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evanwritesgames · 10 months

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On Ideology and Practicality in the Age of Grift

I'm probably not going to be a successful independent creator. And there's lots of reasons for this that are beyond my control. We often talk, amongst ourselves, about those reasons. External factors like what artists are paid are situations we'd like to change, but require a lot more than one person's pushing to get it done. So we can safely say it's beyond a single creator's control and we can commiserate about this when we need to, raise awareness, and write primers that tell people about these problems.

This is all good. When you go from there to factors you can control, things get dicier. Ideology, which drives the discourse about uncontrollable external shit, falls by the wayside and convictions suddenly become a lot more flexible. This is about practicality. One must be practical if one is to survive a capitalist dystopia. You won't hear any argument from me about that idea, not in the abstract. I get it. I was raised pretty poor by Canadian white people standards and I know what it's like to wonder where my next meal is coming from, where my mom disappeared off to while looking after a younger sibling, be bullied for wearing hand-me-downs, etc.

As a younger adult, poverty was a badge of honor for a certain type of person and because of economic shifts, the brunt of which are still being born by my generation, being poor in your 20s was no longer a thing you hid because you hate to be pitied, or a cynical yuppie aesthetic, but a norm. Most of my friends were paycheck to paycheck and we knew people who weren't and those were the people who usually threw the parties, hosting their legions of friends who didn't have rich parents buying them a college house in a bear market, providing an "alcohol budget" weekly (this was a common thing, believe it or not), etc. A lot of those more privileged people kept on receiving privilege and not all of them, unfortunately, stayed or became aware of it and sensitive to its absence in others as it became very clear that millennials, at least, are a semi-deliberately impoverished cohort.

Anyway. There are a lot of good reasons to be ethically flexible, ideologically practical, in today's world. But for me, there are limits and they aren't gentle.

For example, I quit Facebook when I found out about Cambridge Analytica. No one else I knew did. I quit Reddit during the Trump years when fascist, racist subreddits were front page and suddenly filled to the brim with angry idiots and the far larger number of young kids being influenced by them. I quit Twitter when Musk bought it and made it a safe space for murderers, fascists, and bigots.

I am sure that, before long, something will happen with Tumblr and I'll say "there it is, that funny feeling". I'll quit, eventually feeling less horrified and more frustrated and angry about sacrificing yet more fragile reach in this vicious online circus. After that, I'll note that my peers ignore the problem and suspend their convictions, if they have any, in favor of something else. A different priority.

Using any of these social media is, in my opinion, a moral hazard. It's worse if you make money through that use, because suddenly you've got blood on your hands. Real blood. Dead people. Unintended consequences. You're probably reading this and something deep inside you is just recoiling from this idea. You do NOT want to be responsible for the unintended consequences of your actions. Who would?

And you or someone else will be tempted to view the above as more shit you can't control. But this isn't really true, is it? You can quit social media, it's just that in doing so you have to say goodbye to what precious little control you have in an Age of Grift. You tell yourself that it's okay, that there's no ethical consumption under griftopia and you'll just consider yourself a fighter by other means.

All of that is fine, too, I guess. It's not really my business to judge the decisions of others except, of course, that's not true either. We all judge each others' decisions all the fucking time. That's what social media, deep in its black heart, really is. It's a social control mechanism that runs on judgment. We've come up with all kinds of euphemisms for this, but it's mostly claptrap that easily reduces to simple monkey logic, playground politics, etc.

So if you feel judged by what I'm saying, I guess that's too bad. Scroll on to the next thing that makes you feel judged and hope the judgment is kind, that the judgment is more like "you are cool if you get this reference" and you can say, "I get this reference" and receive a small dopamine hit for your time.

In spite of my pontificating, I get it. I ask myself every single day if I'm just kidding myself taking these ideological positions that shoot me in both feet. I have made things a lot harder for myself by quitting these spaces, by taking these positions, and by shouting this message from the rooftops -- occasionally, when I'm not busy having a mood spiral or panic attack over the state of things and how, like it or not, we need each other to make things change and when you look around and everybody's eyes are still on the capitalist prize they tweet about despising, you don't feel very revolutionary. I will probably not be a successful independent creator.

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theliterarywolf · 2 years

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1/2 Not seen the vid. I think the biggest problem with Millie is that, while she is clearly her own character, everything she does is kinda focused around the other characters. Yeah she's the strong character, but she's also a bit of the "Mom" character. She's the leader when the leader isn't there. She's the one who makes a plan when the others fail. She's the support when someone around her feels bad. She's the most competent of all of them. But she's too "perfect", she's happy, she doesn't

Anonymous asked: 2/2 have the same obvious issues as the rest of them. Even with the Looloo land "My family didn't have money" thing, it wasn't a flaw with HER it was an issue with her family. If we go with the AtLA analogy, she's like Toph and Katara combined. Which makes it that her flaws would be tied to other characters, but because of her role those are hidden or suppressed, because she's always seen around those who got it worse. (It's like the Toph v Katara thing cancel out certain flaws of each trope)

You know what all this Millie discussion has brought to mind?

The Applejack/Lagoona Problem.

For those not in the know, it was a narrative issue noticed by people who follow 'toyetic' media, but I think it is applicable here.

Essentially, it can be boiled down to: when a piece of media has a sizable ensemble main cast and you make one member of said cast the quintessential 'mature, competent, supportive' role, you immediately stifle any potential growth/development for said character.

Looking over to MLP: FiM, you had Twilight needing to learn about friendship and then needing to learn how to be a good princess; Rainbow Dash's whole arc being starting out as a boastful braggart and then growing into a mature mentor-figure for the Wonderbolts; Rarity's arc was trying to lift herself up from her 'lowly' Ponyville beginnings to rub shoulders with the elite while still never forgetting where she came from; Fluttershy was a neverending cycle of learning confidence; and Pinkie Pie has to learn how balance growing up with keeping her zany, partying nature.

