The irony is not lost on me that he called out the misogyny of your anon twitter account, while on this platform you’ve being engaging and kind to the women interacting with you. You’re a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
also if it’s any consolation, i don’t think i’ve ever bullied a woman online in my life. I have protect-women misogyny not harm-women misogyny.
That post Luigi QT’d (and those ive made similar to it) was actually me trying to make the case that men who bully women online are acting irrationally based on their own logical presuppositions, and if they truly want to be so cool and misogyny pilled they need to just stop engaging with (vapid and dumb) women online. I have elaborated on this in other versions of the idea.
Sure, I have made plenty of sweeping statements about women or other groups in aggregate which can be interpreted negatively, but i treat every individual as an individual. I am nice and reasonable to you to degree with which you are nice and reasonable to me. And if you are not nice and reasonable i will not go out of my way to like brigade you or something. i will just mute you and move on. if its online, maybe throw a slur or two in there first just for funsies. :)
The way you sweep your blatant and sweeping misogyny and racism under the rug is astonishing. You’ve made arguments about people of color inherently having a lower IQ due to their race, you use the word “retard” in your bio. And yet, we have women on this thread arguing about IQ and ableism when I point out your low emotional intelligence for ::needing:: to post hate based comments on the internet. (BTW I can’t see these comments anymore because the person I was interacting with blocked me).
Posting sweeping all encompassing view points that employ racism, and misogyny IS online bullying - to a demographic - as opposed to an individual. You’re refusal to admit that you’re racist, and look down on women’s intelligence and contributions to humanity, despite the enormous cache of online abusive statements, points of view, and comments you’ve made supporting your heinous views, is indicative of serious cognitive dissonance. It’s despicable that you’ve made such heinous comments online, and there’s women here handling your nuts with kids gloves because you had a brush with their Saint Luigi. Some of the women hovering over your account have terminal “pick-me” vibes and they mask as feminists. “Would you say that to Luigi?” I was asked… what wouldn’t I say to Luigi is the question. You, and the folks supporting you through infantilization are seriously problematic. Enjoy it while you can because as soon as your Luigi “exegesis” is done these LM stans are going to fly off like so many vultures from a picked over carcass.
Max, did you just delete your comment stating “I certainly do not apologize and will never apologize for comments Ive made on Twitter.” Why was it there and seconds later gone? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Did you not want your Luigi stans to see that you in fact are not engaging with self-reflection or “confronting your shadow self”? See that’s the problem here. These ladies hovering around your substack think you’re in the process of becoming less racist and sexist through this process of analyzing your online persona through your (almost non-existing) interaction with Luigi Mangione. Real ones know you’re sucking the last little drops of milk from the teet while you still have some relevancy.
Cause you know I’m right. Can’t wait until someone identifies you and folks get to relentlessly shame you in front of your family. Do they know how wretched your online presence is? Or do you unabashedly speak about black people having low IQ’s in front of them?
I really like how when George was calling out your misogyny, he felt the need to denigrate women himself. Interesting little plot twist, pot, kettle etc.
Ew. Also, max isn’t interested in “fighting” for gender equity. Where did this even come from?
This logic reminds me of an old friend’s Mormon dad, he molested the shit out of her and her sister for years and then went to jail for 15 years. He was super involved in the church and community, owned a local business. I even met him a few times when he got out of jail. Really nice guy actually. You never would have known he violated his own children repeatedly. My point is - abusive, bigoted, depraved humans are also capable of having civilized friendly discourse. Maybe stop licking Max’s balls.
I also want to point out that Max’s “self-reflection” doesn’t have anything to do with feeling regret or remorse about his racist, sexist comments themselves, so much as his epiphany that in order to be taken seriously as a writer and “philosopher” he might have to stop publicly posting his racist, sexist comments. There’s a difference.
i certainly do not apologize and will never apologize for comments I've made on Twitter. Anyone with a fully functioning frontal lobe could see that they were formulated with the intent provoke and upset rather than to accurately represent beliefs I hold.
