Over the last week, the guide has surged to become the 5th-most-accessed book on Project Gutenberg, an open source repository of free and public domain ebooks. It is also the fifth most popular ebook on the site over the last 30 days, having been accessed nearly 60,000 times over the last month (just behind Romeo and Juliet).

Direct link to the book (without the backref):

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184

  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    • “Insist on doing everything through ‘channels.’ Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.”
    • “Make ‘speeches.’ Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your ‘points’ by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate ‘patriotic’ comments.”
    • “Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.” “Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.”
    • “‘Misunderstand’ orders. Ask endless questions or engage in long correspondence about such orders. Quibble over them when you can.”
    • “In making work assignments, always sign out the unimportant jobs first. See that the important jobs are assigned to inefficient workers of poor machines.”
    • “To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.”
    • “Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.”
    • “Multiply paperwork in plausible ways.”
    • “Make mistakes in quantities of material when you are copying orders. Confuse similar names. Use wrong addresses.”
    • “Work slowly. Think out ways to increase the number of movements necessary on your job”
    • “Pretend that instructions are hard to understand, and ask to have them repeated more than once. Or pretend that you are particularly anxious to do your work, and pester the foreman with unnecessary questions.”
    • “Snarl up administration in every possible way. Fill out forms illegibly so that they will have to be done over; make mistakes or omit requested information in forms.”

    But … but we’re already doing every single one of them 🥺

    • jj4211@lemmy.world
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      • “To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.”
      • “Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.”
      • “Multiply paperwork in plausible ways.”

      Holy shit, my workplace must be trying to sabotage fascism…

    • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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      Please tell me that’s not actually what they tell you to do.

      Where’s the bombs and general strikes?

      • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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        The point of the book is not to blow shit up, but to gum the system up with small actions that have a minimal risk. Then organize more people around doing the same.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        Almost half of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. A strike means they can’t feed or house their kids. Corporations have Americans by the balls and they know it.

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          Nope. Soup kitchens are cheap and easy.

          US Americans are just too stupid to turn to their neighbor and work together

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            Nope. Soup kitchens are cheap and easy.

            Yeah, so is eating out of a dumpster. Jesus Christ. Have you ever even talked to a homeless person?

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                  My guy, food not bombs explicitly is a mutal aid network and they’re specifically discrediting your attempt to discredit them because they have eaten out of dumpsters. But sure, it’s everybody else that’s wildly out of touch in this conversation.

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              I spent years eating dumpstered food when I lived in the US. You’re proving my point.

              Have you ever even volunteered with Food Not Bombs?

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                Did you feed your kids out of dumpsters? And if so, were any of them autistic kids who would only be willing to eat things they approve of and starve otherwise? I hope not.

                But I’m guessing your suggestion is either force-feed them or let them starve.

                Also, do you know one of the reasons they take your kids away from you and put them in abusive foster care? Because you’re homeless.

                Basically your whole idea is advocating child abuse.

                Amazing how many people here think you should put the welfare of others over your own children.

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                  Its clear you’ve never dumpster dived before. Its usually wrapped in food grade containers. Completely sanitary. And good stuff, like super fancy expensive pastries.

                  And food not bombs works with restaurants and groceries to get the food before they even put it in a dumpster, just before its thrown out.

                  Seriously, please find your local chapter of Food Not Bombs and volunteer. You would learn a lot. Feeding people is not an issue in the US.

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            Soup kitchen covering people’s health insurance and shit now? You know damn well how much people’s jobs mean to them and their livelihoods.

            I agree with you; but it’s very easy to say, challenge level impossible to do.

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                Which doctor can provide free chemo if I have cancer? Which doctor can provide a free MRI if I have a stroke? Do they keep those things in their home?

                You don’t mind children dying, and apparently you don’t mind very sick people dying either.

                So how many people do you feel is an acceptable number to die for your cause?

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                  So for how much longer would you consider it acceptable for the current system to cause more suffering and death before drastic actions for change are acceptable?

