Welcome back to my Rookie Mock series! The college football season has concluded and draft season is officially upon us. As an NFL Draft fanatic, this is my favorite time of year, and we are going to be absolutely spoiled here in 2021 with one of the better draft classes in recent memory. This will be a five-round 2021 rookie mock for a 12-team, superflex, PPR league. Individual player analysis is provided for the first two rounds. The final three rounds will have summaries that highlight a few of the players within the tier. Keep in mind that seniors have the option of an extra year of eligibility available to them. The deadline for them to decide if they’re declaring or staying in school is March 1. Let's get it. Round 1: Note that in parentheses, it is the player’s ranking within his position group, followed by how much that ranking has changed since the last mock. A link to my first mock will be provided at the bottom to compare how draft position has changed. 1.01 - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson (QB1, --) Lawrence is almost certainly going to a dysfunctional Jaguars franchise with a head coach I don’t believe in. While I have my doubts that he will live up to the borderline insane expectations fans and the media (myself included) have placed on him over the years, even approaching 90% of that image still easily makes him the top quarterback in this class. 1.02 - Zach Wilson, QB, BYU (QB2, +4) My tune has changed toward Wilson greatly since the last mock. I finally got a chance to research a little more and catch up on his film. I like what I see. A lot. Wilson has a really high floor and is as close to bust-proof as a QB can be. Strong arm, accurate, generally makes good decisions. I have a great feeling about this kid becoming a top 12 dynasty QB in time. 1.03 - Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State (QB3, +2) Got your attention? Good. Lance is in possession of the highest fantasy upside of any QB in this class. He’s also the biggest wildcard. Incredibly talented, but incredibly raw, similar to Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. Based on talent, I want Lance over Fields. The beautiful thing is that you will not have to pay up 1.03 to get him. Realistically, you could wait until 1.06 or later. 1.04 - Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State (QB4, -2) Fading Fields a little here in favor of Wilson and Lance. Fields is not ready. Point blank. Neither is Lance, to be fair. The fact he is still here at 1.04 is a testament to how talented he is. If he booms, Fields has Deshaun Watson-like upside. There’s also a solid chance he never lives up to expectations. Beware of organizations with a poor track record of developing QBs. 1.05 - Najee Harris, RB, Alabama (RB1, --) As far as pure runners are concerned, I honestly prefer Travis Etienne and Javonte Williams. But it is what Harris brings in the passing game as well as on the goal line that separates him. If used correctly, Harris could be a 50 reception kind of running back who totals 1500 yards and 15 scores consistently. He also feels like the least landing spot-dependent RB in this class. 1.06 - Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson (RB2, --) Etienne, to me, is at about the halfway mark between Ronald Jones and Chris Johnson. He’s a 1500 yard rusher in the right situation. The total yardage Etienne can put up might exceed Harris. The main separator between them concerning fantasy production will be touchdowns and PPR points. Both look the part of backs who will produce top 12 RB seasons though. 1.07 - DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama (WR1, --) Heisman Trophy. Biletnikoff Award. 1st Team All-American. Virtually every receiving record in Alabama history. Smith broke the SEC receiving records set by Ja’Marr Chase last year in fewer games. Despite his slender build, Smith will be the #1 receiver for whoever drafts him. The shades of Marvin Harrison are strong with this one. 1.08 - Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU (WR2, --) Chase opted out of the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL Draft. Considering how LSU’s season panned out, that opt out actually helped Chase in the end. If this is your guy at WR1, you aren’t wrong. Neither he nor Smith is the wrong answer. They can both be good. That outcome is entirely possible, and it doesn’t get said enough in this conversation. 1.09 - Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina (RB3, +1) The cat is out of the bag on Williams now. A relative unknown at the beginning of the season, Williams has risen his stock to be mentioned among the top running backs in this class. If you want to land this angry-running, tackle breaking machine who will receive all the goalline work, you will be paying at least a late 1st. Worth it. 1.10 - Mac Jones, QB, Alabama (QB5, -2) Jones is a better quarterback prospect than Tua Tagovailoa. This slight fade is less about anything he did and more about the “Konami Code” upside and overall potential of the QBs ahead of him. Jones is going to come into the NFL with a decently high floor and I like his chances to fetch 1st round draft capital this April. That should get him at least a two-year audition as a starter. 1.11 - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama (WR3, --) Remember when Henry Ruggs was the first receiver drafted in 2020 and people thought he was going to be good? Waddle is what people were hoping Ruggs would be. He’s a do-it-all receiving threat with legit 4.3 speed who can always get open vertically, as well as do some of the dirty work over the middle. After the catch, few are as dangerous. A steal at 1.11. 1.12 - Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue (WR4, +2) You ever go so long without seeing a guy play that you forget how good he is? Moore is that guy for me. This dude is the prototype for what the modern NFL slot receiver should be. He can be that rare slot receiver who is also the team’s #1 target. This is one of those late 1st round picks that will easily outperform the invested draft capital. Round 2: 2.01 - Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida (TE1, --) If any tight end is worthy of this type of selection in a non-TE premium league, it’s Pitts. Tight ends tend to take a few years to really pop but Pitts is capable of making an impact immediately as a mismatch nightmare from day one. This will likely be the cheapest you’ll ever acquire him. 2.02 - Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU (WR5, +2) Priority 2nd round target. In almost any other class, Marshall is easily a top 3 receiver. He just happens to be in a class with a Heisman winner, that Heisman winner’s teammate some suggest is actually better, 2019’s Biletnikoff winner, and a dude who caught 114 passes as a freshman. 2.03 - Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota (WR6, -2) Slight fade of Bateman, still a very good prospect. This is a receiver I have been on about for a while now. He is a really good athlete and has a well-rounded skill set. This will contribute to Bateman being a solid producer early on. He will develop into a team’s #1 receiver in time. 2.04 - Kenny Gainwell, RB, Memphis (RB4, -1) Gainwell gives me Austin Ekeler vibes. He will see the majority of receiving work among running backs on his team, and his fair share of carries, but he will never be the three-down featured back. If Gainwell is 80% of Ekeler, you aren’t disappointed with this pick. 2.05 - Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State (TE2, --) As great as Kyle Pitts is, the most well-rounded tight end prospect in this class is Freiermuth. The Penn State product is a good blocker and is also no slouch in the receiving game. They don't call him "Baby Gronk" for nothing. He looks every bit the part of a good 10 year starter. 2.06 - Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida (WR7, oversight) Toney was a pretty egregious oversight in my last mock. This guy is at least a 2nd round talent, and I’ve been hearing some potential 1st round chatter. He’s quick and explosive and is a dangerous deep threat. I like the upside here a lot. Could be a steal at this draft position. 2.07 - Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, USC (WR8, -3) St. Brown feels like a strong PPR option from the slot with his crisp route running and great hands. He won’t be a consistent 1000 yard receiver, but looks the part of one who’ll regularly get you 800 yards on 70 receptions. Throw in 5-6 touchdowns, that’s a solid fantasy option. 2.08 - Kyle Trask, QB, Florida (QB6, -2) Of the big name quarterbacks in this class, Trask is the least desirable as a dynasty asset. While I can still see a world where he is drafted at the tail end of the 1st round this coming April, and he can be a starter in the right system, his chances are the lowest. Alas, this is a superflex mock... 2.09 - Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State (WR9, +2) Don’t sleep on Wallace. He came back after a torn ACL in 2019 only to ball out again in 2020. While he probably won’t ever emerge as a #1 receiver, I love his prospects as an eventual high-end #2 target who should produce at around a 700 yard level as a rookie. 2.10 - Michael Carter, RB, North Carolina (RB5, +2) Much like Gainwell, Carter doesn’t profile as a three-down back in the NFL. But that’s not to say he won’t have fantasy value. This is an explosive runner with some decent receiving chops. He will likely be heavily involved in a committee and provide RB3 or flex production. 