#death to amagakkka

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[ultraericthered]

Pegasus addresses his home nation. He is greatly disappointed.

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I've been very familiar with Wicked for several years now. I read the novel that the musical was based on (which mostly kind of sucked), knew the story of the musical, and have listened to the soundtrack. But it alway sat just okay with me. In particular, the character of Elphaba Thropp, I felt, was a very interesting concept - what if the Wicked Witch of the West was a layered, sympathetic, relatable person whose whole deal was so much more complex than simply being "wicked" for no reason, and that popular image of her as the cruel, nasty, fearsome hag we're all familar with was a myth based in a propagandized narrative spun to turn people against her? With Glinda the Good Witch, the Wizard of Oz, and the land of Oz itself all being deeper and darker than they appeared at a glance? That is fantastic on an imagination level, though it took the musical to fully realize the idea, and we got a great take on the Oz lore and great iteration of the Wicked Witch as a result. But I still didn't feel Elphie was anything too much greater than the character who sourced her (Margaret Hamilton's Witch in particular is a great villain on her own merits), and she sort of started a trend in both parodies and legit works of going for the lazy "they're not truly evil, they're just misunderstood!" villain revisionism, particularly when coupled with the equally lazy "and the people you thought were good guys were actually the real villains!" Count Dracula, Captain Hook, Maleficent, Jafar, Cruella De Vil, the Grinch, Carmen Sandiego, Lex Luthor, Light/Kira and even other lesser villains like the fucking Beanstalk Giant got this treatment over time. It's like Wicked made what was done as a joke with the Big Bad Wolf way back when acceptable to play straight, so it was a sore spot on Elphaba's legacy for me.

But let me tell you...watching Wicked Part 1 in theaters in the year 2024 the other day made something go off in my head. Elphaba's story through just Act 1 alone struck a chord with me that it hadn't before, to the point where I had to hold back tears towards the very end. Suddenly not only was all the political commentary in the story so much clearer and more relevant than it had ever been, but I got Elphie's character arc and a core piece of it that ties directly into that political commentary after it had gone over my head for years.

SPOILERS FOR WICKED PART ONE WILL FOLLOW

So the part of Elphaba's story that got me was her "relationship" with the Wizard of Oz. How she lived her life since childhood idolizing this man, absolutely loving the idea of the Wizard, being thankful to him for every blessing she and the land of Oz had, and dreaming of a day where she'd one day meet him, be apprenticed by him, and become like family with him because if he, the Great and Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself, could accept her, then the entire rest of Oz would have no choice but to accept her too. She'd finally have the mass acceptance, validation, and care from others she'd always yearned for. And yeah, that has to do with her self worth issues and yearning to belong somewhere with someone, and I always got that well before seeing the movie. Struggling with your self esteem and feeling ostracized from the world around you due to having been born different from others with whom you share that world was always the relatable aspect for Elphie for me, 'cause I've been there.

But the stuff with the Wizard once she's actually met him took on a whole new meaning for me now. It's been said ad nauseum now that the idea of some carnival barker huckster fraudster simpleton being put into a position of political power and leadership despite having no actual power and next to no merits to him all while others around him with their own sinister agendas look to curry favor with him in order to use him to their advantage and reap benefits from his position, and these people creating a scapegoat out of whoever can serve as a "common enemy" to unite people in fear, anger, hatred, grievance, prejudice and opposition to, is more timely, hard-hitting and realistic now than ever before, drawing parallel to the rise of our incoming First Felon President and the MAGA nightmare we cannot seem to awaken from. All of it said, all of it true. However, it cuts way deeper for me. In my scenario, the Wizard of Oz isn't the Felon, as I never had any faith or loving for that man and all he did was exceed my reservations about him. The Wizard of Oz is my country, the (former) United States of America itself. Just like Elphaba in Emerald City, on the days following November 5 2024, I had to look at something I'd been taught was Great And Wonderful since childhood, something I'd loved and gone on believing truly was Great And Wonderful for years, and reckon with the harsh truth that I'd learned about, loved, and had wanted to serve something that never actually existed. And the fault doesn't lie with the Founding Fathers and the fundamental creed that America was built upon, which is as Great And Wonderful now as it was all those centuries ago. The fault is with the sad reality that, due to people, ideas, beliefs, systems, institutions, traditional practices, holes and vices in government, and the corrosion of democracy, the nation we've had since the founding, the nation I've lived in from the day I was born, has constantly failed to live up to its own core ideals. People in power still can and do take away "certain inallieable rights" that all humans are born with from the humans born with them, all citizens are not treated with equality, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is continously impeded, we are not "indivisible" no matter how fragile the states hold together, there is not "liberty and justice for all", there exists a certain class of people who are, in fact, above the law, the three branches of governments seldom function the way they were made to, and the melting pot isn't "melting" people the right way as much since we've become more exclusionary than inclusive. As with the Wizard and the Grimmerie, this country is run by weak, stupid, mediocre men who are either unable to read the Constitution, or they can but just do not feel inclined to actually follow and respect it in letter and spirit. The only truly good, fair and just thing for a long while was the "self-governing" nature of the populace's participation in democracy and the self-corrections that would be made from it... but that ended up exploited in order to become the very thing that sealed its damnation. My nation was never evil, but at the same time, it has never been great, as it's so often failed to do good. It's a nation of moral goodness in perpetual bondage by the not-so-good that wants to exploit all the good it's capable of for them and their interests alone. "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave?" Sure, but only because the Free and the Brave who've lived here are all far better than it deserves.

