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collinmendoza20 · 1 year ago

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Narratives and Rhetoric

In this entry, I will examine the critical question(s): How does this artifact use narrative elements like scene, character, set up of events, time, etc. to promote a certain ideology or constitute people in a narrative? What is ethically productive and/or limiting about this depiction, and is it more productive or limiting?

To investigate these questions, I examined an excerpt from an episode of The PBD Podcast as my rhetorical artifact. The clip shares a narrative to an intended male audience that society as a whole has deteriorated due to lack of honor, pride, self-control, and self-accountability. The narrative is constructed with the rhetorical use of comparison, causation, and drawing on extremes, which can be productive in understanding cause-and-effect relationships in society but is limiting in that it ignores the gray areas outside the extremes.

The PBD Podcast is conducted by Patrick Bet-David, a multimillionaire and real estate investor. The podcast often has guests and discusses highly-contested societal issues from politics to corruption. The episode from which I pulled this clip is titled “Andrew Tate PBD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Jail Life, BBC Reaction, Matrix, Religion, Future Plans”. The guest, Andrew Tate, is a former kickboxing world champion, multimillionaire businessman, and social media influencer who about ten years ago began posting advice to young men on social media. Tate’s message is that men want respect more than anything. In order to get respect, they must work to become worthy of it: get up early, work extremely hard, stay sober, maintain physical health, be physically fit, find God, and do not complain. In the past five years, Tate had been speaking outwardly against an intricate network of global corruption, something he refers to as “The Matrix”. At the end of December 2022, Andrew and his brother Tristan were arrested and held without charge for three months in Romanian prison. Upon their release, the Tate’s were officially charged with human trafficking, accused of using emotional coercion to convince their female friends to make Tik Tok accounts, gain popularity, and subsequently seize the money made from Tik Tok views. The complexity of this case and exactly what role “The Matrix” may have played in Tate’s arrest is what drove Patrick Bet-David to reach out to Tate to conduct this interview. In the excerpt I have analyzed, PBD asks Tate what he would do if he were President of the United States. Tate proceeds to extrapolate the question and begins to talk about the deterioration of society, using complex case studies like school shootings as a premise for his argument.

Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) explain that narratives can work by implying causation and engaging interest to create a certain view on culture and community. Narratives rely on the chronological telling of events and connect them in some way although their connection may not be immediately apparent. Hence, they possess an element of causation, or at least contingency. Narratives also engage interest. Even the most painful narratives can engage interest because it allows the audience to learn more about the human condition. Some narratives do this by adding vivacity. Vivacity is the sense of immediacy or presence created through the use of descriptions, imagery, and colorful language that make an idea come to life. Furthermore, two ways Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch say we can judge narratives are through their character development and the authorial intent. Character development is the process of describing the actions of and relationships among actors within a narrative. Authorial intent asks if the author is attempting to tell a story based off of events which have actually occurred. When the rhetor makes a factual claim, can it be assessed for its truthfulness with empirical evidence?

One of the ways the narrative is built is through the use of causation and contrast of characters. Tate builds two extreme opposites when describing the kind of man who commits school shootings to argue that it’s how men respond to difficult circumstances that matters, not the circumstances themselves. He says, “When a man is sad, there is an inclination towards aggression; that’s how we’re born, that’s how we’ve evolved. We’re evolved with that inclination towards aggression, and we need that to protect and provide, that’s who we are. We need that bravery…A school shooter is not a man with masculine accountability; he’s a man who is told to act how you feel, all the time. Then he gets picked on long enough; throw some drugs on top of it that his psychiatrist gave him; throw in the lack of a girlfriend, and he’s had enough. That’s where school shootings come from.” By creating two separate characters, the narrative suggests a certain ethical standard to strive for: it is not what happens to you that matters, but how you respond. The narrative suggests that masculine accountability and using sadness as a means to protect and provide, not harm others. He engages interest from the audience, who are assumed to be disenfranchised young men, by adding vivacity to the narrative. While not all school shooters may have been picked on, are prescribed medication, are lonely, sad and depressed, it allows at least some of these men to identify with the characters in the narrative.

The narrative can also be understood as having true authorial intent as its fact-based claims can be assessed from an empirical standpoint. “In the 1950s, I’m sure there was a prevalence of guns all around America but there just wasn’t the school shooting. Why? What was different in the years before than there is now. I think it’s because children obeyed their parents, and their parents were a family, and there was a degree of responsibility that was instilled inside of people… and there was a degree of honor and pride.” According to a General Social Survey conducted by the University of Chicago, 28.1% of individuals in 1980 owned guns as opposed to 22.4% in 2014 (Smith & Son, 2015). Additionally, according to a report from Statista.com, the number of K-12 school shootings in the United States has risen from 20 incidents in 1980 to 240 incidents in 2021 (2023). While the data is limiting, as it fails to account for the period Tate refers to, the veracity of his message still stands as this trend is confirmed. We see, through empirical research, that while gun ownership has remained relatively constant, the number of school shootings has increased substantially. This effectively establishes authorial intent.

This narrative might be unproductive for society in certain ways, but overall, is ultimately productive. It might be unproductive as it fails to account for female school shooters and explain how that happens. The narrative is also limiting because of its binary nature in presenting two extreme characters. By merely acknowledging two types of men, those with masculine accountability and those without, and the latter perpetrate these horrible crimes, is severely understanding the issue. It is an oversimplification as it ignores the gray area of the matter, and keeps things in black and white. However, it does give useful tips for how to lead one’s life. Acting with pride and honor makes it much less likely that someone will act in the detriment of others. Caring for others and being selfless rather than selfish in the approach to one’s emotions leads to healthy relationships and a healthy society.

Works Cited

Number of K-12 school shootings U.S. 2022. Statista. (2023, August 1). https://www.statista.com/statistics/971473/number-k-12-school-shootings-us/

Smith, T. W., & Son, J. (2015, May). Trends in gun ownership in the United States, 1972-2014. NORC. https://norc.org/content/dam/norc-org/pdfs/GSS_Trends%20in%20Gun%20Ownership_US_1972-2014.pdf

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mynewjerseycaraccident · 2 years ago

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deargodsno · 3 years ago

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If it wasn’t already clear that the anti-vaccination/anti-masking/pro-COVID contingent of the Trumpian right has great difficulty distinguishing reality from fiction, their latest trending social-media hashtag is its penultimate manifestation: #pureblood. Not only are they unable to distinguish between J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter wizarding world and their own, but simultaneously appear either oblivious to the fact that either they’re identifying with the story’s fascists, or perhaps wink-and-nudgingly embracing their eugenics.

Vice’s Tess Owens was among the first to report on this trend, noting that while the hashtag is popular on Facebook and Twitter, it has particularly taken off on TikTok, accompanied by such hashtags as #harrypotter and #unvaccinated. According to the Daily Dot, the use of the term probably originated with TikTok user kats.outta.the.bag, whose now-deleted video showed her with a black-and-white filter and onscreen text: “We will No longer be referred To as Unvaxxed… We simply go by….” She then revealed a filter with the phrase “Pureblood” highlighted in red.

Influencer Lyndsey Marie kicked the trend into high gear with a video that racked up over 250,000 views before she made it private.

“From now on, I refuse to be referred to as ‘unvaccinated,’” she declared. “I want everyone to now call me Pureblood.”

The video promptly gave birth to a variety of memes mimicking her declaration. Another TikTok user, friedahardy6, garnered over 3.4 million views for a similar video (also since removed from public view) asking to be called "pureblood" instead of unvaccinated.

TikTok user "drakapuffdaddy" expressed admiration for the term in a video of his own. "Man, are you pureblood? Yeah, I'm pureblood," he said in the video. "No more 'unvaxxed'—pureblood!"

In the Potter “wizarding” universe, the forces of proto-fascist evil led by the genocidal Lord Voldemort identify themselves as “purebloods,” wizards descended only from other wizards—apparently an expression of the belief that magical powers can only originate through genetics. Rowling’s fantasy is a clear reference to the Nazi preoccupation with genetic bloodlines and “pure Aryan blood” that provided the ideological fodder for the Holocaust.

Some of the #pureblood hashtag users have incorporated zombie-like filters on their videos. Others add a blood-droplet emoji to embellish their captions. One user demonstrated the fantasy-fueled break from reality by taking the analogy a step further.

“In like five, ten years, maybe less, all the people who are unvaccinated—we’re gonna be hunted,” she warned. “It’s gonna be like Resident Evil. We’re gonna be the antidote, because everyone else is fucked, and we’re gonna be the only ones with pure blood.”

The term is also gaining momentum as a localized or regional phenomenon. “Pureblood Patriots. Listen to me. The Great State of Mississippi will fight this discrimination. We welcome you all,” announced one self-appointed state spokesperson.

The reference is cropping up everywhere in right-wing social-media conversations about the vaccine, such as the one Markos noted recently in which one anti-vaxxer opined that “it’s really sad that over half our population has followed instructions on getting vaccinated,” and another replied: “I’m not willing to be shamed for not getting the poison. I am a Pureblood.”

Lyndsey Marie, Owens reports, is cashing in on her right-wing celebrity to advance the concept. She is currently promising her followers a line of “pureblood”-branded merchandise (featuring an image of a lion and text reading: “PUREBLOOD; Unmasked, Unvaxxed, Unafraid”) will be available for sale through her accounts.

My personal favourite comment on this:

#covid 19 #vaccines #covid vaccine #harry potter

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newstfionline · 3 years ago

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Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Hostile school board meetings have members calling it quits (AP) A Nevada school board member said he had thoughts of suicide before stepping down amid threats and harassment. In Virginia, a board member resigned over what she saw as politics driving decisions on masks. The vitriol at board meetings in Wisconsin had one member fearing he would find his tires slashed. School board members are largely unpaid volunteers, traditionally former educators and parents who step forward to shape school policy, choose a superintendent and review the budget. But a growing number are resigning or questioning their willingness to serve as meetings have devolved into shouting contests between deeply political constituencies over how racial issues are taught, masks in schools, and COVID-19 vaccines and testing requirements. In his letter of resignation from Wisconsin’s Oconomowoc Area School Board, Rick Grothaus said its work had become “toxic and impossible to do.” “When I got on, I knew it would be difficult,” Grothaus, a retired educator, said by phone. “But I wasn’t ready or prepared for the vitriolic response that would occur, especially now that the pandemic seemed to just bring everything out in a very, very harsh way. It made it impossible to really do any kind of meaningful work.”

