#when you don't even know what fascism is apparently

[transit-fag]

Hello. I recently visited your presumably fine city, and I have to say, I did not enjoy myself.

I am reminded of a quote from AA (non active): "Principles before personalities."

Seems everywhere I went I was harassed, discriminated against, belittled, kicked out, yes sexually harassed, etc, apparently based on the characteristics of my physical appearance, as I gave no indication of political creed, religious affiliation, life philosophy, personal history, or otherwise. Like come on guys, my fashion sense is not THAT bad.

For example, a barista I interacted with saw fit to yell "no" in my face as I was attempting to order. Like fine, if you feel the need to publicly and preemptively cock block me by loudly stating your negative sexual preference towards my person, and thereby impress friends and bystanders, while letting that fella or lady you truly are smitten with know just how loyal a girl you really can be... I can't stop you. I'm sure they're great. I'm just trying to get some coffee.

Ok ok ok, so now, you (the reader) share a knowing look with the apparently psychic iindividual who tells you what to think and how to act (they obviously know about these things), who then makes a simple gesture accusing me of pedophilia and boom. Game, set, and match. It's over. Why even continue reading?

Not that either you believe what you are saying, but who gives a fuck at this point right? It's just that the look on both your faces reminds me of a smug version of the look my dog gets when he is licking his own butt.

Funny story-up until recently, I worked with an actual convicted child rapist. The genuine article. And let me tell you, he was having a fucking field day with this shit. It's ok, get it all out buddy. That's fine right? He's a part of the movement, and everyone gets something. Well, almost everyone lol;) ;)

Yes sir, it's a real pander fest out there. At an intersection, there is an environmentalist guy and a guy with the unnecessarily large and noisy truck. Given our recent political decision making process, you would think they would be staring daggers, yelling, celebratory coal rolling, etc. No absolutely not. Dudes are falling all over themselves in a mad scramble of trans political endearment. It's so simple!! All we have to do is find the one guy in society who isn't a completely gullible dumbfuck and shit all over him and poof. All problems resolved. Transgressions forgiven. A new age.

I mean, it is somewhat interesting how each of you has an individually unique rationalization for the exact same , identical patterns of hateful and abusive behavior. The tree hugger and the coal roller. Beautiful snowflakes all.

Just kidding, it's actually really easy to just place you in a cliched typology and reverse engineer your justification for participating in fascism lite (tm) based on a presumable self conception. I don't really give a fuck what lies you tell yourself in the mirror. But as your Bob Dylan said, it ain't me babe.

Point being, having superceded the political, as well as all conventional rules of civilized conduct, and or general local culture in your fair city, The Movement (tm) (ha) or whatever the fuck you call it, is the dominant social reality and governing social principle.

AND YOU CANNOT TALK ABOUT IT

Which is fine. You do you. But please cease to labor under the illusion that you still have any translatable values, of any kind, whatsoever. It's not that open harassment or discrimination or whatever, particularly when perpetrated by a group of people in a position of social power, is wrong, per se, right? I mean, it would be interesting to hear any of you attempt to justify yourselves, but unfortunately YOU CANNOT TALK ABOUT IT. It is forbidden. I get it. Its like fight club. That's fair. White guys have made some pretty decent movies.

Let's say you dropped $100k on a liberal arts degree. Here's a chance to exercise some critical thinking in the face of a mass social movement founded on cruelty and open hatred, which is kind of the basic purpose of such a degree. Nope. Let's say it was history. What does this say about your chosen field of study? Hide all evidence right? Or sociology. Beyond your purview. Philosophy. When in Rome? Congratulations.

A lot I could say, but, regarding the preposterous idea that this is jall ust a some organic, spontaneously occurring culture phenomenon (rationalization received from a Christian): 1. Easily forensically disprovable, I'm not even particularly well studied and I know exactly who your master is, where they work, and why, and 2. Shockingly naive, given the power dynamics of the situation, sorry no way are your overlords leaving that kind of money on the table.

I don't really feel like elaborating further other than to say that because you are unable to speak or "go back and forth with me", whatever it is that you are participating in is, on its face, complete bullshit, as you, by both structural and philosophical necessity, lack individual moral and intellectual agency, which is, in fact, and in spite of what you may believe (ask your benevolent dictator), the root of all collective historical human failure. As well as the principle rationale for a liberal arts education. But fuck it right?

So, you spent 100k on education, only to turn around and will yourself into intellectual and moral slavery, and become the object of some corporate marketing psychologist's vanity project? May I wipe my ass with that diploma?

In closing, I don't want to go over the top here and start some kind of song of myself, oh no, but having been treated like human garbage, I feel compelled to state:

In terms of adverse personal experience, I soloed goddamn Annapurna in the snow season, lived to tell the tale, and this is the shit I come back to. You are all useful idiots and your behavior is an insult to the human condition.

Why me? Honestly, because out of everyone in at least the entire western United States apparently, you could literally put a gun to my head and I would not get on whatever bullshit from the literal church of corporate Satan you all are being spoon fed. Which I guess is some sort of crime.

On behalf of myself, humanity, Jesus, the Buddha, the better angels of our nature, all the great ones who came before, rock-'n'-roll, etc, Bellingham, YOUR SCENE SUCKS.

I will enjoy the cold comfort of inner freedom and a righteous cause while watching you abandon any semblance of a coherent value system and continue to lick fascist corporate ass for a bump of cocaine (which I don't think is very punk rock:( )

In solidarity, an actual, working, breathing, locally available, and highly DMable, high 7-ish, cultural dissident.

And, let the bad faith Cassandra treatment begin.

(Unless you are feeling spry big fella. Wanna earn some points???)

UPDATE: You guys, you guys wait!!! I thought of a really good one. The hand gesture thing-that is soooo Hitler

Update to Update: WOW so many responses. I am not able to give each one the time and attention it deserves, so here I will make a brief general reply before sharing something (indeed) very special with everyone.

Briefly perusing these responses, they seemed mostly attempts and bad faith gaslighting (as predicted) along with a sprinkling of salty literary criticism. I, at least, personally, found the gaslighting amusing, because I said you would do it, and you still did it anyway. Lol.

But really, everyone here, myself included, knows that besides "though shalt not speak," like the second rule in the playbook (which apparently descended from Shiva on a ray of light or some shit) is "Just keep doing it," so really this discussion is basically pointless, other than to point out that based on your actions, you are now complicit in an ongoing attempt to manufacture a historical falsehood about our society as it exists today, which, to me, is somewhat mind-blowing and honestly something of a privilege to witness firsthand. Now on to the important stuff.

Driving home today, listening to some predictably tinny, cacaphonous, and emotionally shallow corporate music, it occurred to me: When all this first I was actually pretty afraid. I remember first commenting on this pattern of organized behavior I got so scared I had like a four day flashback, you know the terrors, worries that someone was going come kidnap me and bury me alive somewhere because the shit I talked was so unprecedentedly nasty there was no way it could be allowed to stand, etc.(Which honestly is a pretty scary thought, because just based on the responses I received here it is clear that no one is gonna come looking). But you know, this went on, and the ol shoe never dropped.

I could only speculate that I must have been the subject of some kind of Job-like wager, to see whether I could walk the razors edge between hysteria, due to the gaslighting, on the one hand, and some form of violence, due to the anger at the abusive treatment, on the other. And it went on, and on, and on.

Today I realized that due to recent developments, and in small part because of this post, the terms of the wager have changed (which is good, because turns out, I can do this shit indefinitely, but where's the fun in that?). I am no longer the subject of this wager. No, I am now a party to it.

So, what or who (you may ask), is now then the new subject? What is the nature of this new wager?

The subject, my friends, is you. My fellow citizens. The unwashed (stereotype) masses. The people of Bellingham. The human race.

And what is in question? I guess on my side would be what is known as traditional humanism. Although I am no paragon and did not choose this, this tradition would generally focus on the value of things like honesty, courage, dignity, perseverance, kindness, love etc. which in my opinion are inescapable, and due to my own experiences with hardship, indispensable, and woe be to him who has not felt that light touch some corner of his immortal soul.

The counterargument (I suppose) could (for my purposes) be described as anti-humanist, at least in the traditional sense. I believe that this position holds that the idealization of these traditional virtues breeds discontent and indeed mass violence and war, as humans are inherently somewhat petty, cruel, violent, etc, Overly harmonious, idealized group identities simply displace(?) sublimate (?) (my bad) these tendencies outward, in the form of group based hatred and violence.

