> Images from the birthday book are littered across numerous threads on 4chan’s “politically incorrect” messageboard, and some users have suggested that Democrats are spamming the site. Overall, though, the reaction to the book feels somewhat muted, given its contents. Despite the volume of posts, the tone across social media feels disproportionately apathetic. “So what do you want to do about it?” one poster wrote in response to the Trump letter. Even in communities such as Reddit’s r/conspiracy, there seems to be a broad feeling of not knowing what exactly to do with this information. Some threads contain the usual amateur sleuthing and theorizing. There is also a good bit of anger toward Trump and Epstein. But among those who have engaged with the document, much of the reaction has a “dog that caught the car” vibe.
This is actually really haunting. If you are shocked by these revelations, there is no recourse. No lever you can pull. The FBI literally had a book of names and confessions and gave up on the investigation at the whim of one of the implicated. The opposition party is powerless except in small doses. And they are feckless at the electorate level.
I don't think we are going to have 2/3 of the senate willing to convict, if that is what you mean. But that is not a deficiency in the system, it's that people are okay with sex trafficking as long as they think deportations are solving all of their problems.
I have these same feelings in my more cynical moments, sure. But I think the truth is more nuanced than that. Sure the power players in government are those selected by a system that rewards a self-serving nature and a weak moral core, same as it ever was. But to say “people (writ large) are okay with sex trafficking” is to say a large proportion of our population is irredeemable, which I truly don’t believe is the case. Those people are hurting and confused as to why, just as we would be in the same context.
A mass of confused, angry people who feel powerless is a dangerous thing. You see the world slowly collapsing around you, and you are ignorant of the systemic forces that have eroded your quality of life for someone else’s gain, so you grasp for answers. Then someone who presents to you as an authority (by your cultural definition and role models) comes along and gives you a nice, neat answer like “It’s THOSE people’s fault. But don’t worry, I’m getting rid of them for you, the good folk. All I need is your vote, your donations and your vocal support.” It must be like a light shining at the end of a dark tunnel. You will run towards it for dear life. You will lock arms with your friends and neighbors, who are repeating the slogans like a self-soothing mantra and it makes you feel empowered and embraced instead of helpless and alone.
Then, someone else, an outsider who you don’t respect, comes along and says “WHAT? You idiot, why would you take the word of that con man? You’ve been duped and he’s taking you for all you’re worth, you fool! Also, he’s a MONSTER who preys on children. Here’s the receipts.”
Your first instinct is not to abandon your community and run back into the cold darkness of uncertainty. It’s to go “Nice try, outsider! You’re working for THEM ain’t ya? We good folk won’t be fooled so easily.” Your mind will happily follow whatever tortured logic and denial allows you to preserve your sense of identity and safety.
What we need is cult de-programming en masse, not vilification of half our population. We need counter-narratives that will create a vision of shared prosperity and mutual respect, or else this all goes to a really ugly place, and it’s going to take generations to dig ourselves out of the wreckage.
> to say “people (writ large) are okay with sex trafficking”
They certainly seem okay with it but it's difficult to know for sure without polling them. Perhaps we have to wait for midterms to see if they re-elect the congressmen who voted against releasing the files.
The rest is just infantilizing adults. They won, they are in power, they reap the benefits and consequences.
I don’t think it’s infantilizing to acknowledge that people are strongly influenced by social forces and are products of their environment, including being vulnerable to propaganda. History proves this out many times over.
But I get it, I really do. I’m mad too. I’m just trying to find a peaceful path forward, and I understand that is an increasingly naive tact, but I truly don’t believe that over half the (voting population of) the country are irredeemable monsters. Yes, they are denying the evidence in front of them, but who among us hasn’t in some case big or small when confronted with an inconvenient truth? Especially when your acceptance by your tribe depends on towing the party line? We make movies about people that zig when everyone else zags precisely because they are exceptional.
