Get in the fcuking box!

For those who don't play independent video games, here's a brief rundown of where the title of this post comes from:

Time Fcuk is a flash-based game by Edmund McMillen in which the protagonist, Steven, finds himself one day confronted on the roadside by...well, himself, claiming to be a future self from twenty minutes ahead, with one important message:

He needs to get into a box, conveniently situated by the roadside as well.

When Steven hesitates, his future self forcibly pushes him into the box, beginning a path through an extremely grim and dark puzzle platformer.

Here's part of the introduction:

You can probably guess the mood the game takes.

In this interview, McMillen hints at the meaning of the box - an imaginary world which people build about themselves because they feel it's far more interesting and safer than the real world beyond the confines of the box. Sometimes they cut a flap in the side to peek out of, and as time goes by, they steadily lose sight of the real world until the box is all that remains. One of the main themes of Time Fcuk, built into the game mechanics, is changing one's perspective on matters to come to solutions, and eventually escaping the box.

"Getting into the box" is characterised by McMillen as an unconscious process, borne out by people under pressure to escape the realities of life.

But what if one wants to be in the box?

What if one willingly enters the box, knowing it for what it is?

The more I look out at the world, the more depressed I get.

Singapore is a tiny island. We don't have any primary industry; we even have to buy our water from Malaysia (part of the whole idea behind us once being part of Malaysia was trying to get at their rich natural resources. One of the reasons we left was because that didn't pan out). Our traditional secondary industries have been weakened by increased competition from the region, and the newer ones such a pharmaceuticals need time to grow (and it's been contested as to how effective those tax dollars spent were in creating new jobs for locals). Tertiary industries are a toss-up.

Given the insane flurry that's the national mindset, a young Singaporean woman who's actually feminine, low maintenance, and doesn't mind a large passel of kids - she does not exist. If she did, society would have drilled into her that she's a failure for wanting that out of life. Everyone, man or woman, has duty to great patroitic country to ensure continued propserity! Strikes not allowed, you thought the NDAA was bad, we've lived with it since before the country's inception, and family is only important as far as economic production for glorious state is concerned, hand your children over to the state for education as early as possible and get back to your economic production now.

Remember this is a government that not-so-subtly suggested that educated women should breed more to have smart babies for glorious future of country.

And of course, given the crap that is the Women's Charter, which amongst other things 1) exclusively defines alimony as from men to women, 2) voids all pre-nups, 3) separates fault from alimony in maintenance payments, and like the US, offers jail for those who can't pay...

We don't live in the 70s any more, dear, and this isn't equality, thanks. Oh, did I forget to mention that only men can be caned in Singapore? That's right, we have different penalties for men and women, and in the case of some crimes (such as outrage of modesty) that are exclusively defined as female-victims-only. At least when Malaysia does caning, it gives lip service to gender equality.

All this without a feminist lobby that was anywhere close to anything in the anglosphere (to be honest, there's no overt lobbying of any sort here. The state does what the state wants, fuck everyone else; I can't think of a single local social movement the government doesn't have its hooks in). It's as if someone picked up some useful tools of societal control left lying around by westerners...naaaah. Just plain old chivalry and white-knighting.

Right? I do believe that unless the collapse happens/the misandry bubble pops before the state has the level of control it wants, this will be the endgame of feminists and all the useful idiots that propelled them there - either trashed or made into puppets and mouthpieces of the state with no real power. We used to have a huge number of unions back here in the 60's and 70's, those were all consolidated into one big union by the government and many Singaporeans today just see it as another arm of the government.

I understand that by my criteria I haven't just limited the pool, but pulled the plug out from the bottom and drained the whole damned thing. Not that I would have, considering the laws. Nope. No marrying for me in this country. Just as big a bear trap as it is for you fellows in the anglosphere.

I read M3's post on being stuck in limbo a little while back, and while I've never been anywhere close to the level of anguish that seeps from the page (thank God) I can still somewhat relate to his words. It's only because of the wisdom of others who've come before me that I don't have to have my own feet held out to the fire, so I've never been burnt, but it's still sobering to know that there's a snowball's chance in hell that I might get any of that. I mean:

*I'd like to live out the life my maternal grandparents had. Family, a passel of kids (one of my paternal uncles has 4, that's a nice round number), chaos and laughter all around. I'd willingly slave out my life as a plough horse like my grandfather did just to have someone to love and be loved by.

*I'd need to find and successfully court this hypothetical young woman who actually has the guts to go against the massive state and social programming to share this sort of familial desire. Like M3, it just wouldn't go down well with me to ask her to give up her dreams for mine.

*Oh, I fully admit I masturbate; it helps relieve the physical need in the back of my lizard brain. But like M3, well, what's the point in sex if there's no emotional connection? What's the point if there's no complete trust? How can I trust when I have the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head?

I'm not sure where I read this quote, but it went something on the lines of "men now need to choose a mate based on their ability to hold out against gigantic social pressure to break up the relationship, and they've never had to select a woman based on this criteria."

I'm a hopeless beta romantic, I guess. Oh, I've read up on game and tried to put it to some use with a couple of minor results, but every time I put the line into the pool, the quality of the fish that comes out is much to be desired, to say the least, and I never bothered to take it any further. I still try to carry it out in interactions with the ladies around me, but never try to escalate any more. Hence, I just follow it for the truth value in it about the nature of human beings, I guess. Go on, sneer at someone who doesn't have the mindset and guts to pump and dump.

But it's why I'm MGTOW.

It's a part of acceptance, I guess. Asking my dad how much we pay in bills per month, and seeing how little work I can get away with in the future while still putting body and soul together. Going out grocery shopping with my mother and learning how to cook decently (stir-fry is wonderful. You can use one method for so many ingredients to create so many dishes). Making plans, reinforcing my box with rebar and steel so the only way it's coming off is if I take it off or someone drops a bomb on me.

I'd prep if we actually had some space to put all the required stuff in.

I'm getting into the fcuking box already, cutting a window so I can see the societal collapse that is coming. It may start in the anglosphere, but I have a feeling that considering how economically connected the world is and how open Singapore is to foreign shocks, the ripples are going to spread all around the world. Uncle Sam sneezes, and the rest of the world catches a cold.

I'm in the box.

I'm waiting.

Tell me when the dust's settled.