#Henry Polic II

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Monster Squad (1976)

[docgold13]

Batman: The Animated Series - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Jonathan Crane

Professor Jonathan Crane had been interested in the study of human fears and phobias ever since childhood.  He was entranced by the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.  He felt a great kinship with the character of Ichabod Crane and was angered that the character proved so craven and overtaken by fear.  He dedicated himself to learning all about fear, mastering it so that it could never master him.  

Quite lithe of frame, Jonathan was teased by neighborhood bullies who nicknamed him ‘The Scarecrow.’  These bullies frightened him but he swore never to expose his fears to such adversaries.     

After earning a doctorate in psychology, Crane became a Professor at Gotham University.  His ongoing experiments to better understand fear became too dangerous and he was fired over his obsession with inspiring terror in his patients and students. 

A vengeful Crane turned to a life of crime and used various drugs, chemicals, devices, and his expertise in psychology to terrify whoever crossed his path. In particular, he refined a 'fear gas,' a fast-acting hallucinogen that super activated the fear-center of the brain. Exposure to this gas completely incapacitated its victims, leaving them writhing in their worst, most deeply seated fears.

Crane took on the name those bullies had given him as a boy. He became ‘The Scarecrow’ and would go on to be one of the most feared criminals in all of Gotham City.

Actors Henry Polic II, Jeff Bennett and Jeffery Combs have each provided the voice for Professor Crane/The Scarecrow.  The villain first appeared in the tenth episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, ‘Nothing to Fear.’  

[70zcowboy]

I’m still not over how STACKED castings of Scarecrow have been

he was also voiced by Dwight Schultz in Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo

[jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear]

Henry Polic II || 1945 - 2013

Voice of The Scarecrow

[psyduckraidsagain]

Taken from a 2003 charity concert benefitting AIDS Service Organizations.

Well, this is it. I hope you're all as excited as I am about finally getting to hear Scarecrow sing.

[la-femme-au-collier-vert]

IWTV Season 2 Sources & References

(The 1st 4 were cited by the Writer’s Room)

The Ethnic Avante-Garde: Minority Cultures and World Revolution by Steven S. Lee

Paris Journal 1944-1955 by Janet Flanner (Genet)

The Vampire: A Casebook by Alan Dundes

Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles: An Alphabettery

The Fly cited by Jacob Anderson

King Lear by Shakespeare cited by Rolin Jones

Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin

Sebastien Melmoth by Oscar Wilde

Amadeus (1984)

The Lost Boys (1987)

Gaslight (1944)

Batman

Casablanca (1942)

Now, Voyager (1942)

The Third Man (1949) cited by Levan Akin

An American in Paris by George Gershwin (1928) cited by Daniel Hart

Moulin Rouge (2001)

The Phantom of the Opera

Les Vampires (1915)

Dracula (1931) credit to @vampchronicles_ on twt

Le Triomphe de L’amour by Pierre de Marivaux

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin cited by Jacob Anderson

Existentialism is a Humanism by Jean Paul Sartre

Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Vampire’s Kiss (1988) credit to @talesfromthecrypts

Les Morts ont tous le Meme Peau by Boris Vian credit to @greedandenby

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Barclay Beckett credit to @rorscachisgay on twt

An Enemy of the People by Ibsen

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Vie de Voltaire by Marquis Condorcet

Simone de Beauvoir: A Critical Introduction by Edward Fullbrook and Kate Fullbrook credit to @iwtvfanevents

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes credit to @iwtvfanevents

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Artists and Salons Referenced:

R-26

Palma Vecchio

Andre Fougeron

Elsa Triollet

Fred Stein

Lisette Model

Gordon Parks

Miguel Barcelo

Taxidermied Javelina by Chris Roberts-Antieau

Ai WeiWei (wallpaper)

David Hockney (Lemons)

Wols 

The Kiss of Judas by Jakob Smits

Salome by Louis Icart

Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Shelter by Peter Macon

The Kiss by Edvard Munch

The Vampire or Love and Pain by Edvard Munch credit @iwtvasart

Ruiter on Horse by Reiger Stolk credit @ iwtvasart

Portrait of Frank Burty Haviland by Modigliani credit @iwtvasart

Self-Seers II (Death and Man) by Egon Schiele credit to @90sgreggaraki

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters by Goya

Movie & Play Posters on set (in chronological order by year):

Tarzan and his Mate (1934)

Avec le Sourire (1936)

Les Deux Gosses (1936)

Le Jour Se Leve (1939) about a man who commits murder as a result of a love triangle and locks himself in his apartment recounting the details as the police attempt to arrest him. Credit to @laisofhyccara

Nuit de Décembre (1940)

Mademoiselle Swing (1942) about a girl who follows a troupe of swing musicians to Paris.

Les Enfents du Paradis (1945) about a woman with many suitors including an actor and an aristocrat.

Fantomas (1946) about a sadistic criminal mastermind. This version includes a hideout in the catacombs where he traps people.

Quai des Orfevres (1947) watch here

Monsieur Vincent (1947)

Le Cafe du Cadran (1947) about a wife’s affair with a violinist.

La Kermesse Rouge (1947) film about a jealous artist who locks up his younger wife and a fire breaks out while she’s trapped.

Morts Sans Sepulture by Jean-Paul Sartre (play) also published in English translations as “The Victors” or “Men Without Shadows” about resistance fighters captured by Vichy soldiers struggling not to give up information.

Mon Faust by Paul Valery (play)

Musical Influences:: @greedandenby collected all music used in Season 2 here.

Henry Cowell

Meredith Monk

Howling’ Wolf

Shirley Temple

Jason Lindner Big Band

The Teeth

Carlos Salzedo

Alice Coltrane

Thelonius Monk

David Lang

Caroline Shaw

Gadfly by Shostakovich (for Raglan James)

musical career of Martha Argerich

Season 1 here (these lists are updated regularly)

Season 3 here

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

DC Comics Superhero OC: Chickadee, The Boy Wonder of Toronto

Co created by @confusedhummingbird and yours truly

Civilian Name: Henry Holland

Son of Natalie Holland, Captain within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police O Division and Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Holland, of the 32 Brigade Group of the Canadian Army

Age: 12 1/2 years old

Height: 5’0”

Weight: 77 lbs

Personality: Mature Minded and Intelligent with Tactics in the Field, Formal and Professional When Addressing Older Heroes and Civilian akin to a Military Officer, Determined and Steadfast, Stubborn in his Attempts of Leading a Team Efficiently, Has a Low Sense of Humor That He tries to work on, Doesn’t Like to Show Any Weakness of any Degrees in front of enemies and allies, Deep Down All of That, an Utter Fanboy of Nightwing in particular and if his guard is down, can be an excitable, passionate and cheerful. He’s begun to slowly open up more courtesy of being around fellow heroes around his age range.

Possible Junior Partner to Flying Fox II and Definite Leader of the Canadian based Titans North

(More Below the Cut)

History: Born to both a Soldier within the Canadian Army and what are commonly referred to as Mounties, Henry is a child that easily takes much inspiration from his parents’ works whom they take with honor and distinction. Though this comes at the drawback even in the present day of being usually with his aunt or a babysitter at home during days he’s not on patrol or at school due to the consistent scheduling his Mother Natalie has keeping her away from home. As for his father Terrance, there’s an element of tragedy to him which effects both Henry and his mother to this day; during a combat tour in a war torn Middle East as part of a US led coalition, Terrance’s platoon became ambushed by extremist insurgents and in the chaos that initially wiped out most of said platoon, Terrance was taken captive. For two weeks, the Lieutenant Colonel was brutalized and tortured for any sort of intel the extremists wanted yet through it all, he maintained a stern silence and refused to talk. Eventually the insurgents found their hideout under attack by a rescue operation from other Canadian and American troops, so they proceed to execute Terrance, rather gruesomely, so much so, the other soldiers had no choice but to simply take the dog tags and leave the body behind.

