#Anti Vaxxer Extremism

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Anna Merlan at Mother Jones:

At an event late last week in Arizona, anti-vaccine activist and Donald Trump transition team member Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he’d fire and replace 600 people from the National Institutes of Health on “day one” of a second Trump term. The NIH is one of the public health agencies Kennedy loathes the most—and despite still lacking any defined role in a new administration, he’s clearly relishing the opportunity to promise retribution against them.  In comments that were first reported by ABC News, Kennedy declared, “We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place on January 20, so that on January 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH and 600 people are going to leave.”  Kennedy, a long standing opponent of vaccines, has consistently been critical of the NIH, the Centers for Disease Control, and other federal agencies that are part of the basic infrastructure of public health. His The Real Anthony Fauci attacked Fauci, a former NIH director, at book length, albeit with what one physician reviewer called “many errors and gross misrepresentations.”

The remarks offering some concrete details about Kennedy’s Trump-aligned and so-called “Make America Healthy Again” agenda came during an onstage interview at an entrepreneurship event in Scottsdale, which included discussions of Kennedy’s workout routine and his relationship with the once and future president.

[...]

(Experts believe that autism was underdiagnosed until recent decades; the earliest prevalence weren’t conducted until the 1960s and ‘70s. Autistic adults have a range of abilities and autistic self-advocates have said that Kennedy uses offensive and ableist language to talk about autism: rather than “full blown,” public health experts would generally say “profound autism.” Kennedy also still uses the term “Aspergers,” an outdated phrase referencing a scientist who worked with Nazis during the Holocaust.)

This anti-public health bozo plans to fire 600 NIH workers.

[justinssportscorner]

Reed McMaster at MMFA:

So far in 2024, New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has appeared on multiple right-wing podcasts where he has promoted conspiracy theories. What began publicly as a hesitancy to get vaccinated for COVID-19 appears to have devolved, with the athlete now spewing absurd conspiracy theories and bigoted misinformation on right-wing platforms.

Rodgers has been a repeat guest on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show for years. Rodgers has had a long-running deal with The Pat McAfee Show, making regular weekly appearances during the NFL season as part of “Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays.” According to The Pat McAfee Show’s YouTube channel, Rodgers has made at least 68 appearances since September 18, 2019. [YouTube, accessed on 5/20/24; Forbes, 10/12/23] 

In 2021, Rodgers revealed on The Pat McAfee Show that he was unvaccinated for COVID-19 after claiming earlier in that year that he was “immunized.” Rodgers defended his decision not to get vaccinated and claimed he was not being dishonest by insisting he was “immunized” earlier that year. He also complained that a “woke mob” was trying to “cancel” him because he’s unvaccinated against COVID-19. [NBC, 11/5/21]

New York Jets QB and Pat McAfee Show regular Aaron Rodgers has become infamously known for spewing bonkers conspiracy theories in recent years.

[tomorrowusa]

Today is Super Tuesday. It's more than just presidential primaries.

Last night Rachel Maddow spotlighted some of the wack Republican candidates and wove them together to describe how bizarrely extremist the GOP has become. This is NOT your grandmother's Republican Party which gave us sane people like Gerald Ford or George Pataki.

If you are not taking the threat seriously then you just haven't been paying attention.

Ms. Maddow goes on to say that it's up to us to stop a MAGA Republican takeover of the US. We cannot rely on some legal gimmick to stop Trump.

In the words of civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson: "Nobody will save us from us but us."

[nando161mando]

"In this article, @byroncclark and Emmanuel Stokes outline how far-right anti-vaccine conspiracists in Aotearoa are now also espousing disinformation and conspiracy theories about capitalist-caused climate change."

https://bird.makeup/users/antifascistakl/statuses/1686944638748540928

[wat3rm370n]

Don't count on saviours.

Anyone depending on doctors & scientists to stand up for us be warned — we've already seen how ineffective they were at protecting the high risk from the right-wing covid deniers, things have gotten worse & now vaccines are threatened too. Let them do for themselves & stand up for your own interests!

