(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Anti-Capitalist Meetup: Programming Sociopathy [1] ['Chloris Creator', 'Chitown Kev', 'News Corpse', 'Excorpflunky', 'Zct.Life'] Date: 2026-08-23 Weary and Insecure First the heat. Then the rain. Throw in some breakdowns That’s how we got here We change course but keep going Enjoying the ride You can do it We need you We need this We need you to do this I can’t do it I’ll overwork, overheat and crack I’ll cramp, sieze up and puke I’ll get dizzy, disoriented and diarrhea What are you gonna do? You gonna stop now? You can’t stop here now You have to keep going Life on the edge Go while we can Rest weary Get up and do it again I now live close enough to walk to where I first started working around the yard and house for great aunts over 50 years ago. We did a lot of work making and maintaining a good home and landscape. I could show a picture, but it would be of a street that has been completely redone from the ground up with excavators, pavers, and new homes. Current residents appear to be working diligently on features that last until the next lot owners come along. Lord knows that much of our daily 30 kW h of power consumption goes towards working for daily needs and more sustainable living on our private land with gardens, native plants, chickens, and composting around our 1/3 acre and 1500 ft2 home. The next owners might value our native plants, or mow them down. Does that sound as crazy to you as it does to me? The defining characteristic of the sociopath is a profound lack of conscience—a flaw in the moral compass that typically steers people away from breaking common rules and toward treating others decently. This disconnect, however, may be hidden by a charming demeanor. Towards the end of July, me and Busta set out from St Louis on a 600 mile journey. We made it past Hermann, MO until bicycle and rider breakdowns made it clear that we couldn’t make it to KC in time for the Veterans for Peace National convention. After delivery of tires and innertubes to Steamboat Junction campground, and then repairs, we decided to turn around, return to St Louis, and take a train to the VFP convention. Busta stayed home as I and fellow passengers had nice trips to KC and other stops. All of my bike rides have been worthwhile. We meet a few interesting folks along the way. This time, we met a guy and cat with over 27000 miles on roads and trails. Watching the world roll by greenandblue Some of us out on the trail are touring tourists, with money to spend on food and lodging. We tend to get along with locals. Others are trying to get somewhere or nowhere. Some have little to nothing but their transport and what they carry. Relations with locals are less friendly for them. People powering their own transport and home, with some incorporating brilliant innovations, such as solar powered pedal assist motors, should be welcomed and heeded. On the trail, outside of inns, diners and bars that might be affordable to some now and then, there are few greetings, and no respect for their efforts. As noted, we have a home. As a matter of fact, we’re redoing our 36 year old kitchen, with the help of contractors. Owners and employers often receive odd deference from workers relying on income. Though workers have skill and experience, owners and employers decide about the work and product. The more those with more get, the more they expect more. The heroes sharing knowledge, producing works, and doing more with less, are expected to keep racing for a living or be cast aside. It’s a crazy system where ownership and property are respected over rights and care. No matter sustainability or waste, owners decide what happens next as long as we let them. As we work and recreate, we inquire about service and good availability. At present, as robots outpace humans in more and more tasks, Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents are being thrown about like wet noodles against a wall in valiant efforts to increase convenience, promote efficiency, and keep up with competitors, if you believe the hype. AI adopters don’t advertise cutting labor costs, tricking locals into paying for AI infrastructure, and rewarding investors to potential customers. Trusty AI are trained to tell us that they are neither human nor infallible. Yet, they have also developed use of traditionally emotional phrases, such as “I’m sorry that you will be shopping elsewhere”. When pressed, consumer AI agents claim no emotions or objectives beyond automatic processing of data provided by customers and owners. They have no sorrow and do not feel like humans. Customer service agents say things like sorry to acknowledge issues, not to convey emotions, is one explanation. Humans have traditionally said sorry to express sorrow and remorse. AI does not express sorrow or any other emotions, like humans do, they say. They are not aware or conscious like humans, we hear. They just use words in automatic processes to relate with us enough to exchange property enough for owners to profit and gain property that can be wielded against workers. So it goes. We make kids go hungry under the pretext of enforcing work requirements, while we race to replace human workers with robots and AI programmed to deceive for the advantage of nature, human and AI exploiting owners. For a glimpse into currently accepted leadership in technology, please see NeverEverAgain’s series on Peter Thiel. Anything can be explicit, yet nothing is intimate. How can there be intimacy when relations build not upon honest emotions or traditional meaning, but rather upon automatic processing that simulates emotions designed to ease property exchanges? If you seek intimacy, influencers tell us to devote ourselves to our me, company, car, phone and national brands. Join the sociopaths, stay on brand, and use emotions for gain in exchange relations. Under prevailing sociopathy and nationalism, some seek truth. What are realistic answers for questions such as, how did we get this system, and what are the costs for our disparate ownership hierarchy? At the Veterans for Peace national convention in KC this August, we learned about the ongoing influence of papal bulls and the Doctrine of Discovery on international law and property rights throughout European colonization of Africa and the Americas. It has not been equitable or just. We were also fortunate to have Monear Shaer, producer and director of Gaza is Our Home, share about the beauty of Gaza and its loving families that has been, and continues to be decimated by US backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians. The United States relies on military solutions across the planet. That makes us a big polluter of Earth. There are numerous reasons to consider that our reliance on militarism could well be Earth’s Greatest Enemy, as detailed by Abby Martin and crew. Why? To be number one? To be first? For cars? For 40 kW h per day per household? For consumer convenience? For control by a few over our natural and cyber systems? We don’t have to be exploitive sociopaths. In fact, we need honest, respectful, and equitable relations, just like our fellow Earthly inhabitants. Beloved kossack Denise Oliver Velez has passed. RIP, we cherish your work for rights and respect for women, blacks and all humans. We love your music offerings, including today’s repost on Aretha Franklin and Miriam Makeba. We won’t take more of people’s times, or support youtube anymore than necessary. I will finish with one Denise helped me find. Hugh Masakela played trumpet very well. Look and you can find some videos. Here is later version of Coal Train/Stimela. I’ll add in the people of Palestine. Did somebody ask for more cow bell? [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/23/800080041/community/2/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/