Natalie and Henry of course took the loss hard given how much of a good man Terrance was for them as a husband and father respectively but both maintained a firm and strong face at the memorial service, knowing at least they have together as long as they do. They’ll remain strong. Wanting to honor both of his parents for their many deeds to save, serve and protect others, being a lifelong fanboy of the first Robin, the Boy Wonder and later the leader of the Titans International, Nightwing, in addition to some encouragement and advice from the Flying Fox, the recent one to bear that mantle and with some self teaching in martial arts and police detective work, Henry decides to create and don a mantle of his own choosing for which he can patrol and protect the streets of his native Toronto, being a hero for the city the way his parents are for their county or entire country.

As for why the Chickadee, not only are the commonly found throughout Canada and have a degree of being an equivalent to the Robin birds of America, but when Henry was five, during one of the few times the Holland family was able to have a vacation, they took a hiking trek on Mount McKay. Whilst there for a photo for both Terrance and little Henry, two Chickadees perched gently on top of their heads to which made a perfect photo for Natalie to capture and a new nickname for Henry that his parents especially Terrance would refer to him. Hence naming his mantle as such serves a tribute to Terrance as far as Henry is concerned.

Skills, Equipment, and Abilities:

- Black Belt in Judo, Yellow Belt in Tai Tzu and Lui He martial arts

- Has Proficient Enough Knowledge in Using a Grappling Hook and Wires

- Ametuer level with the arts of Disguise

- Advanced Junior Training in Forensics

- Wing suit flaps built into his suit

- Can communicate in English, Francaise, Algonquin and 3 other Amerindian languages (Related Below, also two Jewish languages)

Occupation: Student at Robbins Hebrew Academy

Physical Appearance: Light Brown Hair, Peach tone skin with freckles on the face, Green Eyes and a Birthmark on the Back of his neck

Crime Fighter Uniform:

- Black Domino Mask, Advanced in meaning containing a Holographic Heads Up Display, featuring a Radar for contacts within 50 meter radius, Heart Rate Monitor, Proximity Sensor for incoming attacks, connected to ear piece for contact with teammates

- A White Cape that extends to the back of the legs with a Light Brown Underbelly, attached to it being a black hoodie which covers the back and crown of the head, leaving only the face open

- White Bulletproof Vest with Black Long Sleeves and Light Brown Highlights throughout the buttons. Has his Logo, a Red Chickadee Silhouette displaying its wings in a white circular background with a black circle around it, on the right side of chest

- White Fingerless Gloves with Light Brown Soles

- Black Utility Belt with a buckle having said Chickadee logo; contains pouches housing Grappling Hook, Magnifying Glass, Signal Flares, Smoke Pellets, Flashbang Grenades, Snacks including Toffee, and Spare Masks

- Black Kevlar Pants with Light Brown highlights on Knee Caps

- White Robin Style Pixie Boots with built in hidden Steel Toes, and White Soles. Made from a leather and Kevlar fabric blend that makes them extra sturdy and durable in harsh environments

Additional Facts and Trivia

- The Holland family are prominently descendants of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Poland during the Interwar Period (1920-1939). While having Liberal leaning politics and values, the Hollands are Orthodox with their Faith, adhering in particular to Halakhic traditions and customs. Therefore Henry wears a black Kippah on his head even as Chickadee which his hood covers. Henry also has a Kosher diet based on said Halakhic Orthodox customs. He’s currently training in reading the Torah in preparation for his Bar Mitzvah. He’s so far made it to Shemot, also known for The Christian faith as the Book of Exodus. The Hollands are fluent in both Hebrew and especially Yiddish, the latter more promotional spoken between the two languages in that front.

- As stated above, leads a small Canadian branch of Titans, named Titans North, who as of yet are not yet officially affiliated with the well known Titans International but have so far managed to earn a small follow of supporters and fans across the Toronto metropolitan area and other localities throughout the state of Ontario. Often gets teased playfully by said teammates for being the youngest of them

- Among the Titans North, one member called Push-and-Pull, a 14 year old Algonquin female Metahuman with a compassionate and caring tomboy personality, possessing the ability to control and manipulate gravity with the palms of her hands (Similar to My Hero Academia’s Ochaka Uraraka) and Chickadee having a small budding crush between them or at least the starts of one in process ever since they first met

- Has a small hobby of playing video games, mainly on the console side. Not interested in competitive or online play as due to lack of friends outside his Titans North, he nonetheless has a fondness for games that are both sci-fi and military themed as befitting his background. Henry however finds himself woefully out of date when it comes buying the latest hardware; his most advanced console in possession being the DCU equivalent of an Xbox 360

- Trivia: Can in fact Successfully Curl his Tongue while the rest of his teammates can’t

- While an admitted fan of the first Robin (therefore also fond of Nightwing), Henry is rather very cautious and weary of the Batman himself. This can be attributed to his earlier childhood having been told of terrifying stories surrounding the Bat, a lot of them coming the earlier days when he worked solo and was regarded as an urban myth. As for Superman, Henry has a trust and respect for him. He’d probably however faint from excitement should he meet Nightwing in particular

- Is particularly interested and into the music elective in his school, more so in particular having a liking for classical songs and artists, mainly Beethoven and Salieri. Plays the Cello as his main instrument. While not intolerant and rather okay with more modern music, his playlist on his phone features mainly said classical songs and is working on working on compositions himself.

[lawful-evil-novelist]

Even if he's def not how my Scarecrow talks it's really a delight to go back and watch BTAS to listen to Henry Polic II fully ham up his vocal performance.

[404-mind-not-found]

Draft 2 of the synopsis is COMPLETE!

The full version is under the cut, as it's much longer than the first. Two new songs were added, one about Charlotte and Elizabeth and another about Michael. Some other plot things were fixed and expanded upon. Feedback or ideas are appreciated! ^^

ACT I

William and Henry spend their day at Freddy Fazbear's, revelling in the success of the four month old establishment plus their already existing Fredbear's, while William's children fail to get along (The Spark). However, it's quickly revealed that William is a manipulative and controlling villain and not just a busy dad who means well for everyone. After an argument which ends in Henry refusing to make any more restaurants with him so soon, he becomes furious. Later that month, Charlotte is found outside Fredbear's by herself on a rainy night, and he murders her in a fit of delirious anger (Mine, Forever). Everybody is devastated, especially Henry, who promises he would find out who did the crime.

Besides this, everything continues as normal until William's youngest son's birthday, which was at Fredbear's. The child in question, however, is not happy about going to this place for his birthday, as he can only be reminded of Charlotte (The Birthday). Michael, sick of his claims of hearing her voice, takes him up to the stage with his friends during the birthday and lifts him to the Fredbear animatronic, asking him if Fredbear was talking to him. However, one of Michael's friends tripped forwards, causing all of them to stumble and Fredbear to bite down onto the child's head, which kills him instantly. The friends flee as Michael stands dumbfounded, until William arrives at the scene to pull him away. When alone, Charlotte's soul reveals to his brother that she was possessing the Puppet animatronic made to protect her, and she guides his own soul to Fredbear. Fredbear's closes because of this, and William scolds Michael harshly (The Bite).

The event would tear the Afton family apart even more, Elizabeth no longer trusting Michael, and William spending even less time with his children than before. William has more frequent arguments with everyone, including his wife, who flees and and leaves the children behind. William, however, was more concerned about the changed atmosphere inside the restaurants. After one of his shifts at Freddy's, he travels to the closed Fredbear's and takes the Puppet to his house for investigations, starting to understand that Charlotte's soul was residing within (Agony). He spends the next ten months studying what he dubbed Remnant.

After this time skip, at Henry's home, Henry receives a phone call from his older sister Jen, who was coming down to visit him. She urges him to spend more time away from William as she does not trust him. It's revealed that Charlotte's soul was listening in to this conversation, but she could not communicate with either of them. Meanwhile, Elizabeth believes her own father is ignoring her on purpose, and is unable to get to sleep thinking about it (Why Can't You Hear Me?).