                  It seems you care more about those who would be hypothetically be harmed than those who are being harmed right now.

                  I don’t think that those who advocate for mutual aid networks and a general strike are either ignorant or uncaring of the harm that it could cause. I think they believe that the harm caused would be less than the harm already being inflicted by the current system. That said, I think it’s a big ask for people to put themselves and their families at great risk, even if it’s for a good purpose.

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      I get how all parts of this are effective to sabotage an economy and hurt the ambitions of those at the top. But, as a regular person working within the system, I choose not to discriminate against or complain about other individual workers just trying to get through their day.

      That seems counter productive. The best way to resist the oligarchs can’t be to fuck with the other poor people we’re trying to help.

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          Hey now I didn’t suggest not working against the system and the fascists. I pointed out that targeting the morale and well-being of individuals close to you might not be the best use of one’s energy, assuming underlying motivation is to make the world better for yourself and others.

          And you can sabotage the work without being hostile towards an individual. That individual is somebody you should be getting on your side.

          • emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de
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            Youd be much better off trying to unionize your coworkers, that would be far more damaging to the fascist ubercapitalists, and much more beneficial for the workers morale.

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            Short term pain for long term freedom is needed. If people had your point of view during the American civil war, you’d be the Confederate states of the US.

            Every day people are the ones enabling and holding up fascism, not the uniforms, not the leadership, just people like you and your loved ones. Without you fascists have no power. Pressuring those around you, sabotaging their work if it’s helpful to the fascists, socially isolating those that refuse to help are the effective steps to take. If you don’t take them, you’re as bad as any fash with a gun or suit.

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    I was expecting something subtle, some sort of resistance from within type stuff.

    Warehouses, barracks, offices, hotels, and factory buildings are outstanding targets for simple sabotage. They are extremely susceptible to damage, especially by fire.

    Not so much.

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        The cure was disabling fascism long enough to let it get conquered by not-fascism.

        But that doesn’t work in the USA because we will get conquered by More-Fascism.

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          The truth is that the south has perfected the art of double speak and gets away with saying horrid dog whistles for 40+ years and then blushes and puts their finger on their chin and goes “whoooo, meeee?” when it’s called out for what it is in plain English. “I wouldn’t feel responsible if anything happened to Fauchi” while simultaneously calling him evil the devil wicked china virus and then removing a security detail. But because Trump didn’t explicitly say “I hope harm comes to Fauchi and you should get him” it doesn’t count. It’s bullshit and everyone knows it.

          One political party has played by the rules while the other rewrites their language and erodes their purpose and claims that party 1 doesn’t play by the rules enough. Moving goalposts.

          Democrats will always fight over the rules while Republicans are busy changing the game and watching everyone catch up too late.

      • ours@lemmy.world
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        So many countries ended up with fascist autocrats with the help of the CIA. Way before Reagan.

      • Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee
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        The CIA was created to protect capital interests while pretending it’s for the American people… They are like the heart of global fascism. Them and the federal reserve banking system.

      • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        Why stop fascists when you can enable them worldwide and locally that helps secure funding and work for you?

        Why would you not want to have more threats to encourage congress to fund your habits and slowly erode the rights of the Americans you claim to defend?

        The CIA started hating fascists due to the war effort but learned they had the same idea just different strategies.

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          The CIA wasn’t around for WW2, that was the OSS and that agency was dissolved after the war.

          This is honestly the first time I’m wondering why, exactly, they got rid of it.

          • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            While it wasn’t the CIA, the OSS was basically the WW2’s CIA, and then the OSS set up what became the CIA. The OSS also helped Operation Paperclip go into effect, escorting Nazis into the US Government and its allies.

    • PSoul•Lemmy@lemmy.world
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      Can this be applied to ICE? Where are they staying in your city? Where are they keeping their trucks and gear? Where does it come from? Where is their dispatch? When ICE arrests someone, what’s the logistics chain to get the person away from your city?

