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fanhackers · 19 days

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Fandom/Activism

I interrupt my dive into Abigail DeKosnik’s work to note that as the United States moves deeper into its (apparently endless) election season, we’re seeing a lot of fandom-as-activism starting to emerge, as well as activism-as-fandom. De Kosnik herself was one of the early writers on fandom/activism, writing “Participatory democracy and Hillary Clinton's marginalized fandom” for the very first issue of Transformative Works and Cultures in 2008; more recently, Aja Romano wrote about how Donald Trump’s followers can be seen to be acting like a fandom for Vox: “If you want to understand modern politics, you have to understand modern fandom.”

TWC hosted an entire guest issue on Transformative Works and Fan Activism, edited by Henry Jenkins and Sangita Shresthova; Jenkins and Shresthova also collaborated on By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (NYU, 2016) which collects essays on fan activism. Other essays on fandom/activism have been published by TWC with Alex Xanthoudakis’s Mobilizing minions: Fan activism efficacy of Misha Collins fans in "Supernatural" fandom (2020) and Hannah Carilyn Gunderman’s Fan geographies and engagement between geopolitics of Brexit, Donald Trump, and Doctor Who on social media (2020) being recent examples. Meanwhile, Tanya Cook and Kayle Joseph are the authors of Fandom Acts of Kindness: A Heroic Guide to Activism, Advocacy, and Doing Chaotic Good (Penguin Randomhouse 2023), a guide on how to use fandom and fannish strategies to make a difference.

Some examples of fandom/activism emerging this U.S. election season include Heroes 4 Harris: Kamala-Con which is scheduled to happen online today, Sunday September 8, 2024, 1pm PT / 4pm ET: this is billed as “a Comic-Con for Kamala” and “the largest fandom led gathering in support of a presidential candidate in American history.” It will feature: “actors, writers, directors, and super fans of Hollywood's most inspiring heroic fandoms” and promises not just inspiration from some of our favorite stars (Mark Ruffalo, Sean Astin, Rosario Dawson and others - not to mention Henry Jenkins himself) but also breakout groups and training in “fan mobilization.”

Meanwhile, Lynda Carter (always a Wonder Woman!) is also trying to get out the fan vote for Harris with her group Geeks & Nerds for Harris Walz (@GeekOutTheVote); this is also billed as “a fan activist campaign” and they are planning special online events, the first of which will be an online call on September 24, 2024. As they describe on their website: “Fandom has never just been about media consumption. Fans are artists, creators, and digital ambassadors. When we share what we love, it radiates around the world. And to paraphrase the Vice President, it’s how we show them who we are. By connecting battle-tested campaign canvassing strategies to the heritage and practices of fan communities, we can encourage fans to get out the vote in key battleground states.”

Donald Trump, aside from being his own fandom with himself as fan in chief, also seems to have had some self-identified fandoms collectively organizing for him over the years - these include Fans of Kanye West, Fans of Race Car Driving, and, strange but true, Fans of the 1980s, who apparently believe that Donald Trump would also be a fan of 80s horror movies, Scritti Politti, and the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink. (I’m not making that up; it’s on their Twitter.) That said, Mel Stanfill’s newest book Fandom is Ugly (2024) argues that, despite its popular reputation, media fandom is not essentially progressive; that in fact, “reactionary politics and media fandoms go hand in hand.” Stanfill’s book looks at the ways in which fans have organized in conservative, reactionary, or even hateful ways, from Gamergate to the collective abuse and harassment of actors in the latest Star Wars franchise.

The discipline of fandom studies is now being used to study all different kinds of affiliations and advocacy movements, not just those based around film, tv, sports, or music. Fan studies is now applied to political and social movements. Jenkins is still a powerful voice on the relationship between fan studies and participatory democracy (whether progressive or reactionary): read this 2024 interview with him published in Communication and the Public: “The path from participatory culture to participatory politics: A critical investigation—An interview with Henry Jenkins.” As Jenkins notes:

Part of the ethos of fandom is to ask questions—from nitpicking to imagining other outcomes, different trajectories for character arcs, and other worlds where the story might occur, all of which is expressed through fan works. I would say that fans are often more critical than the general audience in asking these questions, which makes them somewhat different from many partisans and activists I might know who rarely question their beliefs and ideological commitments. And fans are more tolerant—as an aggregate—of different interpretations than partisans are of different ideological stances. So, you could do worse in grounding a democracy than engaging with fans.

#fanhackers #fandom/activism #author:francescacoppa

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fandom · 1 year

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This post is Ken, too.

Trailers for two of the year's most anticipated films—Barbie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse—dropped, and fans are still making poster edits (we're betting one of the new Spider-People is also Ken). The Owl House has officially ended, and no one was ready to say goodbye. The annual Star Wars Celebration took place in London and so, so many new shows and films were announced: get ready to see lots of familiar faces returning. The Super Mario Bros. Movie finally hit theaters, and everyone agrees that Princess Peach is the real hero. This is Tumblr's Week in Review.

Barbie

The Owl House

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Succession

The Mandalorian

Ted Lasso

Taylor Swift

RWBY

Donald Trump

Asexual

Wally Darling | Welcome Home

The Welcome Home ARG

Margot Robbie

Yellowjackets

Artists on Tumblr

Star Wars

Easter

Ryan Gosling

Michael Cera

#week in review #04/10/2023 #barbie

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fans4wga · 1 year

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drew gooden has a pretty good video abt tha writers strike , " The Future of TV is Bleak " . it doesnt go super in depth but i encourage ppl to watch it , and also to show it to ppl who dont support writers

Thank you for sending this in! Mod Ani here. While this video is a decent primer (link here if anyone wants to watch), Drew unfortunately perpetuates some common misconceptions, so here’s some more sourced info if you want to read more.

