There are 3 different groups of people.
Medieval society was divided into three different groups of people, – those who pray, such as priests and monks; those who work, like carpenters; and those who fight, like mercenaries, soldiers and knights. This concept of society organizing itself into three orders is not something you find in the Bible, or for that matter, in any classical sources. The closest iteration of this concept comes from a seventh-century encyclopedia writer named, Isidore of Seville, who referenced that the Romans had divided themselves into three groups: senators, soldiers and plebeians. .
To use the vernacular, we live in a severely fucked up world. Never before in all of human history has so many people been lifted out of poverty and suffering. Yet, ironically, there has never been more mental illness, stress and anger, as we have today. It’s as if human beings can’t be happy unless we’re fighting against something. The more comforts and luxuries we possess, the more we blame others for the imperfections of life and empower megalomaniacs to fix them. In doing so, we’re turning our species into animals. Once again there are again 3 different groups of people, only this time we’re not praying, working or fighting. – We’re just angry and hateful or fearful of what is otherwise a beautiful existence.
Predator, Prey or Livestock
Predators in the wild are easy to describe. In the different groups of people, these individuals are like wolves who hunt weaker animals for their for sustenance. Highly intelligent, curios and ruthless opportunists. They go for easy kills, focusing on the very old, the young and the weak. Human predators use the same strategies and stalk people that are easy to manipulate. Most often they’re psychopaths such as many CEOs of banks and large corporations, heads of state and also serial killers. It’s their lack of empathy, that leads many of them to believe that they’re somehow superior or even a different species than other human beings.
In America, many of our politicians are 75 years old or older and yet they continue to pursue prestige, money and power. They’re near the end of their live expectancy, they have reached the pinnacle of wealth, power and influence, and yet they refuse to step away from their dogmas, let someone else take charge. There is so much this world has to offer, so much to see, to learn, to experience and enjoy, these individuals have the means to do anything or go anywhere. But like Midas, being granted a wish, their insatiable greed gets the better of them. It can only be speculated that this is some sort of bizarre combination of narcissism and megalomania. Or, at the very least, it’s sanctimonious arrogance that borders on having a god complex. However, from a pragmatic perspective, these people are not the most dangerous category among the different groups of people.
Prey are the meal that wolves depend on. An animal example is elk, who are instinctively aware that they’re hunted. At the first hint of possible trouble they run and when cornered, they can even stand their ground and assail a predator with hard sharp edge hooves. The point is that they don’t make killing them easy and at no time do they trust trust those that want to devour them.
The Prey of society is perhaps the smallest and rarest are the people. Those who distance themselves. The easiest to identify are the preppers and off-griders. These people are often branded as crazies and anti-social, but as the world continues its downward spiral, there is a growing interest in their lifestyles. Even pursing homesteading and tiny house living are becoming attractive alternatives to mainstream society. In France, there are large numbers of people that have chosen to live in yurts to escape the oppressive French bureaucracy.
The sad truth.
Most people almost never see themselves as prey, liking to believe that on some level they’re proud predators. But, the truth is that most people are neither predator nor prey. In the 3 different groups of people, they belong to the category of barnyard animal. The food and comfort has been made plentiful to the point that people are dying from malnutrition, while simultaneously being morbidly obese. Like pigs in a pen, huge swaths of civilization gorge themselves on food, made to fatten and calm them, while doing little or no physical activity.
They go from air conditioned homes, to air conditioned cars and into air conditioned buildings. Their jobs are manufacturers of meaningless garbage that no one truly needs, such as social media moderators. The number of people who are still doing any hard physical labor is shrinking and as it does, perhaps at some point it’ll become obvious that most people are just fattened livestock who are destined, in some form, to be served on a dinner plate. In the meantime like cows being milked or chickens laying eggs, these unhealthy hoards keep the economy booming with their dependency on the medical community and pharmaceuticals to get through each day.
Farmers are the most extreme apex predators in existence. They have found a way to remove the need to hunt for their meat and instead literally raise animals for the purpose of eating them. When looking at different groups of people, 90% of humanity most probably falls into this category of livestock. They have all the fear instincts of herd animals, but instead of running or facing the predator, they look towards them for protection and comfort. When someone in their barn disappears, almost all of them simply go back to eating and praising the farmer for his kindness. Of all the different groups of people, these are the most dangerous, because they will do anything to protect their blissfully ignorant lifestyle. – Never trust anyone who lives comfortable and always smiles.
Neither Optimist nor Pessimist
Pragmatism doesn’t see a glass of water in terms of half-full (optimism) or half-empty (pessimism.) It simply says that there is half a glass of water. For the pragmatist, the situation is the situation and when a problem arises, they implement solutions without concern to how they’ll be viewed, either positive or negative. Like fighter pilots engaged in a dog fight, their forte is situational awareness and in the different groups of people, it’s the one quality shared by both predator and prey. The problem is far too many people make the choice to be livestock because it’s easier than having to face life on its terms. There are risks and because life gives no guarantees, many of those risks can be fatal or worse. Therefore, it really comes down to a question of what category in the different groups of people does someone want to be? Predator, prey or livestock?
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