#history asks

[theromaboo]

What was the funny story about Tiberius in Pliny?

I'm glad you asked!

This is a story you can find in Pliny the Elder's Natural History, 34.62.

So there was this sculpter named Lysippus (he's super famous) and he made a statue depicting a man using a body scraper. During the time of Tiberius, this statue was set up in front of the Baths of Agrippa, no less (!). A very fitting location.

Tiberius loved this statue a lot. Probably a little bit more than the average person loves a statue. Apparently at first he managed to control himself, but eventually he gave in to temptation and set up the statue in his bedchamber (!) putting another statue in its place.

And the people were mad. They were not impressed with the replacement statue apparently. A ton of people gathered at the theatre shouting "Give us back the man using a body scraper!" Which is honestly a really funny image.

Even though Tiberius had fallen in love with this statue, he returned it in the name of peace. The end.

That statue must've been really seriously amazing to warrant such a... story. I wonder what it looked like.

[trekkiehood]

13, 14. and 15 for the history asks, please! :)

13. Something random about some random historical person in a random era.

Eliza Hamilton wore a locket with a poem written by her husband talking about Christianity inside of it and used it to comfort herself whenever someone doubted Alexander was in Heaven.

14. Why you are interested in history ( a silly question, eh?) ?

I've always loved history! Ever since I was little I would love stuff based on world war II and then got really into the American rev. I had a cassette tape of history songs that settled of dates and things and it's distorted now I played it so much 😅

At the heart of it tho I love stories. I love to find out how people interacted and what happened to individuals. I also facts and statistics. So really history is just the perfect things for me!

15. Were the history classes teached in an interesting way in your school/ college/ university? What would you do to improve them if you were the teacher / lecturer?

In highschool they were meh. Everyone always expected me to score well and I did okay but the classes always care about the most stupid things and don't teach much imo.

My college classes were hit and miss. Hated the overarching history class. Hated geography here. But the American history classes I really enjoyed bc that's what I love anyway. I'll listen to the same info a million times over lol. And I loved my poli sci class bc he encouraged devils advocate when looking at his other.

I loved student teaching but hated the restrictions they placed on me. In my own class I would definitely tell more stories and encourage more class participation. I'd show videos and modern comparisons to help the kids feel more involved!

Thanks so much for asking!!!

[mads-weasley]

2, 9, 11 for the history asks!

Hiiii!! Thanks for the ask!!

2. What is your country most famous for in history?

Okay, so I'm American, and we're probably most famous for joining WW2 after Pearl Harbor or dropping the atomic bomb on Japan.

9. Favorite historical film?

I have too many answers for this...but I could watch BoB, Mota, Hacksaw Ridge, and Saving Private Ryan a million times and never get tired of them.

11. Have you participated in reenactment? What was it like?

I have never personally participated in a reenactment, but I would totally be down for it! I was just talking about this to @footprintsinthesxnd the other day lol!

Thanks again!! <3

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

14 and 29 for the history asks! 🫶🏻

Thanks, JJ!! ❤️

14. Why are you interested in history (a silly question, eh?)?

What's great about history is that, no matter how much everything else changes, humans are always quintessentially human. The minute you let go of this preconception that everyone in the past was inherently less intelligent or empathetic or reasonable than we are today, everything opens up. The minute you stop looking for the surface-level explanations for why people in the past behaved the way they did, everything becomes a question, and trying to answer those questions is - to me - the most rewarding part of studying history.

(Also it's literally EVERYTHING that's ever happened??? If you say you hate history, you're not looking hard enough for the parts that will fascinate you)