I’m not calling Drew a liar at all—in fact I’m really glad Youtubers are calling attention to the strike and supporting the WGA publicly. But he said he remembers the strike himself, and to be fair, he was at maximum 14 years old during the strike. His memory might be faulty or he might have misinterpreted sources or found flawed sources in the first place. Anyway, in the spirit of fact-checking…

Did the 2007 WGA strike tank shows?

At the 0:44 mark and later around 1:40, Drew claims the 2007 strike tanked a lot of shows. While a very common misconception, this is mostly untrue! Many of the shows that got canceled/"got worse" were already on a downwards trend before the strike. “Heroes” got bad reviews before the strike; meanwhile, “Lost” and “Pushing Daisies” both got renewed despite the strike, so you can’t really blame the strike for its changes or cancellation. See this Twitter thread for a comprehensive debunking of shows people think "got worse" during the 2007 strike, written by someone who covered it (writer Emily St. James @/emilystjams.)

To sum up her thread: “The 2007-08 strike didn't uniformly impact shows. For the most part, the shows on good trajectories stayed on them and vice versa.”

This is an especially pernicious mistruth because it has the potential to turn audiences against the WGA strike; fans are being led to think that the strike will only mean bad news for their shows. But the opposite is true: shows will in fact get better if writers have fair wages and aren’t overworked.

Later in the same Twitter thread linked above, Emily St. James says: “By far the most deleterious effect on young shows at that time was that a bunch of shows that might have gotten time to build more of an audience suddenly had to deal with long hiatuses. Many were canceled. Most never re-found their viewers.”

Yes, that’s what happened with fan-favorite Pushing Daisies (RIP). But this is already happening with no need for a strike intervention with Lockwood & Co., HBO’s canceled Batgirl, First Kill, Willow, Warrior Nun, The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, 1899, and more. Popular shows are getting canceled after 1-2 seasons, for no good reason—or getting wiped from the streaming service entirely. The worst has already happened for many shows.

…Drew’s absolutely right about Quantum of Solace, though. They were basically working with a rough draft script for the film, which, of course, bad idea.

Did the 2007 WGA strike cause the reality TV boom?

At the 0:58 mark, Drew claims that the 2007 strike led to the reality TV boom and “altered the landscape of television.” While it’s true to an extent that studios filled their programming with reality TV during both the 2007 and 2023 strikes, the reality TV boom definitively predates the 2007 strike.

Again, this is a particularly pernicious mistruth because it could potentially turn people against the WGA and blame them for a trend they dislike. In truth, the reality TV boom that shifted the landscape started in the early 2000s with the enormous success of such shows as Survivor (2000), America’s Next Top Model (2003), The Apprentice (2004), The Biggest Loser (2004), Dancing with the Stars (2005), and more all predating the 2007 strike. This is all years before the strike was even a glimmer in a writer’s eye.

Lots of people have made jokes about the 2007 strike causing Donald Trump’s presidency because The Apprentice was popular during the strike. I tend to think this is a pretty silly correlation—who’s to say he wouldn’t have gotten a gig like that despite the strike?

What is the WGA fighting for now?

At the 4:00 mark Drew claims that the WGA is fighting “to be paid residuals for streaming shows rather than just a day rate.” I see what he’s getting at, but as phrased, this is a nonsensical statement. He means “flat rate”—a pre-determined rate the studios currently pay to writers regardless of how many people watch it. The writers—and I’m quoting this directly from the WGA demands posted by WGA member Adam Conover—want to “establish a viewership-based residual—in addition to existing fixed residual—to reward programs with greater viewership.” (Link to the WGA demands here.) This would make streaming residuals more like network residuals, but it would also require streamers to have transparency about how many people are watching, which they’ve been very nervous about publishing.

Drew also confuses the term “production companies” with the term “studios”, though this is a minor nitpick. The WGA is fighting the studios. A production company like ILM visual effects works with a studio like Paramount (studios are also called “motion picture companies”, because we’re old-timey) to make a movie. Some studios ARE production companies (Studio Ghibli does their own production), but not all production companies are studios. Okay, film school over, next point. (Link to read more about studios vs. production companies vs. publishers)

At the 4:06 mark Drew claims writers are fighting to keep AI out of the writers room entirely. This is just a slight misconception! The WGA is fighting to keep AI from replacing them, but in the current WGA demands, individual writers would still be able to use AI as a tool at their own discretion, but AI couldn’t be used as “literary material” and writers couldn’t be forced to rewrite an AI-generated script. Individual WGA members are not a monolith; some are hardline anti-AI, and some want to see if they can make AI work for them. (Mod Ani is on the anti-AI side of things, just to make my own bias here clear.)

The current WGA stance is, “How do you make sure this is a tool used by writers, like spellcheck and Wikipedia, and not a tool used to replace writers?” (John August, a WGA member and also part of the negotiating committee, wrote that and has some blog posts about it.) I think this part of Drew’s video is in line with a lot of popular anti-AI sentiment, and I do not personally disagree, but anyone talking about the WGA has got to put aside personal biases and report what the WGA is actually doing, not what we want the WGA to do. All in all, this is still a strong position for the WGA, considering the WGA is on the frontline of any business agreement about AI! The main struggle is to make sure it doesn’t replace human labor.

