, they cut my food support. Ironically, I'd almost be better off without it. So what wasn't enough to begin with, gets less and less.
I’m so glad you’re setting up a P-n account (leaving out the full name, as YT often doesn’t take kindly to comments that explicitly mention it). I never like to put pressure on a creator for specific perks, because I feel being a patron is like leaving a tip rather than paying for special treatment. If you remind us of new videos being posted, that’s good enough for me. You’d be surprised how many big creators rarely bother to do even that. One of the creators I follow does a weekly patron call. That might be cool. Names in the credits are cool, too.
This is the most informative video about politics I've ever seen. Like I didn't expect an entire history of multiple political ideologies when I saw this video title
The algorithm brought me to you somehow and I ended up binging your video essays all weekend. I can't say what kind of future I want to build towards just yet; I'm still figuring out how to get my fatherless ass to find meaning in life. I do hope that it ends up being a future where future generations don't have to grow up abused like I was. It was cathartic to both learn more about the systems that bind us and also to hear your words of validation. Also, my favorite cat emoji is
Thank you!! 🫶 I hope that future ends up being realized too. Abuse, neglect, trauma, etc. are so terrible for our bodyminds, and the fact that the current systems we live under reward and incentivize abusive behavior really doesn't help
I wouldn’t say uniqueness considering it’s common among audhd bipolar disorder people, how drugs and alcohol affects them and their communities as a way to escape, a future where there wouldn’t be a major necessity to escape reality but have a solid foundation where regular life can be more enjoyable, a proletarian with more time for family, friends, where work is fair and for a purpose. Equality for everyone and if drugs can’t go away entirely so quickly, a way to properly distribute safe and regulated substances and medical treatment for rehabilitation and overdoses should be considered.
I love this! A future where people don't need to dissociate from the horrors of daily life by using drugs and alcohol because life is already enjoyable enough on its own is totally a future worth fighting for!!
20:25 I think "Bodily Autonomy" was the term I was thinking of. Was in a conversation about Crisper, and I was trying to convince someone it wasn't eugenics to cure blindness and sickle cell under a bad definition that eugenics is always bad, and they convinced me that it was eugenics but just a good form. Saying things like people shouldn't be required to remain blind if they don't want to it's fine, the problem comes when you force that on people or treat neurodivergence as wrong. The former is removing Bodily Autonomy, the person being changed has a say in what and how. Unlike the bad eugenics that not only forced people to changed if it can, but unalives/exiles if they can't. Previously curing these disorders in individuals were not possible, so the only kind of eugenics that was possible removed Bodily Autonomy. This is the first half of why it's bad. (Attacking neurodivergencies and personality traits is another problem that is still bad. Don't do this. People are valid the way they are, just giving them more abilities that they want is helpful.)
Think the big difference between the two is quality of life vs social pressure. If you are pressured by systematic problems to change, that probably shouldn't be changed and the system needs to. If your body is attacking itself, this probably needs medical help.
The average pilot story is a great one. My other favourite example, and from people who should really have known better, is the Australian Bureau of Statistics, using (I think) 2011 census data, proclaiming that the average Australian is, "...a 37-year-old woman who has one son and one daughter, aged six and nine. She lives in a three-bedroom, free-standing house and has $200,000 remaining on her mortgage." Naturally, no such person exists, and switching between mean and mode in order to select a dominant characteristic of this average person is methodologically dodgy. Naturally, they did it again after the 2021 census, this time including a range for age (30s), which isn't much of an improvement. Then again, you can just point out that while humans normally have two legs, the average human does not.
I was always the weird kid, then in middle school to high school depression started likely as a result of trying to "kill" my younger self, the me that I had blamed for "letting" trauma happen. Finally I'm starting to heal and even reconnect with a me that I thought was gone, the me that is utterly weird, and boy.... I'm going to really do some great things now that I'm back. I've come to accept that being "normal" was never in the cards for me and I finally feel free
Great to see Empire of Normality gaining some more eyes. This was a great overview and exploration. (Sidenote: your voice is awesome, just felt I had to mention that)
Hello I just wanted to say that I recently discovered your channel and it's been an interesting experience. I'm not a communist or a socialist but I like to hear what others have to say it broadens the mind, I hope that your channel grows and greetings from Australia.
you can be a capitalist and not believe in consolidation or rich people existing, since both of those things prevent economic growth as long as they are allowed to exist..
@@saturationstation1446 If you are opposed to those things, then the redistributed wealth has to go somewhere. Is it used for the benefit of society? I still have a lot to learn, but this sounds like China's hybrid system. The capitalist part provides the incentive to work, innovation from competition, and is attractive to foreign investment. Meanwhile, the socialist part provides the sensible regulation, planning, and social benefit of sharing, areas where unbridled capitalism falls short. Win win. (Again, I have a lot to learn. I'm just an enthusiastic nobody.)
@@JB52520 Innovation doesn't come from competition. What is cheaper, doing research and reformulating the processes and sectors of your production to provide products in greater quality and quantity, or allying with some ofthe competing businesses to pay some saboteurs to sink the other competing businesses? Innovation comes from demands from the masses. If the masses have power to demand change, either they will invent the innovations they need by themselves, or the elites will have to make concessions and invest in _some_ innovation, which most likely will still be only applicable to a restricted group of people. Edit: Also, the incentive to work isn't inherent to Capitalism. Actually, Capitalism incentivizes people to trick others into doing work for them, which is basically what the capitalist elites do. The fundamental incentive to work comes from the need of work to create the things we need to survive. Capitalism is just one way of organizing who works with what. It's what we call "mode of production". Slavery, Feudalism, Capitalism, Socialism and Communism are modes of production; all of them incentivize people to work, that work is just distributed differently among people.
@@saturationstation1446 To be honest mate I do think that capitalism and socialism can be compatible but I also think that it's got to be in the hands of people that have the interest of the people, our world and animals at heart. Maybe I'm just naive but if a tool can be used for good and for everyone then maybe we should use it for the betterment of our planet and for all of mankind. I'll have to ponder it in detail and perhaps there are some books that offer knowledge on the matter. There are times when I think that we are stuck in a perpetual cycle, is there anyway to break this cycle? My dad thinks that a proper socialist society is the way to go, he also claims that true communism has never been achieved. I'm even more skeptical about that, I love my dad and his heart in the right place but I'm not sure what to make of it. I've heard arguments for both sides and I've spoken to people that are for capitalism and for socialism. But perhaps balance is the way to go, most people follow popular trends or buy stuff they don't need. I prefer to be my own man and buy what I need and not waste my money on frivolous things. I'll treat myself to a rare opera by Henry Purcell or perhaps a historical book writing thousands of years ago by a Greek or Roman philosopher. My interest in accumulating knowledge and I wish to know what came before I was born and know more about history, mythology, classical literature, classical art, old movies from the 1920s, 30s , 40s and so one. There's an entire world to explore both in terms of history, culture and mythology. I do hope that one day we can all move forward together for all of mankind and for this world that we call home, anyway I wish you a good day.
As a psychology major (and now doubling in sociology, with a minor in Latino/Chicano studies), this is the type of analysis I live for, and have dedicated myself to- also compounded by a discipline known as "liberation psychology" from Latin America, which focuses on community, dialogue, and decoloniality. I've become so disillusioned with the West's conception of psychology and mental illness, as an individualized, dualistic, and idealistic issue, ignorant of material conditions and social forces. It began with interrogating my own workaholic tendencies and where they come from- if anything, that's what set the spark for my radicalization, with books like Byung-Chul Han's Burnout Society, and Buddhist philosophy of interconnectivity and compassion compunding it (always been a bit of a philosophy nerd). Nowadays, even though I'm still a workaholic, my motto is "My workaholism is in service of an end to all workaholism. My burnout is in service of an end to all burnout." My aim is to get into grad school eventually, and then into practice AND academia, so that I can contribute to a revolutionized outlook of psychology one day. Rambling aside, great video! You really deserve more views / subs (for sure subbing right now ). I'll be sure to check out that book!
Ooh amazing! I hadn't heard of liberation psychology before, that sounds super interesting and very much aligned with what I discuss in this video so I definitely gotta learn more about it. Best of luck on your journey! Contributing towards the revolutionizing of psychology is a fantastic and important goal!