Applejack was honest. Applejack had her farm. Had her family. Applejack was there to be a support to her friends.

That's. It. Not many stories you can write around a character who is already developed and has already achieved her goals. Hell, we all laugh at the end of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 episode where Applejack's letter to Celestia is basically 'I didn't learn SHIT! I was right all along: hard work and honesty, baybee...!', but that's more or less the problem with having a character like Applejack.

Switch over to Monster High. Frankie Stein's whole arc was trying to make friends and eventually becoming the ambassador of Monster High. Draculaura's arc was trying to establish her own sense of identity as Dracula's adopted daughter while also struggling with stunted development as a result of her being vegan. Clawdeen's arc was her trying to establish herself in a fashion-career right out of high school to try and stand out from her older siblings while being a role model for her younger sibling. Cleo de Nile's arc was about her learning to stand up for herself and her boyfriend in the face of her conniving older sister and her abusive father.

Lagoona is kind. She's there to tell Frankie to love who she is. She's an athlete.

That's. It. Oh, wait, there's also the 'my boyfriend's parents are racist' aspect of her character, but that's not something that can be developed. That's just a circumstance. Which is probably why Lagoona didn't get her own movie until Great Scarrier Reef, and the less we say about Great Scarrier Reef, the better.

The main reason I bring up the Applejack/Lagoona Problem is because of what you said in your initial ask: 'But she's too "perfect", she's happy, she doesn't have the same obvious issues as the rest of them'.

I think it's something that's good to keep in mind in regards to writing. Because no one will say that these characters and characters like them aren't well-loved. It's just that they don't get the opportunities to shine and grow because it feels like creators buff them to a polish straight from the get-go and wonder why audiences start taking them for granted.

Though, at the end of this, I'd argue that at least Katara had the character growth of needing to overcome her resentment towards Zuko and the Fire Nation. We even saw the contrast of what happens when someone can mature and grow with that kind of trauma versus someone letting it fester and take over their life in an unhealthy way via the Blood-Bending episode.

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blackforrestpunk · 1 month

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Party Hard with AuDHD

Yesterday I went to our company's spring party. The company itself has 11 sub-companies and a total of over 1000 employees. About 700 were present at the party. Some of my work colleagues, the younger ones, greeted me warmly as always and invited me to their table. The younger members of my team are queer or POC, I don't know if it's because of that or because of age, but I felt very comfortable around them. They kept asking me how long my vacation would last. And that I would be missing after just 2 days. I thought that was really sweet. There was beer. Radler. Wine. Since I had taken my ADHD medication - Elvanse, in the morning, I stuck with Radler in the evening. I'm still not good at assessing the effects of the medication, so I played it safe. What can 10 Radler do to you. On an empty stomach. Spoiler: I stayed sober. Damn.

The others in my team, some of whom are around my age or older. Are simply different. I keep realizing how this generation has grown up with patriarchal structures, homophobia and racist expressions. Most of them, at least I assume, don't even mean any harm. Because they're used to it, and they think it's “funny”. I, on the other hand, just find it exhausting. And if I could, and if the work context would allow it, I would have less to do with these people. It was one of the few evenings where I realized that I simply don't belong in such social events. Not because I'm a better person. No. Simply because I don't fit in. Never have fitted in.

I used to be the guy who used to party really hard at these events. I was the guy who played beer pong, strip poker or whatever with you. I built towers with shot glasses or made things with beer mats. I was everywhere and nowhere. I was completely burnt out the next day. Overloaded. Still had some alcohol left in me. I was always in a bad mood the days after. I argued on purpose just to dump the bad energy. Just to get dopamine somehow. Now, 1 year of therapy and 2 important life-changing diagnoses later, I know: I treated myself so badly at parties like that because I wouldn't have got through it in any other way. And to be honest, I don't need that anymore. The party, and the non-effects of alcohol, have shown me that I simply don't need it anymore.

I heard everything at the same time, concentrating on conversations was so exhausting. The stupid penis jokes of my older work colleagues were just exhausting and at the level of my secondary school days. In the village. Somewhere in the forest. I didn't feel safe or comfortable all the time. I smoked, although I no longer smoke. I drank 10 Radler that didn't get me drunk. Apparently Elvanse has the property of making alcohol work differently, sometimes worse. Which of course doesn't erase the blood alcohol level. The effect is simply different. At the end of the evening, I had a little shutdown in the back seat of the car for a few minutes. We were sitting in the back seat with 3 of us unbuckled. We were speeding down the highway at 120 km/h just to get a work colleague to the train station who was drunk as a skunk.

What did I take away from it? I no longer go to such events. And when I do go, I go with the younger ones. They don't get so disgusting with alcohol. And maybe I'll drive by myself and can go when I want. I'll wait quite a while to share my new name. Even though it stings every time I hear my dead name. Sometimes I admire the old me because I just didn't find it as stressful back then as it was for me in the end. If there are any autistic people with ADHD here, do you have any tips on how I can avoid this next time? Do you simply cancel such appointments as a rule? Do your coworkers know about your diagnoses? Mine don't and I still don't know whether that's good or bad. I would really appreciate an exchange or tips.

#autism #adhd #audhd #elvanse #party #shutdown #meltdown #alcohol #nonbinary #queer

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freesidexjunkie · 5 months

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I'm gonna get political for a second abt the election so if you don't wanna read it pls just skip, I get it and I don't care

But I feel like this election is going to be a disaster and could very well be what does us in. Biden supports genocide, the Democratic Party cares about nothing but getting votes and consolidating power. I agree. I am very much in agreement and I will never stop speaking out against them for that.

But like literally everyone has said at this point: Trump is so much worse. He will actively relish in supporting genocide. He has admitted to wanting to overthrow the government and set himself up as the only person with power. He will be so infinitely worse for everyone.