Relevant questions: Realistically, are humans capable of self government? Are ideals good? Is the project of the enlightenment practical or desirable?

I would argue that life is basically not worth living in the anti-humanist society, as well as point out that in the more moderate "European" view, this is why we have things like rock climbing or whatever other stupid shit you guys do. Traditional forms of collective action are still necessary, and you can't solve many problems "herding cats."

To some extent this is a matter of taste, but I guess the real question is whether your corporate overlords can succeed in birthing the anti-humanist society and ,indeed, become bigger than Jesus.

You guys aren't helping my case much, but regardless this is the fundamental reality of what is happening right here, right now, plain as day.

I'll end with a plea for collegiately, as I have presented the arguments collegially, mainly out of fear for my personal safety, although we both know, if one thing is true about people from my tradition, it's that we fucking LOVE to party.

The ball is obviously not in my court, as I am alone here in a literal sea of sycophantic assholes, with nothing to defend myself but my rapacious wit, endearing humor, and roguish good looks.

It is ironic though. Me, an actual pariah, and the girl who has it all, arguing across each other. Like, I cannot fucking BELIEVE I am defending you people.

[leosaku]

now why the fuck am i seeing takes calling miguel o'hara a fascist

[qqueenofhades]

There is no law that prevents a convicted felon from running for and becoming president, nor a law that bans someone from being president in prison. Also, if Trump gets incapacitated in someway, many ultra right republicans who equally despise trans people and immigrants and Muslims would happily take his place

And I ask, with all due respect, what is your point?

Do you think I don't know that?

Do you think I am somehow convinced that everything is hunky dory now and we don't have any work left to do?

Are you just determined to be the first of the gloom-and-doomers who show up like clockwork in my inbox, every time some consequence happens to Trump, to morosely insist that no consequences will happen to him? First it was "he'll win re-election." Then it was "the coup will succeed." Then it was "he will never be indicted." Then it was "2022 will be a red wave!" Then it was "he will never be tried." Then it was "he will never be convicted." Now we've moved on, within less than 2 hours of the first US President ever to be convicted of ONE felony, let alone THIRTY-FOUR, "he'll never be sentenced or face a real consequence or lose the election." The goalposts keep moving RIGHT along without even a single pause to acknowledge the difficulty and the value of the progress we have made thus far, and it makes me CRAZY.

Do you people realize how fucking rare it is, both in the world today and historically, for a former (and would-be future) head of state to be held to criminal account by a jury of 12 anonymous ordinary citizens? When that one person, Trump, is the center of the malignant fascist cancer that has spread through this country ever since 2016, and plenty of his cultists are still insisting that it's Trump or nobody for them? When we've actually reached the stage of holding him legally accountable for (some of) his crimes for the first time in his miserable misbegotten life? I suspect that most of you are so deep in the "America is totally broken and the system is useless and we can only Revolute!!!1" rabbit hole that you're bound and determined to argue away every step we take, however slow, as Meaning Nothing TM. Voting? Fake. Fighting to make real progress? Also fake. Everything is fake except our belief that everything is broken and we need the Keyboard Warrior Glorious Revolution!!! As long as you can keep inventing ever more contorted twists of logic to ignore everything else that's happened so far, this makes sense... or something. I guess?

Now we're onto "removing Trump won't matter :(" when a whole lot of people have been fighting day and fucking night to get all the privileged-princess Online Leftists to get off their Che Guevara cosplaying asses and cast a single fucking vote to keep us from full-on-sliding into fascism. A slide into fascism that, again, has been spearheaded and centered around Trump's toxic cult of personality and which is still tied to him in almost every way. Apparently holding him to account (again, which has never happened to him in his life) already doesn't matter because wah wah he won't suffer any consequences. If he loses this election he's probably going to jail for the rest of his life! We would have electorally defeated the greatest threat to the American democratic experiment in 250 years, and frankly a huge part of the fascist far-right hydra that is currently attempting a comeback around the world! This is, yet again:

THE FIRST TIME ANY AMERICAN PRESIDENT, EVER, HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF MULTIPLE FELONY CHARGES IN A COURT OF LAW BY A JURY OF HIS PEERS

and yet we're still hearing that nothing matters and no work has been done and removing him will have no effect???

Come on. Come on. I know it's tiring and it's slow and it doesn't go as fast as we want. But every single damn time the process goes another step, here you people are in my inbox insisting that we're still at zero progress and it means nothing, and lemme tell you, I am Tired of it. Come on. You don't have to jump up and down (my own feeling is glee and vindication but still not relaxation, I will not relax until he loses the fucking election and goes to jail), but you also don't need to keep myopically pretending that all the effort thus far by so many people means nothing. Come on.

[raconteur-wanpi]

Time to defend Reiju again because sometimes I feel like people have a misunderstanding of her character and even what Sanji thinks of her.

I love looking back at the source material because it's always a good reminder of what the characters actually say, feel and do.

Immediately you can tell she trusts Sanji so much, she tells him "I know you wouldn't lie to me". She trusts him with her life. At this point she's even supposed to still have her cold facade, but she lets that kindness towards him "escape" from her mouth.

I've seen some people even say that Reiju's kindness only extends towards Sanji, but she so clearly despises the fascism and violence of Germa with her whole being. This scene is not just her being suicidal, she thinks Germa shouldn't exist. Sanji's reaction to the idea of her dying is immediate as well! He's extremely upset at the idea of her getting hurt.

And when he's worried about her, she dismisses it. It's so easy to misread the middle panel as her saying "oh Sanji, I fooled you into thinking I care about you", when what she's actually saying "I'm not worth your kindness". She's not trying to be cruel towards Sanji in this scene; she's trying to be cruel to herself. She doesn't see herself as worthy of any love, concern or praise from him.

Once again she is sacrificing herself for him. Again and again, the only thing she cares about is his safety. Telling him to be with the people that are free to openly love him and take care of him. She doesn't care about what happens to her. She never partook in the cruelty towards him out of any agreement with the rest of her family. It was always fear and self-preservation that motivated her, and it's apparent how much it haunts her and how much she regrets every second of it.

She also doesn't blame him for Sora's death in the slightest! The moment Sanji even thinks about it, she shuts it off immediately. It was Sora's decision, her strength, her choice, her power. Reiju doesn't want anyone to take away that from her mother. She respects the little agency that she had. After all she wishes she was capable of such disobedience and rebellion towards her father. She sees Sanji as the gift Sora left to her and to the world, not as the thing that took her away. And she clearly wants Sanji to feel the same way.

The juxtaposition of "Sanji's a worthless failure" from the rest of their siblings to Reiju saying 'of course you're not a failure" hurts so much. She used to pretend to agree with the rest of them as a kid. She'd call him a failure in front of them. This is her admitting she never, ever meant it or even thought it. This is the closest her emotionally constipated ass can get to an apology. She's telling him to his face how she really feels, that she didn't mean it. She cries! She cries while she tries to hold it back, this is how much she cares about him! She's telling him how much she appreciates his kindness, but also how she doesn't she herself as kind like he is.

Again, telling him to run away. She's not worthy of mercy in her eyes. And Reiju here not only rejects Germa's fascism, she also shows a really good understanding of how it works. Glorification of an imagined past is the first telltale sign of the ideology. She is very clearly both emotionally and intellectually opposed to the ideology itself, not just Germa's tangible actions. She sees all of it as a plague.

And here's the part that frustrates me the most when it comes to people misremembering or misunderstanding canon: Sanji absolutely does not group her with the rest of his family. It's text, he says it right here! "I have nothing but hatred for them, but why you? Why do you have to die?!".

Every time Sanji rejects his birth family, this panel makes it clear to me that he understands that Reiju hates them just as much, that she is a victim of the same abuse. He is not including her. It's normal for him to have conflicting feelings toward her, don't get me wrong. He doesn't seem to trust her at first, especially when she puts those handcuffs on him. I don't think that he doesn't have feelings of discomfort about how she was forced to treat him in the past. He obviously does! That's normal! But that doesn't mean he doesn't understand why it happened. He can feel upset and recognize the situation at the same time, those aren't contradictory. He absolutely does not see her as or include her within the rest of the Vinsmokes.