Once we have established an anarchist community with (food production, ofc) an engineering team, medical team, childcare center, and an elementary/high-school education center- then it shouldn't be long until we are broadly accepted by the general public and academia. Of course we'd be turning out fine art just as a byproduct of having all of our needs met, which would provide additional support implicitly- no need for propaganda art.
In a conversation, i said something like if society accommodation were aiding people with the most needs it would be for everyone would have an easier time. Like how there's a small slope next to stairs of building entrances it wasn't always built that way now it's making life easier fir those who need it and when people are just hurt or tiered. Its ok to live in a survivable society i think
I like the idea that there is no average person. And there is no mode. But there is theoretically a median person, and I unironically think they would be fascinating 🐱
15:38 I was in the middle of sending this video to someone talking about how it centers so many of the important things mental health counseling is really just starting understand and try to inplement. Then oh hi, there we are called out by name, hell yeah!
when was kid id have a "snicker" randomly, and they thught it was me thinkign doing somethign bad and to stop, which i thught was funny and woudl ever increase the snicker.
Honestly i tried and wanted to be outside of the norm as long as i remember. Even As a child i wanted chronic caught and to be lefthanded and to have a twin. Funny enough , years later it turned out that i was left handed just taught right handedness. I am not normal , and calling me normal is the biggest possible insult. It cuts deep and painfull.
While my brother is a well established "normie", I steer clear from it. But I understand his stance. Yes, I was already neurodivergent when I was a small child, and of course bullied because of that. When I was around twenty, I started to keep my hair long, and got my ears pierced during the 90's. In a small town, "funny" gay jokes were a thing for a while. These days I am living in a medium size city in Finland, still having long hair (dyed deep red), and I wear a black long classy trench coat, with dark, round glasses (Lennon, Ozzy etc.) And of course, red shoelaces, and black and red nails. With rings and hand/finger tattoos. People might think, who is that dude. A musician? An addict? In a larger city, there are loads of different people around. You can blend in a little easier. I love being different. Normality is boring. ✊ And oh, I love your channel
It's insane how you have only 4,5k subs... First time I discovered you, I watched your old video about historical inaccuracies in the Anastasia, I don't even know how long ago. Really enjoyed that one. Yesterday the algorithm showed me your new version of it, and it was as amazing, even better! I am really not a fan of long videos, basically podcasts (excuse me my poor ADHD), but here I am, captivated by this exellent content. Maybe youtube just doing it's thing, it really doesn't wanna show any provocative content, LGBTQ, Antifa, anticapitalist, you name it Love your work, eat the rich!
Wow this is such a nice comment, thank you!! And thank you for being here since my very first video! :) I also have ADHD and I try to make my content ADHD-friendly, so it's good to hear that I'm succeeding at that. Hopefully the TH-cam algorithm blesses me soon!
Just loved your video, it made me feel embraced in my uniqueness, I always find people really mean, being mean and cynical is the "new norm", and I'm so over it...
There's a few factual errors in the description of pre-modern production. Like the description of the shift from empire to feudalism is pretty inaccurate & little is lost from removing it. It invites a "well what is meant by slave" because serfs were most certainly not free people; nor did agricultural workers set their own hours. Yes there was some flexibility to when things may be done but not that much. One also gets peasant revolts well before the Black Death, the great pandemics didn't galvanize workers; the plagues did make workers more valuable, but it also broke (in certain parts of Europe) class solidarity among the elite, but not universally. To this end it is useful to look at when serfs get freed. Landowners is generally still the same nobility as before just the cadent branches. Surnames were... not so simple as standardizations. Like they typically arise from the migrations but they aren't like... in some places they are indicators of fancyness but in others they are the opposite. Also the measurements becoming standardized... it's not just mechanisms of control; standard units of weight & measure date to Babylon, ditto for regulations on maximum adulteration of product, & for all its use at regulating workers, the modern clock is born more out of nautical necessity But also dualism far predates Descartes. Like... it comes at latest from the Neoplatonists in late antiquity. Also, that norm means "correct" is... well tautological but worth getting into because you sorta flip cause & effect with regards to meaning & social effect. Albeit this is doing a lot of condensing which is hard; but like even the idea of "sub" versus "ab" with regards to normality. Also scientific racism was conscientiously self serving, it deliberately misapplied genetics to justify the extant world order against the ideas of common humanity that the scientific revolution implied. A milder & messier thing is that even though I know it isn't said all that serious: the very use of mid (& likewise mediocre) as pejorative sorta points to the issues with regards to normality itself; where average (the middle) is not the same thing as normality.
I couldn't say why I was good different growing up aphantasically and constructional apraxia, so I couldn't at all. But subconscious quieted, so at least no stressing, just a stiff wall myself as a person and didn't question. But maybe not girl enough to the other girls or too girly to other boys, one boy liked me.. Anyways, just by following pop stars and animated media, I felt normal in creative cause it's normal to think for forward and not stuck with everyone else stuck in line behind a square. Animated media and pop songs shaped me that I don't feel weird, in negative connotation, but am loved anyways. It's just my mom that keeps me trapped, making me feel inferior for earlier years. Good weird is beautifully creative Normal is personal social death
My own (that I had briefly) therapeist did tell me that "Normalcy doesn't exist" as well when I was down in the dumps. What I do dislike is that once you awaken (and I mean truly!) to this concept, you start seeing it everywhere, is so in-grained that is it hard to challenge unless we as a collective start practicing this awareness. I seen this lightly touched upon an adult course to help you start volunteering and extensively talked about disability and gave very concrete examples about individual needs and solutions. I also nominate another lie to you: Talent. No, talent never existed, at most there's a calling or an interest, and is your work that got you here. And no, artists aren't "talented" either and is not something you cannot do yourself. Sincerely, an artist, crafter, and mediocre animator and programmer.
Yeah, i was made to be normal. Now that i finally have my own resources (even if they're small) i will try my fucking darndest to be who i should've been allowed to be ^^ 🏳️⚧️ May we all be lucky in our journey and let it be known that a better world is possible, if we come together and fight for it ✊
A world where the means to thrive is accessible to all. Where prosperity and material wealth are decoupled, there can be a society that is motivated by humanitarian causes.
Thank u algorithm this is one of those videos that i feel like, "if people saw this, theyd understand so much more about life". Like akin to vids introducing socialism and collectivism, finally, theres an explanation of normalcy and Cartesian shenanigans!
Great video, comrade. I'd just like to point out that standardization was also important to professionalize mass production. Capitalism used the tools it had at its reach to maximize profit for the bourgeoisie, and to achieve that they needed to professionalize work, overcome the limits of artisanal manufacture. Under Socialism we also seek to professionalize work, but we fight for metrics different from profit and trade. We can cut off most production costs and profit off of just achieving "good enough" for a reduced group of consumers, or we can spend more resources in producing lasting and widely used structures and tools. We can make one size and shape to satisfy just enough people to profit, or we can adapt our production methods to include more people and develop our society at a faster rate. Standardization of methods of research and production is good, it allows us to escape our individual limitations and better study and communicate the needs of work in different sectors. Standardization creates predictability, which is necessary when articulating millions of people to work towards a common goal. The professionalization of political work, actually, is even a major subject of Lenin's contributions to revolutionary theory and practice. Standardization can be developed to include outliers. What is bad, though, is enforcing the means of class domination. Racism, sexism, ableism, eugenics, are means of class domination, they are ideological devices to justify differences of access to the value produced by work, to justify differences of power. As a marxist-leninist with Autism and O.C.D., I used to face a lingering existential question on my mind. _"If a person has no way of working on any field, materialistically talking, what can their contribution be to the Revolution and to Socialism? What is the material advantage, to the wider working class, of including them in the system?"._ On this video you offered to me a satisfying answer. The disabled, neurodivergent, and otherwise challenged people are the people who evidence the extreme limitations of our society. We evidence the limits of current work conditions, the limits of current living conditions, the limits of current technologies, the limits of the current society in further abolishing the oppressions of class and abolishing scarcity. In this sense, we are a vanguard within the vanguard, one which advances the interests of all workers through being the first to experiment with and denounce the limits of our society, like scouts in a battlefield. (Notice that in no way do I mean that our tasks are solely that. I mean that, politically, we are in an advantageous position to understand and express those matters.). This further supports the demands that I have been expressing to the "progressive" members of a "commission for inclusion" in my university. The best adaptation that we can get is having the power to develop our own adaptations, and that kind of autonomy is synonymous with power to the people, with class independence, and is achieved through the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. No wonder most of the comrades in my organization are neurodivergent. Thank you, comrade. 33:00 - _"You do not just fight against something and aim to destroy the existing structures with no plan on how to replace them. You need to envision a better world and fight for that world."._ That, comrade, is very advanced political thought. _"Concerning the Question of the Strategy and Tactics of the Russian Communists"_ (1923), _"The Foundations of Leninism"_ Chapter VII (1924).
