#I hate modern puritanism so much I am so tired | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mirceakitsune · 4 years ago

Text

Trump and the events that transpired today

It's AM as I start writing this journal, likely past 5 AM once I finish it. I'm tired after today and don't know to what extent I can be fully coherent, politically and socially correct, or whatever else I'm supposed to about what happened. But after the events that took place today I need to speak up. I am sick, feeling I have had it... but for once it's on a matter I can discuss with others in this world, shared by millions of people. Even though I'm nervous to even talk about it as the divide keeps growing; I don't know on which of those websites even journals discussing politics will still be allowed by the administration, I already have a hard time keeping track of the different rules on each of the +8 websites I post anything on... as far as I'm aware we're still allowed to discuss for now.

I don't know exactly who the people that invaded the Capitol building today were. Many say it was Antifa protesters disguised as Trump supporters; I find it hard to understand why they'd interrupt the crowning ceremony of their lover Biden if they were already winning, but who knows at this rate. The people who initially walked in there were likely Trump supporters, with Antifa coming later to start violence so they could say Trump did it. A woman was shot in the neck and unfortunately died soon after, no footage showing who did it yet... scary stuff but it's to be expected given the times we're living in, RIP.

I will start by saying the following thing: I was NEVER a real Trump supporter, and I likely never will be. I'll share a little secret: In 2016 when I first heard he won, I fell in a depression for the entirety of the next day, fearing that he was going to bring about the end of the free and modern world that seemed to be going well till then. And in some ways I was right: Bullshit like SESTA / FOSTA and the repeal of Net Neutrality and other garbage happened under his leadership. But things have changed SO much since that day. The true liberals and progressives I once knew and was proud of being among no longer exists: The left's tolerance has been replaced with hate and fascism, their love for freedom with "freedom as long as we aren't offended or our narratives challenged", even the free internet they once praised is now seen as a tool of "spreading hate and misinformation" unless guided by their censorship regime. No matter how difficult this was for me, I had to accept that only Trump and some of the people around him are still fighting for REAL freedom... putting aside some religious or "think of the children" bullshit the Republicans can't let go of; Freedom to think and say what you want, to live your life as who you are, to go outside without having to wear a god damn mask and breathe like a fucking sapient being that still has any right to live! I don't care that much about either left of right doctrine... all I truly wanted was to be free, to live in a world where everyone minds their own business without using fear and prejudice to control others. I'm also not a patriot as one way or another I believe in a world where people are just citizens of the planet and countries are mainly different legal / cultural zones... I do however believe in a movement to support the people of the world, even if that's currently dressed under patriotism.

Today I watched Trump's speech before the Capitol was stormed. I literally saw and felt a different man from that fool I too once hated and demonized. And I hated him for good reason: He still hasn't denounced his wall of hate (the Mexico border wall bullshit), never had the will or bravery to openly defend the LGBTQ community and distance himself from those supporters that oppose them, attacked Section 230 which is unacceptable despite his justified war against big tech and the corrupt media... I am and will remain outraged at those things about him, he was no ideal example. But you know what? He's not the demon the media makes him out to be either. And as much as I HATE to say this... he is a hero in his own way: For having the courage to fight the biggest organized crime network in the history of humanity... one known as globalism. THAT is why some people turn to him while others want him to look like the devil: Not because they're fascists but because he stood up against a problem everyone else is one way or another a part of, a problem you can't even talk about without being called a conspiracy theorist and raving nut, a frustration many of us feel yet is only deepened by this denial instead of anyone ever addressing it.

Let me be very clear on an essential thing: I'm well aware there are real neo-Nazis, xenophobes, racists, misogynists, transphobes, puritans, psychopaths, etc. in Trump's circles. Yes they are pests, and I too will smite those fools if they try to use Trump (or any other means) to impose their own bullshit on this world! The vast majority of Trump supporters I've seen have nothing to do with this hate: I've watched livestreams from dozens of Trump rallies by now, have only seen decent and peaceful and creative people dancing and having fun... unlike some Antifa and BLM rallies which are far more aggressive by comparison. It's always the media transmitting from those protests, journalists putting up theatrical scenes about how they're surrounded by dangerous extremists on their crusade to find the Proud Boys hiding in the crowd. There were at least 1 MILLION people supporting Trump in Washington DC today, kilometers of street filled with people. Including countless black people who were allegedly discriminated by him, who will also tooootally die from COVID tomorrow because they didn't respect social distancing... did I forget to mention the pro-LGBT flags being waved at those rallies? Really: Is anyone trying to tell me those are all evil intolerant whatever-phobic lunatics? Because I'm not going lie to myself because the media decided what we have to believe: The traitorous brainwashing media can go to hell, together with big tech and especially big pharma after what they did to the world with COVID.