It's interesting to look back at Arlong Park and see the way Sanji talks about Nami being forced to act cruel and lie about who she is, presenting herself as a monster. He immediately recognizes that sort of behavior. He understands what young girls often have to do to escape the violence of men; he saw it with his own very eyes with Reiju. And like Nami, she sees herself as someone who has to hurt and isolate and self-sacrifice for the safety of those she loves. Hell, Sanji does the same thing! This is probably the moment where he realizes what he looks and sounds like to the Strawhats during this arc, what self-sacrifice looks like to those who love you. It's probably part of the turning point for him to decide to go where Luffy is waiting for him. He finally got to look at the situation from Luffy's eyes.

It hurts. She's saying "leave me behind" again. Like you did those 13 years ago. You were able to find the people "out at sea" I promised you that you would. Maybe they can love you for me, in my place.

And he knows it. She's not the same as the rest of them, she never was, and she never will be in his eyes. She's his mirror. She's who he'd have to be if he was forced to stay behind. He understands.

[problematic-polls]

Hello. I recently visited your presumably fine city, and I have to say, I did not enjoy myself.

I am reminded of a quote from AA (non active): "Principles before personalities."

Seems everywhere I went I was harassed, discriminated against, belittled, kicked out, yes sexually harassed, etc, apparently based on the characteristics of my physical appearance, as I gave no indication of political creed, religious affiliation, life philosophy, personal history, or otherwise. Like come on guys, my fashion sense is not THAT bad.

For example, a barista I interacted with saw fit to yell "no" in my face as I was attempting to order. Like fine, if you feel the need to publicly and preemptively cock block me by loudly stating your negative sexual preference towards my person, and thereby impress friends and bystanders, while letting that fella or lady you truly are smitten with know just how loyal a girl you really can be... I can't stop you. I'm sure they're great. I'm just trying to get some coffee.

Ok ok ok, so now, you (the reader) share a knowing look with the apparently psychic iindividual who tells you what to think and how to act (they obviously know about these things), who then makes a simple gesture accusing me of pedophilia and boom. Game, set, and match. It's over. Why even continue reading?

Not that either you believe what you are saying, but who gives a fuck at this point right? It's just that the look on both your faces reminds me of a smug version of the look my dog gets when he is licking his own butt.

Funny story-up until recently, I worked with an actual convicted child rapist. The genuine article. And let me tell you, he was having a fucking field day with this shit. It's ok, get it all out buddy. That's fine right? He's a part of the movement, and everyone gets something. Well, almost everyone lol;) ;)

Yes sir, it's a real pander fest out there. At an intersection, there is an environmentalist guy and a guy with the unnecessarily large and noisy truck. Given our recent political decision making process, you would think they would be staring daggers, yelling, celebratory coal rolling, etc. No absolutely not. Dudes are falling all over themselves in a mad scramble of trans political endearment. It's so simple!! All we have to do is find the one guy in society who isn't a completely gullible dumbfuck and shit all over him and poof. All problems resolved. Transgressions forgiven. A new age.

I mean, it is somewhat interesting how each of you has an individually unique rationalization for the exact same , identical patterns of hateful and abusive behavior. The tree hugger and the coal roller. Beautiful snowflakes all.

Just kidding, it's actually really easy to just place you in a cliched typology and reverse engineer your justification for participating in fascism lite (tm) based on a presumable self conception. I don't really give a fuck what lies you tell yourself in the mirror. But as your Bob Dylan said, it ain't me babe.

Point being, having superceded the political, as well as all conventional rules of civilized conduct, and or general local culture in your fair city, The Movement (tm) (ha) or whatever the fuck you call it, is the dominant social reality and governing social principle.

AND YOU CANNOT TALK ABOUT IT

Which is fine. You do you. But please cease to labor under the illusion that you still have any translatable values, of any kind, whatsoever. It's not that open harassment or discrimination or whatever, particularly when perpetrated by a group of people in a position of social power, is wrong, per se, right? I mean, it would be interesting to hear any of you attempt to justify yourselves, but unfortunately YOU CANNOT TALK ABOUT IT. It is forbidden. I get it. Its like fight club. That's fair. White guys have made some pretty decent movies.

Let's say you dropped $100k on a liberal arts degree. Here's a chance to exercise some critical thinking in the face of a mass social movement founded on cruelty and open hatred, which is kind of the basic purpose of such a degree. Nope. Let's say it was history. What does this say about your chosen field of study? Hide all evidence right? Or sociology. Beyond your purview. Philosophy. When in Rome? Congratulations.

A lot I could say, but, regarding the preposterous idea that this is jall ust a some organic, spontaneously occurring culture phenomenon (rationalization received from a Christian): 1. Easily forensically disprovable, I'm not even particularly well studied and I know exactly who your master is, where they work, and why, and 2. Shockingly naive, given the power dynamics of the situation, sorry no way are your overlords leaving that kind of money on the table.

I don't really feel like elaborating further other than to say that because you are unable to speak or "go back and forth with me", whatever it is that you are participating in is, on its face, complete bullshit, as you, by both structural and philosophical necessity, lack individual moral and intellectual agency, which is, in fact, and in spite of what you may believe (ask your benevolent dictator), the root of all collective historical human failure. As well as the principle rationale for a liberal arts education. But fuck it right?

So, you spent 100k on education, only to turn around and will yourself into intellectual and moral slavery, and become the object of some corporate marketing psychologist's vanity project? May I wipe my ass with that diploma?

In closing, I don't want to go over the top here and start some kind of song of myself, oh no, but having been treated like human garbage, I feel compelled to state:

In terms of adverse personal experience, I soloed goddamn Annapurna in the snow season, lived to tell the tale, and this is the shit I come back to. You are all useful idiots and your behavior is an insult to the human condition.

Why me? Honestly, because out of everyone in at least the entire western United States apparently, you could literally put a gun to my head and I would not get on whatever bullshit from the literal church of corporate Satan you all are being spoon fed. Which I guess is some sort of crime.

On behalf of myself, humanity, Jesus, the Buddha, the better angels of our nature, all the great ones who came before, rock-'n'-roll, etc, Bellingham, YOUR SCENE SUCKS.

I will enjoy the cold comfort of inner freedom and a righteous cause while watching you abandon any semblance of a coherent value system and continue to lick fascist corporate ass for a bump of cocaine (which I don't think is very punk rock:( )

In solidarity, an actual, working, breathing, locally available, and highly DMable, high 7-ish, cultural dissident.

And, let the bad faith Cassandra treatment begin.

(Unless you are feeling spry big fella. Wanna earn some points???)

UPDATE: You guys, you guys wait!!! I thought of a really good one. The hand gesture thing-that is soooo Hitler

Update to Update: WOW so many responses. I am not able to give each one the time and attention it deserves, so here I will make a brief general reply before sharing something (indeed) very special with everyone.

Briefly perusing these responses, they seemed mostly attempts and bad faith gaslighting (as predicted) along with a sprinkling of salty literary criticism. I, at least, personally, found the gaslighting amusing, because I said you would do it, and you still did it anyway. Lol.

But really, everyone here, myself included, knows that besides "though shalt not speak," like the second rule in the playbook (which apparently descended from Shiva on a ray of light or some shit) is "Just keep doing it," so really this discussion is basically pointless, other than to point out that based on your actions, you are now complicit in an ongoing attempt to manufacture a historical falsehood about our society as it exists today, which, to me, is somewhat mind-blowing and honestly something of a privilege to witness firsthand. Now on to the important stuff.

Driving home today, listening to some predictably tinny, cacaphonous, and emotionally shallow corporate music, it occurred to me: When all this first I was actually pretty afraid. I remember first commenting on this pattern of organized behavior I got so scared I had like a four day flashback, you know the terrors, worries that someone was going come kidnap me and bury me alive somewhere because the shit I talked was so unprecedentedly nasty there was no way it could be allowed to stand, etc.(Which honestly is a pretty scary thought, because just based on the responses I received here it is clear that no one is gonna come looking). But you know, this went on, and the ol shoe never dropped.

I could only speculate that I must have been the subject of some kind of Job-like wager, to see whether I could walk the razors edge between hysteria, due to the gaslighting, on the one hand, and some form of violence, due to the anger at the abusive treatment, on the other. And it went on, and on, and on.

Today I realized that due to recent developments, and in small part because of this post, the terms of the wager have changed (which is good, because turns out, I can do this shit indefinitely, but where's the fun in that?). I am no longer the subject of this wager. No, I am now a party to it.

So, what or who (you may ask), is now then the new subject? What is the nature of this new wager?

The subject, my friends, is you. My fellow citizens. The unwashed (stereotype) masses. The people of Bellingham. The human race.