And then we reach "Defying Gravity." I always linked the title of this song to Elphaba taking flight on her broomstick. But only now do I grasp the full meaning of that title, and the weight the term holds in its proper context. Elphaba is making a choice to defy Oz. To rebel against a corrupt system by a corrupt government that is corrupting the land and harming vulnerable others. She makes this choice even when what she's rebelling against holds the advantage in all power sans magical and possesses the resources and means to turn the ignorant masses against her and ensure they remain on their side. From the offset, she is very unlikely to prevail. That's why it's like struggling against a greater force that is trying to push you down and can normally easily do so - a force like gravity. And yet Elphie fights. She defies. She does so even if it means she has to make herself look like a villain, reasoning that even if her enemy is great and powerful, and the odds of defeating it seem impossible, it's not more powerful than her skills, her gifts, her convictions and her willpower. And so long as she has those, it can and will never bring her down.

I'd say the lesson here is "domestic terrorism in defiance of your government is good, actually", but it's a little bit more complicated.

So yeah, Wicked Part 1 is a masterpiece and Elphaba Thropp is an inspiration. If what she does is "wicked", then let us all aspire to be as wicked as her as the fight to rejuvinate the soul of our decayed republic and lay claim to a better future for all people in it goes on.

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Reminder for Americans, as the nation is to become a fascist state.

In every way, from now until this empire crumbles, keep resisting.

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This scene hit pretty hard when I saw it earlier this year.

It hits way, WAY harder now.

Especially if you pretend Sol's a bald eagle.

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This meme will prove useful for God knows how many occasions.

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We can live beside the ocean Leave the fire behind Swim out past the breakers Watch the world die

How shit is looking in America right now:

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I am definitely not discounting the possibility that MAGA in collusion with Russia cheated to rig and steal the election from Harris-Walz, with all of their "stolen election!" and "look out for cheating!" rhetoric being projection and confessions about what they were really up to. But I'm absolutely not going to be certain in that theory unless hard concrete evidence pointing in that direction turns up. I'm not going to be like MAGA and take my feelings as valid substitutes for facts.

But I do want these conspiracy theories to hound Traitor on his way to the White House and beyond. What goes around comes around.

I am confused.

It was reported two days before the election that early voting totals were already 50% of the 2020 totals for the entire election. Multiple records smashed for early voting.

But the final total was so much lower than 2020? What, did everyone get super fired up for early voting and then suddenly lose interest on election day?

You might think, well, if everyone voted early, that's fewer to vote on election day. Which I guess is possible. But it seems incomprehensible for such massive turnouts in early voting to just evaporate. And it didn't jibe with what I heard from people on the ground, at precincts - busy lines, big turnout, the most they'd ever seen.

And yet...like 20 million votes fewer than 2020.

I am not remotely a conspiracy freak but...this math ain't mathing.

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I empathize with the Palestinian people because that first thing - "They were failed by their elected government" - is the same for us here in the DSA (Divided States of AMAGAKKKa).

I empathize with the Palestinian people.