Don't wait for everybody.

And definitely don't wait on the influencers.

[mytinderfails]

If you're announcing you're not vaccinated, it IS political. And dumb.

[usindistress]

You can't do a right-wing conspiracy board without George Soros! Way to drop the ball!

My latest New Scientist cartoon

[heartavenue]

જ⁀➴ Things To Script: Politics Edition

Yes, this is an American aesthetic. Yes it is because I am American.

Elections are completely fair, not rigged, no scandals, fair.

There are no two of the "lesser evils" all candidates are genuinely good people and they want nothing but the best for the country.

All candidates represent the American people, if the American people find that the elected official is unfit they will be REMOVED (yes this is Trump shade.)

There is separation of church and state.

Americans are more open-minded about candidates from parties other than the Democratic and Republican party

(should I just say script out conservatism in general? I mean this is your reality you can if you want!)

We have no official language and ALL languages, cultures, backgrounds are represented and have the ability to be taught.

DEATH to the electoral college.

Fake news, propaganda, lies, non fact checked information cannot make it's way towards journalism.

News outlets have to report TRUE, unbiased information (I'm looking at you FOX)

No trade wars...

America does not involve itself in colonialism, imperialism, militarism, etc (mainly because those things do NOT exist.)

Supreme Court Justices do not rule for life.

There is an age limit to the presidency (this is subjective but personally I don't want an 80 year old president)

The minimum wage is increased from $7.25 (can you believe it's still that) to $20 (or whatever you prefer)

Free healthcare across ALL fifty states.

Planned Parenthood is in every state, providing safe abortions, sex ed, contraceptives, etc to everyone who is in need.

Abortions can NEVER be banned.

Free childcare across ALL fifty states.

Our politicians are civil, cordial, respectful, kind, intelligent (another dig on...let's just say a few people)

World peace

All oppressed/colonized people are FREE and live without any colonial influence.

Affordable prescription drugs.

Baby formula is affordable (this isn't really political but no formula should cost FIFTY BUCKS?)

Gay marriage is legal across all states and can NOT be revoked.

No fascism, Nazism, white supremacy, zionism, any bigoted idealogy in general does NOT exist.

Books are not banned/ can't be banned.

No fracking.

Free college.

No discrimination against ANYONE no matter their race, ethnicity, nationality, origin, sexuality, gender identity, etc.

Rape, sexual assault, pedophilia does not exist.

Crime in general doesn't exist.

Free therapy across the country.

The government actually WORKS to make this country better.

ICE does NOT exist.

Federal assistance programs can NOT be cut.

No wealth gap (no top 1% and the struggling 99%)

No homelessness.

No poverty.

Maternity leave is LONGER (isn't it like 2-6 weeks? come on now...)

Court rulings that have been passed can NOT be overturned (think roe v. wade)

No pink tax!

First time homeowners receive a grant from the government to help them with payments.

Credit scores isn't an issue, anyone regardless of their wealth can purchase a new car/home/rent an apartment.

Native Americans are seen as the true indigenous people of the Americas an they are incredibly respected, the land is returned back to them.

Follow up: Columbus Day does not exist.

The KKK doesn't exist...or MAGA or TRUMP!

No anti-vaxxers (get vaccinated, no they don't cause autism and no they aren't chipping you or whatever right wingers think)

They are laws put in place to protect our planet, nature reserves, recycling is MANDATORY, wildlife parks, etc.

History is NOT erased and is actively taught/encouraged in schools.

Guns...do I even need to explain at this point...

Immigrants are WELCOME and there is no stigma, discrimination or stereotypes about them either!

This country is extremely diplomatic we are on good terms with all countries, every meeting with them goes well and can only strengthen our allyship.

DEI EVERYWHERE!

everyone is WOKE, I mean unprecedented woke, profoundly woke EVERYONE GET MORE WOKE NOW!!!

No wars.

There is RESEARCH done on women's health (why don't we know anything about endometriosis fr...)