But just for clarity to anyone reading:
Upon reflection, I've realized that my shift in communication style has stemmed from two things:
I realized that Luigi and my relationship has gotten enough attention by the mob that I now have an obligation to stop optimizing for my own amusement and time savings and instead need to maximize clarity and precision.
The trouble is that to accurately convey my actual takes on pretty much any topic requires a 10,000 (or in this case, 50,000) word essay, which is a lot of work and which people like you strawman to put me in your low resolution box anyway. I have written 30,000 words on my views on women and even have a post on transgenderism which are entirely reasonable, compassionate, and thoughtful and you of course refuse to read them because you have already decided who I am based on like three out of context tweets. and After two decades of dealing with thousands of people like you on the internet I've just learned to pre-emptively strawman my own positions and then troll you guys with them so you get in such a huff that you go away.
And that worked great for many years. I found it fun and its repelled people like you effectively. But, as I mentioned in 0.5, for the first time it has started backfiring in a major way. Because rather than you coming into my space, I was coming into your space. Or at least that's how it felt to you. So you understandably felt the need to engage more than rather less to defend yourself.
Thus, I have pivoted to investing the dozens of hours and thousands of words it takes to convey my actual positions on things I'm hopes of it turning off your fight or fight response and just making you confused instead.
And it has worked like a charm. You are literally the like only one left still here despite that this post was the biggest bombshell of the entire series. I am of course happy to continue to sit here and jack each other off, but I don't know how much your friends would appreciate you continuing to signal boost me by paying any attention to me at all.
The intent to provoke and upset in your tweets and overall X acct is so painfully obvious; I think I lose a brain cell every time I see that someone cannot easily decipher. it's comical really. You're my favorite troll, max.
I would 100% tell Luigi that, and anyone else if they cared to listen. I’ve made previous comments elsewhere concerning the misfortune of Luigi’s choice to interact with someone like Max - whose intellect and emotional intelligence is so low he can’t control compulsive hate based comments - and how this poorly reflects on LM, and anyone else, who has decided to lick this man’s balls.
It became apparent to me early on, dissecting and analyzing Luigi that, like yourself, I recognized his rare combination of intelligence, thoughtfulness, and curiosity, paired with an intriguingly low presence of the offensive-asshole trait. Which I think is precisely what’s been fuelling the whole frenzy surrounding him, driven particularly by women perceptive enough to recognize this rarity of character, rendering him an enigma. (bonus being that he’s a good-looking guy)
He strikes me as a man burdened by his conscience, evident in his “pursuit of truth” approach to discourse as you mentioned. Never seemed satisfied with the status quo, and sought out like-minded individuals across platforms he felt he could relate to. If he experienced any degree of ostracization in his personal life, it’s not hard to imagine how that might drive someone mad.
I do see in him a kind of existential seeker. Deeply inquisitive, yet slightly insecure about his ability to articulate his thoughts convincingly. Above all he is an absorber IMO.
I’d place him within the demographic of highly self-aware, high-openness ponderers (inclination likely expanded further via psychs, or whatever else shaped his perspectives) which may have, in turn been what justified certain decisions he (allegedly) made.
“As far as his statement “you could probably replace the government with this”: I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine.” - It probably means that people in the government can’t pass those tests either/ not intelligent enough.
I wasn't aware of his game. What a specimen. The day he gets released my friends and I will be waiting in front with a big ass meal and some lettuce on the side
This just solidified my belief that he must be extraordinarily smart. All of the really intelligent intellectuals I know are keen on taking psychedelics
Everything you just mentioned is so blatantly obvious that I saw no need to specify it. But yes, you're correct. I'm talking about a specific kind of intelligence
He was try to make you live up to your potential Max 😂.
It's really interesting to me how he seemed to want to have people with ideas he valued amplified. That was maybe his first attempt at changing the world. (Potentially followed by more drastic action). It's notable that he wasn't out there trying to post his own ideas though. But I've always felt that he had a bit of that permanent -student brain...he hadn't yet shaken off the college mentality of referring to experts and at times seems to doubt his own conclusions. Even the "manifesto" - where he says he doesn't pretend to be the most knowledgeable on the issue- is an example of this, and I've seen it a few other times in his posts.