Drew also contradicts himself at 4:43 by saying the previous strike wasn’t about streaming services, when earlier in the same video he said correctly that the 2007 strike was all about gaining residuals for streaming services in the first place. So, uh, fact-checking himself?

Again a small nitpick, “There’s no financial upside for doing a good job” (5:45 mark) is also not quite true. The financial upside is getting a Season 2 renewal. Yes, increased transparency and viewership-based residuals would mean high-performing film/TV shows get paid more. But there’s definite financial upside to getting a renewal!

Production companies/studios shortening employees is absolutely not about “not having to put your name in the credits” (6:14). Everyone in the writers’ room gets their name in the credits. The issue, of course, is that studios are trying to have shorter writers’ rooms so they pay the writers for fewer weeks of work. WGA members not being credited isn’t a negotiating point at all, so not sure where this is coming from.

Miscellaneous things Drew is absolutely correct on and I will reiterate here

Drew’s absolutely correct on how scripts evolve during filming. That’s why writers are so necessary on set! Studios are cutting costs by getting rid of writers earlier in the production timeline, and a consequence of this is that writers aren’t getting the mentorship/training of being on-set for the show’s actual production. This is necessary training to become a producer/showrunner that writers nowadays simply are not getting.

He’s also absolutely right about how little money writers actually make in Hollywood, despite the films and shows they make producing so much more value for the studios. Residuals are lower than ever, writers’ rooms are shorter than ever, and many WGA members work a lot of side hustles to just be able to afford LA rent. So the discourse surrounding “rich spoiled writers” is just totally incorrect and maddening!

Drew is also absolutely correct about the entertainment industry simply being the first place AI is threatening jobs. Without legal challenges, AI will disrupt other industries soon, and the WGA is on the frontline of battling that.

Just for some clarification, around the 12:20 mark, Drew is talking about the common complaint about prequels/sequels/franchises/spin-offs. This is a real industry problem! Writers desperately want to write original stuff (remember the creator of Powerpuff Girls saying he pitched 16 originals to Netflix, with no luck, before doing a reboot?) It’s 100% the studios' fault; no writer wants this industry landscape.

Also at 13:40 mark, Drew makes a very good point that AI is only a small part of the strike, and it’s kind of been blown out of proportion because AI is trending in the news and popular in the discourse. Even the WGA probably wasn’t expecting this to get so much air-time. It’s still a part of the strike, of course, but keep in mind that pay and staffing are more major negotiating points at the moment.

Conclusion!

To sum up, Drew makes some good points, but muddles some too. I’d highly recommend going straight to WGA members instead of Youtuber middlemen… but in the meantime we’re here to fact-check. :)

#drew gooden #wga #fans4wga #wga strike #writers strike

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musicfeedsmysoul12 · 11 months

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Asshole Pony Tsunotori

Not going to lie I dislike her enough I can’t think of a creative way to make her an asshole. Mostly cause I dislike her as she’s just there. There’s nothing interesting about her.

She’s Quirkist. Like anti-mutant, anti-mental Quirk, you name it. She went to Japan cause she felt that all the hero schools around her were letting to many freaks in but she hates being at UA with a non-human principal. She despises being in Vlad’s class and pretends not to know Japanese so she doesn’t have to talk.

She also thinks America is better in one of those Donald Trump Make American Great, we are the biggest super power we are amazing sort of ways. She’s obnoxious about it and routinely messes with her classmates by ‘misunderstanding’ their directions. She enjoys seeing those she deems as less being put ‘in their place’.

It does in fact get revealed since Izuku has his dad in America, and is talking about the other class where Hisashi is: oh I know her dad. They all speak Japanese they’re just nasty as fuck, explaining how. Izuku gives this information to Monoma who confronts her.

Basically: Pony being the worst type of transfer student and being a pest.

#bnha #bnha au #equal opportunity asshole

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strictlyfavorites · 1 month

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This is a letter Allyson Comperatore posted on Facebook about her father, Corey Comperatore, who was murdered at Donald Trump’s rally.

“Yesterday time stopped. And when it started again my family and I started living a real-life nightmare.

What was supposed to be an exciting day that we had all looked forward to (ESPECIALLY my dad), turned into the most traumatizing experiences someone could imagine.

I know the media will cover this event. And I'm going to try my best to stay away from looking at everything, especially because I've already seen and lived through it in real time. But I want everyone to know what the media will not cover, and will not say about him.

He was the best dad a girl could ever ask for. My sister and I never needed for anything. You call, he would answer, and he would do whatever it is you needed, and if he didn't know how he would figure out how. He could talk and make friends with anyone, which he was doing all day yesterday and loved every minute of it. He was a man of God, loved Jesus fiercely, and also looked after our church and our members as family.

The media will not tell you that he died a real-life super hero. They are not going to tell you how quickly he threw my mom and I to the ground. They are not going to tell you that he shielded my body from the bullet that came at us.

He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us. And I want nothing more than to cry on him and tell him thank you. I want nothing more than to wake up and for this to not be reality for me and my family.

We lost a selfless, loving, husband, father, brother, uncle, son, and friend. And I will never stop thinking about him and mourning over him until the day that I die too. July 13th will forever be a day the changed my life. I will never be the same person I was less than 24 hours ago.

There are a lot of children out there that say their dad is their hero, but my dad really is mine. I don't think I would be here today without him.