Mount Rushmore doesn't exist

Okay that's all I could come up with for now! Buh bye my loves!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Rosemary Westwood at NPR:

A group of high-level managers at the Louisiana Department of Health walked into a Nov. 14 meeting in Baton Rouge expecting to talk about outreach and community events. Instead, they were told by an assistant secretary in the department and another official that department leadership had a new policy: Advertising or otherwise promoting the COVID, influenza or mpox vaccines, an established practice there — and at most other public health entities in the U.S. — must stop. NPR has confirmed the policy was discussed at this meeting, and at two other meetings held within the department's Office of Public Health, on Oct. 3 and Nov. 21, through interviews with four employees at the Department of Health, which employs more than 6,500 people and is the state's largest agency.

According to the employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear losing their jobs or other forms of retaliation, the policy would be implemented quietly and would not be put in writing. Staffers were also told that it applies to every aspect of the health department's work: Employees could not send out press releases, give interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media posts encouraging the public to get the vaccines. They also could not put up signs at the department's clinics that COVID, flu or mpox vaccines were available on site. The new policy in Louisiana was implemented as some politicians have promoted false information about vaccines and as President-elect Donald Trump seeks to have anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And some public health experts are concerned that if other states follow Louisiana, the U.S. could face rising levels of disease and further erosion of trust in the nation's public health infrastructure.

[...]

A blow to public health practice

Staff at Louisiana's health department fear the new policy undermines their efforts to protect the public, and violates the fundamental mission of public health: to prevent illness and disease by following the science.

[...]

Experts fear consequences of undermining trust in vaccine

Last year, 652 people in Louisiana died of COVID, including five children. Louisiana currently is tied with DC for the highest rate of flu in the U.S. In 2022 alone, flu killed 586 people in Louisiana. Every health department staff member, former staff member, public health official and vaccine expert contacted by NPR repeated the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe, effective, and essential for preventing illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.

[...]

Policy change follows new governor's election

Until becoming Louisiana governor in early 2024, Republican Jeff Landry served as the state's attorney general for eight years. During the pandemic, he criticized the state's COVID response and filed lawsuits over federal and state vaccine mandates. On Dec. 6, 2021, Attorney General Landry spoke at a state committee hearing against adding COVID to the childhood immunization schedule. At his side was Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who presented false claims about COVID vaccines. This year the Republican-controlled legislature passed five bills — all signed by Gov. Landry — and two resolutions aimed at loosening vaccine requirements, limiting the power of public health authorities and sowing doubt about vaccine safety.

Gov. Landry also appointed Dr. Ralph Abraham, a family medicine doctor, to be the state's surgeon general. That position co-leads the Department of Health, and is tasked with crafting health policy that is then carried out by the departmental co-leader, the secretary. [...] Abraham said masking, lockdowns and vaccination requirements "were practically ineffective," that COVID vaccine adverse effects have been "suppressed," that "we don't know" whether blood from people who've been vaccinated is safe for donation and that "we hope and pray" COVID vaccines don't increase the risk miscarriages.

[...]

A slippery slope to future disease outbreaks

Experts told NPR they feared a policy that undermines COVID, flu and mpox vaccinations could have a spillover effect, reducing public trust in vaccinations overall, including those given to children to prevent a host of dangerous and deadly illnesses. "I believe that we will see measles cases. I believe we will see whooping cough cases. I believe we will likely see meningitis outbreaks," said Hood. In the Nov. 14 meeting, a staff member asked whether the ban on promoting vaccines applied to children's immunizations, but the answer was noncommittal, according to an employee with knowledge of the meeting's details. "My understanding was it's not clear to what extent we might be able to promote childhood vaccinations," the staff member said. (The Louisiana Department of Health's statement to NPR said the changes in policy and messaging do not apply to childhood immunizations.) Nationally, vaccination rates for serious childhood diseases have been falling in recent years, including in Louisiana.

[...]