And what is in question? I guess on my side would be what is known as traditional humanism. Although I am no paragon and did not choose this, this tradition would generally focus on the value of things like honesty, courage, dignity, perseverance, kindness, love etc. which in my opinion are inescapable, and due to my own experiences with hardship, indispensable, and woe be to him who has not felt that light touch some corner of his immortal soul.

The counterargument (I suppose) could (for my purposes) be described as anti-humanist, at least in the traditional sense. I believe that this position holds that the idealization of these traditional virtues breeds discontent and indeed mass violence and war, as humans are inherently somewhat petty, cruel, violent, etc, Overly harmonious, idealized group identities simply displace(?) sublimate (?) (my bad) these tendencies outward, in the form of group based hatred and violence.

Relevant questions: Realistically, are humans capable of self government? Are ideals good? Is the project of the enlightenment practical or desirable?

I would argue that life is basically not worth living in the anti-humanist society, as well as point out that in the more moderate "European" view, this is why we have things like rock climbing or whatever other stupid shit you guys do. Traditional forms of collective action are still necessary, and you can't solve many problems "herding cats."

To some extent this is a matter of taste, but I guess the real question is whether your corporate overlords can succeed in birthing the anti-humanist society and ,indeed, become bigger than Jesus.

You guys aren't helping my case much, but regardless this is the fundamental reality of what is happening right here, right now, plain as day.

I'll end with a plea for collegiately, as I have presented the arguments collegially, mainly out of fear for my personal safety, although we both know, if one thing is true about people from my tradition, it's that we fucking LOVE to party.

The ball is obviously not in my court, as I am alone here in a literal sea of sycophantic assholes, with nothing to defend myself but my rapacious wit, endearing humor, and roguish good looks.

It is ironic though. Me, an actual pariah, and the girl who has it all, arguing across each other. Like, I cannot fucking BELIEVE I am defending you people.

here's that long fucking ask y'all wanted

[vintageseawitch]

this is what i think of when third party voters go around acting morally superior because they don't want to get their hands dirty like the rest of us. they're toddlers having temper tantrums because instead of using the system in a way that could benefit them in the long term like the extremist Republicans have been doing for decades, third party voters refuse to participate in local civics & then claim the entire country is already fascist. they're so cute in their naivety if they think the US can't get any worse.

what the fuck do you think will happen if you try to protest against a government with a military as massive, lethal, & expensive as ours. who do you think will be sacrificed first? oh what's that? crickets? thought so. i'm a white woman but i will absolutely use my voice to point out leftists can be racist as fuck & the anti-blackness in your spaces can be absolutely fucking wild. not everyone leftist is white, but many that are can be pretty problematic.

if you think i'm selfish then fine. if you state that you would gladly exchange my life for a Palestinian like one of you said in a comment to me a few weeks ago then fine. i'm out here fighting to make sure the people who live here in this country don't experience our own Holocaust.

if you have a problem with people wanting to fight this while claiming you're anti-genocide, you're a fucking liar & a hypocrite. you won't know what the fuck to do in a true fascist country. i don't doubt there are pockets of fascism already existing here but you thinking it's already the worst it can be is as infuriating as people who think the government is creating their massive hurricanes using weather machines. you sound just as childish & delusional. you already sound like children because you will never take responsibility for your choices if it ends up helping him win.

jill stein's campaign is a sham. she is deliberately running as a spoiler. she's a wealthy white woman who lives in a mostly white affluent neighborhood. she's going around lecturing black people about white supremacy. she is getting funds from Republicans as well as help from trump's lawyers. Lockheed Martin has given her money. she's involved in shady as fuck index funds for companies that harm the environment. she only started talking about Gaza during this election cycle to hit you in the feelings so she can bank on it. she made a whole stink about needing a recount, raised a bunch of money for that, & then that money disappeared who knows where. do you all hear this? do you care? no, you're just like maga with their orange Jesus. you don't give a FUCK about stein's red flags because she's "different."

if Harris loses & you blame anyone but yourselves, you're cowardly traitors who threw us regular Americans to the wolves because of your precious fucking principles. history has shown time & time again that protest voting typically allows something worse to take control. it's hardly ever beneficial to the people. you're vile. you don't want to make this world a better place by allowing so many near you to suffer & die. if both sides are the same then please tell me you're okay with another trump presidency. or just shut the fuck up.

i look forward to more potentially heartwarming messages saying that my life doesn't mean shit from people who allegedly are against the death penalty & are pro-human rights 🥰

please vote, don't stop talking about Project 2025, etc. i hope enough of us vote in a way that these pathetic third party voters don't gain any kind of traction. at this point i'm just angry at their hypocrisy when they don't even listen to other protestors who live here & are begging them to not vote third party. i refuse to listen to y'all not take responsibility for your part. Project 2025 will hurt us all but apparently you're okay with that or you think it's already here. smooth brain takes all around. anyways good luck & stay safe to anyone who votes blue 💙

[unhingedwomandiaries]

It's fuck-off o'clock in the morning and I've just spent four hours reading about the 4B Movement and Project 2025 because apparently, I hate myself and the concept of sleep. Here I am, 35, married, and still up reading political manifestos like some caffeinated uni student, except this time it's 922 pages of pure dystopian wank that makes any murder plots look positively wholesome.

Let's chat about Kamala Harris, because Christ on a bike, the internet's lost its bloody mind over this one. Apparently, if you think she was a shit candidate, you must hate women - which is about as logical as saying if you don't like Marmite, you must be plotting to destroy British cuisine. Yeah, being a woman fucked her over. Being not-white didn't help either. But let's be real - she couldn't give a straight answer about trans rights, going all "let's follow the law" which is politician speak for "I'm too chickenshit to have an actual opinion." Plus, she locked up people for smoking weed after admitting she did it herself. Bit rich, that. While she was trying to actually govern (mental concept, I know), Trump was out there building his cult like some bargain basement Charles Manson, and everyone's shocked she lost the popularity contest? Fucking hell.

Then there's this 4B Movement bollocks. Started in South Korea and now we've got women demanding to see voting receipts before dating. Like, actual proof of voting. What do they think we do, keep our voting slips in a special wank bank next to our collection of celebrity crushes? My Jewish granddad married a Catholic who ended up an atheist, and somehow they managed without checking each other's political CVs. I've got family from all over - Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, Lebanon - and somehow we've all managed not to murder each other without demanding to see everyone's voting history. Mental.

But the thing that's proper doing my head in is Project 2025. I read all 922 fucking pages because apparently, I'm a masochist. It's like someone took every dystopian novel ever and thought "bit tame, these - let's make them government policy." They want to make tens of thousands of federal workers political puppets, bin off the Department of Education, gut Medicare and Medicaid, make porn illegal, fuck over anyone who's not straight, and use the military as domestic police. They're actually trying to change "pursuit of happiness" to "pursuit of blessedness" like we're living in some medieval morality play. The Constitution apparently doesn't let us do what we want, only what we "ought to." Who decides what we ought to do? Three guesses, and the first two don't count.

The education stuff is proper mental. They want to kill the Department of Education, move special education somewhere else, cut funding for poor kids, and end free school meals. Because nothing says "make America great" like starving children, right? Bunch of twats.

And get this - they want to bring back the citizenship question on the census even though the Supreme Court told them to fuck off. They're suggesting merging banking regulators while casually hinting that maybe deposit insurance isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's like they're playing Jenga with people's lives, except instead of wooden blocks it's actual humans.

Their president, Kevin Roberts (what a bellend), actually wrote that we need to fight against "children suffering the toxic normalization of transgenderism with drag queens and pornography invading their school libraries." I grew up with a Muslim roommate who wore her hijab when she felt like it, parents who couldn't agree on God but agreed on not being dicks about it, and somehow I turned out fine without the government deciding what makes a "good life."

I should probably sleep, but I can't stop thinking about how a country that was meant to keep church and state separate is seriously considering a plan that's basically Jesus's manifesto with a side of fascism. Trump's lot are now going "Project what now?" even though the document mentions him more times than Dexter has murdered people (and that's saying something).

Maybe what's keeping me up isn't just the policies, but the fact that we're not just deciding what kind of country we want to be - we're deciding if we want to keep being a country that gets to decide things at all.

P.S. Remember when we thought the biggest threat to democracy was people not voting? Fucking amateur hour, that was.