Dad, I love you so much that there aren't enough words to express how deep that love goes. I know you'll give heaven some hell. I know that God is proud of the man that came to His gates yesterday.” ❤️🙏🏼

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samasmith23 · 1 year

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The best G. Willow Wilson Ms. Marvel scene

Easily my personal favorite scene from the entirety of G. Willow Wilson’s original run on Ms. Marvel was during the phenomenal Mecca arc wherein HYDRA seizes control of Jersey City’s mayor’s office to begin enacting discriminatory policies against Inhumans & Mutants (which heavily mirror the real-life Islamophobic presidential policies of Donald Trump...), and Kamala discovers that underneath the mask of one of the HYDRA regime’s lead enforcers, Discord, is the face of her old classmate Josh Richardson.

This revelation heavily affects Kamala on an emotional level as it forces her to come to terms with the fact that the things people might perceive to be familiar or safe are not always what they seem to be. She learns how specific circumstances can reveal that individuals who once appeared to be rational and reasonable on the surface may actually believe in ideologies that are controversial or dangerous. Therefore, Kamala is forced to ponder whether or not bigoted & fascistic ideologies have always existed within the hearts of people like Discord and if they're truly representative of who they are, which in turn causes her to doubt both her own place in the world and her mission as a superhero. While Kamala is inflicted with feelings of self-doubt in light of these revelations, she understands that she still has a moral obligation as Ms. Marvel to protect the people of her city. She realizes that the so-called “silent majority's” animosity towards her & super-powered peoples does not give them the right to place their own grievances above the law, and that there are still people who believe and are depending on her. And because Josh revealed his true self underneath the mask of Discord, Ms. Marvel responds in kind by taking off her own mask to reveal the face of his former friend Kamala Khan, and all of the pain and suffering that his actions have inflicted upon herself and others like her…

But while Kamala does convey feelings of sadness and remorse towards Josh, she simultaneously understands that she cannot excuse his actions since he's still an individual who wrongfully succumbed to the temptations of far-right extremism and fascism. Essentially, even though Kamala desperately wants to believe that Josh is an inherently better person underneath, she recognizes that he was the one who ultimately made the choice to join HYDRA and help them oppress superhuman minorities. Therefore, Kamala acknowledges that Discord is still her enemy regardless of his reasons or whatever sympathy she might feel.

Kamala decision to NOT condone or excuse Discord’s actions reflects an astonishing level of maturity on her part, and is further indicative of her overall character arc in Mecca. In large measure, Kamala’s character arc is the reason why the storyline is titled “Mecca” in the first place. Although she does not go on a physical pilgrimage to the actual Holy Islamic city, she does experience a spiritual pilgrimage as the HYDRA takeover of Jersey City forces her to realize that not everything is what it seems, that some evils cannot be fought, and that although she’ll endure hardship and failure in her mission she must stay true to herself and others even if there are some people who will never agree with her actions or who she is. It's these revelations that further develop Kamala into "the most human superhero of them all" in my opinion, as it's not just her kindness and willingness to do good that makes her a hero, but also her ability to continue to do good even when confronted with external and internal doubt. And since the entire story takes place over the two-day period of Eid al-Adha, the holiday in which millions of Muslims embark on the pilgrimage to Mecca, Kamala’s psychological journey of self-discovery resonates with the reader on a much deeper level.

And that is why this scene remains my personal favorite Ms. Marvel moment in the entirety of Kamala’s comic book history!

From Ms. Marvel (2015) #21 & #22 by G. Willow Wilson & Marco Failla.

#ms marvel #kamala khan #ms marvel kamala khan #ms marvel comics #Mecca #discord #Josh richardson #g willow wilson #Sana Amanat #ian herring #marco failla #marvel comics #mini essay

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marioharasealmama · 2 months

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✝️ James 5:13-16 🇺🇸(SEGA✨🦔) Sweet Baybee scratching her sister’s back~❤️ We got back from the mall and Cinnabon~❤️ Mama is making spaghettee 4 them now~❤️💋🦭🍝

Unknown 🦭🤝🦔

Where 2 give: https://azarashiseal.kawaiishop.jp

🦭💡 full images can be found on Twitter at @seal_mama along with all rescue updates and news and easier to find content i upload ❤️💋🦭

✨✨✨

Protect the seals in Norway 🙏 Please sign, share, and spread Awareness to protect them.

Petition here 👉 https://shorturl.at/inptM (working link in bio)

✨✨✨

Please click the link below to write to Prime Minister Trudeau and other Canadian officials and demand that the seal “hunt” be called off and that they ban sealing once and for all.

https://harpseals.org/help/letters_and_emails/canada_pols_cop_15_email.php

Please spread the word, and if you can make a donation, please do so from this link.

https://harpseals.org/help/donate/index.php

(IMPORTANT) Harp Seal Petition: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/594/901/362/?TAP=1732

Save Harp Seals Link 2: https://action.hsi.org/page/144926/action/1?ea.tracking.id=website

✨✨✨

Please check out and spread awareness 4 Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre ❤️

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/hout-bay-seal-rescue

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/HoutBaySealRescue/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

✨✨✨

💎SEGA Hype Energy Boost 💎

Jesus Christ is real and saves us all.

