#political thoughts

[certifiablyinsanez]

My boomer mother told me once, “we thought we would change the world too”. And she isn’t wrong. Boomers were forefront of the hippie counterculture, the anti-war front for the slaughter in Vietnam, were home to the Gay Liberation Front, Stonewall, the Civil Rights Era, and the entire second wave of feminism that fought for our right for abortion, contraception and the right to self determination. They were the people that perished in the AIDS Epidemic and the ones who took care of those afflicted. When you look at the historic track record, boomers would seem to be our natural allies rather than those we are in constant conflict with.

This is something Gen Z needs to keep in mind, not for the future, but right now. Gen Z is often convinced that we are the generation who is gonna save the world. But I can say with confidence that this is not the case. Not only would that sentiment disregard historical precedent, it also allows us to disregard the ugly truth of what we are rapidly becoming. Gen Z is reactionary as hell. You’ll tell someone “we should have love for our fellow people” and some fucking keyboard warrior will say something stupid like “eVEn pEdO’s???”.

I never thought I would complain about cancel culture, but here I am. Because people can’t seem to differentiate between holding people accountable for reprehensible behavior versus having a whole “guilty before proven innocent” mentality. We all grew up in an imperialist, colonial society. White supremacy has not left a single inch of the earth untouched. Every single person has done something wrong in their lives; it’s a feature of the times we live in. It’s a feature of being a human person period. I’ve seen people harass an artist who has been extremely vocal about Palestine and has used their platform for donations and attention and people were in arms about something distasteful he did in like 2002. Be so ffr guys.

I see European Gen Zers saying the most abhorrent things about Romani people. They still actively call them a slur, and when called out they always reply “that’s just what they are”. Some brag about how desensitized they are to gore or sexual content because they were so young when they were exposed. I still remember kids at lunch trying to convince me to watch an ISIS beheading video and couldn’t conceive why I refused to watch it. I’m gonna say it.

So many of yall are just as apathetic and narcissistic as boomers, if not more so. Because boomers pretend, but yall are brutally honest about it. Sure a whole bunch of us believe in liberation and see how shitty capitalism is, but a good chunk are also so extremely far right that even my boomer republican father would balk at the things they readily say. I actually have had conversations with my dad as his queer communist child and I think we had more agreements than these right-wingers in my own generation.

This trend is enormously widespread with Gen Alpha but Gen Z isn’t clear of it either. The inability to fortify their own mental understanding using concise, accurate, and vetted information. In the 14 years I’ve interacted in fandom spaces (where this happens all the time), I’ve never seen such a trend as now where a singular person will just pull something out of their ass and people all over the internet just readily agree. People believe photoshopped photos every day. We make fun of old people for believing everything on the internet, but we’re equally guilty.

Listen I can go on for ages, but let me make my point clear here. We are quickly becoming the very thing we all hated most, and I’m sick of the mass facade that we aren’t.

End of rant.

[futurebird]

It's nice that one of our worst ex mayors could be sued for telling lies about the election because he slandered a company.

There is recourse for individuals & companies.

But "immigrants" can't do anything about the damaging lies about them being violent.

Jewish people can't do anything about the lies about them plotting to... end the west IDK I don't even get that one.

Black people can't do anything about being called cogently terrible plane pilots.

But the lies still cause harm.

[i-am-trans-gwender]

The problem with most political comics

This is a parody of Mallard Fillmore from America (The Book) written by the writers of The Daily Show

[pseudonymousposting]

The left is chock full of people who transpose evangelical Christian ideas onto a political ideal, and it's been forming a strange quasi-cult mannerism. I look at it like a young evangelical Christian youth discovering reddit atheism at 15 and decided they can supplant their Bible with leftist writings, replace their preacher with whatever red flag weirdo they can find on the internet with a large enough Twitter following, and replace the holy rapture with the glorious revolution.

Since they just vacated from a death cult, they usually seem to also follow that route, they're far, FAR more prone to the purity testing because, again, evangelical values dictate that behavior, having the same masturbatory vision of valiantly sacrificing themselves in a revolution as evangelicals have with the idea that Christians instill in children by prompting them to proclaim that in the event Christians are so oppressed that they will have to choose between renouncing the faith or being shot, they will choose being shot. A rather abusive tactic used by far right Christians for decades to enforce a militaristic fervor as early as possible, but this translates to a sense of what appears to be a revolutionary suicidality.