[enemymine2000]

For the women and people with a uterus of the USA: You need to make your plan now. Obviously you need to think about getting your birth control sorted right now. Even if you plan to never have sex, because we know why we always would choose the bear. Birth control pills, implants, IUD, tubal ligation, whatever, just make sure it's in your control, because men can not be trusted with it. Stock up on Plan B now, it apparently has a shelf life of about 4 years. Personally I think it doesn't matter which shelf that is, no matter what your government after January might think about it. Check out PlanC.org for at home abortion information and access to medication per mail, as long as that is possible. Delete all digital traces of your period. Apps (first delete the data within before deleting the app itself), texts, posts, anything from which someone could make a guess as to the status of your uterus. Don't tell doctors either. There normally is no reason for a doctor to know the exact timing of your cycle. Just tell them that you have your period and that it's regular/irregular, but never exact dates. Do so, even if you're in a blue state or plan to move there. You never know how long those protections might last.

Don't get pregnant. Even if you want to have children. 1 in every 3 pregnancies end in a miscarriage. Which is a spontaneous abortion. You might get prosecuted for something sad, but natural. Additionally you might not receive care for other conditions while pregnant, because doctors have real concerns of being prosecuted themselves if that might lead to pregnancy loss.

If your significant other voted for Trump, leave him. Now. Especially if you're married. No matter how much you love him, no matter how much you think you can change him, he does not care about you. Because if he cared about women at all outside of a warm body to sink his dick in and to clean his house, he would not have voted for someone who is a rapist, who will try to strip you of all of your rights. No fault divorce might be the first thing of those to go. In that vein, save as much money as possible that only you can access. Financial dependence is the reason most of our grandmothers were unable to leave, don't make the same mistake.

If you're single, stay that way. Don't date. Don't have casual hook-ups. Men will lie and tell you they were voting for Harris, to get what they want. They have already started on the well-known apps. Cut them out. 4B movement all the way.

But that not only means those men. That also means your father, mother, sister, brother, friend, colleague, etc. who voted against your interests. Let them reap what they sowed. You don't owe them. But of course your safety is paramount.

Get something for your personal protection. I would rather you not buying a gun, because in doubt it would be more trouble than help. But mace, knives, self-defense courses are better than nothing. A roll of coins in a sock, whatever you feel comfortable with.

Get your documents sorted and ready to go. Have a passport.

For every step Trump's government will take, make a plan in advance. How to get your money, how to leave your home/the town when it gets dangerous, who you trust with information, with your power of attorney. Find groups and organizations to find and build community with. Heck, even unionizing at work might give you an edge. Get a VPN, which is from a country that is not part of the "14 eyes". Use Signal to communicate. As mothers and/or as birthing parent you need to educate the children in all those things the MAGAs want to erase from the public conscience. Ideas of equality for all, of feminism, of anti-fascism, even just readings of the bible as it is, are dangerous to their christo-fascist ideology and thus to their power base. To that end, get those books as soon as possible. So far it's only MAGA cleaning out public libraries, but you'll never know. Facts are their worst enemy. Raise your sons right! Because something has been really fucked with that for way too long.

Hopefully it won't all come down to the worst, but better be prepared and not need it, than the other way around.

[elderemorune]

Beautiful IF.

This evening, my wife and I went to see a movie. This isn't anything unusual, we love the theater, and will take any excuse we can to go when she has time. Last we were able to get out just the two of us, it was to see Lisa Frankenstein, which I wholly recommend by the way. It was great, feminist as fuck, and frankly (see what I did) fun as hell.

But that's not why I'm here tonight.

Tonight, we're here for John Krasinski's IF.

IF is a movie that's part of a rare genre. The Family Film. You know, the kind that came out when millennials were children, like The Addams Family, or Hocus Pocus. A movie made for everyone to enjoy.

Now this is probably confirmation bias, since most of the fandoms I'm in are serious business, or at least they think they are, and such most of what I watch is grim, dark, or otherwise edgy. I won't deny being an edge marquis, I've been one since middle school and I'm not stopping now!

This movie, simply put, is beautiful. As we start to see more and more art about fighting (or subliminally supporting) fascism, it's like we shy away from beauty and instead want to focus wholly on how dark things are for us. And with a constant barrage of messaging like that, it's hard to stay hopeful, easy to stay mad.

Then we get a movie like IF. It takes a look at life through the most hopeful lens it can, a kid's. I don't want to get too into the story because my roommate reads this and I want them to see this as blindly as they can, but I'll tell you this: IF wants you to know that it's okay to be a kid.

But what does that mean? To be a kid? Is it to engage in wild flights of fancy where you imagine great, impossible things like an elephant made of cotton candy? Is it using play to cope with hard times? To be innocent? What is innocence anyway?

IF isn't trying to answer those questions at all. All IF cares about is that you know that it's okay to be a kid, no matter what.

For a super spoiler-free quick rundown, IF follows the adventures of Bea as she tries to help place imaginary friends (IFs) with new kids and find a new sense of purpose. Imagine (heh) Foster's Home for Imaginary (heh) Friends, but age Mac up a year and have her partner be a big furry purple guy (Hey! Like Eduardo!) named... Blue? Is this possibly an... GASP! AN EASTER EGG RIGHT THERE?! The big difference is that imaginary friends can't really be seen by anyone, except Bea and this other guy, Calvin. We'll talk about him later.

So let's talk about the rest of the movie, because there's not much more I can say without spoilers.

Just look at this man. He's distinct. You know EXACTLY what he's about, who he is, everything you need, just from looking at him.

And the same holds true of every other IF that you see (and don't) on screen. The team that worked on them did an immaculate job, perfectly capturing a child's imagination and how they see the world around them in these funny lil guys. Like how Blue is purple because his kid was colorblind, so he looked blue TO HIS KID, and how the robot IF was the kind of thing that a kid fond of taking things apart might imagine as their friend. Their personalities are all so clear, and when they're on screen they really steal the show.

Speaking of theft, let's talk the casting. Cailey Fleming plays Bea and gosh is her performance just the tops. Her first onscreen part was as young Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which I didn't watch because I just don't care much for Star Wars). This is the first place I've seen her work, and I one hundred percent believed she was actually John Krasinski's daughter.

Who, by the way, plays her dad. A lovable goofball who tries to find the fun in everything, he's sick (though we're never told with what) and is in New York for surgery. It's a big one, apparently, and there's a chance he won't wake up from the anesthesia, but he's determined to make it through. Really, what can I say about Krasinski's acting that fans of The Office haven't already said? This guy is the kind of dad I want to be when I eventually have kids.

Steve Carell voices Blue, the big purple IF on the poster. Sure, I guess if I had A critique of this movie, it's that it's another Steve Carell Funny Voice(TM) but fuck off, I had fun and it was clear he loved the project. I loved Blue, I thought he was funny and so sweet, and he was just so goddamned lovable that I genuinely had no notes.

Last, and he'd probably say least, Ryan Reynolds plays Calvin, a very handsome gentleman who can also see the IFs like Bea can. He started the effort to rehome IFs with new kids, but hasn't had much success at the time the movie starts. He's a bit of a curmudgeon, pessimistic that anything they do will work, and refers to his ability to see them as a curse, but he still does everything he can to help Bea place IFs in new homes. While still your typical wise-cracking Ryan Reynolds character, it was interesting to see him playing a character who's not about diving into things headfirst, instead giving us a more timid person who would really rather be asleep.

The cast all worked exceptionally well together. As I said, I came out of this movie truly believing that Fleming was Krasinski's daughter, and the chemistry between her and Reynolds was amazing. They really felt like friends, and I never once felt like their relationship was weird in any way. Carell and Fleming were also delightful together, with Blue serving as wonderful comedy relief.

Lastly, I guess is the score, right? I'm new to caring about this, so forgive me if I forget an important part.

Music was done by Michael Giacchino, who's score was frankly perfect. He captured the vibe perfectly, and I can honestly think of no higher praise for a film score. In particular, there was a scene that really hit me, and if the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia hadn't been the song used, I'm not sure I'd have cried near as hard.

So that's it. IF. A beautiful movie, a poignant message, and something that I think everyone could benefit from seeing.

Because what IF it's right? And it IS okay to be a kid?

That means anything is possible, doesn't it? What IF you COULD have a cotton candy elephant? Or a small army of Bionicle robots who are fiercely loyal to you as you lead them across Mata Nui to expunge the darkness? (Don't tell me you didn't do this. If you had Bionicle, you did this.)

What IF?

[walks-the-ages]

""A vote for [third party candidate] is a vote for Trump! ""

No, you're just uneducated and spreading disinformation, because its fine and dandy when the democrats do it, apparently~!