29. Great historical mystery you are interested in?

Might be a bit of a basic choice, but I'm always fascinated by the Princes in the Tower and what might've happened to them. To any non-British folks out there who might not be familiar, the Princes in the Tower refers to the 12-year-old King Edward IV of England and his 9-year-old brother Richard Duke of York, who were the sons and heirs of Edward IV. Towards the end of the Wars of The Roses, following their father's death, the princes were moved to the Tower of London, supposedly to await the younger Edward's coronation, and neither of the boys were ever seen again. There's a lot of debate among historians as to what happened/who was responsible. It's generally assumed that the boys were murdered, but people have been speculating for centuries, and there's no concrete evidence as to what happened. After the ascension of Henry VII to the throne, multiple people came forward claiming to be one of the princes, most notably Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, and it's still difficult to conclusively say whether or not they were telling the truth. In 2021, evidence was found that could have indicated that Prince Edward survived and took sanctuary in the village of Coldridge in Devon. In the 1670s, a pair of children's skeletons were found in the Tower and buried in Westminster as the missing Princes, but it's heavily disputed as to whether these could actually be their bodies, as the bones haven't been examined since the 1930s

[gracehosborn]

Let’s have some fun! A writing/history ask game, perhaps?

Writing…

⏰ When did you start writing?

��️ If you were transported into the world of your WIP with only the clothes on your back, could you survive?

📝 Which genre would you love to write someday? Which genre do you not want to write?

🔍 What’s the most random thing you’ve had to research for your WIP?

🌜 Share a snippet that takes place at night

☀️ Share a snippet that takes place during the day

🌹 Share an emotional snippet

🌸 Share a fun/exciting snippet

💡 Where do your ideas come from? Do you organize them in any way?

History…

🎤 What is one thing you would ask your favorite historical figure?

🌻 Which historical figure do you relate to the most?

🪶 Would you consider writing a non-fictional work on a historical figure?

📖 Which lesser-known historical figure would you like to know about more?

💭 What’s your favorite historical story?

🎭 Would you consider doing historical cosplay, or otherwise wearing historical clothing?

📚 What’s your favorite history book?

🚀 If you could, would you travel back to your favorite time period?

[bazzybelle]

Hello! Numbers 9, 17, and 21 for the historical asks.

Hello! Love that we asked each other the same question!

9) Favourite historical film?

This is a difficult question for me to answer, because a lot of my favourite historical films are also SO inaccurate. Like, one of my favourite films is Gladiator, but I also spend most of that movie picking out the historical inaccuracies (like Commodos did not kill his father). I also LOVE The Prince of Egypt. It is by far the best portrayal of a Biblical story. 

I was drawing a blank, so I looked up some historical films to try and jog my memory, and I cannot believe I forgot about this movie. You guys… La Via E Bella (Life is Beautiful) is definitely my favourite movie. It is an Italian film by Roberto Benigni about an Italian-Jewish man during the onset of WWII. It is beautiful and heartbreaking, and everyone needs to watch this movie. It is a perfect example of what I love about history; The stories of the lives of the everyday people who lived. Lives that were beautiful and tragic and meaningful. You will fall in love with Guido’s love of life and incredible inner strength. I will also caution you to watch this when your emotions are in a good place. It gets REALLY sad towards the end. 

Also, there are a lot of movies I need to watch…

17) What historical item would you like to own?

Oh God, there are so many ways to answer this question. My knee-jerk reaction is to ask for a first printing of The Divine Comedy by Dante, or maybe an original art print by Gustave Dore (who ended up illustrating the epic poem). 

I would also love to have an original drawing of one of Da Vinci’s inventions. Or maybe a sketchbook of his, to see what he was working on. Maybe an incomplete sculpture that Michelangelo had every intention of completing, but never did. Oh! I would love to have something from Ludwig II of Bavaria! The man was SO flipping extra and flamboyant, I know that anything he owned would be fabulous. Maybe that table he had in one of his palaces that was connected by pulley system into his kitchens, so that he could be served his meals without talking to anyone. The man was insane, but I fucking love him so much.

21) Historical game?

This is a really good question. I am not very familiar with any games from history. I’ve heard about certain card games that were played during the Renaissance, so those could be interesting to learn about. 

However, if we’re talking about modern games about history, my answer has to be Age of Empires II. Does anyone remember this game? You could play it on Windows 98 I think. Basically, you build your own civilization using the resources around you (wood, stone, meat, and gold) and eventually try and conquer the other tribes around you. I was never really good at it, because I focused too much on building social things instead of strengthening my armies, so I would always be conquered really quickly. 