My biggest problem with that is if they wish so badly to die and make their way to commie Valhalla, fine, whatever, maybe consider not taking your 'comrades' with you through careless political operation. However, this type of person is, of course, more interested in the aesthetics of politics rather than practicum. Hence the obsession with the sacred texts, donning clothing and merchandise which signals an ostensibly leftist bent such as red flags, ushankas, memes using ostensibly leftist imagery and short quotes and quips without the full context of the text similarly to evangelical Christians Cherry picking the Bible to justify their views, they're often the person who will act like they're "discoursing" but the moment you actually challenge them, they will do the weird white guy in an online argument thing where their vocabulary goes from a normal vernacular to suddenly bringing out the big words and start talking like they're drafting a letter two centuries ago, but they do it with a lefty aesthetic, so they'll start saying shit like "dialectic" and "material conditions" when two seconds ago they were talking like a somewhat normal person.

I believe this jargon-spew to be alienating to the individual, ensuring the only people who would attempt to relate to them, much like right wing circles effectively alienate prospective recruits by inundating them with alternate speech patterns, memes, behaviors and such creating an alter-culture which is incomprehensible to your average person who doesn't know what any of it means, but overall highly damaging to a broader left, as they consistently are trained to present themselves as THE left in the same manner more fervent Christian sects present themselves as the *true* followers of the faith, considering any deviation from the following of their particular denomination as a deviation, an aberration, a heresy.

Worst part is given this usually starts happening online, for one it's obvious a lot of the online "leftist" figures know that in generating an audience, that type of person has several toxic incentives to cultivate that type of audience and encourage that behavior, including social clout, financial gain and, if played correctly, a very closed-off community that self-polices. What they don't understand about the downside of that is that all you need do is commit one minor 'heresy,' even if that heresy appears fabricated or a stretch in the interpretation of what you say, to immediately be deemed a false prophet and their version of justice has evolved into a form of permanent harassment.

Moreover, I've been adequately convinced a lot of online accounts which present these behaviors may be right wingers who have engaged in a very long form version of an infiltration tactic using sock accounts which seem to usually have some kind of non-identifying profile images and such, engage in similar tactics to right wing hate mobs but carefully wrapped in language crafted to appeal to left leaning people. For example, if you look at damn near any leftist content creator from before, like, 2019, those who have had some kind of 'cancel' situation come up, magically a whole database of anything (usually only if misenterpreted) slightly potentially offensive thing they've said or done suddenly appears out of the woodwork and spreads like wildfire.

I can think of three specific left leaning, though not entirely hammer-and-sickle communist content creators, all women, two of whom were Trans, who experienced such a campaign and magically when they pointed either directly or indirectly at a place where right wing weirdos gather to log everything someone has said or done to use in harassment campaigns, the harassment *magically* intensified to a fever pitch. Almost as if in addressing it, they poked the hornet's nest.

In the place they were gesturing towards, if not directly naming, many users directly spoke of how they've created fake accounts to do exactly that. I believe this infiltration no longer really needs such gathering places, as those who engage in such behaviors have kind of embedded themselves in left leaning online circles so deeply, either by lurking quietly or being consistent actors in those communities building trust, or in some cases I fully believe actually being the admin/host/content creator themselves, and have figured out they can actually keep themselves in those communities, their contributions useful in directing the rest of the community to positions, behaviors and viewpoints that are detrimental to the left but crafted specifically to appeal to someone who leans left of center.

Infiltrate, distract, disrupt, disappear, repeat, if you're embedded as a community member. Curate an audience that is aesthetically left but susceptible to the BITE cult model and direct their behaviors and views accordingly while taking as long as possible to drop any given mask. When you point at the likelihood of such infiltration, you sometimes get the same hornets nest reaction. It's like COINTEL but for terminally online right wingers.

These types of infiltrators, I believe, will appeal heavily to the type of person who adopts leftist aesthetics with evangelical disposition. That kind of person is highly reactive and very useful so long as you keep them constantly pointed at some general 'enemy' who isn't a direct boon to the right, and as such would be persuaded in spaces where this influence is heavy to only briefly speak ill of right wing figures and actors, sometimes even downplaying the danger they pose, almost to make sure there is still some plausible deniability while minimizing the impact such attention can have, while ensuring they attack literally anyone else and overemphasize if not manufacture the potential harm the preferred target could have, usually ensuring there is no act considered "too far" against that intended target.