They were failed by their elected government, and now that same elected government is using them as human shields.

They have been failed.

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It means we're still fully human, and they're not.

not to get political on this page (but actually yes, I will talk about this because it’s important) but what does it mean when they lost and their first thought was violence and when we lost last night all we could feel is immense sadness and fear?

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These voters voted for a felon, and destroyed everything we worked on for the past 8 years out of frustration and desperation.

No, fuck that. By crossing a line such as voting for a felon, these monkey-brained human failures have destroyed everything that the American Experiment worked on since the fucking founding. They've elected into office a Mad King George, the very fear that the founders hoped a constitutional republic and democratic system could prevent. Ergo, the United States of America of yore is broken and dead.

Fortunately, we technically still have the Constitution, and it gives us permission to strike back. It might be like the old American Civil War, except the rebels and government abolistionists are the good guys.

Sorry...

I tried my best. I really did. Even with the clout I have, it was not enough. Not even Taylor Swift could fix this. The electorate was just too angry to counteract. Kamala under-performed all demographics and ended up doing worse than Hillary.

It's true that Trump's support collapsed, but it was among loud people who voted for him in 2016 and 2020. They ended up getting replaced by regular ass people. That's why there were less Trump signs and his rallies were smaller. Many people just had pent-up anger and didn't show it off.

I'm so heartbroken at this electorate. These voters voted for a felon, and destroyed everything we worked on for the past 8 years out of frustration and desperation. Now Democrats are literally in the exact same position they were in the early 2010s.

The entire Democratic party needs to reinvent itself; otherwise, they will continue to lose.

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This is no longer the United States of America to me. That veil was dropped this election. It's the Divided States of AMAGAKKKA.

#DeathToAMAGAKKKA

Never have I actually felt hatred towards America, not once in over 40 years. I've been angry, disappointed, frustrated and sad, but today I hate America. I hate the mindblowing stupidity, the lack of education, the elector system, the gerrymandering, the out of control guns, the religious nut jobs, the way you line up to screw yourselves over because you simply can't resist the charm of being addressed by a wannabe dictator. I despise the fact that so many of you fail to realise the consequences of this election and how you can't just leave all the international commitments and deals without fucking things up for everyone involved. I hate the short sight, your lack of decency, your gullibility, self-centrered ignorans and how willingly you're ready to sacrifice the lives of innocent people just because you're incapable of seeing reason. You just elected a criminal, sexual abuser who openly talks about how he wants to dismantle your democracy. He's bragging about committing crimes, cosies up to dictators - who don't respect him one bit, they just see him as a gullible moron - and has shown time and again how he's willing to sacrifice anything to make himself feel powerful. And no, you don't get to tell the rest of the world how your election is none of our business, not when we live in a world where international relations, trades and cooperations are the norm. I hate how so many of you are ready to sacrifice Ukraine, the climate, your own school children, pregnant people etc. because you've made MAGA your identity. You just elected a wannabe dictator like it was a popularity contest in some bad comedy, without giving a single fuck about what it might cost not just you, but the rest of the world. You just elected a man who openly admires dictators and praises those who're on the verge of becoming dictators. What's wrong with you? Are you all so thrilled about the prospect of women dying due to fear of seeking help during a miscarriage? Does it make you happy, knowing that when a country actually ASKS for your help, you turn your backs on them? You are an embarressment for the free world and all I hope now, is for the ramifications to hit those of you who voted for him the hardest - along with those of you who threw the opportunity of voting away because Harris wasn't good enough. You just elected a man who praised Hitler and somehow this has become normal. And for that, at least for a while, I hate every single one of you who made this normal, no matter your reason. Because none of them are good enough for this monstrocity of an election.

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I understand. I'd be like that towards my home nation at this point.

It probably says nothing good about me and I swear I'm not like that irl, but watching things go wrong for Piltover keeps giving me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. It was obvious the attack on the Memorial was a Noxus play from the start, but damn if it wasn't satisfying to watch Piltover get shat on.

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The Constitution's clear on this: what they're going to instill in place of what they'll burn down must itself be burned down.

#DeathToAMAGAKKKA

Friendly reminder in light of the election results

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The state of things after the election:

And then this.

Politics in the USA right now really be like:

If the two major parties only recalled their candidates and nominated new ones, the brain worm guy probably wouldn't even stay around!