I also watched dozens of livestreams from courts, of proof being presented regarding the massive election fraud that put Biden in office. There is no such thing as "there was no fraud", there were hundreds of testimonies under oath some with footage and documents; Courts simply refused to see the evidence or decided to ignore it citing procedural grounds... because like everything else, the globalist octopus (mafia reference) owns the justice system and every part of society. Dominion voting machines were programmed to default to Biden votes, they were designed with the mindset "here's a big button to vote for Biden... because you don't really want to vote for Trump do you, though if you really want to I guess you can click here". And other forms of manipulation that ultimately caused Biden to get MILLIONS OF VOTES OVERNIGHT, which is so normal and definitely not suspicious at all.

Now that the brave and mighty police secured the Capitol building and drove those pesky citizens away, senators led by lowlife-by-profession Mike Pence resumed their session of shoving Biden down our throats at any cost (sadly not in a fun vore way). I watched their vomit inducing speeches as they went on about how they're sticking to their duties in such difficult times, and how those thugs who entered the building tried to stop them but failed. This will only add to the frustration, which they don't even realize or care about: They know all too well what their duty is... to sell the world to those who are desperate to have UNLIMITED POWER AT ANY COST. Their decision was fueled by sheer stupidity and ambition, and will only ensure that if Biden is allowed to become president he'll only be even more illegitimate than he already was. After such a shock there was no way any valid session could continue, no one is in the capacity to count electoral votes and certify a fucking president right now after today... they haven't even cleaned up the fucking blood from the staircase! An absolute disgrace.

But fear not: There are people who will stop this, people who won't allow this hell to come true. They aren't racists, homophobes, psychopaths... the media will no doubt paint them as such, and many will believe the lie, but with the same force others are seeing the truth now more than ever. They think China's authoritarian domination can be forced on us, just as their Covidist masks, or their censorship in the name of stopping hate, and everything else the globalists decided must be forced upon the planet. They have no idea how badly they're furthering this divide: The hate and sickness on both sides has reached a point where riots and tragedies are going to be unavoidable. Of course they tell themselves "we're gods on this Earth so we'll be able to control it", they're used to thinking they can hold unlimited power and nothing they do ever has any consequences. The truth will strike, the more you keep the pot on the kettle the harder it will explode once it blows off: All they did today was ensuring it will strike even harder. Save this journal if you wish, so you can remember those things for future reference, to know that some fool out there and in this community saw this and wasn't afraid to say it.

Whatever you think of me, believe me when I say this: I truly am sorry that it had to come to this... on multiple scales. I don't know if many friends that I do care for will ever understand me... such as a certain purple furred vixen, or a kind albeit sometimes rough unicorn who is one of my soul parents, not to mention a very close fox working on building a lab and bringing genetic transformation to life; They all more or less believe some of the official narratives, and I feel barely tolerate me for not doing the same. If there was another way to see the world and live this life, I would have taken it. If something would have been different in the past and led to a different outcome, I could be living a life of standing with the majority instead of against it... something I wish I knew what was like, I never did, I can only presume it must be peaceful and relaxing to live in such a world, but I'll likely never experience it as I don't have the naivety for such a leap. I'm sorry it's like this. And my only wish is that all of you will get to see who truly made it like this once all the lies are exposed! Whatever happens, whether it will be Biden or Trump in the end... please let what they did be exposed.

0 notes

waverule2-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Why Do We Hate Decaf So Much?

“Decaffeinated coffee is like a hooker who only wants to cuddle.” Like many quotes on Instagram, this one is styled in a cutesy sans serif font and has the beigeness of a black-and-white image that’s been reposted and refiltered dozens of times over. Below it are the hashtags #CaffeineAddict, #WorkingMomLife, and the clincher, #DeathBeforeDecaf.

It’s on the more offensive end of a spectrum made up of thousands of coffee-related quotes on Instagram that imply the poster would rather literally die before drinking a morning beverage that didn’t contain caffeine. They range from the cutesy (“But first, coffee”) to the self-deprecating (“I’m sorry for what I said before I had my coffee”) to the vaguely threatening (“I drink coffee for your protection” or “Coffee: a magical substance that turns ‘leave me alone or die’ into ‘good morning, honey!’”).