2.11 - Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State (RB6, unranked) It’s disappointing he got hurt against Alabama, but what Sermon did against Northwestern and Clemson in the games previously really shook things up for this class of running backs. He was JAG status before that Northwestern game, but definitely has people’s attention now. 2.12 - Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State (RB7, +1) Full disclosure, I’m not a big fan of Hubbard. Maybe I’m missing something, but he feels one-dimensional to me. He’s fast though, and will break off big runs. His college production can’t be ignored either. Might be great for bestball, but I’m not expecting a lot of consistency. Round 3: 3.01 - Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina (WR10, -1) 3.02 - Seth Williams, WR, Auburn (WR11, -1) 3.03 - Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami (TE3, --) 3.04 - Jermar Jefferson, RB, Oregon State (RB8, -2) 3.05 - Demetric Felton, RB, UCLA (RB9, unranked) 3.06 - James Patterson, RB, Buffalo (RB10, -5) 3.07 - Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Oklahoma (RB11, unranked) 3.08 - CJ Verdell, RB, Oregon (RB12, -2) 3.09 - Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss (WR12, +5) 3.10 - Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest (WR13, --) 3.11 - Tamorrion Terry, WR, Florida State (WR14, -2) 3.12 - Khalil Herbert, RB, Virginia Tech (RB13, --) Jordan is an interesting option in the 3rd. He’s a freaky athlete and is one of those receiver-like tight ends who can be moved all over the formation to create athletic mismatches. He will also receive day 2 draft capital. Felton gives me Antonio Gibson vibes, just 30 pounds lighter. Like Gibson, Felton is a converted receiver who had relatively few touches in college. Will lightning strike again? And finally, keep Moore in mind around this range. He’s going to be a solid slot receiver and outplay this 3rd round status. Round 4: 4.01 - Zamir White, RB, Georgia (RB14, --) 4.02 - Elijah Mitchell, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette (RB15, +5) 4.03 - Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State (RB16, -7) 4.04 - Marlon Williams, WR, UCF (WR15, +6) 4.05 - Anthony Schwartz, WR, Auburn (WR16, unranked) 4.06 - Trevon Grimes, WR, Florida (WR17, unranked) 4.07 - Amari Rodgers, WR, Clemson (WR18, --) 4.08 - Malik Willis, QB, Liberty (QB7, +2) 4.09 - Javian Hawkins, RB, Louisville (RB17, -6) 4.10 - Rakeem Boyd, RB, Arkansas (RB18, -3) 4.11 - Dax Milne, WR, BYU (WR19, unranked) 4.12 - Hunter Long, TE, Boston College (TE4, +2) Williams is built like a running back and is very strong after the catch. He looks like the kind of guy who can emerge as a starter and I’m targeting him in the 4th round everywhere in rookie drafts this offseason. Also keep an eye on Schwartz and Grimes, a couple of talented SEC receivers who were overshadowed by bigger-name prospects. White might be the most recognizable running back in this group, but Mitchell might be the one most likely to become a starter. Smaller school, lesser known guy. He’ll fly under the radar, just keep that name stashed away in your mind. Round 5: 5.01 - Tutu Atwell, WR, Lousiville (WR20, -5) 5.02 - Jamie Newman, QB, Georgia (QB8, --) 5.03 - Matt Bushman, TE, BYU (TE5, unranked) 5.04 - Kenny Yeboah, TE, Ole Miss (TE6, -2) 5.05 - Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M (QB9, unranked) 5.06 - Dazz Newsome, WR, North Carolina (WR21, -5) 5.07 - Jonathan Adams, WR, Arkansas State (WR22, unranked) 5.08 - Nico Collins, WR, Michigan (WR23, -3) 5.09 - Spencer Brown, RB, UAB (RB19, unranked) 5.10 - Chris Evans, RB, Michigan (RB20, unranked) 5.11 - Racey McMath, WR, LSU (WR24, unranked) 5.12 - Shi Smith, WR, South Carolina (WR25, unranked) Atwell is a notable faller for me. I acknowledge that he is getting some 1st round draft buzz, and while he's a fun player to watch, I just don't see it. He strikes me as a KJ Hamler type, but smaller. He will be better for an NFL team than a dynasty squad. Unless Newman gets 1st or 2nd round draft capital, this is where to expect to draft him. Adams is another name to keep an eye on, too. At 6-3, 220, he has that prototypical “X” receiver build, and he really stands out on film, even if he is just beating up on lower level competition. It’s hard to tell where to rank him but he could be a sneaky late-round jackpot. As there are only 60 slots, a number of guys had to be omitted. If I missed anyone glaring, let me know. Edit (1/24/21, 3:08 pm): A commenter pointed out that Zamir White went back to school. I should have checked a couple extra sources. Everyone just shifts up one spot and 5.12 becomes Kylen Granson, TE, SMU. Edit (1/24/21, 6:47 pm): It turns out CJ Verdell has also returned to school. This one was much more recent (2 days ago) and fell under my radar. Again, everyone shifts up one spot and the new 5.12 is Jaelon Darden, WR, North Texas. You can find me on Twitter @thedevydirtbag and here on Reddit u/thedevydirtbag. Another mock will be on its way closer to the draft. The plan is for that one to be in the form of a YouTube video. If you want to compare this mock to the one from early December, you can find that here: https://www.reddit.com/DynastyFF/comments/k97ltz/2021_rookie_mock_draft/ Thanks for reading!
Gotta Collect 'Em All: Hype Decks and Popular Playing Card Series When you're into cardistry, you'll know a thing or two about playing cards. They are, after all, the tools of the trade. And you'll quickly discover that there's a lot of different custom decks out there, many of which are great for card flourishing. A vast amount of cards that have already been produced, and there's steady flow of new cards that are being released on an ongoing basis. Arguably the most popular playing cards beloved by cardists and collectors alike are what some refer to as "hype decks". These are decks that have effectively become a brand of their own by virtue of their sheer popularity. In the last few years alone there are several "brands" that have generated a huge wave of momentum. Almost every new release is quickly sold out, and previous releases don't take long to fetch high prices in the secondary market, as buyers scramble to "collect 'em all". In this article we'll introduce you to some of the more popular series of this sort, which are beloved by both cardists and by playing card collectors. FONTAINES The Fontaine brand is one of the biggest and most recognizable brands in the world of playing cards today, especially in cardistry circles. When you first see a Fontaine deck of cards you might wonder why. After all, what is there to get excited about card backs which have a lower-case "f" put together in a simple and minimalist design, and card faces that are mostly standard? The reason for the success of this brand is the man behind it, Zach Mueller. Zach began making a name for himself with his creative cardistry videos, some of which went viral on youtube. Inspired by the iconic Jerry's Nugget casino deck which appears later on this list, around 2013 Zach whipped up a simple design of his own, printed the deck, and began using it in his cardistry videos. It wasn't even originally conceived as deck that would be published more widely, nor was including it in his cardistry videos originally intended as a marketing gimmick. But the popularity of his videos did have the result of producing a demand for decks like the one Zach was using. When he tried his hand at crowdfunding one, it became an instant success. Zach built on this success with further releases of the same design but in different colours, and later expanded his Fontaine brand to include clothing and other merchandise. Today the Fontaine company has a significant number of releases every year, and they are typically so much in demand that each sells out in minutes. While many of the initial decks didn't evidence much variety aside from recolouring the back design, in recent times we have witnessed some more innovation, such as collaborations with other artists, and a UV black-light edition. https://preview.redd.it/bk51kexhhcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ad5a040ac2cd67d9644f02041f3937ba2e28642 ORBITS The Orbit decks come from magician Chris "Orbit" Brown, with involvement from designer Daniel Schneider. The Orbit series is extremely popular with card flourishers, and it's not surprising why. The circle design on the card backs makes it ideal for cardistry. The first version of the deck was blue, had a print run of only 2500, and only managed to hit its Kickstarter target on the final day when it was put up for crowdfunding in 2015. In contrast, today collectors can't get enough of them! The fourth edition alone had a print run of ten times that amount, and the first few versions of the deck will now cost a pretty penny on the secondary market - if you can find them. Common to most of the decks in the series is of course the signature circle look of the card backs. But there's also the regular presence of light-hearted jokers, mini-astronauts, and even tiny orbitting rockets on the card backs, all of which capture something of the galactic and space theme, and add elements of warm humor. There have been minor tweaks to the design to ensure that each deck is not just a simple recolouring of the previous version. The V7 deck is noteworthy for its retro pink and blue colours, and for including a tribute to the failed mission of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, and has the added bonus of being a very cleverly marked deck. The face cards of the Orbit decks mostly feature a style borrowed from the classic Arrco decks, which gives them a slightly different feel from your typical Bicycle deck, while ensuring that they still have a very familiar, recognizable, and practical look. Some of the decks feature even members of the Orbit crew as the court card characters. It is certainly a successful formula, and these are versatile playing cards that are both novel and familiar enough to make them suit a variety of purposes, from card flourishing