Thank you so much comrade!! Totally agree that some degree of measurement and standardization is good and necessary, that's where things like design standards and user research come in too. Standardization and measurement of production in a system without class domination would be actually helpful for ensuring that everyone has their material needs met, whereas under capitalism it often acts as another means of oppressing the working class. I love your idea about disabled, neurodivergent, etc. people being a vanguard within a vanguard and I'm so glad that my video helped you synthesize that thought! "The best adaptation that we can get is having the power to develop our own adaptations, and that kind of autonomy is synonymous with power to the people, with class independence, and is achieved through the Dictatorship of the Proletariat." - also all of this!!
Great video. For me, it's been a body image struggle, since I don't have the body that's considered "normal" for my age. I'm really short and small. I am working on accepting it though lots of people like to comment on how I don't look like what an average teenager would. Thanks 🐈
Yo I didn’t know you had a TH-cam channel, I watch your TikToks all the time! Fantastic video, it never fails to break my heart how many horrific concepts capitalism has introduced into our society ):
Became obsessed with your channel after the Anastasia video--could you make a video about your grad school experience? I'm currently a master's student in data science so I'd love to hear about your experience too!
Thank you!! :) Ooh that's a cool idea, I'm just worried that my experience is so niche because very few people even know what human factors and ergonomics is so it might not be very exciting for people? Idk, maybe I'm overthinking it, I like that idea though!!
@@revolutionaryth0t Honestly I didn't even know what ergonomics was until a few days ago (due to a training assessment for my internship), but I think the grad school struggle is something that a lot of people in their 20s-30s can relate to. Also, in our capitalist system, it seems like the only way to get a decent paying job is to go to grad school and take out MORE student loans, so that could be something to dive into. Not sure how to message privately, but if you need any ideas, hit me up ☺
I wonder if you'd be interested in making these videos a little more scientific by putting in your sources on the screen every time you are paraphrasing a source? Maybe just as text in the corner or something? It would be great to be able to discern what your own thinking and argumentation is and what exactly is taken from a source! As a historian, I think such a simple move really elevates the quality and trustworthiness of visual essays/opinion pieces, while also low-key teaching people how to work with sources (and to be source-critical when engaging with media!). That being said, I really enjoyed this video, especially the short history of measure and norm, and I can't wait to see what you do next :)
I love this idea! The reason I didn't think to do that here is because the majority of the historical info after the intro and chapter 1 is from Robert Chapman's Empire of Normality and a little bit from Micha Frazer-Carroll's Mad World, but I can imagine that for people who are interested in the topics I talk about and want to research them more, it'd be helpful to know exactly which source to go to. In addition to everything else you mentioned, of course. Thank you!! :)
I was a teen in the 80's. There were mental care facilities about every 5 towns. Reagan closed them all down, and homelessness and the cost to the public to deal with mentally ill people exploded. It didn't cost capitalism less; it costed capitalism FAR more.
Goes to show how shortsighted, or straight up blind Reagan was when it came to economics. The ultimate right wing grifter. Trickle down economics is a concept that only works for shipyards that build yachts and other luxury brands, while the working class get poorer and poorer. Housing, healthcare, education, legal representation, and many other services should be subsidized by the government, or simply maintained by a communal effort in the worst circumstances.
Loved seeing the origins of where some of these "norms" come from, it's hilarious and insightful. We just accept that things are the way they are because that's the only way we've known them, but we can create whatever we want
The future I want is where food, water, shelter, electricty, communictions, education and free association are given. A world without borders or nation states. I want a world where I don't have to perform for other's limited imaginations. I want Humans to be able to use their infinite potentail without it being parasitized by those who have the most capital. I don't know how to make cat emojis.....
Amazing work! This one really speaks to me (and not because of that "Brad over here" comment...haha--more the ol' autistic neurodivergence). There were quite a few things (i.e. the curb cut effect) that came up in a couple of UXD courses I took, but without tying that into more radical praxis. So that's super appreciated. Also appreciate the deeper dive on Thomas Szasz. Having first heard of him from footage of him speaking at the "Citizen's Commission on Human Rights" (co-founded with the Church of Scientology), it was already clear that whatever flashes of insight he had were...limited by lack of a material systemic critique, which led him well off-track. This helped really hash that point out more substantively, though. So glad the algorithm shoved your channel in my face!
Thank you, I'm happy to hear that! My first video (how to run a country scientifically) actually discusses how UX principles can be used for running large scale systems like literal governments in a way that works for the people, and as a former UXD, I will definitely be making more videos relating UX to radical praxis in the future!
@revolutionaryth0t I wasn't even paying attention to your effed up eyelashes. I was paying attention to your unique Marxist perspective on things. Which is what I love about you.💯
9:10 I'm not sure it's quite correct to suggest that racism came from European views of Irish and Slav people. It's much more likely that it came from the Catholic view about Jews, which was formalised as a racial difference rather than a creedal difference in Spain in the 1400s (Limpieza de Sangre), leading to the exclusion of the descendants of Jews and Muslims from positions of power if their grandparents were not Christian, even if the individuals themselves were born to Christianized parents. The Irish and Slavs were, ironically, frequently seen as less than due to their being Catholics or in the case of many Slavs, Eastern Orthodox, rather than due to a racial difference in the first instance though, as with Limpieza de Sangre, this was turned into a racial difference (and in some ways formalized by Weber's Protestant Work ethic, which, whilst based on real numbers, was to do with Prussian Protestant exclusion of Catholics from education).
I once heard it said that "normal" was akin to splitting the difference between two extremes and then calling the middle between them that didn't actually exist "average." In other words "average" as often used is often completely misleading at best, in the same way couples don't actually have one and a half kids.
Kind of shows how the category of "diverse" becomes a mirror of the category of "normal". Neurodiversity is for everyone, there are no neurotypical people, people who are "normal" are strange for their normality. However, there are people who are better-served by existing social institutions, and these are the neurotypicals, because their brain is capable of working in a way that is facilitated rather than punished. Probably because they are compliant to the demands of capitalism. I'd fight for a world where I can live within walking distance of a friend and cooking is handled communally.
Just want to give a shout out to my buddy the normal distribution which is hella critical to doing quality science. Don't like people using it to justify racism and eugenics though!
I've got a few comments cause I really appreciated your vid and I want to point out some things that I thought about while watching so that you can consider if and what to do with them :D 7:28 are you sure it was mainly the slave revolts that led to feudality? 17:55 hey as a guy who's also a 3/10 but who didn't invent eugenics I appreciate you saying it's cool to be mid haha :D your entire vid is a massive ego booster on top of being educational, lots of my life was coming to terms with the effects of being berated for deviating from the norm in many ways 21:25 i can see the function of pointing out to the Western audience that USSR was at some point our ally (and also that the French revolution was bloodier than the Russian one) but also as a person currently living across central and eastern europe i'm obliged to point out that slav, balkan, finnish and many more peoples in that region especially present day Ukrainians would like to remind you that the USSR did not treat "allies" well at all.. (compare: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). I'm just making sure that their voices are heard, especially in a video about the validity of plural experiences of people. You'd frequently hear here that any reasons for which you do not idealize present day USA is the exact same battery of reasons why you should NOT idealise USSR and other exploitative/aggressive manipulative/propagandistic aristocratic/patriarchal regimes (not saying you in particular are, okay? thankies)
You just told everyone you're politically and historically illiterate without saying it outright. The molotov ribbentrov pact was signed because the western countries of England, France, and the USA already rejected an alliance with the Soviet Union against aggressive nazi Germany. The USSR decided that signing that treaty would allow them to buy enough time to build up military industry in the east in order to actually fight the impending nazi invasion. The Poland stuff is also mainly outright fabricated, in regards to the treaty. There's tons of non liberal/neoliberal/fascist sources on all of this, if you're willing to educate yourself, and a lot of it can be found on here. See Marxist Staffy, Finnishbolshevik, Hakim and many othere who have made well sourced educational videos on the subject. Stop accepting liberal propaganda as fact, just because others have bought into it
They sure tried to make me normal, the only thing they got was a broken person. One of millions. Just a statistic.