There are coffee memes for moms, coffee memes for CrossFitters, for entrepreneurs, even ones for multilevel marketers. Scrolling through coffee hashtags on Instagram, you begin to suspect that the entire world is being held together with a single substance, that America actually does run on Dunkin’.

And it does, to an extent — 64 percent of Americans drink coffee every day, according to the National Coffee Association, and 87 percent regularly consume caffeine. People love coffee; we love it so much that many of us are using it as a stand-in for an online persona, or at least implying it’s the only reason we get anything done.

Perhaps that’s true. Caffeine, of course, is a stimulant; it makes us feel more present, more positive, and more awake. But caffeine is still a drug, an addictive one, and these are scary words. And in an era when scary-sounding words are anathema to what’s considered “healthy” eating, and where the disavowal of scary-sounding substances is the bedrock of the modern dieting industry, the stubborn ubiquity of caffeine is curious.

So where is the caffeine backlash? Where are the adorable cafes that proudly label themselves as caffeine-free, with all the millennial-baiting accoutrements but minus the addictive stimulant? Where are the startups clamoring to sell the next cool decaf coffee brand? Where are the Instagram accounts documenting gorgeous, “natural,” caffeine-less lifestyles? People kick caffeine addictions all the time. But maybe the more difficult addiction to kick is the thing it represents.

Within the past decade or so, the US has become far more accommodating to people with all kinds of food sensitivities and diet regimens. Veganism has elevated itself from a relatively fringe ideology to so mainstream that one of the most famous burgers in the country is made out of wheat and potatoes. Dairy-free milk is now a $2 billion industry, with sales having risen 61 percent between 2012 and 2018 (there was even a much-fussed-over oat milk shortage in the summer of 2018). Despite the fact that less than 1 percent of people have celiac disease, in 2013 nearly a third of Americans said they were trying to avoid gluten thanks to the influence of marketing and diet trends.

Even chain restaurants are embracing restrictive diets: Chipotle recently began offering special bowls for adherents of keto, Paleo, and Whole30 diets, the last of which is so militant that it bans all forms of dairy, grains, sugar, alcohol, and legumes — but not coffee.

Meanwhile, the world has not gotten even remotely friendlier to the caffeine-intolerant. It can still be difficult to find a decaf option in coffee shops that aren’t one of the major chains, and caffeine labeling on products remains largely unregulated and incoherent.

The desire for a caffeine backlash is less of a demand — because as a person who can no longer tolerate caffeine, I do not actually want there to be decaf influencers, they sound insufferable — than a curiosity. Caffeine has all the elements required to spark a backlash in the year 2019: The vast majority of us regularly drink it, which is why removing it from one’s diet can demonstrate a monk-like ability to refuse indulgences (which is pretty much what all of wellness culture is based around).

And the benefits of eliminating caffeine are not exactly secret: Many people experience better sleep, fewer anxiety symptoms, less nausea, and higher energy. Sure, for most, cutting caffeine alone won’t change one’s overall life or health that much, but neither will most diets.

Most research today, however, shows that caffeine is basically fine, and might even be sort of good for you: Small studies have demonstrated that at low doses, or about as much caffeine in one or two cups of coffee, it improves alertness and mental performance, particularly in people who are tired; that it makes us more supportive in social situations and reduces the risk of workplace accidents. Though caffeine isn’t great for people on the anxious end of the spectrum, for tired folks or those who fall more on the depressive side, the effects can be positive.

Which is why talking about the “dangers of caffeine” can make one seem hilariously puritanical, and risks drawing comparisons to that one very dorky episode of Saved by the Bell where Jessie dramatically overdoses on caffeine pills. (The executive producer later said it was originally supposed to be speed, which would have made a lot more sense.)

Whether caffeine is or isn’t actually good for you isn’t actually the point. The point is that if the wild success of the largely pseudoscientific lifestyle brand Goop tells us anything, the rule goes that because caffeine sometimes has negative effects and isn’t tolerated by some people, by now, there should be a full-blown attack against Big Caffeine.

There isn’t.

I don’t actually blame the #DeathBeforeDecaf folks for their extreme dedication. I was one of them once, before a hastily guzzled single Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso preceded my first panic attack, an anxiety disorder, and an inability to drink caffeine without experiencing terrifying heart palpitations that lasts to this day.