Man… I miss that game… I would love to play it again.

ASK ME HISTORY QUESTIONS PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

[reality-detective]

1963 Refrigerator 🤔

[ionomycin]

your last light

[inkskinned]

this is just my opinion but i think any good media needs obsession behind it. it needs passion, the kind of passion that's no longer "gentle scented candle" and is now "oh shit the house caught on fire". it needs a creator that's biting the floorboards and gnawing the story off their skin. creators are supposed to be wild animals. they are supposed to want to tell a story with the ferocity of eating a good stone fruit while standing over the sink. the same protective, strange instinct as being 7 and making mud potions in pink teacups: you gotta get weird with it.

good media needs unhinged, googling-at-midnight kind of energy. it needs "what kind of seams are invented on this planet" energy and "im just gonna trust the audience to roll with me about this" energy. it needs one person (at least) screaming into the void with so much drive and energy that it forces the story to be real.

sometimes people are baffled when fanfic has some stunning jaw-dropping tattoo-it-on-you lines. and i'm like - well, i don't go here, but that makes sense to me. of fucking course people who have this amount of passion are going to create something good. they moved from a place of genuine love and enjoyment.

so yeah, duh! saturday cartoons have banger lines. random street art is sometimes the most precious heart-wrenching shit you've ever seen. someone singing on tiktok ends up creating your next favorite song. youtubers are giving us 5 hours of carefully researched content. all of this is the impossible equation to latestage capitalism. like, you can't force something to be good. AI cannot make it good. no amount of focus-group testing or market research. what makes a story worth listening to is that someone cares so much about telling it - through dance, art, music, whatever it takes - that they are just a little unhinged about it.

one time my friend told me he stayed up all night researching how many ways there are to peel an orange. he wrote me a poem that made me cry on public transportation. the love came through it like pith, you know? the words all came apart in my hands. it tasted like breakfast.

[theromaboo]

I went through my old books about Nero again and I remember the passage about Britannicus being childhood best friends with Vespasian's son, Titus and possibly his brother Domitian, since his father Claudius and Vespasian liked each other.

So there was at some point in history a moment where Claudius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian and possibly even Nero where in the same room at the same time. 5 different Roman emperors. In one room. I think that's pretty fucking neat if you ask me...

Oh my gosh I totally forgot about Domitian! Wow, future Roman emperors all over the place! It is really neat.

It kind of reminds me of this story in Suetonius Titus (Suetonius Life of Titus 2.1). Basically, some dude had to examine Britannicus and was like "Yep, he's not going to emperor. Too bad so sad," and then he looked at Titus and said "Oh, this one will!" And Titus did.

Which also reminds me of this story in Suetonius Caligula (Suetonius Life of Caligula 19.3) when some astrologer said "This guy Gaius [Caligula] is not going to become emperor. Nuh uh no way," except he actually did become emperor!

It also reminds me of a story in Suetonius Augustus (Suetonius Life of Augustus 94.12) when Octavian and Agrippa visited this one astrologer. This was when they were still at Apollonia so like before Julius Caesar died and stuff.

The astrologer said to Agrippa "Omg bro you're going to have such a good career you're going to be incredible."

Then Octavian was worried that the astrologer was going to say to him something like "Oh, you're going to die at the ripe old age of 24 after doing nothing with your life. Sorry." Well to be specific, Octavian was worried that his fortune would be worse than Agrippa's, which is kind of mean.

But Octavian let the dude look at his birthday and stuff and the dude threw himself at Octavian's feet because omg! He's going to be emperor! His fate is so incredible! This homie is so cool, his zodiac sign is Capricorn even though he was born in September!

I could make a venn diagram of these three stories. They mirror each other a lot and I'm starting to have feelings about it. Suetonius is the source of all three stories so I wonder if he was doing it on purpose.

[asha-mage]

Broke: Merlin is a royalist because he is a class traitor boot licker

Woke: Merlin is a royalist because he was raised a peasant in the sixth century and he has the perspective and values typical of that time period on top of his personal experiences with Arthur to give him faith in the enlightened despotism favored by Catherine the Great and Frederick of Prussia.