Elizabeth hears Charlotte calling her name, which causes her to jump out of her room into the hallway. Inside of his own room, William decides he needs to recreate the events of Charlotte's murder for his research on Remnant. With this in mind, he prepares to go and take the lives of four more children. His poor daughter overhears the entire plan from the hallway (Follow Me).

ACT II

By morning, everybody in town was aware of the bloody crime scene from the night before, and the police detective Clay starts investigating the situation. He discovers that the four children were taken by a man in a yellow rabbit suit, once that only someone with access to Fredbear's would be able to acquire. He rules down the suspects to the two owners and then suspects William as the murderer (Eye of the Hurricane). Freddy's is then shut down temporarily.

At their home, Elizabeth tells Michael everything that she overheard the night before, though she chose not to mention hearing Charlotte. Michael didn't believe her at first, but they chose to look through their father's room while he was away. They then discovered that he was the culprit after all (Daddy's Show). They then flee once he returns home. William then goes to the room and unveils the rabbit suit, believing that Remnant could cure his fear of death by “becoming one” with it. He understands he needs more Remnant, but knows he can't collect any while Clay suspects him.

A few days pass and Jen visits Henry's home. She was distraught that she arrived at such a horrible time and tries to convince him to leave Freddy's behind for his sake, which seems successful (Until The End). However, after she goes into the house, Henry finds a letter in his mailbox urging him to go there for the answers he had been looking for. He leaves, promising Jen this would be the last time, and she returns just a little too late, finding the note on the floor. Suspicious, she calls the police. Meanwhile, at the restaurant, William plans to murder Henry and frame it as a suicide done out of guilt to clear his name. The four victims are revealed to have been possessing each core animatronic, and listen in to his plan. They realise they need to stop it from occurring, or he may never be caught (Follow Me (Reprise)).

Wanting more answers, Elizabeth and Michael return to their father's room where they finally find the Puppet, who tells them her identity and that they need to go and discover the truth at Fredbear's. Elizabeth then confesses to Michael that she had heard Charlotte before, but did not tell him as she did not want him to react badly, causing Michael to question his past behaviour. Michael drives them there in William's stolen car. They find only Fredbear on stage and awaken their brother from inside the animatronic, who forgives them for falling under the influence of William. He also tells them that he is unable to move on without the other animatronics, and asks if he can follow them. Michael promises to be different this time around (Work In Progress). The Puppet stays to help Fredbear get to the destination.

A little later, Henry arrives at Freddy's and meets William, who confesses to his crimes and explains his future plans with the restaurant and the rabbit suit, before suddenly shoving him and stabbing him in the abdomen while he was dazed. Elizabeth and Michael appear at this time and Michael confronts his father while Elizabeth runs for the stage. William tries to convince Michael of trusting him but he sees through his ruse (You Can't). Before anything else can happen between the two Aftons, Clay appears and tells him to go with Elizabeth. Elizabeth goes to the stage where the Puppet had brought Fredbear to the others (how, she says, is a secret), and watched as they all reunited. Charlotte refuses to move on until William had been defeated, however (Happiest Day). Meanwhile, Clay and William fight, and Henry manages to stand to grab Clay's gun, which had been discarded. He shoots William's leg, allowing Clay to arrest him before becoming weak (Mine, Forever (Reprise)). Charlotte is able to communicate with him before she moves on with the others, and all of them say goodbye to William.

The town closes the case and moves on from the tragedies. Henry apologises to his sister, who is understandably annoyed, and after he heals, Freddy Fazbear's is remade into a new space for children with the help of Elizabeth and Michael. They decide that the best they can do is save any future children that may be in trouble (Save Them).

[rollercoasterwords]

oookay. finished the secret history let’s go

so the book itself was split into two separate books, book I and book II. for clarity’s sake, im gonna further split it into 4 parts, part 1, 2, 3 and 4. 

so first quick summary 4 bg information (no spoilers, as promised!!)

so basically a group of sexually repressed 20-something gays push the first homophobe they see off a cliff

OR

we’re told of Bunny’s murder in the first 2 pages, separating the book from other crime novels in that most of it was less a whodunnit and more of a whydunnit. in part 1, we’re introduced to richard papen, the narrator, who applied to a college, Hampden, miles away from his home state bc the colours on the brochure were pretty. he falls in with a group of students who are studying ancient greek; henry, bunny, francis, and camilla and charles (twins). So for a while, things look awesome. richard’s at a good college, with a large and tight-knit group of friends. What could go wrong?

this part transitions into two after richard and bunny find out about something terrible the rest of the group did in the past.

in part 2, bunny starts to become hostile to his friends after learning of it, while richard is able to wrap his head around it quite quickly. It escalates to the point where bunny becomes a potential threat, in that he might spill the beans to someone else. here, henry begins to plan bunny’s murder, and the rest of group just sort of goes along with it. parts 1 and 2 were pleasant, and paced really quickly. i was hooked the entire time. part 3 gets a bit dull, but it picks up again after Bunny’s funeral and hits the ground running.

book one ends right before bunny dies, and book two starts right after.

part 3 opens into a police investigation for bunny, who is believed to be missing until they find his body. in this part, tensions within the group begin to escalate. most of p. 3 is spent at bunny’s family’s house, who have invited many people bunny knew to stay with them during the funeral proceedings.

part 4, i believe begins after bunny’s body is found. here everyone’s like REALLY on edge. I will say most of it was just richard and francis running around frantically together while charles slowly goes insane with paranoia that henry’s trying to kill him as well. yk what, some of charles’ dialogue in this part is unsettlingly reminiscent of a panicked letter written by bunny that was found only after his death. In the book, there was only one passage of it shown, but that was enough. reading it, one could practically hear the panic, the desperation in bunny’s voice, one later mirrored in charles. vv psychologically thrillery. Im having hannibal flashbacks actually

and ohhh my god the ending. It was the climax to end all climaxes rae. ill never get over it. It was bittersweet ig, like all the best endings are. 

one thing i noticed is that throughout the book, there are these like future reflections littered through. like ‘thinking back on it now, i wish i had. . .’  or ‘funny, that was the last time i ever saw him’, which have the story a sort of They Both Die at the End quality. yk, like a tragedy waiting to happen. I think i remember you doing something like that once, rae, in atydsp. I believe it was right in one of the summer 1977 chapters but i could be wrong. I think something like that really makes a story gut-wrenching, especially with the whole looming impermanence that the reader is all too aware of. the very last lines in the epilogue read, ‘I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.’ see? whenever one of these bad boys is thrown in there, the scene changes from just a regular scene to something golden and significant. I think i once saw a post that read, ‘in movies time travellers are always scared of drastically changing their future by doing something small, but no one in the present ever things they can drastically change their future by doing something small’. thats what that reminds me of.

in the epilogue, richard refers to himself as a bystander, and he’s not wrong. he’s the narrator, of course, but in the end, the story’s not really about him. it’s about henry and bunny. I kind of get now, those lines at the end of the epilogue. Bunny’s death, and the events that subsequently followed, are so much more important than richard himself will ever be. 