I hear you
Technically , they made you normal , for being broken is almost a norm after what was done.
you are powerful and you are good. i’m sorry you were treated poorly by insecure people. you are allowed to be the unique human you are. if they want to bring you down because they feel low, you rise above. i understand that feeling of brokenness. do some focused healing and be there for yourself ♥️
Ever since I remember, I've encouraged people around me to embrace their "abnormality" as something good by saying, "You're weird? Good. Normality is so boring." and I really hope that at least some of them really got what I was trying to say this whole time.
Great video, I will be sharing it with my friends. I hope they'll like it too. Cheers!
Yesss I love that!!
Thank you! 🫶
I like being boring
and being an outlier in a normal distribution is not automatically good
for example I made bad grades as a kid, it wasn't normal, I wasn't in the norm, but it was not an improvement to the norm by any stretch
I was never held back bc I scored high on the standardized testing
but being an outlier there was not good either, bc I formed a poor acedemic work ethic and eventually quite school when if I had been more normal I probably could have achieved a much better career than the military if I had applied myself acedmically instead of signing up for service to pay for my education
I get the idea that "measuring people by some standard metric is wrong as an excuse to justify how individuals should be treated"
what I don't agree with is the idea that when people volunteer to submit to having information about them collected in some or many metrics, and then plotting that information with distribution stastics is not useful or beneficial in any way
for example I would be happy to find out that in a cancer screening survey of a normal distribution I am not an outlier in the since that I am at a much higher risk for some cancer than the group norm
so I would say sometimes being "normal and boring" is preferable to being "abnormal and dramatic"
I was a weird kid growing up but entering the workforce, I became a mindless drone like everyone else. I’m just now going back into my weirdness because it’s more creative and separates me from the rest
As a neurodivergent Queer, I can confidently say that this is really euphoric for me to hear that me being "outside of normalcy" is good. Thank you for the video.
Neurodivergent queer here, and same.
when being a bloodthirsty self serving psychopath who rejoices when they are able to cause other people to starve is the only thing considered "normal" ... i dont think being normal should be rewarded
I'm glad!! 🫶
@@revolutionaryth0t No problem!
All my friends are neurodivergent. NT are boring and live in a state of insane denial. ND are far more interesting and empathetic.
20:08 It's weird that black women with intellectual abilities were seen as "a threat".
Somehow they're characerized as weak and incompetent, but also capable of overthrowing power structures.
Exactly as the enemies of fascists were described by Adorno
@Shadozcreeping "Too strong and too weak". Exactly what I had in mind.
To be honest when you read early mesopotamian or ancient Chinese legislation or read their rulers, there is already this idea (although less successfully wielded) that standardisation is needed to create a society they could exploit. All forms of hierarchies rely on this praise of a specific deemed more "normal" and "good" than others. One very good exemple is the drive of States over history to suppress cultural and linguistic diversity. There's quantitative studies on that too. James C Scott "seeing like a State" has some good bits on that.
Overall I agree with the video, of course
This contradicts revolutionaryth0ts idea that normalcy is a recent invention. People wanted other people to be normal as early as during the ancient times.
My weirdness is my strength. It's weird to be compassionate towards oneself. Literally and figuratively. It feels weird to steer one's emotional ship. The more I respect my weird ability to actively empathize with random folks, the more I can breathe a sigh of relief and just observe. There's no need to compete. Being me is the greatest gift I can give.
I love this!!
It is interesting that this essay is opened with an observation that children posses natural tendencies to ostracize against kids who are different. This is not something that children has to be taught by parents through social learning, it is a behavior that is exhibited by children on their own, without a need for prompting. This suggests that there is an evolutionary advantage for people to ostracize people who are different from them. Us versus Them mentality is a widespread phenomenon that can be observed in all cultures which also speaks to it's adaptive nature.
I'm neurodivergent, queer, fat, and I tried converting to Buddhism when I was a teenager. Now I'm disabled too. First I was bullied by my peers, now by the government.
I hope it gets better for you in the future. Btw, im also trying out buddhism
Geez... Pick a struggle
@@nilsmadej9091 Picking a struggle is a matter of privilege for those with intersectional identities... Picking a battle on the other hand, that's a whole other thing. The difference I think, is in scale and pace.
@@nilsmadej9091pick a comment section
@@Nekocatz0 I prefer topick on it instead
I fight for a world where the central fiction isn't based on conflict.
@@danielsmokesmids you misunderstand what I meant. Trying to rid the world of conflict would be impossible. Conflict is currently at the heart of our world's power base. I want conflict to not be the MAIN reason things happen.
@@TheMayonakaMidnighter Youre gonna have to be more specific about what you consider "conflict;" that word encompasses everything from a mild disagreement to nuclear war
@@scottbuck1572 If you don't understand the concept of a "Central Fiction" you shouldn't be trying to talk to me, otherwise you're literally proving my point.
@@TheMayonakaMidnighter hey I genuinely haven't heard of this concept before and when I try to google it it just comes up with a game, do you mind explaining what it means? genuine question lmao
@@leeyam2520 I have a habit of talking in admittedly overdone language, I apologize.
Effectively the "Big Lie", the central "lie" that everyone, both those in power and those controlled, must believe, for a system of governance to be effective.
For example, in capitalism "money = power" is a form of central fiction that must be believed for the system to function.
In Neoliberal Capitalism, "Conflict = Money = Power"
I'm autistic, or, whatever term they have for us these days.
I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be normal lately, so stumbling across this was a fun surprise.
Of course, as I'm sure you can relate, I've been very obviously different than everyobe around me all my life. I've grown up with the enforced reality that this world simply was not made for me, and that it is my duty to find a way to work within it.
Of course, being in my early twenties I also grew up surrounded by messages of acceptance and tolerance. I had been told that no matter what, I was special and unique and that was fine.
Problem being, those messages coincided with relentless attempts to cordon me off, seperate me from the other children both physically and metaphorically in spec ed classrooms and so-called 'safe spaces' (not so safe when the boundaries are drawn by those that have power over you...)
I really appreciate this video, because for all the people that have told me - often in the same breath - that I'm perfectly acceptably normal and utterly incapable of fitting in without help, it's nice that someone seems to understand the world that seems to be so afraid of my existence.
If that's what's normal, I'm not. hopefully, never will be.
Not sure what this means but everyone else has one, so 🐈⬛
Looking forward to binging the rest of your stuff
The campaign slogan of the biggest political party and premier of the Netherlands Mark Rutte for the last 10 years was 'act normal' (doe normaal), they are the "liberal" party of the country so it shows that freedom that they preach really only is for a very small group of people (also great video loved it, its such a unique and interesting topic ❤)
idk how any europeans call themselves anything but monarchists, since they all seem to be keen on tolerating monarchs in perpetuity instead of like, abolishing them to remove their entrenched power over society.
@@saturationstation1446I think that’s most (if not all) of the world, sadly. :(
Us Americans can’t even scratch the monarchist itch without installing our own oligarchal monarchy like we did just recently (and worse). 🙃
@@saturationstation1446 There are six monarchies (that are not micronations) and 20+ countries with an elected head of state in Europe. So maybe don't generalize quite so carelessly?
I have been tortured and abused and neglected most of my life and I am one of those who has been incarcerated against my will in those institutions and I have also been homeless a lot. I... You know this is why people like me are punks and buddhists and anarchists... wish I could have more of a life... I feel so...😿
I'm sorry you've had a hard life, comrade, and I hope you're situation improves soon if it hasn't already. And you're right, people like us who struggle to survive because of the inherent flaws in our socioeconomic system are more likely to be aware of those flaws and radicalized against them. Capitalism makes proletariats and lumpen-proletariats out of more and more of us, and in that same action, and various others, it fills us with the revolutionary spirit to dismantle it.