Bespoke: Merlin is a royalist because anyone who had to live through both the English Civil War and Voltaire's exile to Britain would come out the other side thinking democracy is stupid.

Transcendent: Merlin is not a royalist. He is the divine right of kings in human form. The avatar of Albion and its magic. He does not believe in kings because of Arthur. He believes in Arthur so Arthur gets to be king.

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

i think you're either american or english (very many apologies if that's wrong 😭) so im gonna give you question 2 for the history asks just to see what you pick 🤪

2. What is your country most famous for in history?

i am in fact very English and we're most known for being fuck ass little colonisers who were chronically allergic to minding our own goddamn business and made this everyone else's problem 👎

[hinamie]

surprise it's yuri!!!in 2024

[bazzybelle]

I'd love to hear you nerd out about more history! Could you do 10, 17, and 21 please?

Hello! Hello! Thank you for the wonderful ask! I will gladly nerd out about history some more! :D

10) Pieces of art (paintings, sculptures, lithographies, etc) related to history you like most (post an image of them).

Oh snap... this is an unfair question. There are so many pieces of art that I love so much. I am going to focus on three specific pieces (technically four, but the last two are meant to be a pair).

La Primavera - Sandro Botticelli

Yeah yeah, I chose a Renaissance piece... No surprises there. But guys, just LOOK AT THIS PAINTING! This is my all time favourite painting. I was so fortunate enough to have seen this painting in person in 2008, and I straight up cried. I have a cross-stitched version of this painting that I keep above my bed. This painting is everything to me. Look at the details of all the flowers, the welcoming, yet stern gaze of the central Venus character, the playful, yet mournful look of the three Graces. You can spend an hour looking at this painting and STILL find something to talk about.

The School Of Athens - Raphael

Jesus Christ, you guys... look at this fucking painting. Ok so, during The Renaissance, artists started to play around with perspective, adding depth to their paintings. A result would be the level of detail you get in pieces such as this. Look at the arches all the way in the back. You can almost believe that this painting goes on forever. It's insane.

Now, the people. This is just a Who's Who of important philosophers, mathematicians, and thinkers in history such as Euclid, Ptolemy, and most famously Plato and Aristotle (who occupy the centre of the fresco). Ok, let's take a closer look at Plato and Aristotle, because this shit BLOWS MY MIND! Plato, renowed philosopher, is pointing up to the heavens, while Aristotle, natural scientist and mathematician, is pointing to the ground... to Earth. THE DETAILS!

The Mosaics of The Basilica of San Vitale - Ravenna

So the Byzantines were well known for their beautiful, intricate mosaics. If you have a minute, seriously look them up, they are breathtaking. But these two are probably some of the most famous. They depict the Emperor Justinian with his entourage, on one side, and his Consort, the Empress Theodora with her attendants on the other. The level of intricacy and detail in these pieces is astounding, considering they were made with teeny tine pieces of stone and glass. Like what the actual hell?!

17)  What historical item would you like to own?

xD I've answered this question twice. So this time, I've asked my husband. We went on a massive tangent about owning original copies of famous works, and then how owning the original Gutenberg printing press would be cool. We then talked about famous sculptures and buildings that were destroyed, like the Chryselephantine Statues of Zeus and Athena, the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria.

He then shouted out "I WANT THE ELGIN MARBLES BACK FROM THE BRITISH! OH AND THE TEMPLES THE GERMANS STOLE!"

He also wants the Mask of Agamemnon. Said it'd be a pretty cool addition to our library.

21) Historical game?

I also answered this question, and in that ask, I answered Age Of Empires II, which remains the best strategy/building game in my opinion.

But I did a little digging to try and jog my memory a little bit, and I cannot believe I didn't even think about Assassin's Creed II. It takes place during the Renaissance for fuck's sake. Now, I never actually played this game, because I prefer to watch other people play (I like the stories, and don't want to deal with how much I suck at video games). I've read up on the story of the game and have watched a few scenes of game play and oh my God, it's a great game!