Vote President Donald Trump 2024 #MAGA

Cherish each day ❤️

Sonic Rumble

Sonic SEGA Jakks Pacific toys

Spark the electric jester

Siivagunner

Yohane

Phineas and Ferb

Hideki Naganuma

Sonic Dream Team

Sonic Heroes Remake

Sonic Momentum

Sonic Forces PvP Racing Battle

Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

Jet Set Radio

Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth

Crazy Taxi

Sonic Movie 3

Sonic Superstars

Sonic Origins Plus

Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers Final Horizon

Sonic Prime

Sambe De Amigo Party Central

Sonic P06

Sonic Forces Overclocked

Sonic Runners Revival

Sonic Runners Reloaded

Sega vs Capcom

Sonic x Shadow Generations

Knuckles The Echidna Paramount+

Persona 3 Reload

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble

Sonic Robo Blast 2

Jet Set Radio Live Hype!

https://jetsetradio.live + Genesis 1:3 Hype

#marineconservation #art #sealrescue #design #handmade #illustration #comics

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theperezhilton · 2 months

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I am so ready for this Donald Trump hero/redemption arc to be over and him go back to his natural state of being - villain! I’m also ready for U to subscribe to my @ThePerezHilton Instagram! So many awesome perks! I follow and DM everyone who signs up! You get access to my exclusive daily hot topics livestream on IG! There’s a super fun group chat just for subs! And more! CLICK HERE to join today at Instagram.com/ThePerezHilton

#Donald Trump

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wartakes · 1 year

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Make War Criminals Afraid Again (OLD ESSAY)

This essay was originally posted on January 6th, 2020 (IT WAS POSTED BEFORE T H E E V E N T S OF THAT DAY; NEXT ESSAY IS ABOUT WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED).

I got super mad at some dipshit former Marine officer who said Trump should pardon noted war criminal Robert Bales. That's about it really. (Full essay below the cut).

CW: I know I tend to sprinkle swearing and colorful language in these regardless, but I really go off on this one language wise. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

This wasn’t what I wanted to start off this year writing about.

Believe it or not, I had some more tongue and cheek stuff I wanted to show you for the inaugural essay of 2021 that at least might have been more entertaining – if still informative (still have it in the works, but its going to have to wait for a while now).

Unfortunately, it has once again been proven we cannot have nice things, and something in particular has gotten under my skin and that of many other leftists who are or have been involved with defense, the military, or other parts of national security – as well as anyone else who isn’t a leftist or a natsec person but still possesses anything resembling a soul and a conscience.

That something in particular was what some might charitably call an “opinion piece” – though I’d rather call it self-indulgent, racist, right wing masturbation material – that was published by Military.com on January 4, 2021 (“yesterday”, as of the time I’m writing this, fueled by anger and a hasty dinner of fried spam and rice because that was all I had in the pantry I could make quickly to get right to writing).

The op-ed in question was written by written by retired Marine Corps Reserve Lieutenant Colonel David “Bull” Gurfein – I want you to know my eyes rolled so hard from his claimed moniker that my retinas very nearly disconnected – and calls for convicted war-criminal, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, to be pardoned by President Donald Trump. Bales was convicted in 2013 of the murder of 16 Afghan civilians while he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. It is worth noting that, not only was he convicted of the murders by a jury of his military peers, he also plead guilty to that crime and confessed to those murders. Additionally, his case also went through the military appeals process, going all the way to the Supreme Court – which declined to review it.

Despite this, Lieutenant Colonel Bullshit – I think that nickname is more appropriate than the version he would prefer I use – lays out a disjointed series of falsehoods masquerading as “patriotism” in an impressive feat of mental gymnastics that would turn any sane person’s brain into a pretzel, arguing that Bales should be pardoned and released along with a number of other convicted “warriors” that remain behind bars. He does so on the behalf of “United American Patriots”, an organization that specifically advocates for U.S. troops convicted of war crimes – that is, the few that actually have been convicted in twenty years of forever war with numerous wrongs committed along the way.

Bullshit is making UAP’s final push for pardons after likely seeing that the writing is on the wall for Trump despite all of his attempts stealing an election that saw him lose by several million votes – to Joe fucking Biden no less. I can see why. War criminals have had no greater advocate in a President than Trump, who in his one term has pardoned convicted murderers Army First Lieunteant Clint Lorance and Army Major Matthew Golsteyn, as well as reversing the demotion of Navy SEAL Master Chief Edward Gallagher – the demotion being the only punishment Gallagher received for a murder that even other Navy SEALs were disturbed by. There have been a number of other war criminals lining up aside from these three notables, all hoping to get the Trump treatment to wash them of their sins.

So, knowing that, I can’t say I’m surprised that Bullshit is pushing for Bales to get the same hero treatment that Lorance, Golsteyn, and Gallagher have all received. But fact that he has the gall to advocate for it, so forcefully and openly, for someone convicted of a crime that is so egregious and horrific, is what makes this attempt so sickening – as well as the fact it would get published in anything other than, say, the Daily Stormer. It drives home everything that is so thoroughly fucked up about civil-military relations and the military in general in this country today.

Why This Really Matters

I’m not going to go through Bullshit’s article and refute his sad excuse for an argument point by point. Frankly, it doesn’t deserve it, and if you have any shred of decency left, you’ll know that he’s wrong without needing someone at me to tear his argument apart to show you how.

What really has me incensed about this is the fact I have to write this at all – let along the prosecutor who convicted Bales, who offered his own reasoning why Bales should remain behind bars and any pardon would be a miscarriage of justice. The fact we have to even consider that Trump might pardon Bales before he leaves office – if he’s not too preoccupied with any last-minute coup ideas. The fact that a military officer – retired, reserve, active duty, or otherwise – would think that this is a good and decent position to take, write an entire-ass op-ed about. The fact that anything resembling a reputable source of news – something Military.com just barely counted as before today for me – would think it was moral and ethical to give a piece of shit like this a platform to argue for something so abhorrent. That’s what has me steaming mad.