TSH is famous for that one line henry has, when charles asks him how he could possibly justify cold blooded murder, and henry says, ‘I prefer to think of it … as a redistribution of matter.’ but the line that got to me the most personally was an unassuming one, camilla in the epilogue about her twin brother charles: ‘actually, charles and i dont really talk anymore. It’s broken my Nana’s heart.’ not that she and charles should ever be in the same room together ever (very fucked up things happened), but it’s just the impermanence of relationships. how two people who may be at one point inseparable just drift apart. it’s not any one big fight or falling out that snaps the thread of their connection, but that thread just wearing out and growing thinner and thinner until eventually nothing is left anymore. thats what gets to me.

andd also one thing that kept happening was that i’d accidentally (or on purpose) flip a few pages ahead and reading something really fucking deranged or unexpected and just be like ‘huh???? what??? how?????’ and i’d go back and read up to that point until it made sense. i’d love love LOVE to give examples but i’m not allowed spoilers :(( the book is just the right amount of deranged though it rlly tickles ur brain in just the right spots without being overly ick

I think someone said that it was a francis/richard/charles/camilla/henry love pentagon but its most like a love diamond. grab a pen and paper folks, it gets complicated. imagine charles at the top, francis on the left, richard at the bottom, and camilla on the right, with a line extending from camilla to henry. there thats tsh.

all in all 8/10!! if it’s on your reading list like you said it was, definitely move it to the top.

one day i WILL read tsh i promise!! unfortunately it cannot go to the top atm bc im working thru the books i already own 😔 love this review tho i honestly didn’t really know what the book was about & this actually sounds really good…

[the-resurrection-3d]

THEY SAID I DID SOMETHING BAD: a musical about the life and times of the unabomer, by taylor swift.

(Spotify Link) (Inspiration, provided by @significationary)

[Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on this guy, although I have notated which changes I made and cited my sources down at the bottom. I also tried to include at least one song from every Taylor Swift album. Feel free to suggest other songs I could have used!]

ACT I: OUR COMING OF AGE HAS COME AND GONE

I Did Something Bad  — Having attempted suicide while in police custody, Ted Kaczynski prepares for trial, refusing to let his lawyers use the insanity defense. In the end, after a failed attempt at representing himself, Ted pleads guilty to 13  federal charges in exchange for life in prison.

They say I did something bad,  Then why’s it feel so good? Most fun I ever had! And I’d do it over and over and over again If I could…

seven / this is me trying (mashup) - As a small child, Ted is hospitalized and isolated following an allergic reaction; reports allege this had a strong effect on his personality. Nevertheless, Ted's younger brother, David, describes him as kind and protective. Ted skips two grades in his early schooling, but is othered for being smaller than the other children and too “different” due to his intelligence. At 16, Ted goes to Harvard on a scholarship to study math.

Please picture me In the trees I hit my peak at seven feet In the swing Over the creek I was too scared to jump in… And I just wanted you to know that this is me trying… 

Tell Me Why - While at Harvard, Ted is subjected to repeated verbal abuse by his professor, Henry A. Murray, who was part of a CIA program code-named Project MK-Ultra. The program sought to understand how to implement mind-control techniques, including using drugs such as LSD, although there is no evidence that Ted was ever drugged while at Harvard. 

Here's to you and your temper Yes, I remember what you said last night And I know that you see what you're doing to me Tell me why

Guilty as Sin? - In 1966, Ted experiences an intense sexual desire to become a woman, even deciding to undergo gender transition. 

I keep these longings locked, In lowercase inside a vault…

 I Hate It Here - Upon arriving at his therapy appointment to begin transitioning, however, Ted changes his mind, and never mentions to the psychiatrist why he originally wanted to meet. Afterward, he considers killing the psychiatrist and several other people.

I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind People need a key to get to The only one is mine I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child No mid-sized city hopes and small town fears I'm there most of the year Cause I hate it here...

this is me trying (reprise) - After graduating, Ted gets a teaching job at Berkeley, but has a hard time delivering lectures and avoids his students. He suddenly resigns from his position in 1969. 

They told me all of my cages were mental, So I got wasted like all my potential…

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart  - Ted moves back to Chicago to work at the same factory as his brother and begins a relationship with a woman at work. Due to Ted’s sexual harassment of her following a sour breakup, David, his supervisor, has to fire him.* Ted moves to Montana into a cabin him and his brother had built.

I can read your mind… “She’s having the time of his life…” There in her glittering prime The lights refract sequined stars off her silhouette every night I can show you lies...

ACT II: AND IN THE DEATH OF HER REPUTATION, SHE FELT TRULY ALIVE 

the lakes / I Hate It Here (Reprise) / Clean - In his cabin, Ted lives in near-total isolation, hunting and growing his own food, and spending much of his time reading. It is here Ted develops his anti-government, anti-technology philosophy. 

I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones These hunters with cell phones… Ten months older, I won't give in Now that I'm clean, I'm never gonna risk it So take me to the lakes, I hate it here…

I Know Places - Ted, trying to convince his brother to join him, reminiscences on them building this cabin together.]

Baby, I know places we won't be found, and They'll be chasing their tails trying to track us down 'Cause I, I know places we can hide…

closure - As Ted becomes increasingly unhinged, the letters between him and his brother grow increasingly fraught, and the waits between them increasingly long. David invites Ted back to civilization but Ted refuses, thinking David is simply ashamed of having a “failed” brother. 

Don't treat me like some situation that needs to be handled I'm fine with my spite And my tears And my beers and my candles…

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? - Between 1978 and 1996, Ted sends 16 bombs to various universities, airlines,  computer stores, and industry figures. He kills three people and injures many more. 

I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean "Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth" Who's afraid of little old me? Well, you should be

ACT III:  FROM HOUSE TO CARDIAC ARREST 

Cold as You / Dear John (mashup)-  David reads the Unabomber’s manifesto in the newspaper and recognizes the writing style and ideas as those of his brother. After reflecting on his strained relationship with Ted, David turns him in to the FBI and uses the reward money to set up the Unabom Survivors Fund.

And you'll add my name to your long list of traitors Who don't understand And I'll look back and regret how I ignored when they said "Run as fast as you can" And now that I'm sittin' here thinkin' it through I've never been anywhere cold as you 

Who’s Afraid (Reprise) / Look What You Made Me Do - On April 3, 1996, federal investigators arrested Kaczynski at his cabin in Montana. 

Oo, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me...

Cassandra - In his cell, Ted reflects on the growing popularity of the ideas expressed in his manifesto.**

So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?

exile / The Last Time - David and Ted have their last conversation. During the trial, Ted never makes eye contact nor speaks to his family. In prison, he never answers their letters.

This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye, eye, eye All this time I never learned to read your mind (never learned to read my mind) I couldn't turn things around (you never turned things around) 'Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs) So many signs, so many signs…

hoax - Alone in his cell, Ted reflects on his brother’s betrayal. 

You knew the password, so I let you in the door You knew you won, so what's the point of keeping score? You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart But what you did was just as dark

Dear Reader / ME! - In June of 2023, Ted is found unresponsive and is pronounced dead later that day. The death is officially ruled a suicide. Inside his cell, guards find a letter — a suicide note? A letter to a fan? No one can say for certain.

You should find another guiding light Guiding light But I shine so bright  I promise that you’ll never find another like me!

---------

* In reality, Ted moves to his cabin in Montana in the early 1970s, and doesn’t return to Chicago until 1978. I switched these events around for the sake of imaginary time constraints and to produce a more streamlined narrative. 

** If you’ve ever heard the meme “The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race,” this is where it comes from.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

[stephensmithuk]

The Sign of Four: In Quest of a Solution

You could find the back issues of most papers just by visiting a local library. Today, the British Newspaper Archive will, for a monthly subscription, allow you to look at a whole slew of vintage papers, including The Illustrated Police News for all your Victorian "true crime" reportage.

As mentioned before, a four-wheeler was a four-wheeled carriage with a driving seat on the top front and a luggage rack on the top; they costed more than the hansoms.

Doyle isn't very good with coming up with convincing Indian names, is he? Singh is the name used by a baptised male Sikh (Kaur is the female equivalent) i.e. a turban-wearing, dagger carrying one. Mahomet is a version of Mohammed.

The gas lights of London weren't hugely bright compared with modern street lights; you'd be able to find your way, but there's probably a decent chance you'd step in horse exhaust if you weren't careful.

The Lyceum Theatre, located on Wellington Street, dates back to 1765, but the current building is from 1834, rebuilt after a fire. It contains a balcony over the dress circle, a unique theatre.