ASK ME THE HISTORY QUESTIONS!

Questions already answered: 4, 5, 9, 10, 13 (but I don't mind giving more random facts :D), 16, 17, 21, 27, 29.

[reality-detective]

Old Lighters 🤔

[buttacake80]

To my Asian, European, African, and Canadian friends...do y'all wanna know how the United States found itself under a fascist, Hitler-loving dictator named Donald Trump?

In another post, I started my timeline in 1980. The year I was born. But, it was also a turning point in US politics.

First, let me share my credentials.

- Bachelors of Arts - History

- Juris Doctor - Public Interest Law (Critical Race Theory)

- Masters of Philosophy (research degree) - Sociology (Race, Ethnicity, Conflict)

Just recently, we buried President Jimmy Carter, who was the president, when I was born. Jimmy was from Georgia, like my grandmother, and he came from a Southern Baptist background. Southern Baptists are known for being very conservative Christians who did not support abortion.

Jimmy, despite that background, actually supported LGBTQ rights by lifting a federal ban. He supported Roe v. Wade which protected access to abortion. And, he established the federal Department of Education.

However, Jimmy had an antagonistic relationship with Congress, and that alienated several Democrats, including Ted Kennedy, who was the brother of John F. Kennedy, a president who was assassinated.

The Kennedy family has an established name brand due to JFK and Robert F Kennedy (another brother and JFK's attorney general who was also assassinated). Ted was the younger, drunken brother who caused the accidental death of a college friend.

In 1980, Ted challenged Jimmy for the presidency even though they were both Democrats. Jimmy has the incumbent shouldn't have faced a challenge from his own party, but he had just been that bad.

So, this internal strife weakened the Democratic Party entering the 1980 election. In that same year, Jimmy boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Russia due to Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. Furthermore, there was a recession.

The Republican Party nominee was a former Hollywood actor turned politician named Ronald Reagan. Ronald was the governor of California and was trailing Jimmy in the polls until a presidential debate in which Ronald used his acting skills to make Jimmy seem incompetent.

Ronald believed in "trickle down economics." He believed that if the wealthiest people were taxed less, then they would spend more, thus boosting the economy and allowing prosperity to "trickle down" to the working & Middle class.

He also believed in increased military spending as this was the height of the Cold War with Russia. My own parents voted for Reagan because my dad was in the military.

Instead of trickling down, the wealthy just grew wealthier. Republicans continued to lower taxes for these individuals and businesses, so the money never trickled down. Social services were underfunded & unemployment increased. Reagan's response was to blame Black "welfare mothers" for abusing the system.

Republicans latch onto this. They implement work requirements for government assistance and make it harder for folks to pull out of poverty. As a result, a wealth gap separated white folk from the rest. White folk felt their hard earned money was supporting lazy white & Black folk, so they continued to constrict welfare programs.

[Section added] During Reagan's term, an unknown illness is killing young, gay Black & Latino men. It's AIDs. Reagan deemed it a gay disease that only affects gay people, so no funding is allocated to study this disease. It's viewed as retribution for their homosexua lifestyle. However, overtime, they learn about HIV once non-gay men were infected. Children die from the disease because blood is not tested for it, so some are born from it through their mothers while others were given transfusions.

Under Reagan, the Fairness Doctrine ends. Under this doctrine, news agencies had to report both sides of an issue. Because of this, television stations can now present one side. Fox News opens as a conservative network.

Ronald is well-loved by white folk. He gets elected to two terms. By the end of his term, the economy has recovered, and white folk are prospering. Then, his VP, George H.W. Bush, is elected.

Under George I, the Cold War ends, but we have the Gulf War in Kuwait. He signs trade agreements that result in several American companies, namely the auto industry, to shutter their doors and build factories overseas. This is due to a change in tariffs!

Millions of Americans lose their jobs as factories close. Detroit, as the leading auto manufacturer city, is devastated. Back in the 90s, Detroit was the 4th largest US city after Chicago. These factory closures hit the Midwest, especially hard.

This makes Bush unpopular. He is challenged by a young, charismatic Democrat named Bill Clinton.

