tl;dr The decline of society may seem like an abstract idea to some of us. Even if you've swallowed the red pill you are likely taking the idea that it's happening on faith. All the examples of gynocentric laws and societal pandering in the world may explain the dangers that men face but it can't explain to you how times have changed. Hopefully this post will show you what the elders of our community knew when they coined the phrase "enjoy the decline."

 

Last week I wrote a piece about the changes in hip hop over the years and what direction I believe it is headed. The reason I chose to talk about hip hop is because I know it well. In fact, I decided that I would use hip hop to fill in my "decline timeline equation" I wanted to see how all aspects of the genre had evolved to reach the present state we find it in, and how that demonstrates a decline in society. The problem with someone else's ideas, and "the decline" qualifies as one, is the fact they are someone else's! For it to become yours you must play with it in your mind and attach some meaning. If you can't think back to attach meaning, you must pay attention going forward to create it.

 

Socrates said "an unexamined life is not worth living," I would add that upon examination you will find a lot of ugliness, but there is no going back only forward. It took quite a bit of time and thinking for me to complete the puzzle of the decline using what I have witnessed throughout my life. When you can tie such broad ideas together with your individual experiences it is an extremely powerful and humbling experience . Unfortunately I was unable to relay my understanding through my writing in the OP - I want to try again.

 

In the age of sensitivity training, "toxic masculinity" and political correctness, a rapper who talks about fairness, low self esteem and believes in social justice is understandable - except for the fact the whole music business is built upon a confident artist, cold calculation and inherent inequality. Well known artists have talents that the other 99.9% of people don't and just because they make it look easy, we're not fooled about the fact that strategy and hard work are mandatory to succeed. With hip hop, I can take it one level deeper, in which the reason I became attracted to rap music in the first place is found. Each rapper wants to be the king, and they argue that they have the crown through their raps. They are fighting for position in the dominance hierarchy and I found this to be the most competitive and therefore masculine form of music I have ever come across.

 

We talk about programming a lot here, how to identify and delete the blue files and choose the compatible red files for download to our toolbox. But not all programming falls under those two categories, some of it is just cultural socialization (what society deems acceptable). If you don't believe that every single one of us is programmed differently through socialization you would be remiss not to consider what I like to call your "point of reference." The day your mother gave birth, you were born with dispositions to certain behavior, this is your nature (biology + psychology). What slowly develops the person you become include but are not limited to factors like parental values, geographic area, societal values, culture, role models, and political climate which affects every other factor. This is known as nurture (social programming). In my OP I was arguing that through the last 20 years, rappers have become increasingly feminized and are now playing with gender fluidity and queer sexuality. You don't have to listen to these artists if you don't want to, but the fact they are even an option is evidence of where rap is headed. The following comments from my OP will demonstrate the decline dramatically.

 

"Amen. Hiphop is Nigger culture and it going mainstream a clear sign of the cultural degeneration of the West."

 

To this person, I still have blue pill programming. Assuming he's not just trolling, his point of reference is different than mine, he is probably older and may or may not be a "racist," he just sees the effect rap has had on the West and doesn't like it. Whatever his circumstances were, he has come to that conclusion and is comfortable saying it. The reason I put quotations around racism is because the definition has widened considerably over time. 60 years ago the word "nigger" was so common that even President LBJ would use it. Currently, according to some universities, milk is racist and so are the whiteboards our teachers write on at school, but I digress.

 

Because of my point of reference, I found the next comment from the OP a disturbing display of how effective the blue pill programming is. The comment is in regards to a rapper named Young Thug.

 

"Bro, you don't get Young Thug. I might be worried about 6Lack, Blackbear, gnash, and Drake. But Thug is gangster. Way more gangster than the norm. That's exactly why he can wear a dress in such a lane. Prince wore such things too, and Prince was a legendary womanizer and general alpha. You see, if we see a man in a dress, we assume they're weak and broken. Rightly so. But if we see a strong man in a dress, we have the same assumption, and it creates a contradiction in our mind. Then, when the conflict collapses, we come to see them in an even stronger light, because they can break rules that others dare not. Wearing a dress is inviting shit tests and asking people to see you as weak. "Go ahead, underestimate me." It's similar to the idea of Freedom Signalling, aka Russian billionaires wearing jeans, and stock traders cursing like sailors, to signal they are outside the normal hierarchy."

 

Man, that is one ferocious hamster. Not only is that rapper a "strong man", but he is gangster too! Isn't it more reasonable to think he was just another human being that was willing to do just about anything to make it? I will bet my last dollar the young man who left that comment is barely 20. Only a 20 year old can be arrogant enough to say "Bro you don't get (insert ridiculous idea here)." I remember when my sentences used to start with the same words, and that unearned arrogance of the young and naive is used to guarantee the decline.

 

Feedback is encouraged, thanks.

Edit: The quote "an unexamined life is not worth living" was said by Socrates and published in Plato's book The Apology.