to card magic. As with most other entries on this list, the success of the series has generated an increased demand for the first decks in the series, which are not easy to get hold of. https://preview.redd.it/0lakhcmihcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=424b4fba74ee4be5d763fb2439b270df0d319019 JERRY'S NUGGET The history of the Jerry's Nugget decks is a fascinating one, and it even includes a great detective story. The short version is that these striking red and blue decks were first printed in the early 1970s for Jerry's Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. They ended up in storage instead of being used at the casino, and eventually made their way to the gift shop, where they were sold for a dollar or two each. At this point they were discovered by some big name cardists, who began popularizing them via their videos, and spoke highly of their handling qualities, which were the result of printing methods that couldn't be replicated with modern methods. The demand for them grew, but by this time they were sold out. With a limited supply and increased demand, they slowly became a holy grail for collectors, prices typically reaching $500 per deck on the market. Around 2019 Lee Asher became involved with a project to reprint the cards, to make them readily available again, and put them in the hands of a new generations of cardists and collectors. A deal was brokered between Expert Playing Card Company and Jerry's Nugget Casino, and with the help of an incredibly successful Kickstarter project that fetched nearly half a million dollars, a new edition of Jerry's Nugget decks hit the market. The new decks are almost like the original, but consist of a Modern Feel version printed by USPCC and a Vintage Feel version printed by EPCC. The scene was ripe for capitalizing on the popularity of these classic decks, and so the deck was subsequently reprinted in colours like Teal, Coral, Black, Steel Grey, Yellow, Orange, Green, and purple. There are also some limited editions like Pink, and there are even special limited editions with gilding. Many card flourishers love the minimalist look of this series, the famous name and iconic look, and the variety of different colours make them ideal for collectors. https://preview.redd.it/kuxzzlgjhcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8356844549aedec90eda4b447063afc00faf88f5 CHERRY CASINO The Jerry's Nugget decks aren't the only decks that capitalize on the public interest in old-time casinos. This is also the concept that lies at the heart of the Cherry Casino decks, which is a series of playing cards produced under the Pure Imagination label. Pure Imagination Projects was founded in 2013 by Derek McKee, and the first Cherry Casino deck was produced around 2015 in a bright aqua colour. The idea was to draw on the image of an old time casino, hence the classic cherry artwork familiar from slot machines, an iconic symbol of gambling. Several versions then followed in successive years, as the Cherry Casino decks slowly grew in popularity One of the drawcards of this series is the bold metallic ink used on the cardbacks for most of these decks, which instantly sets them apart from your average deck. One of my personal favourite colours in this series is the Tahoe Blue, which is inspired by one of the clearest and deepest lakes in the United States, Lake Tahoe. The use of metallic ink on card backs creates a gorgeous and inviting pearlescent blue that is hard to get enough of. The Cherry Casino decks are also very versatile and practical, and the relatively standard card faces makes them ideal for card magic or for playing card games. Yet the striking card backs also makes them very appealing for cardists and collectors. This creates the ideal combination of something striking and something simple, which is the greatest strength of the Cherry Casino series. The vibrant and eye-catching colours, set them apart from the competition, and give them the magnetic quality that collectors look for, while they remain functional and suitable for a variety of uses. The first decks in the series are especially prized by collectors, since they are long out of print, and entered the market long before anybody realized how successful this series would become over time. https://preview.redd.it/uvqcml7khcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ef474b844f7af286d7d3c3bf3fb5a9f67bead9e VIRTUOSO Virtuoso, commonly called The Virts, is a group of Singaporean cardists, originally founded by Huron Low and Kevin Ho. Other team members joined them over time, and they began releasing cardistry videos on their youtube channel. Around 2012 one of their cardistry videos went viral and was eventually featured on the Discovery Channel, which only increased the growing interest in their work, especially their creative card flourishing videos. It was also around this time that The Virts came up with the idea of designing a deck of card that was specifically geared towards cardistry. They used a design that was strongly geometric in flavour, and where even the court cards and number cards were optimized for card flourishing, to enhance the visual aesthetic of cards in motion. Today it's quite common for a deck to be optimized for cardistry, and there's a ready market waiting to buy decks like this. But at the time this was a groundbreaking idea, and even somewhat of a financially risky one. But card flourishers welcomed the very first Virtuoso deck with open arms, and the deck proved to be more successful than ever imagined. Since the release of their first deck, The Virts have continued to release follow-up decks on a somewhat regular basis. Typically each new release is accompanied by a flashy video that showcases the amazing cardistry of The Virts themselves, which is cleverly accentuated by their cardistry-friendly cards. Their signature geometric design is common to all of the decks released so far, and the eye-catching colours and consistently handling qualioty ensure that card flourishers love it. Recent times have seen the rate of their releases slow down, but news in 2020 about their latest deck - which is scheduled to come out in 2021 - generated a new wave of excitement. Loyalty to the Virtuoso brand and decks is evidenced by the fact that many people were ready to pre-order the new deck sight unseen. https://preview.redd.it/48zmr2okhcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd5fcc61431a3e2764fd95bb5dba12a79658817d ORGANIC PLAYING CARDS One of the more fun entries in this list are the food-inspired decks created by Organic Playing Cards (OPC). This brand is originally the brainchild of Cameron Toner and Nathan Lex, who started OPC while they were in college, combining Cameron's love for card magic and Nathan's love for cardistry. The company has since evolved, and others have come on board as they grew. Their original goal was simply to produce a fun deck of banana-themed cards, now known as Peelers V1. Since then they've gone on to produce a cornucopia of fruit-inspired novelty decks. The concept of what you can expect from an OPC deck is a simple one. Typically it's a deck that features two pieces of fruit on the card backs, some humorous changes to the court cards that incorporate that fruit, an adjusted colour scheme, and a fun take on the tuck box. For example, the Squeezers V1, V2, and V3 decks are orange, lemon, and grape-fruit themed retrospectively, and the tuck boxes are designed to look like juice boxes, complete with an ingredient list. The Snackers decks are themed on strawberries and blackberries, and come in a resealable package typical of a bag of candies, and even include an artificially added scent that smells like the fruit. The latest additions to this popular series have included an avocado themed deck (Avocardos), and in somewhat of a departure from the usual fruit theme and look, a corn-themed harvest deck (Shuckers). So they are exploring new directions, but they haven't run out of fruit just yet, and I look forward to see what they come up with next. https://preview.redd.it/56o6yqelhcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b9aec71b43d043c10980cee343e3bf3e8ffed30 WHAT TO BUY AND HOW MUCH TO PAY? Buying and pricing In the end, you should buy what you like, not what other people tell you to like. But how much do these decks typically cost? Latest releases typically sell at retail price, and don't cost a fortune. Although in some cases, especially with in-demand brands like Fontaines, you have to be right at your computer when a new deck is released, and be among the first set of buyers who are fortunate enough process a purchase in the few minutes before they are sold out. Otherwise you'll have to rely on resellers, some of which can have inflated prices. Older decks for virtually all of these series, however, tend to command much higher prices. This is simply a matter of supply and demand: as the number of collectors grows, more and more people want them, while the supply is limited, because the original decks are long out of print and out of stock at retailers. You'll have to rely on the secondary market to try to source these, and expect to dig deeper in your wallet if you want to get first and second edition decks of many of the above series. Investing and re-selling When collectors see some of these decks selling for over $100 on the secondary market, it can be tempting to think that it's a good idea to buy a stash of decks in the hope that you'll hit a jackpot with a brick of decsk that will be worth a bundle down the line. The reality is that this is hard to predict. When most of these decks were first released, nobody knew that they would become big hits over time. It's only as a series or brand generates momentum and establishes a loyal following, that the prices of the original