All that being ranted, there is one specific point from Bullshit’s piece that I want to latch onto that has me especially livid and I think really gets to the core of “something is very, very wrong with this country and its military” point I’m trying to make out of all of this. To cap off his cavalcade of fuckery, Bullshit concludes on this note:

To maintain good order and discipline within our armed forces, the president must send a clear and resounding message to its commanders, prosecutors and investigators that our nation will not tolerate our warriors’ rights being violated. Supported by the Constitution, the president must confidently take action to rectify the injustices faced by the eight warriors listed above by dismissing with prejudice the charges, disapproving the findings and sentences, providing full and unconditional pardons, and/or commuting the sentences for those still imprisoned.

Full disclosure: I have never served in the military. For the longest time, I was just an interested enthusiast when it came to the military, war, and national security. I have never been in combat, nor any situation that I could reasonably compare to it. That being said, eventually I moved up to being a student of these topics, and finally became a civilian practitioner of them. Over time I have built up a knowledge base on these issues through my own study, experience, and interactions with current and former military personnel from all branches of the armed forces and from multiple countries – some of whom are now close friends.

So, it is with all that in mind, in response to Bullshit’s conclusion, I scream into the internet at the top of my lungs the following:

THAT’S NOT HOW THAT FUCKING WORKS. THAT IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF HOW THAT FUCKING WORKS AND YOU DAMN WELL SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU PATHETIC FUCKER.

To be an officer and to say with a straight face that we need to pardon war criminals in order to maintain “good order and discipline” makes me angry on a level I did not think was possible, even after the experiences of 2020 that radicalized me to the point I started writing these essays. You don ‘t maintain discipline by implicitly telling your troops that they can murder non-combatants and get off the hook for it scot free because “‘Murica.” That is exactly the type of attitude that – along with other factors – only encourages a lack of discipline and a lack of respect for rules and regulations among the troops where it has been allowed to take root. You can draw a gigantic red line right between a lack of command discipline and a lack of discipline among subordinate troops (as if you need the bright red line there to make the connection). All you accomplish with an attitude like that is an endless feedback loop of declining standards of acceptable behavior. That’s what turns a professional military into nothing more than an armed rabble. If you asked just about any military officer or NCO that I worked with or was friends with they would say the same thing in some shape or form.

While shocking, it still makes sense that Bullshit would say this, given the type of people he advocates for – aside from the usual right-wing motivations of racism, imperialism, or the favorite right-wing celebrity past time of grifting for donation money – among others. After all, officers are meant to be responsible for the troops under their command and the actions that they take – including any war crimes. Bullshit seems like the type of officer who would want to avoid having to deal with that reality, so its much easier to simply say that the crime never happened, or that we don’t have all the facts, or that it wasn’t a crime and the murderer was wrongly convicted and that the victims were in fact “bad guys” and the murderer is really a hero, etc. etc. Anything in the book to avoid having to reap what you sow, evidentially. That’s what this all feels like: grasping any possible way to avoid repercussions for your actions because you’ve been led to believe you are physically incapable of doing any wrong.

It Shouldn’t Be Like This

If you’ve read any other of these essays I’ve written so far, you know that I think war is a reality we have to accept, and that the military is a necessary institution – even under an ideal, democratic socialist government. However, even with that in mind, we can’t have a properly functioning, professional military under any form of government if the message is sent that you can commit heinous acts with no repercussions. Bullshit, as an officer, should know that. Any of the officers and NCOs that his sad excuse for an organization has advocated for should know that. The President of the United States of America – the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces – should absolutely know that. If we are pardoning people like Bales – or even treating it as an acceptable point of view – we cannot have a military that isn’t sick to its core. It will only contribute to the numerous other maladies that poison the culture of the military and keep it from fulfilling its ideal purpose of protecting the people rather serving the interests of the few.

Its not just the military that the attitude that Bullshit and others like him takes towards war criminals poisons, but the relationship between the people and the military and the political atmosphere of the country as a whole. It sends all sorts of messages, none of which should be acceptable. It sends the message that troops are beyond reproach and capable of doing no wrong. It sends the message that the life of one American is more important than the lives of 18 people from a country that you can’t find on a map – but they’re brown, speak a different language and pray to a different God so that makes it ok because they’re clearly subhuman. If that isn’t enough, it sends the message that the lives of certain Americans matter more than others – as long as you believe the right things, say the right things, look the right way, and so on. It sends the message that violence like that Bales committed is fine as long as the right people are in charge or you have the right people on your side – which feels apt to say, just as a whole coterie of right-wing supporters are due to march on our nation’s capital to defy election results. This are just some of what pardoning Bales would signal – all of it terrible.

I don’t know how to wrap this up properly, so I’m just going to end it by stating the obvious:

This isn’t how things should work.

We can’t let it be the way things work.

Things not only should be different, they have to be different.

We have to make things different, or there really is no hope at fixing this country and making the world a better place.

Don’t let this be the way things are.

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oldguy56-world · 8 months

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Any Given Sunday

Yesterday was the most important day in the history of mankind! Based on all the coverage it received this must be true. You had the most popular sport on the planet (well at least in the U.S.) colliding with the most famous celebrity on the planet (could be true) and the result was one of such significance I can't quite express myself.

The coverage for this event started 13 days prior to it actually happening, which must signify how important it truly is. On the day of every single aspect was analyzed, even recording when each player went to the bathroom. (Maybe I am wrong on that last one but it seems true so I will stand by my statement)

The day is so important that Donald Trump offered the network an exclusive interview with him to be shown prior to the game and they declined. There was so much happening during that day that I have graciously broken down some of the main issues by category, just for you.

