In some substack some guy writes “Am I Divorced?”. He is not divorced, he never married, has no kids, and is single, yet in his own admission fits the categorization of a “divorce guy.” The algorithms on his social media agree.

There’s been a lot of discourse about the divorce guy aesthetic over the last couple of years, predominantly pushed by the fact that some of the richest men on the planet, profusely sociopathic billionaires that are actively ruining our world, are extremely divorce guys. Even Zuckerberg, who is not divorced, and has been called a “wife guy”, qualifies as a divorce guy for some of his pathetic attempts to appear cool, and MMA, and surfing, and smoked meats, and so on. There are rumours of trouble in the marriage there so maybe he was just a premature divorce guy.

You can also be divorced without being a divorce guy. It comes down to growth and self-awareness. Maybe a little humour. I’m not here to pass judgement on the above substack post, the self-awareness there is key, but it got me thinking something similar along those lines with a different type of relationship.

Am I laid off?

I am employed full time. This is the longest and most stable stint in my life by far (over 8 years.) I’m afforded some leeway, and people seem to like me despite myself. I’ve shipped, and delivered, and maintained, yet the Sword of Damocles dangles over my head. Storms are brewing over the horizon. Signs and portents bring dread. Anxiety fills my bones. 

There’s never been a more incompetent executive class. They’re literally begging people to use their shitty products and the ones that were directly sold on their products are treating their word as a prophecy of future riches. Labour gets lost in the equation.

I find myself drifting out of focus more. I’m opening linkedin and seeing all the posts of redundancies at this and that company in between all the slop promising to transform business. I am seeking out new side-projects and hobbies to do, partly for fun, partly for that aggrandizing skill-development grind that we’re always expected to do. We’re forced to treat life itself as an RPG where you always need to level up. I invoke the ancient arcane arts and the words that dare not be spoken, though only to myself: a spell so dangerous to incant it might immediately cause the destruction of untold offices.

I think of what’s next. I think, is there a next? I’m still two decades from retirement. I am assuming there will be retirement. 

How the hell are you supposed to have a career in tech in 2026? - Anil Dash

In tech? How the hell are you supposed to have any career in 2026? 

The same week that Prime Minister Max Carnage Mark Carney had his Davos speech, that all the neoliberals ate up like they were at a privatization buffet, they announced 10,000 federal workers are on the chopping blocks. “Principled and Pragmatic”, my ass. Large numbers of those federal workers are scientists at Environment and Climate Change Canada, workers at Health Canada, and so on.

“We are rapidly diversifying abroad.” he said in his speech, and then cut 1600 jobs at Global Affairs. While liberals around the world were high fiving that speech and the trade deal with China, leftists at home were side eyeing each other saying “you do not, under any circumstances, 'gotta hand it to Mark Carney,” 

Days later at Davos they were proudly showing renders and AI slop of a conceptual Gaza resort city built on the corpses of hundreds of thousands. Over two years of absolute barbarity and Canada was silent, a quiet benefactor of the “rules based order.” Now that the lack of rules is affecting Canada directly, and Europe too, now that order no longer exists? 

It’s been one year since our last Prime Minister resigned and pursued his passion of becoming a big divorce guy. He was Davos too, talking about soft power (political),  with Katy Perry in tow. I don’t want to hear a divorce guy talk about soft power (euphemism.) The Liberals parachuted this banker into leadership and while the result has been less stupid than if Pierre Poilievre would have won it’s been materially no different. In some very measurable ways Carney is to the right of Steven Harper. What are we doing? The left is weak and it’s getting fucked over by powerful men with huge divorce guy energy.

I still have my job, it’s the world, the corporation, the execs that are making me a laid-off guy. And that’s the key difference. A divorce guy is created by internalities leading to selfishness, boorishness, regressiveness, the constant posting, the constant sense of being aggrieved, angry, misogynistic. Those traits were always there. The moment amplifies them.

A laid-off guy is created by externalities. That’s the difference: a laid-off guy has the capacity for solidarity, and I say this as someone that is very introverted, has difficulty communicating, and struggles connecting with people. What being laid-off, even while not laid-off, gives you is time to improve yourself. And the best thing you can do with that time is to not waste it learning agentic systems, MCP, RAG, or whatever shit jobs want now, but to spend the time to develop the internal tools, the soft skills, to raise everyone up. True soft power lies with the people. Divorce guys can never.

Related Links

Your Friendly Neighborhood Resistance

Minnesotans showing that solidarity through resistance.

Your Need for Certainty is Driving You Insane

For years I let myself get battered by the whims of terrible people and bad circumstances because I thought I was, in a very enlightened manner, “surrendering to the universe.” Surrender does not mean passivity, it is not an excuse not to try to improve your own life or the lives of others. It does not give you a pass to do nothing since you cannot control the outcome, it is a call to be brave because you are acting, despite not knowing how things will turn out.

Socialism After AI - The Ideas Letter

I lack the theoretical background, though from a practical experience point of view I’m of the butlerian jihad point of view of where AI fits in a socialist system.

Corrections and Addendums

I wrote in the subheader of the last email “I died in the first time I played Disco Elysium which is great and notable.” which makes no sense. I was too quick with the editing. I died in the first room the first time I played Disco Elysium. Like, in the first two minutes. Which, yes, is still notable.

Listen to this

Lia KohlMusic for Union Station

A 43 minute suite composed by Lia Kohl and recorded in Union Station’s Great Hall (the Chicago one not the Toronto one) during rush hour with all the hustle and bustle that comes with that. Here’s a video of the recording with some excerpts. The credits specifically thank “the guy driving the luggage cart”.