Don't Watch This, its Insane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AekFGksvuDU

Wendy Wright is insane. This is because she believes insane things and also because she can't hear a word Richard Dawkins is saying. Richard Dawkins is insane because he spent an hour having a conversation with an insane woman who would not listen to a word he said. I am insane because I watched it. You are insane because you are reading this. Also, you might be insane if you watched the video too.


The reason I wanted to write about it though is that she is a very interesting character that can give insight into all of our personal insanity.

What I mean is, she seems to be (for the most part) a fully functional member of society. Her friends don't think she's insane. She doesn't walk down the street talking to herself. Although she does talk to god (which is pretty insane).

The point is, she doesn't seem insane to everyone, but she is nuts.

Just like the rest of society.

We're all nuts.

I had a hard time with that one, but I sensed it might be true.

What struck me most about this interview was that Wendy kept accusing Dawkins of talking down to her, of being patronizing. I did not think he was ever being patronizing. He was of course, telling her that she was wrong. I guess she could have interpreted that as condescension. But i think it was a manipulative tool on her part, which stems from insecurity.

Frantz Fanon said that those who were colonized wanted to be the colonizers.

In much the same way, Wendy wants to be Dawkins. Not a scruffy old curmudgeonly Englishman with very little patience for dumb blondes.  Rather, she envies his status in society. She is not concerned about facts, she is concerned about power. She wishes to dominate Dawkins. But, not only Dawkins, she is far too ambitious for that. What she is concerned with is...

WORLD DOMINATION

Now that does sound pretty cool, but, she sucks.

People often use religion to control others, its a fairly undisputed M.O..  It's not really worth mentioning, but people like Wendy bring to light our own deficiencies. Our own desperate need for control.

There is an impulse that we have to control our surroundings. It could be a survival mechanism. Maybe it is simply fear. But that instinct mixed with fear can grow so large that it manifests itself in totalitarianism. Whether it be political, corporate or social, when gone unchecked, our need to control our environments can consume us and hurt others.

The greatest irony is that when we can not acknowledge our instinct to control others, it will control us and make us look like an asshole.

Right, Wendy Wright?