Prickly City by Scott Stantis for March 07, 2024

Because art, poetry, and music are worthless unless they can be monetized.

No one cares about anything else, except punishing ‘sinners’.

Selfishness, mostly, with a sprinkling of psychopathy.

To be so clever in some ways we suck at communicating with each other. What other species that has communities has so much hate and deception?

We take ourselves way too seriously. An inability to accept the possibility that we might be wrong plays a huge role, plus too many not recognizing their fellow man’s humanity.

A depressingly encouraging book, The Goodness Paradox, offers one explanation.

The book is well named.

Basically we’re animals scrounging for resources using whatever tactics and strategies work to secure them.

Fear, real or imagined, and ignorance plus those who exploit them for monetary gain equal mobs full of hate.

To communicate with a mob[crowd] take the IQ of the dumbest person then divide it by the number of people in the mob[crowd]

Humans are hard wired to become a mob when the group numbers more than 3. It’s a rare individual who can resist becoming a part of the organism, for good or ill. There’s a reason some of us embrace solitude.

Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.

Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.

Speaking of intellectual honesty, Scott gave us a bit on the latest DMZ. I have often suggested he suffered from depression based, largely on his tendency to create his FALSE EQUIVALENCIES (“Depression is a pervasive mental health condition that not only affects an individual’s emotional state but also distorts their perception of reality.”). Scott admitted his case on that broadcast. Thanks, Scott for doing so. Now, if you would realize how it is affecting your outlook on life, especially with your comparing the gross insanity of right-wing populism to weaknesses of the Left, then, we would have the opportunity for some deeper truth. It’s not like you’re a hardcore Libertarian. I’ve listened to every one of your DMZs. You DO think there is a place for social programs of all types……………………Now’s your chance for deeper honesty and growth……….I’ve always noted that you can do better. That’s why I still read you as compared to so many idiotic and completely, intellectually dishonest cartoonists posting on this site, of whom I have long ago knocked the dust off my sandals. Again, thank you and work harder, to include challenging Ted’s B.S., when Ted is bsing.

What a piece of work is Man. How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty; in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an Angel, in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals. And yet to me, what is this quintessence of dust? … Use every man after his desert, and who shall ’scape whipping?

— Hamlet (same scene, but different bits)

So much negativity here, go fund something to love, to cherish, something beautiful. Not what is being commented here today

If that voice top right panel 4 belongs to a certain Someone (mythical imo), then it is either suffering an omnipotence malfunction or trying to redirect blame/responsibility from where it belongs.

Art, poetry, music – all public school classes that get chopped first when legislators decide to chop budgets…

I’m reading this while listening to Georg Philipp Telemann’s‘Concerto For Treble Recorder, Strings And Harpsichord In C Major’ online from RadioSwiss in Bern.. soothing.

“WE”?