This is, in my opinion, a severe danger to the capacity and sustainability of a left movement. It should have been addressed years ago. If it is not addressed soon, I fear it will render any budding left movement having a strong presence in modern mass discourse essentially impotent. Moreover, I believe it will also ensure people will spend decades of their lives believing that this behavior is how to BE an effective leftist.

I fear those who consider such tendencies an image of what an effective left should be, and those who would happily cultivate those tendencies in the left specifically to render the left ineffective, are in prime position to condition young or new left leaning people to believing that is what a left movement should look like, which could be long-term damage.

In the event these toxic, cult-like circles are dealt with by shining a light upon them and revealing them for what they are, the bad actors will be rendered less effective temporarily (though, they can always create new accounts and the trick is knowing their modus operandi and pointing to that instead of the individual actors and engaging in active educational efforts which counter the tendency,) and the aesthetic leftists will either cult-hop to the right without some kind of space to exist which somewhat resembles a kind of stochastic exit counseling.

I don't know. This is just a thought that's been turning around in my head for a few years now. I don't know where else to put them down in writing. I'm sure voicing them anywhere your identity can be tracked is a surefire way to be targeted by people who specifically benefit from such tendencies or would prefer to retain such tendencies rather than reassess them. I'm sure someone smarter than me can probably see where I'm getting at, and may have the capacity to form this into a more complete thought, but it isn't something I can leave entirely unsaid.

[gillianthecat]

Not Me

These are my notes, raw and only lightly copyedited, from four months ago, taken as I watched Not Me (around September 8th). In them I think about revolutions and the culture of activism, make predictions about what happens next, am endeared by romance, and fangirl over First. Among many other things. It is interesting to read over what I noticed then and how I felt about it, after having had months to mull it over and reading other people's thoughts on the show. Even now, I still have complicated tangled feelings about the show. It felt incredibly important and unique, and also like it was trying to do too many things at once. It felt flawed to me, swinging between a very human sort of realism and complete ridiculous nonsense. But having since learned more about it's fanfic roots and how much was changed from the novel it was based on (thanks @moonchildridden!), I can see why that came to be, and admire just how political they managed to make this show despite everything. I wrote early on, "this is not escapism for me," and that still very much feels true, even though the romance was beautiful and tender and I adored it. It brought up all my feelings about the times in my life when I was an activist, and about why I'm not doing that now and how I can get back to that. And all my thoughts about how to do activism, and how to actually make change in the world. Which is a lot, and the main reason it took me so long to write about this show. I only took notes up to episode 9, so there is nothing on the last three episodes. It got too intense for me to want to write about it, though I do remember many of my thoughts and want to write more about the series as a whole. I did write some about the romantic relationships in (or not in) the show, my love for Sean in response to an ask, and talked about the realism of the Not Me world in comparison to KinnPorsche in this conversation with @lelephantsnail.

long so all my notes are below the cut:

Episode 1

I get so anxious for characters when they have to pretend to be someone they're not. Although less so here than usual.

Ok. Looks like they have chemistry! I see why they're a popular actor pair!

That dirty oil fight is adorable but also... dirty motor oil! Blech. I can't focus on the cuteness for the grossness of it. 

I like the voice overs actually. They're not necessary, Gun is conveying everything with his acting. But it's nice to have my questions articulated. 

Yok is hot -> Wait, is that First？-> *checks MyDramaList* -> Ah, yes.  That is First. 

Episode 2 (and 3?)

It's so fascinating to be putting together a picture of Black based on the little snippets of what people say or how they react to White.  And of course White is going through the same thing. 

I live in a much drier climate than Thailand, but it still makes me nervous to see people starting fires in the middle of the forest. 😳😬

Oh no! Please don't have this fellow activist vandalizer die in the fire!

This show is intense for me. I'm feeling kinda raw about it. Definitely not escapism. 

I love that they have this mute character and are portraying real issues. I wish it wasn't portrayed in a scene where it felt like Yok and his mom had never met each other before. 

Wow they are not pulling their punches. I am really curious about the context that this got made in, and what the reception in Thailand was like. 

Lots of feelings on my failures as an activist. Something about that room in the garage, evokes all those warehouse punks from my 20s. They still exist, I'm just not a part of that world anymore.

This show is very didactic. I don't know how it would work for me if I was a Thai activist. Or Thai in general. I think if it was a US show, or English language at least, it would feel too didactic. Either annoyingly earnest or I wouldn't trust the filmmakers. 