California fire approaches Lake Tahoe after mass evacuation (AP) A ferocious wildfire swept toward Lake Tahoe on Tuesday just hours after roads were clogged with fleeing cars when the entire California resort city of South Lake Tahoe was ordered to evacuate and communities just across the state line in Nevada were warned to get ready to leave. The popular vacation haven normally filled with tens of thousands of summer tourists emptied out Monday as the massive Caldor Fire rapidly expanded. Vehicles loaded with bikes and camping gear and hauling boats were in gridlock traffic, stalled in hazy, brown air that smelled like a campfire. Police and other emergency vehicles whizzed by. “It’s more out of control than I thought,” evacuee Glen Naasz said of the fire that by late Monday had been pushed by strong winds across California highways 50 and 89, burning mountain cabins as it swept down slopes into the Tahoe Basin.

Hurricane Ida traps Louisianans, shatters the power grid (AP) Rescuers set out in hundreds of boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by floodwaters Monday, and utility repair crews rushed in, after a furious Hurricane Ida swamped the Louisiana coast and ravaged the electrical grid in the sticky, late-summer heat. People living amid the maze of rivers and bayous along the state’s Gulf Coast retreated desperately to their attics or roofs and posted their addresses on social media with instructions for search-and-rescue teams on where to find them. More than 1 million customers in Louisiana and Mississippi—including all of New Orleans—were left without power as Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland, pushed through on Sunday and early Monday before weakening into a tropical storm. As it continued to make its way inland with torrential rain and shrieking winds, it was blamed for at least two deaths. But with many roads impassable and cellphone service knocked out in places, the full extent of its fury was still coming into focus. The governor’s office said damage to the power grid appeared “catastrophic.” And local officials warned it could be weeks before power is fully restored, leaving multitudes without refrigeration or air conditioning during the dog days of summer, with highs forecast in the mid-80s to close to 90 by midweek.

Heavily armed criminal group ties hostages to getaway cars after storming Brazilian city (Washington Post) A heavily armed group of bank robbers wreaked havoc across a southeastern Brazilian city early Monday, striking several banks, setting fire to vehicles and tying hostages to their getaway cars, in an assault that left at least three people dead, officials say. Even in a country long accustomed to random spasms of violence, Brazilians reacted with shock and fear. The group stormed Araçatuba, a city of 200,000 in São Paulo state, around midnight to strike several city banking agencies. Gunshots punctured the early-morning quiet. Authorities asked residents to stay inside. Images on social media and local news reports showed at least 10 people clinging to getaway cars, apparently strapped there to deter fire from police. The hostages were reportedly released after the group escaped. The raid bore the characteristics of what criminologists have called a growing pattern: nighttime assaults on midsize Brazilian cities—often elaborate bank heists, intricately planned, well choreographed and executed by well-financed criminal groups equipped with the weaponry and gadgetry of war. The group flew a drone over Araçatuba during the raid, according to local reports, to track movements throughout the city.

EU travel restrictions (AP) The European Union recommended Monday that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infections there, but member countries will keep the option of allowing fully vaccinated U.S. travelers in. The EU’s decision reflects growing anxiety that the rampant spread of the virus in the U.S. could jump to Europe at a time when Americans are allowed to travel to the continent. Both the EU and the U.S. have faced rising infections this summer, driven by the more contagious delta variant. The guidance issued Monday is nonbinding, however. American tourists should expect a mishmash of travel rules across the continent since the EU has no unified COVID-19 tourism policy and national EU governments have the authority to decide whether or how they keep their borders open during the pandemic.

Italy’s record droughts (La Stampa) The earth is cracking in Italy’s northwest region of Piedmont: the crops and the animals suffer. Italy has been ravaged by fires and storms, like Greece, Turkey and much of Southern Europe. Italy has recorded 1,200 “extreme” meteorological events—a 56% increase from last year. Wildfires ravaged the southern regions of Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily. The town of Florida, in Sicily, is thought to have recorded the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe: 48.8 °C. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall devastated other parts of the country. Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agricultural association, has just summed up the bill for this Italian summer: The damages to agriculture, it says, amount to €1 billion. Wheat yields have fallen 10%; cherries 30%, nectarines 40%. Tomato and corn crops have also suffered heavy losses. Giovanni Bedino, a 59-year-old Italian farmer, has been working the land since he was 15. “I love this job, but a year like this takes away your love,” he told Turin daily La Stampa. “We couldn’t water the fields and nothing came down from the sky. I remember, the summer of 2003 was a very difficult one—but it wasn’t even close to this year. I have never seen such a drought.”

In India, a debate over population control turns explosive (Washington Post) Yogi Adityanath, a star of India’s political right wing, stood before television cameras in his trademark saffron tunic and dramatically introduced a bill pushing for smaller families—two children at most. In previous decades, this measure by the leader of the country’s most populous state might have been uncontroversial. Over the past month, it’s been explosive. Critics saw a veiled attempt to mobilize Hindu voters by tapping into an age-old trope about India’s Muslim population ballooning out of control. As India barrels toward a pivotal election in Uttar Pradesh early next year, population bills introduced by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have become a new flash point in the national debate, vividly illustrating how the issues of religion and identity, spoken or implied, form the most powerful undercurrent in the country’s politics. Since 2011, when official census figures emerged showing Hindus dipping to 80 percent of India’s population compared to 84 percent in 1951—Muslims increased from 10 percent to 14.2 percent during that same period—the question of how to maintain “demographic balance” has gained urgency for the Hindu movement’s leaders. A 2016 national survey finding that Indian Muslim women had, on average, 2.6 children compared to 2.1 for Hindus provoked more concern.

North Korea appears to have restarted Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.N. body says (Washington Post) North Korea appears to have restarted its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in July, a “deeply troubling” sign that the country may be on track to expand its nuclear program, according to a new report by the United Nations’ atomic agency. The finding adds another challenge to the Biden administration’s goal of denuclearizing North Korea. Although Yongbyon is not the only site where North Korea has produced highly enriched uranium, its role at the heart of Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions made the facility a bargaining chip in previous negotiations. In 2008, North Korea ceremoniously blew up the reactor’s cooling tower in a largely made-for-TV event amid nuclear talks between the United States and former leader Kim Jong Il. (A new cooling tower was built after the negotiations fell through.)

Last troops exit Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war (AP) The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war. Hours ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline for shutting down a final airlift, and thus ending the U.S. war, Air Force transport planes carried a remaining contingent of troops from Kabul airport. Thousands of troops had spent a harrowing two weeks protecting a hurried and risky airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans and others seeking to escape a country once again ruled by Taliban militants. In announcing the completion of the evacuation and war effort. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said the last planes took off from Kabul airport at 3:29 p.m. Washington time, or one minute before midnight in Kabul. He said a number of American citizens, likely numbering in “the very low hundreds,” were left behind, and that he believes they will still be able to leave the country. The final pullout fulfilled Biden’s pledge to end what he called a “forever war” that began in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and rural Pennsylvania.

Afghanistan’s ‘Gen Z’ fears for future and hard-won freedoms (Reuters) Almost two third of Afghans are under the age of 25, and an entire generation cannot even remember the Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until it was toppled by Western-backed militia in 2001. During that time they enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law, banning girls from school, women from work and carrying out public executions. Since 2001, the militants fought an insurgency in which thousands of Afghans died. Since re-taking power, the group has been quick to reassure students that their education would not be disrupted, also saying it would respect the rights of women and urging talented professionals not to leave the country. But used to a life with cellphones, pop music and mixing of genders, Afghanistan’s “Generation Z”—born roughly in the decade around the turn of the millennium—now fears some freedoms will be taken away, according to interviews with half a dozen Afghan students and young professionals. “I made such big plans, I had all these high reaching goals for myself that stretched to the next 10 years,” said Sosan Nabi, a 21-year-old graduate. “We had a hope for life, a hope for change. But in just one week, they took over the country and in 24 hours they took all our hopes, dreams snatched from in front of our eyes. It was all for nothing.”

They made it out of Afghanistan. But their path ahead is uncertain. (Washington Post) As the United States winds down its evacuation operation in Afghanistan, the Biden administration is accelerating efforts to resettle Afghans on U.S. soil, where they will be expected to apply for visas or humanitarian protection that could put them on a path to legal residency and citizenship. But the chaotic nature of the enormous airlift means that much is unknown: Officials have not said precisely how many Afghan evacuees have made it into the United States or whether all will be allowed to stay. More than 117,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan on U.S. and other flights as of Saturday, and Pentagon officials said the vast majority are Afghan citizens. Thousands have arrived in the United States, while thousands more are waiting in “transit hubs” in Europe and the Middle East. They are a mix of brand-new refugees and families with existing immigration applications that have been pending for months or years. Where the evacuees will end up is “a hard question to answer,” said Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of HIAS, one of the refugee resettlement agencies operating in the United States. “I don’t really know where they stand,” Hetfield said in an interview. “It’s chaos.”

#headlines #news

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art-in-the-age · 4 years ago

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Part 1: Communities Based on Image

