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OLDMDDEM

(1,572 posts)
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 12:22 PM Dec 2021

James Howard Kunstler

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the DU Community Help forum).

Has anyone ever heard of him? My rwnj brother sent me an article by him that sounds like something my rwnj brother would read. I feel I need to take a shower.

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James Howard Kunstler (Original Post) OLDMDDEM Dec 2021 OP
He used to get mentioned quite a bit on DU. CrispyQ Dec 2021 #1
Thank you OLDMDDEM Dec 2021 #3
Kunstler Metaphorical Dec 2021 #2
Thank you OLDMDDEM Dec 2021 #4
Political views Ptah Dec 2021 #5
Wow. He really did go off the deep end. -nt CrispyQ Dec 2021 #6
Thank you OLDMDDEM Dec 2021 #7
Did financial problems turn him into a MAGA? quaint Dec 2021 #8
After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING Omaha Steve Dec 2021 #9

CrispyQ

(36,460 posts)
1. He used to get mentioned quite a bit on DU.
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 12:40 PM
Dec 2021

IIRC, he wrote The Long Emergency about peak oil & it was discussed on DU. I don't recall him being a rwnj, but people change.

OLDMDDEM

(1,572 posts)
3. Thank you
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 12:53 PM
Dec 2021

Thank you for responding.

Metaphorical

(1,602 posts)
2. Kunstler
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 12:44 PM
Dec 2021

Kunstler started out in the Peak Oil movement and did some interesting work talking about the coming death of the suburbs. Somewhere along the line, however, he took a hard right into the conspiracy and survivalist worlds, where he seemed to find a lot of kindred spirits. I interviewed him once about fifteen years ago.

OLDMDDEM

(1,572 posts)
4. Thank you
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 12:54 PM
Dec 2021

I appreciate your response. It verifies my thinking on why my brother would use him as a source to send something to me.

Ptah

(33,024 posts)
5. Political views
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 12:59 PM
Dec 2021

Kunstler is a harsh critic of both the Republican Party, describing them as "a gang of hypocritical, pietistic sadists, seeking pleasure in the suffering of others while pretending to be Christians, devoid of sympathy, empathy, or any inclination to simple human kindness, constant breakers of the Golden Rule, enemies of the common good." and also the Democratic Party and their "underhanded attempts" to get rid of Donald Trump, a man whom Kunstler sees as showing "strength". He was also a promoter of the concept of a so-called "deep state" working to overthrow and thwart Trump. He endorsed Trump for re-election and declared that he intended to do "everything he can to prevent the Democrats from winning the election."

In an interview with American Conservative, Kunstler attacked gay marriage, describing it as "cultural mischief" that would further damage "a struggling institution". He is a subscriber to the conspiracy theory that the 2020 United States presidential election was fraudulent, describing it as a "fraud-inflected election" on his website, and he suggests that the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol was the work of left-wing groups.

In recent times, Kunstler has had financial problems, and was described as "seethingly angry" about his writing income falling to only a few thousand dollars annually because of "the tidal wave of free content on the web". In addition, his "lucrative college speaking fees" have disappeared, which he blames on "the rising hysteria on campus against threatening ideas". Kunstler now uses Patreon to crowdfund his writing.

In an interview with Doug Casey published on October 13, 2021, Kunstler called the COVID-19 pandemic a "scam", and on October 11 he published the debunked vaccine conspiracy theory that the vaccine would kill people "steadily over the weeks and months" and went on to name hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as "effective" treatments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Howard_Kunstler#Political_views

CrispyQ

(36,460 posts)
6. Wow. He really did go off the deep end. -nt
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 01:05 PM
Dec 2021

OLDMDDEM

(1,572 posts)
7. Thank you
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 01:10 PM
Dec 2021

I appreciate your response. Now I have some ammo to toss at my brother.

quaint

(2,563 posts)
8. Did financial problems turn him into a MAGA?
Tue Dec 21, 2021, 02:43 PM
Dec 2021

Omaha Steve

(99,601 posts)
9. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING
Wed Dec 22, 2021, 10:33 AM
Dec 2021

This post does not meet the SOP.

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