Third Party voters did not "lose democrats the election in 2016", because Hilary won the popular vote by some 2,900,000 votes, and the electoral college elected Trump anyways. This is common knowledge you can find a million articles on, but you still find these fucking racist genocide apologists still spouting that "bernie supports lost Hilary the election and got Trump elected >:(" in 2024.

""The electoral college means third party votes are useless!""

The electoral college equally means that a good chunk of America's votes are 'useless' because it only takes a handful of states out of 50 to win an election, even when the actual people's votes say the opposite, but I don't see you telling people their votes are useless when their voting for your favorite genocidaire in blue, now do you?

""This is the election to end all elections! Trump cannot be allowed to win!!!!!""

Trump is going to keep on running until he's dead. This man is going to run for election for the rest of his life. He's always going to be the Democrat's boogeyman, their ace in the hole to get you to elect them into power again and again and then not fulfill any of their promises and in fact, usually do the opposite of what they were elected to do. Remember how Democrats were supposed to defund the police? Yeah, tell that to Joe 'Let's FUND the police!!' Biden.

"People are telling people ~not to vote~ when they say don't vote for Biden!~"

No, you just refuse to actually engage with posts in good faith and fall back on your disinformation campaigns (see the above points). "Man Committing Genocide Right This Moment" and "Man who will also Commit Genocide but while wearing a Red Hat" are not your only choices.

Do you know how many people are running for President?

It's not a choice between two racist, genocidal pieces of shit.

It's actually choice between:

two racist, genocidal pieces of shit (Biden, Trump) ,

an ableist, anti-vaxx millionaire (RFK jr) ,

a Socialist philosopher who focuses on the struggles of race, gender and classes in America (Cornell West),

an established Diplomat and pro-Palestine Activist who wants to defund the military and take big action to solve climate change (Jill Stein)

and a Libertarian Activist (Chase Oliver).

You've got 6 choices in this upcoming election, as much as Democrats will try to convince you otherwise. They want you to believe they're your only hope, because that's how they get their votes: by convincing you that they're your only hope, even as they slide more and more to the right, as they refuse to raise minimum wage, as they refuse to make any change for the better, as they militarize the police and build more pipelines and border walls, even as they commit genocide, they are in your inbox, proclaiming that if only you give them more and more money from your empty bank account, that they're the last line of defense against fascism, while they send more and more USA made bombs and ammunition to slaughter innocents and greenlight coups in other countries and torture people in guantanamo bay and keep Cuba under inhumane conditions and committing fucking godsdamned genocide as we fucking speak and have been since October and long long before then!

Hey, fun fact, did you know?

The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution every year since 1992 demanding the end of the US economic embargo on Cuba, with the US and Israel being the only nations to consistently vote against the resolutions.

For the past 32 years, the UN has been trying to get the United States to stop its almost 70-year embargo on this country, and every single year for 32 years straight, the United States and Israel are the only countries to veto it.

Gee, I wonder why that is????

[f-e-r-n-i-t-o]

my take on the Mr beast. (a essay) so, to update you all on the mr beast situation. TW: Mentions of CP, cannibalism/vore content, language from me, sexual harassment, fascism and Mr beast being a dick. mr beast (or jimmy, whatever you prefer) was reported to the FBI for what? exchanging content cannibalism/vore to others and CP. he said its been proven wrong, but i barely trust youtubers when they apologize anymore, so i will not be supporting him any further. did i expect better? no, not really, i've always disliked Mr. Beast, as while yes he donates to charities and stuff (which we don't have proof he's done so), he's rather annoying, and clearly at this point is doing it for the subcount. yes, is he a inspiration to young people, yes, and he can be, he started as a teenager and here he is now, but that doesn't change the fact that he's let this stuff go on, as he knew about the Ava kris tyson thing, as it was in a GC he was in, as well as many others. he has changed lives such as ryan trahan, karl, chandler, nolan, and airrack, but just like dream or wilbur soot, that doesn't mean he himself hasn't committed wrongs. selling shitty products like lunchly is also a issue, when its moldy, hard to chew, still prime, and god knows what else, that is not safe for kids to be ingesting, and yes i know that the only product of Jimmy's is the feastables bar, but this man is a millionaire and he can do better.

you also had a while back, he held a illegal lottery, in a shirt signing live stream, (and yes that was accident, but do your research, man) and he also did the video on TRYING TO WIN THE LOTTERY, which most people see Mr beast as a kids yt channel, and kids are very easily influenced, so doing a lottery yt video will guarantee you that some kid is gonna see that, and once they get older, they'll fall into addiction, which i know from experience, addiction to anything is hard to break. also, apparently, he was arrested in 2018 (when he was 19) for 1) WAY over the speed limit (122 MPH in a 70 MPH speed limit), as he was racing 2 other people. and in his squid games rip off (beast games, i dont fucking care enough to say that tho), 5 female anonymous competitors came forth and said they were sexually harassed, there was strict control (manipulation more so.) including taking belongings, withholding food, water, and medical care, to the extent that MULTIPLE were hospitalized for dehydration. This behavior is enough for me to say fuck Mr Beast, as this should only be something that happens in the damn show 'squid games' and even then it is fictitious and thats still to far, as these contestants may only appear in one video and Mr beast clearly doesnt care about them, they are still humans, and require the necessary human needs, which makes me fear what the Youtuber box challenge was like, as that was near same of the rip off. but thats not all that happened in that dumb rip off. it was hostile, having a 'boys will be boys' mentality. which were allowed and even promoted by jimmy (asshole). so, in short; Mr beast is a facist, dehumanizing, dick. as all this behavior is horrible.

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S03E02 - Manhunt

I can't really say that this episode lives up to the title. Not that it's bad, the title is just inaccurate. There's also a bit more Charlie backstory.

I believe the actor who plays Danny is the guy who will be in the new St. Pierre show.

How long has that guy been unconscious?

I'm trying to decide if sending Sarah to cozy up with the Danny's pregnant wife to get information is a dick move or not.

Sarah: *explains Onion routing* Joe: I'm surrounded by nerds. Jesse: Nerds unite!

I'm having a hard time believing that Rex's nose or ears didn't pick up that Danny was right behind Charlie and didn't alert him in time. Not to mention that Charlie was also on high alert. He should have heard him himself.

"Damn. This shit again."

"The dog goes in there". And then Rex takes a look and turns to Danny like, "Fuck no, it's dirty" lol

"These are terrible accommodations! I want to speak to your manager!"

"I can't even bark? This is fascism."

So grade 8 is apparently for 12-13year olds. We don't have the same system here, our 8th grade corresponds to the grade 13-14year olds would go to, because kindergarten is not counted among school years, and used to be non-compulsory at least when I was a kid (that's probably changed now).

Once more, Charlie has to give up his gun and handcuffs.

Not the phone!

Like hell I'd leave my phone at a sketchy place that cosplays as a club. These people are nuts.

Now, that's HD lol

"I was framed." "You and half the prison population." Snarky Charlie under duress is back.

"I'm gonna prove you wrong," he says while he has taken a cop hostage and points a gun at him (and has another one locked in a room, I'm not forgetting about Rex).

"I'm asked to solve cases based on the tiniest pieces of evidence and do you know what my biggest fear is? It's that I'll make a mistake. That someone innocent will spend a part of their life in jail because of me". Can you tell that this season is post BLM movement? I mean, I don't want to throw too much shade on this show, because every cop show did the same thing and most of them ended up with the characters sounding off. Also, right before that, Charlie told her to get whatever she could about Danny from Lyn, so...

One of the many phones that have been sacrificed to solve a case.

Some of what Jesse explains about the tech they were using to steal from people is factual, and the rest is garbage.

Sarah: "Identity theft. Or, sorry, would you prefer the term social engineering?" Jesse: "Well, now you're just showing off." Okay, just tone it down a bit.

I'd forgotten how many times Danny had threatened to shoot Rex. I like him less now.

Danny: Where the hell is he? Rex: Look up, asshole.

"Who is that, friend of yours?" He shot at him, Charlie.

Charlie called someone else stubborn! Pot, meet kettle.

That's a good look. But I guess we need a tie with the suit in case we have to triage someone.

"You're gonna hand me over?" "It's tempting." "Wouldn't be the first time". The plot thickens. Or Charlie's backstory, anyway.