When reflecting on the heyday of Tumblr, it is easy to call to mind certain subcultures and fashion trends characteristic of the platform, a dynamic that is being replicated by teens on TikTok. In the earliest days of Tumblr really being accepted into the mainstream collection of social media networks, there were two main competing groups: the “Tumblr Girls” (sometimes called hipster blogs, although that was a unique appropriation of the term that was different from other “hipsters”) and the “emos”. The Tumblr Girls were the wholesome, cheerful types, and could be identified by their affinity for Starbucks, their obsession with their own youth, and their blogs dotted with photos, taken with a very high-quality camera, of them holding items up towards the lens, rendering their face and hair out of focus. The Emos, on the other hand, were consistent in characteristics both inside the platform and outside: dark clothes, dark makeup, dark hair, and dark humor. The two groups, generalizing a lot of more specific subgroups, formed a culture-counterculture dichotomy for users of the platform from 2012 to 2013. Through 2014, the two groups almost merged to form one dominant group that most people might think of when imagining Tumblr, which was the soft-grunge blog. Borrowing some music and fashion cues from the emos but without as much of the anger and angst, soft-grunge Tumblr led to the explosion of American Apparel, the Arctic Monkeys, and water sold in boxes. All of this is important because just six years later, the same phenomenon of two competing groups combining into one has repeated itself on TikTok. 2018 and 2019 on TikTok saw competition between two opposing groups: VSCO girls and E-Girls. VSCO girls were wholesome, carried Hydro Flask water bottles because they cared about the environment, and wore oversized T-shirts because they cared more about being comfortable than looking good. E-Girls were characterized by their bright dyed hair, equally bright makeup, and edgy outfits signaling that they spent a lot of their time on the Internet. A year later, the dominant fashion coming from the app is referred to as alt-TikTok and “dressing alt”, which borrows from VSCO girls their oversized shirts and affinity for thrifting, and combines it with the hair and makeup of E-Girls. Both platforms have their own rules for how one should present themselves in order to be a part of a certain community, which carries with it certain shared values. Tumblr allowed easier access to that community by allowing users to curate images taken by other people. Anyone could run a successful Tumblr blog without ever showing their face on the platform, which was important when the clothes or items associated with a community were especially pricey. Rather than buying it yourself, you could just share someone else’s image of the item, and still find other users who want to interact with you and your blog. TikTok does not provide the same privilege. TikTok requires someone to physically look a certain way because all content is created and posted by the user themselves. In order to gain attention on the platform, one must have the ability to buy the right clothes and go the right places, both of which are contingent on socioeconomic status. The aforementioned Hydro Flask water bottle preferred by VSCO girls costs $50, a price prohibitive for many teens. Additionally, a popular set of content includes “Day in My Life” vlogs, which tend to take place in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, which alone prohibits participation for the many people who don’t live in those cities. Although TikTok trends resemble those on Tumblr, the format of the platform provides a steeper barrier to entry than existed before. TikTok users do not have the anonymity that Tumblr provided and thus are required to physically embody the content they put forward in order to have some participation in the community. One aspect of Tumblr was aspirational. As a teenager growing up in suburban Pennsylvania, I reblogged pictures of New York City daily, as a reminder of my eternal dream of escaping my hometown for the big city. I connected with plenty of other blogs who reposted similar content; we were united by our enjoyment of these images, not because we had any claim to their creation. This is a lot more difficult on TikTok. There is a very clear hierarchy on the platform: Those who post compilations of their lives in a major metropolitan area, and everyone else who tags their friends in the comments saying “Omg, Us someday!” This also functions on a body image level. Both platforms are bound in the same preferential treatment towards certain bodies. Those who deviate from that norm are placed at a disadvantage on both platforms, but on TikTok, they are excluded from communities entirely. The TikTok algorithm was demonstrated to have racial biases (Strapagiel), which has profound implications for creators who are people of color. The need to embody the image you wish to curate on TikTok puts additional pressure on young creators to control things they can’t control, from their body shape to the city they were born in. It is too early to say definitively how this will impact the generation being raised on this platform, especially given the isolation provided by the COVID-19 Pandemic, but it is a worrisome trend worthy of acknowledgment, with the hopes of mitigating some of the negative mental health impacts that may result.

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cooperfm · 4 years ago

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hello beautiful people ! lenny here ( 23 , she / her , mst ) and i’m so excited to be here ! i’ve been really missing my boy cooper , and this group really felt like such a good fit for him . i cannot wait to introduce him to you and meet all of you ! everything you need to know about him can be find right below the cut , and if you like what you see just click that heart or slide into my dms and we can plot ! my tumblr ims are open , or you can reach me via dis of the cord @ * ɪ'ᴍ ᴀ ʟᴏɴᴇʟʏ 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 .#3088

did you just see cooper averton walking down fifth avenue ? the twenty three year old, singer / songwriter has been living in the nyc for five years and has a net worth of $124mill & 28.5m followers on instagram. some say they tend to be quite charming , but also reticent . however, they seem to enjoy posting about fingers adorned with silver rings , missed calls from california , lyrics scribbled in a rush on their social media. ( austin butler ✕ he / him ✕ cis male ) & ( lenny ✕ 23 ✕ she / her ✕ mst )

* / 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑨𝑺𝑰𝑪𝑺 :

full name : cooper jonathon averton

nicknames : coop , cj , c.jave

age / birthdate : twenty3 / june 27 , 1996

gender / pronouns : cis male / he , him

sexuality : pansexual

hometown : bel air , california

occupation : singer , songwriter

* / 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲𝑮𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫 : ( tw : mention of drugs , addiction , overdose )

so i have a full bio written up for cooper , which you can find here — fair warning , it’s a novel because i tend to ramble and cooper has a fairly elaborate history . but below will be my attempt at the cliff notes of his story , though i can almost guarantee it may still get out of hand because i , like jenna marbles , have a too much gene and i can’t control it !!!

cooper was born in bel air , california , and i know you know what that means — the silver spoon was shoved right into his mouth from the get go . mr averton was a well - known and reputable lawyer , so money was far from an issue for the family . the only issue was upholding their reputation and the family legacy .

being the eldest child , cooper was immediately expected to be the one to follow in his father’s footsteps and take control of the firm . except young cooper turned out to be far from lawyer - material . he was sweet , outgoing , and a little weak - willed — and thus , the family disappointment .

long story short , coop was the black sheep of the averton family . he stretched to reach the high expectations of his family , particularly his demanding father — but always seemed to fall short . cue the daddy issues .

cooper’s peers took advantage of his kind , personable nature in order to rise to gain their own popularity . he eventually caught on to his fake friends when he caught his girlfriend cheating with his best friend , and he sorta spiralled . loneliness and rejection are his greatest fears and he couldn’t swallow losing everyone around him , so he swallowed his pride and just kept letting people take advantage of him — all while burying himself in bel air’s partying scene .

that is where his addiction started , the drugs numbing him in a way nothing else could — well , aside from music . his creative streak was just another thing that differed him from his family and cooper embraced it . he always loved the way music made him feel , strumming a guitar or humming a lyric . he had two loves in his life : drugs and music .

following high school graduation , cooper’s parents were pushing him towards college , crossing their fingers that their son would find his way back from his little detour in life . but cooper had a different route in mind for himself — he wanted to pursue his passion for music . this obviously did not sit well with his parents , who couldn’t fathom how their rockstar son would further tarnish their pristine reputation as bel air’s finest . tensions rose in the averton mansion until they finally exploded one night , leaving cooper to pack his bags and leave the place he had called home for eighteen years .

being eighteen , cooper had full access to his trust fund and he booked a one way ticket to new york city , eager to put as much distance as he could between himself and his family . he didn’t want to solely live off of his parents’ money though , so he began busking and bartending to pay for his little apartment .

cooper could have easily bought his way to the top , to the career he dreamt of , but he wanted to earn it , to know that his talent was what pushed him to success . so he played on the streets , in as many bars that would let him , and uploaded his music online until he finally caught the attention of a rising record label .

his career generally follows that of his claim , sir sly , except his first single was released in 2017 . i’ll be working on a general timeline for his career , but he’s been active since 2017 and just released his newest single “ all your love ” !

last year , cooper ended up in rehab after a near - fatal overdose while touring . he went off the grid for three months until returning in the fall a brighter version of himself . it seemed to have done him good , except he eventually fell off the wagon after a few too many nights back in his usual clubs . that’s all on the downlow though , not many know he’s back to using and he’s careful to only be caught with a drink in his hand .

he’s also slowly reconnected with his family since his teens . they still don’t love his lifestyle choices , but there’s still the random phone call every now and then .

** i don’t know where else to weave this in , but his stage name is c.jave — sort of a little alias for him so he wasn’t leaning on the averton name .

* / 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 :

label(s) : the maverick , the benevolent , the contingent ,

traits : charming , reclusive , diligent , trusting , loyal , naive , addictive , creative , short - tempered , obsessive

aesthetics : fingers adorned with silver rings , a journal bound in leather , missed calls from california , shirt sleeves pushed up to elbows , lyrics scribbled in a rush , cigarette smoke curling from parted lips , broken guitar strings

personality wise , cooper’s a walking enigma . at first glance , he’s quiet , mysterious , and a little intimidating . his resting “ don’t fuck with me ” face can put most off , and he’s unlikely to make the first move with strangers — unless he has something in his bloodstream .

give him a few drinks ( or pills ) though , and cooper can become the life of the party . he honestly just loves to have fun and enjoy his freedom in nyc . he’s a well - known face at the bars and is often photographed stumbling home to his loft apartment in times square .

his walls are unfortunately let down a little too quickly for his own good though . even though it’s fucked him over in the past , he trusts too easily and wants to believe in the best of everyone . he’s quite charming and sweet so he can easily win over most , but those cold - blooded enough find it easy to take advantage of him and his generosity .

once you earn his trust , cooper while fight tooth and nail for you . he’s fiercely loyal , catch him throwing hands at anyone who tries to mess with his friends .

he’s also a major gentleman . manners were ingrained in him from the start , so he’ll open doors for strangers , text you to make sure you got home safe , and offer help with anything you need .

this isn’t a major thing , but i wanted to include it , but he’s a really great conversationalist . he’s just so curious , so he listens really well , and is so intelligent and well - thought that any conversation can twist into some deep , philosophical exchange if you’re not careful with him .

oh and — his look is current austin : the short , dark brown hair — v elvis of him . he had the original long , blond hair for a good few years but cut it shortly after rehab for a “ fresh start ” or some bullshit .

* / 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑵𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 :

i truly want anything and everything plot wise for coop . i’m down to brainstorm , fill wanted connections , and / or work off of chemistry ! but i’ll list a few ideas that come to mind rn :

first nyc friends . he’s been here since 2015 and sorta bounced all over the place . i would love a roomie from back in the day in coop’s old , run down apartment , some og party buddies ?

exes ! he’s openly pansexual , so this is open to any . please break his heart ( sir sly has a song about a cheating ex soo 👀 )

friends with benefits , random hookups . drunken one night stands !

writing partners ? cooper writes all of his own music and also writes for other artists .

bromances . partners in crime . brother / sister friendship !

neighbours ?? cooper lives on his own in a really beautiful loft apartment , but i’d love a neighbour in the building or something !

flirtationship or cute crush !!!

#elite:intro

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whitehotharlots · 5 years ago

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It’s impossible to square the circle of #BelieveWomen

Let’s think back a month ago, to what turned out to be a pivotal moment in the 2020 campaign: Elizabeth Warren’s bizarre claim that Bernie told her a woman could not win the presidency.

The dishonesty of the attack on Sanders was so manifest that the takes barely need to be re-enunciated: her campaign was stalling so she lied about Sanders, hoping to re-focus media attention on herself while riding the most cynical aspects of MeToo into a poll bounce. Bernie faced an accusation, and since the only properly woke response to an accusation is immediate and uncritical acceptance, he was going to be dinged no matter what happened afterward. (Only, hilariously, he was not dinged. It was actually Liz whose campaign was ruined by the stunt. And this signals, I hope to god, an end to this bullshit).

This is all very basic. Good writers have already covered it. You don’t need me to rehash it any further.