The rise of public health officials promoting misinformation

Louisiana isn't the only state where public health officials have recently announced controversial decisions and repeated false or discredited health theories. Florida's surgeon general has made false claims about COVID vaccines, undermined school vaccine mandates for the measles and said local officials should stop adding fluoride to water supplies.

The consequences of anti-vaxxer extremism and anti-public health sentiments being normalized by Republicans: Louisiana bans the state's Department of Health from promoting COVID, flu, or mpox vaccines.

[justinssportscorner]

Sean Keeley at Awful Announcing:

“I think entitlement is a big part of our society that has been a cancer for us because people believe that their opinion is more important than somebody else’s opinion.” That’s a sentiment shared unironically by New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers in his recent sit-down interview with Tucker Carlson. The two bosom buddies (the interview is conducted at the table they ate dinner at the night before) got together for a wide-ranging discussion that included, what else, the COVID-19 vaccine, conspiracy theories, and RFK Jr’s offer to make Rodgers his vice-presidential running mate. As we are wont to do, we listened to the entire interview and culled some of the highlights below. And before we get started, we’ll just note that Rodgers used the word “canceled” or some derivation of it 18 times.

Compassion & Empathy

The interview begins with Rodgers offering up some circular and condescending thoughts about having “compassion” and empathy” for people on the other side of the COVID-19 vaccine discussion while also making it clear that they don’t really deserve it for the way the anti-vax crowd, the true victims, was treated. “I have a lot more compassion for them, actually, and empathy. I’ve been strong against the vax, against mandates, against lockdowns, against all of it,” said Rodgers. “I think the last few months, I’ve been looking at things a little bit differently, and I think it’s time for a lot us to maybe adjust some of the approach that we’re doing. I mean, it obviously hasn’t worked. We’ve been trying to wake people up, I think, with the studies that are out there now. All the time, with the articles, with the change in stances by everybody from Chris Cuomo on down who have either had vaccine injuries or side effects or just look at things differently.

“And it’s caused me to, I think, have a little bit more empathy and compassion for those people who had a ton of fear, thought they were doing the right thing for themselves, for their friends, for their families, and went through all the mass formation psychosis that we all did. It’s just full-court propaganda against us and are now going, ‘Oh, shit, maybe that wasn’t the best. Maybe they lied to us. Maybe they weren’t being truthful. Maybe this wasn’t safe.’ Even though they said from the beginning, 100% safe and effective. Everybody from Biden to the head of the FDA and on down, WHO. “I think it’s important for us to, if we want to make a difference, which I do, and I don’t necessarily want to be way a part of the conversation anymore, is, how do we call people forward with compassion and kindness that just come over to the side of being awake to what’s going on? Because I think we all need to come to the grips that this could happen again. “So how do we call these people forward in love and acceptance, not forgetting what happened, how we were treated, how we were canceled? Everybody from yourself to me, the Joe, the mutual friends that we have. But calling people forward to step into the truth, and that there isn’t shame and guilt on this side, which I think our side, justifiably at times, because the way we’re treated, feels It feels like we need to get some get back.

[...]

Domestic Enemies

Just like in his interview with conspiracy theorist Eddie Bravo, Rodgers shared a desire to see the United States military turn its focus on certain Americans. He also offered up a very specific definition of American patriotism. “I was at the Kentucky Derby this last weekend, and they were swearing in some new recruits to, I think, join the Army. And so they had them repeat after the sergeant or whatever who was swearing them in,” said Rodgers. “And I just was stuck with that one line that, ‘Protect against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’ I said domestic out loud because I was like, are we forgetting that one? Because there’s a lot of domestic people in this country who actually don’t love America, who actually don’t want to see us thrive.

