The Stranger

2026-09-02T00:00:00Z

The Reign of the Beast

For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet me with howls of execration.

painting of vivian girls by henry darger

It is often hard to come to grips with the fact that one's time has come to an end in a space, either through the personal decision to leave or by exodus. Rarely is this ever easy and often it feels like you are dragged, kicking and screaming into an unknown future.

For myself, I feel a profound depersonalization has occured, a Dazaiesque feeling has come to define my life. At the risk of being trite, I feel as if I am no longer human, and the aspects that previously came to define my very being have been sanded down and stolen by a court of individuals whom, I at some point unwittingly gave control over my life. Some of this is, of course, learned helplessness that has to be resolved on a psychological level, but I find that the very mechanics of a heavily online social network are predisposed towards behaviors such as this.

As of the present date, it is now common knowledge that many of the social networks a majority of society uses and occupies are on a fundamental level, antisocial, their designs made to support user retention and maximum engagement over legitimate or healthy social constructs. Initially this was justified under a sort of neoliberal apathy that has since progressed into a more mature technocratic fascism, as these platforms have found the need to tighten the noose and maximize profits after an initial wave of investor support. This is why platforms like Bluesky, which attempt to 'reverse the clock' as it were, fundamentally fail to provide any meaningful alternative to its competitors. The internet reflects society as a whole, and to ignore the social phenomenons that define modern means of social fraternization and belief is tantamount to insanity. Concepts like the overton window and ratchet effect cannot simply be waved away or 'opted-out' of.

The idea that you can simply excuse oneself from these sociological phenomenon is one I often see on sites that claim to continue the spirit of the aforementioned period of neoliberal terms of engagement online, as if people fail to recognize or are unwilling to admit the inherent cognitive dissonance of these spaces. Consequently, this inherent tension within sites or spheres like these can be felt through the spirit of interactions between users, which as of late is often defined by anger.

This anger manifests in different ways, at its most severe exhibited in harassment campaigns or virulent discourse, in its more muted manifestations a sort of ambient haterism that floats above most conversations, or a simple inability to engage in good faith. This is a pattern I have noticed most recently in the form of general reception to almost any creative project being extremely negative, especially if it comes from artists that previously garnered acclaim. I had the privilege to see both Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Tony in theaters recently, and found both to be enjoyable, at the most fundamental level both are competently shot and contain good performances, and each engages with genre and the medium of film in ways that are novel, providing spins on the genre that feel refreshing. It came as a shock to me as a result, that almost all online discourse regarding both films was profoundly negative, with a wave of individuals in my feed that previously were very warm towards both directors decrying the films as terrible, or otherwise 'not worth their time'.

This is something I have noticed more and more recently, almost every work of art that has come out recently (outside of an individual's inner network, where needless pedantry may give way to social repercussions) is treated with an adversarial candor, as are most social interactions. I am not the only person to have recognized this, as many have proclaimed that the era of 'snark,' better defined as antisocial behavior, has made its return oncemore. For those who study culture and sociological behaviors this may come as no surprise, the ambient cultural zeitgeist has taken a harsh backswing towards conservatism which impacts the rules of engagement across the board, even in supposedly liberal spaces, especially for individuals with an underdeveloped understanding of theories of discourse.

I often cite Macdonell's text, aptly going under the same moniker, as an essential reading tool for not only improving a person's understanding of discourse, but a key tool in coping with a landscape that is perhaps defined by bad-faith discourse. In a world where the mechanics of socialization have been weaponized by our power structures, and executed by an otherwise unaware populace, it becomes essential to understand how society shapes discourse, and how we can choose to approach subjects with a measured response, to not only ensure that one engages with a subject healthily, but to also lead by example and teach others to do the same. The book is available on platforms like libgen and IA, and can be found in most library systems due to its popularity.

I bring all this up, partially as a means to intellectualise my own present emotional crisis, and to also try and pinpoint the underlying cultural malaise that is behind these symptoms many are experiencing online. As for myself, I am slowly learning to cope with the loss of my previous social network. It still hurts to even acknowledge it, but if a space chooses to make you no longer welcome, remaining attached is by and large pointless. The final means with which we often cope with loss is acceptance, and as I creep more and more towards that inevitable result I find myself letting my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe.

For my readers, I give this humble anecdote which should serve as a crumb of hope. We humans are a fickle species and as Dazai says, this too, shall pass. Everything passes. The pendulum will inevitably swing towards progress again and the proles will shed their skin and be born anew, hopefully as kinder, more sensitive beings, even if only for a little while. My hope is that like most forms of exodus, this phase precedes an inevitable return, to a better space with kinder people, and for those going through something similar I only wish the same for them. Since ancient times phenomenon like this have carried out, and the only thing that is constant is their ebb and flow, dunes under the sands of time. For those who perhaps are in need of sanctuary, I do offer a sympathetic ear via email at vomitdistrict(at)gmail(dot)com. You can also request access for my discord there, access dependent on speaking to me for a little bit so I get to know you.

I think the only way for things to get better is if we lend a hand to one another and help eachother weather the storm. I've known this for some time, but I think it's best to stop wallowing in a past that is indifferent towards me, and build a future where I can be indifferent towards it.

House of Doom

The Stranger

The Reign of the Beast