But because I'm watching it as a foreigner, and it's about a political scene I know little about, the didacticism doesn't bother me. 

Also I'm watching with the assumption that this was politically risky to make. I'm guessing that just making the film is a political statement in Thailand, and so I already admire it for that. Whereas in the US it often feels like it's relatively, not easy, but uncontroversial to make a political film, so I accept more. Or at least don't admire their bravery. It may be hard to get funding, but for the most part it doesn't feel like the government is breathing down filmmakers necks in the same way

I am making a lot of assumptions about the Thai political context. I need to learn more to have a proper opinion. 

However, it feels really honestly radical, and getting that on mainstream tv in the U.S. would simply not happen. Indie films yes. Series by a mainstream company this overtly political no.

In this us there might be radicalism for the aesthetic, but not actually a look into the issues. Not actually a show that direct action as anything real, rather than a dramatic superhero moment. 

I can't even think of any tv shows that are directly about activists and activism. In a metaphorical way, yes,  but not direct like this. I'm sure they exist, but what are they?

And a lot of the tv shows films that are about activism are historical. Black panthers, etc.  

I don't even know about in other counties. 

Whew, this show has got me in my feelings and thoughts. 

Anyways 

I wonder if this show is going to address the parents each abandoning half their children. And how/why etc Black and White didn't talk for a decade(?). Or if that was mostly a plot device to get the false identity thing going.

I like that this is a lot about White's relationships with other people besides Sean. That those seem to be equally important, or more important than his awaking.  

So far it is more about his radicalization than the romance. Which I actually am glad about. 

The pace of Sean figuring out something is wrong is good. There is chemistry but no flirtation or anything like that yet, which feels right. And the fake identity thing gives a good reason for Sean to be an asshole without making him seem like an unredeemable asshole. 

I wonder if we'll ever get to hear what Sean was thinking during this time. I hope so. 

Voiceovers. Getting very didactic. Mixed feelings about that - see above. 

Are they contractually required to have a pratfall kiss? The towel mechanism was stupid (although better than a bouncy wall, á la The Eclipse), but at least the almost kiss was better than usual. I liked that their faces were actually offset, no lips touching or almost touching. That fits them better, is more realistic to what bodies would actually do in that situation, and I'd better for the pacing. 

Guns are a lot more terrifying in this real world than in the mafia world. 

I hope we get more of that dude from the diplomats exams. 

Episode 4

Political modern dance!!

Aaah! The Kinnporsche pool. I'm afraid that's seared in my brain as part of mafia mansion now, I don't know if I can buy it as another place but I'll try. 

Are we suspicious of Todd? 

Initially I wasn't because he was the one bringing White in. And I think people ship Tod & Black. 

But I got suspicious when I saw how rich he is. (Oh right, they were childhood friends.) Is his dad Tawi? Would White have known/remembered that? 

They seem to be a totally isolated group? Which is probably plausible for self radicalized university students?  But also makes the show feel less grounded in real political activist work. Gives everything more aesthetic activism vibes. 

Also these boys don't know how to organize or create a campaign? Which is also plausible, but they feel like dilettantes. I guess I don't need the ideas to be any better, just lots more talking to get there...

Episode 5

Oh, and hooray for a trans woman character who like an actual character and not comic relief or whatever. (Possibly multiple characters in multiple settings (I don't know what I was referring to here)). 

This violent stretching while they're cold is making me anxious. 

Ok this leaping across building stunt is annoying me more than it should. I think I have to let go of my expectations of realism here. The political message is legit. But the depiction of activism is closer to the aesthetic/fantasy side of the scale than I initially hoped. 

Ok. I think I'm not going to love this as much as @lelephantsnail does.  Or as much as I want to.  But I admire it a lot. And if I adjust my expectations I can like it a lot. It's hard to enjoy exactly because it's hitting too close to home. Or at other moments too watered down didactic. (Black is defending capitalism and monopolies? How are they not more suspicious?) But I can enjoy parts. 

Episode 6

Oy. I don't like thread of Gumpa constantly testing them. I get that it's to heighten the tension without going too far into plot that can't be backed out of but... partly I guess I don't think the emotional fakeouts are a good thing. 

And partly I feel like it makes a joke of the activism? Like, it's quite possible it's a real training technique used. But combined with the general floppiness around the activism world building, it just... it's just like a standard spy thriller. Which is fine I guess but not what I expected or wanted. 

