Impostor Syndrome

But we don’t want to be like Ben. We want to have morals and ethics and be respectful and respected.

Sometimes you have to be really, really stupid in order to succeed.

- You just described most C-level executives.
- You would be surpriced how often you get your way by just screaming lmao
Ben is a nepo baby. Born to rich and connected parents which guaranteed his success. Same with his sister.
The really important combo for right wingers is to be rich enough to guarantee success yet dumb and hate filled enough to speak their language.

Morons like Ben Shapiro have no problem being confident, as hang ups and trepidation tend to be traits that come with intellect. Hard to second guess yourself if there's nothing going on upstairs.

Smart people tend to get in their own way, and are prone to depression and suicide. This really isn't a time you want to be living in as someone with above average intelligence, unless you're a high functioning sociopath, then you can run the table, as intellect + no regard/empathy for how your actions may harm others is a potent combo in this dystopia.

Most people don't even need intellect to "succeed" in western culture, just a severe empathy deficit, which is easier to cultivate the less cerebral you are. "Just don't think about it" is an idiot's comfort zone.

Ben Shapiro and the like may have awful backwards views but I don't believe for a second that they're stupid. They know a lot of what they're saying is bullshit but it doesn't matter because the checks keep rolling in.
Are they geniuses? Absolutely not. But they're not morons like the slackjaws they preach to.
'The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.'
-Bertrand Russell
It's Russell's corollary to the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Isn't he the middle aged man who burnt the hair of a doll because he didn't like my movie for being too woke or something?

The dude spent 45 minutes ranting about the Barbie movie.
It's disturbingly obsessive. It's unhinged.
- You kinda have to be a grown-up to get the movie (it's not that deep though), so of course an overgrown man-child like Ben Shapiro wouldn't get it.
Which is a really sane and not at all prepubescent way of handling emotions.. 😒
Correct.
- Oh yeah, haven't thought about that guy in a while. Just keep treating him like the joke he is.

I'm starting to wonder if imposter syndrome and self-awareness go hand in hand. Or if maybe imposter syndrome is self-awareness gone wrong, or dialed up too high. Because it seems like you will never see imposter syndrome in people like Ben Shapiro who are absolutely convinced of their own superiority or intelligence. Narcissists are probably immune to imposter syndrome.

Yeah, this is Ben Shapiro at peak self-awareness 😂
Someone once asked if I thought I was even good enough to have imposter syndrome and my brain imploded that day.
Note: I've passed every class with distinction and won awards, but maybe I'm only good at classwork and nothing else

I used to think I had imposter syndrome but it turns out I just really am mediocre.

It's really a matter of confidence. Whether or not Shapiro believes in what he says is irrelevant. He knows how to speak and will defend his points.

he has no shame and questionable at best morals and ethics, it's easier to be successful and make money when you have those traits.
And he uses the gish gallop technique effectively. If you spew bullshit quickly enough, people won't be able to correct what you say.
- I would love to see a debate forum that cut each person's mic after a single point. But I doubt any of the people I want to see in such a forum would ever risk participating.
I have those qualities but empathy and concern for right get in the way. Oh, and I don't lie.
Edit: spelling
- Stop having morals, you!
It's not irrelevant at all. To the contrary it speaks directly to his moral character.

I actively try to avoid him and youtube still throws his or his long-haired doppelganger's videos in my feed. Its not this shitpost that's spreading his name around.
- I somehow got my youtube to stop showing me any of these people like Kardashians or Ben from my feed. What somehow did it is from the feed I click the three dots for a video and select the I don't wan to see this video option or I don't want to be recommended this channel option.

I am constantly having a similar thought. I'm a student and not a single thing I do is good enough. I've gotten honors and awards every semester, I get good grades, but not without professors tearing apart my papers with petty criticisms, not infrequently contradicting their own instructions. And then I think about what George Carlin said, or a paraphrase of it, "think about the stupidest person you know. Most people are even more stupid than that" or some such, and I'm just like ??

Intelligence is becoming a fucking rarity in the US, but because of that it's almost becoming a form of deviance that everyone is afraid of, questions, or dislikes. Or all of those.

Is there a lemmy equivalent to iamverysmart?
I think its something like "think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of people are even more stupid than that".
- The brilliance of that joke is that everyone, no matter who you tell it to, everyone always laughs.
  Nobody wants to think they're on the stupid side.

Sus