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              Underrated comment. #SwansonWasAPsyop

              Swanson was what libertarians think they come off as, and not what they actually are - Which is a disappointment to all people, always, on either side, of every issue. Keep driving on those publicly funded roads though and using that fire department during everywhere, libertarians. Oh, what’s that, your sovereign cruise ship is overflowing with shit and sinking? Well at least you and the boat didn’t have any contracts between you. Swim free, little buddy. Be sure to refuse that coast guard rescue, don’t let them dictate how (if) you live!

              I hope you survive, so that you can live to purchase your weight in “decentralized” currency, sold by… The government?

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    Remember when reading this that it was written for a time long past. There are cameras and other electronic tracking everywhere now. Even if you can avoid detection, much of the methodology described here just doesn’t apply to modern machines, telecommunications, and other systems.

    But read it all anyway. (It’s not that long.) The mindset you will need to employ is plainly communicated and remains valid today. Be observant, be creative, be careful, and [email protected].

    • superkret@feddit.org
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      The modern approach for grinding everything to a halt is to push for migration to M365 in your workplace.

      • Nougat@fedia.io
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        You jest, but you’re not wrong.

        Pushing to “improve processes and efficiency” for as many people as possible, where that requires changes to what people do - and especially changes to the applications they use - means a whole lot of retraining and mistakes. Office workers are hardly different than factory line workers. They do the same thing over and over every day, and if anything changes, they’re flummoxed.

        This also serves to reveal more clearly which workers are more and less adaptable, so that you can focus any of your efforts. Either get more in the way of the more productive people, or take advantage of less productive people to effect a larger error.

        Edit: And if your “improved processes” are complicated enough, this gives other people who want to resist more opportunities to employ malicious compliance.

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        Crimp (damage by bending) the Ethernet cables.

        I’m siding with the fascists on this one.

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      It only worked back then because after Germans followed the manual to weaken the Nazis, other countries came in and destroyed them.

      If the equivalent happens in the USA we’re all fucked.

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    Milton was the best: playing music that distracts your coworkers and reduces productivity, engaging management and taking up their time about quibbles, muttering incoherently leading to lost time due to miscommunication, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and setting the fucking building on fire.

    Be like Milton.

    • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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      He will raise his hand to nearly the hight of the stop sign to clearly communicate his intent.

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    I wonder what the purge at our intelligence agencies will be like. They were never good agencies, they did a lot of shitty stuff, but they did it because “America”. Now that the Chief Cheeto is in charge, who has insulted the USIC on many occasions, and cozies up to dictators and Nazis, there have to be a not insignificant number of USIC people that want nothing to with Combover in Chief, so they’ll get the boot to be replaced with some jackbooted NKVD Commissariat trump sycophants.

    • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
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      It’s relatively easy to envision.

      Assume each agency (not just the 3-letter ones, any) had X% of fascists and fascist-friendly people. The other 100%-X% will be fired. So just the X% remain.

      On the one hand, the agency is now severly crippled as it lacks key personell, and probably the firings aren’t evenly spread through departments and key positions, meaning some aspects don’t work at all any more (separating air traffic is one, for a simple example), while others still mostly work. On the other hand, all remaining aspects are now 100% fascist in their nature, and will always take the fascist option if one presents itself as anyone who would not do so has been removed.

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    I’m pretty sure that the people at the companies I’ve worked at for the last 15 years have been following this playbook the whole time.

    • 5too@lemmy.world
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      I think that’s kind of the point - because this behavior is fairly common, malicious use of it is extremely hard to root out, and can cause a wonderful amount of friction in an organization.

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    Ignore this document. It’s a plant.

    It suggests filing metal containers that contain gasoline. They just want to see who shows up in ERs or local police dept with specific injuries or vandalism charges.

    Edit: the anarchist cookbook that circulated in the 90s and 2000s was a false flag that was intended to remove fingers, hands, and entire faces. It was a funded attempt to get ‘smart people’ to blow their hands off. The doc posted by OP has the same hallmark copy-paste from reputable sources mixed with advice from chaos agents.

    • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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      It’s eighty years old. It’s a different world. That doesn’t make this bullshit at the time.

