The following conversation was with a Cultural Anthropology student from a university in North Carolina. It was a real treat to talk to someone this intelligent. If you are interested in having a conversation with a perfect stranger on Omegle, simply go to: Omegle.com.


You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

Stranger's college: cpcc.edu

Stranger: hey

You: hi

Stranger: how are you?

You: fine. yourself?

You: doing a ton of homework

Stranger: Im doing pretty good, just finished my homework

You: congrats

Stranger: thanks, Im Matt by the way

You: hi matt! jill is my name

Stranger: nice to meet you Jill

You: whats your major

Stranger: anthropology

Stranger: you?

You: poli sci

Stranger: niiiiice, that was my second choice

You: do you see an intersection between the 2 disciplines?

Stranger: there can be, it depends on the individual anthropologists focus/interest

You: which field w/i anthro are you most inspired by?

Stranger: cultural

You: i like cultural anthro. do you know Marvin Harris?

Stranger: yeah I've heard of him

Stranger: we talked about him some in my theory class

You: i remember i had to read an antrho text written by him for my cult anth class years ago.

Stranger: I like him because I also consider myself a materialist

You: he is a great author. he has written many good books. such as "good to eat," and many more.

You: materialist in the popular sense of the word or the marxist definition?

Stranger: marxist

You: cool. the vast majority of people are clueless about this definitional subtlety.

You: or distinction.

You: i remember we had to study marx a little bit for my intro to sociology class.

Stranger: it's sad how few people understand anything about Marxism

You: remember something extremely important. you and live in the USA, what many would say is public enemy #1 of marxism. Cold War w/ ussr, etc.

You: that is why. if you go to european countries you will see a very different take on all things marxist.

Stranger: I've met a lot of resistance from that, but I never hide my convictions

Stranger: I consider myself a socialist and it takes about 20 minutes to explain to people what socialism actually is

You: you'll be "safe" as long as you express yourself within the academic environment and colleagues.

You: lol!

Stranger: my campus socialist club was disbanded the year before I got here, it sucked

Stranger: they all graduated lol

You: i have been in the same kind of situation. i have to explain to people why im an atheist, why i used to be an anarchist, etc.

Stranger: I'm an atheist too

You: so, are you an undergrad or a graduate student?

Stranger: undergrad

You: whats the name of your school?

Stranger: the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (I know the email says CPCC but I transferred to UNCC)

You: which are the main branches of anthro? i know that a couple are cultural and archaelogy

Stranger: well in the US we use the four field approach which is cultural, archaeology, linguistic, physical/biological

You: in poli sci, there are 4 main branches: amer govt (the biggest and most important), international relations, comparative govt, political philosophy.

Stranger: which branch are you in?

You: amer govt but my heart is with political philo.

Stranger: what is your personal political philosophy?

You: a blend of anarchism, marxism, environmentalism (green party, etc), and other ideas. but i do not subscribe to only one tendency; i am eclectic

Stranger: I like that

You: for example, classical anarchism advocates the destruction of the state, which i think is ridiculous.

Stranger: of course, far too utopian

Stranger: hey, I have to go to the bathroom. you mind if i go for like five minutes?

You: please, take your time. im not going anywhere

Stranger: cool

You: here is a link id like you to check out as a news source from time to time...

You: https://www.tytnetwork.com

You: here is another really good one that i have watched a lot of ...

You: https://www.democracynow.org

Stranger: I finished equally distributing my beer from an hour ago into the toilet

You: lol

Stranger: I like reading the Nation

You: thats a good publication. so is mother jones and many others.

You: another good website is "In These Times"

Stranger: democracy now is good

You: dem now has a great 1 hour news show m-f

Stranger: I didn't know that! that's great

Stranger: so where's your school?

You: times have changed a lot in the last 100 years and its not possible to stick to any of the great ideologies anymore. i think that the biggest and strongest "alternative" theory is social democracy. they are the most successful today. it is one of the 3 main branches of socialism: 1. social-democracy; 2. communisim; 3. anarchism.