Yup, im an anarchist. I dont feel like thhere is a need for hierarchy, in fact, i think they are counter productive
I was just talking with my therapist about this exact topic a couple minutes before finding your video.
It's really mindblowing to realise just how much suffering we can got trough in the search for a normalcy that neither does exist nor can we remotely fit into, particularly as a neurodivergent queer individual thats been seen as an "other" for the longest time.
Great video, it hit home and helped punctualise a couple ideas I'd been chewing on recently.
🐈⬛
This is something I frequently tell my niece about. Society is a machine designed to turn out a product, a normal person. Normal in the sense of standardized interchangeable parts. Uniqueness makes for bad firewood.
when i think of average, i usually think of it in terms of the large range of values that are taken from a sample size and used to calculate a convenient number as a benchmark or reference point. Depending on the size of the values within the sample size, the average will either go up or down.
what does average even mean when you've removed 99% of the human species out of the calculation? lol. its like in eurocentric media, where the only lifestyles displayed as "the normal/average experience" are actually only what the well off in the culture get to experience, and the other 99% of the population is getting murdered with labor induced starvation while being told they are too lazy to deserve to be alive. they never even acknowledge that the other people are human or have lifestyles or cultures. those with wealth are the only ones allowed to be considered human enough to deserve agency over their quality of life.
Have lived with schizophrenia for the majority of my life now. While I appreciate disability, which covers food/shelter/medical, the quality of life is pretty horrible. I have enough money to not die, but not enough to live. I've been getting 2% increases per year, which never quite match inflation. On top of that, since the state says I "make more money" with each 2% increase, they cut my food support. Ironically, I'd almost be better off without it. So what wasn't enough to begin with, gets less and less.
I’m so glad you’re setting up a P-n account (leaving out the full name, as YT often doesn’t take kindly to comments that explicitly mention it). I never like to put pressure on a creator for specific perks, because I feel being a patron is like leaving a tip rather than paying for special treatment. If you remind us of new videos being posted, that’s good enough for me. You’d be surprised how many big creators rarely bother to do even that. One of the creators I follow does a weekly patron call. That might be cool. Names in the credits are cool, too.
ofc my uniqly deranged brain read your comment as ver excited abt setting a pr0n acc
@@_inaboxME TOO I WAS GOING TO REPLY THE EXACT SAME THING
Ooh okay good to know, thanks!!
@@_inabox Omg literally same lol
@@_inaboxnot the only one
"What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly."
This is the most informative video about politics I've ever seen. Like I didn't expect an entire history of multiple political ideologies when I saw this video title
Thank you!! Lol maybe this is my sign to change the title 😂
The algorithm brought me to you somehow and I ended up binging your video essays all weekend. I can't say what kind of future I want to build towards just yet; I'm still figuring out how to get my fatherless ass to find meaning in life. I do hope that it ends up being a future where future generations don't have to grow up abused like I was. It was cathartic to both learn more about the systems that bind us and also to hear your words of validation. Also, my favorite cat emoji is
Thank you!! 🫶 I hope that future ends up being realized too. Abuse, neglect, trauma, etc. are so terrible for our bodyminds, and the fact that the current systems we live under reward and incentivize abusive behavior really doesn't help
The view count on your videos is a legit crime
No, its a warcime, it's like singing Oj Alija Aljo in frpnt of the ORH of Bosnia
I'm confident it will increase soon! The videos are really good
yes exactly what i’ve been saying, she deserves a way bigger audience she does great work
Thank you haha hopefully the algorithm blesses me soon!!
I thought her video had a few hundred k before reading your comment. This video deserves a hundred tomes what it has now.
I wouldn’t say uniqueness considering it’s common among audhd bipolar disorder people, how drugs and alcohol affects them and their communities as a way to escape, a future where there wouldn’t be a major necessity to escape reality but have a solid foundation where regular life can be more enjoyable, a proletarian with more time for family, friends, where work is fair and for a purpose. Equality for everyone and if drugs can’t go away entirely so quickly, a way to properly distribute safe and regulated substances and medical treatment for rehabilitation and overdoses should be considered.
I love this! A future where people don't need to dissociate from the horrors of daily life by using drugs and alcohol because life is already enjoyable enough on its own is totally a future worth fighting for!!
I'll fight for this future with you!
"Those who are awake all live in the same world. Those who are asleep live in their own worlds." ~ Heraclitus
20:25 I think "Bodily Autonomy" was the term I was thinking of. Was in a conversation about Crisper, and I was trying to convince someone it wasn't eugenics to cure blindness and sickle cell under a bad definition that eugenics is always bad, and they convinced me that it was eugenics but just a good form. Saying things like people shouldn't be required to remain blind if they don't want to it's fine, the problem comes when you force that on people or treat neurodivergence as wrong. The former is removing Bodily Autonomy, the person being changed has a say in what and how. Unlike the bad eugenics that not only forced people to changed if it can, but unalives/exiles if they can't.
Previously curing these disorders in individuals were not possible, so the only kind of eugenics that was possible removed Bodily Autonomy. This is the first half of why it's bad. (Attacking neurodivergencies and personality traits is another problem that is still bad. Don't do this. People are valid the way they are, just giving them more abilities that they want is helpful.)
Think the big difference between the two is quality of life vs social pressure. If you are pressured by systematic problems to change, that probably shouldn't be changed and the system needs to. If your body is attacking itself, this probably needs medical help.
The average pilot story is a great one. My other favourite example, and from people who should really have known better, is the Australian Bureau of Statistics, using (I think) 2011 census data, proclaiming that the average Australian is, "...a 37-year-old woman who has one son and one daughter, aged six and nine. She lives in a three-bedroom, free-standing house and has $200,000 remaining on her mortgage."
Naturally, no such person exists, and switching between mean and mode in order to select a dominant characteristic of this average person is methodologically dodgy. Naturally, they did it again after the 2021 census, this time including a range for age (30s), which isn't much of an improvement.
Then again, you can just point out that while humans normally have two legs, the average human does not.
I was always the weird kid, then in middle school to high school depression started likely as a result of trying to "kill" my younger self, the me that I had blamed for "letting" trauma happen. Finally I'm starting to heal and even reconnect with a me that I thought was gone, the me that is utterly weird, and boy.... I'm going to really do some great things now that I'm back. I've come to accept that being "normal" was never in the cards for me and I finally feel free
Great to see Empire of Normality gaining some more eyes. This was a great overview and exploration.
(Sidenote: your voice is awesome, just felt I had to mention that)
It's such a good book, more people need to read it! And thank you so much!! :)
Hello I just wanted to say that I recently discovered your channel and it's been an interesting experience. I'm not a communist or a socialist but I like to hear what others have to say it broadens the mind, I hope that your channel grows and greetings from Australia.
you can be a capitalist and not believe in consolidation or rich people existing, since both of those things prevent economic growth as long as they are allowed to exist..
@@saturationstation1446 If you are opposed to those things, then the redistributed wealth has to go somewhere. Is it used for the benefit of society? I still have a lot to learn, but this sounds like China's hybrid system. The capitalist part provides the incentive to work, innovation from competition, and is attractive to foreign investment. Meanwhile, the socialist part provides the sensible regulation, planning, and social benefit of sharing, areas where unbridled capitalism falls short. Win win. (Again, I have a lot to learn. I'm just an enthusiastic nobody.)
@@JB52520
Innovation doesn't come from competition. What is cheaper, doing research and reformulating the processes and sectors of your production to provide products in greater quality and quantity, or allying with some ofthe competing businesses to pay some saboteurs to sink the other competing businesses?
Innovation comes from demands from the masses. If the masses have power to demand change, either they will invent the innovations they need by themselves, or the elites will have to make concessions and invest in _some_ innovation, which most likely will still be only applicable to a restricted group of people.