editions start to rise. For example, I have a Peelers V1 deck, and these are now worth up to US$150 today. At the time I picked it up, it was just a novelty deck from an unknown brand, and I used it as an everyday deck for card games and card magic. Who was to know the success that OPC would later become? Meanwhile I've just been using it casually for card games! Much the same is true for the very first Fontaines deck, which costs a fortune now, but at the time was really just an ordinary deck. The playing card market is fickle and future hits are almost impossible to predict. If you want to earn money, rather than gambling on playing cards, you're better off spending your time working for money at your regular day job. Other popular series Are there other series besides the ones covered above? For sure. Daniel Schneider's series of Black Roses deck also has its passionate collectors, as do the Golden Nugget decks, the Gemini Casino decks, and the NOC decks. The Planets series by Vanda was also popular for some time, but with the release of all the planets this is obviously now complete. There are also people who collect anything produced by a particular brand, such as Anyone Playing Cards. Perhaps even that new release you're thinking of purchasing will become the start of a successful new series or brand - you can never really tell! https://preview.redd.it/ppwyhb5mhcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75a4ee69f8af72d0c022c24d50e3581b80066959 HAS THE INDUSTRY JUMPED THE SHARK? More and more, faster and faster In the first few years of the boom in the playing card market that was created by the arrival of crowdfunding around 2009, new releases were typically produced either as a mass market deck, or as a numbered limited edition. That seems to have changed in the last few years, and the number of permutations for a particular deck seems to be more than ever before. First of all we get recoloured versions of the same deck, multiple times over. Then in addition we get a numbered deck, and a gilded deck... and multiple combinations of all of these. It starts to become impossibles for collectors to get a complete collection. In addition, in some cases, a very limited edition of a popular series is produced at a high price tag, like the $75 Cherry Casino House Decks, putting it out of the reach of most collectors, except those with very deep pockets. In other cases, companies are releasing decks in different colours so fast (here's looking at you, Jerry's Nuggets), that collectors can hardly keep up. The inevitable question arises whether some of these developments are unhealthy. How much is too much? All this understandably makes some collectors begin to feel a little jaded, and wonder if some of these series have jumped the shark. Are some creators starting to take the mickey out of collectors, knowing that they will want to "collect 'em all", even if they have to spend ridiculous amounts to do so? Is this capitalism gone mad, and are producers becoming too motivated by trying to make big bucks? If this trend continues, it can start to feel like price-gouging and greed, and creators run the risk of sucking the joy out of collecting, and losing their customers. All this means that producers have to be careful in the decisions they make about what they release, and not simply be motivated by making money. Collect 'em all? But there's a lesson in this too. It doesn't make sense to mindlessly collect every single thing. But if you do think carefully about what you want to collect, it can be a lot of fun to collect series like the ones covered here. By all means collect 'em! But maybe just not all of them. At least, not all the time. https://preview.redd.it/c50y53umhcg61.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f00f71fa02141ee251913695a2cc7fba823a260 Author's note: I first published this article at PlayingCardDeckshere.
Hey All, I just got back from an AC trip last Fri Night to Tues. My wife and I took approx $900 in cash for gambling, tips, other expenses. We stayed at the Borgata the first night, losing about $80 on VP. We moved to the Hard Rock the next evening and continued the losing streak. We were down about $600 by 3PM Sunday afternoon and we were about to call it quits for the trip. That's when I hit the free spin bonus on Dancing Drums. I hit for a $200 line hit on the second spin and then retriggered twice. On my second to last free spin, the pot closed and I was awarded a progressive. My wife and I both joked about the impending mini, but the machine decided to award us a $800 major, $1050 total bonus. Having fresh bankroll, I put away the $900 we started with and played with the winnings. We stayed steady for a while then my wife hit 4 Aces on Bonus Poker - Spin Poker. I think it was on 3 lines @ 5c a line ($62.50 sounds right with some others hits). We then decided to search for these mechanical stepper Cleopatra's we saw. We found those and lost about $60, but there were some 88 fortunes diamond three reel stepper near by. I noticed it, thought it looked cool but decided not to play. My wife then mentions it so we do play. Approximately $300 up, we walk away from that machine to go to the bathroom. Leaving the restrooms, we are near the hi-limit room and I joke about going in. Long story short, we decide to go in and play $50 on lightning link, .10c denom @ $5/spin. At 11:31 pm I took a selfie before we started playing. We ordered some drinks and both took turns going to the restroom so we were playing slow and taking our time. At 11:40 p we hit a hold-and-spin bonus worth $695 (no progressives). We cash out, but end up giving $160 back to a buffalo machine we've seen, but have never played (still in hi-limit). We decide to go back to spin poker. Naturally, my wife hits her first royal flush ever for $200 because that's the kind of roll we are on. We go to our room(Resorts) and on the way we check out the top dollar in their hi-limit room. It's only $2 a spin so its actually less expensive then the $3 top dollar on resorts main floor. We hit a couple bonuses then switch to a $3 wheel of fortune next to it. We walk away up about $200 and go to bed. We wake up and check out Ocean. We find a variety of video poker, some not available elsewhere in AC. We also find a 1c top dollar machine. That's about all we played there and broke even, we wanted to get back to our hotel before nightfall. We relax in our hotel for a minute before going to the video poker bar at Hard Rock. A bar tender we met the other night was not there; we ordered a beer (I swore off hard alcohol after the previous night). Its around 4:30 pm and I've drank 3/4th of my beer, so its time for me to hit a royal flush for $1000. We leave, play some blackjack and lost. The dealer was not personable, but they did offer surrender which is a treat in AC. We play some slots and as were walking past the hi-limit room I joke about going back in. She says no, but if were doing anything like that we should play the Jin-Long right outside of the HL room. (Back story, we were in a group pull organized by a popular youtuber in which I played Jin-Long at $27 a spin. That video is not released yet.) We agree that its not in the hilimit room, but its definately hi-limit at $9 a spin (turns out they give you the better drinks as if you were in the actual room). We put $100 in, we fluxuate down to $20 really quick and then bounce up to $120. We agree to quit at $50, but she orders a drink first. I don't have any singles, so I go to the machine and cash in a ticket. The machine gave me a drummer boy quarter and I thought that was unusual in these days. I meet the waitress on the way back and tip her before returning to the machine. We sip our beer and two or three spins later, bonus. Both wheels spin and I can almost taste that $44k jackpot. First wheel stops on 3x and the next on 10x. I thought we were going to win $280 (9*30) but for some reason it used a base amount of $18 so we walk away with $540. I forget exactly what we did next, but I'm pretty sure we checked out the main hi-limit section. We played a bit there on some of the cheaper machines ($3.75 - $5) per spin. We gave back about $100 of Jin-Long's payout, maybe less honesty. We go back to the bar after dinner and see our bartender friend. I tell him about the royal earlier and he said that section of the bar is really lucky (not that I believe in luck, but who am I to argue? the guy is an expert when it comes to that location). We determine that I'm playing on the machine next to the one I hit on earlier, no one is playing that machine. My wife says 'lets play double double bonus'. She never says to play DDB, so I tell her that's a great idea and we start playing. Less than 1 beer later, I'm dealt 2 A's and draw the add'l 2 with no kicker for $200. We play a bit more that evening and call it quits. On the way back to the room we hit top dollar again. We gave it and the wheel of fortune $99. Its time to leave the next day. We don't want to both trigger a day so we agreed to play on just one card for $100. We are down to $60 when we decide to play Mighty Cash. I think we started with 80c bets but hit a couple bonuses so we went to the $2.50. We were down to about $15 when we hit the bonus. We get 14/15 and are awarded 3 extra spins. Spin number one fills the board, doubling the winnings to $210. We leave. I thought someone here might be interested in our weekend. We won enough to cover everything that wasn't comped that weekend plus enough to reimburse us for an entertainment system we were in the process of assembling. I want 2019 to be the year of gambling less often and winning huge when we do. So far so good.