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        The physics of combustion and gas phases has not changed appreciably on planet earth until atmosphere arrived. Gasoline vapor will ignite if you grind metal on metal nearby.

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        Grinding metal can create large voltage potentials which can create arcs which can ignite gasoline vapor which can cause an explosion.

        More to the point, i’m commenting on semi competent text followed by suicide advice. I stopped reading to make my previous post. I’ll pick back up to see if there are any more obvious points.

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    It’s too outdated to be really useful. This just makes life hell for people, not stopping fascism. What we need is the field manual on how to make fascists fear for their lives enough that they crush themselves.

    A lot of this would be good for fucking up capitalism, but we are way past that being an option.

    • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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      Unfortunately, “making life hell for people” is part of how you stop any government from working. Reduce efficiency, increase disorder and confusion, and make people angry enough to actually want to tear down the system.

      Governments where everyone is chipper and basically have their needs met don’t collapse, and people don’t fight to collapse them.

      It’s like the people who say that protests shouldn’t inconvenience anyone. The inconvenience is the point.

      Happy people don’t kneel cops in the Dunkin donuts parking lot.

      • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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        If people are dumb enough to think inflation was 100% Bidens fault and electing a 2016 President will bring back 2016 prices then they’ll blame empty napkin dispensers and clogged toilets on Trump.

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        People are too dumb to associate protesters in the street to a problem that can be fixed by the government. The rulers want you to think that protesting works, because it makes the fight between the people. They want you inconveniencing on your level, so that they can make us fight each other.

        You will never convince people to tear down the system by screaming in a street.

        • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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          I just don’t think that history aligns with that view. Arab spring is an example just from the past decade of a series of protest movements that escalated into armed rebellion.
          Actually going and looking at the handy list of revolutions shows that it’s pretty easy to find protest movements that escalate like that.

          This article in particular has the preamble that kind of sums it up: ”This article is about the nonviolent protests. For the ongoing civil war, see Myanmar civil war (2021–present)."

          People in the US don’t currently connect protestors to the problem because they’re not angry. At some point you don’t see protesters as “them” yelling and making noise, and you join them because you’re also angry.

          Revolution and rebellion aren’t polite and orderly. Thinking you can scare fascists in power into behaving isn’t going to work. Part of their entire “thing” is that people are a danger and they need to crack down on dangerous elements to keep society functioning. If society stops functioning and gets materially worse without a balaclava wearing gang of insurgents throwing cartoon spherical black powder bombs, people see the people in charge as the problem and are more willing to do a Mussolini.

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            History in the US aligns. If it slid back, it didn’t work. And, everything is sliding, therefore it did not create lasting change. The time for peaceful protesting is over. It’s time for action.

            • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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              First, who was talking about peaceful protesting? You don’t go from nothing to full on revolution in one step.

              Second, if the only thing that matters is that it worked in the US, then protest has driven far more change than violence. The civil rights movement ended segregation. The labor movement won numerous labor victories, but when they fought they were largely just shot. Last I checked, we still have weekends and segregation never came back. Those are the two I can think of without looking in the US.

              On the flip side, every attempt at abrupt violent change has failed. Without widespread popular support they just don’t even get off the ground.

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                We aren’t at the “nothing” phase. But hey, we’ve got weekends!!! Let’s be happy for what we have and just let the rulers take everything while we quietly argue amongst ourselves, as planned.

                • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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                  Wow, you’re just determined to hear “you need popular support” as “do nothing” aren’t you?

                  You said protests never work, that they never work in the US, when they work in the US the effects don’t last, and now “it can last but it’s not enough”.

                  Outside of a coup, small groups of people just don’t overthrow or take over governments. You need a lot of people, and happy people don’t join the angry mob.

                  If you want to change the system, you need people who currently like the system to stop liking it, and the more you want them to participate in changing it, the more you need them to dislike it.

  • PlaidBaron@lemmy.world
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    Reminds me a bit of Edward Abbey’s Fieldguide to Monkeywrenching.

