The Internet's love/hate relationship with me.

[zeroenthusiasm]

At literally the same instant over the Internet I received these two bits of commentary on my writing, opinions, and existence. One was full of hate and the other was full of admiration

Comments

[anonymous]

I'm not saying that being anti-tax is wrong, but it isn't unconstitutional, given that the 16th amendment specifically allows for the federal government to collect an income tax, and Article 1 Clause 1 allows for excise and various other taxes.

That said, I agree with you on the topic of personal revolution because I believe that if a large number of people actively engage in personal revolution every day then we will eventually see a cultural revolution which will be far more effective than any government mandate or coup could ever be.

Personally, I see work and school as a means to my ultimate goals, so I participate in them. I see capitalism and democracy as systems that can work, but need to be the subjected to the kind of cultural revolution that I was talking about in order to do so.
So, obviously, I don't necessarily agree with you on multiple levels, but I really like your writings and your opinions, since they challenge my paradigm, which I appreciate since it allows me to re-evaluate and change or reinforce my own ideals. Communists, anarchists, capitalists, socialists, etc have to work together if we're going to improve this shit hole of a world.

By the way, I've been noticing some of the movies that you've been posting on Facebook and on here, and I think Salò would be right up your alley. It's based on a book by the Marquis de Sade and given a political and social message (according to the director at least) and is the only movie that has made me gag (twice even!). I Spit on Your Grave is a good old revenge flick that you might like, since (get ready for this roundabout reasoning) someone recommended Baise-moi to me after I rented it and said I enjoyed it.

-Shea (that kid with a mustache)

[zeroenthusiasm]

Technically, it is not. 'Income tax' in the Constitution is referring to indirect taxes that come with employment; it does not literally mean 'income that is taxed' (these are called 'excise taxes'). Under the Constitution, reimbursement for your labor is your 'property' and property can not be subject to excise tax. Furthermore, 'Income tax' in the Constitution also entails the exhibition of a 'privilege'; since labor is an 'inalienable right' of every American citizen, it is, again, not subject to these excise taxes. It's all about wording and no one is better at finding loopholes in our own Constitution than our own government.

If I knew what your ultimate goals were, I could probably share with you a means of achieving them without the use of the systems that they raise us to believe are the 'only way'. Unless your goals include having a great starting salary, a mortgage, and a diploma just for social validation, in which I cannot tell you any other alternatives to mainstream employment and education. Either way, my main concern remains outside of 'politics' and more in the spirit of my fellow humans: as long as you're happy, I'm glad you're doing it.

I too really enjoy debate and discussions like this because it has the ability to force me into exercising my debate muscles, challenge my way of thinking, sometimes allowing me to realize an error in my thinking and sometimes helping reaffirm my ideas. I agree also that working together with like-minded individuals is important, but since we're all so different as individuals with differing goals, desires, and lifestyle choices, it is more important than anything else to autonomously start your ideal revolution with yourself and your own life.

I've actually seen that movie before! It was pretty disturbing to me and reading up on its origins was very interesting. It's one of those films I don't regret watching, but will never voluntary watch ever again, haha. Believe it or not, I Spit On Your Grave is one I haven't seen, even though from what I hear, it's cinema's first rape-revenge shocker. I definitely intend on seeing it eventually.

Thanks for always being such a coherent, intelligent poster, Shea.

[anonymous]

Who cares about the constitution?

[zeroenthusiasm]

Not me. But if you bother to read the conversation, you will see that the Constitution happens to be relevant to the topic.

[anonymous]

Salo is one of those oddly beautiful movies, in that it has great cinematography and the director knew what he was doing, but he uses his talents to film people eating shit. Reverential disgust is probably the best way to describe my feelings toward the content.

My main goal is to operate a business that can offer a living wage and healthcare to its(my) employees, and I would like to do this by opening a hostel or a coffee shop/restaurant (with vegan options) that uses sustainably produced ingredients with fair trade practices. Either that or a craft brewery. All of them would be all-ages venues (law-allowing) since Memphis has practically zero good all-ages venues, and there would be profit-sharing.
I go to school for free, and actually get paid to go (posting this on the laptop that the school gave me to keep), so a degree is a shortcut to the first two, since most banks don't want to give loans to people without a degree and no credit history, especially in this economy. The craft brewery would be the easiest to build from the ground up, but university is still such a great networking opportunity (filled with beer drinkers) that it would be sort of silly for me to pass it up.
In all honesty, though, I don't care what I end up doing as long as it doesn't violate my personal ethics and I am able to stimulate my community more than I am now.

[anonymous]

And I'm glad that you enjoy calm, intelligent debate. Although you never seemed to be one, bloggers all too often take any criticism or discussion as a personal attack based on ignorance, and it's refreshing to see that this is not the case.

[zeroenthusiasm]

I know exactly what you mean and, trust me, I too have been guilty of such behavior. But unlike the majority, I like to look at my life objectively more so than subjectively, I'm trying not to let my own ego get in the way of my logic, and I'm constantly being self-critical and thus am always working to try and better myself, especially in the fields of politics and debate and sociology.

For most of us, it's hard to not let our egos get the best of us and blind us from being able to consider being wrong as a possibility, especially when we're protected by the dehumanizing anonymity of the Internet.

[zeroenthusiasm]

Dude, those goals sound great. I really hope you accomplish it. I do admire those who are selfless and hopeful enough to try and build something like you propose from within the constraints of the system we all ultimately are fighting against. I don't disagree too strongly with the idea of trying to destroy the system from the inside out. All I know is that I personally do not have the ability to take orders or to do things that make me happy. I'm glad we've both found a comfortable middle-ground in this crazy system that is all too often obstructive for original thought or creative, humanistic goals.