What I hope to see is a reawakening of peaceful collective action rather than a turn towards violent revolution. Even if power structures are corrupt and deserve to be overturned, revolutions ain’t fun to live through, and they tend not to just hurt the “bad guys”.
>The FBI literally had a book of names and confessions and gave up on the investigation at the whim of one of the implicated
What do you expect the organization built in the image of J Edgar Hoover to do if not find dirt and then keep it to itself to leverage for it's own advancement?
Can't exactly blackmail someone with info that's already been aired in a court.
Some Democrats are trying to trace the money flows from and to Epstein and HN favourites like Peter Theil and Elon Musk. Should be interesting if the Republicans allow it.
The (gay) British ambassador to the US is in the Birthday Book with a weird creepy poem that seems to suggest he was being set up for casual sex by Epstien so I wouldn't rule that out.
First, there have been so many recent scandals, people are tired or unable to focus on yet another scandal, no matter how egregious.
Second, it appears as if almost all the rich and/or powerful are involved somehow, so it's nearly impossible to stop or fight it, so why bother?! Get rid of one paedophile only to help another gain power.
On top of that, I have the subjective perception that the world keeps getting more and more complex and difficult to fully understand. There are way too many loops of information to be deep into
I think you would get over that perception if you attempted to live in a primitive style for a while. Hunting and gathering food while avoiding predators, finding mates, and staying warm is as complex as anything we do routinely in the modern world.
And even if it were less complex under some rubric, the complexity of such primitive skills is still more than sufficient to saturate our capacity for it.
https://archive.is/hjUb1
> Images from the birthday book are littered across numerous threads on 4chan’s “politically incorrect” messageboard, and some users have suggested that Democrats are spamming the site. Overall, though, the reaction to the book feels somewhat muted, given its contents. Despite the volume of posts, the tone across social media feels disproportionately apathetic. “So what do you want to do about it?” one poster wrote in response to the Trump letter. Even in communities such as Reddit’s r/conspiracy, there seems to be a broad feeling of not knowing what exactly to do with this information. Some threads contain the usual amateur sleuthing and theorizing. There is also a good bit of anger toward Trump and Epstein. But among those who have engaged with the document, much of the reaction has a “dog that caught the car” vibe.
This is actually really haunting. If you are shocked by these revelations, there is no recourse. No lever you can pull. The FBI literally had a book of names and confessions and gave up on the investigation at the whim of one of the implicated. The opposition party is powerless except in small doses. And they are feckless at the electorate level.
> so what do you want to do about it?
It's not overly cynical. All you can do is wait until midterms and vote in legislators that consider sex trafficking impeachable.
If you think voting will solve this, you still don’t get it.
I don't think we are going to have 2/3 of the senate willing to convict, if that is what you mean. But that is not a deficiency in the system, it's that people are okay with sex trafficking as long as they think deportations are solving all of their problems.
I have these same feelings in my more cynical moments, sure. But I think the truth is more nuanced than that. Sure the power players in government are those selected by a system that rewards a self-serving nature and a weak moral core, same as it ever was. But to say “people (writ large) are okay with sex trafficking” is to say a large proportion of our population is irredeemable, which I truly don’t believe is the case. Those people are hurting and confused as to why, just as we would be in the same context.
A mass of confused, angry people who feel powerless is a dangerous thing. You see the world slowly collapsing around you, and you are ignorant of the systemic forces that have eroded your quality of life for someone else’s gain, so you grasp for answers. Then someone who presents to you as an authority (by your cultural definition and role models) comes along and gives you a nice, neat answer like “It’s THOSE people’s fault. But don’t worry, I’m getting rid of them for you, the good folk. All I need is your vote, your donations and your vocal support.” It must be like a light shining at the end of a dark tunnel. You will run towards it for dear life. You will lock arms with your friends and neighbors, who are repeating the slogans like a self-soothing mantra and it makes you feel empowered and embraced instead of helpless and alone.