So Charlie and Danny had stolen something from a store at one time, they got blamed when I'm guessing there was another theft incident in the same store and the store owner had called the cops on them, Charlie had told his dad about it and that they hadn't stolen anything, his dad believed him and convinced the owner but he also told Danny's dad who was abusive. And Charlie didn't know the last part, and he never talked to Danny again. Having seen Charlie's dad now, I could see him asking Charlie to cut off ties with Danny. Anyway, it's pretty funny to think of Charlie as a troublemaker.

The most unrealistic part about all this is that people heard the gunshot with the music blasting.

Once again, Sarah arrives at the right time to be taken hostage.

Charlie's inner monologue: Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-

Sometimes the show is telling us loudly that Sarah is the woman Charlie likes and others, like this one, they do it subtly. For the non-believers (not that it matters anymore), there is no reason for Sarah to be in this scene. Sarah just goes along with Lyn because Lyn is heavily pregnant. Lyn seems to be able to carry herself just fine and is, in fact, the one to drive them there. The reason they put Sarah in that scene is because Lyn is the woman Danny cares about and Sarah is the woman Charlie cares about. Note that Charlie would want to help Lyn or Danny anyway, so adding Sarah is just to show that parallel. And wisely, whoever wrote the script realized that to do so without having Sarah offer anything to the scene would put her in a damsel-in-distress position, so they have her disarm the bad guy after Rex's charge.

Guys, we really need a safeword for when someone is kidnapped.

RIP to the shot of Charlie and Sarah with their weapons drawn together. Why did no one think to hold the camera on them for a few seconds, why can't we have nice things?

"You okay?" "Yeah". He also wanted to say, "And you look so fucking hot with that shotgun," but he's a gentleman and this is a family show.

"Hey, I'm here too."

And a nice chase at the end to give Rex a proper takedown scene.

"You made me run."

"Claire could use some better clientele". She's a lawyer.

Subtle.

[rainofaugustsith]

So it seems like the Jedi Wars are heating up again, sigh. I have fandom sheriffs blocked instantly here. I am leaving reblogs on this open but I am warning in advance that you do not want to come at me on this post because the response will be an immediate block with no engagement. So you should really save yourself the trouble of typing it out. But I feel like some of the essential points are being missed. Namely:

Nobody has to like the Jedi.

Nobody has to approve of the Jedi.

Fans really are entitled to think the Jedi are terrible and their tactics are terrible.

All of this is about a work of fiction.

People, again, are entitled to have opinions about the media they consume.

None of that, in any way, affects people who are Jedi fans/apologists unless they actively choose to make it their problem.

Most of the time those of us who don't dig the Jedi are in our corner and don't give a damn what you're doing as long as you don't bother us.

It would be really nice if some those who liked the Jedi would remember those basic principles - but they have to Fandom Sheriff things and to loudly and aggressively let everyone else know They're Wrong. They come storming into posts, even when the OP has warned they do not want discourse, to try to engage and argue to tell people They're Wrong. They accuse people who Are Wrong!! with having sympathies for real-world fascism and Nazis, which is offensive on more levels than I can even articulate. They insist that if you don't share their opinion you must have issues with "Eastern Religion" (which is a pretty damn vague way to consider not only multiple streams of Buddhism but the many MANY other religions practiced in the "East" that have a very wide range of beliefs. As well as a big damned stretch considering it was all written by a Protestant white man from the USA. As well as the fact that we are again talking about a piece of fictional media and not a real world long established religion). Their way is apparently the only way one can possibly believe about a piece of fiction and they will aggressively butt into your conversations and posts to tell you.

All of which, at the end of the day, is a lot like evangelism/fundamentalism.

If you like the Jedi, there are ways to actively avoid those of us who do not agree with you. Filter tags. Block. Cultivate your fandom experience to surround yourself with people who have similar views. Associate with people who are mature enough to realize a mutual can disagree with their interpretation of a work of fiction without accusing them of being a Nazi. Hell, that's what we all do to avoid you whenever possible.

But grow the hell up and realize that not everyone will share your opinions on your favorites in fictional media, people with differences of opinion are entitled to them, and they are also entitled to their own fandom experience without you yipping at their heels and squeaking indignantly in their conversations.

[katyspersonal]

I don't believe I am going to make much SOTE progress today, especially since this traitor @fantomette22 is apparently asleep/busy and can't help me right now -_- So yeah, some extra stuff before bed

1) It is interesting to think of an implication of this item.. damn, apparently there WILL be places where you are stuck but can't teleport or something? :p Okay then.. Sacrificial Twig + this shit it is, then?

2) They continue with the "monkeys are trying to comprehend magic" lore!

! Onze is the Demihuman swordsman I fought in the Belurat Gaol earlier! The sword is dropped by a Demihuman Queen you fight in Cerulean Coast! I mean, yeah, even in the base game there was a Demihuman in Weeping Penunsula who used a Glintstone Staff, but damn..

3) Miyazaki: Yeah DLC area map will be like the size of Limgrave :)

Also Miyazaki:

Me: Girl you ok? 💀💀💀

4) I love the woman with Sulyvahn's blades, but I can't defeat the woman with Sulyvahn's blades ;-;

Maybe eventually.....

5) WAIT gdhyyf it is like, a symbol of moon and flame or something?????

This is adorable gfhgfhgggb I know it makes sense, but aww

6) I already screamed about it at Fantomette, but

HOLY SHIIIIIT SHE WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABOUT DRAGONS FASCISM THIS WHOLE TIME WHEN WE QUESTIONED WHY WOULD DRAGON COMMUNION BE A THING IF GODWYN BEFRIENDED ANCIENT DRAGONS THE ANSWER IS THAT ANCIENT DRAGONS FUCKING HATED GREYOLL-TYPE DRAGONS I REPEAT THEY HATED THE "IMPURE" OFFSPRING OFF THEIR SPECIES WHAT THE FUUUUUCK AAAAAAA

7) There is a new Carian Knight! And it is a big deal since they were "no more than a dozen"! Cool!!!

And it is a girl! However I am curious.. Moongrum, Moonrothyll... why their names start with 'moon'? Are they siblings? Or maybe Carian Knights had ancestry thing going on so those born with expectation to be raised as Carian Knight had 'moon' names in advance? Or they assume 'moon' name as new one upon entering a service (least likely since we already can recall exception)? Arghhhh

8) Okay this was actually an important one for me personally! So basically @jarognieva asked me whether I've met Queelign and I said I had no idea who it was. So greeeat, I've missed an invader -_- She said he was at Belurat and I checked but he never appeared, so I assumed he is one of those invaders that vanish after the boss of the area is defeated. (Who thought it was a good idea? I bet I've missed a cool drop... ;-; ) However, she added that he also invades in another place but she would not tell where! I didn't mind that and continued exploring the DLC as usual. So, after defeating that red bear beast at last (horaaaay!!!), I decided to check a distinct building on that map, and GUESS WHO I'VE MET?????

THE FUCKING GUY HIMSELF LOL!!! OF COURSE HE HAS A FUCKING PETRUS HAIRSTYLE LMAOOOOOOO GGJHJGJJ

So basically bro talked shit (that all 'graceless' shall meet death in Messmer's flame), that already made me REALLY want to kill him as if this cursed hairstyle wasn't enough gghghg . And he also called us 'graceless heathen' upon death lol. But it ACTUALLY clicked when he dropped an item, like:

Okay all 6 of you already had enough of my lunatic ravings about how much I abhor this specific type of attitude, as well as my theories on Messmer's motivations being rooted in purism of religious kind when anon asked about my expectations for him (I haven't met him yet so schhhh). But it is.. more than that. Miyazaki hates this sort of people too, especially he consistenyly bullies clerics in his works. Just.. read this description

Like not only this gave me some STRONG hatred for this character already, but also reminded me of one of the reasons I ended up loving Miyazaki's works so much to begin with. Shit like this just makes me feel understood, and without exagerration, reading this gave me HUMANITY RESTORED effect after I was feeling low because of a certain spoiler 😔 Honestly.. I don't care how many dramatic blonde twinks he will do dirty with a random plot twist, but as long as he addresses his disdain for this kind of people in his works I'll always love his games. Like I know it sounds oddly emotional but you need to be familiar with his other works to understand vfhgjbghb My faith in him as a creator straight up got restored, it is a personal detail for me!