Bill was a southerner like Jimmy, but Bill was a very well-known ladies' man. Bill appeals to Black Americans, though, and that allows him to defeat George.

Bill continues expanding trade agreements. He's a fiscal conservative despite being a Democrat, and under Bill, military spending is reduced.

[Section added] The rise of AIDs leads to further hate directed at the LGBTQ. During the 90s, several queer people are murdered. One such kid was Matthew Shepard. A college kid in Wyoming, he is beaten by a gang of white men. His family was terrorized so much, that they couldn't bury him because of fears his grave would be desecrated.

[A white woman Bishop in DC invites Shepard's parents to bury him in their graveyard. That Bishop is Marian Edgar Budde, the same Bishop who gave Trump his inaugural sermon this past week. She pleaded for Trump to have mercy on the queer community because she was the Bishop who buried Shepard!]

Bill is a popular president. The economy is booming, but he's still a lady's man, and he gets in trouble with a college intern.

This scandal adversely impacts the last few years in office so much so that his VP, Al Gore, loses the presidency to George W. Bush.

George Bush won the Electoral College while Al Gore won the popular vote. There was such a tiny margin that there were numerous recounts because of faulty ballots (hanging chads). Eventually, the Supreme Court intervenes and tells them to stop the count and certify George as president.

George II is the son of George I.

George II is a popular Texan with swagger. He wants to build up the military once again.

Clinton left a surplus of money, so what did George II do? He implemented tax cuts for the wealthy. That damned "trickle down economics" again. The wealthy get wealthier, increasing the wealth gap between white folks and everybody else.

They cut taxes while cutting social services. One of his biggest "achievements" was a restructuring of our educational system called "No Child Left Behind."

NCLB emphasizes test scores. School administrations are penalized if they don't meet these standards. They lost funding, so electives such as home economics, art, Music, etc are trimmed to make room for these test standards. By this time, my dad has retired from the military and is a school principal, and I remember the stress of trying to meet these standards.

These standards emphasize STEM at the expense of liberal arts. This is happening just as the internet becomes available to all.

Amazon opens as an online used book store. Facebook is started as a college message board. There's a tech boom, so everyone is being pushed into tech fields. Liberal arts education was devalued.

During his term, 9-11 happens. We declare war on Afghanistan. Islamophobia spikes. Fox News helps drive this narrative. Christianity is now being pushed into schools, whereas schools were previously secular.

[Section added] In 2004, the assault rifle ban was lifted. Now we are seeing a dramatic spike in school shootings. The Far Right embraces the expansion of the 2nd Amendment.

Then, we go to war in Iraq.

We aren't quite sure why we're at war with Iraq. We overthrow Suddam Hussein (from the Gulf War). George declares victory, then terminates the Iraqi Army.

This triggers an insurrection. Massive casualties are coming out of Iraq. The war in Afghanistan is overshadowed.

George serves two terms, but his VP is so unpopular that he doesn't run for president. Instead, the Republican nominee is John McCain.

Two Democrats fight for the nomination. Hillary Clinton, the wife of Bill, and Barack Obama.

Barack was a young, biracial Senator from Illinois. I attended law school in Illinois, and one of my classmates had been his legislative aide. I met Barack twice while a student. The first time, he had come to campus to propose a college-savings account. After his press conference, I latched onto his arm and refused to let go until he heard me, and I explained that his proposal was unrealistic because it assumed that a single mother would have the resources to save for an education when it was more likely her money would go towards groceries & rent or other immediate needs. (Fast forward two-three years, and the dude is repeating my line during the State of the Union! I had changed his mind!)

Barack beats Hillary for the nomination. He defeats McCain and is sworn in as the 1st black (not Black) president.

Obama is popular and well-loved by most Americans. Under his tenure, gay marriage is legalized.

Fox News triples down on their hatred.

Their network booms. They push Islamophobia 24/7. Highlight the fact that Obama's father was Muslim and that his middle name was Hussein.