"He may have struggled to communicate clearly to others things that were very clear to him in his own mind" - I identify very heavily with this and so I think it's feasible. I do communicate better in with people who have a similar mental level and also similar interests in the things we are discussing. The give and take of intellectually stimulating real-life conversation is hard to replicate online - and it's also very, very hard to find offline. The internet is challenging, and when I do write about something it looks a lot like your posts here (and I love them for that 😂) - posting the example and then detailing my own take on it/explaining what it means in my mind. That frequently goes into dozens of pages which no one is actually going to read, so I rarely bother now lol. I have a string temptation to do that with this very post, but I'll pass on it.
Just one other comment - when he recognized your Twitter for what it really was, it may well be because he did that himself, or possibly had people he knew who did the same. I say that because I recognized it right away once I saw you post something more serious (didn't know who you were before all this as I don't have Twitter lol). My main source of context to your use of Twitter was from being close to people who do the exact same thing. Trolling, shit posting and stream-of-conciousness yapping no matter how "offensive" it might be - but underneath they are highly intelligent, sensitive and compassionate people. I tend to find some of that highly amusing and a bit tempting to partake in, but, like Luigi, also find it uncomfortable at times when it goes to far and pushes people away. I've said the equivalent of "stop being gay and retarded so people take you seriously" to my real-life people more than once 😂.
Another great piece Max! Thank you for posting, this was really insightful. As for the Luigi groupies who are proud of not reading and leaving hate comments; thank you for proving Max‘s point. You embody everything that’s wrong with para-social, obsessive, social media culture. You’re the essence of what everyone’s tired of; social media brain rot and celebrity worship.
there's a beauty to both of you becoming endeared with each other parasocially, he clearly liked you and wanted to befriend you, you weren't that interested in a deeper friendship at the time, but after the shooting, you yourself have become far more invested in him, and yet, parasocially, still, it feels like there is something real and genuine here
i think at some level, what luigi really wanted was for someone to engage with him at the level of depth that you're engaging with him, he seems like he was surrounded by striver midwit normies and possessed more depth but was totally socially isolated, i think at some level this would bring him great satisfaction
all of this certainly feels correct. But sample size is very small so being cognizant of my bias and trying not to read too much into it from that angle. Just trying to be as objective as I can.
Even though this was most likely written in good faith I do not think it’s fair to release private messages between yourself and someone who cannot defend themselves in anyway. He already has the mass media on his ass trying to paint him one way. There is a reason why “close” friends are not speaking out. May have good intention but this is lacking compassion and tact which I figure is on brand for you but from human to human. This individual is literally fighting for his life. Respect him.
"The present structure of the Global American Empire (or any large complex social system) should be examined as if it were an organism wishing to survive, subject like any other to the pressures of Darwinian selection. This is in contrast to the way most people perceive it, as a product of “intelligent design”— a system shaped by the “will of the people” (democracy) or a shadowy cabal of elites (oligarchy).
Thus, the characteristics or functions it adopts are those which help improve its own survival rather than its populace (who are more akin to its food source). And the degree to which it can exploit us is the degree to which we are dependent on it. Today it is extremely exploitative and that makes everyone (rightfully) mad and wish to destroy it. But the problem is that we are completely dependent on it and killing it would require killing ourselves in the process.
I conclude with the proposal that the only way to “defeat” it is to become less dependent on it, likely by building some kind of alternative new system we can rely on instead and that this is where the focus of intelligent people should be directed."
This is an excellent, excellent take, Max. It deserves a lot of serious reflection.
I’m a born-again Christian (though saying that out loud still makes me cringe a little), but my journey started with agnosticism, initially more drawn to the metaphor and story than the literal. Over time, I’ve come to see that hitting that transcendental function, meaning the act of "killing ourselves" as you put it, and overcoming it, requires a more sturdy grasp on to something more tangible, a more literal translation of the text, and where there are doubts to confront and actively discipline (or, as scripture puts it, holding thoughts captive) rather than to indulge.