I would like to talk, however, about how this highlights larger and more fundamental problems within the #BelieveWomen/#MeToo cinematic universe--problems that must be confronted if the people who seriously believe in the goals of these movements wish to accomplish anything other than securing book deals for a handful of shitty writers. My framing device here will be a concept introduced by Rogers Brubaker and Frederick Cooper, in their 20-year-old critique of identity politics. This has to do with the split between hard “identity,” a fixed and firm conceptualization of identity that carries immense rhetorical weight but does not hold up to theoretical scrutiny, and soft “identity,” which views identities as protean and constructed--a more theoretically sound concept that has very little purchase in everyday discourse.

To start with an aside: it’s important to note that the malignant strains of identity politics presently infesting liberalism have been around for decades. It’s just that they didn’t have much utility until the Obama years--when it became clear that the promises of Hope and Change really just meant more means testing, more austerity, mass deportation, the wanton destruction of the planet, and an acceleration of our Forever Wars. The Democratic Party had to shift gears. In response to a crushing defeat in the 2010 midterms, their media apparatus decided to aggressively pursue identitarianism. This came with two benefits: 1) It allowed them to differentiate themselves from Republicans and motivate supporters while still sharing 98% of the GOP’s policy positions (this is where we get the logic about it being, like, so important for kids to see Black Panther); and 2) it provided an easy means of discrediting any material politics (“if we broke up the banks tomorrow, would that create more trans CEOs?”). Very little has changed within cultural studies-based understandings of identity over the last 20 years, as will be demonstrated from our review of Brubaker and Cooper’s piece.

Brubaker and Cooper posit that

“Identity,” is both a category of practice and a category of analysis. As a category of practice, it is used by ‘lay’ actors in some (not all!) everyday settings to make sense of themselves, of their activities, of what they share with, and how they differ from, others. It is also used by political entrepreneurs to persuade people to understand themselves, their interests, and their predicaments in a certain way, to persuade certain people that they are (for certain purposes) ‘identical’ with one another and at the same time different from others, and to organize and justify collective action along certain lines. (4-5)

As a category of practice, identity is morally neutral--its goodness or badness depends upon what ends its evocation is utilized toward. The trouble is when this category of practice is spun into a foundation of analysis, at which point the conception of identity becomes reified, made to appear as sort of an inatlertable given. “We should,” the authors note “avoid unintentionally reproducing or reinforcing such reification by uncritically adopting categories of practice as categories of analysis” (5).

Now, you may be fine with the notion that identity markers are un-transcendable, that they serve as the primary or perhaps even exclusive determining factor of a person’s being, worth, or moral stature. That’s what’s called an essentialist point of view. There’s trouble, though, because essentialism is (at least nominally) rejected within most bodies of academic thought. The more prevailing frame is called constructivism, which posits (correctly, I feel) that there’s nothing magical or inevitable about identity groupings, that they are instead social constructs and can therefore eventually be transcended even if their present-day effects are very real. This, the authors note, points to the fundamental contradiction of how identity is actually understood:

We often find an uneasy amalgam of constructivist language and essentialist argumentation. This is not a matter of intellectual sloppiness. Rather, it reflects the dual orientation of many academic identitarians as both analysts and protagonists of identity politics. It reflects the tension between the constructivist language that is required by academic correctness and the foundationalist or essentialist message that is required if appeals to ‘identity’ are to be effective in practice. (6)

Basically, “identity” has been formulated in such a way that it can be utilized in a essentialist sense even while its purveyors issue rote denials of its essentialism--like how someone can shamelessly use the #VoteLikeBlackWomen tag while claiming to not regard black women as ideologically monolithic. Or, more generally, by asserting that social problems can only be addressed by listening to Oppressed Group X or Y, (which is done most commonly as a response to left-materialist suggestions for change), as if all members of those groups would understand each issue identically and would suggest the same response. This is a dishonest and incoherent approach to politics, but it prevails because of its utility--that is, because it poses no real threat to existing power structures.

Here we find a rhetorical move that is foundational to contemporary identity politics: leaning on popular but theoretically indefensible understandings of terms and slogans while claiming that we actually understand these terms and slogans in obscure ways that are unpopular and rhetorically weak. Simply put: this is a lie.

Brubaker and Cooper go on to explain that “weak or soft conceptions of identity are routinely packaged with standard qualifiers indicating that identity is multiple, unstable, in flux, contingent, fragmented, constructed, negotiated, and so on. These qualifiers have become so familiar--indeed obligatory--in recent years that one reads (and writes) them virtually automatically. They risk becoming mere place-holders, gestures signaling a stance rather than words conveying a meaning” (11). And the parallels here to Intersectionality are manifest--like how class is perfunctorily nodded toward but never substantially engaged with, or how what is purported as a means of understanding a multitude of identity positions is, in practice, a victimhood hierarchy that’s used to determine the (in)validity of people’s actions and observations. As long as we keep allowing people to hide within this double-conceptualization, we will continue promulgating an understanding of social problems that contradicts itself so fully that it cannot lead to any actionable analysis.

This is fairly obvious now, in 2020, with identitarians having taken control over our liberal institutions and failing miserably at enacting any but the most superficial of changes. But in 2000, Brubaker and Cooper pointed out the simple fact that “weak conceptions of identity may be too weak to do useful theoretical work. In their concern to cleanse the term of its theoretically disreputable ‘hard’ connotations, in their insistence that identities are multiple, malleable, fluid, and so on, soft identitarians leave us with a term so infinitely elastic as to be incapable of performing serious analytical work” (11). And so they wondered, naturally, ““What is gained, analytically, by labeling any experience and public representation of any tie, role, network, etc. as an identity” (12)?

I find the answer pretty simple: leaning on an intellectually dishonest understanding of identity allows writers to cosplay as radicals without giving up any comfort, status, or power. Liberal leadership (by which I mean, those with power in academic and media spaces, as well as the center-right mainstream of the contemporary Democratic party) embraces this charade, as they realize it poses no threat of disruption or upheaval. Conservatives (Republicans, and more generally those in power in business and finance sectors, as well as the military), however, despise this, and are ideologically unaware enough that they regard it as an actual threat, and react to it with physical and fiscal violence (mass shootings are domestic terrorism are conspicuous examples, but selective austerity is much more commonplace and causes more harm on the whole). But now, most terrifyingly, a whole generation of young humanists have found themselves inculcated into this belief system but utterly unable to interrogate its foundational contradiction. They don’t realize it’s a grift.

This is why the left-leaning criticisms of Warren’s’ campaign stunt fell so flat, even when they were being issued by writers with whom I usually agree. Warren was accused of cynically misappropriating the #BelieveWomen mantra. Writers explained that, actually, everyone knows that we shouldn’t seriously believe every claim by every woman, that the hashtag is instead meant to encourage people to simply be more empathetic and less dismissive to women who claim to have suffered abuse. This is the same fundamentally dishonest contradiction we find in the split between hard and soft identities. The hashtag isn’t #BeSomewhatLessIncredulous. It’s #BelieveWomen. It a blunt mantra, a demand so intense and absolute that no one could possibly take it literally--that it sometimes comes packaged with some post-facto qualifiers does not change this; it just makes its purveyors seem dishonest.

Warren’s stunt failed because most people could see through it. We recognize self-contradiction as easily as we recognize cynicism and hypocrisy, and unless someone has an awful lot of charm we tend to react negatively to all of those traits. A movement founded on such a flimsy edifice is never going to attract outsiders and is never going to achieve anything of value. It’ll elevate a small number of people and make everyone else even less likely to engage with social justice going forward.

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hisvanity · 5 years ago

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POKÉMON TRAINING: THE WORLD’S GREATEST LIE

i’ve headcanoned a lot of things about social justice in the pokémon world and so far, i’ve made it a pretty bleak place. a place where poc coordinators are routinely discriminated against, where team aqua is actually an indigenous people’s only recourse for a dignified independence, and where one power-hungry royal family controls the entire global media. but there’s one thing i haven’t touched. one thing you probably thought was safe. one thing that makes the pokémon world what it is, without which none of my other social justice ramblings would even be possible.

after all these months (or years? i forgot when i had it) of holding this hc in…it is time.

buckle up, kids. i’m going to ruin all your childhoods.

So What’s Up With Training?

several things, actually.

one, given that all of the trainers are seen constantly traveling on the road and camping out, we can easily deduce that the vast majority of trainers are homeless.

two, since the only ingame source of income that a trainer has is winning matches against other trainers, we can assume that money is hard to come by.

and three, because we hardly see any trainers go to school, we can also assume that unless we see them in a trainer’s school geared specifically toward training, these kids aren’t in school.

there are some things that can be expanded upon with this.

one, if we look at the mere fact that most trainers are homeless, we can clearly see that they’re not coming from a lot of money. if training was a sport favored by the wealthy or even the middle class, we’d see much less journeying on foot and many more taxis going from place to place, much less camping out and much more staying overnight in hotels. there are obviously exceptions to this rule, as we’ve seen some really posh/elite trainer schools in canon (think the first few dozen episodes of the kanto series, or the dojo that ash went to in johto). but i think it’s canonical that the vast majority of trainers are just out on the street with no transportation and not even a temporary home.

two, if you start off training while poor, it can be very hard to work your way up the socioeconomic ladder. if your main source of income is winning battles, and you lose money every time you lose a battle, every day is literally a gamble in which you could either get the necessary cash for your next three meals or lose everything you have and go hungry. sure, there are headcanoned ways to earn other money, such as entering tournaments and winning prize cash, or performing unskilled labor at a poké mart or pokémon center (because what else can a kid really do?) but even with these headcanons, most methods of earning money are either 1) contingent upon you winning battles or 2) not very rewarding at all.

three, it can always be assumed that trainers are attempting to get a decent education on the road. there could be online classes, there could be free classes offered by training schools. however, if trainers are both homeless and strapped for cash, concentrating in class and while doing schoolwork can be exceedingly difficult--and work or battle is usually a better use of time than study, because it ensures that you’re going to eat the next day.

from these things we can conclude that training, from a realistic standpoint, is a low-income sport that is commonly pursued by low-income individuals during which obtaining a proper education is difficult if not impossible, and attempting upward mobility presents a similar challenge.

in the real world, you bet your ass people would try to take advantage of that.

