#deconstructive politics

[rotenotes]

Saul Newman - Derrida’s Deconstruction Of Authority

Title: Derrida’s Deconstruction Of Authority Author(s): Saul Newman Date: 2001 Topics: authority critique deconstruction Derrida language post-anarchism post-structuralist Notes: Originally appeared in Philosophy & Social Criticism, vol 27, no 3. Source: Retrieved on September 14, 2009 from www.infoshop.org Saul Newman Derrida’s Deconstruction Of Authority Abstract: This article explores the…

[opstandelse]

Saul Newman - Derrida’s Deconstruction Of Authority

Title: Derrida’s Deconstruction Of Authority Author(s): Saul Newman Date: 2001 Topics: authority critique deconstruction Derrida language post-anarchism post-structuralist Notes: Originally appeared in Philosophy & Social Criticism, vol 27, no 3. Source: Retrieved on September 14, 2009 from www.infoshop.org Saul Newman Derrida’s Deconstruction Of Authority Abstract: This article explores the…

[oxytocinatrocities]

A comic I drew about leaving the Mormon church.

Can also apply to other things. Ex. constitutional originalism in the US

[seraphimfall]

there is an insane amount of antisemitism floating around right now.

i just want to say:

this blog loves and supports jewish people.

this blog does NOT conflate the israeli government, or the atrocities it commits, with jewish people.

this blog is disgusted with those who use or express antisemitism.

this blog knows that if someone needs to invoke antisemitism, they do not actually care about helping palestine or the palestinian people.

this blog will do its best to ensure that it remains a safe space for all.

[ursulaklegay]

what they don't tell you about unlearning the harmful, discriminatory, hierarchical systems of our society is that the hard thing is deconstructing all that shit, but the harder thing is dealing with the fact that most people around you still believe and act within these frameworks

[10001gecs]

ok guys like i get it sometimes gen z invents gender roles but also theres a bunch of just straight up tradwives/fascists posting this stuff. like its not silly little gen z kids forgetting to deconstruct their biases its women who believe in replacement theory and want to retvrn to their place in the kitchen.

[aquitainequeen]

An important thing to remember about the changes in government in the UK and France:

Labour won because the Conservative vote was split between the Tories and Reform UK.

The Left leaning parties in the French government came in first, because they put aside their differences and ran together in opposition to the Le Pen party.

Keep this in mind for the US election this November. Stay focused.

[haven-of-dusk]

It's kind of impressive how people can watch something, see a character repeatedly established as a liar and manipulator, and then believe stuff they say and take it as truthful or believe it makes them "more justified"

Like...Palpatine, proven liar, master manipulator, that's his PRIMARY CHARACTER TRAIT, badmouths the Jedi, and a bunch of viewers just went "yeah, that checks out".

Peter Hale, repeatedly said to be the least trustworthy person imagineable, Satan in a V-neck, makes claims about his own strength compared to Scott, and despite him definitely being a paper tiger, a bunch of viewers went, "yeah, that checks out." And write off Scott as far weaker than he actually is.

"Maybe Zaheer had a point" Uh...no shit, that was the problem. He was not wrong that the Earth Queen was a terrible ruler, but his solution of ANARCHY is not better, it's just a different type of problem. Just because someone can identify a systemic problem, doesn't mean you should trust them to have the solution. Republicans in modern America occasionally identify real problems, like a crisis with mental health. But their "solutions" are only going to make the problem WORSE. Just like Zaheer mudering an 18 year old currently doing her best to spread peace and prosperity is not justified just because the Earth Kingdom monarchy was a mistake...killing Korra is just making things even worse.

I got a little off track there, but I hope the point still came across...

[the-red-lizard]

I'm starting to have a really hard time staying polite when someone hits me with anything even remotely resembling "love the sinner hate the sin"-type rhetoric.

If you think my identity, who I am as a person, is a problem for some immeasurable "spiritual" reason, do not tell me. I do not want to know.

And don't you dare pat yourself on the fucking back for thinking you're a good person for loving me despite who I am.

[faithslayer202]

Finally, a take on The Boys that isn't dog shit!

A video by SheevTalks actually goes into stuff, which I had the same feelings about, on The Boys which I mean when I say: I do not like this Overrated As Fuck show on Superhero Deconstructions & Satire!

The whole takes from Right-wing dumbass Conservatives who realized it was a satire even on them when the whole point of The Boys was that it was a Satire on Superhero Genres & cliches as well as they System we live in.