FOOD: They estimated 166.5 million pounds of chicken wings were consumed. Unless they found a few the size of pterodactyls this works out to 1,332, 465,213 wings. (It is an odd number but maybe they found a one winged chicken) It is sad when you realize this meant a lot of chickens were watching the game and had no wings to clap with (or flap with I suppose)

DRINK: Over $2 billion was spent on booze. Doctors are cringing when they calculate how many of these people will be donating a useless liver down the road. In my life I only drank 10% of that amount and I cannot ever give blood again.

UN-SUNG HEROES: Speaking of all the booze every year the ushers at the stadium have to deal with the inebriated masses seated, standing, and shirtless. It was so nice to see the NFL recognize this group by allowing one of them to sing at half-time.

GAMBLING: What can I say. You could place a bet on anything connected to the game, including would Taylor Swift break up with Kelce during the game and write a song about it. Or would Travis' mother slap Swift for corrupting her son. So many things. I bet my wife I would be in bed before the game ended. I won.

RELIGION: After every game there is one a player who will thank God or Jesus for their support during the season. I need to find out how to contact those guys before the game because apparently they always back the winning team. I wonder what the other team does to piss them off.

ADVERTISING: Lots of expensive ads featuring A-list celebrities. They are usually witty and entertaining, but can you actually remember what product they were shilling? I may be wrong but I thought that was the purpose of advertising.

After the game one announcer lamented that because this is a leap year they will have to wait an extra day until the next Super Bowl is played. I feel sad for that guy. Not because he has to wait, but because to me it seems he has no life.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: Sports are games, which should be entertaining and fun. Somehow the fun gets lost when other things are emphasized.

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georgi-girl · 9 months

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Miraculous Team Trope Page

A list of tropes that apply to the Miraculous Team au created by SonicPossible00 on Deviantart.

Adaptational Expansion (when a work expands on the original story it was based on): Unlike the original series, which revels things little by little, The M Team series reveals it's worldbuilding all at once. It also expands on the Miraculous lore and characters' personal lives.

Adaptational Sexuality: At least five characters so far have come out as gay, while in the original series, they were Ambiguously Bi at the most.

Alpha B*^ch: Chloe Bourgeois aka Queen Bee used to be this, but during the Origins volume she resolve to change for the better. That title is later taken up by her mother Audrey and the original character Jeanne Gagne.

An Ice Person (someone with ice powers) : Sabrina Raincomprix aka Louve Gris has ice breath, a reference to wolf howls.

Art Attacker (someone who uses art as a weapon) : Nathanal Katzinburg aka Panda Roux has the power to bring drawings to life, which he uses to make weapons and tools.

Badass Normal (a non-super person whose still a competent fighter): The Parisian Police force are portrayed as this. They protect people from Akuma attack and hold off said Akuma until the Team arrives. Ladybug makes a point of praising them whenever she and her team mates are interviewed.

Bespectacled Cutie: The M Team gives us 4 examples of this: Confident Alya, sweet Sabrina, Nerdy Max and Laidback Nino.

Beware the Nice Ones: Applies to the M Team. They're all sweet kids. But they're also well-trained living weapons who will clobber the heck out of wrongdoers. Also applies to most Akuma victims; otherwise normal people who've been pushed over the edge by one too many a-holes.

Big Brother Instinct (protective siblings): Marinette Dupain-Cheng has this for her friend Manon. Nino Lahiffe has this for his brother Chris. Alya Cesaire has it for her three sisters. And the Couffaine siblings Luka and Juleka have it for each other.

Brainwashed and Crazy: This is the simplest way to describe Akumazation.

Broken Ace (an otherwise successful person who harbors a secret agony) This applies to Adriens' father Gabriel Agreste. He's a rich fashion designer, he's raising a remarkable son, and he's got super loyal employees. But he's also deeply paranoid and in constant morning for his late wife Emilie. If it wasn't for said son and employees supporting him, he might be worse off than in canon.

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" (a battle cry to activate a superhero's transformation, named after He-Man's famous battle cry): To turn into their superhero selves, The team members must say their kwami's name followed by "Transform Moi!" The transformation also fuses them with their kwami and brings out hidden parts of their personality.

Color - Animal Codename: Corbie Noir, Panda Roux, Louve Gris, etcetera.

Costume Porn - SonicPossible gives very detailed descriptions of characters' outfits, especially the hero and akuma costumes.

Creepy Good: Juleka Couffaine aka Corbie Noir looks like a steriotypical goth but is very kind-hearted and life affirming.

Defrosting The Ice Queen (when an cold aloof character becomes friendlier over time) : This is a big part of Chloe's and Kagami's character arcs.

Eldritch Location - The Garden of Ancients is a benevolent example of this, being a bubble universe that runs on Narnia Time, which the heroes use as a training ground.

Epic Speeches: Ladybug often gives these to her teammates right before a big fight. They often contain multiple pop-culture references.

Expy: A new character based on an existing character of a real person. SonicPossible00 has a lot of oc's like this. For example, jerky M Team-hating blogger Amboise Delay is an expy of real-life jerky businessman Donald Trump.

Fanservice: As the series progresses, there are more and more intimant moments between couples. AND BEFORE ANYONE GETS MAD; number 1, nobody has gone past second base, and number 2, the age of consent in France is 15, so everything is legal.