GhostApple on Tumblr pointed out that Bram Stoker was the manager at that theatre at the time SIGN was released. The theatre at the time was run by Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, two of the biggest stars of their days, becoming Sir Henry and Dame Ellen later in life. Stoker based Dracula on Irving, but sadly Irving never actually played the Count on stage.

After a further rebuild, time as a ballroom, a demoliton threat and two closures, the Lyceum reopened in 1996 and is a Grade II* listed building, the second highest grade. Since 1999, it is the London home of The Lion King.

The normal garb of a coachman would be a top hat and a heavy double-breasted overcoat; they would be driving their vehicle in a vast array of weather conditions, sometimes on the same day as anyone who has lived in Britain can tell you.

The coach is going rather fast at this point, possibly dangerously so. The Offences against the Person Act 1861 created an offence of "causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving"; which could mean that if a horse-drawn vehicle hit another vehicle or a person, the driver could get up to two years in prison. The offence remains on the books, being used against horse-drawn carriage drivers (still a thing, particularly in the Traveller community), motorists when not on a road or public land and cyclists, as the Road Traffic Act 1988 is not available in these cases - it is a Crown Court-only offence. In 2017, a cyclist riding at speed in East London with no front brakes hit and killed a woman; the jury found him not guilty of manslaughter, but convicted him of this offence, with the result he got a 18-month sentence.

Tiger attacks were very common in British India; tigers are known to attack humans when feeling threatened (human encroachment on their territory is a big problem)), injuries prevent them from going after other prey or they mistake a human for something else, or if one is riding a bike, their chase instinct may kick in. 33,247 people were killed by tigers between 1876 and 1912. In 2022, the Indian government recorded 112 tiger-caused deaths, up from 59 in 2021. Some tigers have ended up killing over 100 people before being shot dead.

For those having a go at Watson for shooting at a tiger cub, we don't know how old or how big the tiger cub was. A newborn tiger maybe less than 10 pounds and look adorable, but a ten month male could easily be over 100 pounds and looks rather like a full-grown adult. Especially in the dark.

This said, humans are a good deal worse than tigers. The British cleared vast amounts of their habitat for the timber to build their railways. Hunting tigers for "sport" had been a common practice for the Indian nobility and the British ruling classes liked doing it just as much, bringing modern firearms along. Remember Dr. Sterndale from DEVI? There's a chance Watson might have gone hunting himself, sadly.

The tiger hunting got worse post-independence as improved air travel made it easier for game hunters to get to India. The Indian government banned tiger hunting in 1972 and the Bengal tiger population is slowly recovering. The size of reserves have not kept up with the population and so some tigers have gone into human areas for food, usually livestock but sometimes humans. If a tiger starts killing people and attempts to tranquilise it fail, then lethal force will be authorised. In 2022, T-104, a three-year-old dubbed the "man-eater of Champaran", killed nine people before he was shot dead by the police, who conducted their search riding elephants.

The "Surrey side" refers to the southern bank of the river, the other being the "Middlesex side" referring to the now defunct county. Those terms remain in use for the Boat Races; with the Middlesex side being on the right as the crews row upstream. The two "stations" have various advantages and disadvantages; Middlesex helps at the start end, Surrey in the middle.

Vauxhall Bridge was in rather a bad shape by this point and would be replaced in 1906, five years late due to various construction and design issues. The modern bridge is notable for having the very distinctive headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service next to its southern end.

"Hindoo" was a contemporary spelling of Hindu, today considered derogatory.

"Sahib" is the Indian equivalent of "sir" or "master"; "Mem-Sahib" is the female version. The Indians used it when speaking to white people (or about them, possibly sarcastically) and the British officers would use it with their Indian counterparts. It is less common now, but still widely used in the Indian Army and about people in positions of power.

"Khitmutgar" was a term for a male butler or underservant who would set the table for dinner etc.; during the Bengal Presidency, these would typically as opposed to Hindus.

[docgold13]

Batman: The Animated Series - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

The Scarecrow

The self proclaimed ‘master of fear and the lord of despair, whom all should cower before in witless terror,’ The Scarecrow has proven one of Batman’s most persistent of foes.  Fired from Gotham University for his unconventional antics, Professor Jonathan Crane became The Scarecrow so to extract vengeance on those who wronged him. 

Utilizing his copious knowledge of fear, chemistry and psychopharmacology, Crane created a specialized hallucinogenic gas that can induce immediate and crippling fear in anyone who comes into contact with it. This gas has the effect of taking a victim’s greatest fears and manifesting them in the form of vivid and convincing hallucinations.  

Donning a costume evocative of a scarecrow, Crane used this gas to commit a string of robberies that aimed to bankrupt Gotham University.  This crime spree attracted Batman's attention and Scarecrow's plans were foiled by Batman.  In their showdown, Crane became infected by a concentrated dose of his own fear gas, causing him to see Batman as a giant, menacing bat creature.  Overwhelmed by sheer terror, The Scarecrow was reduced to a quivering heap and remanded to Arkham Asylum for treatment.  

Actor Henry Polic II provided the voice for The Scarecrow.   The villain first appeared in the tenth episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, ‘Nothing to Fear.’  

[sixminutestoriesblog]

ides of march

well, its tumblr's favorite holiday and who can blame us? The assassination of Julius Caesar is probably one of the only group projects that ever went down the way it was supposed to with, well, not complete group participation (there were said to be upward of 60 people involved but only 23 stab wounds - obviously someone was not carrying their weight) but at least a good effort was made at it. But lets take a moment, between our jokes about salad and Animal Crossing butterfly nets to look at what else has happened in history on the Ides of March. For instance, did you know, on March 15th:

1493 - Columbus returned to Spain after 'discovering' the new world.

1580 - Phillip II of Spain put a bounty on the head of Prince William I of Orange for 25,000 gold coins for leading the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Hamburgs

1744 - King Louis XV of France declares war on Britain

1767 - Andrew Jackson, who would go on to be the seventh president of the US, was born.

1820 - Maine became the 23rd state in the US

1864 - the Red River Campaign, called 'One damn blunder from beginning to end' started for the Union Forces in the American Civil War

1889 - a typhoon in Apia Harbor, Samoa sinks 6 US and German warships, killing 200

1917 - Czar Nicholas II abdicated the Russian throne, bringing an end to the Romanov dynasty

1955 - the first self-guided missile is introduced by the US Air Force

1965 - TGI Friday's opens its first restaurant in New York City

1991 - in LA, four police officers are brought up on charges for the beating of Rodney King

2018 - Toys R Us announces it will be closing all its stores

2019 - a terrorist attacks two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51, and wounding 50 others

Oof! Pretty bleak, isn't it? It would almost make you think that the day is just bad luck, start to finish and its probably just as well, we're all focusing on assassination instead of other horrors. But wait - its not all bad news! The Ides of March has some tricks up its sleeve yet (joke intended). I'd be telling you only half the story if I didn't add:

1854 - Emil von Behring is born and will eventually become the first to receive the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery of a diphtheria antitoxin, being called 'the children's savoir' for the lives it saves

1867 - Michigan is the first state to use property tax to support a university

1868 - the Cincinnati Red Stockings have ten salaried players, making them the first professional baseball team in the US

1887 - Michigan has the first salaried fish and game warden

1892 - the first automatic ballot voting machine is unveiled in New York City

1907 - Finland gives women the right to vote, becoming the first to do so in Europe

1933 - Ruth Bader Ginsberg is born and will go on to become a US Supreme Court justice

1934 - the 5$ a day wage was introduced by Henry Ford, forcing other companies to raise their wages as well or lose their workers

1937 - the first state sponsored contraceptive clinic in the US opens in Raleigh, North Carolina

1946 - the British Prime minister recognizes India's independence

1947 - the US Navy has its first black commissioned officer, John Lee

1949 - clothes rationing ends in Britain, four years after the end of WWII

1960 - ten nations meet in Geneva for disarmament talks

1968 - the Dioceses of Rome says it will not ban 'rock and roll' from being played during mass but that it deplores the practice - also in 1968, LIFE magazine titles Jimi Hendrix 'the most spectacular guitarist in the world'

1971 - ARPANET, the precursor of the modern day internet, sees its first forum

1984 - Tanzanian adopts a constitution

1985 - symbolics.com, the first internet domain name, is registered

The Ides of March turns out to just be a day, like any other day in history.