I'm not saying anyone should blindly support Biden or democrats, because they are being horrendous and we should hold them accountable for their actions. But it feels like no one remembers 2016 anymore. Hillary was a terrible and very weak candidate, but the DNC shoehorned her in anyways. We knew we didn't want Trump but we split those votes between her and multiple third party candidates anyways. We wanted so badly to affect change but we couldn't get on the same page, and we rolled out the red carpet for four of the worst years most of our generation has lived through.

What scares me even more is the piss poor job of campaigning Biden is doing. Last year (or the year before?) in Virginia, we held elections for governor. Our incumbent was a Democratic candidate who was a really shit candidate; he was in hot water over racist shit surfacing from college and he really didn't seem to do too much as governor. He got shoehorned in as the candidate anyways, running against a very pro-Trump, MAGA aligned Republican. The incumbent's entire campaign hitched on nothing more than "we can't let the other guy win!" They got complacent assuming that, in the aftermath of 2016, no one would risk letting another candidate like that win. The Republican candidate, however, campaigned like crazy and promised fantastical things to his supporters. It's not hard to guess who won. The new governor has come after our education system hard, trying to wipe out anything he doesn't like from the curriculum and trying to make the state's schools less safe for LGBT students. Our incumbent was a weak candidate, yes, but he wasn't actively harming us in these ways.

Biden is setting his campaign up the exact same way, and I feel like I'm watching the sequel to a shitty movie I didn't wanna see the first time. He's not going to do the hard work of actually convincing us that he is a good candidate. And that's sad, because he has actually made some quality-of-life achievements in his presidency before this. He could campaign on those. He could listen to his constituents about Palestine. But he's not going to, because the Democratic Party thinks bashing Trump is a viable campaign strategy.

The other side of this election is unified and passionate. I am terrified of what will happen if Trump wins. I am terrified that the entire country will never be a safe place again. I am terrified that he won't let us vote him out again in four years. I am terrified that our collective "that could never happen here" attitude is what's going to doom us all.

My main point is: keep fighting against genocide. Keep fighting against injustice and corrupt politicians and power seeking party behavior. But please, for the love of everything that matters, don't make it harder by letting Trump take power again.

#politics #u.s. politics #us politics #us elections #u.s. elections #2024 elections

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ehbunnehsblog · 3 years

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So I am gonna be putting a compilation of parts of the PPG script here and mind you I have never seen the original so I can't comment on a lot but yes I might criticize some parts cause this is so bad. So first off as you can tell drugs are going to be involved in this because if you want an adult show ya need drugs kids fuck just fighting some bad guys let's make a show that was about kids now talk about drugs and be controversial just like if they were a Disney star.

Here is a good one right here like wtf does this even mean? Buttercup was straight I believe in the original and I get they made her to be lesbian which is fine but it feels like a slap in the face to the original like how tf was Craig supposed to know she was actually lesbian??? Lmfao! I can just see them in a dark room while she says this. Like I get how this fits the show but while it does it also is a slap in the face to the original.

Remind you that in the original these girls were kids. Imma say it now I am sex positive I am weed positive if you do that hey whatever that's great but I hate how these shows have to add sex and drugs and partying in. You know those relatable tweets people see online? That's the vibes I am getting it's trying way to hard to sound relatble and to be raunchy but like barely anyone would actually talk like this. Shows don't have to have sex, drugs or partying to be adult but CW here thinks this is what it is but hey they are just from Hollywood so of course they probably wouldn't know what people that aren't from there are actually like.

Let's tackle the first one first okay. Why are they making characters who were young before so oversexulized it's so weird and now the second part WHY TF WOULD YOU EVEN PUT THAT IN THERE???? Sorry but this is so bad who the hell wrote this who needed that? Really who needed to have that part? Sorry but it gets worse but all of these write like a 15 year old writing fanfic but these got taken down so this is most likely real and if it is that person should probably be fired. If people wanna make a remake they should know what the fans want but it feels like they didn't. We couldn't save Winx club from being destroyed so hopefully we can save this one.

Ughhh honestly that's all NEXT!

Oh god of course let's put in politics because people aren't miserable enough. Honestly as someone who likes shows, movies etc. I can watch a movie with politics but I also like watching them to get away from politics. I am sick of politics and I assume PPG was so sweet where people watch it to get away from politics.

This looks like something the Onion would write like this part would be good if it wasn't about PPG.

Whyyyy omg okay heres the thing on the internet this is fine but in a show this is gonna age terribly like don't make Harambe jokes or any memes pretty sure Harambe is an old meme anyways so it already aged badly. Look at Bubbles and her white self talking about whitewashing even though she is white and Buttercup was white in the cartoon but oh no Craig is wrong and he actually is the bad guy who whitewashed fuck off CW you aren't better you must be jealous people would prefer to watch something that's actually good than whatever this crap is. Also the black people I have talked to hate how they made Buttercup why? Because of stereotypes they made the aggressive one black. They say they wanna be diverse but than look racist. Also another stereotype is that if you are a tomboy you must like girls so they made Buttercup have two stereotypes which btw it's fine to be a tomboy and like girls but it's a big stereotype that if you are a tomboy whether you like girls, guys, both, neither etc you must be a lesbian which isn't always true.

Sorry for the amount of swearing but this writing is awful and just all of it needs to be thrown out and CW needs to stop and fire these people. I get that Y2K is very popular but this isn't what people asked for or wanted and if they wanna bring back an old and beloved show this isn't how you do it. Idk what they did but they really should have talked to fans of the series or just made a cutesy and girly remake. Idk why and I talked about this in my last PPG post but CW must really dislike feminine and girly things feminine and girly things are usually seen as less and aren't always appreciated as much as more masculine things and don't get me wrong some of those feminine things suck but seeing it from a company feels worse because it's actually making the change that feminine and girly can't be a thing and than they make it all about sex, drugs and partying and very adult and heres the thing I am 19 almost 20 and I might be too old to others to like girly things and cutesy shows maybe but it's fine to be older and like to like more feminine, girly and cutesy things. This script definitely makes me want to watch the original.