Yet no one talked about the main problems of the show that're glaring!

My opinion is that a Superhero Deconstructions is that people can be/are good & kind, that's what makes Superman a compelling character.

The only things that, in my opinion, is the reason The Boys is popular is cause of Gore, Evil Superman & Satire while the writing is bad.

The entire base of The Boys is that it was made from the Hatred of Superheroes while having this Human Nature argument, which contradicts that message as Annie & Kimiko are prime examples of using their powers for good as it's from Human Conditioning from the Culture, that the entire show doesn't even know what it's suppose to be anymore. I can name my problems from A-Train, Butcher, Homelander, etc. as many of them are literally brought up by Sheev Talks as how The Boys makes no fucking sense other than; Garth Ennis hates Superheroes & Ennis wrote Crass, Uber-violent edgy comics with people who're so unrelatable and are so indistinguishable from bad guys and a complete slog of people I can't relate and just dislike: from a super baby of a mother who was sexually assaulted lasering it's way out of her and her husband bashes it to death with a lamp, to superheroes orally assaulting a woman in order for her to be a hero, to a person getting violated by a superhero for no reason or even having a clone of a superhero eating live babies other than it's dark & edgy.

Granted Eric Kripke toned all the original stories of Garth Ennis' comics, but even then the problems still flood within the stories of each episode and literally my problems with Deconstructions of Superheroes.

Honestly there are better Superhero Deconstructions like: Alan Moore's Watchmen, Roy Thomas' Squadron Supreme, Keith Champagne & Peter Tomasi's The Mighty & Mark Waid's Kingdom Come.

Which is objectively better than The Boys!

Sorry not sorry.

[brw]

how often do you re-read comics? which issues (or limited series or runs if you re-read a lot) do you think you’ve re-read the most?

Oooooh, so I do reread comics quite a bit. It's a mix of rereading comics that I really enjoy and have a good time reading (Tales to Astonish, Vision: Yesterday and Tomorrow, Black Bolt are all examples of these), but also can be just to refresh my memory, as it's easy for me to read a lot of comics very close to each other so nothing really goes in. Also, I will reread issues to remind myself of stuff that went on if someone sends me an ask about a specific character (usually Simon), just to make sure I'm describing that issue accurately or that I'm being fair to it's intent, or not misconstruing anything. I'll also re-read things for fics, which unfortunately means I am currently rereading Benjamin Percy's X Force, and no that run does not deserve the effort, but I need my surgical deconstruction of it to be informed.

Anyway, by numbers, I think the run I've probably reread the most is definitely Tales to Astonish. I love that run so much, it's so whimsical and joyful. In terms of issues, definitely Avengers #160, that issue really does affect my brain in a very deep way. I also often reread Uncanny Avengers Vol 3 #28 quite a bit, big comfort issue.

[darkshrimpemotions]

The thing about conservatives and their conspiracy theory that "the libs" are trying to brainwash their children is that a) it's entirely 100% projection and assuming everyone operates the way they do, and b) what is actually happening is more akin to deprogramming than brainwashing.

Speaking from experience, growing up in a conservative family and community was a continuous, painful process of having my natural compassionate and empathetic responses stamped out of me.

I was constantly discouraged from seeing the humanity in others who didn't share my race, class, religion, or my parents' political beliefs. I was shamed and punished for every thought and action that didn't align perfectly with said beliefs. I was taught to avoid any information that contradicted those beliefs, and to fear and mistrust it if I couldn't avoid it completely.

And this wasn't done by providing all the teachings and then holding me to them, mind. I never recall having anything truly explained to me. No, the method of instruction was to wait for me to do something that fell outside of the narrow guardrails no one had ever shown me, then yell and pearl clutch and bombard me with horror and disappointment that I had said/done/thought such an "awful thing." Again, without ever explaining why it was awful.

This process gradually taught me to view the world primarily in terms of my own emotions, and to view those emotions as the voice of God--as long as they aligned with conservative values. And since I was being trained like a dog to experience discomfort, shame, fear, and distress whenever I encountered anything or anyone that didn't align with those values, I was basically innoculated against critical thinking and basic facts.

The result of all this was twofold. Firstly, though I didn't stop having questions or doubts about the ideas I was being taught, I felt intense guilt and shame whenever I had them. Secondly, I began to perceive anyone else questioning my beliefs as an attack on everything I was.