Unless you're us. In which case -

[unknownworlds4]

As we near the end of pride month, I would like to celebrate a number of LGBTQ+ figures that may be unknown to some.

Alan Turing (1912 - 1954)

Alan Turing was British mathematician, cryptologist, and computer scientist who is credited as the founder of modern computer science and artificial intelligence. During World War II, he worked for Britain’s Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, leading the effort to decrypt German naval intelligence. Turing created a number of methods and devices that helped crack the German Enigma Code and allowed the allies to read German intelligence and allow allied ships to avoid U-Boat ‘Wolf-packs’. Turing’s work was pivotal in helping the allied victory in the war. Sadly, Turing was arrested in 1952 for homosexual acts and convicted of ‘gross indecency’. He accepted chemical castration as an alternative to prison. In 1954, was found dead from suicide by cyanide poisoning. It’s believed that Turing’s work helped shortened the war by several years.

Harvey Milk (1930 - 1978)

Harvey Milk was a politician and the first openly gay man to serve in public office in the United States. Milk moved to San Francisco in 1972 and took up residence in the Castro District, a neighborhood that was heavily populated by lesbians and gay men, and opened a camera store called Castro Camera. Milk became involved in politics because of civic issues and policies that drew his ire. Homosexuality was still heavily persecuted in the city at the time. In 1973, he announced his declared his candidacy for city supervisor. However, he faced a negative reception from the established gay political scene and lost the election. He lost his second election two years later. By this point, Milk had become a leading figure in the gay community, known as the “Mayor of Castro Street”, and had allies that included Mayor George Moscone, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, and future Senator Diane Feinstein. Finally, in 1978, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, inaugurated January 8. During his tenure he was involved in a number of issues including childcare, housing, and police reform. Sadly, he only served eleven months in office before he, along with George Moscone, was assassinated by former supervisor Dan White, who was against many of Milks policies. Today, Harvey Milk is considered an icon of San Francisco and a martyr of the LGBTQ movement.

Rose Cleveland (1846 - 1918)

Rose Cleveland was the sister of U.S. President Grover Cleveland and, as such, acted as First Lady of the United States from his inauguration until he married Frances Folsom in 1886. After leaving the White House she became a teacher, writer, and lecturer in Indiana. At age 44 she started a romantic relationship with wealthy widow Evangeline Marrs Simpson. They exchanged numerous letters, some with explicitly erotic imagery. The relationship cooled after six years after Simpson married Episcopal preacher Bishop Henry Whipple, despite Cleveland’s protests. After Whipple died in 1901, their relationship resumed. Cleveland and Evangeline moved to Bagni di Lucca, Italy in 1910, where they cared for Evangeline’s ill brother and settled there after his death. They lived there together until Cleveland died during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. After her death, Evangeline wrote “the light has gone out for me…the loss of this noble and great soul is a blow that I shall not recover from”. Evangeline died in 1930 and is buried in the cemetery in Italy next to Rose. Many of their letters remain an important part of LGBTQ history.

Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)

Andy Warhol was an American artist, director, and producer who was a leading figure in the pop art movement of the 1950’s to 1970’s. This movement focused on combining fine art with elements of popular culture, hence the name pop art. Warhol’s paintings focused on mass produced consumer goods and celebrity portraits. Warhol’s most famous pieces include Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962), Green Coca-Cola Bottles (1962), Marilyn Diptych (1962), and Mao Tse-Tung (1972). He also directed and produced experimental films including Empire (1964) and Chelsea Girls (1966). His New York City gallery, The Factory, was a popular gathering place for artists, musicians, actors, socialites, and celebrities. In 1966, he became the manager of rock band The Velvet Underground, which became the house band of The Factory. In 1969, he created Interview magazine, which features interviews with celebrities, artists, musicians, and other creatives. Warhol lived openly as a gay man before the gay liberation movement and had a series of male partners. He said his sexuality was a major influence of his work. Warhol died on February 22, 1987 due to complications from a gallbladder surgery. Andy Warhol is regarded as one of America’s most famous visual artists.

Gladys Bentley (1907 - 1960)

Gladys Bentley was an American blues singer, pianist, and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Her career took off after performing at Harry Hansberry’s Clam House, a well known gay speakeasy in New York City. She gained popularity as a black, lesbian, cross dressing performer. She performed in men’s clothes and was backed up by a chorus of drag queens. She sang with a deep, growling voice, and took popular songs and added her own raunchy lyrics while flirting with women in the audience. Despite being openly lesbian in the beginning of her career, she later started wearing dresses and married during the more conservative 1950’s in order to adapt to the mindset of the time period. Bentley died of pneumonia in 1960 and is remembered as an icon of both the LGBTQ and Black communities.

Willem Arondeus (1894 - 1943)

Willem Arondeus was an openly gay Dutch artist and writer who fought for the Dutch resistance against Nazi occupation during World War II. Prior to the war, he wished to work as an artist, but he found very little popularity, so he turned to writing instead. After Germany occupied The Netherlands, Arondeus joined the Resistance Movement, publishing underground periodicals and forging documents. His most famous endeavor, was his involvement in the bombing of the Amsterdam Civil Registry in 1943. The Civil Registry was established following the German invasion and occupation of the Netherlands in 1940 and was used to keep records of all residents of the country and identified those who were Jewish, resistance members, and those who could be called up for forced labor. On March 27, resistance members, including Arondeus, entered the building by disguising themselves as police officers and sedating the guards. They then piled all the documents on the floor and set of explosives. They fire department delayed putting out the fire and then doused the whole building with water. 800,000 ID cards were destroyed in total. Unfortunately, someone betrayed Arondeus and he was subsequently arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Before his execution, his last words were “tell people that homosexuals are not cowards”.

Gilbert Baker (1951 - 2017)

Gilbert Baker was an American artist and designer who is the original creator of the LGBTQ Rainbow Pride flag. He joined the anti-war movement in the 1970’s where he met, and became friends with, Harvey Milk. Milk commissioned Baker to create a flag that could represent gay pride. Using the American flag as inspiration, Baker hand sew the original flag, which had eight colored stripes (two more than the modern version). Each color represents a different aspect important to the gay community: (from hot pink to violet) sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic, serenity, and spirit. The flag was first flown in San Francisco on June 25, 1978, for gay pride day. Baker died in 2017, and is regarded as a major figure in the pride movement. Today there are many different variations of the Pride flag, with each one representing a different group from the gay community

Larry Kramer (1935 - 2020)

Larry Kramer was an American playwright, author, film producer, and gay rights activist, who worked to bring awareness to the AIDS crisis in the 1980’s. He began his career writing scripts for Columbia pictures, winning an Academy Award for the 1969 film Women in Love. After witnessing the disease later known as AIDS spread among his friends, Kramer became involved in gay activism. In 1982, Kramer co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis, now known as GMHC, which provides social services for those infected with AIDS, along with testing, legal assistance, and mental health support. It’s currently the largest AIDS assistance organization in the world After, growing frustrated with the government paralysis and apathy towards gay men, he wanted to engage in further action, so in 1987, he helped found the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). ACT UP is a direct action protest organization that works to change legislation and public policy to end the AIDS crisis. ACT UP soon had chapters in cities all over the United States. The movement then spread internationally, with separate movements being established in other countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, India, and Germany. In 1992, Kramer wrote the play ‘The Destiny of Me’, which follows a character from his 1985 play ‘The Normal Heart’ seeking experimental treatment for AIDS. The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The Normal Heart debuted on Broadway in 2011, and was adapted into an HBO movie in 2014. Kramer died of pneumonia on May 27, 2020.