☆If you liked this post pls give it a like and follow me I post a lot of stuff about nostalgia☆

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toomuchbroadwayquotes · 4 years

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This might be ignored,its a long read, but if you want to have your forces restored on feminism my dead feminists i really wanted to share something that is making me tear up every 5 seconds.

As some of you might now, in my country (Brasil) we currently have a situation where our "president" is a misogynist (said he had a bunch of boys, they he went weak and have a daughter that's a "small" example for yall), homophobic ( said he would beat the gay out of his son if he ever "got it"), racist ( talking about killing native Indians and saying slaverism was a choice yadayada) anyways, just a piece of crap, we call him Bozo, like the clown. Well ever since his election we have been feeling so down (I'm sure my American friends can share the feeling). We are the country that kills more transexual people on the world. And it's not even illegal here, that would put into perspective. So, all this are real, serious problems, but bear with me as I get I little... naive maybe?. Well we had 20 seasons of BigBrother over here (Or BBB, Adding the Brasil at the end) and the show is on "the liberals tv channel, all the conservatives try to boycott it yadda yadda ") . But this season is just a gem. I feel like a revolution is happening and (I'm crying rn) I can't even put into words. Its gonna sound ridiculous, but you have to understand that 1) TV is a huge part of our culture, and is 100% connected with politics for us. 2)This show has been silencing woman, making men do anything they want without consequences and put woman as simple objects for their enjoyment. And somehow every year we wouldcomplain about how that was the reflection of our country. Something like this year edition NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.

Our LGBT movies, Theather and books are being censoreds right now. Our country is on the verge of becoming a conservative doom.

The secretary of health system said :abstinence of sex is the best way to avoid DSTs and pregnancies. THATS HOW DEEP IN SHIT WE ARE. And we feel voiceless. Is like they are the majority you know?

Is like, you know when Katniss made every distric rebel by leading an example on the hunger games? Is THAT KIND OF SHIT. So, firsts things first:

I will introduce you the leaders of our current feminist movement

First, Thelma, she is not just ya regular powerful black queen. She is a doctor, with a bunch of degrees on stuff I can't even pronounce,she is specialized on anesthesia and she is a resident like those bad ass ones in grey's anatomy. She she is A BOSS. She is strong, and even though she is not 100% familiar with the feminism in "theory" she lives it in practice with out even knowing it ( now she knows, cause the other two are teaching her!) I want to make clear that on this reality show, the majority of the public has always been racist, and black people normally are eliminated first, yes it sucks and is one of the reasons I stopped watching a long time ago, as most of us millenials, but thank God we came back. She isn't going ANYWHERE CUZ WE ARE NOT LETTING THAT HAPPEN.

The second one is Marcela, every since the first we saw her she said loud and clear:I AM A FEMINIST, she is also a Doctor. She calls her self doctor unicorn, she is an OB/GYN and choose her career because she wanted to fully support her transexual brother /yess/, she is also expert on female sexuality and give classes about it, think Carina Deluca. She also takes care of sexual abuse victims. Oh yeah, she is bisexual as well. And everyone is shipping her with the next one btw.

Now our last warrior: Gizelly, She is a Lawyer, and she advocates for woman, she has suffered all the types of abuse from her ex husband and after all the trauma, she decided no one would do that to her again. Feminist, we call her the hurricane, she just shoots fire and defends any woman that is being belittled.

What happened was, some guys decided they would "seduce"any woman who was in a relationship outside the reality show, so they would look bad, and be eliminated easily. Wellx those 3 heard that, and they just couldn't get quiet. They went and tell all the girls about it. Some of them didn't believe them, the guys said they were CRAZY, and were LYING (what a shock)

The confrontation scene:

So one of them said: If I am lying, I will be eliminated this round. If I'm back, then you are the lier. So, regular reality show stuff right?

Here are some things you should know: Marcela, the leader ( as she was the one with the initiatives) was anonymous when she first got on the show, and 13 days later, she had 2 MILLION FOLLOWERS. Every feminist, every LGBT+ and ally on this country just woke up ya know?. We were all mad as hell that they were being treated as liars, but, and that's a HUGE but, the guy mentioned earlier was against one that was even worse. He was touching inappropriately the girls while they were completely DRUNK at the parties ( they wouldn't remember later), he was the one who actually made said plan mentioned before, but they didn't knew at the house because he was a completely different person when he was alone with the guys. A complete scumbag, he mocked and made fun of every woman on the house because of their looks etc. Sooo, all those millions of feminists watching were like : "do we take the biggest jerk and make the girls think we think they are lying or ?" Well, we decided to take the bigger toxic monster first, and left the other one for the next. But we had a special card. Every year, after the show starts, they put a glass house in the middle of a mall, with 4 candidates inside, we vote for 2 of them to be on the actual show yada yada. What happened was:people started showing off by the mall, with posters, begging for whomever got in the house to :"PLEASE TELL THE GIRLS EVERYONE BELIEVE THEM. THAT THEY ARE NOT LYING. THAT THEY HAVE MILLIONS OF SUPPORTERS. THAT HE ONLY CAME BACK BECAUSE THE OTHER WAS WORSE ETC"