“I’m super patriotic. I think it’s because my grandpa fought in the Second World War, was a prisoner of war, believed in freedom and fought for it, and lost many friends. He was in the Air Force who were at Pearl Harbor, and flew many bombing missions over to try and liberate the French and Polish people there over in Europe, and almost lost his life for it, and lost a lot of friends, and believed in this country and the freedoms that he was willing to fight and die for. And so that’s where I grew up in, and I love this country, and I want to see it thrive. And I think there’s a lot of people that don’t give a shit about it.” Rodgers then tried to make a point by lumping together the war in Ukraine, the situation in Gaza, and…college campuses? “We’re spending billions of dollars Ukraine and billions of dollars to Israel, billions of dollars to these college campuses. There’s just a lot of issues right now that seem really un-American. And I think there’s a lot of red-blooded Americans. People are like, ‘How can Trump have such support?’ Well, people are fed up with it, and he speaks the rhetoric of taking back, making America great again, and stuff.

[...]

Vladimir Putin: Seems Like a Cool Dude

“You did one of the most controversial, somehow, not to me, most controversial interviews in the last, I don’t know how long, when you went to Russia and did Putin. How did it feel coming back? Because anybody who watched the interview was like, number one, it was fucking awesome. Number two, Putin came off as an interesting, thoughtful, smart individual. And if you’ve read 1984, the base game plan of government control is you have to have an enemy, and you have to slander that enemy regardless if you know anything about them. I think a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, Putin apologists are like, whitewashing all the stuff that he’s done to the different people.’ I was just like, no, I’d love to I’d love to see Joe Biden give an interview where he can speak on the history of the United States in the same way that Putin talked about the history of his country.” For the record, Carlson’s interview with Putin was widely criticized, and many of the things Putin said about Russia were deemed false or outright propaganda.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Not a Cool Dude

Even though Aaron Rodgers extolled the virtues of patriotism through the lens of the military and participation in war, he seemed downright offended by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appearance in green military fatigues before the U.S. Congress. “[You’re] being canceled by the people who have just bowed down and given interviews from their knees to the Zalinskys of the world,” Rodgers told Carlson. “Gargling as they interview, yes,” responded Carlson. “It’s wild. As this guy comes over in fucking an outfit you’d wear to the store on a Sunday morning to ask Congress for another 100 billion dollars, is fucking wild.”

RFK Jr. Would Beat Both Donald Trump & Joe Biden Head-to-Head, Apparently

In extolling the virtues of almost-running mate Robert Kennedy, Jr., Rodgers claims that internal polling shows that Bobby can beat Joe Biden or Donald Trump head-to-head. “Bobby recently came out and said, in the summer months, at some point, he wants to do a 50-state poll with like 20,000, I don’t know what the exact number is, votes in each of these states. And whoever polls lower between him and Joe Biden has to drop out of the race,” said Rodgers. “Because in his own analytics, he’s found out that if the three of them run, Trump is most likely to win. If he goes against Trump, he wins. If he goes against Biden, he wins. If Biden goes against Trump, Trump wins. “So in fact, he said, Hey, listen, I’ll drop out if you pull higher than me in these 50 states. But if I pull higher than you, you’re out.”

Appearing on the May 14th edition of Tucker Carlson Network’s The Tucker Carlson Show, Jets QB and conspiracy theorist tinfoil hatter Aaron Rodgers shared his admiration for scumbag Vladimir Putin and opposition to Volodymyr Zelensky, repeated more COVID quackery, and consideration to be RFK Jr.’s running mate.

From the 05.14.2024 edition of Tucker Carlson Network's The Tucker Carlson Show:

[nando161mando]

"Today we talk tinfoil." via @slackbastard

[socialistexan]

I won't listen to a single "leftist" that says they are voting for RFK Jr or that voting for him is the"progressive alternative"

I'm sorry, but what about being an anti-vaxxer who thinks autism, AIDS, and gender dysphoria are caused by vaccines is progressive?

How is being even more extreme than Biden and almost as extreme as Trump in wanting to wipe out Palestinians off the face of the Earth leftist?

When did opposing the very idea of gender affirming care become something embraced by "progressive" people?

Why is a guy that pals around with Jordan Peterson, Alex Jones, and Tucker Carlson being touted by "leftists" as an alternative?

You're either a contrarian fool who hasn't done a single iota of research or you're just a closeted reactionary looking for a way to vote for someone who believes the same things as Trump without voting for Trump. This isn't even a horseshoe theory thing, I don't think RFJ Jr is a leftist, period. He's at best center-right.