Bessie Smith (1894 - 1937)

Bessie Smith was an American blues singer, nicknamed the ‘Empress of Blues’. She was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930’s. Smith stated her career busking in the streets to help her family financially. In 1912, she auditioned for a music troupe that included blues legend Ma Rainey. She was originally hired as a dancer. Smith began her solo career at the 81 Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. She signed with Columbia Records in 1923. She made 160 recordings for Columbia, accompanied by some of the most famous musicians of the day including Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, and Sidney Bechet. She became the highest paid black entertainer of the day. Throughout her career, smith was apologetically herself, having affairs with both men and women. Some speculate her bisexuality was hinted at in the lyrics of her songs, including ‘boy in the boat’: “when you see two women walking hand in hand/Just look ‘em over and try to understand/They’ll go to those parties/Having the lights down low/Only those parties where women can go”. Sadly, her career was cut short in 1937, when she died at the age of 43 due to injuries sustained in a car accident enroute to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her funeral was attended by more then 5,000 people. In 1989, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with an entry saying her reign was “definitive, unprecedented, and glorious”.

James Baldwin (1924 - 1987)

James Baldwin was an American writer who gained critical acclaim across multiple forms, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. In 1953, he published his first book ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’, a semi-autobiographical novel which tells the story of a young African American man who grew up in Harlem, New York City, and his relationship with his family and the Pentecostal Church. In 1998, Modern Library ranked the book 39th on its list of 100 best English language novels of the 20th century. In 2005, Time Magazine included the book in its list of the 100 Best Novels from 1923 (when Time was first published) to 2005. In 1956, Baldwin wrote ‘Giovanni’s Room’ whose main character was a gay American man living in Paris, France, who began an affair with an Italian bartender named Giovanni, whom he met at a Gay bar. Gay and Bisexual men are also frequently featured in his other works. His unfinished manuscript Remember This House was expanded and adapted in the 2016 Oscar nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro, which won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. His 1974 novel ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ was adapted into a movie in 2018, which won Best Supporting Actress for Regina King at the 91st Academy Awards, where the film was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. King also received Best Supporting Actress at the 76th Golden Globe Awards and 24th Critics Choice Awards. Both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute included it in their top 10 films of 2018. Today, James Baldwin is considered one of the most famous LGBTQ writers in American history.

[dailyanarchistposts]

F.7.1 Are competing governments anarchism?

No, of course not. Yet according to “anarcho”-capitalism, it is. This can be seen from the ideas of Gustave de Molinari.

Hart is on firmer ground when he argues that the 19th century French economist Gustave de Molinari is the true founder of “anarcho”-capitalism. With Molinari, he argues, “the two different currents of anarchist thought converged: he combined the political anarchism of Burke and Godwin with the nascent economic anarchism of Adam Smith and Say to create a new forms of anarchism” that has been called “anarcho-capitalism, or free market anarchism.” [Op. Cit., p. 269] Of course, Godwin (like other anarchists) did not limit his anarchism purely to “political” issues and so he discussed “economic anarchism” as well in his critique of private property (as Proudhon also did). As such, to artificially split anarchism into political and economic spheres is both historically and logically flawed. While some dictionaries limit “anarchism” to opposition to the state, anarchists did and do not.

The key problem for Hart is that Molinari refused to call himself an anarchist. He did not even oppose government, as Hart himself notes Molinari proposed a system of insurance companies to provide defence of property and “called these insurance companies ‘governments’ even though they did not have a monopoly within a given geographical area.” As Hart notes, Molinari was the sole defender of such free-market justice at the time in France. [David M. Hart, “Gustave de Molinari and the Anti-statist Liberal Tradition: Part II”, pp. 399–434, Journal of Libertarian Studies, vol. V, no. 4, p. 415 and p. 411] Molinari was clear that he wanted “a regime of free government,” counterpoising “monopolist or communist governments” to “free governments.” This would lead to “freedom of government” rather than its abolition (i.e., not freedom from government). For Molinari the future would not bring “the suppression of the state which is the dream of the anarchists … It will bring the diffusion of the state within society. That is … ‘a free state in a free society.’” [quoted by Hart, Op. Cit., p. 429, p. 411 and p. 422] As such, Molinari can hardly be considered an anarchist, even if “anarchist” is limited to purely being against government.

Moreover, in another sense Molinari was in favour of the state. As we discuss in section F.6, these companies would have a monopoly within a given geographical area — they have to in order to enforce the property owner’s power over those who use, but do not own, the property in question. The key contradiction can be seen in Molinari’s advocating of company towns, privately owned communities (his term was a “proprietary company”). Instead of taxes, people would pay rent and the “administration of the community would be either left in the hands of the company itself or handled special organisations set up for this purpose.” Within such a regime “those with the most property had proportionally the greater say in matters which affected the community.” If the poor objected then they could simply leave. [Op. Cit., pp. 421–2 and p. 422]

Given this, the idea that Molinari was an anarchist in any form can be dismissed. His system was based on privatising government, not abolishing it (as he himself admitted). This would be different from the current system, of course, as landlords and capitalists would be hiring police directly to enforce their decisions rather than relying on a state which they control indirectly. This system would not be anarchist as can be seen from American history. There capitalists and landlords created their own private police forces and armies, which regularly attacked and murdered union organisers and strikers. As an example, there is Henry Ford’s Service Department (private police force):

“In 1932 a hunger march of the unemployed was planned to march up to the gates of the Ford plant at Dearborn… The machine guns of the Dearborn police and the Ford Motor Company’s Service Department killed [four] and wounded over a score of others… Ford was fundamentally and entirely opposed to trade unions. The idea of working men questioning his prerogatives as an owner was outrageous … [T]he River Rouge plant… was dominated by the autocratic regime of Bennett’s service men. Bennett .. organise[d] and train[ed] the three and a half thousand private policemen employed by Ford. His task was to maintain discipline amongst the work force, protect Ford’s property [and power], and prevent unionisation… Frank Murphy, the mayor of Detroit, claimed that ‘Henry Ford employs some of the worst gangsters in our city.’ The claim was well based. Ford’s Service Department policed the gates of his plants, infiltrated emergent groups of union activists, posed as workers to spy on men on the line… Under this tyranny the Ford worker had no security, no rights. So much so that any information about the state of things within the plant could only be freely obtained from ex-Ford workers.” [Huw Beynon, Working for Ford, pp. 29–30]

The private police attacked women workers handing out pro-union leaflets and gave them “a severe beating.” At Kansas and Dallas “similar beatings were handed out to the union men.” This use of private police to control the work force was not unique. General Motors “spent one million dollars on espionage, employing fourteen detective agencies and two hundred spies at one time [between 1933 and 1936]. The Pinkerton Detective Agency found anti-unionism its most lucrative activity.” [Op. Cit., p. 34 and p. 32] We must also note that the Pinkerton’s had been selling their private police services for decades before the 1930s. For over 60 years the Pinkerton Detective Agency had “specialised in providing spies, agent provocateurs, and private armed forces for employers combating labour organisations.” By 1892 it “had provided its services for management in seventy major labour disputes, and its 2,000 active agents and 30,000 reserves totalled more than the standing army of the nation.” [Jeremy Brecher, Strike!, p. 55] With this force available, little wonder unions found it so hard to survive in the USA.

Only an “anarcho”-capitalist would deny that this is a private government, employing private police to enforce private power. Given that unions could be considered as “defence” agencies for workers, this suggests a picture of how “anarcho”-capitalism may work in practice radically different from than that produced by its advocates. The reason is simple, it does not ignore inequality and subjects property to an anarchist analysis. Little wonder, then, that Proudhon stressed that it “becomes necessary for the workers to form themselves into democratic societies, with equal conditions for all members, on pain of a relapse into feudalism.” Anarchism, in other words, would see ”[c]apitalistic and proprietary exploitation stopped everywhere, the wage system abolished” and so “the economic organisation [would] replac[e] the governmental and military system.” [The General Idea of the Revolution, p. 227 and p. 281] Clearly, the idea that Proudhon shared the same political goal as Molinari is a joke. He would have dismissed such a system as little more than an updated form of feudalism in which the property owner is sovereign and the workers subjects (also see section B.4).