Those first two things were very bad, obviously! But it was the latter whose life-altering effects were the most surprising: In the span of a few minutes, coffee went from the joyous, hot thing that got me through the days to a poison that everybody else was immune to.

#DeathBeforeDecaf, however, is not really about a love of coffee. An Instagram quote worshipping coffee demonstrates something more performative: that the poster is rising and grinding; they’re hustling; they’re putting their hair in a messy bun and handling it. They’re making Mondays their bitch. All of this may be perfectly true, but like everything else on Instagram, there is subtext: “I drink coffee because I am very, very busy.”

Busyness is a particularly desirable quality to have in 2019. There are now multiple names for it: Depending on how you feel, it’s either hustle culture or it’s “millennial burnout” or “workism.” In a recent New York Times piece, writer Erin Griffith described performative hustling as “obsessed with striving, relentlessly positive, devoid of humor, and — once you notice it — impossible to escape.”

The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson writes that social media has amplified the pressure to craft a successful image, and because a growing number of white-collar jobs produce invisible results (as opposed, to, say, construction), “today’s workers turn to social media to make manifest their accomplishments. Many of them spend hours crafting a separate reality of stress-free smiles, postcard vistas, and Edison-lightbulbed working spaces.” Also often present in such Instagram posts: coffee.

There might be a gloss of self-deprecation, e.g., “I literally can’t function without coffee,” but a coffee quote on Instagram is generally kind of a flex, one that implies that people are counting on you to be quick, sharp, and ready for anything. It’s less to do with the actual drink than the drug: It’s the caffeine that gives mommy her go-go juice, not the coffee. It’s not “death before tea,” it’s “death before decaf.”

An Instagram quote worshipping coffee demonstrates something more performative: that the poster is rising and grinding; they’re hustling; they’re putting their hair in a messy bun and handling it. They’re making Mondays their bitch.

In part, this might be why decaf is so maligned: It has all the bitterness and blandness of coffee and, crucially, none of the implications that the drinker is here to hustle. If decaf is for old folks at diners — a reputation that has some cause; many seniors are on medications that react poorly with caffeine — then caffeinated beverages are for the young, virile, and productive.

But there is an equally vocal subset of coffee drinkers who are actually here for the coffee yet despise decaf just as much: coffee snobs. Murray Carpenter, the author of the book Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us, says the rise of the coffee snob is part of the relatively newish, generational interest in fancified versions of vices like craft beer and whiskey. “I’m in my mid-50s. We were drinking Budweiser; we didn’t have a million beers to choose from and if you went out to get coffee, it was probably Maxwell House. [Now] people are more interested in high-quality foods and beverages that are produced on a smaller scale in a way that they understand.”

For many snootier coffee drinkers, decaf barely counts as coffee at all. But Carpenter says that’s based on an outdated assumption: “Some of [decaf’s poor reputation] is a hangover from the fact that 20 or 30 years ago, people simply weren’t producing as much good coffee as they do now, and decaf was the less good version of that not very good coffee.” These days there are good decaf blends, although you probably won’t find them at Starbucks, or even your local cafe, or even maybe your grocery store. Why? It’s expensive.

This part gets a little science-y, because to decaffeinate coffee beans is to conduct a rather complicated chemical process. The short version is that the vast majority of decaf coffee is made from soaking still-green coffee beans in a solvent, typically methylene chloride or ethyl acetate. These are not particularly gentle chemicals; the former can be used as a paint stripper or degreaser; the latter is often found in nail polish removers, which furthers the reputation of decaf coffee as “less natural” or worse.

In part, this might be why decaf is so maligned: It has all the bitterness and blandness of coffee and, crucially, none of the implications that the drinker is here to hustle

There are other ways to decaffeinate coffee, one of which involves blasting liquid carbon dioxide into coffee beans soaked in water, which then draws out the caffeine. But the “purest” way to decaffeinate coffee is the Swiss Water process, in which the only chemical used is H2O. The result in both cases: high-quality, albeit more expensive, decaf.

Guy Wilmot, a veteran coffee importer in West Sussex, England, began packaging and selling Swiss Water-treated coffee online in 2015 after developing a creeping intolerance to late-in-the-day caffeine and a lack of decent available options. His company, Decadent Decaf, has all the markings of a cool coffee brand: minimalist branding (Wilmot told his designer he didn’t want it to be “fuddy-duddy”) and smart marketing: With just a few hundred bucks a month spent on Google AdWords and Amazon, he’s managed to grow the company between 50 to 100 percent every year and made about a quarter-million pounds in online revenue in the last year.

