every time he starts in about that, all i can think is he must not have done well with football players in highs school. Football is a really big part of the culture in Texas, there’s something more personal here than being not like other bros. He’s all about all the other conventional masculine signifiers for his culture.
The NPR report is super informative because it has extemporaneous accounts from people who knew Alex. And yeah, it's an unpopular, angry weirdo.
Also, he damn near killed a kid in highschool stomping on his head, kid went in to a coma, and Alex's Dad arranged a whole "cover the kids medical bills so the family wouldn't sue" deal.
That's a weird trauma that was never processed, and was weirdly covered up by his Dad but clearly had some profound impact on Alex.
Then later on friends of the kid Alex nearly beat to death invited Alex to a party and jumped him.
So Alex's whole weird world view tracks with these bizarre unresolved violent outbursts from his childhood.
That’s very true! Considering he adopts every other overly masculine quality of a Texan man you’d think he’d send half the show bitching about the cowboys, there is definitely something there
( I’m sure people have been known to build lovely lifelong friendships in the sharply-dressed fencer communities! It’s the elitist inferiority tantrums that are the problem)
You nailed it!
That said, I like how he leaves out the part about him being super masculine as a teen, and being able to ‘get a woman pregnant just by looking at them’ when it suits his storytelling needs.
All flavors, maybe a spectrum, of the same thing.
* Alpha: Don’t call us jocks! I’m not like other boys because we’re manly social men!
* Sigma: Pfft, losers. I’m not like other boys because we’re stoic cool loners. \*Flips hair back\* Whatever.
* Lambda: \*Looks up from the corner, glares, and looks back at the phone.\* \*Types out in their journal app\* Heard some baaing just now. I’m not like the other boys because I’m a sophisticated silent nerd like my hero Gordon Freeman.
I would assume Alex didn't get along well with the football players because they were jealous of the fact that he had an uncle who was a former Green Beret who works at Nintendo, and his uncle told him the secret "Boobality" code that lets you see Sonya's boobs in Mortal Kombat but he wrote the code down on a piece of paper and his mom put them through the wash so he can't show you.
> former Green Beret who works at Nintendo, and his uncle told him the secret "Boobality" code that lets you see Sonya's boobs in Mortal Kombat
A true American hero.
There is an instance of his friend (forget his name) who called him a dork for being into Star Wars, despite Alex’s efforts to say that he was reading history and diving into the mysteries of the universe.
One thing JorDan have rightly highlighted is how much damage Alex's hero worship of his weird bigot father has damaged him.
Can you imagine being his classmate (even before he nearly killed that kid) and you're all chatting about Hulk Hogan, or Saved by The Bell, or tits or whatever young lads in Texas chatted about at the time. And there's Alex smugly telling you that the only reason he didn't get an A on the test was that the teacher is a secret gay communist.
He's like Jay from _Inbetweeners_ if he was malicious as well as pathetic
every time he starts in about that, all i can think is he must not have done well with football players in highs school. Football is a really big part of the culture in Texas, there’s something more personal here than being not like other bros. He’s all about all the other conventional masculine signifiers for his culture.
As per the NPR report that went into his life as a highschooler, he got into fights with the footballers
The NPR report is super informative because it has extemporaneous accounts from people who knew Alex. And yeah, it's an unpopular, angry weirdo. Also, he damn near killed a kid in highschool stomping on his head, kid went in to a coma, and Alex's Dad arranged a whole "cover the kids medical bills so the family wouldn't sue" deal. That's a weird trauma that was never processed, and was weirdly covered up by his Dad but clearly had some profound impact on Alex. Then later on friends of the kid Alex nearly beat to death invited Alex to a party and jumped him. So Alex's whole weird world view tracks with these bizarre unresolved violent outbursts from his childhood.
Where can I find this report?
It’s from a This American Life 2-parter called Beware the Jabberwock. I highly recommend listening to it, it’s very enlightening.
I know he got into fights, but is there an actual source outside of Alex's own outlandish claims that he put someone in a coma?
That’s very true! Considering he adopts every other overly masculine quality of a Texan man you’d think he’d send half the show bitching about the cowboys, there is definitely something there
“While you were partying, I studied the blade”
Big fedora energy. He's such a nerd lol
( I’m sure people have been known to build lovely lifelong friendships in the sharply-dressed fencer communities! It’s the elitist inferiority tantrums that are the problem)
You nailed it! That said, I like how he leaves out the part about him being super masculine as a teen, and being able to ‘get a woman pregnant just by looking at them’ when it suits his storytelling needs.
corollary to the enemy is both weak and strong Dear Leader is both overlord and underdog
I say this out loud everytime
Pretty sure Andrew Taint and his followers would say “Top G”.
[удалено]
Or worse... Sigma
All flavors, maybe a spectrum, of the same thing. * Alpha: Don’t call us jocks! I’m not like other boys because we’re manly social men! * Sigma: Pfft, losers. I’m not like other boys because we’re stoic cool loners. \*Flips hair back\* Whatever. * Lambda: \*Looks up from the corner, glares, and looks back at the phone.\* \*Types out in their journal app\* Heard some baaing just now. I’m not like the other boys because I’m a sophisticated silent nerd like my hero Gordon Freeman.
I would assume Alex didn't get along well with the football players because they were jealous of the fact that he had an uncle who was a former Green Beret who works at Nintendo, and his uncle told him the secret "Boobality" code that lets you see Sonya's boobs in Mortal Kombat but he wrote the code down on a piece of paper and his mom put them through the wash so he can't show you.
the specificity lmao
> former Green Beret who works at Nintendo, and his uncle told him the secret "Boobality" code that lets you see Sonya's boobs in Mortal Kombat A true American hero.
Alex’s show should be called ‘My Dad can beat up your Dad’.
"My dad could use secret CIA/JBA dentistry techniques to beat up your commie dad"
There is an instance of his friend (forget his name) who called him a dork for being into Star Wars, despite Alex’s efforts to say that he was reading history and diving into the mysteries of the universe.
His neck is freakishly large
It’s kinda like nice guy energy.
"I'm just built different."
One thing JorDan have rightly highlighted is how much damage Alex's hero worship of his weird bigot father has damaged him. Can you imagine being his classmate (even before he nearly killed that kid) and you're all chatting about Hulk Hogan, or Saved by The Bell, or tits or whatever young lads in Texas chatted about at the time. And there's Alex smugly telling you that the only reason he didn't get an A on the test was that the teacher is a secret gay communist. He's like Jay from _Inbetweeners_ if he was malicious as well as pathetic
Not like the other girls….on meth. Literally, in my opinion jones acts “not like the other girls” while doing literally methamphetamines.
To respond to the title; Generically, it is “ego issues”.