Unsurprisingly, Molinari (unlike the individualist anarchists) attacked the jury system, arguing that its obliged people to “perform the duties of judges. This is pure communism.” People would “judge according to the colour of their opinions, than according to justice.” [quoted by Hart, Op. Cit., p. 409] As the jury system used amateurs (i.e. ordinary people) rather than full-time professionals it could not be relied upon to defend the power and property rights of the rich. As we noted in section F.6.1, Rothbard criticised the individualist anarchists for supporting juries for essentially the same reasons.

But, as is clear from Hart’s account, Molinari had little concern that working class people should have a say in their own lives beyond consuming goods and picking bosses. His perspective can be seen from his lament that in those “colonies where slavery has been abolished without the compulsory labour being replaced with an equivalent quantity of free [sic!] labour [i.e., wage labour], there has occurred the opposite of what happens everyday before our eyes. Simple workers have been seen to exploit in their turn the industrial entrepreneurs, demanding from them wages which bear absolutely no relation to the legitimate share in the product which they ought to receive. The planters were unable to obtain for their sugar a sufficient price to cover the increase in wages, and were obliged to furnish the extra amount, at first out of their profits, and then out of their very capital. A considerable number of planters have been ruined as a result … It is doubtless better that these accumulations of capital should be destroyed than that generations of men should perish [Marx: ‘how generous of M. Molinari’] but would it not be better if both survived?” [quoted by Karl Marx, Capital, vol. 1, p. 937f]

So workers exploiting capital is the “opposite of what happens everyday before our eyes”? In other words, it is normal that entrepreneurs “exploit” workers under capitalism? Similarly, what is a “legitimate share” which workers “ought to receive”? Surely that is determined by the eternal laws of supply and demand and not what the capitalists (or Molinari) thinks is right? And those poor former slave drivers, they really do deserve our sympathy. What horrors they face from the impositions subjected upon them by their ex-chattels — they had to reduce their profits! How dare their ex-slaves refuse to obey them in return for what their ex-owners think was their “legitimate share in the produce”! How “simple” these workers were, not understanding the sacrifices their former masters suffer nor appreciating how much more difficult it is for their ex-masters to create “the product” without the whip and the branding iron to aid them! As Marx so rightly comments: “And what, if you please, is this ‘legitimate share’, which, according to [Molinari’s] own admission, the capitalist in Europe daily neglects to pay? Over yonder, in the colonies, where the workers are so ‘simple’ as to ‘exploit’ the capitalist, M. Molinari feels a powerful itch to use police methods to set on the right road that law of supply and demand which works automatically everywhere else.” [Op. Cit., p. 937f]

An added difficulty in arguing that Molinari was an anarchist is that he was a contemporary of Proudhon, the first self-declared anarchist, and lived in a country with a vigorous anarchist movement. Surely if he was really an anarchist, he would have proclaimed his kinship with Proudhon and joined in the wider movement. He did not, as Hart notes as regards Proudhon:

“their differences in economic theory were considerable, and it is probably for this reason that Molinari refused to call himself an anarchist in spite of their many similarities in political theory. Molinari refused to accept the socialist economic ideas of Proudhon .. . in Molinari’s mind, the term ‘anarchist’ was intimately linked with socialist and statist economic views.” [Op. Cit., p. 415]

Yet Proudhon’s economic views, like Godwin’s, flowed from his anarchist analysis and principles. They cannot be arbitrarily separated as Hart suggests. So while arguing that “Molinari was just as much an anarchist as Proudhon,” Hart forgets the key issue. Proudhon was aware that private property ensured that the proletarian did not exercise “self-government” during working hours, i.e. that he was ruled by another. As for Hart claiming that Proudhon had “statist economic views” it simply shows how far an “anarcho”-capitalist perspective is from genuine anarchism. Proudhon’s economic analysis, his critique of private property and capitalism, flowed from his anarchism and was an integral aspect of it.

By restricting anarchism purely to opposition to the state, Hart is impoverishing anarchist theory and denying its history. Given that anarchism was born from a critique of private property as well as government, this shows the false nature of Hart’s claim that “Molinari was the first to develop a theory of free-market, proprietary anarchism that extended the laws of the market and a rigorous defence of property to its logical extreme.” [Op. Cit., p. 415 and p. 416] Hart shows how far from anarchism Molinari was as Proudhon had turned his anarchist analysis to property, showing that “defence of property” lead to the oppression of the many by the few in social relationships identical to those which mark the state. Moreover, Proudhon, argued the state would always be required to defend such social relations. Privatising it would hardly be a step forward.

Unsurprisingly, Proudhon dismissed the idea that the laissez faire capitalists shared his goals. “The school of Say,” Proudhon argued, was “the chief focus of counter-revolution next to the Jesuits” and “has for ten years past seemed to exist only to protect and applaud the execrable work of the monopolists of money and necessities, deepening more and more the obscurity of a science [economics] naturally difficult and full of complications” (much the same can be said of “anarcho”-capitalists, incidentally). For Proudhon, “the disciples of Malthus and of Say, who oppose with all their might any intervention of the State in matters commercial or industrial, do not fail to avail themselves of this seemingly liberal attitude, and to show themselves more revolutionary than the Revolution. More than one honest searcher has been deceived thereby.” However, this apparent “anti-statist” attitude of supporters of capitalism is false as pure free market capitalism cannot solve the social question, which arises because of capitalism itself. As such, it was impossible to abolish the state under capitalism. Thus “this inaction of Power in economic matters was the foundation of government. What need should we have of a political organisation, if Power once permitted us to enjoy economic order?” Instead of capitalism, Proudhon advocated the “constitution of Value,” the “organisation of credit,” the elimination of interest, the “establishment of workingmen’s associations” and “the use of a just price.” [The General Idea of the Revolution, p. 225, p. 226 and p. 233]

Clearly, then, the claims that Molinari was an anarchist fail as he, unlike his followers, was aware of what anarchism actually stood for. Hart, in his own way, acknowledges this:

“In spite of his protestations to the contrary, Molinari should be considered an anarchist thinker. His attack on the state’s monopoly of defence must surely warrant the description of anarchism. His reluctance to accept this label stemmed from the fact that the socialists had used it first to describe a form of non-statist society which Molinari definitely opposed. Like many original thinkers, Molinari had to use the concepts developed by others to describe his theories. In his case, he had come to the same political conclusions as the communist anarchists although he had been working within the liberal tradition, and it is therefore not surprising that the terms used by the two schools were not compatible. It would not be until the latter half of the twentieth century that radical, free-trade liberals would use the word ‘anarchist’ to describe their beliefs.” [Op. Cit., p. 416]

It should be noted that Proudhon was not a communist-anarchist, but the point remains (as an aside, Rothbard also showed his grasp of anarchism by asserting that “the demented Bakunin” was a “leading anarcho-communist,” who “emphasised [the lumpenproletariat] in the 1840s.” [The Logic of Action II, p. 388 and p. 381] Which would have been impressive as not only did Bakunin become an anarchist in the 1860s, anarcho-communism, as anyone with even a basic knowledge of anarchist history knows, developed after his death nor did Bakunin emphasise the lumpenproletariat as the agent of social change, Rothbardian and Marxian inventions not withstanding). The aims of anarchism were recognised by Molinari as being inconsistent with his ideology. Consequently, he (rightly) refused the label. If only his self-proclaimed followers in the “latter half of the twentieth century” did the same then anarchists would not have to bother with them!

It does seem ironic that the founder of “anarcho”-capitalism should have come to the same conclusion as modern day anarchists on the subject of whether his ideas are a form of anarchism or not!