What you’re describing feels like it belongs in non-overlapping magisteria, because Christianity sees the world through powers and principalities. The real force at work is the "idol" (which we made) that survives by deceiving us into thinking we’re serving ourselves, when in reality, we’re being fed upon. The world, in this sense, belongs to the idol (evil/the "devil"). And perhaps, the world as we know it is coming to an end.
I think Luigi understood this as well, and his "final" act was a way to position himself on the right side of history, inserting himself into the mythos of the coming age.
Definetly a lot of the way he interacted with you can be explained by him being high. When I'm high on substack I'll often message people in similar ways.
Max Bro, so far this series really feels like a quasi-love letter—you two should’ve gotten married already lol.
My brain is melting trying to come up with hypotheses:
· He might have been testing a theory (a social experiment).
· He might have been attempting an extreme form of individualist practice.
· He might have consciously placed himself in a confined environment to seek a breakthrough in thought.
· He might have been trying to challenge the very concept of ‘morality’—to test whether it can transcend the framework of human society.
Of course, there’s also another possibility: that we’re all just trying to rationally explain a chaotic and random event, and the real answer is far more boring than any of our theories.
I saw some screenshots of Luigi calling or implying people "unhinged" and "schizo" on X and have since enjoyed meme-ing the idea that while we are busy watching the political extremists on both ends of the spectrum who post fiery rants there will be a violent uprising of sensible, well-spoken, moderate cenrists 😂
In all seriousness though, he just seems like such a good guy. Theres a video of him at a party thats all females his age and he comes across as having a tender, loving energy towards them, devoid of the usual predatory lust of a man in his 20s, he seems almost angelic to me.
It seems in your interactions like he didnt want to believe anything "mean" (racism, sexism) but was nonetheless open to broader Nietszchean right wing criticisms of society and religion. He wanted to push back against the former to signal courage and independence of mind but he also desperately wanted your approval. He craved authentic intellectual enquiry and debate. Just being an honours student, "smart on paper" wasn't enough, he needed to feel engaged in understanding the world in a deeper way.
When you ask why did he go away and come back to DM'ing you before you answered: one possibility is in his desire to connect with you hes mirroring your communication style? I noticed you kind of did the same thing with a thread later on in the post, responded to your own response when you thought of something else to add 15-20 minutes later, and then repeat another 2 to 3 times. I'm not familiar with your X but if you do that a lot maybe he saw that as a way of showing he's ready to play with the big boys? Just a thought.
I'm currently working on a fiction series that used his murder and some of the wilder conspiracy theories around it as a prompt, nothing to cerebral just a bit of fun
Firstly, you have surprised me with all of this in a positive way, and I’m looking forward to reading more. Secondly, some thoughts on Lu’s multiple messages: he may have just been processing more after he sent the initial ones, so decided to expound/clarify, and send the follow ups. I know we have his “way too high” clarification for the one, but I feel like he was genuinely seeking a response and connection with you. Or - he may have just let the intrusive thoughts to “spam” message you his thoughts win and it’s all very simple. Idk, this is my exhausted, haven’t been to sleep, it’s 5am thoughts swirling 🤷🏻♀️
The irony is not lost on me that he called out the misogyny of your anon twitter account, while on this platform you’ve being engaging and kind to the women interacting with you. You’re a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
i certainly contain multitudes
everyone likes a multifaceted king, carry on
also if it’s any consolation, i don’t think i’ve ever bullied a woman online in my life. I have protect-women misogyny not harm-women misogyny.
That post Luigi QT’d (and those ive made similar to it) was actually me trying to make the case that men who bully women online are acting irrationally based on their own logical presuppositions, and if they truly want to be so cool and misogyny pilled they need to just stop engaging with (vapid and dumb) women online. I have elaborated on this in other versions of the idea.