But despite the high-quality product and the fact that it comes in cute containers, his customers aren’t artisanal coffeehouses (they say it’s too pricey), or cool young people. Like most decaf consumers, they’re older, usually at least 45 and up. This isn’t necessarily a problem for the business, but Wilmot still faces a stigma in the industry. “[Decaf] is a bit embarrassing in the coffee world,” he says. “When I do tastings at, say, the London Coffee Festival, you kind of fear the tattoo brigade going, ‘Oh, I’m not into that.’”

Wilmot is just as curious as I am why decaf hasn’t had its moment, though he does have a theory. “I think basically no one has done a good enough marketing job,” he says. “Look at teas: Herbal teas are rocketing. They’ve done a lot better job. I really think someone in America should do it. Make some money. Come on!”

He makes a solid point. The products that have gone the most viral in the past view years — CBD oil, vapes, gravity blankets, fidget spinners — almost exclusively exist to calm us down. Considering that fact, coffee minus the caffeine feels like a bizarre missed opportunity.

For a period of time in the mid-2000s, Dr. Richard Church was the caffeine guy. When CBS conducted a special on the dangers of “caffeine intoxication,” they brought on Church, who would explain that, no, chasing black-market Adderall with six Red Bulls and a No-Doz to cram for a test and then getting hammered on Four Loko on the weekends was not, in fact, healthy.

Church is an emergency toxicologist at the University of Massachusetts who treats cases of substance overdose — a toddler who accidentally drinks his dad’s cup of coffee, for instance. But he also has to respond to trends in marketing. While a decade ago, the public concern was focused on the dangers of overcaffeination, since then there’ve been newer young-person habits to worry about.

“Society moved on a little bit from [caffeinated beverages], and there are other, sexier things to get into,” he explains. “Vaping has become mainstream; marijuana has become super mainstream now that it’s legalized. It’s sort of like, ‘Why drink energy drinks when I can do one of these other fun things?’”

Partygoers at the Fat Jew’s book launch party with Four Loko, the much-maligned caffeinated alcoholic beverage.

Nicky Digital/Corbis via Getty Images

Vaping became explosively popular among teens because of massive marketing campaigns — so did Red Bull, for instance. Which means that for decaf to have its day, a company first needs to exploit the opportunity.

Remember when I complained about how there weren’t any cute caffeine-free coffee shops? That was sort of a lie. There was one. In 2015, Swiss Water, the company that patented the Swiss Water process and works with many different roasters, opened pop-up shop “experiences” in New York and Los Angeles called “The Art of Coffee Without Caffeine.” There were brewing and cupping demos, live music, and local art for sale, all in the goal to “introduce and remind New Yorkers to enjoy the coffee they love, just without the caffeine,” as the brand manager told NYU Local at the time.

It did not go great.

“Opening of all-decaf coffee shop in Manhattan met with horror, outrage,” declared the Washington Post. Gothamist called its banner product “fake coffee,” while Eater dubbed the pop-up “the first sign of the cultural apocalypse.” Jezebel went with, “Try Not to Scream: A Caffeine-Free Coffee Shop Has Just Opened.”

Needless to say, the pop-up did not become permanent. But despite negative reactions in the press and on social media, the company maintains it was overall a success for those who actually visited. Customers were, a spokesperson for Swiss Water wrote in a statement, “delighted to experience such delicious decaf and value learning more about both their options for great coffee without caffeine and the availability of our chemical free process.”

Unfortunately for Swiss Water, and for me, the culture has not dramatically reversed its opinion on decaf coffee within the last four years. There is, as of yet, no war against the amorphous threat to nobody known as Big Caffeine.

Which is fine! The reasons are clear: Decaf still faces an enormous stigma both within the coffee industry and out to the working moms on Instagram. It’s expensive to produce, and with the majority of Americans harboring at least somewhat of a caffeine addiction, it isn’t likely that we’ll be trading it in for the drugless version en masse anytime soon.

But I have to assume, and not just because I can no longer tolerate them, that the more negative aspects of caffeine’s effects — the anxiety, the racing heartbeat, the jitteriness, the nausea slowly curdling in your stomach — will for many people soon outweigh the good. Everything else that seems to happen in the world already gives us all of these things. And if it does, what use is caffeine anymore, really?

Drink decaf. I promise you: Death is much, much worse.

Source: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/7/18253668/decaf-coffee-caffeine-stigma

0 notes