The Monthly Review — May 2024
All of New Outlook's topics, stories, and opinions you missed this past month, in one place.
For the readers who love short, snappy reads. Those who are short on time. In commute. And those who want a quick entry point into exploring bigger ideas.
The Monthly Review is your sneak peek into many of the topics, stories, and opinions I’m typically publishing on New Outlook, from the short notes to the long-form articles. Let’s have a quick dive!
➊ THE MILITANCY OF VICTIMHOOD
As an isolated event, I don’t think we’ve critically studied what really happened at Evergreen State College in 2017 enough. It is a ground zero of sorts when we consider how Woke movements have evolved since then, from college campuses to the corporate setting. Bret Weinstein, one of the well-rated professors at the college was ultimately ousted from the college for not yielding to the school’s newly instated equity guidelines—enforced by a mob of student activists—which required that faculty members and staff in administrative roles, who were not “people of color” publicly denounce their supposed inherent “white privilege” and “racism.” While in the middle of this ordeal, Bret warned that this authoritarian-like phenomenon would likely seep into every facet of society in the years to come. He was right.
Worth mentioning: Many of the tactics employed by Evergreen State College’s equity council and student activists are quite reminiscent of those used under Mao Zedong’s Communist regime where habitual self-criticism was made the norm in order to signal your devotion to the doctrine or risk being persecuted. Many, including Xi Van Fleet, survivor of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, cites these types of movements as a reprisal of Communism in America, with Woke activists now playing the role of Mao’s Red Guards — she even wrote a book on it.
★★★★★ New Outlook Recommends:
The Evergreen State College, a 3-part documentary series.
➋ THE MILLION MAN MARCH — A TURNING POINT
It’s scary how eerily similar Glenn Loury’s account of his experience at the Million Man March, in 1995, is to my own experience of the Million Man March in 2015. That seductive but ultimately lackluster moment in time was such a turning point for me in how I’ve come to think about race and everything beyond those borders.
The tribe, and the need to belong, does indeed seduce. But if you can learn to shake that euphoric sensation that blinds discernment, you’ll quickly realize that these types of tribes never had the answers you were seeking. Instead of promoting self-accountability, growth, conviction, among other qualities, they encourage scapegoating others for your own failures, perpetually fueling you with a victim mentality.
➌ HIP-HOP CULTURE: WHAT’S BEEF?
They said rap beef was only about “the bars.”
They said rap beef was a friendly exhibition and a display of skills.
They said rappers needed to engage in rap beef “for the culture.”
They said rappers who gracefully bowed out of rap beef were “lames,” “not hip hop,” and “not deserving of being ranked among the greats.”
They said rap beef between artists whose content does not involve violence could not possibly end up being violent.
“This isn’t the past,” they said.
And yet, here we are.
Two rappers threatening each other’s lives on tracks.
One rapper’s neighborhood and home being the focal point of a shooting.
But I ask once again: what exactly is “Hip-Hop Culture,” if not this?
➍ UNSERIOUS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
I virtually watched Robert F. Kennedy Jr. give a speech during a campaign rally in Brooklyn, and he said the following:
“My first day in office, I’m going to issue an Executive Order announcing that any government official or employee who lies to the American public, in conjunction with his official duties, will immediately lose his job.”
— ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.
This is the most laughable decree I’ve ever heard. In that case, White House officials will lose their jobs, Congress members will lose their jobs, Intelligence Community agencies and their personnel, and on and on. As lovely of a human being as RFK Jr. is, it’s his naïveté (delusion?), and vision of a utopian democracy that makes it clear that he’s not a serious candidate. And to be fair, no politician ever is. They’re all caricatures of what well-adjusted political leaders ought to be.
➎ NO ACCIDENTS
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”
— FDR
Keep this sentiment at the back of your mind. Especially in these months leading up to the elections. See if you can keep count of how many events we get swept up in that seem abnormal or juuusst too good to be true. If they leave you with a “wait-a-second…” pause, remember this FDR quote.
➏ IF YOU CAN’T BE CONTROLLED, YOU CAN BE WRECKED
“Whether in Hollywood or politics, it’s about controlling which voices reach the masses. If they cannot control you, they will try to smear you. If they cannot effectively smear you, they will try to bankrupt you. If they cannot effectively bankrupt you, they will keep the lawsuits rolling until they do.
This has happened to too many people for the public not to wake up to these tactics.”
— CANDACE OWENS
➐ WE’RE DESTABILIZED. CRISIS IS NEXT.
The Left is devouring the Left.
The Right is splintering amongst itself.
And the Third Party/Independents couldn’t be more directionless.
That speaks volumes about a country that is culturally broken, economically sunken, politically corrupt, and morally bankrupt.
➑ DON’T JUST SAY IT. DO IT.
Paying lip service to “standing up for something,” and actually doing it when your back is up against the wall are two completely different ballgames.
If your principles are nowhere to be found when it’s actually proving time, you never had principles to begin with. You just liked the idea of being perceived as a person with integrity.
➒ DECODING PROPAGANDA TERMINOLOGY
“Disinformation/Misinformation”:
Whenever you see the terms “disinformation” or “misinformation,” understand that it refers to any information that challenges, contradicts, or debunks the pre-approved official narrative peddled by a particular country, its government agencies, and its mainstream news media organizations.
➓ THE LITMUS TEST FOR GREAT JOURNALISTS
You want to know if ex-news anchors were ever great journalists?
Watch what they’re able to do after they leave their cushy positions in mainstream news.
If, on their own, they seem to have no sense of direction with regard to covering or breaking relevant news that informs everyday Americans, or exposing individual and institutional corruption across the board, they were never journalists. They were always propagandists, a mouthpiece for the establishment.
If, however, they venture off into reporting on consequential stories rarely covered elsewhere, that informs people about the world they live in, and exposes individual and institutional corruption, you may be looking at a person to whom journalism is a duty, not a means to pushing agendas.
No matter what side of the political aisle you stand, a fantastic case study for this is Don Lemon (formerly CNN) and Tucker Carlson (formerly FOX). Browse ten (10) of each of their latest news coverages on their respective platforms. Which of the two is committed to informing people about the world and the corrupt entities within it? Which of the two is committed to covering news not found on their respective mainstream networks? Try to be impartial in your analysis.
That’s a wrap! Hope you enjoyed the first installment of The Monthly Review. If something resonated, leave a like, leave a comment, open the floor up for discourse. Or share this with a friend who may be in need of a new outlook. Thank you for reading, subscribing, and supporting this project. Until next month.