Why Trainers Should Give Up on Their Dreams

let’s be honest. training is like sports is like having a career in the arts. it is devilishly hard to succeed in any of these fields--hard to the point that most artists have to work a second job just to stay afloat. only the top 0.001% of trainers will ever see six figures, with the rest forever plugging away at the grindstone, hoping that one day they’ll get that shiny carrot of success that’s been dangled in front of them from the moment they chose their profession.

this is the life of artists.

this is the life of sportspeople.

there is no reason to believe that it will not be the life of a trainer as well.

this fact about training will never be fixed, and that is because there’s a benefit to the upper class if this is the case. if poor people are distracted by training from doing anything truly productive…they stay focused on their pokémon instead of societal injustice. and they stay out of school, which means they’re less likely to threaten the incumbent upper class with potential upward mobility.

if you’re thinking three steps ahead, you’re absolutely right!

Modern training is a global capitalist conspiracy to keep poor people uneducated, and to keep them from questioning their rich oppressors.

let me tell you how this works.

training has always been a part of human civilization. but the modern version of training (challenging gym leaders, earning badges, then challenging leagues and national conferences) first started becoming popular in the 1950′s after WWII. ever since then, i think it’s safe to assume that in the pokémon world, training is the #1 worldwide hobby/occupation for people ages 10 - 18. this did NOT happen on accident. league champions in conjunction with governments and pokémon-centered merchandising companies such as poké mart, inc. billed it to parents as a fun and rewarding activity where you could learn how to be independent, intelligent and quick-thinking--not to mention earn some cash for yourself and your family on the side. they ran countless advertising campaigns depicting happy trainers with their pokémon, urging kids to start their journeys with tantalizing images of victory in grand arenas. governments in america and western europe even billed training as a patriotic symbol of independence from communist rule, because communist-ruled countries (except for china) did not establish proper leagues until after the soviet union fell. due to a cultural shift encouraged by the Powers That Be, pokémon training became the most prevalent sport worldwide.

it wasn’t until the early 1970′s that world corporations figured out that there could be something to be gained from all this. with rising prosperity across the globe, they needed a way to make sure that they could maintain a solid “underclass” to do all the dirty work that nobody else wanted to do--while also making sure that pokémon-related companies turned a profit. they realized that in training lay their answer. the system that resulted from their collaboration with world governments creates a vicious cycle that goes as follows.

kids from poor families are told to quit school and train at age ten. they are thrust into a life of constant fight and constant struggle, just to earn a few more scraps of cash to send home. anxious families are promised that their children can still continue their educations via trainer schools, and that they can still have a path to college if that’s what they so desire--the most commonly found and most expensive scholarships in the world are reserved exclusively for trainers. however, given the rigors of training, 90% of trainers are unable to maintain consistent schooling of ANY LEVEL while they pursue a training career. of the 10% that can maintain consistent schooling, a further 90% of trainer school-educated children are unprepared for college, and roughly that amount of trainer school-educated students drop out of college once they attempt it. without a college degree, they are locked out of higher-paying jobs and forced to continue in unskilled labor, perhaps continue as trainers in the hopes that one day they can afford school. instead of getting angry at the system, however, many people are so focused on the day-to-day concern of trying to better their lives (and of potentially trying to achieve their training dreams) than trying to take down what holds them in chains. and so the cycle of poverty perpetuates.

They Use Training For A Reason

and that reason is fairly simple.

nobody has childhood dreams about working one’s way up from fry cook to manager at mcdonald’s. nobody has childhood dreams of becoming the world’s fastest-cleaning janitor, or becoming employee of the month five times in a row as a cashier. everybody, however, has childhood dreams about “being the very best, like no one ever was.” pokémon training has an emotional appeal due to its glorious veneer, an appeal that can motivate even the most stubborn people to drop out of school even when there’s no pragmatic reason to drop out of school in the first place. you just don’t get that out of cleaning toilets. you never will.

now, one can argue that the people at the top could have just relied on the natural tendency of capitalism to keep the poor at the bottom while the rich get richer. but they didn’t trust that it could stay that way on its own, and so this system was born as a guarantor of their greed.

So What About Rich and Middle-Class Trainers?

the richer your family is, the more likely you are to “make it big” as a trainer, and obtain the dreams that are promised to impoverished children all over the world. rich families have the advantage of giving their children tutors to improve their battling craft, enrolling them in expensive elite trainer schools, getting them interviews with media outlets in order to increase their visibility. the children of rich and even some middle-class families don’t have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from, or even where their next pokémon is going to come from--many well-off trainers have never caught a pokémon in their lives, instead buying them from expensive breeders. society also tends to look at the rich trainers and use them as examples of people who “made it,” and shame poor trainers without those advantages for not being able to do the same.

hold on, one might say. won’t well-off children have the same difficulty as their lower-income peers in staying in school? won’t they drop out of school to train, just like said peers? well, the powers that be have already thought that through. in all private schools, there are training and coordinating teams that meet after school for 2-2.5 hours a day mondays through fridays, similar to teams of other sports. also like teams of other sports, they hold practice sessions and compete regionally + nationally--each individual student has a ranking in the competition, but all students’ individual performances contribute to the overall ranking of their school. such programs also exist in public schools in low-income neighborhoods, but their quality is far below the programs found in private schools; also, full-time training is usually a financially more realistic option for low-income students than joining a school team because most school tournaments don’t give money to winners. moreover, going to school with a full stomach and a guaranteed roof over your head is very different from going to school with economic anxieties on your shoulders. a key difference between the two is that in the former, one battles for pleasure, not for cash, and if one loses cash, one can easily replace it; in the latter, one’s win-loss ratio can make a big difference in one’s day-to-day life. in addition, those of the lower middle class usually find themselves facing the same pressures as poor people during training--which means that the system used to keep poor people poor is also used to widen the gap between the poor and the rich.

government bigwigs and corporate fat cats know these truths. in fact, they bank on them. they run cartoons where children are told to “be the very best, like no one ever was.” they constantly uplift the rare cases of the people who made it from rags to riches, dangling the everlasting promise that you, too, could be like them. they drop propaganda leaflets into suffering neighborhoods telling them that you can have a better life if only you take up your poké ball and take up the fight. they do this with the full knowledge that training is not a sustainable solution for these children, but that it would benefit them to keep these children in training. and then they turn around and victim-blame the poor trainers who inevitably fail to reach the goals they were promised--calling them “lazy” and “unmotivated” when really, they are victims of a system that was rigged against them from the beginning.

you will not be the very best.

you will only ever be a pawn in somebody else’s long game.

Dishonorable Mention: Unovamerica

because it’s not a true worldbuilding post from me without a little shitting on the country that we liberals love to hate.

the united states is known for its dislike of free healthcare, but there is one brand of free healthcare that it has mysteriously never disliked: that provided to trainers. human healthcare from pokémon centers is completely free, but only if you are a registered trainer--many children become trainers purely because they can’t afford healthcare any other way. this practice has been adopted in many other parts of the world, but america started it first. pokémon centers in the u.s. are particularly notorious for enforcing the “free healthcare for trainers only” rule: they have been known to turn away the seriously ill, seriously injured and even the dying because they couldn’t present a valid trainer ID. in addition, to ensure that registered trainers are actually training and not just “mooching off the system,” the u.s. and countries adopting its system have a “fight per month” rule: if you don’t get a new badge or participate in a new tournament at least once every month, your access to free healthcare in pokémon centers is revoked.

many american states and non-american countries offer free and comprehensive healthcare for the families of traveling trainers as well--training is the ONLY low-income job where you can get this sort of treatment. most notably, trainer healthcare disregards preexisting conditions, which prevents many people from receiving the care they need via insurance. the government does this on purpose to funnel people into training, which not only achieves their goal of keeping kids uneducated and complacent but also makes sure that poké mart, inc. can always turn a profit--poké mart, inc., an american company, is actually a main player in the global conspiracy because the more trainers there are, the more money it makes off its monopoly on trainer goods. and so far, it’s been working. up in washington, the poké mart lobbyists have really been doing their job, and the healthcare system of an entire nation is suffering because of it.

there is no challenge to this system anywhere in the united states. conservatives use trainer’s healthcare to pander to undecided voters and demonstrate that they do have a “good” healthcare plan that “works.” liberal politicians also support trainer’s healthcare unquestioningly, believing falsely that this mechanism to funnel people into a profession with a lack of education is an innocent step in the right direction to universal healthcare for all. for reasons of political pragmatism, both sides are complicit in the rotten healthcare system that pins a basic human right to your willingness to enter a certain field.

the vigilante justice involved in some trainer journeys also actively upholds america’s system of police brutality and mass incarceration. propaganda encouraging trainers to fight crime often depicts black and brown people as the criminals. trainers’ victims in the u.s. usually end up in jail, subject to the very system that most trainers claim to be working outside or against. many vigilante trainers also use the same techniques of police brutality against unarmed black & brown victims that police often do themselves. lastly, in the u.s., fighting a racist cop is one of the fastest ways to get yourself deplatformed as a trainer: no matter how justified you are, if you do so your career is done.

oh, and do you want to know which country’s elected leaders had the idea for this entire system to actually become a thing?

if you’re reading this post, you’re probably sitting in it.

I Haven’t Even Told You The Worst Part

nowadays trainers are told that they can make a difference by being trainers. that they can use their strength to do justice in the world. commercial after commercial shows young kids beating up on criminals, encouraging youth to become vigilantes in a similar vein--to get out there and start changing the world in front of them. what those kids don’t know is that this promise of being able to enforce justice is also, in some sense, a lie.

training can deal with certain types of crime. training beats up team grunts and kills pedophiles. hell, sometimes training even takes down entire evil teams. but training will never be able to fix ITSELF--no amount of battling can ever undo the insidious system that has made itself as much a part of a trainer’s existence as potions and poké balls. training will also never solve modern slavery, the climate crisis, income inequality, police brutality and mass incarceration. the people at the top know this. they know that with everybody’s eyes fixed on pokémon training, nobody will focus on the greater issues plaguing the world today, and that this is exactly how they want things to be.

essentially, trainers are told that they are the arbiters of justice as part of a mechanism to prevent them from solving some of the greatest injustices in the world.

vigilante justice, the thing most dear to many trainers, the very thing that makes modern training what it is--has been transformed into yet another tool for world governments and corporations to keep trainers under control.

