Another hit. Trying to put into one word what comes across in all your pieces, and I think the best I can do is "grounded." As much fun as it can be to read eccentric monastics or oddball academics, it's nice to read a piece and instantly recognize that the author is a dad, loves his family and his church, and thinks carefully before speaking. Don't know how you manage to do that last bit at the volume and pace you do, but I'll leave that to you.
Impressive how quickly you cranked out this article with links and all. Something about Fuentes always felt off but the Brunet article sealed my opinion. At best he's an opportunist cult leader; at worst he's a Fed shill creating a movement to discredit the Dissident Right. The utter lack of condemnation from Fuentes towards these sick f*cks tells all.
Good essay, I've interacted with some groypers at one point on twitter, and then basically unfollowed some as I could not quite grasp the thought process. They seem self-contradictory on some points, and Fuentes himself is very peculiar to my mind.
I learnt some new things thanks to this essay as a lot of this stuff was confusing to me and not really well understood by me. Maybe Fuentes could have done something positive but he just seems to be ego-driven and hate a lot more people than he likes. I sincerely don't understand him or what he's trying to do.
I think your point about young men cast adrift is really important. There is very little that is a substantial chain of succession for men like I had when I graduated from college in 89. Strong norms and mores pushed you along as you strove to make it. Think about how little we hear that word or use it. Strive to win, be strident. My son is 20 living with us as he goes to college, the DEI classes that he still has to take in year 2 are drain, he hates. He’s figured out how to get through them without having it affect his sanity and his GPA. He’s more trad than I am - I thought I would have to mentor him on the follow of his generation yet he’s so skeptical of Fuentes, Tim Pool, pretty much everything. But as he tells me, sadly there many who are adrift who will fall for a Fuentes. There are so very few other role models.
I think your son is going to be ok. Nearly everything requires skepticism now. Look at some of the crazy pay-for-play certain "RW influencers" have demonstrated lately on Elon's demesne.
I could care less about Fuentes and not much more about Brunet - and the lack of reaction you cite makes me think I may be typical - but I am very glad that I pushed through to the end of the piece to find a poetry that far transcends any of the petty people involved. It took me by surprise, it was beautiful, and it was worth it. Thank you again, Librarian.
I could care less about Fuentes, but Brunet I do care about. Perhaps now he will answer the long querying-comment I attached to his weird October 28 post attacking Chris Rufo, Manhattan Institute, and featuring a long Fuentes rant doing the same. He has to do more explaining than just, "I pretended to think those things to lure the groyper and Fuentes crowd into talking to me." https://www.karlstack.com/p/foreign-influence-operation-exposed/comments
He might want to look at the objections Augustine made against seeming to agree with heretics the better to blow the whistle on them. ("To Consentius: Against Lying"--it may be the most stylistically tedious thing Augustine ever wrote, but its main points are good ones.)
P.S. All you "Right Wing" youngsters...you need to get serious about the Suppression of 2022-2025, the conservative establishment's role in it, and the telling Alt-right silence about it. See my writings at Pomocon.
I regularly listened to Fuentes for a few years. One of the biggest red flags was how his entire friend group would change every 6 months. The people he was live streaming with one day, became his mortal enemies the next. A lot of his content is just E-drama. It all became so tiresome. I still think he's very funny though.
Nothing says heterosexual like a constant churn of overwrought interpersonal drama. With the humor in the AF Discord servers it’s a wonder he doesn’t collaborate with MrBeast and his crew.
I think if you look at him, it’s not much different from Ethan Ralph who’s basically become a lolcow, or for that matter, even Trump. How many people has his admin gone through, and how many have shat on him afterwards (and he returned it)? Meanwhile, he continues to promote and associate with those who are loyal to him but awful politically, like Lindsay Graham.
The whole Fuentes scene reminds me of Joe Pesci's Dave Ferry in JFK, this hyperactive gay defrocked priest with a ludicrously bad wig, who turns out to be up to his toupee in CIA skulduggery.
I don’t follow Fuentes or know much about him, except this: dude is a flagrant narcissist. He lacks any real ideology and just wants attention. It’s blatantly obvious in the way he looks, speaks and acts. He really doesn’t deserve anybody’s attention.
Fuentes seems more and more an analogue to Andrew Tate, a pied piper leading people in need of guidance away, but the Weinstein comparison makes a lot of sense too, vampiric and degenerate.
I have a student with your exact story. An actress and model in Bulgaria (where many Hollywood movies are shot), hired as an extra and invited by the director to come back to America where she could make it big. She knew what was really going on and said no. Good for her.
Fuentes is the queen of energy vampires, sucking off young men's... vitality for attention and vicarious sexual pleasure. What a diminished time we live in that young men are drawn to his ilk.
Another hit. Trying to put into one word what comes across in all your pieces, and I think the best I can do is "grounded." As much fun as it can be to read eccentric monastics or oddball academics, it's nice to read a piece and instantly recognize that the author is a dad, loves his family and his church, and thinks carefully before speaking. Don't know how you manage to do that last bit at the volume and pace you do, but I'll leave that to you.