So, last night was elimination day, the worst one got out with 80% elimination A victory for us (there were 4 people on this run, and one of them is a Black guy, fat, older than everyone else, and by history, he would obviously be the first eliminated but he was the one with LESS VOTES. AGAIN THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED IN OUR COUNTRY SPECIALLY SINC THE FOURTH PERSON COMPETING IS A CARISMATIC YOUNG KOREAN MAGICIAN YOUTUBER WITH A NETWORTH OF MILLIONS, BUT THE BLACK GUY WAS LESS VOTED THAN HIM, GUYS I CAN'T STOP WRITING IN CAPS.The second worst one tho, comeback celebrating, saying he knew he was right. Singing victory. The girls were crashed. No one understood and they all started crying and talking about how it was a reflection of our country, but that they wouldn't change their ideals etc. (Again, they didn't knew everything trash bag number one did, cuz he did it in secret so they thought it was an answer)... well, 2am, the couple from the glass house got in. And they told them. They said everything. How the public loves them, and the why the other one got out first, and how we knew they were saying the truth. This part is just a sweet ending for y'all. They then proceeded to get all the woman in one bedroom and talked and talked, they even explained to the ones who had some deep patriarchal mindset and were believing the boys up until that point, they had conversations about feminism, about not accepting to be treated that way, they cried, they were so relieved, it's silly because is a reality show, but last night everyone felt like we were supported. Like, people got our backs! People agree that we wont take that bullshit anymore. In other editions those guys would be the handsome guys that all the girls would die to be with, you know? But know they are the villains. It happened. The girls are not the crazy ones. They are not the powerless wones. They were the STRONG ONES forming OPINIONS, moving the big pieces on the board.

I can't even talk about how this will impact on many young girls, especially with all those girls having such strong stories you know? Today is a reality show but whatch us on the booting vote! Watch us at the March's. Just watch us. I'm telling y'all. Brasil is gonna turn this shit upside down.

Anyways here is a little clip of when our guardian Angel Dan, told the girls that they should trust Marcela's word

The relief the felt, we all felt. Having your word taken seriously after being called crazy and lier...

( even the production of the show tryied to deny the guys plan was real before the videos started pouring up, and they had to take back after saying on national television that Marcela was lying. Because that was the standard)

#big brother #BBB #Big Brother Brazil #big brother brasil #marcela mc gowan #Feminism #third wave feminism #inclusive feminism #liberal feminism #lgbt+

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xtruss · 3 years

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Interview with Mary Trump

"Donald Is a Fascist and the Republicans Are Trying To Destroy Our Democracy"

In an interview, Mary Trump, the only niece of the former American president, talks about an uncle she describes as dangerous, his enduring power and the growing hate in America.

— Interview Conducted By Marc Pitzke | 08.25.2021

— SPIEGEL International

Mary Trump: "He's literally the weakest person I've ever known." Foto: Sara Naomi Lewkowicz / DER SPIEGEL; Michael Reynolds / Zuma Press / action press

Mary Trump, Donald Trump's only niece, has just finished a talk show appearance by video chat from her kitchen. She's sitting in the library of her apartment building, trying to relax. The ceiling-high shelves behind her are filled with carefully curated coffee table books. Through the wall of windows, one can see Manhattan's thick traffic below.

Trump, however, seems irritated. "This was the first time I've been treated badly in an interview," she says.

She had just appeared on "The View," a popular morning chat show, where they discussed politics, the pandemic and racism. Yet one co-host checked out of the conversation without even greeting her: Meghan McCain, daughter of the late senator John McCain, who had been reviled and insulted by Donald Trump even as he went to his grave.

The younger McCain is famous – infamous – for her own conservative tirades. After the show with Mary Trump, she tweeted: "There is no 'good' Trump family member to me."

And there it is, Mary Trump's burden: her last name.

She will be forever linked to her uncle, his lies, is hubris, his incompetence, his autocratic tendencies – and the damaging fallout from his one term as president.

Last year, the psychologist published her memoirs: "Too Much and Never Enough." The book revealed the horrific family history of the Trumps – and made her a target of Trump fanatics, who still worship the former president. For months, she hardly left the house – because of COVID-19, but also out of fear of being recognized and vilified.

Now Trump, 56, has written a second book, "The Reckoning: America's Trauma and Finding a Way To Heal." It addresses the darkest period of U.S. history, with the nation's enduring racism, and, of course, her uncle.

DER SPIEGEL: Ms. Trump, last summer you called your uncle the world's most dangerous man. Now that he's out of office, do you still feel that way?

Trump: After the election, I was happy for about a minute. I was very relieved, of course, but the number of people who voted for him was just heartbreaking. Seventy-four million! Yes, Joe Biden won. But the Democrats in general didn't win enough. We needed a total repudiation of Donald and his party, and we didn't get one.

DER SPIEGEL: So, you think he still presents a danger?

Trump: We're not out of the woods. It became clear right after the election that he was going to do everything in his power to undermine the legitimacy of the results and that the Republicans were just going to let him do it. For him, losing is not acceptable and winning doesn't mean legitimately winning, it just means getting the win. He knows he didn't win, but I don't believe he knows he lost, either.

DER SPIEGEL: How so?

Trump: He's been trying for two years to steal this election. I don't believe he can wrap his head around the fact that everything he did, all the stops he pulled out, all the stops the Republican Party pulled out for him, haven't worked. So, he's still trying to steal this election.

DER SPIEGEL: Do you see Jan. 6, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol Building, as such an attempt?

Trump: He is very good at finding people weaker than he is, which is shocking because he's literally the weakest person I've ever known. But they're out there obviously, in large numbers. Then, there are people who are much smarter and powerful than he is, who know how to use him. So, it's a very dangerous combination. Were there people around him who knew that it could very possibly lead to that moment? Absolutely. Was he completely willing and comfortable to take advantage of the situation and make it worse for his benefit? Absolutely.

DER SPIEGEL: Do you think he welcomed what he saw on Jan. 6?

Trump: Oh, my gosh, yeah. It was probably one of the best days of his life. The worse it got, the happier he was. It wasn't an accident when he told the mob that if he wasn't granted the victory, it was Mike Pence's fault. So, should we be surprised that people were running around with nooses wanting to string Mike Pence up? It would have been perfectly fine with him. Absolutely. The only thing he probably regrets about that is that there wasn't more violence.

DER SPIEGEL: What went through your mind that day?