Heart Is a Great Power (when a seemingly useless power ends up saving the day) : Ladybug doesn't have her Lucky Charm in this AU, so her Sixth Sense isn't as flashy as the others' powers. She still figures out genus battle plans with knowledge gained not only from the environment, but from her childhood memories. Likewise Queen Bee was initially disappointed with her "lame" shrinking power, until Sabrina points out it's many benefits.

Karma Houdini (a character who isn't punished for their bad behavior) : Chloe and her mother Audrey are this, which makes their redemption arcs kind of hard to root for. You have to dig deep into your religious teaching to forgive them.

Lonely Rich Kid: Adrien Agreste and Kagami Tsuragi are this. As is Chloe to a lesser extant.

Magical Girls; And Magical Boys. Both this and canon have a lot of Mahou Shoujo elements.

Maniacal Laughter - Almost every villain does this. It's actual surprising when they don't.

Manipulative Bastard: Hawk Moth is this to a T. They way he talks to potential victims is eerily reminesent of a p%&0phile talking to children.

Mentor Mascot: The Kwamis. On top of being cute, these animal spirits have 4000 years' worth of knowledge to impart on their holders.

Meta Humor - References to canon are often made in the form of a joke or hypothetical "what if" discussion, usually to point out differences between the two series.

Mythical Motif - Many of Hawk Moth's akumas are based on mythical of fantastical figures; Ra, Aphrodite, The Leprechaun, Ifrits, etc.

Nice To The Waiter (a high-ranking person treating a server as an equal): Chloe Bourgeois, of all people is this. She frequently reminds her butler Jean to call her Chloe instead of 'Miss Chloe'. Adrien Agreste and rock star Jagged Stone are this too.

No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: The team often combine their powers to deliver this to the Akumas they fight, justified since the best way to deakumatize someone is to knock them unconscious.

Non-Human Mascot: The Kwamis count as this, although neither they nor their holders see them as 'sidekicks'.

Oblivious To Love: Everyone knows about Marinette's and Adrien's secret crushes on each other, except Marinette and Adrien. Then there's Kim Le Chien and Alix Kubdel, who aren't even aware of their own feelings.

Older Than They Look - Master Fu looks 80 at the most, but he's really over 150. Hawk Moth looks middle aged, but is over 200 years old.

Personality Powers (when superpowers match your personality) : Artsy Nathanael can bring drawings to life, goth Juleka can control shadows, big tough Ivan has super strength, timid Mylene has invisibility, Athletes Kim and Alix have giant leaps and super speed respectively.

Power of Teamwork: Combined with the powers of Love and Friendship. The kids plan things out as a team, fight the bad guys as a team, and protect each other as a team.

Protective Kids : All the M Team members are protective of their parents. This is most noticeable in the volume Haute Couture where Chat Noir goes out of his way to protect his dad from the title villain. And in Valentine Lovers where Ladybug does the same with her parents.

Purple is Powerful: There a villainous example in Hawk Moth, who wear all purple, and two heroic examples in Max Kante aka Arachnid and Corbie Noire.

Red is Heroic: Team Leader Ladybug wear all red, as does team member Panda Roux.

Rich B*^ch: Chloe was this before deciding to be a better person. Original Character Jeanne Gagne and her "diamond dogs" still are.

Running Gag (a joke that's repeated throughout a narrative): Aside from the meta humor, there are many scenes of characters spacing out, making a bad pun or 'blushing like a tomato'.

Scenery Porn: Whenever a scene takes place in a certain area of Paris, SP will take a few paragraphs to explain the area's history and significance.

Slasher Smile - Goes with the Maniacal Laughter.

Shipper On Deck (when a character in-universe roots for two characters to get together) : Everyone (even Chloe eventually) ship Adrien and Marinette, and later, they all ship Kim and Alix. Not to mention the team is shipped every every which way by their fans.

Shock and Awe (lightning powers): Hawk Moth has a cattle prod built into his cane, which he uses to torture his lieutenants whenever they fail.

Slinging Shadows (shadow powers): Juleka Couffaine aka Corbie Noir has this power.

Social Darwinist (someone who thinks "Survival of the Fittest" is the same as "Might Makes Right"): Hawk Moth and his lieutenants are this; constantly making speeches about power and the strong ruling the weak.

Stereotype Flip (when a character subverts whatever stereotype is associated with their race, gender, religion, ect.): Chloe and Rose both subvert the Dumb Blonde stereotype, Marinette and Kim, both subvert Asian stereotypes, Max Alya and Nino all subvert Black stereotypes, Miss Caline Bustier subverts the "Teachers are Useless" stereotype, and almost everyone subverts the "Snooty French" stereotype.

Superpowered Evil Side: Being Akumatized is a lot like having a split personality: you black out, go on a magical rampage, and wake up with no memory of what happened.

Taken For Granite (being turned to stone): This version of Hawk Moth spent 200 years as a marble statue before being freed at the beginning of the series.

Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: If it weren't for Hawk Moth, all the teammates would have to worry about is grades, growing up, and romance.

Violently Protective Girlfriend: All the female teammates fight tooth and nail to protect their love interests.

Well-Intentioned Extremist: The villain known as The Collector started out as this. He went downhill very quickly.

World Half-Full (a world with lots of problems but also hopeful): Paris, and the Earth in general, are portrayed as this. Yes, there's a lot of awful, unredeemable people and tragic events, but there's also lots of good people worth protecting.

More tropes to be added as the series progresses.

#miraculous team au #tv tropes #list #fanfiction #fanfiction promotion

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