Then, someone else, an outsider who you don’t respect, comes along and says “WHAT? You idiot, why would you take the word of that con man? You’ve been duped and he’s taking you for all you’re worth, you fool! Also, he’s a MONSTER who preys on children. Here’s the receipts.”
Your first instinct is not to abandon your community and run back into the cold darkness of uncertainty. It’s to go “Nice try, outsider! You’re working for THEM ain’t ya? We good folk won’t be fooled so easily.” Your mind will happily follow whatever tortured logic and denial allows you to preserve your sense of identity and safety.
What we need is cult de-programming en masse, not vilification of half our population. We need counter-narratives that will create a vision of shared prosperity and mutual respect, or else this all goes to a really ugly place, and it’s going to take generations to dig ourselves out of the wreckage.
> to say “people (writ large) are okay with sex trafficking”
They certainly seem okay with it but it's difficult to know for sure without polling them. Perhaps we have to wait for midterms to see if they re-elect the congressmen who voted against releasing the files.
The rest is just infantilizing adults. They won, they are in power, they reap the benefits and consequences.
I don’t think it’s infantilizing to acknowledge that people are strongly influenced by social forces and are products of their environment, including being vulnerable to propaganda. History proves this out many times over.
But I get it, I really do. I’m mad too. I’m just trying to find a peaceful path forward, and I understand that is an increasingly naive tact, but I truly don’t believe that over half the (voting population of) the country are irredeemable monsters. Yes, they are denying the evidence in front of them, but who among us hasn’t in some case big or small when confronted with an inconvenient truth? Especially when your acceptance by your tribe depends on towing the party line? We make movies about people that zig when everyone else zags precisely because they are exceptional.
What I hope to see is a reawakening of peaceful collective action rather than a turn towards violent revolution. Even if power structures are corrupt and deserve to be overturned, revolutions ain’t fun to live through, and they tend not to just hurt the “bad guys”.
>The FBI literally had a book of names and confessions and gave up on the investigation at the whim of one of the implicated
What do you expect the organization built in the image of J Edgar Hoover to do if not find dirt and then keep it to itself to leverage for it's own advancement?
Can't exactly blackmail someone with info that's already been aired in a court.
Some Democrats are trying to trace the money flows from and to Epstein and HN favourites like Peter Theil and Elon Musk. Should be interesting if the Republicans allow it.
Thiel is probably safe. Haven’t heard much about young boys on the island. Of course, he could always be “gay” in the same way he was a “libertarian”.
The (gay) British ambassador to the US is in the Birthday Book with a weird creepy poem that seems to suggest he was being set up for casual sex by Epstien so I wouldn't rule that out.
[dead]
It’s interesting how silent the world seems to be on this. Like it’s it’s just a big nothing burger.
I believe there are two reasons.
First, there have been so many recent scandals, people are tired or unable to focus on yet another scandal, no matter how egregious.
Second, it appears as if almost all the rich and/or powerful are involved somehow, so it's nearly impossible to stop or fight it, so why bother?! Get rid of one paedophile only to help another gain power.
On top of that, I have the subjective perception that the world keeps getting more and more complex and difficult to fully understand. There are way too many loops of information to be deep into
I think you would get over that perception if you attempted to live in a primitive style for a while. Hunting and gathering food while avoiding predators, finding mates, and staying warm is as complex as anything we do routinely in the modern world.
And even if it were less complex under some rubric, the complexity of such primitive skills is still more than sufficient to saturate our capacity for it.
World leaders: there is little benefit to speaking out on this but a huge cost.
Everyone else: there isn't much to say. Everyone knew he did this. The US decided to elect him anyway. Additional confirmation is redundant.
I think I have resigned myself to the US falling into a dictatorship. Besides not much any of us can do about is there?
The resignation is 100% by design. They do _everything_ in their power to make you resigned.
Not without a lot of violence that most likely won't end up doing anything in the age of remote drone assassinations and missiles.
I think just about no one is remotely surprised by it.
So yes, in a way, it is a big nothing burger.
https://web.archive.org/web/20250910064707/https://www.theat...
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