Trump: I hadn't listened to his speech beforehand, because I've tried whenever possible not to listen to him or look at him, because I don't care what he has to say. At first, like everybody else, I found it really hard to know what precisely was going on. It just looked like a mess. The first word that came to mind was tawdry. But then it became obvious to me that it was much worse than that. This is our Capitol! This is the center of – well, I don't like to say American democracy, because I don't think America has ever completely been a democracy like we aspire to be.

DER SPIEGEL: Do you think he will run again in 2024?

Trump: I don't know. But because he's being enabled, he sees an opening. He feels the power. He also knows that the only way he stays out of legal trouble is to get back into power.

DER SPIEGEL: Does it weigh on you to be so personally connected to his world? In your new book you reveal that in 2017, a few months after your uncle's inauguration, you went into inpatient treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. What happened?

Trump: I just remember feeling so out of control. I remember spinning out and didn't know how to stop. I lived in a very Republican town then, so I was really isolated. For the first time in my life, I lost friends because of an election, and I knew I needed to do something. But despite the fact that I'm a psychologist, I didn't know there were treatment programs for that. I knew there were for addictions, but I didn't know there was such a thing for post-traumatic stress.

DER SPIEGEL: Your uncle traumatized half the nation.

Trump: Every once in a while, I think about how this country will be forever stained by what he did. That's really hard. We never recover from that. Maybe in 200 years, but not while I'm alive.

DER SPIEGEL: Don't you think his spell is broken? Joe Biden's policies are pretty popular, and Trump's "Big Lie" hasn't amounted to anything.

Trump: The Democrats don't understand the seriousness of the threat. They are playing by rules in a rulebook that the Republicans lit on fire. There are no rules anymore. They need to start fighting like their lives depend on it. But they're just not willing to do that. There is an unwillingness – also in the U.S. media – to use the kind of language that is accurate and necessary to get people to understand the seriousness of the threat.

DER SPIEGEL: How serious is it?

Trump: Donald is a fascist, and the Republicans are an autocratic, anti-democratic, counter-majoritarian party that would be perfectly happy to establish some kind of apartheid in this country. They are actively trying to destroy our democracy. If they win back the House in 2022, it would be fatal to the American experiment. I wouldn't be surprised if they make Donald, two years before the presidential election, speaker of the house. And then there will never be another Democrat allowed to win an election.

DER SPIEGEL: Do you really believe that?

"The Democrats don't understand the seriousness of the threat. They are playing by rules in a rulebook that the Republicans lit on fire. There are no rules anymore."

Trump: We see it happening already. Last year, there were 155 million presidential votes cast in this country. There have been maybe 36 cases of voter fraud, which is a vanishingly small number. And yet, we've got hundreds of voter suppression laws in place or being pushed by the Republicans. If the Democrats lose the House and/or the Senate in the 2022 midterms, it's over. It is over.

DER SPIEGEL: You don't think the U.S. democracy is resilient?

Trump: The way this country is structured is inherently anti-democratic.

DER SPIEGEL: What do you mean?

Trump: The U.S. Constitution is not a democratic document. For example, we currently have a 50-50 split in the Senate, but the 50 Republican senators represent 40 million less people than the 50 Democratic senators – because the constitution gives every state two senate seats, no matter how populous.

Trump supporters in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6: "It was probably one of the best days of his life. The worse it got, the happier he was." Foto: Shay Horse / NurPhoto / Getty Images

DER SPIEGEL: In your new book, you write: "The ugly history of our country is filled with sordid, barbaric and inhuman acts committed by average citizens which were encouraged or at least condoned by the highest levels of government. To deny this history means to deny our national trauma." That's a devastating judgement – how did you come to that conclusion?

Trump: If there's one thing Americans are very good at, it's perpetuating myths about ourselves.

DER SPIEGEL: For instance?

Trump: One of the most astonishing things this country got away with was portraying itself as a beacon of democracy during World War II, while at the same time an entire population of people was being held in what was essentially a closed, fascist state in the South. Black Americans who served their country came home only to be lynched because they had the audacity to wear the uniform. Part of that is also that people think that the North were the good guys. But a large percentage of Northerners were really racist, too, and perfectly happy to have Blacks freed, but did not want them to have any political power, so they decided that it was more expedient to make common cause with the former Confederates than with the freed men and women.

DER SPIEGEL: Isn't the way of looking at U.S. history changing rapidly?

Trump: The right is doing everything to make sure that Americans continue to stay ignorant about their own history. Imagine if post-World War II Germany hadn't taken the steps that it has taken.

DER SPIEGEL: Not all Germans back then were too excited about that, either.

Trump: That's a good point. It requires the political will. We let people off the hook for flying the Confederate flag because they claim it's just about their Southern history. But they know what it means. It means that they are completely on board with white people owning black people.

DER SPIEGEL: Is the U.S. still a racist country?

Trump: If you're a white adult American, it's almost impossible not to be racist because of the media environment we grow up in, our families or our friends' families, the influences of our education. But when you become an adult, you need to take responsibility for that stuff. If we don't acknowledge it, then it's never going to change. But it's very hard to acknowledge that.

DER SPIEGEL: How much do you blame your uncle for that?

Trump: I blame him for the fact that it's becoming more and more acceptable to be openly racist. What Donald did was prove that racism is a successful platform when you run for office in this country. People like him are out there very openly being racist and white supremacist, and they're getting tens of millions of people to vote for them because either they agree with them or they don't have a problem with it because lower taxes are more important. We're in a really dangerous place.

"The Republicans are an autocratic, anti-democratic, counter-majoritarian party that would be perfectly happy to establish some kind of apartheid in this country."

DER SPIEGEL: Do you also blame him for the disastrous COVID-19 situation here last year?