    Albeit aimed at a different target and different reader.

    Just an interesting observation Im making using the title of a not so well known text but potentially interesting read for many (academically of course).

    For anyone interested, it is freely available online if you want to read it. I would suggest using a VPN or other security program to protect yourself. I suggest this purely because its best practice to use one, lest certain groups take an interest in your reading choices. By this I of course mean cybercriminals.

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    This will be declared a terrorist document create by a evil government as soon as trump hears about it. Its not like he can read well enough understand it.

    • Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee
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      Some speculate that he cannot read at all. I do not think this is the case, as it is very difficult to finish university without some kind of reading and writing (even with grades as horrific as his).

      But I strongly believe that Trump is dyslexic. Which would explain his aversion to reading at all costs and his desire to have things done in picture form and not written form. I am not the only one who suspects this.

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          I can’t fathome sitting through an exam that requires writing and reading comprehension to do anything with money. I understand getting others to do your homework for money (hell, I had a hustle in university where I did that), but sitting through an exam, which can make or break your entire course, is something else entirely.

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            The thing is, with enough money, you don’t need to sit through it at all, you pass it without even taking it. Professors accept bribes too y’know.

        • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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          You can purchase essays and tutoring. The little income I do get right now is helping get the rich and illiterate through college.

          • Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee
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            5 days ago

            I did have a hustle in college where I did homework for some guys (they were not rich. They were just lazy). But my main concern isn’t about getting essays or some other projects done. It is about sitting through exams. How would he have finished an exam while being functionally illiterate? The only way it could be done is that he bribed someone to bring him a copy of the exam beforehand so he can have someone tell him what to do for what part.

            But if that was the case, his grades wouldn’t be as utter shit as they were. I know if I had an advance copy of an exam, no matter how tough it was, I would have at least gotten a B or B+.

            • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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              5 days ago

              I know if I had an advance copy of an exam, no matter how tough it was, I would have at least gotten a B or B+.

              This is one of those benefits of joining a fraternity/sorority. Many do keep collections of old exams, homework assignments, etc. Imagine how that factors with the type of fraternities the uber wealthy join too.

              Another strategy is getting accommodations. With money, you can get the kind of diagnoses and paper work to get around a lot. This is not at all to attack the legitimacy of college accommodations - I’ve worked with many who deserved them, and in some ways I was able to access some myself. I’ve also worked with people who did pay for a diagnosis and list of accommodations. This is more of a rich people taking advantage of a system that is mostly inaccessible to poorer people.

              Another aspect is “track system.” Eg, my ex husband came from serious money, went to a high school where there was a track for those who wanted to learn, and for those whose parents just wanted them in a nice school with other rich kids. (He would freely admit to switching to the “rich kid” track because he was too lazy to write essays. That continued in college - he used the strategy of having me do it.)

              I think this continues in colleges, especially the more expensive privates/Ivys/and even local colleges, in certain major programs. People joke about Business majors, but yeah… There’s an element of institutional knowledge here that can also go with the frats/sororities - who lets you take home the tests, who uses multiple choice, etc…

              Always very frustrating to me - I got kicked out of college a couple times trying to get through STEM/engineering while working multiple jobs and pimping myself out on Craigslist. Knowledge is a candle, and lighting others does not extinguish one’s own flame, but damn if don’t have some resentments some times.

      • Liz@midwest.social
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        6 days ago

        He certainly reads at a very low level, and I’ve seen analysis of his speeches explaining how we know this. I don’t know if he’s always been that bad at reading or if this is a new thing in the last 10 years or so.

        • Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee
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          6 days ago

          No he never was interested in reading or writing. From my understanding his book, The Art of the Deal, was not written by him but dictated to someone who wrote down what he was saying. Some say that’s why the book sounds like something he is saying to you than writing to you.

          I need to mention that Hitler also had mein kampf written this way. He didn’t sit at a desk and write it with a pen or typewriter, someone else just wrote down what Hitler was saying directly to them.