Sure, I have made plenty of sweeping statements about women or other groups in aggregate which can be interpreted negatively, but i treat every individual as an individual. I am nice and reasonable to you to degree with which you are nice and reasonable to me. And if you are not nice and reasonable i will not go out of my way to like brigade you or something. i will just mute you and move on. if its online, maybe throw a slur or two in there first just for funsies. :)
The way you sweep your blatant and sweeping misogyny and racism under the rug is astonishing. You’ve made arguments about people of color inherently having a lower IQ due to their race, you use the word “retard” in your bio. And yet, we have women on this thread arguing about IQ and ableism when I point out your low emotional intelligence for ::needing:: to post hate based comments on the internet. (BTW I can’t see these comments anymore because the person I was interacting with blocked me).
Posting sweeping all encompassing view points that employ racism, and misogyny IS online bullying - to a demographic - as opposed to an individual. You’re refusal to admit that you’re racist, and look down on women’s intelligence and contributions to humanity, despite the enormous cache of online abusive statements, points of view, and comments you’ve made supporting your heinous views, is indicative of serious cognitive dissonance. It’s despicable that you’ve made such heinous comments online, and there’s women here handling your nuts with kids gloves because you had a brush with their Saint Luigi. Some of the women hovering over your account have terminal “pick-me” vibes and they mask as feminists. “Would you say that to Luigi?” I was asked… what wouldn’t I say to Luigi is the question. You, and the folks supporting you through infantilization are seriously problematic. Enjoy it while you can because as soon as your Luigi “exegesis” is done these LM stans are going to fly off like so many vultures from a picked over carcass.
i love you Georgie
Max, did you just delete your comment stating “I certainly do not apologize and will never apologize for comments Ive made on Twitter.” Why was it there and seconds later gone? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Did you not want your Luigi stans to see that you in fact are not engaging with self-reflection or “confronting your shadow self”? See that’s the problem here. These ladies hovering around your substack think you’re in the process of becoming less racist and sexist through this process of analyzing your online persona through your (almost non-existing) interaction with Luigi Mangione. Real ones know you’re sucking the last little drops of milk from the teet while you still have some relevancy.
no it’s in reply to another comment you made. SS comment section is just bad.
Which other comment I made. Because as far as finding it, it’s no longer there. Which leads me to believe it was deleted.
Cause you know I’m right. Can’t wait until someone identifies you and folks get to relentlessly shame you in front of your family. Do they know how wretched your online presence is? Or do you unabashedly speak about black people having low IQ’s in front of them?
Thank you Georgie. I wish you a long and happy live where your greatest dreams come true. <3
I really like how when George was calling out your misogyny, he felt the need to denigrate women himself. Interesting little plot twist, pot, kettle etc.
Ew. Also, max isn’t interested in “fighting” for gender equity. Where did this even come from?
This logic reminds me of an old friend’s Mormon dad, he molested the shit out of her and her sister for years and then went to jail for 15 years. He was super involved in the church and community, owned a local business. I even met him a few times when he got out of jail. Really nice guy actually. You never would have known he violated his own children repeatedly. My point is - abusive, bigoted, depraved humans are also capable of having civilized friendly discourse. Maybe stop licking Max’s balls.
Maggie, you’re fucking amazing!
I also want to point out that Max’s “self-reflection” doesn’t have anything to do with feeling regret or remorse about his racist, sexist comments themselves, so much as his epiphany that in order to be taken seriously as a writer and “philosopher” he might have to stop publicly posting his racist, sexist comments. There’s a difference.
i certainly do not apologize and will never apologize for comments I've made on Twitter. Anyone with a fully functioning frontal lobe could see that they were formulated with the intent provoke and upset rather than to accurately represent beliefs I hold.
But just for clarity to anyone reading:
Upon reflection, I've realized that my shift in communication style has stemmed from two things:
I realized that Luigi and my relationship has gotten enough attention by the mob that I now have an obligation to stop optimizing for my own amusement and time savings and instead need to maximize clarity and precision.
