July 08, 2019 | Author: Mircea Popescu

I just re-read this article from three years ago, "Cargo cults, a case study" and I'm... frankly, I'm appalled, and I suppose as closed to ashamed as I can ever get. It's such a barely comprehensible jumble! How in the world did it even make sense to anyone!?

Let's try going through the salient points again, for my own peace of mind :

  • That domestic handling of hot water is a defining characteristic of civilisation, and has been since the time of the Romans two millenia ago.
  • That "how do they handle heating water" is inescapably the chief criteria recognizable groupsi are judged by, irrespective of climate, because the domestic function of hot water is dual -- both heating the dwelling and washing things and people. Since nobody can dispose of washing and still aspire to civilisation, nobody can dispose of heating water and still aspire to civilisation, and therefore that criteria stands irrespective of "how hot it is, or it ever gets, outside".
  • That in the particular case of Argentina, the "clement climate" excuse is particularly facetious (and in a manner both specific and descriptive to the utterly insane and deeply facetious in-group narrative specific to Argentina), because whatsoever the "objective" temperatures may be, local women still go about the street during their piddly faux-Winter dressed as close as they can get to real women in a real Winter. If they themselves don't believe their own nonsense uniformlyii, it can not be brought into the discussion.
  • That the "no gas available" excuse, weak as it is (plenty of these will burn either GPL or heating oil, and arrangements can always be made for local tanks) also does not apply -- Buenos Aires does have piped gas.
  • That proper heat-handling arrangements, definied as wall-hung gas-burning insta-heateriii, with its flue and hot water piped throughout the dwellingiv, are an absolute must.
  • That heating alternatives are more expensive and less efficient -- in particular that electric resistive heating is a heathen abomination, an order of magnitude more expensive than the proper alternative above (and eminently braindamaged in a country which generates its electricity on incredibly expensive and inefficient diesel generators it imported for hard currency it doesn't either have or produce) -- its widespread use therefore marring the Argentine population with a thick brush of idiocy (the pigment thicker and darker for the pictured idiocy of the tools involved, and their production, handling and distribution, not to mention their stability over time).
  • That open-air gas burning in the very dwelling is barbaric insanity, both ineffectual and dangerous to human health, and in itself a resounding condemnation of the humanity of the populace of Argentina. Because they openly burn gas in the room to heat it, therefore they are not human beings.
  • Some other point about consonant transition, which we'll eschew here altogether as too distant and difficult to properly explain.

How one goes from the above to the erstwhile fircalitura is absolutely anyone's guess. Did it even make any sense to anyone ?

I suppose the very transparently incensed, white-hot emotional tone of the piece has its own merits, but rather in the comedic vein of a fellow so overwhelmed by indignation he can no longer speak, choked by fury to the point his arms flailing about will have to compensate for fluency and articulate expression.

Sorry about that. Are there any more articles like this ?

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  1. Ethnic or otherwise, and irrespective of whether they are pretending to "nationality", "sovereignity" and anything else. The criteria for recognizable groups is group-external recognizability, not group-internal acceptance. []
  2. It has to be universal, because the "we don't need head" side of the argument is universal -- needing heat ever at all comes to needing heat, not to not needing heat. Never needing heat, never, at all comes to never needing it. []
  3. It's a thing, moreso a defining thing of our times than the "smartphone" or "[internet] platform" even if infinitely less known or discussed by the bleating hordes. []
  4. Including heating racks installed in the bathroom, for hot towels -- irrespective if any other heating elements are installed or not, needed or not, the bathroom heating towel rack is always needed. []
Category : Meta psihoza  | 7 responses.