I understand wanting a viable alternative to Biden and Trump, but we simply do not have one on the left (I learned my lesson, the Green Party isn't an alternative either), and frankly our political system can not ever allow a 3rd option in. Not in a conspiratorial way, but in a "the system was built to not effectively handle more than two options" way.

The choice is Biden or Trump. That's it. It sucks. I hate it. But that's the choice. Voting is not the only tool we have for making things better, but it is *a* tool. Organizing mutual aid, effective protest like organized boycotts and pressure campaigns, and building community is far more effective, but voting is still a tool and one that can make those other things easier to do. just throwing your hands up and saying you don't care or smugly saying "well I'm just going to vote for the contrarian option" doesn't do shit to help anyone.

[emberphoenixisgoingtolive]

how the Nublar Six would get vaccinated

Darius:

his mum is a healthcare worker so ofc he is fully vaccinated

he’s also not afraid of needles

his mum gets him and Brand cute, colourful plasters (band aids) for where the needle was injected (mostly cos they’re cute but sadly plasters for dark skin were not as widespread as they are now)

Darius puts the ‘I got vaccinated!’ stickers on the inside of his flippable phone case. he’s very proud of them

Brooklynn:

fully vaccinated plus probably a few extras from her adventures being a vlogger (she def got at least one obscure disease on her travels)

used to be scared of the needles, and her dads had to hold and comfort her while she was getting vaccinated, but she got better as she got older

even when she’s older, her dads always take her out for ice cream when she gets vaccinated

also puts the ‘I got vaccinated!’ stickers on her phone case

Sammy:

very pro vax. anti vaxxers will get an earful from her about protecting vulnerable people and keeping everyone safe, etcetera

vaccines were never a big deal for her, since her pain tolerance is pretty high

posts her ‘I got vaccinated!’ sticker on social media

Yaz:

would get vaccinated, since it’s responsible, but she secretly hates the needles. not because of physical pain, she just really doesn’t like the experience of getting vaccinated and she cannot articulate why

her mother (and eventually Sammy) are the only ones who know, and hold her hand while she’s getting the needle injected

if Sammy’s around, she and Yaz will snuggle and watch a movie after getting vaccinated, since for Yaz it’s a fairly significant emotional ordeal

Kenji:

hates getting vaccinated as well as Yaz. he also has no clue on earth why

he’s also scared of the needles themselves

also he’s the type of person who gets after effects from the vaccines

and his dad would always tell him to shut up if he was crying from pain/anxiety about the vaccine

actually it makes loads of sense that he would hate getting vaccinated when you say it like that

Mrs Bowman offers to go with him on his first vaccination post nublar and he very reluctantly lets him hold her hand

he gets a colourful plaster that he secretly thinks is very cool

he is also very proud of his vaccination sticker and puts it on his phone

Ben:

vaccines are a breeze for him. he goes in extremely chill, needle in, needle out, he’s done

“one measly little needle is nothing when you’ve defeated Tor—” *one of the camp fam smack him gently on the knee*

very enthusiastic about vaccines. fully vaccinated. heck, he would look forward to getting them as a kid!

[madeofsound]

The Pitt as "perfect" commentary...

So while I generally think the Pitt is well-written and extremely topical, I'm sometimes frustrated by the show's meta-commentary on the state of healthcare and (by extension) politics in the US right now. It feels like the Newsroom, which wrote about events 18 months in the past in order to always choose the right side of history.

I agree with the points the show is trying to make (impacts of the erosion of public health infrastructure, entitlement of anti-maskers/anti-vaxxers, white masculinity, etc.), but taking a stance on ALL of these issues in the first season borders on being preachy. I feel like the writers/show runners are cramming in all of these issues as virtue signaling to show that they have the correct takes on what's going on in the US right now, without measured understanding of what's actually serving the story and giving it space to breathe. Honestly, a measles outbreak could have fed a lot of Season 2 rather than overshadowing the MCI.