The trouble is that to accurately convey my actual takes on pretty much any topic requires a 10,000 (or in this case, 50,000) word essay, which is a lot of work and which people like you strawman to put me in your low resolution box anyway. I have written 30,000 words on my views on women and even have a post on transgenderism which are entirely reasonable, compassionate, and thoughtful and you of course refuse to read them because you have already decided who I am based on like three out of context tweets. and After two decades of dealing with thousands of people like you on the internet I've just learned to pre-emptively strawman my own positions and then troll you guys with them so you get in such a huff that you go away.
And that worked great for many years. I found it fun and its repelled people like you effectively. But, as I mentioned in 0.5, for the first time it has started backfiring in a major way. Because rather than you coming into my space, I was coming into your space. Or at least that's how it felt to you. So you understandably felt the need to engage more than rather less to defend yourself.
Thus, I have pivoted to investing the dozens of hours and thousands of words it takes to convey my actual positions on things I'm hopes of it turning off your fight or fight response and just making you confused instead.
And it has worked like a charm. You are literally the like only one left still here despite that this post was the biggest bombshell of the entire series. I am of course happy to continue to sit here and jack each other off, but I don't know how much your friends would appreciate you continuing to signal boost me by paying any attention to me at all.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 well done, continuing to impress
The intent to provoke and upset in your tweets and overall X acct is so painfully obvious; I think I lose a brain cell every time I see that someone cannot easily decipher. it's comical really. You're my favorite troll, max.
I would 100% tell Luigi that, and anyone else if they cared to listen. I’ve made previous comments elsewhere concerning the misfortune of Luigi’s choice to interact with someone like Max - whose intellect and emotional intelligence is so low he can’t control compulsive hate based comments - and how this poorly reflects on LM, and anyone else, who has decided to lick this man’s balls.
?
It became apparent to me early on, dissecting and analyzing Luigi that, like yourself, I recognized his rare combination of intelligence, thoughtfulness, and curiosity, paired with an intriguingly low presence of the offensive-asshole trait. Which I think is precisely what’s been fuelling the whole frenzy surrounding him, driven particularly by women perceptive enough to recognize this rarity of character, rendering him an enigma. (bonus being that he’s a good-looking guy)
He strikes me as a man burdened by his conscience, evident in his “pursuit of truth” approach to discourse as you mentioned. Never seemed satisfied with the status quo, and sought out like-minded individuals across platforms he felt he could relate to. If he experienced any degree of ostracization in his personal life, it’s not hard to imagine how that might drive someone mad.
I do see in him a kind of existential seeker. Deeply inquisitive, yet slightly insecure about his ability to articulate his thoughts convincingly. Above all he is an absorber IMO.
I’d place him within the demographic of highly self-aware, high-openness ponderers (inclination likely expanded further via psychs, or whatever else shaped his perspectives) which may have, in turn been what justified certain decisions he (allegedly) made.
I think the obsession with self help book also points to ND as well. Constantly trying to intellectualise what he was going through
“As far as his statement “you could probably replace the government with this”: I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine.” - It probably means that people in the government can’t pass those tests either/ not intelligent enough.
Imagine if our government leaders had to pass even a basic IQ test. It would definitely solve some problems 😂
That’s what I also thought! Makes sense
The dms are so funny , he really called you out haha he is so based ngl W Luigi
Just when I thought he couldn't get better I find out he smoked pot. Incredible
I wasn't aware of his game. What a specimen. The day he gets released my friends and I will be waiting in front with a big ass meal and some lettuce on the side
This just solidified my belief that he must be extraordinarily smart. All of the really intelligent intellectuals I know are keen on taking psychedelics
Everything you just mentioned is so blatantly obvious that I saw no need to specify it. But yes, you're correct. I'm talking about a specific kind of intelligence
which post?
He was try to make you live up to your potential Max 😂.