Stranger: I completely agree

You: my school is santa rosa junior college, located in santa rosa, california. im about a 2 hour drive northward from San francisco

Stranger: Democratic Socialism is a great alternative

Stranger: which if I had to get more specific is what I would consider myself

Stranger: I've read the Other America and Socialism:Past and Future by Michael Harrington

You: what is impressive though is the People's Republic of China! it is a nasty totalitarian state (communist) and yet it is poised to take over world leadership from the usa in about 10 to 20 years time!

You: thats interesting. ive never heard of mike harrington. ive been missing out.

Stranger: Stalinism nearly ruined socialism for everybody

Stranger: Michael Harrington is the founder of the Democratic Socialists of America

You: here, look at these 3 lists on wikipedia. look at the 2 top nations (forget the E.U., which is not a single country):

You: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...s_by_GDP_(PPP)

Stranger: I love how CIA world factbook put US above EU

You: i just found wikipedia's article on michael harrington:

You: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Harrington

Stranger: Socialism:Past and Future is the first book about Socialism I ever read

You: well, that may or may not be accurate. i dont really care because the numbers are really close anyway.

You: im just surprised by the surreal prospect that a communist country is going to become the new world leader!

You: and i am not thrilled about it either.

Stranger: I think they''re more a state capitalist country

Stranger: The best hope for the Left is Europe, especially the Nordic nations

You: sure, they can be defined in many ways since marxism is a theory and theories dont evolve alongside reality unless new generations of thinkers write new additions to the old philosophies.

You: furthermore, marx never really gave a clear picture of what a socialist state was supposed to look like. all of his theories were criticisms of capitalism. one of the big stumbling blocks for socialist/communist govts. it is wide open for interpretation.

Stranger: right, Im going through capital volume one right now

You: dont get me wrong, marx's stuff is great, except for the parts i disagree with, such as his theory of surplus value, which has had many theorists since marx's day have had to augment it because it was insufficient.

Stranger: are you an undergrad or grad?

You: one of the other things marx talked about was capitalisms tendency to over produce in an ideal market environment and also what he said about diminishing returns.

You: i have a master's in political science. i already graduated and im taking some extra courses for fun.

Stranger: wow, that's impressive

Stranger: how old are you?

You: youll get there.

You: 53

Stranger: Im planning on continuing my education

You: good for you!

You: you might also want to consider getting a Ph.D. But get your BA and then your MA first. one step at a time.

Stranger: that's the ultimate plan. I would love to be a professor

You: good for you.

You: my guess is that it will take roughly another 300 years for civilization to shift one last time.

Stranger: yeah, that's hard to explain to people

Stranger: when I tell them about socialism, they always say it's so far fetched

You: one of the things i try to explain to people is that the idea or the certainty that the system we have now will last forever is beyond absurd. first, because no one has a crystal ball to be able to say that such a thing is going to happen. and 2nd, it is an awful thought that the world, the way it is today with all of its death and destruction and injustice and ignorance and suffering is going to last forever.

You: well, if you consider 300 years from now far fetched then they might actually be right!

Stranger: it is not Fukuyama's End of History

Stranger: I always have to explain to people that capitalism has not always been

Stranger: the best book about that is Eric R Wolf's "Europe and the People Without History"

You: capitalism is just as transitory as all of the previous social orders.

You: im going to jot these books down. hold on...

Stranger: so why are you on omegle?

You: i like talking to the occasional intellectual such as yourself. i also like debating people over issues such as abortion, ISIS, health care, gay marriage, public breastfeeding, the economy, economic theory, circumcision, the law, etc, etc, etc.

Stranger: intellectuals on here is few and far between

You: yup. but i have fun with them nonetheless.

Stranger: but it is better on the college chat versus the public one

You: i almost always pretend to be a female: 18, california, Jill. Then after i get their horny attention i pop the abortion question on them: "What is your position on abortion?"

Stranger: lol, that's mean

You: they are compelled to answer because what they want is to get me on kik, facebook, snapchat, skype or some other visual media so that they can hopefully jackoff. lol!

You: well, im sad to tell you that most young men on omegle are AGAINST abortion.

You: whenever ive told them that im a dude they unceremoniously cancel the conversation.

Stranger: oh yeah, as a guy on here 70% of the time is getting disconnected by horny dudes

You: oh, yes, this is FAR better on college chat. 100 times better than the public. i actually can have my most interesting conversations almost exclusively on college chat. it is like 10 to 1 as far as worthwhile conversations are concerned.