Edit: Also, the incentive to work isn't inherent to Capitalism. Actually, Capitalism incentivizes people to trick others into doing work for them, which is basically what the capitalist elites do. The fundamental incentive to work comes from the need of work to create the things we need to survive. Capitalism is just one way of organizing who works with what. It's what we call "mode of production". Slavery, Feudalism, Capitalism, Socialism and Communism are modes of production; all of them incentivize people to work, that work is just distributed differently among people.
@@saturationstation1446 To be honest mate I do think that capitalism and socialism can be compatible but I also think that it's got to be in the hands of people that have the interest of the people, our world and animals at heart. Maybe I'm just naive but if a tool can be used for good and for everyone then maybe we should use it for the betterment of our planet and for all of mankind. I'll have to ponder it in detail and perhaps there are some books that offer knowledge on the matter. There are times when I think that we are stuck in a perpetual cycle, is there anyway to break this cycle? My dad thinks that a proper socialist society is the way to go, he also claims that true communism has never been achieved. I'm even more skeptical about that, I love my dad and his heart in the right place but I'm not sure what to make of it. I've heard arguments for both sides and I've spoken to people that are for capitalism and for socialism. But perhaps balance is the way to go, most people follow popular trends or buy stuff they don't need. I prefer to be my own man and buy what I need and not waste my money on frivolous things. I'll treat myself to a rare opera by Henry Purcell or perhaps a historical book writing thousands of years ago by a Greek or Roman philosopher. My interest in accumulating knowledge and I wish to know what came before I was born and know more about history, mythology, classical literature, classical art, old movies from the 1920s, 30s , 40s and so one. There's an entire world to explore both in terms of history, culture and mythology. I do hope that one day we can all move forward together for all of mankind and for this world that we call home, anyway I wish you a good day.
Thank you!!
Before I started this video, I saw the title and said to myself “ you mean normality in the CONSERVATIVE sense.” And I was obviously correct 🤣👌🏻
I want to fight for a future where people don't mock you for being yourself. Also, I really like your purple color palette! It's candy to my eyes! 💜
As a psychology major (and now doubling in sociology, with a minor in Latino/Chicano studies), this is the type of analysis I live for, and have dedicated myself to- also compounded by a discipline known as "liberation psychology" from Latin America, which focuses on community, dialogue, and decoloniality. I've become so disillusioned with the West's conception of psychology and mental illness, as an individualized, dualistic, and idealistic issue, ignorant of material conditions and social forces. It began with interrogating my own workaholic tendencies and where they come from- if anything, that's what set the spark for my radicalization, with books like Byung-Chul Han's Burnout Society, and Buddhist philosophy of interconnectivity and compassion compunding it (always been a bit of a philosophy nerd). Nowadays, even though I'm still a workaholic, my motto is "My workaholism is in service of an end to all workaholism. My burnout is in service of an end to all burnout." My aim is to get into grad school eventually, and then into practice AND academia, so that I can contribute to a revolutionized outlook of psychology one day. Rambling aside, great video! You really deserve more views / subs (for sure subbing right now ). I'll be sure to check out that book!
Ooh amazing! I hadn't heard of liberation psychology before, that sounds super interesting and very much aligned with what I discuss in this video so I definitely gotta learn more about it. Best of luck on your journey! Contributing towards the revolutionizing of psychology is a fantastic and important goal!
this made me feel at peace like no other video. it feels like this is what i was looking for :> thank you, genuinely.
I'm glad it resonates!! 🫶
I needed to hear this today. Thank you, comrade.
🫶
Once we have established an anarchist community with (food production, ofc) an engineering team, medical team, childcare center, and an elementary/high-school education center- then it shouldn't be long until we are broadly accepted by the general public and academia. Of course we'd be turning out fine art just as a byproduct of having all of our needs met, which would provide additional support implicitly- no need for propaganda art.
Stumbled upon your Channel from the Anastasia video? I think it was. Subscribed and hope you take off!
Thank you!!
In a conversation, i said something like if society accommodation were aiding people with the most needs it would be for everyone would have an easier time. Like how there's a small slope next to stairs of building entrances it wasn't always built that way now it's making life easier fir those who need it and when people are just hurt or tiered. Its ok to live in a survivable society i think
Yesss this is basically what the curb cut effect is!
They gave my grandmother 10 rounds of electroshock therapy and then it turned out she just had an adrenal condition.
I've always said there are no "weird" people, only people who are honest with themselves and everyone else.
I like the idea that there is no average person. And there is no mode. But there is theoretically a median person, and I unironically think they would be fascinating 🐱
15:38 I was in the middle of sending this video to someone talking about how it centers so many of the important things mental health counseling is really just starting understand and try to inplement. Then oh hi, there we are called out by name, hell yeah!
Banger video, you beought the notes, citations, and examples ✨️
Thank you!!
I have a creepy smile as my default facial expression. It got me into some fights back when I was a teenager. And lost me some dates. :(
when was kid id have a "snicker" randomly, and they thught it was me thinkign doing somethign bad and to stop, which i thught was funny and woudl ever increase the snicker.
Honestly i tried and wanted to be outside of the norm as long as i remember.
Even As a child i wanted chronic caught and to be lefthanded and to have a twin.
Funny enough , years later it turned out that i was left handed just taught right handedness.
I am not normal , and calling me normal is the biggest possible insult. It cuts deep and painfull.
This is good shit. I’m working on a video about madness and you’ve given me even more sources to delve into. Thank you🙏🏿
I'm happy to hear that! Can't wait to watch it once it's out!!
Empire of Normality is such a fantastic book. Really needs and deserves more exposure so thanks
It's so good! More people need to read it!
While my brother is a well established "normie", I steer clear from it. But I understand his stance.
Yes, I was already neurodivergent when I was a small child, and of course bullied because of that.
When I was around twenty, I started to keep my hair long, and got my ears pierced during the 90's. In a small town, "funny" gay jokes were a thing for a while.
These days I am living in a medium size city in Finland, still having long hair (dyed deep red), and I wear a black long classy trench coat, with dark, round glasses (Lennon, Ozzy etc.)
And of course, red shoelaces, and black and red nails.
With rings and hand/finger tattoos.
People might think, who is that dude. A musician? An addict?
In a larger city, there are loads of different people around. You can blend in a little easier.
I love being different. Normality is boring. ✊
And oh, I love your channel
It's insane how you have only 4,5k subs... First time I discovered you, I watched your old video about historical inaccuracies in the Anastasia, I don't even know how long ago. Really enjoyed that one. Yesterday the algorithm showed me your new version of it, and it was as amazing, even better! I am really not a fan of long videos, basically podcasts (excuse me my poor ADHD), but here I am, captivated by this exellent content.
Maybe youtube just doing it's thing, it really doesn't wanna show any provocative content, LGBTQ, Antifa, anticapitalist, you name it
Love your work, eat the rich!
Wow this is such a nice comment, thank you!! And thank you for being here since my very first video! :) I also have ADHD and I try to make my content ADHD-friendly, so it's good to hear that I'm succeeding at that.
Hopefully the TH-cam algorithm blesses me soon!
Im always happy to find someone who recognizes just how much harm Descartes’ thought has caused! I don’t hear enough people making that point.
Thank you for making a really great video! Normalcy as a concept truly is a method for social control
Thanks! It really is, and one we should all divest from
Just loved your video, it made me feel embraced in my uniqueness, I always find people really mean, being mean and cynical is the "new norm", and I'm so over it...
There's a few factual errors in the description of pre-modern production. Like the description of the shift from empire to feudalism is pretty inaccurate & little is lost from removing it. It invites a "well what is meant by slave" because serfs were most certainly not free people; nor did agricultural workers set their own hours. Yes there was some flexibility to when things may be done but not that much. One also gets peasant revolts well before the Black Death, the great pandemics didn't galvanize workers; the plagues did make workers more valuable, but it also broke (in certain parts of Europe) class solidarity among the elite, but not universally. To this end it is useful to look at when serfs get freed. Landowners is generally still the same nobility as before just the cadent branches. Surnames were... not so simple as standardizations. Like they typically arise from the migrations but they aren't like... in some places they are indicators of fancyness but in others they are the opposite. Also the measurements becoming standardized... it's not just mechanisms of control; standard units of weight & measure date to Babylon, ditto for regulations on maximum adulteration of product, & for all its use at regulating workers, the modern clock is born more out of nautical necessity
But also dualism far predates Descartes. Like... it comes at latest from the Neoplatonists in late antiquity.
