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Apr 29, 2022Liked by Helen Lewis

Thank you, for once again setting my mind (and browser) off in all directions, and distracting me from work for nearly an hour…

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Thanks for articulating what I sense, but can't express. You are on the money with Thiel. Who's to say he isn't deeply sceptical of Big Tech? PayPal Mafia tend to keep own children away from social media, and tech in general, opting for Steiner style education. A third of American health conspiracy proponents are post graduates - watch Dis/information for more on "Yoga moms". Carrie Johnson embodies the British New Right - Glastonbury meets the Catholic Church. This is the future - whether we like it or not; ignore at peril.

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Your description of Final Account reminds me of the documentary S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-21:_The_Khmer_Rouge_Killing_Machine). It interviews both survivors and guards (former child soldiers) of the eponymous prison, and it's honestly not clear which are in a bigger psychological mess. In particular, you reminded me of the scene where the interviewer confronts the former guards with the cognitive dissonance of knowing on some level that the confessions they were beating out of the prisoners were all false.

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That’s very interesting. It was notable to me that the only person interviewed in the documentary who didn’t try to downplay his involvement was the guy who now meets young AfD supporters and others to warn them about extremism. He had found a new narrative that allowed to him own his complicity but also turn it into something useful. I thought that was quite a profound lesson.

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Thank you for the introduction to Freddie deBoer. Do you read/subscribe to Medium? Look out for Steve QJ there, who also has a substack called The Commentary with thoughtful follow ups with his readers.

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Thanks for the tip!

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