Brad Pitcher

Most of the hate I get is understandable. Wealthy guy doing unusual things for health. Looks weird. Acts weird. Says weird things. Ok. There’s also something else going on. Ultraprocessed foods emerged in the 1970s. Those in adolescence / early adulthood (now 50-64) exposed to these foods now have nearly 2x the food addiction rates than the generation immediately preceding them (now 65-80). More than half of U.S. calories now come from ultra-processed foods: 53% for adults and 62% for youth. Contending only with tobacco and ultra-processed foods now seems quaint. In recent decades, the most dynamic economic engine in history, American capitalism, has pointed its powers at addicting people to their products. Using the best available science. It’s become a predator prey relationship. We are the prey. Social media, porn, nicotine, junk food, fast food, smartphones, streaming, energy drinks and gambling.  Each perfectly engineered to hijack our reward systems, enslaving us to their wishes. Might we be the most addicted society in history? Sleep deprivation is the silent amplifier. It wrecks willpower and deepens dependency. Yet it’s worn as a badge of honor, a cultural flex that rewards self-destruction. On some level, many people realize that they’ve become powerless amidst the ocean of addiction that engulfs them daily. They’re powerless over what they eat. Dependent on stimulants to function. Compulsively checking their phones. Unable to turn off the screen before bed, unable to go to bed on time. Scrolling through the night, trapped in a loop they can’t escape. As a result, they’re fatigued, depressed, anxious, metabolically unwell, and lack basic self-respect for the inability to do and become what they want in life. This helplessness is where I think the hate directed at me gets much of its fuel. Sure, some people just don’t like me. It’s the magnitude, variety and intensity of the acrimony that points at something else. Whenever a human finds themself in a situation they don’t like, they’ll search the world for moral frameworks that help them reassert dignity when they feel powerless.  Ideally, they’ll find something that makes themselves superior and others inferior. If you cannot win in strength, win in virtue. Examples of moral reversals throughout history 0. The meek shall inherit the earth. (Christian inversion of power) 1. My preferences prove my worth. (aesthetic and consumer moralism) 2. My pain grants me moral authority. (victimhood as virtue) 3. Attachment is the root of suffering. (Buddhist renunciation) 4. I transcend the game; therefore I win it. (ascetic superiority / Stoic-Daoist synthesis) 5. The worker is the conscience of history. (Marxist moral economy) 6. Freedom lies in mastery of the self, not possession of things. (Stoicism) 7. The oppressed are the voice of truth. (Modern political theology) 8. The last shall be first. (Christian moral reversal) 9. What I cannot have must be bad. (sour grapes, the original moral inversion.) 10. Body positivity. (victimhood and authenticity as virtue) Frameworks people use to try and wrestle their superiority over me: 0. Bro forgot to live (hedonic moralism) 1. I’m adding life to years instead of years to life (anti-optimization modesty) 2. What you’re doing is unnatural (purity moralism) 3. You spend millions and you look like shit (anti-wealth austerity) 4. Narcissist (communitarian morality) 5. You’re playing God (anti-hubris theology) 6. It’s worthless for the average person (equity absolutism) 7. Why when you can just get hit by a bus (fatalistic moralism) 8. Stupid, we all die (mortality leveling) Basically, to strive is neurotic; to coast is enlightened. You get the idea. People weaponsize moral frameworks to try and wrestle superiority and reconcile reality. Nothing is more painful than an unreconciled inner life. Here is the thing. I am trying to be your advocate. Years ago, I was owned by these addiction systems. I wish there had been someone in my life helping me see the situation for what it was and giving practical guidance on how to dig out. I’m on your team and I’ve got your back. If you’re going to be angry, be angry at the systems that create the pain. Then reclaim yourself.