JB stan account
@johnbrownstan.bsky.social
Militant liberal. Aspiring re-education camp counselor. Filibuster abolition enjoyer.
Look down the game tree. What's at the end of all those off-equilibrium paths? DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT
Look down the game tree. What's at the end of all those off-equilibrium paths? DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT
Same. I had a ton of people argue with me on the basis that "hur dur TikTok bad". Apparently they had the parts of their brain removed capable of thinking about second-best outcomes
January 23, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Same. I had a ton of people argue with me on the basis that "hur dur TikTok bad". Apparently they had the parts of their brain removed capable of thinking about second-best outcomes
This is one of those ones where it was so obviously moronic at the time and yet it had so many strident defenders that I really enjoy the I Told You So. (Not much else to enjoy about this.)
January 23, 2026 at 3:26 AM
This is one of those ones where it was so obviously moronic at the time and yet it had so many strident defenders that I really enjoy the I Told You So. (Not much else to enjoy about this.)
Unfortunately, as a white person, it would be irresponsible of me to comment on whether it is racist for a black person to call Japanese people genetically imperialist
January 23, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Unfortunately, as a white person, it would be irresponsible of me to comment on whether it is racist for a black person to call Japanese people genetically imperialist
Yeah, this is sort of the important context here. I don't really believe in "lanes" as it seems to be understood here, but even so, it's clearly not leaving my lane as a white person to say that that shit was racist as hell.
January 23, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Yeah, this is sort of the important context here. I don't really believe in "lanes" as it seems to be understood here, but even so, it's clearly not leaving my lane as a white person to say that that shit was racist as hell.
"Black Israelite-sky" was tongue in cheek. Thought that was obvious.
Black people have almost infinite legitimate grievance, and some people's reactions to those grievances are, imho, counterproductive.
Black people have almost infinite legitimate grievance, and some people's reactions to those grievances are, imho, counterproductive.
January 23, 2026 at 12:53 AM
"Black Israelite-sky" was tongue in cheek. Thought that was obvious.
Black people have almost infinite legitimate grievance, and some people's reactions to those grievances are, imho, counterproductive.
Black people have almost infinite legitimate grievance, and some people's reactions to those grievances are, imho, counterproductive.
And it doesn't sound like you consider multiracial democracy a desirable outcome.
You're just upset that I don't subscribe to black separatism. Which, yeah, guilty as charged. "Moet of Stephen Miller's beliefs but switch out the main characters" is not my thing.
You're just upset that I don't subscribe to black separatism. Which, yeah, guilty as charged. "Moet of Stephen Miller's beliefs but switch out the main characters" is not my thing.
January 23, 2026 at 12:48 AM
And it doesn't sound like you consider multiracial democracy a desirable outcome.
You're just upset that I don't subscribe to black separatism. Which, yeah, guilty as charged. "Moet of Stephen Miller's beliefs but switch out the main characters" is not my thing.
You're just upset that I don't subscribe to black separatism. Which, yeah, guilty as charged. "Moet of Stephen Miller's beliefs but switch out the main characters" is not my thing.
Based on your replies, not sure what your objection to my post is, except maybe my definition of racism (which is not a fact to dispute, just a convention). It doesn't sound like you dispute that black people can be "racist", i.e. have what you call silly beliefs.
January 23, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Based on your replies, not sure what your objection to my post is, except maybe my definition of racism (which is not a fact to dispute, just a convention). It doesn't sound like you dispute that black people can be "racist", i.e. have what you call silly beliefs.
A lot of people I follow are expressing shock that a black person can be pro-segregation, but it's something I've run into more than your average person, so I was just commenting on that. I wasn't expecting it to breach containment and end up on Black Israelite-sky or whatever
January 23, 2026 at 12:40 AM
A lot of people I follow are expressing shock that a black person can be pro-segregation, but it's something I've run into more than your average person, so I was just commenting on that. I wasn't expecting it to breach containment and end up on Black Israelite-sky or whatever
Everyone is welcome to use whatever definitions of whatever words they want, but "you're wrong because you're using the word differently" is never a substantive counterargument.
And I do think there's something a bit perverse about strongly insisting on a definition most people do not use.
And I do think there's something a bit perverse about strongly insisting on a definition most people do not use.
January 23, 2026 at 12:01 AM
Everyone is welcome to use whatever definitions of whatever words they want, but "you're wrong because you're using the word differently" is never a substantive counterargument.
And I do think there's something a bit perverse about strongly insisting on a definition most people do not use.
And I do think there's something a bit perverse about strongly insisting on a definition most people do not use.