The last thing that was done to me--by parents, teachers, preachers, and eventually friends, because we all learned to do it to each other--was to make me acutely aware and terrified of how my community would see and treat me if I ever strayed from the beliefs we now shared. After a lifetime of being trained to hang my entire self-worth and moral compass on how conservative authority figures reacted to me, I was presented with an image of lifelong shame and disappointment. Utter loneliness. A chasm between myself and everyone I knew that would never be bridged. And of course, eternal suffering and separation from them after death.

Yeah, the death-cult of Christianity was a whole other can of worms on its own, but its lessons and methods ultimately reinforced the conservative brainwashing, and vice versa.

In contrast, becoming a "liberal" (read: someone whose beliefs are rooted in facts and who cares about people more than ideology) was a very internal, very self-guided process. Nobody was actually pushing me to believe one thing over another. What actually happened was: I got distance from that community and their constant reinforcement; I got access to the information that I was kept away from as a child; I encountered people with different views and backgrounds and saw that they weren't evil monsters; I was encouraged to decide for myself what I thought, and learn to defend that thought with information.

And yes...that did lead me away from the conservative beliefs of my family and childhood community. Because those beliefs could not stand up to the smallest amount of critical thinking or actual facts.

It still took me over a decade of being separated from that community to unlearn all of those trained responses. Hell, I'm still unlearning some of them. I still struggle with the loss of that community. I still have an intense emotional reaction I have to work through before my thinking kicks in, whenever I am presented with information that contradicts what I thought I knew. I still come across thoughts or negative associations I have with various people, ideas, etc. only to realize those are unexamined holdovers from my upbringing. Like moving a piece of furniture and finding all the crumbs and other nastiness your vacuum's been missing.

But the key thing here is, the process of becoming who I am today wasn't brainwashing. It wasn't even, now that I lay it out, true deprogramming. It was more like recovery. A long and arduous process for which I often needed support, but which was ultimately completely led by and up to me. I had to want to get better. And I did. So I did.

Which is why I can say for certain that what conservatives are doing now is absolutely 100% about removing as many avenues as possible for doubts and questions to lead to critical thinking. That's why they're hamstringing teachers, banning books, pushing revisionism in the teaching of U.S. history, attacking queer children, doubling down on anti-intellectualism, deregulating child labor. They know that exposure to diversity and access to real information and education is a tried and true path out of their cult mentality. And they can't allow that path to exist.

[beauty-grace-outer-space]

PSA that all of your ex-vangelical friends are triggered as *fuck* right now.

[seraphimfall]

i’ve read so much tradcath bullshit the last two years. i can confidently say tradcath men fit into one of two categories:

“protestant-raised and converted to catholicism because of his crippling porn addiction and racist tendencies. reposts crusader and conquistador memes. is hated in his local parish.” tradcath

“catholic-raised band kid who ate his lunches with the religion teacher. smells like mildew. cut off all his friends that came out as gay after high school. now larps as an aquinian scholar and cries after jerking off.” tradcath

[venelona]

I might lack the motivation to see it through, but I really like your dazatsu works, so I was wondering how you motivate yourself to create fanfiction? How do you get into the headspace of the characters?

Motivation is a fickle mistress, it's hard to say what EXACTLY motivates me. I guess the best answer is 'I write the fanfic I wish there was'. The true 'write what you want to read', I am usually really motivated to write something I wish to read so badly - a hole in the market, or a certain concept I wish I could do my way that would cater to all the things I like.

Since I also primarily write shipping fanfics, engaging with canon/fanart/other fanfics on the pair also motivates me greatly. Reminds me of why I like the characters and want to write about them in the first place

I quite like getting into the headspace of the characters, at least those I like a lot, haha. For me, it's always the question of "would this character to this?" - when I think of them doing or saying something, I think back on what I know of the character, if there were similar situations to this one in the canon and try to think what would be the most logical thing for that character to do. Like puzzle pieces - canon gives you puzzle pieces, and you can either arrange them how you want, or see what new pieces can fit to existing ones.

I think just good thing to keep in mind when you writing a character do something is the question of 'why are they doing this'. The why's come from their personality, their past or the circumstances of the story (the events or even the rules of the world)

Also, something that motivates me and I'm very lucky to have - good community! Comments are a wonderful motivation. And the power of friends?? Absolutely amazing. Half my motivation to finish things is solely to talk to my writing friends about it 😂

I'm happy you like my works, thank you so much!

