#everyone wants to be the underdog

[liskantope]

It seems that if I listen to any public intellectual long enough, even after a long run of liking them a lot, there will still come a point when something about them will start to grate on me. Such is getting to be the case with the Feminine Chaos podcasters Kat Rosenfield and Phoebe Malz-Bovy; I still love their podcast and my subscription feels well worth it, but if you look at some of my recent posts tagged with Kat's name, on a very subtle level she's started to get on my nerves. In a members-only episode -- I think the one from October 20th, 2023 (I've been backtracking through members-only episodes since recently becoming a member) -- it's the way Phoebe talks about some things that bothers me.

She and Kat are grappling with the issue of free speech in a college campus context and applying the issue to the (then very recently exploded) Gaza conflict. Both appear to be aware that they don't know much of the details surrounding the many decades of Israel-Palestine conflict -- it's not in either of their wheelhouses -- but both are pro-Israel in a kneejerk way and come across to me like they're halfway doing the thing where as experts on criticizing overblown fears expressed in the name of social justice you're suddenly sounding an awful lot like the SJ-ish people you were criticizing. I say "halfway" because they are at least trying to consistently stick to their pro- free speech stance and presenting it as a struggle (my own take on how to deal with such struggles is to let go of the "free speech" framing, which is misleading in most particular social and professional contexts where there has never been such a thing as absolute free speech in the first place! But I acknowledge that the object-level issues that arise often aren't easy to figure out.)

Here is the bit (from Phoebe) that kind of made my jaw drop.

We were talking about where it crosses over between, like, anti-Zionism and antisemitism's always an interesting question, because I saw a professor, um, somewhere, but like, with a big social media presence, had tweeted something about, like, that... was claiming that professors who are supporting Israel at this time are doing so because they don't want to be in trouble. Which just seemed so extremely nuts, when in academia, if you're pro-Israel... it's not pop... that doesn't make you popular. But it seemed to be insinuating almost, like, Jewish cabal -style things. But then I think, that makes me think two things. One of them is that I don't want this person teaching Jewish students, and yet, they have the right to, and I'm not saying they shouldn't legally have the right to do that, but it's not... like, emotionally, I don't like it.

Okay, so a professor (1) is pro-Palestine (nothing unusual so far), (2) frames their position on this ideological spectrum as the underdog/minority position, and (3) suggests that those vocally on the upperdog/majority side are only pretending to be because they're afraid to take the underdog side in public. Parts (2) and (3) certainly seem obnoxious given that within any typical university context (not in the space of American political discourse as a whole, but in the subculture of academia!), as Phoebe points out, it's the pro-Palestine side that's popular and if anything, I would think that it's pro-Israel faculty that are afraid to speak out (I have good evidence of that at my current university for example). But this is one of the oldest and most common and natural culture warrior tactics there is: make yourself out to be the underdog and your ideological opponents to have the power and to be rhetorically surrounding you on all sides (closely related to what Scott Alexander might call "bravery debate" tactics). Taking it to the point of wild claims that in fact, most of those who appear to be one's ideological opponents are just cowed into playing this role is extra obnoxious but again nothing shockingly unusual: look at the ideologues far enough down any direction on any spectrum and you'll constantly hear "my side is afraid to speak out and the weaker among us are pretending to be on the other side so that it looks like most people think like them when actually most people think like me!", "silent majority", etc. Twisting this into some kind of antisemitic trope about Jewish cabals seems like quite an athletic move on Phoebe's part.

(I mean, I haven't seen the actual tweet she's talking about, and she's completely vague in her memory of where it came from, so I can't check and will allow for now that I might have a different opinion based on the precise wording I suppose?)

I'll point out that Freddie deBoer, who is Phoebe Malz-Bovy's friend and has let her guest-blog on his blog, is staunchly pro-Palestine in his outlook and has done a rather similar, if less extreme, version of the thing with "People who think like me are weak and powerless underdogs in the discourse space!" (much to my annoyance!). Does his friend Phoebe think he carries a dangerous enough degree of antisemitism for young Jews not to be safe around him?

[wishesofeternity]

The thing about HotD is that it while it absolutely minimizes the agency and ambition of both Rhaenyra and Alicent, this is specifically used to glorify Rhaenyra and frame her as righteous while condemning Alicent and framing her lacking. That's the key difference in both their textual portrayals that has directly led to 90% of the fandom hailing Rhaenyra as the second coming of Christ while spewing the most hateful vitriol at Alicent just for existing. But y'all are not prepared for that conversation.

[yuridovewing]

i really hate how the fandom’s excuse for jayfeather’s shitty behavior (and outright medical malpractice in certain cases. looking at the time he refused to help squilf in labour bc he couldnt be bothered and later blamed her for how bad it was) is “well the clan was ableist to him growing up, so fuck them!” ok how does that excuse him screaming at and berating the cats that didnt do any of that. or the babies.