It's really interesting to me how he seemed to want to have people with ideas he valued amplified. That was maybe his first attempt at changing the world. (Potentially followed by more drastic action). It's notable that he wasn't out there trying to post his own ideas though. But I've always felt that he had a bit of that permanent -student brain...he hadn't yet shaken off the college mentality of referring to experts and at times seems to doubt his own conclusions. Even the "manifesto" - where he says he doesn't pretend to be the most knowledgeable on the issue- is an example of this, and I've seen it a few other times in his posts.
"He may have struggled to communicate clearly to others things that were very clear to him in his own mind" - I identify very heavily with this and so I think it's feasible. I do communicate better in with people who have a similar mental level and also similar interests in the things we are discussing. The give and take of intellectually stimulating real-life conversation is hard to replicate online - and it's also very, very hard to find offline. The internet is challenging, and when I do write about something it looks a lot like your posts here (and I love them for that 😂) - posting the example and then detailing my own take on it/explaining what it means in my mind. That frequently goes into dozens of pages which no one is actually going to read, so I rarely bother now lol. I have a string temptation to do that with this very post, but I'll pass on it.
Just one other comment - when he recognized your Twitter for what it really was, it may well be because he did that himself, or possibly had people he knew who did the same. I say that because I recognized it right away once I saw you post something more serious (didn't know who you were before all this as I don't have Twitter lol). My main source of context to your use of Twitter was from being close to people who do the exact same thing. Trolling, shit posting and stream-of-conciousness yapping no matter how "offensive" it might be - but underneath they are highly intelligent, sensitive and compassionate people. I tend to find some of that highly amusing and a bit tempting to partake in, but, like Luigi, also find it uncomfortable at times when it goes to far and pushes people away. I've said the equivalent of "stop being gay and retarded so people take you seriously" to my real-life people more than once 😂.
common luigi W
Thank you for the new part. I hope you can become friends in the future, honestly……
very lame of me to say but my ideal timeline is one where this whole situation never happened and we just became frens.
That was best case scenario.
Another great piece Max! Thank you for posting, this was really insightful. As for the Luigi groupies who are proud of not reading and leaving hate comments; thank you for proving Max‘s point. You embody everything that’s wrong with para-social, obsessive, social media culture. You’re the essence of what everyone’s tired of; social media brain rot and celebrity worship.
it's extremely endearing how driven you are to understand Luigi, very interesting work, greatly enjoyed reading it
there's a beauty to both of you becoming endeared with each other parasocially, he clearly liked you and wanted to befriend you, you weren't that interested in a deeper friendship at the time, but after the shooting, you yourself have become far more invested in him, and yet, parasocially, still, it feels like there is something real and genuine here
i think at some level, what luigi really wanted was for someone to engage with him at the level of depth that you're engaging with him, he seems like he was surrounded by striver midwit normies and possessed more depth but was totally socially isolated, i think at some level this would bring him great satisfaction
all of this certainly feels correct. But sample size is very small so being cognizant of my bias and trying not to read too much into it from that angle. Just trying to be as objective as I can.
Even though this was most likely written in good faith I do not think it’s fair to release private messages between yourself and someone who cannot defend themselves in anyway. He already has the mass media on his ass trying to paint him one way. There is a reason why “close” friends are not speaking out. May have good intention but this is lacking compassion and tact which I figure is on brand for you but from human to human. This individual is literally fighting for his life. Respect him.
i can understand and appreciate your perspective
"The present structure of the Global American Empire (or any large complex social system) should be examined as if it were an organism wishing to survive, subject like any other to the pressures of Darwinian selection. This is in contrast to the way most people perceive it, as a product of “intelligent design”— a system shaped by the “will of the people” (democracy) or a shadowy cabal of elites (oligarchy).
Thus, the characteristics or functions it adopts are those which help improve its own survival rather than its populace (who are more akin to its food source). And the degree to which it can exploit us is the degree to which we are dependent on it. Today it is extremely exploitative and that makes everyone (rightfully) mad and wish to destroy it. But the problem is that we are completely dependent on it and killing it would require killing ourselves in the process.