The 4th Wave As the world goes through vast change, and the structures of the past appear to be collapsing all around us, the idea of Socialism has re-arisen in western democracies.It seems today that when anybody speaks about the benefits of Socialism they reference the Nordic countries in how wonderful and progressive they are with Utopian social welfare policies. One only has to look briefly at the history of these places to see that the governments that have evolved in these countries did so over lengthy periods of time with highly homogeneous communities. Looking at America travelling from east to west then south and the middle, the variations can be so great it is like living in different countries. In the Nordic countries they base social policies upon the populations seeing themselves as the one thing: Swedish, Finnish, Danish, etc. This type of unity doesn’t exist in America. The mixture of people from all lands on earth with different cultures, religions, philosophies has created the most amazing technological, scientific, literary, film and musical innovation the world has ever seen, but the Americans don’t see themselves as one people. In such a new country there are still huge divisions in the populace as to what precisely the definition of an American is.Socialism has many variations, but can narrow down to two main role models/sources of origin. In the European counties it is Evolved Socialism which uses the free market and has great social welfare programs, and in other places such as Venezuela and Cuba where it is Enforced Socialism, which draws its roots from Marxist ideals. The biggest difference between the two besides one being enforced and one naturally evolving is that the Marxist version is based in an ideology of an oppressor e.g. The ruling elite/rich, Land owners, Bourgeoisie etc did this to me, so when they are gone my brothers, sisters and I can be happy to lead a peaceful Utopian way of life. The European version doesn’t have an oppressor type of foundation that has to be eradicated, instead it is about focusing on what is best for the society.So the question arises with this new wave of socialist politicians appearing in America and around the world; what form of Socialism do they believe in? Listening to the new Socialists, they will point to the benefits of Socialism in Nordic countries and how fantastic such programs will be once implemented in the United States. But one merely has to follow their educational tree backward to know where these people picked up their brand of Socialism from, and in most instances it wasn’t Europe.By following the history of these new wave of Socialists it allows us to have a better understanding into what motives them. If you want to look at Socialism today you have to start by examining modern Feminism which has had a lot of influence over the new Socialist movement.Looking to its history, there have been four waves of Feminism defined as the following:First-wave feminism: early 20th century 1900 to 1959, focusing on women’s suffrage, property rights, and political candidacySecond-wave feminism: 1960s to 1980s, focusing on reducing disparities in sex, family, the workplace, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalitiesThird-wave feminism: 1990s to 2000s, focusing on embracing individualism and diversity.Fourth-wave feminism: 2008 to present-day, focusing on combating sexual harassment, assault, and misogyny, the #metoo movement and removing “The Patriarchy”. This latest group are known as the Kali’s, Neo-Suffragettes or 4th Wavers.Waves one and two almost entirely dissipated when they achieved most of their aims. Wave three was left shell-shocked when the USSR collapsed leaving those that had allied the ideology to Marxism (academics, protesters) ineffective. The fourth wave reawakened and radicalised quickly with the use of social media and movements such as #metoo, its agenda now is to remove the Patriarchy.The question then arises if the current wave of feminists want to remove “The Patriarchy” then what actually is it? A dictionary definition is “A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it”. In both the animal and human worlds there are hierarchies in place. We as humans are adaptive animals who have mastered living in environments across the earth. In the last few thousand years humans have moved through extremely rapid and unparalleled transformation in population increase and how our communities live together, and one of the components in allowing them to do that are highly adaptive hierarchical structures. From the feminist perspective these hierarchies have been controlled by men and oppressed women to maintain control and power, and while there is some accuracy in this, if human history is examined closely one discovers that this is a biased representation.Territorial fighting underlies both human and animal existence. In the majority of cases the groups that will dominate this fighting will be those led by males, so the hierarchical structures that evolved did so around male leadership. There are some examples of matriarchal hierarchies in both the animal and human world, but they are fairly rare due to males being naturally superior in their fighting and hunting abilities and that women bearing children need to be protected and fed. Men’s brains are hard wired to perform single focused tasks, which makes them better hunters and fighters, while women brains are wired more around communication, multi tasking and co-operative tasks which makes them better at raising children. The society and government groups that developed did so through an evolutionary trial and error process, for whatever worked best for that community at the time. As the environments and populations changed so did the hierarchical structures that held them together.Examining the history of the women's movement and what motivated them into action starting with the Suffragettes, most of the men and women at that time lived very hard lives working 12 or more hours a day in dangerous and menial jobs such as working in factories and coal mines. Alcoholism was endemic and men lived in shell shocked states from being used as cannon fodder in wars. The average working class jobs involved brutally hard work for little pay and no labour or safety regulations, which many today would call a form of indentured slavery. It was common for woman to have eight or more children. Life expectancy was low for everyone and mother and infant mortality rates were high. In 1910, 60% of men, and 0% of women could vote. So both men and women had it very tough, with such repression it was both the Labour and Suffragette movements that made huge strides in raising the quality of the average person life, often through violent confrontations.As more women were freed from having to be mothers at home, many went on to study in universities and were able to freely document their experiences.Examining the history of many of the original feminists academics, one notices that many were sexually molested or suffered through some other violent abuse at some stage of their lives.Andrea Dworkin who wrote “Women Hating”, was molested at the age of nine and severely abused by her first husband. Shulamith Firestone who wrote “The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution” had severe mental illness in the form of schizophrenia. Valerie Solanas who was considered one of the most radical feminists ever, writing the famous work “Scum Manifesto” rose up to fame after shooting the famous artist Andy Warhol. Her father molested her as a child and she ended up being committed to a psychiatric hospital after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Many of the other early feminists were first generation children from holocaust survivors with Epigenetic (traits inherited through the genes) trauma from their parents. Many feminists’ fathers had PTSD after returning from service or prison camps in World War 2 and continued the cycle of violence upon their children. PTSD inducing incidents cause the sufferers' brains to become hard wired to permanently hate and fear certain groups or types of people, and because the neurons become hard wired, there is little they can do to alter this long-enduring fearful revulsion. This type of reaction is also common to many war veterans after returning from combat. When someone has PTSD their perspective of the world is often very fixed to an alerted Amygdala flight or fight response. One has to ask how much of the opinions, and all the initial feminist doctrines and ideology relating to male patriarchal power, oppression, gender studies and related issues were written by women suffering PTSD or similar related conditions? There is no objective view possible if it is tainted through the lens of a fear and hatred from past traumatic events, in which the pain continues to be replayed thousands of times through self revised traumatic repetitions of the original episodes. This would be highlighted even further when it is echoed within groups who have all had a comparable experience, thus reaffirming and strengthening the belief collectively of what the original source of their trauma was.People who have lost their power through a traumatic episode want someone to blame for the pain, suffering and disconnect they now feel, and will often fight for an alternative source of power to fill the vacuum of helplessness they feel. Old World War 2 and Vietnam veterans will often talk about hatred they still have for the “Japs”, “Krauts” and “Charlie”, even though many decades have passed since those wars had finished, many will drink, engage in dangerous behaviours and self medicate with various substances to temporarily fill the void. The psychological damage these early feminists had is no different to the ones the veterans face except who they identified as the enemy, in the feminist case it was men as a group who became known in feminist lore as “The Patriarchy”. So while there are