Also, if Gumpa can call on all these extra guys for this test, why is their little group so isolated. Gumpa acts like a mentor but is supposedly not the leader? What is their internal organization anyway? What are their connections? Are they just privileged kids who decided to become anarchist [vigilantes] on their own? Are they connected to any broader movement? Have they considered and rejected less violent/illegal means, or is that not happening in this world? Would I understand better if I knew a lot (or even a little) about Thai politics? Or even if I just understood Thai?

Ok, final having a conversation about how to do activism. 

Ok I genuinely love that this... romantic? not exactly yet but there's something there... scene is White-as-Black earnestly discussing political philosophy while Sean is drunk and floppy and red faced. It's just so unique and real. 

Which maybe is why I get annoyed at the other stuff that feels less real. But I will hold judgment to the end, because I honestly don't know who's evolving in what direction. And what the final message on activist tactics/philosophy is going to be. 

I also really like the music (other than overdramatic hospital music.) 

Also! They have a beverage sponsor, and the plot is them targeting a beverage manufacturer?! Bold. 

Police brutality is brought up as well.

I like getting insights into Sean, but I don't think it works with the structure that’s been set up. Mostly we're discovering everything along with White, and then all of a sudden we'll get Sean's memory? It feels out of place. 

Also, I appreciate this version of only-one-bed. OOB as a get-along-shirt. 

These boys are beautiful in sunlight (see: Sean on the rooftop). 

Like I know it's usually good storytelling technique to not have them endlessly talking in the same place. And it adds drama to have the conflict in the moment. But also why the fuck did that not plan all this basic stuff out ahead of time? Why are they having these basic conversations at the site? There had to have been a third option. 

I guess part of what makes me anxious is I can't tell if their bad plans are because they're supposed to be inexperienced activists or if it's because of filmmaking shortcuts (or perhaps even ignorance on her part about radical activism?). 

I genuinely love that they gave this romantic moon gazing scene to a platonic pair. 

Oh poor Gram. I keep forgetting, but these boys don't know their friend is in the hospital and almost died 😞 

Episode 7

I don't know if I've mentioned this yet but I really like the cinematography. 

Sometimes I really love it!! 

See I'm glad they agree with me that Sean's plan was stupid. But why they hell aren't they discussing this beforehand? I feel like every activist group, even the most pro-destruction anarchist terrorists, has endless discussions of philosophy and strategy. Anarchists especially are not just going to follow one guy without asking questions or sharing their opinion. It's just so odd. 

Unrelatedly, I love Yok's tattoos. So hot. I unironically kind of want the bird one. Although I do not have First's biceps and deltoids. 

And I love the set design and these kids hanging out in boxers and low cut tanks all the time. The aesthetic feels very authentic. Which is why it's weird when the activism style doesn't. It's not so much that they're bad at it, but the way in which they're bad doesn't feel genuine to me. But also what do I know. I've never been part of the anarchist property destruction movement. And I don't know what it's like in Thailand obviously. 

Thank you Yok! Finally some logical strategic thinking. 

Ohhh. Interesting intersections here...

(I'm trusting this is not going to end with oh Tawi isn't so bad after all, we should be happy to be part of society etc. But if it does I will be PISSED. 

Ok. This is going somewhere interesting. Starting a movement?

(Yok's fireworks moment was ridiculous but also a wonderful image. And hot. By the way.)

Oh thank god other people. I should have had more faith in the director. 

Yay! Huge rally! But also

Where did this huge rally come from? This is not a spur of the movement reaction to their (frankly) silly little direct action thing. There have been other people planning and organizing against Tawi all along? Why are these kids so disconnected from it?  Like I believe it's plausible that they would be, I just want to understand the story there. 

The secret identity plot creates some weird constraints around the activism plot. Like in a way Sean et al are being de-radicalized? Instead of getting frustrated with the slow pace of community organizing and turning to property destruction, it seems like they started there? 

So Sean and White will meet in the middle? 

This dance!  This feels like a real protest. 

I mean, sometimes a small seeming thing will light the spark. But there also seem to have been organizers there ready to seize the moment and build the movement

And Black is clearly part of a larger movement with Eugene and her political dance. Yok & Sean and there street artists.  Will we ever find out why they were so isolated? I'm starting to have hope that we may. 

