Did you ever noticed, while I've nailed them for promoting all kinds of useless garbage, The Four Horsemen of the Ablogalypse - Glenn Reynolds, Andrew Sullivan, Steven Den Beste, and Charles Johnson - have never taken the subject of slavery's economics very seriously?
Well, it looks like my death struggle with Glenn Reynolds might be over - good - because I think the man is important and, considering I read him about a billion times a day, I want to think the best of him.
I won't belabor the point, but I don't think disagreements between colleagues - through the limited medium of the internet - is worthy of disliking, or punishing, each other,...
"'Take jobs from your parents or your parent's friends. Do manual labor. Mow lawns. Offer to paint houses cheap. Spruce up people's surroundings. Take jobs away from the illegals.'
This advice is virtually useless to the millions of unemployed college graduates with non-dischargable, recently-nationalized student loan debt. That kind of work doesn't leave enough money to live off of after the government garnishes their cut of your gross income, and it'll only get worse as the various new healthcare costs kick in. Those of us trying to start our own businesses run up against the brick wall of banks being paid to not lend us money (thanks, Fed!) - if our post student-loan credit even allows us to ask in the first place."
Dude, I told you this shit wasn't going to be obvious at first, and that you've got to 1) band together, and 2) use those educations you're paying so dearly to acquire - the question is, how?
Well, you've got to get your hustle on - make a little money on something and, then, turn it over into more money.
It's 24/7, baby - what? Did you think it was going to be easy?
Banding together - and yea, that's me, above:
I've been performing music, professionally, for 20+ years - without knowing how to play an instrument - because I always focused on good song writing (it has always been obvious to me that I'll never be as good as the best instrumentalists).
My gift is in having "golden ears" and a natural understanding of theory.
What this means, though, is that I can't see my best work without a band.
Sure, I can do some decent work by mixing and programming shit, but, to get that transcendent feeling that one can only achieve LIVE!, I've got to rely on the willing participation of others.
Here's the problem:
Unless I have total control over the project, there's always, say, a guitar player (it's almost always a guitar player) who thinks shit that's working should go another way, because he wants to "express his vision" - which usually involves these douchebags being allowed to perform extended lead guitar solos - whether the songs call for them or not.
Look - here's a great song - centered on a great rhythm guitar performance (which most guitarists, even today, think is below them) but no lead guitar solo:
That "guitar hero" attitude is always a recipe for conflict - and, many times, a guarantee that a winning project will never get off the ground.
When I say millennials have to find a good idea and band together, it has to work the same way - find the person with the winning project and use your individual skill set to make it happen - fuck wanting to be in charge.
The point is doing something that'll get you paid. (I'm not above singing back-up for a good band.)
Struggling by yourself, to get your own individual business off the ground, is useless if it's not built around something unique and if you lack the resources to make it happen.
And as far as doing manual labor is concerned:
I will do anything to get the money for making an important project happen.
I don't care what it is, or how long it takes (because, I know, current debts do have to be paid).
But bringing that winning idea to fruition is the goal.
Lose sight of that and you're right - nothing is ever going to happen.
But five, ten, twenty or more people doing shit work (or even buying stuff cheap online and selling it for a profit) and pooling the rewards to get somewhere, can't fail.
(O.K., sure it can, but if you're determined, it's not likely.)
Some of the ways young people fuck it up for themselves is through trying to listen to every idea - even those proposed by dumbshits - when the good one is already out there.
They do a lot of that in France.
Another is buying into the NewAge/Buddhist bullshit:
That the person with the good idea should have to be all humble - or else you're not going to go along.
(Be humble yourself, asshole: you didn't have the idea that's going to solve your problems.)
And, of course, the worst is deciding to go into something illegal, thinking they'll make some "quick money", without considering the ugly let's-stop-everything-in-it's-tracks downside - like going to jail or prison - or the risks of dealing with criminals, and by that I mean death.
There really are no shortcuts.
Not to mention, even if by some small chance you do succeed by going that route, the reward isn't going to be as sweet - because you know you cheated - and cheating ignites a culture that allows others (including those you might be working with) to begin cheating on you, which is self-defeating.
What if you guys have another brilliant project waiting in the wings?
Can you trust the others now, to honestly work together on that, when you shorted each other on the first one?
It's a slippery slope.
What you want to be - and what all Americans want you to be - is winners.
But to do that, you've got to have a winning mentality, because that's what pulls others to your side, and inspires them to give you a hand.
There's nothing corny, or old fashioned, about it - it's how this country, and capitalism, work.