So Where Do Leagues Fit In All This?

i pose this question because i hc them as the ultimate vigilantes. the people who are supposed to keep this sort of shit under control. people who, collectively, have the strength to take down an unjust government. theoretically, they should have been able to solve this problem with training a long time ago by unseating those in power and finding real solutions for the kids involved.

however.

you can’t solve a problem if you don’t know that it’s a problem in the first place.

that’s right. this entire system of keeping poor kids (and tbh kids in general) under government and corporate control is so insidious and well-hidden that the very people who are sworn not to let this kind of thing happen are sometimes the ones most responsible for holding it up. leagues are just as guilty as the governments they are supposed to oppose of encouraging kids to take up training, using the same rhetoric and techniques that the higher-ups also use. some leagues are even straight-up complicit with governments (see: the american, prussian and chinese leagues) in attempting to funnel kids into the training system. even wallace, social justice advocate that he is, was not aware of the system he unwittingly perpetuated until recently--and even then, he is not only exploitatively held up as one of the examples of somebody who “made it,” he thinks the training system is just a byproduct of capitalism rather than something that has been encouraged on purpose. granted, leagues around the world have also created programs to help struggling trainers with food, shelter, tutoring. but honestly, the people on top let it happen because these programs are ultimately just a band-aid on a gash that cuts down to the bone.

IN CONCLUSION

if you care about your education, you shouldn’t be a trainer.

if you wish to pursue a dream that you can actually fulfill, you shouldn’t be a trainer.

if you don’t want to sell your soul to capitalism, you shouldn’t be a trainer.

in the pokémon world, a world built on pokémon training, you shouldn’t be a trainer.

#don't give me that pain. || WORLDBUILDING #politics*#race*#|| ok to reblog

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patriotsnet · 3 years ago

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Who Are Richer Democrats Or Republicans

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-are-richer-democrats-or-republicans/

Who Are Richer Democrats Or Republicans

In The Most General Terms The Biggest Difference Between The Parties Comes Down To The View Of The Proper Role Of Government

The Republican party generally believes that it is the responsibility of individuals and communities to take care of people in need. The Democratic party generally believes that the government should take care of people. In general, the Republican party believes that if government needs to do a job then it is best for the local governments like cities and counties to make those decisions. The Democratic party believes that the federal government has more resources and is therefore in a better position to do those jobs.

Practical example for a child: There are a lot of people who dont have enough food to eat. Republicans believe that people like you and me should help them, and our churches should help them. The Democrats believe that the government needs to spend its money to help them get food.

These Are The Us States Most And Least Dependent On The Federal Government

States that voted Democrat in 2016 generally rely less on federal funding than Republican states, according to a study by WalletHub.

The analysis looked at the return on taxes paid to the federal government, the share of federal jobs, and federal funding as a share of state revenue.

Thirteen out of the top 15 states found to be most dependent on the federal government voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Ten out of the 15 least dependent states voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Health Care And Drug Addiction Seen As More Pressing Problems Than Inequality

When asked about 11 major issues facing the country today, concern about economic inequality ranks around the middle of the pack, with 44% saying this is a very big problem. By comparison, about two-thirds say the affordability of health care and drug addiction are very big problems.

The affordability of college, the federal budget deficit and climate change are also viewed as big problems by higher shares of adults. Inequality is roughly on par with concerns about illegal immigration and racism. And more view it as a very big problem than say the same about terrorism, sexism and job opportunities for all Americans.

Adults with lower incomes are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to say that economic inequality is a very big problem in the country today. About half of lower-income adults say this, compared with 41% of middle-income Americans and 42% of those with higher incomes.

Lower-income Americans are more likely than other income groups to say reducing economic inequality should be a top priority for the federal government

The degree to which Americans see reducing income inequality as a priority differs by income and by party. Adults with lower incomes are more likely than those with middle and upper incomes to say this should be a top priority. And, by a margin of roughly three-to-one, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the same .

The Philosophy Behind Republican Economic Policy

Republicans advocate supply-side economics that primarily benefits businesses and investors. This theory states that tax cuts on businesses allow them to hire more workers, in turn increasing demand and growth. In theory, the increased revenue from a stronger economy offsets the initial revenue loss over time.

Republicans advocate the right to pursue prosperity without government interference. They argue this is achieved by self-discipline, enterprise, saving, and investing.

Republicans business-friendly approach leads most people to believe that they are better for the economy. A closer look reveals that Democrats are, in many respects, actually better.

How Is The Democratic Party Different From The Republican Party

Democrats are generally considered liberal, while Republicans are seen as conservative. The Democratic Party typically supports a larger government role in economic issues, backing regulations and social welfare programs. The Republicans, however, typically want a smaller government that is less involved in the economy. This contrary view on the size of government is reflected in their positions on taxesDemocrats favour a progressive tax to finance governments expanded role, while Republicans support lower taxes for all. However, Republicans do support a large budget for the military, and they often aggressively pursue U.S. national security interests, even if that means acting unilaterally. Democrats, however, prefer multilateralism. On social issues, Democrats seek greater freedoms, while Republicans follow more traditional values, supporting government intervention in such matters. For example, Democrats generally back abortion rights, while Republicans dont. In terms of geography, Democrats typically dominate in large cities, while Republicans are especially popular in rural areas.

Democrats Tend To Have A Lot More Anger And Negativity In Their Rhetoric According To Them If You Support President Trump Well Then You Are A Racist And A Nazi

They generally seem to be out to get someone making things more personal. Why are they so afraid to use the facts to reinforce what they want to do? Its agenda first then find or make up facts to support the rhetoric.

If they cant beat you at the polling booth, they try and beat you in court and thats just a great example of something thats not a pleasant experience. And not quite working in the long run. They keep getting overturned.

Americas Top 10 Richest Families

Walton Republican The family owns the Walmart corporation. The Walton family fortune is estimated to be about $130 billion.

Koch Republican Businessmen, owners of Koch Industries, a manufacturing company. Koch brothers have a net worth of about $41 billion each .

Mars Republican Own the Mars candy company. The three children of founder Forrest Mars are worth about $78 billion together.

Cargill-MacMillan Republican The Cargill-MacMillan family owns 90 percent of the largest privately-owned corporation in the U.S. The family, as a whole, is worth about $49 billion.

Cox Democrat The Cox family owns a number of auto consumer sites and services . They have an estimated net worth of $41 billion.

Johnson Republican The Johnson family is known for their cleaning products and hygiene products. They are valued at $30 billion.

Pritzker Both Founders of Hyatt. The family has a combined value of $29 billion in 2017.

Johnson Republican Overseers at Fidelity, ensuring the cash of millions of Americans. The family has a combined net worth of $28.5 billion.

Hearst Republican The Hearst family owns one of Americas largest media companies. The family is valued at $28 billion.

Duncan Republican The Duncan family works mostly with oil and pipelines. The family is valued at about $21.5 billion.

Republican Critics Of The Progressive Squad Are Quick To Ignore Their Own Lunatic Right

OPINION It was late June 1980 when I arrived in Washington after teaching political science for three years at Bucknell University. My job was to write for The Political Report, a little-circulated weekly newsletter that reported on House and Senate races.

The nations politics were in the process of changing more than I realized.

In November, Ronald Reagan would be elected president, Republicans would make significant gains in the House and win control of the Senate for the first time since 1954, and a new crop of conservative candidates were showing their political muscle sometimes by challenging relatively moderate GOP incumbents in both the House and Senate.

In Alabama, liberal Republican Rep. John Buchanan Jr. lost his bid for renomination to ultra-conservative Albert Lee Smith Jr. Even more noteworthy for me, growing up in New York, Al DAmato scored an 11-point victory over veteran liberal Sen. Jacob Javits in the states GOP Senate primary.

Also in the Senate, conservative Republican Steve Symms ousted Idaho Democratic incumbent Frank Church; conservative Republican Bob Kasten upset Wisconsin Democratic incumbent Gaylord Nelson; conservative Republican John East ousted North Carolina Democratic incumbent Robert Morgan; and Iowa Rep. Charles E. Grassley beat Democratic Sen. John Culver .

But while both the country and the GOP were moving right, the Republican Party still had room for a substantial contingent of moderates.

Will More Republicans Die From Covid Than Democrats

razelove | 509 opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.Influencer3 mo People lie, right and left. You’re looking not at a number comparing those immunized or not immunized against voter rolls, but asking two questions at random, what party do you affiliate with, and do you plan to get vaccinated.Either way, it’s a brain dead question. More people would die regardless. Let’s say that 45% between both parties is only 30% of Americans , that’s enough to fall short of the unknown number that we would need to reach for herd immunity, which to the best of my knowledge no country has reached yet to find that sweet spot.It will simply mutate more and more and recircle the globe again and again. Which honestly is fine by me. The panic and blow to the economy were worse than the virus. Maybe sars-cov-3 will be more exciting though. I was in panic mode until there were more concrete numbers a few months in with cov-2.You also have to figure that if a virus becomes too deadly it wipes itself out as the hosts for that virus die faster than they can transmit it, like ebola, some strains of flu or dysentery. I’m not too concerned as me and my family caught it already, and kind of figured on this sticking around like the flu. 0|0

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Investor George Marcus And His Wife Judith Gave $9610125 Mostly To Democrats

Total donations: $9,610,125

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Net worth: $1.5 billion

George Marcus is the founder of real-estate brokerage Marcus & Millichap Company, according to the company’s website. Marcus is also the chairman of Essex Property Trust, a multi-family real-estate investment trust, and he serves on the board of California-based commercial bank Greater Bay Bancorp.

The Marcuses gave $10,400 to Republicans in 2018, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The rest went to Democrats.

Republicans Vs Democrats: Where Do The Two Main Us Political Parties Stand On Key Issues

After an impeachment, a positive coronavirus test and an unforgettable first presidential debate rounded out the final months of Donald Trumps first term, it seems fair to say the past few years have been a roller-coaster ride for US politics.

On November 3, Americans will decide which candidate will win the 2020 presidential election, sparking either the beginning, or end, for each nominee.

But how does it all work?

Well, the US political system is dominated by two main parties the Democrats and the Republicans and the next president will belong to one of those two.

Just how different are their policies?

Heres what you need to know, starting with the candidates.

Heiress Deborah Simon Donated $97 Million To Democrats

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Net worth: Unknown

Deborah Simon is the daughter of Indiana shopping mall developer Melvin Simon. Simon inherited a portion of her father’s fortune after a bitter legal battle over his estate with her stepmother Bren Simon, according to Forbes.

Simon’s family had a net worth of $6.8 billion in 2014, according to Forbes.

Political Coalitions Are About More Than Just Income Redistribution

Posted December 8, 2014

In his 2004 book, journalist Thomas Frank asked: Whats the matter with Kansas? Ever since, many liberals have taken it as an article of faith that if working-class whites only knew what was good for them then theyd vote for Democrats.

The usual rebuttal from political science is to point out that many poorer whites in fact do vote for Democrats. Or, at least, poorer whites are much more likely to vote Democratic than are richer whites. Its just not the case — even in Kansas — that working-class whites are ignoring their redistributive interests in their voting choices. Still, it makes sense to wonder why Democrats win the poorest whites by a nose rather than a mile.