Also, that norm means "correct" is... well tautological but worth getting into because you sorta flip cause & effect with regards to meaning & social effect. Albeit this is doing a lot of condensing which is hard; but like even the idea of "sub" versus "ab" with regards to normality.
Also scientific racism was conscientiously self serving, it deliberately misapplied genetics to justify the extant world order against the ideas of common humanity that the scientific revolution implied.
A milder & messier thing is that even though I know it isn't said all that serious: the very use of mid (& likewise mediocre) as pejorative sorta points to the issues with regards to normality itself; where average (the middle) is not the same thing as normality.
I couldn't say why I was good different growing up aphantasically and constructional apraxia, so I couldn't at all. But subconscious quieted, so at least no stressing, just a stiff wall myself as a person and didn't question. But maybe not girl enough to the other girls or too girly to other boys, one boy liked me..
Anyways, just by following pop stars and animated media, I felt normal in creative cause it's normal to think for forward and not stuck with everyone else stuck in line behind a square.
Animated media and pop songs shaped me that I don't feel weird, in negative connotation, but am loved anyways. It's just my mom that keeps me trapped, making me feel inferior for earlier years.
Good weird is beautifully creative
Normal is personal social death
I just subscribed this morning. Why does it feel like i’ve been watching you for ages?
So glad I found your channel! You really open my eyes to so many concepts I took for granted
This is an excellent lecture! I love your paradoxically passionately droll delivery! Cheers! Keep up the good work!
My own (that I had briefly) therapeist did tell me that "Normalcy doesn't exist" as well when I was down in the dumps.
What I do dislike is that once you awaken (and I mean truly!) to this concept, you start seeing it everywhere, is so in-grained that is it hard to challenge unless we as a collective start practicing this awareness. I seen this lightly touched upon an adult course to help you start volunteering and extensively talked about disability and gave very concrete examples about individual needs and solutions.
I also nominate another lie to you: Talent.
No, talent never existed, at most there's a calling or an interest, and is your work that got you here. And no, artists aren't "talented" either and is not something you cannot do yourself. Sincerely, an artist, crafter, and mediocre animator and programmer.
Pressure to be normal is part of a machine for, yes, optimizing society. It is not control, otherwise abnormality would not exist.
Yeah, i was made to be normal. Now that i finally have my own resources (even if they're small) i will try my fucking darndest to be who i should've been allowed to be ^^ 🏳️⚧️
May we all be lucky in our journey and let it be known that a better world is possible, if we come together and fight for it ✊
🏳⚧🏳⚧🏳⚧🏳⚧🏳⚧🏳⚧🏳⚧
A random guy at me, a woman: *You're hella thicc* (a compliment)
Me: Galton reborn?!
A world where the means to thrive is accessible to all. Where prosperity and material wealth are decoupled, there can be a society that is motivated by humanitarian causes.
Thank u algorithm this is one of those videos that i feel like, "if people saw this, theyd understand so much more about life". Like akin to vids introducing socialism and collectivism, finally, theres an explanation of normalcy and Cartesian shenanigans!
Thank you!! 🫶
“What is chaos for the fly is normal for the spider” - Morticia Adams❤️
I’m better off letting people think I’m just a mundane man.
Great video, comrade.
I'd just like to point out that standardization was also important to professionalize mass production. Capitalism used the tools it had at its reach to maximize profit for the bourgeoisie, and to achieve that they needed to professionalize work, overcome the limits of artisanal manufacture. Under Socialism we also seek to professionalize work, but we fight for metrics different from profit and trade.
We can cut off most production costs and profit off of just achieving "good enough" for a reduced group of consumers, or we can spend more resources in producing lasting and widely used structures and tools. We can make one size and shape to satisfy just enough people to profit, or we can adapt our production methods to include more people and develop our society at a faster rate. Standardization of methods of research and production is good, it allows us to escape our individual limitations and better study and communicate the needs of work in different sectors.
Standardization creates predictability, which is necessary when articulating millions of people to work towards a common goal. The professionalization of political work, actually, is even a major subject of Lenin's contributions to revolutionary theory and practice. Standardization can be developed to include outliers. What is bad, though, is enforcing the means of class domination. Racism, sexism, ableism, eugenics, are means of class domination, they are ideological devices to justify differences of access to the value produced by work, to justify differences of power.
As a marxist-leninist with Autism and O.C.D., I used to face a lingering existential question on my mind. _"If a person has no way of working on any field, materialistically talking, what can their contribution be to the Revolution and to Socialism? What is the material advantage, to the wider working class, of including them in the system?"._ On this video you offered to me a satisfying answer.
The disabled, neurodivergent, and otherwise challenged people are the people who evidence the extreme limitations of our society. We evidence the limits of current work conditions, the limits of current living conditions, the limits of current technologies, the limits of the current society in further abolishing the oppressions of class and abolishing scarcity. In this sense, we are a vanguard within the vanguard, one which advances the interests of all workers through being the first to experiment with and denounce the limits of our society, like scouts in a battlefield. (Notice that in no way do I mean that our tasks are solely that. I mean that, politically, we are in an advantageous position to understand and express those matters.). This further supports the demands that I have been expressing to the "progressive" members of a "commission for inclusion" in my university. The best adaptation that we can get is having the power to develop our own adaptations, and that kind of autonomy is synonymous with power to the people, with class independence, and is achieved through the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. No wonder most of the comrades in my organization are neurodivergent. Thank you, comrade.
33:00 - _"You do not just fight against something and aim to destroy the existing structures with no plan on how to replace them. You need to envision a better world and fight for that world."._
That, comrade, is very advanced political thought. _"Concerning the Question of the Strategy and Tactics of the Russian Communists"_ (1923), _"The Foundations of Leninism"_ Chapter VII (1924).
Thank you so much comrade!! Totally agree that some degree of measurement and standardization is good and necessary, that's where things like design standards and user research come in too. Standardization and measurement of production in a system without class domination would be actually helpful for ensuring that everyone has their material needs met, whereas under capitalism it often acts as another means of oppressing the working class.
I love your idea about disabled, neurodivergent, etc. people being a vanguard within a vanguard and I'm so glad that my video helped you synthesize that thought! "The best adaptation that we can get is having the power to develop our own adaptations, and that kind of autonomy is synonymous with power to the people, with class independence, and is achieved through the Dictatorship of the Proletariat." - also all of this!!
Im not entirely sure about vangaurds but, that seems like a great thing
Saying that not being normal is good sounds like what someone that is "just a little bit weird" would say. Not very found of being singled out
Tell everyone you're a creepy incel without saying it outright. 😂
@@gwynbleidd1917 im literally married lmao the internet really is a funny place
Great video. For me, it's been a body image struggle, since I don't have the body that's considered "normal" for my age. I'm really short and small.
I am working on accepting it though lots of people like to comment on how I don't look like what an average teenager would. Thanks 🐈
If anyone was neurodivergent in the education system of the 2000s
Congrats
You survived systemic oppression
Bookclub through Patreon would be so cool!!
Yo I didn’t know you had a TH-cam channel, I watch your TikToks all the time! Fantastic video, it never fails to break my heart how many horrific concepts capitalism has introduced into our society ):
ah thught she was new, so shes allready popular?
Became obsessed with your channel after the Anastasia video--could you make a video about your grad school experience? I'm currently a master's student in data science so I'd love to hear about your experience too!
Thank you!! :) Ooh that's a cool idea, I'm just worried that my experience is so niche because very few people even know what human factors and ergonomics is so it might not be very exciting for people? Idk, maybe I'm overthinking it, I like that idea though!!
@@revolutionaryth0t Honestly I didn't even know what ergonomics was until a few days ago (due to a training assessment for my internship), but I think the grad school struggle is something that a lot of people in their 20s-30s can relate to.