[professionalfixator]

the depressing thing about andy's boot? it would've been enough. he had a path to the final 4, he wasn't a threat, nobody in the game saw him as one but he HAD THE MOVES. he had operation italy in his back pocket, he had everything he needed to make a solid pitch to the jury but it WASN'T ENOUGH FOR HIM. he wanted the admiration and respect too early and wasn't willing to chill out and wait for the right time (final tribal). he could've won this game but his ego got the best of him and that's just fucking sad

[javier-pena]

bad things that happened to me yesterday:

i lost the screenplay competition (and when i say lost, i mean that back in may i got selected as one of the final 6 out of 60 applications, and that there were three winners yesterday and i wasn't one of them, the winners don't get anything expect honor and are very likely to receive funding for their project but they can still be rejected in the end and i can still apply for that funding even though i didn't win)

good things that happened to me yesterday:

so!!! many!!! people!!! (who are basically strangers) told me i should've won, including a jury member from last year and two members of the international jury

it really meant a lot to me that one of the people i talked to was so so angry on my behalf

a producer/director duo (who were also mentors in the competition) want to read my treatment, the producer hugged me and told me they were rooting for me, the director told me i have very good ideas and they're looking forward to talking to me more

i got a hug from the jury member i have a little crush on 🤭

literally everyone told me to keep writing and practically begged me not to drop the idea because it's really good

i feel like i made at least one new friend who already told me she's obsessed with me and thinks i'm really cool 🤭

even though i "lost" i don't feel like i lost at all, if anything this feels like the beginning

[garciapimienta]

also im so sorry to all my argie/argie nt mutuals but I'm rooting for colombia

[skunkes]

King eider is slipping go vote for king eider

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Nightwing #100 was fun and a good celebration of Nightwing's history and progress. The Titans set up was really cool to see and I hope DC follows through with putting the Titans into the spotlight.

BUT

It can't be in the Nightwing series. I can't think of anything more damaging to The Titans as a team and to Nightwing himself than to have the entirety of the Titans crammed into a solo series.

This is why we have team series and solo series. People don't read Titan series for stories 98% focused on Grayson with every other Titans character relegated to a cameo support role. People don't read Nightwing for stories revolving around his Titans' leadership duties.

The best part about the Titans is that it's a diverse group of personalities and skillsets. Every character gets a chance to shine, every character has a distinct personality and goals. They aren't Dick Grayson's backup dancers or personal cheerleading squad. And Dick's book should be where he gets to just be himself doing stealth missions and clandestinely fighting assassins, without trying to be the perfect leader that's always got a plan.

I liked Nightwing #100 and I've liked the other times Titans characters have crossed over into the series. But this can't just be it. They have to have a Titans series. They have to.

[miscellaneouscolorfulthoughts]

I go AWOL from social media for a MINUTE and get back only to find out Alpine is dropping Esteban and Sergio got a contract extension???

The world truly is healing LFGGGGG

[thoroughfvre]

" you clearly need someone . . . let me be that person . . . let me be what you need . "

[aflawedfashion]

I wonder if the gang comes together in the finale to print Richie's photos of cops targeting gay men, and they all decide to blow up absolutely everything because they have nothing left to lose now that Constance has control and they choose do the right thing

That would be a good ending

[theriverdalereviewer]

let’s take a moment to mourn riverdale on here

[biromantic-nerd]

that post about people making sexyman polls while not understanding sportball brackets needs to be a tumblr heritage post i do not care if i am the only one who feels this way

[what-breaks-my-heart]

[mayasaura]

Was thinking about this line because Harrow what the actual fuck are you talking about, and I realised something.

Not only does Harrow really for real not know that Gideon loves her—in the bullshit context of their lives, this is a reasonable misunderstanding for her to have.

What has Harrow known Gideon's life goals to be since they were children? Hint: There are at least two Harrow is fully aware of.

The first is to be wanted. As much as Gideon hates and wants to escape the Ninth, she also paradoxically craves their acceptance. They're the only community she's ever known. Harrow plays on that desire from the very beginning, mostly by kind of .... well, okay, by negging her about it. Ironically appealing to her sense of loyalty and duty to her house when they both know Gideon never even had that bridge to burn. That kind of thing.

Whether or not she's right, Harrow sincerely believes that acceptance to still be important to Gideon. First flower of my house, the greatest cavalier we have ever produced. You are our triumph. The best of all of us. When Harrow has only seconds left to make amends, she not only banks hard into praising Gideon, she frames it to unambiguously offer Gideon the acceptance she's always been conspicuously denied. Assuring her of her value not just as a person or as a cavalier, but as one of their house, one of their people.

The second thing Harrow knows is that Gideon wants to join the Cohort. Easy, everybody knows that. She's only been telling everyone with ears (and then some) since she was eight years old. It's the bait Harrow dangled to entice her into this mess. She wants to be a hero, to do great deeds like in the comic books. She wants to be a soldier.

Against the backdrop of all that context, Gideon's dying declaration "for the Ninth" starts to sound a hell of a lot more like "for Queen and country." Especially when you remember that Harrow is still the sovereign ruler of the Ninth. From Harrow's vantage point, Gideon could easily be playing the heroic underdog in a war movie. The soldier no one believed in until she threw herself on a grenade to save her squad. The knight errant who proved her chivalry by giving her life in service to her king.

From that perspective, Harrow's line to Ortus makes sense. She's following through on her promise of acceptance, defending Gideon's loyalty to the first Ninth face she sees. She's playing out Gideon's war hero fantasy, where Gideon's act of heroism proved them all wrong about her. In which case Ortus's response, "You are the most worthy heroes the Ninth House could muster. I truly believe that," flows very naturally as a reply. He understands what Harrow is trying to say, and affirms it.

It's not a hero's burial in the Anastasian, but it's the closest thing Harrow has the power to give her. And it's a fucking reasonable interpretation of Gideon's actions that doesn't touch on her feelings for Harrow at all. Fuck me.

[satsuki-yumizuka]

This is. Very obvious but Sacchin for the character bingo :)

sometimes the obvious answer is the best one !!!