hierarchies in the world and many of them are run by men, the concept of one great underlying oppressive group that subjugates and oppresses society and government is a paranoid and irrational view of someone absorbed in psychiatric distress, who is seeking for strategies to protect themselves and explain the origins of their perpetual despair and torment. If a world war two veteran suffering from PTSD were to tell you that “All German people are all evil” you could explain to them that it would be impossible for all members of a specific society to be that way, and how the populous had been indoctrinated to evil ideologies by dark prophets. This rational explanation though would not be enough because those damaged by trauma become deaf to logical reasoning surrounding it.Many of those feminists who were suffering from deep trauma authored the original books and papers that became the bedrock of the feminist movement. Since then the mythology has endured and developed into a huge unverifiable here-say pseudo science, that has corrupted and held back studies within disciplines such as Sociology over half a century now.If individuals are lost in an ideology, providing evidence contrary to their core belief threatens the ideology’s existence, so research bias (the process where the scientists performing the research influence the results in order to portray a certain outcome.) has become endemic to these feminist dominated sciences. The core of many feminist Sociology departments’ research has been based around the erroneous assumptions that patriarchal hierarchies and systemic oppression are the main source of most of the problems and dysfunction within our culture, while in truth it is really trauma that it is the foundational source of it.By collecting the statistical data from an average town, calculating that only a small percentage of the men in this population need to be violent or have predatory tendencies for a large part of the women’s population to suffer at some point in their life some kind of traumatic episode. So even though there are men that do horrible things to women they only make up a small percentage of the total population of men. Those female victims of assault and trauma develop an unconscious bias, where they begin to see most if not all men in that population as bad, fearful or evil. This is why when the concept of the Patriarchy is mentioned many women resonate with it, because it seems to provide a very plausible explanation behind what has happened to them and other women.Over a slow process feminists views intertwined themselves with Marxists’ ones creating a new hyper-normalisation where those lost within the ideology can no longer see the difference between the two. So if you want to be a Feminist fighting for women and other minorities rights you have to believe their Marxist ideology around an oppressor which it turns out is the Patriarchy. Traditional Feminine traits such as gentleness, empathy, sensitivity, caring, sweetness, compassion, tolerance, nurturing are not valued anymore as women can’t be seen to be weak or vulnerable. Once indoctrinated into the cult like ideology you can not rest or be at peace until the Patriarchy has been eliminated, so your mind and actions become swayed like an automaton with an individual objective, that justifies any unsavoury actions you may have to take in the process. A T-800 from the Terminator films would be the closest analogy in our contemporary mythology, in that you can’t plead, debate or negotiate with it, and it will destroy all that stand in its path to achieve what someone has programmed it to do.This is even further muddled by movements such as climate change protesters, environmentalists, vegans, animal rights all blending into the 4th wave, and then all vying for influence and power within the movement. With all of them now believing the Patriarchy plays a great part in who is to blame in all their separate battles. Around the world many white straight women, Gay men and Jews are being removed from positions of power or are being dumped and replaced by trans, black lives matter and other minorities.It is no secret that 1 in 5 professors in many modern American universities are openly Marxist and a high proportion of the rest of them have extreme left-wing views, particularly in the Humanities. In a country that doesn’t have a peasant underclass to manipulate into a revolution this has led to most of these educators treading water for decades. With the radicalised victim culture that social media has created in the last decade, it has now developed into a feasible task to mobilise those who see themselves as victims, and as they are educated to believe victims of of an evil Patriarchy. The many Women, Lesbian, Gay men, Transgender and other minority groups, who it has been statically shown to have suffered a higher rate of traumatic incidents in their lives than the general populace, are searching for someone or something to attribute that on. They ask “Why am I in so much pain?”, “Why is all of society stacked against me?”, “What is the source of all this misery in my life?”, “How do I heal from the hurt of my past and live in freedom?”. When they ask these type of questions along come the Gender studies and Marxist professors to point out that it is the Patriarchy that has done this to you. So instead of helping individuals in trauma and empowering women, men and minority groups they are instead recruiting them to an army of suffering in a never ending ideological battle with the promise that their current pain will only end when the fight against the Patriarchy is over. This is very similar to George Orwell’s book “1984”, where the masses were fighting never-ending wars against other enemies and the Inner Party, through an act of doublethink, believes that such a victory was possible. The professors isolate these new pupils from foreign views indoctrinating them into their new family’s values as they are the only ones who care or know of the anguish their members have been through. Universities which were once dynamic training grounds to educate the new leaders of the future have sections portioned off as safe spaces to isolate and indoctrinate its members to the 4th wave ideals.Like the Ruling Elite or Bourgeoisie within Marxist ideology it is easy to distort the Patriarchy definition, and then anyone striving for power can make the term refer to anyone who challenges them, thus creating tyrannical rule. Simply look at the present insanity on social media and main steam media to see how this is taking place right now. Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, Indians, Gays, Trans, and both men and women are being called out for their privilege and their alliance to the Patriarchy because their viewpoints disagree with a 4th wave narrative.Several ex KGB defectors spoke of a process known as “Ideological Subversion” which was practised by USSR against the US, and still continues to be used by Russia today. The intention behind ideological subversion is that Marxist ideas are implanted within the general populace, starting in newspapers and media as well as of centres of higher learning. As time passes these concepts become accepted and adopted across society, as those who have been indoctrinated in universities graduate they circulate through the workforce taking on many jobs such as educators teaching children at schools, positions throughout the public service and government in law making and management, journalism and so on. So every facet of society ends up being tainted by a subverted ideological agenda. Although the Russians did this for many decades with some success, it wasn’t till the combination of the Internet, iPhone/smart phones and Social media appeared that this subversion went into hyper-drive, spreading these ideas in seconds as opposed to decades; the seeds originally sowed by the Marxists in the universities and throughout society over many decades blossomed. What started off in social and alternative media has now graduated to mainstream media with many male and female reporters holding 4th wave feminists’ viewpoints unknowing they carry the seeds of Marxism within them. As the revenue for Newspapers, Television and other forms of mainstream media collapse, instead of using trained journalists, news makers are now turning to cheap churnalism opinion pieces instead, with rage bait headlines to get more views, many of which carry a huge 4th wave bias.No matter what your occupation is, be it Politician, Public servant, Charity organiser, CEO, Entrepreneur, Journalist, Teacher, Waiter, Toll booth attendant, etc; if you don’t now represent and push the modern 4th wave female narrative you are criticised as the enemy of women and are labelled a misogynist, privileged, a mansplainer, sexually hostile, a femaphobe, anti-feminist, uncompassionate, a gas lighter, alt-right, an extremist, toxic male, or simply an angry man/woman and then publicly outed and shamed.Gender studies graduates who were once unemployable are now holding leading positions as consultants and in human resource positions in the largest tech corporations worldwide, educating major players such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Instagram, YouTube Twitter and Apple, as to what is appropriate behaviour. These 4th wave beliefs then get placed within the companies’ standard operating policies and practices, and influence how they run their businesses.Individuals with an anti 4th wave bias have their accounts cancelled from these modern platforms at a much higher rate than any other group, and in the process lose their right to freedom of speech in social media. So individuals are not given a trial through common law in this new world, but are instead tried and convicted by the standard operating procedures of these