Trump: That's been one of the worst things for me to deal with. Knowing that your uncle is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people is not a good feeling. That many died in exactly the same circumstances my father did, alone, because my uncle, who could have gone to the hospital to be with my dad, rather went to the movies. So, that's been really, really hard. Because of his incompetence and his cruelty we're still struggling with this. Because of his encouragement of the unvaccinated and his failure to model decent behavior, which he is incapable of doing. It's just a kick in the teeth.

DER SPIEGEL: Wasn't he one of the first to get vaccinated?

Trump: Secretly! Everybody in the family got vaccinated. They're all vaccinated. Imagine how people are going to react when they find out that they've all been betrayed and the people they put their faith in lied to them for political expediency.

DER SPIEGEL: Psychologically, how do you get people to admit they've lived a lie for so long?

Trump: It's hard. I don't hold out hope for most of these people. I really don't.

DER SPIEGEL: That sounds rather pessimistic.

Trump: I am bizarrely a quite optimistic person. Maybe that took a hit over the last couple of years. But I am pretty much an optimist. I haven't given up hope.

DER SPIEGEL: Yet the next Trump generation seems ready. Do you expect your cousin, Donald Jr., or your cousin Ivanka, to run for political office?

Trump: No.

DER SPIEGEL: Why not?

Trump: My uncle is such a buffoon, but he does have charisma. If you met him, for the first 10 seconds you would see it. After that, you would realize that he's a total psychopath, but a lot of people are very susceptible to his kind of charisma. Donald Jr. and Ivanka don't have any of that. They don't survive politically without him. They don't survive in business without him. No, I don't see that. Hopefully, they'll all end up in jail.

DER SPIEGEL: What's next for you?

Trump: My next book will not be about my uncle. I'm taking a break. Never write a book about trauma while you're still being actively traumatized.

DER SPIEGEL: Ms. Trump, we thank you for this interview.

— Mary Trump's latest book, "The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way To Heal," was published in August by St. Martin's Press. The book has also been published in German translation by Heyne Verlag.

— Mary Trump, 56, holds a doctorate in psychology and has known the former president since childhood. Her father Fred Trump, Jr., Donald Trump's older brother, died in 1981. Her first book, "Too Much and Never Enough," about her uncle became a bestseller in the United States in 2020.

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losbella · 4 years

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carcinoaquarium · 7 years

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alright kk, don't say i didn't warn you lmao: Dearest Karkat, I am the anon whom you blessed with that dragon age tangent and i was bettered for it bc that tangent was great. When I played da:i I knew jack-all about the characters and literally only chose to be an elven female bc she had the most romantic options and I was going in thinking 'hell yeah imma romance the first available qunari of the series, you kidding me?' (1/7)

And then i chatted w solas and the literal first 'flirt' option w him is to tell him you aren't going to harass him for being an apostate and that was so /sad/ to think about, like he's so...lonely? Not to mention his greatest fear is dying alone?? Also he was hella intelligent and had interesting conversations and was suave as fuck, and I ended up being like "iron bull who?" and got my hEART RIPPED FROM MY CHEST, OW because solas has gotta be one of my fave villains in media to date. (2/7)

Also loghain, whom I didn't really appreciate until after I'd beheaded him. Whoops. Actually, I'd love to keep talking to you about dragon age?? i haven't been able to chat w a new(ish) fan in ages and these games have such depth. (also, dorian was absolutely my inquisitor's moirail, too, tbh. Although that's technically a romantic relationship, and Dorian is gay...? They're def BFFLs, tho, once Dorian was less racist against elves. Everyone in dai was kinda racist against elves.) (3/7)

Actually, elf Inquisitors kind of got a really fucking short stick in da:i. Not only did all of thedas hate them for being an elf, but there wasn't a single elf in that party that didn't challenge and beat on their religion (which is worse if they weren't already questioning it, as my inquisitor was), and even the people you can date don't seem to comfort you once your entire understanding of the world comes crashing down around your eyes. (4/7) (shit, i might hit the ask limit)

To a lesser extent this happens to the dwarves, too! Like, idk if you played the Descent dlc, but spoiler-free the dwarven religion is kind of picked apart and in the Tresspasser sequel we find out the ancient elves did a lot of shitty subjugating of the dwarven race, and not to mention the qunari are implied to be a race made through scientific genetic SPLICING of human and/or elven genes with fucking /dragons/, and it's like?? Man, give these fantasy races a break. (5/7)

Humans were the only ones who weren't really fucked with, they just kinda showed up from the north and invaded thedas while all that other political stuff was going on. But playing as a human's always seemed so boring to me, lmao. Did you play DA:O and DA2, too? (6/7) I feel like 200% nerd power right now,but the amount of effort and heart bioware put into these games is fascinating and i can't help but love dissecting it. Feel free to respond in private if u don't wanna clog ur blog w DA. (7/7)

YES. LET’S DO THIS. PROBABLY GOING TO BE A LONG REPLY SO I’LL READ MORE THIS SHIT.

ALTHOUGH I ONLY PERSONALLY PLAYED THROUGH ONE ROMANCE I OF COURSE HAD TO WATCH ALL OF THE COMPILATIONS ON YOUTUBE BECAUSE THAT’S JUST THE KIND OF GLUTTON I AM. SO YEAH. I AM FAMILIAR WITH SOLAS’ ROMANCE ARC. AND MAN I HAVE TO SAY YOU HAD TO BE MASOCHISTIC AS HELL TO RIDE THAT ONE OUT AND ENDURE THE MOST HEARTBREAKING OUTCOME OF THEM ALL. BLACKWALL WAS BAD ENOUGH, BUT AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, IT GETS BETTER IF YOU CHOOSE IT TO.

DON’T GET ME WRONG, IT PLAYED OUT BEAUTIFULLY. BUT SADFPSDHFHSDF I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE SEE THAT THROUGH.