Also, in our capitalist system, it seems like the only way to get a decent paying job is to go to grad school and take out MORE student loans, so that could be something to dive into. Not sure how to message privately, but if you need any ideas, hit me up ☺
im enby, paraphile, mad, homeless, a Kali worshipper, and an aspiring clown
I wonder if you'd be interested in making these videos a little more scientific by putting in your sources on the screen every time you are paraphrasing a source? Maybe just as text in the corner or something? It would be great to be able to discern what your own thinking and argumentation is and what exactly is taken from a source! As a historian, I think such a simple move really elevates the quality and trustworthiness of visual essays/opinion pieces, while also low-key teaching people how to work with sources (and to be source-critical when engaging with media!).
That being said, I really enjoyed this video, especially the short history of measure and norm, and I can't wait to see what you do next :)
I love this idea! The reason I didn't think to do that here is because the majority of the historical info after the intro and chapter 1 is from Robert Chapman's Empire of Normality and a little bit from Micha Frazer-Carroll's Mad World, but I can imagine that for people who are interested in the topics I talk about and want to research them more, it'd be helpful to know exactly which source to go to. In addition to everything else you mentioned, of course.
Thank you!! :)
Greetings from Germany, comrade :) I'm so glad I stumbled upon your channel. I absolutely love your videos. Thank you so much!
I was a teen in the 80's. There were mental care facilities about every 5 towns. Reagan closed them all down, and homelessness and the cost to the public to deal with mentally ill people exploded. It didn't cost capitalism less; it costed capitalism FAR more.
Goes to show how shortsighted, or straight up blind Reagan was when it came to economics. The ultimate right wing grifter. Trickle down economics is a concept that only works for shipyards that build yachts and other luxury brands, while the working class get poorer and poorer. Housing, healthcare, education, legal representation, and many other services should be subsidized by the government, or simply maintained by a communal effort in the worst circumstances.
The Oscar Wild quote at the end is so bright and funny, he! Fantastically good and knowledgeable video essay, thanks!
I am very inspired since finding your channel
Loved seeing the origins of where some of these "norms" come from, it's hilarious and insightful. We just accept that things are the way they are because that's the only way we've known them, but we can create whatever we want
Exactly this!! The way things are isn't the only way things can be, we can totally create something way better!
The future I want is where food, water, shelter, electricty, communictions, education and free association are given.
A world without borders or nation states.
I want a world where I don't have to perform for other's limited imaginations.
I want Humans to be able to use their infinite potentail without it being parasitized by those who have the most capital.
I don't know how to make cat emojis.....
I want this future too!!
Amazing work! This one really speaks to me (and not because of that "Brad over here" comment...haha--more the ol' autistic neurodivergence). There were quite a few things (i.e. the curb cut effect) that came up in a couple of UXD courses I took, but without tying that into more radical praxis. So that's super appreciated.
Also appreciate the deeper dive on Thomas Szasz. Having first heard of him from footage of him speaking at the "Citizen's Commission on Human Rights" (co-founded with the Church of Scientology), it was already clear that whatever flashes of insight he had were...limited by lack of a material systemic critique, which led him well off-track. This helped really hash that point out more substantively, though.
So glad the algorithm shoved your channel in my face!
Thank you, I'm happy to hear that! My first video (how to run a country scientifically) actually discusses how UX principles can be used for running large scale systems like literal governments in a way that works for the people, and as a former UXD, I will definitely be making more videos relating UX to radical praxis in the future!
Queer Liberation!! Self Determination!! Bodily Autonomy!! Human Rights!! Cat Emojis!! 😽✌️💛
Some of the best things!!
A medic in investigative duty in revolutionary France: "Statistically, the majority of the human bodies lack a head"
I acknowledge and appreciate that normality is weaponised , but I am such an average bean 🦔🇿🇦
One thing good for everyone isn't great for anyone
What's your point
@gwynbleidd1917 honestly it has been so long ago I forgot
My uniqueness inspires me to fight for an environmentalist libertarian democratic socialist society. Prioritizing things in that order.
Love your channel thanks for the content
@revolutionaryth0t I wasn't even paying attention to your effed up eyelashes. I was paying attention to your unique Marxist perspective on things. Which is what I love about you.💯
This video really helped me! Thank you ❤
I'm glad the algorithm has blessed me with this video.
Thank you!! I'm glad too, thanks algorithm.
dont (or super rarly) sub, like , dislike and algerythem shows you more than if you do that.
9:10 I'm not sure it's quite correct to suggest that racism came from European views of Irish and Slav people. It's much more likely that it came from the Catholic view about Jews, which was formalised as a racial difference rather than a creedal difference in Spain in the 1400s (Limpieza de Sangre), leading to the exclusion of the descendants of Jews and Muslims from positions of power if their grandparents were not Christian, even if the individuals themselves were born to Christianized parents.
The Irish and Slavs were, ironically, frequently seen as less than due to their being Catholics or in the case of many Slavs, Eastern Orthodox, rather than due to a racial difference in the first instance though, as with Limpieza de Sangre, this was turned into a racial difference (and in some ways formalized by Weber's Protestant Work ethic, which, whilst based on real numbers, was to do with Prussian Protestant exclusion of Catholics from education).
Me, a Boeing hitman, raising my eyebrows until you say, "unrelated to anything going on currently"
Oh boy, I live to see another day!
I once heard it said that "normal" was akin to splitting the difference between two extremes and then calling the middle between them that didn't actually exist "average." In other words "average" as often used is often completely misleading at best, in the same way couples don't actually have one and a half kids.
My dude, if I needed a description as accurate as the first 22 seconds I'd just look in the mirror.
Fuck, I was not expecting that call-out.
Kind of shows how the category of "diverse" becomes a mirror of the category of "normal". Neurodiversity is for everyone, there are no neurotypical people, people who are "normal" are strange for their normality. However, there are people who are better-served by existing social institutions, and these are the neurotypicals, because their brain is capable of working in a way that is facilitated rather than punished. Probably because they are compliant to the demands of capitalism.
I'd fight for a world where I can live within walking distance of a friend and cooking is handled communally.
Yeah like a world that thrives off both community and individualism, instead of its dark cousins, conformity and isolation.
Just want to give a shout out to my buddy the normal distribution which is hella critical to doing quality science. Don't like people using it to justify racism and eugenics though!
I remember just recently coming to the realization that people unironically using the word "normal" is a massive red flag.
It really is!
Ive just started the video but im so on board. I hate the current appeals to normality and calling sexual assulters "weird" instead of disgusting
I love this video, thank you so much 💖💖💖
Thank you!!
Adults also treat me that way. Can't tell me exactly what the problem is, though.
I've got a few comments cause I really appreciated your vid and I want to point out some things that I thought about while watching so that you can consider if and what to do with them :D
7:28 are you sure it was mainly the slave revolts that led to feudality?
17:55 hey as a guy who's also a 3/10 but who didn't invent eugenics I appreciate you saying it's cool to be mid haha :D your entire vid is a massive ego booster on top of being educational, lots of my life was coming to terms with the effects of being berated for deviating from the norm in many ways
21:25 i can see the function of pointing out to the Western audience that USSR was at some point our ally (and also that the French revolution was bloodier than the Russian one) but also as a person currently living across central and eastern europe i'm obliged to point out that slav, balkan, finnish and many more peoples in that region especially present day Ukrainians would like to remind you that the USSR did not treat "allies" well at all.. (compare: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact).
I'm just making sure that their voices are heard, especially in a video about the validity of plural experiences of people. You'd frequently hear here that any reasons for which you do not idealize present day USA is the exact same battery of reasons why you should NOT idealise USSR and other exploitative/aggressive manipulative/propagandistic aristocratic/patriarchal regimes (not saying you in particular are, okay? thankies)
You just told everyone you're politically and historically illiterate without saying it outright. The molotov ribbentrov pact was signed because the western countries of England, France, and the USA already rejected an alliance with the Soviet Union against aggressive nazi Germany. The USSR decided that signing that treaty would allow them to buy enough time to build up military industry in the east in order to actually fight the impending nazi invasion. The Poland stuff is also mainly outright fabricated, in regards to the treaty. There's tons of non liberal/neoliberal/fascist sources on all of this, if you're willing to educate yourself, and a lot of it can be found on here. See Marxist Staffy, Finnishbolshevik, Hakim and many othere who have made well sourced educational videos on the subject. Stop accepting liberal propaganda as fact, just because others have bought into it