9) So I figured that Ascetics are dropping pieces of their set.. I had suspicions, yeah, but now I am just sad ggjhhhjj I don't want to grind these guys *ends up doing it anyway probably*

10) For some reason I am starting to really like that hornsent guy who drafts maps of Miquella's crosses! Knowing Soulsborne tho I guess I just need to wait for something bad to happen to him -_-

11) Some people (all two of them) legit thank me for showing these item descriptions because they can't play the DLC themselves, but the players they watch don't stop to read items lore! Okay.... I guess I'll continue, heheh;

[quasitsqueeries]

Space Marines are not your friend Part II

I keep thinking about this, and apparently a lot of other people keep thinking about this, because the conversation keeps happening. I think I didn't get it quite right the first time round, which is normal and we should embrace being wrong and changing our minds with new information.

So, sometimes you say the Imperium is Fascist and you learn form some dude online that actually they're a dictatorial theocracy or something. This is called splitting hairs but I think there's potential here for a more interesting conversation. It may come as a surprise but Warhammer 40,000, a game about spending whole Sunday afternoons moving little toy soldiers and tanks around on your dining room table with lore written by a whole bunch of different nerds over the last 35 years doesn't have a coherent political narrative.

We're not going to get the answers we're looking for by going over every bit of lore with a fine-toothed comb. Also please don't ask me to do that, some of the writing is really terrible. I've talked before in, I guess, Part I about how Warhammer 40,000 draws on the aesthetics of Fascism and I think this is what's really important. It really doesn't matter if the Imperium fulfils all of Umberto Eco's characteristics of Fascism or if you can find some other political ideology that you think fits better. The fact is that Warhammer 40,000 is a piece of largely visual media that draws on the imagery of Fascism, the same way it draws on the imagery of Feudalism and the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

There's a lot of talk lately about how people like Rick Priestly and Brian Ansell (may he rest in peace) and Richard Haliwell weren't really trying to make statements with their games but just wanted to sell miniatures, and they borrowed liberally from things like 2000AD because it was cool. I think that in itself says something about the game's ideology. It was developed and written in the context of Thatcherite Britain and I wonder if in that context there was an idea that it wasn't necessary to have the thing make political sense (and maybe that's naïve in hindsight, idk?). I don't know for sure but I wonder if 40K comes out of a time when you could be like "hey these cops are Fascists" and wouldn't need to expand on that. People would just get that you were painting in braod strokes and wouldn't demand that you prove that their brutality wasn't justified. I think it's fair to say the writers didn't foresee how big their game would get, or its popularity among military bros, or the rise of Fascism in the Anglosphere in the 2010s.

So, what do we do with this? I think it's important to recognise two things. Firstly, the Imperium isn't just a Fascist state. It's also a Theocracy, and Feudal. More than one of these things can be true. But secondly, we tend to assume our political concepts are universal and timeless. They're not. Here's an interview where Corey Robin situates the Left and Right historically for Adam Conover:

The point being that the Right isn't just authoritarian, it's a movement to reestablish the power of ruling classes in response to modern Democratic movements. Similarly, Fascism is a distinctly modern concept. It's an attempt to return to the idea, as identified by Robin above, that certain people should rule over everyone else, and it's a reaction against a move towards Democracy and people having freedom from authority.

So, political systems are historically constituted, I think it's fair to say that 38,000 years in the future our politics will be unrecognisable to us now. So like, does Fascism exist 38,000 years in the future, would it even be possible when you're trying to govern a billion worlds, is it "necessary" when state control of humanity is total, and Democracy, Socialism and Trade Unionism aren't even distant memories? Maybe the answer is it doesn't matter. I don't find that terribly satisfying.

The Imperium's political system isn't not Fascism. Rather, the writers of Warhammer 40,000 depicted a political system that's a sort of aggregate of political systems that are recognisable to a modern audience (and particularly pertinent to an audience living in Thatcherite Britain), and Fascism plays a major role in that aggregate.

So the upshot is, if you want to call it Fascism, you are correct, and if someone calls it Fascism and you want to say actually it's this extremely specific political thing you've just come up with to disprove them, consider shutting up.

[b-lysia]

Had this thought when I was looking over Mysty's shoulder a minute ago

Incomming fb post link-

If you're not gonna click the link, it's a just a post where somebody linked some twitter thread written by user @RookieDoe, talking about Adam from Hazbin Hotel's character and defending his apparent lack of misogyny. If someone can find the actual twitter thread & reblog this post with it that'd be amazing, but don't work too hard on it.

Anyway, my thoughts on it under the cut because my comment got... A little long:

Fuck. Yeah this is absolutely correct. I guess I get the Adam ships now, he and Lute are kinda cute or whatever. He actually does have redeeming qualities or rather- he's not intrinsically evil. He's just stupid, and biased against Sinners. That revelation kinda makes the show's concept overall stronger. Hazbin Hotel isn't a show that's simply flipping the "Heaven good, Hell bad" dichotomy of Christian mythos on it's head. It's a story trying to be as focused as possible on the dichotomy between fascism and anarchy, a dissection of the nature of religion/spirituality/social rules themselves, and a dialogue on the nature of what "good and evil" really mean. In fact, if Adam was personally a *malicious* bigot, rather than just being a fixture in an inherently abusive structure (that he clearly doesn't even understand). The waters would actually be kind of muddied, and it'd weaken the show. That's why Lucifer, Lute, and Sera work as Characters too; each fundamentally believing in the system that posits that Sinners are inherently valueless souls, baselessly, with their varied responses to it:

Lucifer losing himself in depression borne of a only barely subtle loathing for Sinners (it's the real reason he's immediately hostile towards Alastor, it's not just that Alastor is trying to supplant his role as Charlie's Dad and is closer to her than him, but that Alastor is doing all of this as a Sinner specifically), which has developed into an overwhelming self loathing by him being bound to Hell with the Sinners he loathes just as much as Sera and Lute. He's analogus to a self loathing queer man; rejected by the church but still believing it's toxic doctrine, and now trying to reconcile his self hatred based on it's principles with the conflicting affection he has for his openly and proudly queer kid ( I can't remember if Charlie is bi or lesbian, daughter).

Lute responding to this inherently abusive system by using being an Exorcist as a justified outlet for sadism that this system clearly instilled in her psyche. She can't see the Sinners as living things with internal worlds apart from her own. The assumptions of evil/bigotry she applies to them are just post hoc justifications after the fact, assumptions that prevent her from questioning why Heaven and Hell exist the way they in the first place. She is monster that runs conversion therapy camps, that starts and fights with "Al Qaeda," that marches down streets with tiki torches and burns crosses cloaked in white sheets. (I wonder if the fact the Exorcists all wear masks is an intentional allusion to this and the concept of The fashion/aesthetic of Evil).

Sera... Sera functions almost exactly the same way, but looks down on even the Exorcists because of their connection to Adam and her (reasonable) disdain for him and his behaviour. But fundamentally, she believes what they believe, and thinks their behavior -at least to the Sinners- is justified. She is every bit as pointlessly sadistic and cruel as Lute, but as a Seraphim she can't be an Exorcist and use the cleansing as an outlet for her worst traits. If Lute is a frothing at the mouth Christian Evangelical ember of the church, or fundamentalist equivalent to any other religion you could think of, then Sera is the Deacon (or equivalent) who lies to and performs the motions of her faith in order to keep the congregation in line as a good suit wearing fascist example. She keeps the image of Heaven clean, all the while clearly wishing she was on the front line attacking protesters and marching down the streets with pitchforks just like Lute. Sera is like the DeSantises, the Marjorie Taylor Greens of the world. She hates Adam and Lute, not for their actions, but because their blatant and open disdain for Sinners make it harder to keep the image of Heaven clean to characters like Emily and the actual citizens of Heaven (the "Winners").

To that end, I almost want to say Adam is like Trump. But Adam actually has a little sense of self, confidence, and self worth. Trump will literally say anything if it'll make the loudest and most actually confident person in the room like him, he doesn't believe shit he says, he's just a fool and a narcissist. Adam is an idiot too, but he's confidently and comfortably himself; he's categorically a bigot, not performatively. Adam is probably closer to what he literally is in the show, the annoying dudebro who isn't intentionally or like... ideologically bigoted, and probably wouldn't hurt you. But he's so fucking stupid, and says bigoted stuff casually enough that you almost don't care and at least can't stand him. He's a purely a product of his environment, a redeemable person. That's actually kinda fitting considering the fact that out of all those characters, he's the only literal human soul. Adam is closest those weird misogynistic 14 yrolds watching Andrew Tate or Dr. Umar and wondering why the girls at his school (Lilith & Eve) don't like him.