I don’t. I appreciate that I had some time of naivety, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but having a structural analysis of the systems in place in human society allows me to see more clearly, and to have understanding of events that negate the attempts made by individuals and groups to manipulate me into accepting their narratives. This saves me much of the pain and anguish that comes with not understanding.

For example, when 9/11 happened, I, having been a young American inculcated in American dominance and hegemony, had no framework through which to understand why it happened, which left me in shock and with significant cognitive dissonance. Were such an event to happen now, I would still be greatly saddened, but I would not be left so in the dark with no understanding of why. I’d rather know why, because then I can make efforts towards changing things in the future.

Nah, I knew the world was fucked up from a very very young age just couldn’t always put my finger on it. Now I know more but from what I have learned I know that there is always another layer of shit to dig up.

This picture inexplicably brings on a huge amount of nostalgia for me. I’m 41 fwiw, but seriously this picture hits me for some weird reason.