Many conservatives similarly ask: Whats the matter with Harvard? Ive studied the Harvard/Radcliffe Class of 1977 . On the whole, its a fantastically wealth group, with family incomes typically in the top 1% or 2% of the country. Yet for every Republican there are around six Democrats.

With Harvard as well, though, its still not the case that people are ignoring their redistributive interests. In the Class of 77, the richest members are less likely to favor Democrats than are the merely well-off or poorer. Still, it makes sense to wonder why Republicans are in such short supply among Ivy League alumni.

Income and Education

Parties are Coalitions

Kansas and Harvard

Jason Weeden is author of .

Who Gets The Most Government Benefits: Urban Democrats Or Rural Republicans

Todays Republican Party, fueled by the Tea Party movements right-wing populism, rails against government benefits and those who receive them. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, for example, warns that Social Security and Medicare will turn us into a bunch of people sitting on a couch, waiting for their next government check. But who really receives the bulk of government benefits: urban districts represented by Democrats or rural districts represented by Republicans?

Using the New York Times map of the county-level distribution of government benefits, Ive compared Republican and Democratic districts in two states. Here is Californias 9th District compared with the 19th District :

We find a similar story in Minnesotas 5th District and the 6th District :

This is, of course, a small and unrepresentative sample but more comprehensive studies have shown that the pattern holds: the regions of the United States most inflamed by right-wing, anti-government populism benefit disproportionately from government programs and income transfers. To put it another way, Cadillac driving welfare queens are easily outnumbered by pickup truck driving welfare cowboys.

Stephen Richer Revels In Blue Spotlight Duped Republicans

GOP political newcomer clearly displays his leftist stripes

When the GOP-hating, Hillary-endorsing local newspaper is enraptured with an elected Republican, its a clear sign something is amiss. That is exactly whats happening with Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. The Recorders Office is regarded as a down ballot post, which few people can accurately identify either by the duties or the office holder.

In November 2020, Richer, the previously unknown Republican lawyer ousted the single term democrat and the victory tasted sweet, masking the toxicity aimed at conservatives that we were soon to see. Richer has appeared in a full-color, above-the-fold photo in a newspaper report standing beside democrat Sheriff Paul Penzone and using the prominently displayed word unhinged to describe President Donald Trump. Penzone, it should be remembered defeated six-term Sheriff Joe Arpaio with at least $2 million added to his campaign coffers by none other than Socialist billionaire George Soros who has resolutely donated to overhaul the criminal justice system in his leftist image.

This revealing account was published in Law Enforcement Today.

Displaying its newfound GOP defector poster boy, Sundays edition of the seriously declining local newspaper devotes two pages to a Your Turn column by Stephen Richer, titled, Playing by an awfully different set of rules. This bold type face, foolish sentiment is directly below the headline:

Perceptions Of The Parties

Judgments about Romney and Obama mirror the views of middle-class Americans toward the Republican and Democratic parties.

According to the survey, only about a quarter to a third of the middle class says that the Republicans or Democrats primarily favor middle-class interests over those of the rich or poor. Republicans are perceived as the party of the rich, while the middle class is divided over whether the Democratic Party is more concerned about their needs or those of the poor.

To examine the intersection of social class and politics, the Pew Research survey asked respondents if each of the two major political parties favors the rich, favors the middle class or favors the poor.

Overall, the middle class was somewhat more likely to say that the Democratic Party rather than the GOP favored its interests . But about as many say the Democrats favor the poor , and 16% believe the party favors the rich.

At the same time about six-in-ten middle-class adults say the GOP favors the rich

roughly double the 26% who say the Republican Party primarily favors middle-class Americans.

The survey also found that the middle class is politically diverse: Roughly equal shares of middle-class adults identify with the Democratic Party or say they are independents , while somewhat fewer align with the Republican Party . As a group, middle-class adults are more likely to identify themselves as political conservatives than liberals . About a third say they are moderates.

One Of The Worst Offenders Is Mitch Mcconnells Home State Of Kentucky According To This Wallethub Study

Jake Krupa colors in an electoral map at an election watching party as states are called in the 2016 election.

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BOSTON Hey, isnt it time all these so-called conservatives down in the red states actually started standing on their own two feet?

Were not trying to be mean. But, you know: Tough love.

A new report from WalletHub confirms what we already suspected: The states that depend the most on big gubmint are also the states that are are always whining the most about big gubmint.

And, wouldnt you know it, one of the worst offenders is Kentucky the state represented in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican.

How about that? Do you think hes going to mention it any time soon?

Kentucky ranks fifth in terms of overall dependence on government, WalletHub determined using data on federal spending in each state, the share of households on welfare, the number of government workers and the total tax burden as a share of income.. No. 1 was Mississippi no surprises there followed by Alaska.

Conservative red states of the south and west make up eight of the 10 states with the highest dependency on government, and 19 of the top 25.

Oops.

Yes, isnt it time to roll back government spending? You show us the way, West Virginia . And you, Arizona and South Carolina .

Lets crack down on all those Cadillac queens. Except it turns out the real offenders are the Pickup princes in the South and West.

Quiz: Let Us Predict Whether Youre A Democrat Or A Republican

Tell us a few details about you and well guess which political party you belong to. It shouldnt be that simple, right? Were all complex people with a multiplicity of identities and values. But the reality is that in America today, how you answer a handful of questions is very likely to determine how you vote.

This quiz, based on recent surveys with more than 140,000 responses, presents a series of yes-or-no questions to predict whether someone is more likely to identify as a Democrat or a Republican. It captures divisions that should make you worried about the future of American democracy.

We wont collect your answers.

The first question is the most important: Its about race. Asking whether someone is black, Hispanic or Asian cleaves the electorate into two groups. Those who answer yes lean Democratic; the others are split roughly evenly between the parties. Among those who are not black, Hispanic or Asian , the second most important question is whether the person considers religion important. If they answer yes, they are probably Republican.

Its not just race and religion, though. Party allegiances are now also tied to education, gender and age. Americans have sorted themselves more completely and rigidly than any time in recent history.

How demographics predict party affiliation

The group most likely to be Democrats are black women older than about 30.

Meeting in the Middle

Reliable Republicans

Taking The Perspective Of Others Proved To Be Really Hard

The divide in the United States is wide, and one indication of that is how difficult our question proved for many thoughtful citizens. A 77-year-old Republican woman from Pennsylvania was typical of the voters who struggled with this question, telling us, This is really hard for me to even try to think like a devilcrat!, I am sorry but I in all honesty cannot answer this question. I cannot even wrap my mind around any reason they would be good for this country.

Similarly, a 53-year-old Republican from Virginia said, I honestly cannot even pretend to be a Democrat and try to come up with anything positive at all, but, I guess they would vote Democrat because they are illegal immigrants and they are promised many benefits to voting for that party. Also, just to follow what others are doing. And third would be just because they hate Trump so much. The picture she paints of the typical Democratic voter being an immigrant, who goes along with their party or simply hates Trump will seem like a strange caricature to most Democratic voters. But her answer seems to lack the animus of many.

Democrats struggled just as much as Republicans. A 33-year-old woman from California told said, i really am going to have a hard time doing this but then offered that Republicans are morally right as in values, going to protect us from terrorest and immigrants, going to create jobs.

How To Explain The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats

Politics are confusing, even for adults. This years political cycle is even more confusing than most. Anything that confuses and parents is sure to raise questions in children.

As the primaries roll on, many children are asking questions about the two major political parties and what all the arguing means. This years political cycle is more emotionally charged than most. Those emotions can make it difficult for parents to fairly explain political differences to children. Goodness knows, as an avid sports fan, I could not objectively describe the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

The Philosophy Behind Democratic Economic Policy

Democrats gear their economic policies to benefit low-income and middle-income families. They argue that reducing income inequality is the best way to foster economic growth. Low-income families are more likely to spend any extra money on necessities instead of saving or investing it. That directly increases demand and spurs economic growth. Democrats also support a Keynesian economic theory, which says that the government should spend its way out of a recession.

One dollar spent on increased food stamp benefits generates $1.73 in economic output.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt first outlined the Economic Bill of Rights in his 1944 State of the Union address. It included taxes on war profiteering and price controls on food costs. President Harry Trumans 1949 Fair Deal proposed an increase in the minimum wage, civil rights legislation, and national health care. President Barack Obama expanded Medicaid with the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Congress Net Worth Demographic

One way to look at the question of who is richer between republicans and democrats is to examine the people representing us in Congress.

The net worth of a democratic senator in 2011 was $13.5 million, compared to a net worth of just under $7 million for Republicans. Interestingly, Democratic senators have on average twice the net worth of a Republican senator!

The story is a little different in the House Of Representatives, where the average net worth of Democrats is $5.7 million opposed to $7.6 million for Republican representatives.

Think Republicans Are Disconnected From Reality Its Even Worse Among Liberals

A new survey found Democrats live with less political diversity despite being more tolerant of it with startling results

In a surprising new national survey, members of each major American political party were asked what they imagined to be the beliefs held by members of the other. The survey asked Democrats: How many Republicans believe that racism is still a problem in America today? Democrats guessed 50%. Its actually 79%. The survey asked Republicans how many Democrats believe most police are bad people. Republicans estimated half; its really 15%.

The survey, published by the thinktank More in Common as part of its Hidden Tribes of America project, was based on a sample of more than 2,000 people. One of the studys findings: the wilder a persons guess as to what the other party is thinking, the more likely they are to also personally disparage members of the opposite party as mean, selfish or bad. Not only do the two parties diverge on a great many issues, they also disagree on what they disagree on.

This effect, the report says, is so strong that Democrats without a high school diploma are three times more accurate than those with a postgraduate degree. And the more politically engaged a person is, the greater the distortion.

A coalition of college Republican clubs recently endorsed a tax on carbon pollution.

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mollysearle24 · 4 years ago

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trend influences

There are many different aspects when it comes to influencing trends. Some of these include subcultures, social media, style tribes, sustainability, celebrities and historical influences. All these factors can have a huge impact on trends overall.

Subcultures and style tribes:

These are groups of people who base what they wear and look like off popular past trends, what this means is they have adopted the past style and traits of the trend but with more of a modern spin on the said trend. This could be as simple of keeping the same style but with more sustainable and environmentally friendly garments and dyes. Some examples of style tribes are punks, hippies and goths. One particular stile tribe I find myself drawn to and would say I somewhat take inspiration from is the punks. They increasingly gained popularity in the late 70′s to the early 80′s, they were well know for being rebellious and their risky fashion statements. The were also know for wearing a lot of heavy duty boots, embellishments, piercings, fishnets and leather.