I conclude with the proposal that the only way to “defeat” it is to become less dependent on it, likely by building some kind of alternative new system we can rely on instead and that this is where the focus of intelligent people should be directed."
This is an excellent, excellent take, Max. It deserves a lot of serious reflection.
I’m a born-again Christian (though saying that out loud still makes me cringe a little), but my journey started with agnosticism, initially more drawn to the metaphor and story than the literal. Over time, I’ve come to see that hitting that transcendental function, meaning the act of "killing ourselves" as you put it, and overcoming it, requires a more sturdy grasp on to something more tangible, a more literal translation of the text, and where there are doubts to confront and actively discipline (or, as scripture puts it, holding thoughts captive) rather than to indulge.
What you’re describing feels like it belongs in non-overlapping magisteria, because Christianity sees the world through powers and principalities. The real force at work is the "idol" (which we made) that survives by deceiving us into thinking we’re serving ourselves, when in reality, we’re being fed upon. The world, in this sense, belongs to the idol (evil/the "devil"). And perhaps, the world as we know it is coming to an end.
I think Luigi understood this as well, and his "final" act was a way to position himself on the right side of history, inserting himself into the mythos of the coming age.
Definetly a lot of the way he interacted with you can be explained by him being high. When I'm high on substack I'll often message people in similar ways.
Max Bro, so far this series really feels like a quasi-love letter—you two should’ve gotten married already lol.
My brain is melting trying to come up with hypotheses:
· He might have been testing a theory (a social experiment).
· He might have been attempting an extreme form of individualist practice.
· He might have consciously placed himself in a confined environment to seek a breakthrough in thought.
· He might have been trying to challenge the very concept of ‘morality’—to test whether it can transcend the framework of human society.
Of course, there’s also another possibility: that we’re all just trying to rationally explain a chaotic and random event, and the real answer is far more boring than any of our theories.
Thank you so much for this Max this is amazing.
I saw some screenshots of Luigi calling or implying people "unhinged" and "schizo" on X and have since enjoyed meme-ing the idea that while we are busy watching the political extremists on both ends of the spectrum who post fiery rants there will be a violent uprising of sensible, well-spoken, moderate cenrists 😂
In all seriousness though, he just seems like such a good guy. Theres a video of him at a party thats all females his age and he comes across as having a tender, loving energy towards them, devoid of the usual predatory lust of a man in his 20s, he seems almost angelic to me.
It seems in your interactions like he didnt want to believe anything "mean" (racism, sexism) but was nonetheless open to broader Nietszchean right wing criticisms of society and religion. He wanted to push back against the former to signal courage and independence of mind but he also desperately wanted your approval. He craved authentic intellectual enquiry and debate. Just being an honours student, "smart on paper" wasn't enough, he needed to feel engaged in understanding the world in a deeper way.
When you ask why did he go away and come back to DM'ing you before you answered: one possibility is in his desire to connect with you hes mirroring your communication style? I noticed you kind of did the same thing with a thread later on in the post, responded to your own response when you thought of something else to add 15-20 minutes later, and then repeat another 2 to 3 times. I'm not familiar with your X but if you do that a lot maybe he saw that as a way of showing he's ready to play with the big boys? Just a thought.
I'm currently working on a fiction series that used his murder and some of the wilder conspiracy theories around it as a prompt, nothing to cerebral just a bit of fun
agreed with all points. and yeah it's hard to tell whether he is mirroring or whether he just has the same tendencies naturally.
Firstly, you have surprised me with all of this in a positive way, and I’m looking forward to reading more. Secondly, some thoughts on Lu’s multiple messages: he may have just been processing more after he sent the initial ones, so decided to expound/clarify, and send the follow ups. I know we have his “way too high” clarification for the one, but I feel like he was genuinely seeking a response and connection with you. Or - he may have just let the intrusive thoughts to “spam” message you his thoughts win and it’s all very simple. Idk, this is my exhausted, haven’t been to sleep, it’s 5am thoughts swirling 🤷🏻♀️