Ultimately, what I think we need is patience: The patience to explain from first principles, to meet people where they are at, to untangle webs of lies, to refuse the hoarding of wisdom. And this is much harder than shame because you must fundamentally reject that erring is a personal flaw

It's very easy to fall into the trap of believing that truth is self-enforcing which is the foundation of liberal thought. But fascism shows that truth relies on people taking for granted that expertise, particularly in the form of credentials, is self-justifying, and people can simply reject that

wait which text did you read?

the stuff I've read was out of Nag Hammidi and confused the shit out of me

Have you read much actual valentinian texts? I found it making sense in abstract then getting really fucking confusing when you got to the actual details of the theological system

same lol

It's the law that every leftist is allowed to have one crazy rightwinger they find appealing in an odd sort of manner. It is Mishima for many, but I guess its milk dumpster bogman for you

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

The vibe of stalker, the part that I saw, is honestly closer to Annihilation than it is to Roadside Picnic. The monologue that the term Roadside Picnic comes from is not the monologue of a character looking bleakly out into the distance but a scientist being plied with alcohol in a seedy bar

That's the part that is most different between the two. Area X and the Zone are quite similar. The people and the outside world is not. Roadside Picnic is a cynical look at greed, bureaucracy, and the inhuman zone. It is vivid and grounded, told by the very opinionated stalker

What didn't you like about it?

relatively fast paced book and the slowest paced movie

If you are looking for a strange changing landscape that isn't just estonia, you should try the book!

I encountered the problems you have with it in my first attempt to watch it (cut short for unrelated reasons). I want to give it another try but I think I had my hopes set in the wrong direction by my love of Roadside Picnic

didn't know Hungary warranted Christ returning twice. Good for them

By similar direction, I mean same director and it has an almost wordless thirty minute heist sequence

Its pretty similar direction. Alain Delon is great. Really fun heist and escape scenes

you should watch le cercle rouge