The Bromley Contingent’ – Siouxsie Sioux, Philip Salon, Debbie Juvenile, Simon Barker, Steve Severin, Berlin, Soo Severin, Sharon Hayman and Linda Ashby at Linda Ashby’s flat – Oct 1976

Social media and celebrities:

Social media influencer’s and celebrities also have a big impact on how we view trends and how we and influenced by them. Social media has become a huge part of everyday life and how we view ourselves and others, in good and bad light. Many people envy these celebrities and influencer’s. For example, they are almost always promoting the latest clothes and trends on their social media platforms through paid advertisements and getting sent products for free. This causes people to try and associate themselves with their favourite influencer’s and celebrities and many times they do. This could be by the influencer tagging a certain brand they are wearing; this makes it very easy and assessable for everyone to catch on with the trend. Another way of doing this is creating a competition or giveaway which ultimately involves them sharing the post and tagging friends which helps it to reach a wider range of people. An example of a popular Instagram influencer in Molly-mae Hauge. She has a massive following on Instagram and is constantly doing brand deals and giveaways. In my opinion she is considered as someone to look to for fashion inspiration and I see why so many people want to wear the same clothes and styles as she does.

Molly-mae Hauge, Hello magazine, September 2020

Historical influence:

All trends at some point or other have had historical influence. These influences can come from any point in history, from the royal influence to military influence. For many centuries’ monarchs were the highest viewed people in society and were known for what they wore. There was no such thing as photographs so they had to be recognised just from their paintings which always showed off their luxurious gowns and gentleman’s attire. So, for many people they were someone to look up to and aspire to be like. This influence still happens today through photographs and news of everyone’s favourite royals. This is the same for military influence, the military was a symbol of bravery which made people want to adopt elements of military apparel back then and still do now. An example of a trend adopted from the military that is popular today is camouflage, it is a huge trend and is wore by many people from many parts of the world.

EDWARD GOOCH/EDWARD GOOCH/GETTY IMAGES

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expatimes · 4 years ago

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How Turkey became a hub for Arab Spring exiles | Arab Spring: 10 years on News

As a charismatic revolutionary from a scrappy Cairo neighbourhood, Ahmed Hassan was one of the stars of Jehane Noujaim’s 2013 documentary The Square, which followed a group of Egyptian activists as they toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and then fought to keep their faltering revolution alive.

The film won three Emmy Awards and was nominated for the Oscars. But Hassan’s life got harder after it was released.

His work as a cinematographer and filmmaker dried up as production companies stopped hiring him, perhaps because he was blacklisted.

He had to abandon a film project after receiving threats. He could not carry a camera in the street without being harassed. Most of his friends were in prison, some had died.

“I felt like I was just centimetres from jail,” Hassan told Al Jazeera.

In 2018, he jumped at an opportunity to escape and went to Turkey, which has become a major hub for Arab exiles as many of the Arab Spring uprisings that first emerged a decade ago descended into violence and repression.

“You are able to carry a camera in Turkey. That is beautiful actually,” Hassan said. “Here, I’m walking and I feel free.

“I feel there is a government. I see the police but I’m not scared, it’s not like Egypt. I feel like there is law here.”

But life is also hard. Hassan says that, for him, Turkey looks like a watermelon with vivid, enticing red flesh.

“But when you bite into it, it’s salty, not sweet.”

In 2018, Hassan jumped at an opportunity to escape and went to Turkey

Place of exile

“There is no Arab city like that, with large populations from different parts of the Arab world having these tools of cultural and political expression, like Istanbul at the moment,” Mohanad Hage Ali, a research fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, told Al Jazeera.

Ali said this trend first emerged from the soft power policies pursued by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), in power since 2002, which sought to extend Turkey’s influence and relations in the region through greater diplomacy, investment and educational projects.

It was aided by popular culture as Turkish TV series also became wildly popular across the Middle East and often glamorised Istanbul and glorified its Ottoman past.

“Look at Turkey before Erdogan, at the heart of the Arab world the way it is now,” Ali said.

The trend of Arab exiles heading to Turkey accelerated sharply with the fallout from the Arab Spring.

Turkey is now home to about four million refugees – mostly Syrians – along with activists, journalists and political figures from countries across the Arab world.

Neighbourhoods in Istanbul have been transformed by an influx of Arab communities and businesses, with the city’s Arab population likely to be well over one million. Turkey is home to an estimated 700,000 Iraqis. More than 500,000 mostly Syrian refugees live in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

Turkey was broadly supportive of the Arab Spring uprisings, particularly as a staunch opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a supporter of Egypt’s short-lived Muslim Brotherhood-linked government of Mohamed Morsi.

Istanbul became a significant Muslim Brotherhood hub, especially after Morsi was overthrown by the military led by general-turned-President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi in 2013.

Islam Akel, an Egyptian journalist and TV presenter, almost died in August 2013 after he was shot and a bullet lodged in his lung at the pro-Morsi sit-in at Cairo’s Rabaa Square, at which at least 1,000 people were killed by the security forces.

He escaped to Lebanon, and then spent time in Sudan, before going to Turkey in 2014. He now works as a presenter at the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Watan TV in Istanbul. Akel praised Turkey for welcoming exiles.

“As an Egyptian Arab Muslim, being in Turkey was not a difficult thing for me, as being in a country where I hear the voices of the muezzins to pray and find mosques in front of me in every street is a matter of reassurance, connection and integration,” he said.

The trend of Arab exiles heading to Turkey accelerated sharply with the fallout from the Arab Spring

Hamza Zawba, a former spokesman of Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party, arrived in Turkey in 2014 and now presents a show on the Mekameleen television channel.

“Turkey accepted us to live here as exiles, nobody else did that,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that Turkey provided them with a vital space to challenge el-Sisi’s narrative.

“ is a venue to express my views and to give some analysis, to face the claims of the media of the coup and to raise awareness over what’s going on,” he said.

The Egyptian liberal reformist politician Ayman Nour also moved to Istanbul and set up his own television channel, Al-Sharq TV.

Istanbul’s Arab Media Association has more than 800 members. Exiles from countries such as Libya, Yemen and Syria have also established media outlets, think-tanks, schools, charities and NGOs. Istanbul has also become a place where some LGBTQ Arabs feel safer and can live a more open life.

But while some exiles have thrived, others have struggled, and Turkey’s role as a safe haven has changed over the decade.

‘Shrinking space’

Bassam Alahmad is the executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice, a non-profit organisation that documents rights violations by all parties in Syria. He came to Turkey from Syria in 2012.

“It was a good atmosphere for us to act and work in,” he said.

But he said the atmosphere became more restrictive over time, especially after Turkey’s first direct military intervention in northern Syria in 2016, and he felt he was no longer able to publish some of the human rights abuses he had documented. He says he was interrogated by Turkish security services over his work in 2018.

Turkish soldiers patrol the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Tal Abyad, on the border between Syria and Turkey

He was also threatened by someone he believes is connected to al-Assad’s security forces, but says that although he reported it to the police, they took no action. Murders of prominent activists in Turkey also unnerved some exiles and undermined the country’s reputation as a safe haven.

A Turkish government media spokesperson said they would not respond to Alahmad’s specific claims but provided a statement from a senior Turkish official that said: “Turkey provides a safe haven to nearly 4 million Syrian refugees. We take all necessary steps to ensure that asylum seekers feel at home and safe.”

Alahmad also said that attitudes in Turkey have become more resentful, hostile and racist towards Syrian refugees over time. Many Syrians also struggle to access services and education, can rarely acquire citizenship and are often exploited in informal jobs.

“We felt that it was a shrinking space,” Alahmad said. He and his wife managed to gain asylum in France and moved there in 2019.

“Here, you can say or write anything.”

Hassan praised Erdogan and Turkey for its generosity in welcoming so many refugees and dissidents, but he also mentioned anti-Arab racism as a significant problem.

“When they hear you speak Arabic, things become weird. People look at you and treat you differently. Sometimes when I’m with my friends we don’t speak in Arabic on public transport,” he said.

Turkey is now home to about four million refugees

Some exiles have also been changed by living in Turkey.

Mustafa Menshawy, a research postdoctoral fellow at the SEPAD project, University of Lancaster, told Al Jazeera that many rank and file members of the Muslim Brotherhood have become less conservative in their views or even left the movement after being exposed to a more socially liberal climate in Turkey.

But he also said that the Brotherhood become less hierarchical and more open to debate than it was in Egypt.

“The fact that Turkey, which is authoritarian in the way it treats its own media, is allowing members of the Brotherhood to have a voice, and how democratising that is, is a bit paradoxical,” he said.

“Turkey gives a voice to individuals who were not provided a voice either by the organisation itself in Egypt or by the regime, and this is very revitalising.”

But Menshawy characterises the group’s relationship with the Turkish authorities as a “marriage of convenience”, and he and others say Turkey’s status as an Arab hub is vulnerable to shifting political trends.

The next decade

“I see this presence as useful to project power and put Turkey up front as a major player in Arab politics,” Ali said.

But he said hosting so many Arab dissidents can become a problem and “very limiting for Turkey’s options” if it decides to pursue rapprochement with el-Sisi or al-Assad, who now appear entrenched in power, as well as proving unpopular domestically.

He also said Turkey’s role as such a strong Arab hub is very much contingent on Erdogan remaining in office.

“This Arab presence and this Arab experience ends with Erdogan,” he said.

Akel said exiles such as himself worry most about “political vicissitudes and fears about the rise of nationalists” at the expense of the AK Party.

Meanwhile, while Hassan has a lot of Turkish friends, most of his deepest friendships are with people back in Egypt.

“I still feel lonely in Turkey,” he said.

He is also struggling with the economic problems besetting the country, including high inflation, low wages and a lack of employment opportunities. He has been unable to get permission to shoot scenes for a documentary he is making, and says he will try to leave for a Western country when the coronavirus pandemic eases.

“I cannot stay here much longer, it’s become more complicated, it’s not easy to shoot sensitive subjects. And everything is going so slowly, I feel like I’m not stable. But it’s better than Egypt.”

#humanrights Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=15917&feed_id=24516 #arabspring10yearson #humanrights #middleeast #news #turkey

#ArabSpring10yearson #HumanRights #MiddleEast #News #Turkey

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Who Are Richer Democrats Or Republicans

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-are-richer-democrats-or-republicans/

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How Is The Democratic Party Different From The Republican Party