Now to completely contradict myself, I feel like this actually kind of works for Robby. He's mostly a blank slate who relies on emotional distance and professionalism as coping mechanisms. He feeds the right words to people who need to hear them in order to perform his role as "Dr. Robby," senior attending and leader of the ED, and we see him slip back into this when he starts to feel emotionally compromised or needs distance from a situation. This extends to us as the audience... he says exactly what most of us want to hear (see his speech on alt-right podcasters and male mental health).

So TL;DR, great for a character, mediocre for a show...

[suratan-zir]

Hi. I wanted to ask how you have those among Ukrainians who believe in russian propaganda. I just met one refugee from Kharkov, and he told me that Putin is fighting for the Russian world, and it was the United States that started the war. He reasons that since he speaks Russian, he should support Russia's actions. And this despite the fact that his city was bombed, and he and his family were on the verge of life and death.

Hi. I can't really answer this. I mean, I can try, but I'm not good at answering vague questions. I'm not well-spoken enough.

How come so many USAmericans worship Trump and see him as a savior of the poor when he's the exact opposite? How come far-right parties all across Europe gain more and more popularity, with people believing that fascists in power will resolve all their problems? Hell, we can take it a step further and ask how come people become anti-vaxxers and flat Earth believers? The answer is only one - propaganda. People fall under the harmful influence.

Russian propaganda has been extremely active in the southeast of Ukraine basically since we gained independence. Russia has been spending millions upon millions on brainwashing Ukrainians. The propaganda became more and more aggressive since the Orange Revolution. It was everywhere in the Donbas, you couldn't even wear a piece of orange clothing without risking being beaten up.

I was only a middle-schooler, but I remember it in detail. Propaganda materials such as leaflets were distributed everywhere. I remember one with Viktor Yushchenko (pro-European presidential candidate) against the background of the US flag and Uncle Sam who's saying, "Yushchenko is our pResident." I remember asking my mother what it meant, and she said it means that Yushchenko is a very bad person. This stuff was wild. And it only got wilder.

Russian propaganda claims over the years varied from the statement that "Donbas feeds the entire Ukraine" to "pro-European politicians and the US will make concentration camps in the Donbas for the Russian-speakers and will populate the territory with people from the West instead." I don't know how, but people believed in this purely artificial conflict. Not only were there never any persecutions against the Russian-speakers, but you would actually feel more comfortable speaking Russian in Ukraine. In most regions, the Ukrainian language was considered a "redneck" language and would get you nowhere. Of course, the Ukrainian government is also to blame for letting Russia control the narrative. But for most of these independent years, Ukraine was basically externally managed by Russia. During Yanukovych's presidency, we were like Belarus is now - a false "president" taking instructions straight from the Kremlin. So the brainwashing was getting worse and worse.

I told this story several times, and I'll tell it again. Before the "referendum" in Donetsk, most people laughed at the idea of the "republic." It was supported by some local lunatics, but mostly the whole thing was done by russian mercenaries and russian military. During this time, my aunt told me that those who support this are crazy and they're calling war into our homes. She was a reasonable person. She had a job, a nice apartment of her own, a happy family, and a bright future ahead. In 2015 they fled from Donetsk to russia, along with my grandmother. Why to russia? Propaganda. Then they got russian citizenship and used it to vote for putin. I asked how they could vote for him after what he did to them, after they lost it all. "We're thankful he gave us a home, gave us citizenship," was the answer. At first, he took everything from you, ruined your life, then let you restore a tiny bit of it - and you're grateful. I don't know how this works. It's not like they were welcomed in russia, they faced a lot of prejudice and oppression for being from Donetsk. To the point that my cousin was bullied at school for being from the Donbas, not only by kids but by teachers, despite being an excellent student and graduating with honors. Russians are outraged that their state "rescues" and "helps" those Donbas khokhols instead of helping "true" russians.

