Notes from a conversation about Oprah and Neoliberalism:

yeah so there are multiple things going on at the same time, and people struggle to consider all of them simultaneously

1. we are born into an unfair jailworld – basically we are a sort of middle-slave-class (and there are people who are much, much worse off too).

2. surviving and thriving in this unfair jailworld requires some amount of complicity with the system. because the system fights back, and it fights back with more fire and fury than you can conceive. roy ngerng will be paying PM Lee damages for over a decade, and that’s probably a kind outcome for him, relatively speaking.

3. some people reject it early and entirely, and end up living on the fringes. this is a valid choice if you like. (it’s a hypocritical choice if you’re living off some sort of inheritance). it’s also a choice typically accessible only to the very independent – no kids, no disabilities, etc. but you know, even the independent white male youtube celebrity isn’t going to get too aggressive about anything that might result in youtube cutting off his revenue.

4. if you happen to get fuck-you money, then great… but getting that has requirements, and getting there opens up a new perspective on the world that I do not have. but clearly people who get there reassess things. My suspicion is you start thinking very-long-term – about building institutions of your own. (you can see some of the early techbro billionaires shifting uncomfortably – chamath and parker are getting nervous about zuckerberg roughly the way ling and yang are getting nervous about loong. it’s interesting.) I don’t doubt, though, that zuck and loong are both thinking, “I don’t trust the world to take care of itself. I am in a position of power; my will be done.” and y’know… if I knew what they know, and I get to where they are…

5. the criticism against oprah is that she’s not taking enough direct action to dismantle the jailworld. she’s one of the strongest inmates, or seemingly not even an inmate at all anymore, why isn’t she leading the charge? why is she spreading these vague, generic platitudes?

6. Nicole Aschoff is doing good and important work by criticizing Oprah for this, I’m glad people like her exist. At the same time… I think I trust Oprah to know what she’s doing. I think Oprah is playing a long game where she’s choosing to store up her ‘points’ (this is vague, there’s something here… something about brand points. because again, once you act the jailworld wardens will react, swiftly, crushingly) to act when it matters. or maybe never act at all, but plant seeds as appropriate

7. it’s interesting to think about how a powerful man like harvey was eventually taken down. it took over a decade of whisper network consolidation. and like 2 centuries of feminism before that, and the work and support of probably millions of people. harvey is just one abusive mid-tier warden. dismantling the actual jail will require probably a couple of centuries of implicit coordination.

8. I actually think communist memes are a significant, non-trivial part of this. you need to educate the entire prison populace about the nature of the jailworld, and you need to do this without triggering retaliation from the wardens. george orwell, the matrix, v for vendetta, all of these are part of this elaborate historical game of secret messages that we’re passing on.

9. “get your shit together” is a valid message. what’s missing is context, I guess. “get your shit together, despite the jailworld, to spite the jailworld”, as opposed to “get your shit together, it’s easy, anybody can do it, the only limitations are in your mind”. What’s funny is you know there are some soy boys who refuse to get their shit together because “that’s what the neoliberals are selling you”. yeah, maybe, but that doesn’t mean there’s no truth or value in it. think for yourself my man