Gram is staring at Eugene. But I can't tell if it's because he's in love with her or jealous of her and in love with Black.  Was he lying to Yok about Yok not knowing the person he was in love with?

Also, why couldn't anyone see that video of Black that Eugene took? Was their relationship a secret? 

Registering protesters? I need to read up more. 

Gun does a good job of making Black seem like a different person than White, even than White pretending to be Black. 

Again I keep forgetting Black's friends don't know he's hurt and then I get sad. 

So I guess that Gram is in love with Eugene. What's with the card White found then?

When is White going to tell them all? Are they going to deal with the fact he's been hurting them all with this? 

Nuch's... PSA is what it is. It works here. Despite most of her dialogue being political statements she feels like a real person. And the didacticism of her statement on marriage equality feels good actually. It's a reminder that this film is not just about activists, but it is activism. And to put myself aside, because I'm not actually the target audience. I can watch and appreciate, but it's not about me. 

Oh my god this scene. This fucking scene. I teared up when the queer couple catwalk across the rainbow flag started. I was not expecting that.  And then Sean and White staring at each other across the flag. And walking toward each other underneath it. Sean's expression. Like he doesn't even know what to think any more. Taking his hand. And it isn't even romantic exactly. It's victory. That temporary victory. 

This is the slowest of slow burns and it feels exactly like how their story needs to be told. 

Who is Gumpa in all this, anyway? Why is he training them but not participating? 

The high of victory!

Ooh, Sean and White are sitting on the couch together...

Ok, one thing a love about this is seeing a trans or any visibly queer character I can trust the show will treat them with respect. It's such wonderful and also a relief as a viewer. 

Yikes. I was thinking why is he cooperating with the police and then he started to run, lol. Again. Love this building. Feels like a real art school.

Is this cop or whatever kind of bad guy driving product placement car? That would be hilarious and... something. 

Oh, probably not the bad guy actually. Probably the artists friend rescuing him. It's still hilarious to see him getting handcuffed against the sponsors car. 

God I love all these sets! 

Oh wait, that's the artist himself. I forgot what he looked like. And that he had the cop ID card.

Yok you flirt. First's smile is dangerous. But Yok, why are you carrying this man's wallet around with you? Have you been waiting for this very scenario to arise? 

Hmm. How are they going to handle this cop romance?  I was kinda thinking the ID card was fake. 

I'm not so sure about this other guy yet, but First can probably carry their chemistry on his own. His smile! My god. 

Yok, you flirt!  "Of course you can paint me…” I had to stop and make my terrible gif. 

Ok, maybe this INAR actor can keep up.

Halfway through and it seems the romance arcs are starting in earnest. I am pleased with this pacing I think. 

I was gonna go to bed but now I gotta see what happens now that Sean pushed his way into White as Black's room. 

Also the way Sean (nervously?) fixed his hair though the peephole was adorable. 

Episode 8 

I love the physicality of all the characters in this. They feel like real people. The way they were slouching on the couch last episode so their jackets rode up. So real. Like I feel like I went to college with these dudes at moments like that. 

This scene! The soft warm lighting. The blocking floor bed floor etc. the way they're looking at each other. The way White listens. That story. 

Ack so much adorable. The head bonk 🥺 the trust fall

There's content and awww here and I don't know what to write about first because the aww is so cute. And such a relief. The first real softness between them. 

Oh but the lying. I'm guessing White doesn't even remember he's lying right now. He means it that he wants to trust and be trusted. But it's kind of ironic considering. Will Sean be mad when I finds out Will it be addressed? I'm somewhat hopeful yes.

Although that last line sounds manipulative so I don't know what to think...

And again all I can say is:

This scene. Tears charcoal intimacy the closeups on their faces so much of the time. Inar actor you've got me convinced. The flirting to start that turns so quickly to intimacy. Yes that makes so much sense he would cry being vulnerable like that to this man of all people. Yok's reaction? To draw first and then comfort without asking questions? I'm very curious about where this regretful cop story will go. 

Everybody's spying on everybody. Which is stressful in an activist setting.  But fits the enemies to lovers with several twists thing going on.  So I don't feel bothered. 

Honestly I  think simply connecting them to a broader activist community though the rally eased all my anxieties. I don't know if my objections have been/will be solved but I feel better.

Oh yeah, I forgot about my glasses related questions. How had he been seeing this whole time? They never show him putting in contacts, he just removes the glasses and goes. Does he have a very mild prescription? Are the just for fashion? Has he just not been able to see much (seems unlikely). 