huge corporations instead.Huge conglomerates such as Procter & Gamble (owners of The Gillette company) & Nike virtue signal with their 4th wave narratives in their advertising, while overlooking their abysmal workplace practices. Many major Corporations are now terrified of the social media backlash they will suffer if not perceived to be 4th wave friendly and will remove their advertising or sponsorship from anyone who dares to criticise or tries and communicate a different narrative. Eco-protest groups, Climate change groups, Vegans, Animal rights groups and an extensive array of assorted minority protesters seeing how influential the 4th wave shame and blame techniques are have adopted then modified them to their own movements.PETA the animal rights group provides a prime example of this 4th wave speak adapted to their cause, here in this passage taken directly off their website “As feminists, we’re working to put more women in office and in corner offices. We fight for equal pay, tax-free feminine hygiene products, an end to sexual harassment, funding for women’s sports, and streets safe enough for us to walk alone. We push for strong role models who don’t objectify women on television and in movies. We work to end sex trafficking, slavery, genital mutilation, and “honour killings.” We rail against sexism in all its many forms—except, perhaps, when it comes to what’s on our plates. Can food really be sexist? Yes, when it’s the product of imprisonment, rape, reproductive control, kidnapping, and abuse”.The twisting and curtailing of free speech to a 4th wave agenda has now become common in both government policy, commercial organisations and in protest groups.Tim Cook provided an example of this when he recently addressed a media crowd on what Apple will and won’t tolerate being disseminated through their entire network, so you have a huge multinational company with its own agendas dictating what free speech is now.PETA again demonstrated this when they tweeted the following “Words matter,”. “And as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it. Here's how to remove speciesism from your daily conversations." The animal rights organisation then included chart with what they view as offensive phrases on the left and what they view as acceptable substitutions on the right.Instead of “kill two birds with one stone,” say “feed two birds with one scone”Instead of “Be the guinea pig.” say “Be the test tube.”Instead of “Beat a dead horse.” say “Feed a fed horse.”Instead of “Bring home the bacon," say “bring home the bagels.”Instead of “Take the bull by the horns.” say “Take the flower by the thorns."In a later tweet, PETA compared the use of the original phrases to racist and homophobic language, writing: “Just as it became unacceptable to use racist, homophobic, or ableist language, phrases that trivialise cruelty to animals will vanish as more people begin to appreciate animals for who they are and start 'bringing home the bagels' instead of the bacon.”A quick Google search with the words “Patriarchy” and “Vegan”, “Climate change”, “Animal Rights”, “Activism”, “NGO”, or “Advocacy” etc will highlight the armies of protester groups that erroneously believe that the Patriarchy is the source of their organisations dilemmas and only its removal will solve that.The #metoo movement while having a noble intention at the beginning has now twisted into the 4th waves lynching tool to annihilate those who don’t conform to their agenda. Like middle eastern terror groups it has no centre of control and anyone with access to a computer or phone can be part of the revolution and bring down whom ever they choose. The film and entertainment industry are now terrified to produce anything that doesn’t promote some type of social justice message. The new archetype for women in the movies is one where she has to be an empowering role model, talks tough, handles a weapon, she is a martial arts professional, kicks ass better than the guys, even if it’s playing Maid Marion. The worlds biggest steaming service Netflix vigorously promotes their 4th wave agenda and removes narratives that would disagree with that. So we now have a flood of new programs such as “Sabrina” the Social Justice Witch and “Orange is the New Black” a series originally based on Piper Kerman’s memoir of her life in prison, that has subverted itself into a peculiar form of 4th wave fan fiction, attributing the Keystone Cop guards and Patriarchy for all the women inmates problems. Award shows highlight female accomplishment, and then actresses belittle and protest when award nominations do not have enough women or minorities in them. The actress Roseanne Barr lost her own Television series after one misrepresented Tweet. Kevin Hart was removed from hosting this years Oscars because he refused to apologise for some tweets which he had posted years prior, while Female comedians such as Hannah Gadsby receive standing ovations and rave media reviews for their “I hate men” message. Even a movie called “Suffragette” which detailed the struggles of Suffragettes, had its actresses shamed for having t-shirts with the slogan 'I'd rather be a rebel than a slave' to promote the movie, as according to the tsunami of hatred on social media, four 'privileged white women' wouldn’t be able to understand what slavery or oppression was.Martina Navratilova the legendary female tennis player, was recently called out as being Transphobic when she said that people who were born male should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports events as it was unfair. The 4th wave “sociology/science” says there are no difference between the genders so it makes no difference. People now are waiting for Mike Tyson to go through a gender transition so he can take up women's boxing and compete on a “no difference” playing field.As the 4th wave take over the various sciences they begin to twist the narrative of them to their own agenda, often using pseudo science or fake research in the process. In 2018 a group of academics exposed the corruption in Grievance Studies. These people wrote the most absurdly ridiculous hoax "studies" and got 7 of them accepted into highly respected academic journals (with one receiving an award) even though one was a re-written passage from Mein Kampf.https://youtu.be/kVk9a5Jcd1kIn a slow trickle almost every type of study in universities and the workforce are being taken over by those with the 4th wave agenda, warping all their narratives in the process.Schools are now having 4th wave narratives forced upon the pupils, inducting a new generation to the ideology, as students learn how gender doesn’t exist and how toxic masculinity is the source of all societies ills.When Academics or old school Feminists such as Germaine Greer try to speak out against the problems within the present movement, it labels them bigots, racists and Nazis, and they have their events cancelled because of violent protesting against them.To be seen as a persecuted victim to a violent oppressor has now developed into the leading trading currency on social media as the recently staged Jussie Smollett attack shows. If you believe you are a victim all the algorithms built within the social media platforms will reinforce that back to you, to keep you permanently on their platform. Like an addicted slot machine player the individual absorbed in the victim mentality only feels pleasure when they win a prize, in their case it is not money but attention or pity they receive instead. The victim mentality takes power away from someone so they seek to obtain that power back by tearing others down and feel like they have won the jackpot when they do so, but it is a hollow victory that demands another hit not long after. So we have the new wave of algorithmically brain washed social media junkies that are perpetually anaesthetised into unconscious echo chambers of victim hood, living only to receive their next hit. With the average person under thirty using social media on their phone seven to eight hours a day (many are using it much more), this has generated a disastrous epidemic with each user now as seduced by their phone as Gollum was with The Ring of Power. It is no surprise the creators of these systems won’t allow their own children to use them.As victim culture has developed in the last decade, Socialism has now evolved into a mainstream viable choice for the millennial generation. If you listen to the interviews from the new wave of far-left politicians who are working to soothe and heal like a salve the pain of the past with their caring new type of leadership and revolutionary green political programs. In the end politics is a numbers game, just as Donald Trump exploited the right (aided by genius rage baiter Roger Stone) these people take similar actions within the left under the guise of benevolence and battling for minorities/women’s rights. New left-wing groups have appeared that recruit their leaders as you would a reality TV show celebrities. These fresh recruits are being singled out based on being youthful, Instagram/Facebook friendly and from a particular ethnic group. But these modern political candidates are just puppets who have been promoted to a position so they may carry out their creators agenda. What is that agenda? To fragment and create holes within the democratic party and then fill all the gaps until they hold majority power. Many of the leading players behind Bernie Sanders last election bid have been poached by those with even darker agendas than the 4th wave’s. When compared to these radical 4th wave politicians Bernie Sanders comes out looking like a moderate; if there is long term strategy behind this, who knows? But it was Bernie who was holding their hand, promoting and encouraging them throughout their campaigns up to when they entered office.This