You: lol

Stranger: and I don't have kik or facebook or snapchat or anything, I just like chatting on here and everyone disconnects on me when i say I dont have them

You: lol!

You: ha ha ha!

You: giggle giggle

You: ...

Stranger: what's so funny?

You: the hoard of horny dudes! there are so many everywhere that biologists should coin a new word for them. human horny toads or something.

Stranger: I think it's just men in their teens/twenties

Stranger: plus the creepy 50+ men but thats a whole other thing

You: oh, absolutely. i am the odd man out here, big time!

You: a 53 y/o coming here is the great exception. but its fun and i can get a pulse for what people are thinking, their faulty reasoning, their bigotry, and their good points too, their charms. theyre people!

Stranger: people don't critically think about much, they accept their bubble and they view it as all it is and ever will be and ever was

You: well, i suppose it depends on how a person defines a creepy 50+ man. But for me, if the 50+ is looking for cybersex like the young guys are then i would say that is even creepier. but oh well.

Stranger: that's what I meant

You: that is sad to know that it is true for most folks.

You: but at least the students have some tools for using logic and reason. i can really tell the difference in a conversation with a person who is a college student as opposed to someone who is just floating through here (someone who is not a student or who does not have a degree, it is usually pretty obvious).

Stranger: i hope I fit your criteria of college student lol

You: you have gone far beyond the merit of the average college student that i normally find in the omegle venue. and i mean F A R beyond!

Stranger: I am happy to impress

You: it comes naturally to you.

You: here, let me show you the list of references that you gave me and you tell me if all the ones you mentioned in our conversation are present:

You: "End of History" by Fukuyama

Eric R Wolf's "Europe and the People Without History"

Other America and Socialism:Past and Future by Michael Harrington

Stranger: those are all the ones by me

You: thanks! i will get around to reading them someday.

Stranger: I'm glad, and I will make sure to read some Marvin Harris

You: marvin harris is right up your alley too, simply because you are a cultural anthropologist.

Stranger: I read a short excerpt from him during my theory class

You: harris will make your knowledge in your field more robust.

Stranger: I'm always looking to expand my understanding

You: he is one of the world leaders in your field today.

You: so, do you have any personal insights into cultural anthropology? is there a notion or a theory that you are nursing or are you still getting your feet wet? for example, if you go on to get your Ph.D. you will need a doctorate thesis! you might want to consider some ideas now. and ask your instructors questions about your hunches too. they will give you valuable feedback.

Stranger: Not quite yet, I'm still working things out. I'm finding working out theories extraordinarily difficult

You: theories are challenging because they can be very abstract. the more complex and multi-layered, the more work they will present you with. after you get your BA and you start your graduate program, you will probably have enough training to be able to think better in theoretical and abstract terms. then you will be able to pick something out.

You: for example, i didnt have to do a master's thesis. i simply took to 5 hour exams answering comprehensive, general questions about my field of study, which were very hard to do. but i escaped the thesis doldrums.

Stranger: wow, I would love to do it

You: but in a doctorate program, you will have to develop a thesis, research it well, and defend it. it will have to be airtight and you will have to demonstrate this to a panel of scholars who all have Ph.D.s!

You: im sorry, i meant to say TWO 5 hour exams. 2 separate ones. a real kick in the pants too. not the fun kind.

Stranger: I'm confident by then I'll have my theory together, at least if I don't I won't belong there

You: another thing is that usually a BA doesnt really make you much of an expert in most things. it simply means that you are a well educated person and that alone impresses potential employers. but if you want to have some real professional weight, then you need a master's or better.

You: with a BA, much of what you learn that will be applicable in the world of work, you will learn on the job, not before.

Stranger: most of the people in my anthro classes do not belong there, they know absolutely nothing about the field

You: but with a masters or better, then a different kind of door begins to open for you because you are an expert.

Stranger: sorry to cut this short but I have to go, Im getting a little tired and there's some things I need to do before I go to ebd

You: okay then. if you want to stay in touch my email is: [email protected]

You: my name is Edward

Stranger: alright, have a nice night!