Older Americans are watching program after program of this negativity. A movement starts called the Tea Party movement, which positions itself as a fiscally conservative movement. A bankrupt slumlord with a reality TV show gains popularity with these folks.

I wrote my master's dissertation on the Tea Party movement. It's called "Jesus and the White Man."

Donald Trump

Donald latches onto the Islamaphobia. He calls Barack by his middle name and questions his birth certificate. Donald grows popular with older Americans.

At the end of Obama's term, the son of VP Biden dies. This devastated Biden. He had lost his infant daughter & first wife in a car accident. He decides not to run for president.

Obama supports Hillary.

It is now Hillary v. Trump.

Trump pushes misogyny and Islamaphobia. Hillary is Bill's wife and a woman. She is the most qualified presidential candidate to ever run (at that time).

During Obama's last year in office, Justice Antonin Scalia* dies. Obama has the privilege to nominate that next Justice, but Mitch McConnell stalls through the election.

But older white Americans were barely okay with a black president. They were not about to let a woman serve as President. At the same time, an organization called Cambridge Analytica began to fine-tune an ultra conservative agenda.

With the help of Russian intelligence, they use Facebook ads to try to persuade voters to support Trump. They succeeded with white folk, but they did not succeed with the Black vote.

Russians used African bot farms in order to try to persuade Black Americans to support Trump. We rejected him at 90%.

Donald wins the Electoral College but not the popular vote.

Donald is a corrupt and ineffectual president. He tried to bribe foreign leaders and shared US intelligence with Russia.

However, as a populist, he latches onto the Christian Right. He nominates 3 Supreme Court Justices who lie during their confirmation hearings. These Justices will ultimately vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The Christian Right love this. But then COVID hits and the incompetence of Donald leads to millions of deaths. These Christian folk refuse to get vaccinated or wear masks.

Donald is an unpopular president and ranks as the worst president of all time.

Biden challenges him and wins.

Donald refuses to accept that he lost, so he organized an attempted coup. January 6th.

He's impeached. Twice.

McConnell refuses to take the step to have him permanently barred from office.

Biden takes office when COVID is still rampant. The Christian Right continue to push their agenda, seeking to remove protections for the LGBTQI.

Right wing media generates a lot of money. Podcasters jump on the bandwagon. Red pill content spills into the mainstream.

Kids who were isolated during COVID are now at home watching Joe Rogan & Theo Von. They spend hours upon hours on TikTok.

But unbeknownst to these kids is the history of Russian interference.

Schools emphasize STEM. They don't emphasize liberal arts or social sciences such as history or literature. The literacy rate plummeted to an all-time low. The average white American's reading level is at the 4th grade. They aren't able to engage in critical thinking.

They don't know the history of the Spanish Influenza. They don't know the history of a trade war that triggered the Great Depression. They don't know that our government has imprisoned citizens in internment camps. They don't know Hitler's rise to power.

In fact, Fox News frequently features individuals who deny the Holocaust.

Russia move their troll farms from Facebook to TikTok, where the algorithm serves as an echo chamber. Uneducated, illiterate folks gobble up 30-second videos but can't be arsed to watch anything over 5 minutes so complex issues are stripped down to sound bites.

The algorithm pushed right-wing fascist talking points. They rehabbed Donald while shifting Gen Z to the far right. They do not know how to verify information for themselves, so they gobble up misinformation and disinformation.

If a TikTok creator has millions of followers with thousands of views and likes, these kids assume that that info is factual. They do not vet shit for themselves.

Russia pushed anti-American propaganda that posed as pro-American talking points. Pushed isolationism. Pushed anti-democratic rhetoric. In fact, one of their greatest accomplishments is convincing Gen Z and uneducated, white Millennials into thinking we aren't a democracy.

We are a fucking Democratic Republic. Our constitution begins with: "We the people".

So, because of TikTok, Trump won.

That's why Biden was pushing for it to be banned before the election. The algorithm was being corrupted. But folks couldn't part from their addiction.

Folks who had been anti-Trump just 5 years ago are suddenly Trump supporters. They were brainwashed.

So, how did we get here?

We got here because most Americans are fucking STUPID.