Yes. Being a dad, loving your family, and your off line church … the other stuff, supposedly right wing, is just more modern cancer
Impressive how quickly you cranked out this article with links and all. Something about Fuentes always felt off but the Brunet article sealed my opinion. At best he's an opportunist cult leader; at worst he's a Fed shill creating a movement to discredit the Dissident Right. The utter lack of condemnation from Fuentes towards these sick f*cks tells all.
dude, srsly? The avg GenX male took about 2.5 seconds to conclude little Nicky Fuentes was fake and gay.
Good essay, I've interacted with some groypers at one point on twitter, and then basically unfollowed some as I could not quite grasp the thought process. They seem self-contradictory on some points, and Fuentes himself is very peculiar to my mind.
I learnt some new things thanks to this essay as a lot of this stuff was confusing to me and not really well understood by me. Maybe Fuentes could have done something positive but he just seems to be ego-driven and hate a lot more people than he likes. I sincerely don't understand him or what he's trying to do.
I sincerely believe Fuentes could have been a pivotal figure with a little better messaging and much less ego.
And perhaps fewer femboys.
I think his character guided him from the start.
Really? He's a fucking grifter through and through. Stop being gullible.
It's official: I have lived too long.
Witty AF! "He hates the Trump administration with the white heat of a thousand Bulwark articles"
I think your point about young men cast adrift is really important. There is very little that is a substantial chain of succession for men like I had when I graduated from college in 89. Strong norms and mores pushed you along as you strove to make it. Think about how little we hear that word or use it. Strive to win, be strident. My son is 20 living with us as he goes to college, the DEI classes that he still has to take in year 2 are drain, he hates. He’s figured out how to get through them without having it affect his sanity and his GPA. He’s more trad than I am - I thought I would have to mentor him on the follow of his generation yet he’s so skeptical of Fuentes, Tim Pool, pretty much everything. But as he tells me, sadly there many who are adrift who will fall for a Fuentes. There are so very few other role models.
I think your son is going to be ok. Nearly everything requires skepticism now. Look at some of the crazy pay-for-play certain "RW influencers" have demonstrated lately on Elon's demesne.
I could care less about Fuentes and not much more about Brunet - and the lack of reaction you cite makes me think I may be typical - but I am very glad that I pushed through to the end of the piece to find a poetry that far transcends any of the petty people involved. It took me by surprise, it was beautiful, and it was worth it. Thank you again, Librarian.
I could care less about Fuentes, but Brunet I do care about. Perhaps now he will answer the long querying-comment I attached to his weird October 28 post attacking Chris Rufo, Manhattan Institute, and featuring a long Fuentes rant doing the same. He has to do more explaining than just, "I pretended to think those things to lure the groyper and Fuentes crowd into talking to me." https://www.karlstack.com/p/foreign-influence-operation-exposed/comments
He might want to look at the objections Augustine made against seeming to agree with heretics the better to blow the whistle on them. ("To Consentius: Against Lying"--it may be the most stylistically tedious thing Augustine ever wrote, but its main points are good ones.)
P.S. All you "Right Wing" youngsters...you need to get serious about the Suppression of 2022-2025, the conservative establishment's role in it, and the telling Alt-right silence about it. See my writings at Pomocon.
Powerful stuff. Thanks Librarian. This was good medicine for me.
Another great piece. 👍
I regularly listened to Fuentes for a few years. One of the biggest red flags was how his entire friend group would change every 6 months. The people he was live streaming with one day, became his mortal enemies the next. A lot of his content is just E-drama. It all became so tiresome. I still think he's very funny though.
Nothing says heterosexual like a constant churn of overwrought interpersonal drama. With the humor in the AF Discord servers it’s a wonder he doesn’t collaborate with MrBeast and his crew.
I think if you look at him, it’s not much different from Ethan Ralph who’s basically become a lolcow, or for that matter, even Trump. How many people has his admin gone through, and how many have shat on him afterwards (and he returned it)? Meanwhile, he continues to promote and associate with those who are loyal to him but awful politically, like Lindsay Graham.
But I digress.
The whole Fuentes scene reminds me of Joe Pesci's Dave Ferry in JFK, this hyperactive gay defrocked priest with a ludicrously bad wig, who turns out to be up to his toupee in CIA skulduggery.
Every time you look at it, it just gets weirder.
I don’t follow Fuentes or know much about him, except this: dude is a flagrant narcissist. He lacks any real ideology and just wants attention. It’s blatantly obvious in the way he looks, speaks and acts. He really doesn’t deserve anybody’s attention.
Fuentes seems more and more an analogue to Andrew Tate, a pied piper leading people in need of guidance away, but the Weinstein comparison makes a lot of sense too, vampiric and degenerate.
I have a student with your exact story. An actress and model in Bulgaria (where many Hollywood movies are shot), hired as an extra and invited by the director to come back to America where she could make it big. She knew what was really going on and said no. Good for her.
Fuentes is the queen of energy vampires, sucking off young men's... vitality for attention and vicarious sexual pleasure. What a diminished time we live in that young men are drawn to his ilk.