And getting this country back to work - not Obama's worthless government handouts or disgusting Chicago thuggery - are what we need now.
You've got to learn to fish, guys.
We've got to, once again, teach each other to fish.
By doing that - and giving each other a hand at it - we'll finally get our mojo back, and redeem the honor, and the bounty, our predecessors have left to us.
We're Americans - the greatest fucking people on earth.
I'm sure Glenn Reynolds knows this.
Because he - and the irrepressible Ann Althouse - are surely, by example, trying to bring out the best in all of us.
TMR's Message To Millennials (Part I) can be found here:
I won't belabor the point, but I don't think disagreements between colleagues - through the limited medium of the internet - is worthy of disliking, or punishing, each other,...
Unless they're Andrew Sullivan or Charles Johnson. 
Thanks, Glenn! You do blogging proud.
O.K., here's the main criticism of my last millennial post:
Dude, I told you this shit wasn't going to be obvious at first, and that you've got to 1) band together, and 2) use those educations you're paying so dearly to acquire - the question is, how? 
Well, you've got to get your hustle on - make a little money on something and, then, turn it over into more money.
It's 24/7, baby - what? Did you think it was going to be easy?
Banding together - and yea, that's me, above:
My gift is in having "golden ears" and a natural understanding of theory. 
What this means, though, is that I can't see my best work without a band. 
Sure, I can do some decent work by mixing and programming shit, but, to get that transcendent feeling that one can only achieve LIVE!, I've got to rely on the willing participation of others. 
Here's the problem:
Unless I have total control over the project, there's always, say, a guitar player (it's almost always a guitar player) who thinks shit that's working should go another way, because he wants to "express his vision" - which usually involves these douchebags being allowed to perform extended lead guitar solos - whether the songs call for them or not. 
Look - here's a great song - centered on a great rhythm guitar performance (which most guitarists, even today, think is below them) but no lead guitar solo:
When I say millennials have to find a good idea and band together, it has to work the same way - find the person with the winning project and use your individual skill set to make it happen - fuck wanting to be in charge. 
The point is doing something that'll get you paid. (I'm not above singing back-up for a good band.) 
Struggling by yourself, to get your own individual business off the ground, is useless if it's not built around something unique and if you lack the resources to make it happen. 
And as far as doing manual labor is concerned: 
I will do anything to get the money for making an important project happen. 
I don't care what it is, or how long it takes (because, I know, current debts do have to be paid). 
But bringing that winning idea to fruition is the goal. 
Lose sight of that and you're right - nothing is ever going to happen.
But five, ten, twenty or more people doing shit work (or even buying stuff cheap online and selling it for a profit) and pooling the rewards to get somewhere, can't fail. 
(O.K., sure it can, but if you're determined, it's not likely.)
Some of the ways young people fuck it up for themselves is through trying to listen to every idea - even those proposed by dumbshits - when the good one is already out there. 
Another is buying into the NewAge/Buddhist bullshit:
That the person with the good idea should have to be all humble - or else you're not going to go along. 
(Be humble yourself, asshole: you didn't have the idea that's going to solve your problems.) 
And, of course, the worst is deciding to go into something illegal, thinking they'll make some "quick money", without considering the ugly let's-stop-everything-in-it's-tracks downside - like going to jail or prison - or the risks of dealing with criminals, and by that I mean death. 
There really are no shortcuts. 
Not to mention, even if by some small chance you do succeed by going that route, the reward isn't going to be as sweet - because you know you cheated - and cheating ignites a culture that allows others (including those you might be working with) to begin cheating on you, which is self-defeating. 
What if you guys have another brilliant project waiting in the wings? 
Can you trust the others now, to honestly work together on that, when you shorted each other on the first one? 
It's a slippery slope.
What you want to be - and what all Americans want you to be - is winners. 
But to do that, you've got to have a winning mentality, because that's what pulls others to your side, and inspires them to give you a hand. 
There's nothing corny, or old fashioned, about it - it's how this country, and capitalism, work.
And getting this country back to work - not Obama's worthless government handouts or disgusting Chicago thuggery - are what we need now.
You've got to learn to fish, guys. 
We've got to, once again, teach each other to fish. 
By doing that - and giving each other a hand at it - we'll finally get our mojo back, and redeem the honor, and the bounty, our predecessors have left to us. 
We're Americans - the greatest fucking people on earth.
I'm sure Glenn Reynolds knows this.
Because he - and the irrepressible Ann Althouse - are surely, by example, trying to bring out the best in all of us.