In the second month of the full-scale invasion, my grandmother proposed that I move to them, to the moscow region of russia. "This is the country that is trying to kill us all, how can you ask me to move there?" "What difference does it make which country to live in? It's safe here." So along with pro-putin brainrot comes also apoliticalness, passivity.

I'm rambling at this point. I don't want to go on about this forever, like I know I can. Let's leave it at this.

[autolenaphilia]

Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida is so fascinating to me, like it's one person mental decline over a period of decades in a webcomic form. Like the political evolution over the years is insane. Ishida started out as a fairly normal liberal dude, who reacted to Bush-era christian conservatism with sex-positive edgelording. He depicted Obama as over-the-top cool in a way that felt only half-ironic. Ironically in light of his later politics, he also had some caricatures of man- and sex-hating feminists. It wasn't really a heavily political strip either, there were character-based stories.

And then in the 2010s Ishida had a weird conversion to radical feminism. This took over the comic, and it became extremely political in a strident and unsubtle way.

It started out with a heavy focus on SWERF and anti-porn stuff, and there are some porn addiction arcs that it's easy to read autobiographically. Like you get the impression Ishida thinks he has a porn addiction and feels really bad about it, and radical feminism felt like an easier outlet for his feelings about it than the religion he had mocked so much before. He had drawn man-hating sex negative caricatures of feminists before, and that's ironically the exact kind of feminist he decided to become.

And how it depicts male consumption of porn is telling. Like porn is bad, but men are compelled to consume it and can never stop, because men are all irredeemably horny misogynists. It feels like a expression of self-hatred. Sinfest became a vehicle for unsubtle caustic moralistic invective, but it always seem to spill back on Ishida himself.

Ishida is heavy on the performative man-hating that male radfems usually aren't. And his main mouthpiece character during this phase is a lesbian woman.

Ishida's depiction of porn and sex work also consistently feels off, like the victims of the sex trade are drawn too sexy to really work as anti-porn. The sex workers in the comic are also literally sex robots, but clearly meant to stand in for real life human sex workers. It's very condescending.

It took a few years before Ishida fully revealed his transmisogyny. And since then it has increasingly dominated the comic. Extremely transmisogynist caricatures of transfems everywhere. Like every online transmisogynist, it has become an obsession for Ishida. And it's weird, like he has this obsession with drawing girlbulge on his transmisogynist caricatures that feels downright fetishistic.

Like I'm not usually like "transmisogynists are rotten eggs", but honestly Ishida feels like that might be true. The lesbian author stand-in, the self-hatred that extends to men as a gender, the obsessive transmisogyny. Reading Sinfest there feels like there is something deeply wrong with Ishida. He is not just a bigot, but feels deeply disturbed. And a case of extreme internalized transmisogyny and repression is as good an explanation as any.

Ishida has however gotten worse, and zoomed down the terf-to-fascist pipeline. The comic has evolved from terfy to full-on MAGA fascist. His transmisogyny has guided Ishida to darker and darker territory. There is an comic where his lesbian mouthpiece character abandons the left precisely because the left accepts trans people. He is now an anti-vaxxer and covid denialist of course, and his literal in-comic reason for distrusting vaccines is that medical scientists also favor trans healthcare.

Most recently Ishida has done an anti-immigration arc, where immigrants are depicted as evil alien invaders from pop culture. And that illustrates how self-defeating and ironic his views are. He is literally condemning immigration as an American man named Tatsuya Ishida.

Lesbian radfems beset by porn culture and the tranny menace no longer play a large part in modern Sinfest. His heroes are now redneck magahats, depicted as unfairly prosecuted by far-left cancel culture. And he seems entirely okay with their social conservatism, a right-wing redneck family has a housewife, and its depicted as okay.

By now he has done a full 180 over the last 20 years. The right-wing conservatives who he mocked in the 00s, are now his heroes.

The recurring characters and the storylines based around them are barely there, it's all political commentary at this point. When the old characters appear it's usually as props in his heavy-handed commentary.

Sinfest was never a great comic even at its 00s peak, but it was a normal comic. Now it's just a sad record of one person's mental and political decline.