[trappedinafantasy37]

Your chest is heavy with breath as the battle rages all around you. You take your mace and bash through every enemy that dares get in your way. They stand to threaten everything that is important to you. You cannot let them succeed, you cannot let them get away with it, you cannot let a single one of them live for they are wrong. They are a stain, a plague that needs to be eradicated.

You push further into their sanctuary, destroying anyone and anything that you can find. You do not hold back and you show no restraint and no mercy. You laugh at their measly and pathetic attempts to fight back. They stand no chance against you and your might. Do they not recognize how much better you are than them? They fail to see what such abhorrent trash they are, and you are here to make a demonstration.

It took a lot of energy and there were a few close calls. But all those who would have stood against you lie cold on the ground. You take a deep breath, appreciating the sweet and metallic smell of blood. You won, they did not. You walk around, inspecting the corpses, looting all you can find for the spoils are now yours to take.

You wander into an isolated corner to a body whose arm leans over a ledge. This corpse piques your curiosity as it is a fish out of water. It doesn't belong up here. How did this one get wrapped up in something so vile? But, then again, maybe that's just her base instincts as murder and carnage are all that drow are known for. And look at her now. Dead, cold and alone, left to be remembered by no one. Her hand reaches down over the ledge to a home she can never return to. You loot her corpse of everything, being sure to leave her naked and bare so you can belittle and humiliate her even in death. Because that's what good and honorable people do! It's what she deserves anyway. Someone as evil, and vile, and horrible as her doesn't deserve respect, not even in death.

Her blood, along with who knows how many goblins, soak through the skin of your hands and drips off your mace. Gore, bone, and brain matter decorate the metal plate of your armor and tangle in your hair. Corpse after corpse is left in your wake. The decorative stone of the temple once held sacred now runs with the river of blood you spilled.

How many lie dead thanks to you and your allies? You have killed far more in this goblin camp than that drow ever would have if she found the grove. Goblins, bugbears, ogres, a drow, a hobgoblin, a few lost humans, and even children, all dead by your order. And they all deserved it a thousand fold because they are all wrong, and evil, and your world has no place for them. It does not matter if they ever actually would have been a threat to the grove. No, their mere existence in proximity to good people is threat enough. And you are a good person and you only do good things. And that is exactly what you did by killing them all.

You return home to celebrate and inform the tieflings of the good news. You talk, you laugh, you dance, you sing, you drink, you fuck. You did a good thing today. A heroic thing. You committed a massacre, a genocide. But that's acceptable because you are a good person and you only do good things. They would have otherwise done it to you. But, they are wrong as they did not have a good reason, at least not one that you could find. You did, and thus this massacre, and only your massacre, is justified.

And you continue on your journey. You learn more about this Absolute and the nature of these 'True Souls'. You think back to the fight at that goblin camp and the three True Souls you killed. They were just brainwashed, forced against their will to commit horrendous atrocities. Atrocities that you might have been forced to do yourself had you not been so lucky. You shake your head, removing all semblance of doubt and sympathy. The reality does not change a thing. They were an active threat and they deserved to die and be denied chance at redemption. As far as you are concerned, drow and goblins are just born evil and should be killed on sight. None of them deserved to live. You had to punish them for what they might do, rather than what they actually do. True Soul or not, that drow would have been a threat to you and anyone who breathes. Even if you knew before hand the full scope of her situation, you would have made the same choice because she is evil, and you are not because you only make the good choices.

You slaughter and kill your way to Baldur's Gate, leaving behind bloody footprints with every step you take. You have paved a path of corpses in the name of this crusade. You have killed, lied, stolen, manipulated, cheated, and exploited all to claim your victory and force your principles onto the world because you are good and the only one who is correct and knows what's best, and thus your actions are good. You intend well. You want to save the world and help people. You want to snuff out all evil. And sometimes being good means killing.

But, in the end, you always end up doing all the same things that the bad guys would do, making all the same actions that lead to the same outcome. And that outcome often is death and carnage. The only thing that separates you from them is your intentions and your perception of those intentions. And all those who disagree will die by your hand because your morality will not be questioned, as those who question you must be evil because you are good.

You stand atop a mountain of corpses, happy and proud of your deeds because you did the right thing. The smell of rot and decay spirals around you as you stand amongst the dead, erecting yourself as a pillar of honor and integrity. There is a growing list of names that have been permanently removed from the world by your hand, amongst them is a genocidal lunatic, a lunatic who never would have killed as many people as you have.

You are a good person. A hero. And yet, your hands are just as bloody as all those you killed, those you claim to be evil.