may evolve into an even scarier scenario when you realise how government organisations such as the NSA now can monitor all our calls and internet traffic. Our smart phones store our lives including every location we have travelled, who we have spoken to and all our messages. Through recent decades we have been using it with social media platforms such as Facebook or Google. Through their extensive data collection pools they now can map our psychological profiles, our IQ, sexual, political and religious preferences, books we have purchased, the people we associate with and the clubs and organisations we belong to, every email and text we have ever sent and received, every website we have visited and every search we have carried out on a search engine. The amount and breadth of data now collected would leave an old school Russian KGB agent breathless. Not even at the peak of the Soviet Union was such a multitude of data collection feasible. This data has been used by the US to gain military, intelligence and financial advantage around the world, but now imagine a Government that was not interested in the military, foreign intelligence or financial gain and instead was controlled by those who only believe in a 4th wave agenda. Then there would be a forced surrender of that data from these government entities and huge corporations to wield against its citizens. This would consist of the vicious blame and shame social media insanity we currently see, now made manifest in the form of a ruling government. It would remove everyone that didn’t conform with its narrative as a dissident. You either accept what the 4th wave says or you are the enemy of the state. There is no middle ground, because like all those lost within a cult like ideology they believe they are serving the highest purpose.The modern Socialism this recent wave of leftist politicians wish to introduce has nothing to do with European Socialism. Even the heads of many European countries have told Bernie Sanders to stop labelling their countries as a Socialist for his own agenda. But like the KGB defectors said you can show them the Gulags and the people starving, but the only thing that will change the minds of those lost within the Marxist ideology is when an army boot comes crashing down on their head. Then and only then do they finally realise what has transpired. Whenever the USSR took over a country in the past, they always placed the individuals who supported the revolution in re-education camps, Gulags or simply shot them in the back of the head, because they were the first to revolt and become dissidents when things didn’t turn out even remotely like they had envisioned.Like the Nordic countries, Australia and New Zealand have fairly progressive social welfare policies and are very multicultural, but again both of these evolved over long periods of time, they were never thrust upon them in one tremendous surge of change. Coming from Australia I know that currently just under 20% of our populations is on some form of welfare in the form of old age pensions, disability, unemployment benefits, etc. Many individuals within the country are now coming out to question this once called “Welfare Safety Net” which seems to have transformed into a “Welfare Hammock”. We have a Universal health care system which is good, but with the combined Welfare and Health systems are now costing around 50% of government total expenditure. With a population of around 25 million that is ageing rapidly and living much longer, this system is only just working. But as most of our trade is with Asia, the next time that region has an economic equalisation we will suffer horrendously and will struggle to preserve this welfare state without producing massive debt. Then Australia similar to the Nordic countries will be just as susceptible to far left Marxist ideals as the US is. Many countries in Europe with the present economic and political uncertainty (including the Nordic ones) are becoming more vulnerable to Marxist ideals, with their own constantly growing left-wing parties, who shelter under the cloak of 4th wave feminist movement. The Nordic and other countries are no less immune to this risk than anybody else even though they are labelled as model nations by the 4th wavers.In many respects America is an Oligarchy now with an enormous inequality in its distribution of wealth, as many individuals seek to fill an empty void with power and wealth. America also has an extreme Right, who are trapped in their own prejudices which they make no effort to hide and like feminism have their roots in trauma.But if America were ever to become a Socialist nation headed by an ideology of an oppressor, there is a great possibility it could start a Civil War that could lead to the downfall of democracy for the US and its allies around the world.I imagine now that anybody who doesn’t agree with what I have just spoken, will be jumping up and down saying “What about Trump and the hysteria he brought to the White House?” But if you look at Trump what you call his shadow side it is utterly out there in the open and that is the reason many people flock to him and his ideas. He worships wealth, discredits and chastises those who cross him, hates criticism, revels in being the biggest man in the room, loves to win at all costs, will distort the truth to prevail, loves being applauded and cheered by a crowd, is narcissistic, lives to make a deal, loves beautiful women and “grabbing the pussy”. So there are no great hidden mysteries in Trump’s psychological make-up. But if you look to the new left their shadow is obscured by a smiling veneer of compassion and desire for equal rights, but removing that you will recognise a victim identity. The Victim identity is the most treacherous and vicious one of all because it grants those entrapped within it to take violent actions under the justification they are always serving the highest motive, it is a form of Martyrdom. The victim identity fighting against a perceived oppressor is what allowed the horrors of the holocaust to take place as the Germans fought to wipe out their perceived oppressor the Jews. Under Marxism hundreds of millions were tortured and died, leaving those left behind to live in Stasi Police states, all in the name of eliminating their Bourgeoisie oppressors.The trauma/victim mentality is exceptionally well summed up by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre quote “Hell is other people”. A better translation might be “Hell is the others”, an exceedingly dangerous idea because it sets up the assumption that once you eliminate “the others” the Hell won’t be there any more. And it was Jean Paul Sartre and his students’ ideas that provided the template for Pol Pot’s torturing and murdering of millions in Cambodia in the name of creating a fresh perfect society. The evil part of being inducted to an ideology is that the only way an individual recruited to it will receive respite from their suffering is once the believed perpetrator is eliminated, but this is the lie used to manipulate the indoctrinated into committing atrocious acts against humanity, in the name of trying to achieve a carrot on the stick goal.A voice and equal rights for women should be the premiere goal of our societies, but if it is attained through tyranny, a tidal wave of rage will be the only outcome, as hate begets hate. Blaming all the worlds problems on an imaginary oppressor has tainted everything from children, education systems, our media, social service systems, workplaces and government and has helped to lay the foundation for the ultra polarisation on both sides of the political spectrum. The women's movement has been built on the modern freedom of western democracies and the industrial, economic, scientific revolutions of the last few hundred years. If our societies were to go into a major decline then so would these freedoms and much of the progress made over this time go. Then we could see the rise of a dystopia so horrific that in comparison it would make “The Handmaids Tale” look like a Disney adventure.If I was to take all the above and sum it up in one sentence, I’d say “If you want some form of Socialism (Even if it is Democratic Socialism) makes sure it doesn’t come with an attached ideology of an oppressor, because if it does, it has nothing to do with a Nordic or any other country’s government and progressive social policies, then there is a great possibility it could be the end for your country’s democracy and freedom”.People always ask how good German, Russian, Chinese or Cambodian people could carry out some of the most atrocious acts against humanity the world has ever known, well here we go again.P.S. There is a linchpin to all this madness/polarity we have on both the radical left and right, in the media, politics, etc. And it will only come into play if we focus on the healing of the trauma, both ours and our forefathers, which has run through our societies for thousands of years, and is the fundamental factor in humanities disconnect from themselves, others, nature and life. People are only ‘triggered’ if they have trauma in them to begin with to trigger. When the trauma is gone so is the capacity to be triggered. People only get lost in Ideologies if they have a disconnect from themselves. There is an old African proverb “You can outrun what is running after you, but not what is running inside of you”. Peace will only ever be achieved if we are brave enough to end the war in ourselves first and let it flow out into the world.“Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.”- Ramana Maharshi Submitted March 21, 2019 at 08:48PM by the4thwavemsg https://www.reddit.com/milo\_yiannopoulos/comments/b3yihw/the\_4th\_wave/?utm\_source=ifttt via /milo_yiannopoulos
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