But anyways, Sean is about to figure something out, we'll see how much...

Lol, ten seconds later there's a contact lens case.

Ok but he took his advice and is trying to bite himself out of those ropes. 🤣

Oh hello mic pack holder. But I honestly do appreciate the actors' commitment to physicality. In this case squirming around on the bed. 

They are starting to get sexy together and I like it. I really appreciate the slow development of their chemistry actually. Immediate BAM! is fun,  but this fits better for them and their story and is nicely nuanced. 

Ooh I love the recall to the first day with him now unthinkingly jumping this same wall. 

Dudes. You or someone else should have made a plan for how to protest this lecture. It doesn't even need to have been a good one. But there was this whole street of organizers? And apparently Tawi is the Jeff Bezos of this version of Thailand? So someone would have tried to organize a protest, right? Thai organizing can't be that different, even with a different culture around respect? Or maybe it is???

Like I get this shows Sean's passion and anger but...

Oh forgot their last interaction was Sean leaving White-as-Black tied up. 

This really is Only One Bed: The Series. How many different places can she conspire to have them sleep together. 

Episode 9

Sex scene tender sweet and hot. Consent communication can be very sexy omg. 

This feels very different from any BL sex scene I've seen yet. More real somehow? Why? The intimacy of the tent? The way the are communicating? Maybe because White's anxiety is not about sex but about being intimate while lying about who he is. The hands! The ear bite! Maybe because I haven't seen a bl sex scene get that montage/time lapse editing yet. It was a wonderful way to make it feel like they weren't just fading to black while still not showing a lot. (Which I guess why it's commonly used technique in other film industries lol.)

Did Black wake up because his twin was fucking? I'm not even sure what to think about that. And were the tears his own or transference from White?

That heartbeat convo and the little kiss. It felt so genuinely post coital. 

They seem to be transforming from enemies into softest boyfriends ever. Which I think I'm good with.

It felt rushed in a way but then also it didn't. Like there was all this under the surface that suddenly was ready to emerge. 

I love how they got a scene with the gayest bridge but it was actually about the decaying pier. Perfect. Although I'm disproportionately annoyed by the impossible leaps. 

I'm anxious about this cop boyfriend thing. Which side of the storytelling will win out, bl's hea or activism's acab? Why was he there to rescue Yok?

Ok. Yok may be falling for the dude but at least he's being smart about not revealing their work. 

Return sad poignet (probably I meant poignant? I don’t know what I was trying to say though.) amazing acting Gun. The grief of your long lost dead brother staying closed off to you ...

De transformation. Give me my phone. (I have no idea what this comment was supposed to mean.)

Called it! about shady Todd. 

And that was all the notes I took. After episode 9 I think I was too overwhelmed by the show and my thoughts about it to write down my reactions.

[littlecornerinbrooklyn]

subscribe to my substack

[gugf]

My sincere message to dear media:

If it really was a war on nationalism, it would've been a civil war.

If it really was a war on nationalism, it would've been a civil war.

If it really was a war on nationalism, it would've been a civil war.

[7loveneverfails]

I have noticed that people with liberal and progressive mindsets and beliefs are generally confused that anyone is conservative. I think in part that's because it's portrayed so inaccurately in the media and culture.

I think that's why so many people I talk to about politics are so hostile and quickly start responding to things I didn't say and don't believe. They aren't actually arguing with me, they are arguing with a Conservative as portrayed in the media.

I don't see the same level of disconnect the other way. Especially with the Trump stuff. I know exactly what they think about specific incidents and how they are incorrect and how those inaccurate believes impact how they view other events.

[happyroadkillart]

[inqilabi]

girl the thing you said about rape being not natural even though human males do it the same way animal males do, because humans are special and control their environment is stupid. when we were animals, when we were not modern homo sapiens do you think at some point of evolving into humans we just forgot how to rape? it just went out of our minds for a hundred thousand years? the distinction between animal and human is arbitrary, we are not that different.

If the distinction between animal and human is arbitrary, and we are simply a continuation of animal then why don't non-human animals develop the planet - create spaceships to explore other planets or can articulate how our world or universe came about? Why dont we see orcas which are by far the most intelligent mammal with complex language capabilities similar to humans, do that? Why are we the only species that can do that?