Before I get any more comments to this effect: I'm aware that there is a different definition of racism, popular in some classrooms and on Tumblr circa 2015, where definitionally black people cannot be racist. It's obviously not the definition I'm using here.
January 23, 2026 at 12:01 AM
Before I get any more comments to this effect: I'm aware that there is a different definition of racism, popular in some classrooms and on Tumblr circa 2015, where definitionally black people cannot be racist. It's obviously not the definition I'm using here.
... yeah, that's what I said.
January 22, 2026 at 11:56 PM
... yeah, that's what I said.
Really calls into question its reason for existing
January 22, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Really calls into question its reason for existing
And actually if we mean the law in really the most general sense, it means no society at all, forget modern
January 22, 2026 at 11:09 PM
And actually if we mean the law in really the most general sense, it means no society at all, forget modern
No rule of law means no modern society, and no modern society means a lot of dead people.
This is one of those situations where you run into tricky philosophical questions like "do we count the people who are never born in the counterfactual?". But billions can be a sensible answer.
This is one of those situations where you run into tricky philosophical questions like "do we count the people who are never born in the counterfactual?". But billions can be a sensible answer.
January 22, 2026 at 11:08 PM
No rule of law means no modern society, and no modern society means a lot of dead people.
This is one of those situations where you run into tricky philosophical questions like "do we count the people who are never born in the counterfactual?". But billions can be a sensible answer.
This is one of those situations where you run into tricky philosophical questions like "do we count the people who are never born in the counterfactual?". But billions can be a sensible answer.
I think in this case it's fine. There's also an added benefit of somebody with friends and connections inside the military being on our side in case... you know, we end up in a really bad place
January 22, 2026 at 11:03 PM
I think in this case it's fine. There's also an added benefit of somebody with friends and connections inside the military being on our side in case... you know, we end up in a really bad place
Like if you start from the center right and move right, you get more extreme versions of the stuff center right people believe. If you start from the center left and move left, for some reason you cross over into this weird cult centered around a guy who died in the 1880s and his apostles
January 22, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Like if you start from the center right and move right, you get more extreme versions of the stuff center right people believe. If you start from the center left and move left, for some reason you cross over into this weird cult centered around a guy who died in the 1880s and his apostles
It's also just Marxism. The fucking stranglehold that Marxism has on "the left" has done incalculable damage to social progress
January 22, 2026 at 10:55 PM
It's also just Marxism. The fucking stranglehold that Marxism has on "the left" has done incalculable damage to social progress
No worries man, I've enjoyed your contributions since the good days of old Twitter.
The waking people up every 3 hours to take vitals has got to be a liability thing. Hard to attribute a negative outcome specifically to lack of sleep. Easy to attribute it to not taking their vitals more regularly.
The waking people up every 3 hours to take vitals has got to be a liability thing. Hard to attribute a negative outcome specifically to lack of sleep. Easy to attribute it to not taking their vitals more regularly.
January 22, 2026 at 10:51 PM
No worries man, I've enjoyed your contributions since the good days of old Twitter.
The waking people up every 3 hours to take vitals has got to be a liability thing. Hard to attribute a negative outcome specifically to lack of sleep. Easy to attribute it to not taking their vitals more regularly.
The waking people up every 3 hours to take vitals has got to be a liability thing. Hard to attribute a negative outcome specifically to lack of sleep. Easy to attribute it to not taking their vitals more regularly.
I didn't see it, I have priority notifications turned on.
I sympathize with people who have counterproductive reactions to being victimized by our racist society, but that doesn't make the reactions not counterproductive.
I sympathize with people who have counterproductive reactions to being victimized by our racist society, but that doesn't make the reactions not counterproductive.
January 22, 2026 at 10:48 PM
I didn't see it, I have priority notifications turned on.
I sympathize with people who have counterproductive reactions to being victimized by our racist society, but that doesn't make the reactions not counterproductive.
I sympathize with people who have counterproductive reactions to being victimized by our racist society, but that doesn't make the reactions not counterproductive.
The wild thing about busing is that, while you could justify negative student impacts on the basis that it would lead to a less racist society in the future, as it happens it only had positive student impacts! Just about the biggest set of wins you can imagine
January 22, 2026 at 10:45 PM
The wild thing about busing is that, while you could justify negative student impacts on the basis that it would lead to a less racist society in the future, as it happens it only had positive student impacts! Just about the biggest set of wins you can imagine
Yeah, I'm a pretty big believer in forced integration actually. Busing was good, there should have been a lot more of it, and the parents who opposed it belong in re-education camps
January 22, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Yeah, I'm a pretty big believer in forced integration actually. Busing was good, there should have been a lot more of it, and the parents who opposed it belong in re-education camps