Evolution happens over millions of years, so yes you can easily evolve out of behaviors or as you put it "forget to rape" because it happens over millions of years. There's absolutely traits that "went out of our minds for a hundred thousands of years". Knuckle walking, completely gone. Being a good climber, completely gone - you have to develop this. And if you believe that rape is a biological trait, it should actually be relatively easily to believe that it can be evolved out in a species based on the environment since that's exactly how evolutionary biology works.

And not all non-human primates living even today rape. Like bonobo, one of our closest living relative, has never had an observed case of male sexual coercion. In fact, in their culture females dominate cultural relations and networks, and males grow up in this "culture' and observe and therefore learn, that they will have more mating success with grooming strategies rather than aggression. And they actually apparently get mating success by gaining support from these female networks.

And the natural experiment example of Robert Sapolsky's forest baboon troop, which DID have sexual coercion in their culture, but did not after the aggressive males all died out from eating contaminated food. In the following years, the troop developed a culture that was cooperative and they retained this culture going forward. There was no reappearance if sexual aggression thereafter.

And lastly, PR Sanday studied some 95 "primitive" cultures in society and found that 50%, half of were rape-free. These still exist today.

In all the above examples, there's a common theme of sociability for survival. This is what I was saying previously, human evolution is unique in that tool development, led to bigger brains dedicated to language and social function. Homo sapien evolution is even unique compared to other hominids in that unlike all other hominids, homo sapiens was not restricted to limited range of environment. It's both these things together that make humans unique. Early homo sapiens would have been bands of 20-30 people working together, splitting labour, cooperating, talking things through, analyzing things together to adapt to life anywhere. It's hard to imagine rape in these circumstances when rape doesn't exist in cultures and societies even today, where cooperation is required for survival.

Regardless, this a philosophical debate since we don't have evidence of whether rape was common or not prior to 10000 years ago. The only evidence we have is what i presented above, the non-human primates and ethnographic study of some cultures today. Your argument relies on the logic that since rape is biological and present in animals, it would be preserved in human evolution. I disagree with this logic, I think human evolution required this behaviour to be specifically 'evolved out' in order to survive. And it does not reappear until 10,000 years ago. And I still believe that regardless how we start, whether men are predisposed to rape biologically or not, we would be able to eliminate this when we women seize reproductive forces and address women's oppression materially. So ultimately it is possible to end it via a cultural evolution regardless of how we start. This we have plenty of examples of - i gave GDR & Long Bow as examples already of a primordial form of this. We saw lots of changes there and that wasn't even a full seizure of reproductive forces, it was only small material redistribution of resources to women that significantly reduced women's oppression.

But are you able to explain why in non-human primates and even human societies we have examples of no sexual coercion. Yes these are a small percentage because of the general and increasing development of society towards patriarchy, which would lead us to hypothesize that its likely that these rape-free cultures were more prevalent in the past prior to patriarchy. But if you believe that rape is a biological aspect, then why do these cultures not have rape. They should - since its a biological feature of evolutionary development, it should be pervasive no?

[rat-rambles]

Let me put it this way trump will kill more people than Biden. There both bad but if you have to let our a murder you do the one with the lower kill count. I'm pro less people dieing via the US govement and you should be to.

[poetlou]

T.o.t.d.

T.o.t.d.Topic of the day  I have always avoided religious and political  topics because I don’t know enough about either one , but I have to vent my feelings and thoughts .  Trumpeter the Racketeer is the modern day Pied Piper who will lead this country into a civil or World war and the Republicans will follow him as the rats followed the Piper to their  destruction.  As the Piper did not get…

[i-am-trans-gwender]

The best part about a Bug's Life is that it's mainly a lighthearted comedy about an ant who accidentally hires circus bugs to protect his colony. But whenever Hopper enters the screen it becomes a political thriller.

[pseudonymousposting]

There is no such thing as "hate speech" against a fascist

Say that again with me

There is no such thing as "hate speech" against a fascist

[forthegoodofamerica]

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[problemnyatic]

"I think this Category of human being is disposable" okay that not only sucks and is fascist but also makes getting you to deem someone to be disposable a simple matter of convincing you they're in The Category regardless of the truth. Also The Category is often misapplied to a vulnerable minority because it makes people like you agree they're disposable.

"Anyone who disagrees with me about The Category of people being disposable is a Category apologist or probably also in The Category themselves" Oh so you're just totally unconcerned with truth or justice or ethics or human rights and just are feeding your bloodlust for the sake of revenge fantasies. got it 👍