AND I SERIOUSLY DID NOT SEE SOLAS’ TURN COMING. IT WAS AMAZING. HE WAS SO CONVINCING THE ENTIRE TIME. JUST THE BOOKISH APOSTATE ELF WHO LIKED TO PAINT MURALS AND FANBOY OVER THE FADE IN IAMBIC PENTAMETER. FUCKING. IAMBIC. PENTAMETER. THAT WAS PRETTY AMAZING. ERIDAN APPRECIATED THAT. ALTHOUGH IT WAS HARD NOT TO THINK OF SOLLUX WHEN WE SAID HIS NAME. ESPECIALLY ERIDAN.

fuckin sol

BUT HOLY SHIT. I NEVER SAW IT COMING. AND YET WHEN YOU PLAYTHROUGH A SECOND TIME YOU SEE ALL THE LITTLE HINTS. MY SECOND PLAYTHROUGH WAS FULL OF ME SCREAMING AT THE SCREEN

“OOOOOH, SUUUUUUURE. TELL ME YOUR VAGUE ASS REASON FOR BEING HERE AGAIN, YOU LYING PIECE OF SHIT.”

“I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, DREAD WOLF. GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE.”

“YOU KNOW WHAT? THE FADE IS BORING. SPIRITS ARE BORING.”

“MAYBE I SHOULD SKIP THESE ELVEN PUZZLES THIS TIME, EGGSPONGE. OR MAYBE PISS IN THIS WELL. OR FIGHT THE IMMORTAL ELF DUDE. HMMMM??"

“I’M RUBBING MY BULGE AAAAALLL OVER THIS FEN’HAREL STATUE. YEAH. THAT’S RIGHT. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT??”

“WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GIVE YOU A *HAND* WITH THAT QUEST??? OH I BET YOU WOULD.”

SERIOUSLY THOUGH I THOUGHT THE WAY SOLAS’ CHARACTER ARC UNROLLED WAS MASTERFUL. THE WAY HE PULLS THE INQUISITOR ASIDE NEAR THE END OF THE MAIN GAME TO TELL THEM THAT THEY EXCEEDED HIS EXPECTATIONS AND THAT HE TRULY VALUES THEM AS A FRIEND... I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER REALLY KNOW IF HE MEANT IT BUT I LIKE TO THINK HE DID. AND THAT IT GENUINELY SURPRISED HIM THAT THE PERSON HE WAS OUT TO MANIPULATE NEARLY CHANGED HIS WORLD VIEW IN THE END. THAT’S HOW YOU WRITE A THREE DIMENSIONAL ANTAGONIST.

FFFF. THE RACE SHENANIGANS. DRAGON AGE AND SKYRIM REALLY LIKE TO PLAY UP THE DISCRIMINATION AND OUTRIGHT PERSECUTION OF ELVES, WHICH STANDS IN SHARP CONTRAST TO THE TOLKIENIAN LORE IT ALL STEMS FROM WHERE ELVES ARE (MOSTLY) POWERFUL AND RESPECTED AMONG HUMANS. I LIKE IT THOUGH. IT’S AN INTERESTING SPIN. THE DWARF HATE TOO. I FUCKING LOVED THE WAY THE ORLEASIAN COURT NOT-SO-COVERTLY THREW SHADE AT YOU IN THE WINTER PALACE FOR BEING A DIRTY LOWBLOOD INFERIOR RACE. IT MADE PUTTING THEM ALL IN THEIR PLACE A WHOLE LOT SWEETER. AGAIN. WISH FULFILLMENT.

I HAVE TO AGREE THOUGH THAT THE GAME SOMETIMES KIND OF DID A SHITTY JOB OF ACKNOWLEDGING THE ELF AND DWARF INQUISITORS’ PERSONAL STRUGGLES WITH THEIR RACE, AND I GUESS THAT COMES DOWN TO THE SHIPLOAD OF DIALOGUE CUSTOMIZATION THE DEVS ALREADY HAD ON THEIR PLATE. I REMEMBER BEING ESPECIALLY PISSED OFF TALKING TO DAGNA WHERE SHE FUCKING SEEMED TO FORGET NELLIE WAS *ALSO* A DWARF HALF THE FUCKING TIME.

AND THEN OTHER TIMES THE GAME WAS RANDOMLY REALLY GOOD IN THAT REGARD. IT WAS HIT AND MISS. ERIDAN DID AN ELF PLAYTHROUGH THAT I SAT IN ON AND I REMEMBER HOW COOL IT WAS BEING ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE DALISH CLAN IN THAT INSIDER KIND OF WAY. BUT IT’S TRUE THAT PRETTY MUCH NONE OF THE ROMANTIC INTERESTS GIVE YOUR RACE MORE THAN *ONE* PASSING MENTION. CULLEN’S ROMANCE WITH A MAGE PLAYS WAY MORE HEAVILY INTO THINGS THAN SAY THE FACT THAT MALE LAVELLAN CAN DATE A GODDAMN *TEVINTER* ALTUS AND THE SLAVE THING IS BROUGHT UP A GRAND TOTAL OF ONCE.

AND AS A SIDENOTE THE FACT THAT IF YOU CHOOSE THE NECROMANCER MAGE SPECIALIZATION, DORIAN-THE-GOD-DAMN-NECROMANCER HAS FUCK ALL TO SAY ABOUT IT. EVEN IF YOU ROMANCE HIM. WHICH AMPORA DID. AND HE WAS PISSED.

SPEAKING OF AMPORA, HE ACTUALLY DID ROLL A HUMAN AT FIRST, BUT FIVE MINUTES IN HE WAS SO BORED WITH HIS CHARACTER HE ALMOST GAVE UP THE GAME FOR GOOD. SO YEAH. I FEEL YOU THERE.

BUT YEAH. THE SUGAR COATING ON THE CONFECTIONERY ITEM IS DEFINITELY THE FACT THAT THE GAME HINGES ON BASICALLY SOLAS DESTROYING DALISH LEGITIMACY. AND AS A DALISH INQUISITOR IT’S LIKE. OH. OK. SURE. MY LIFE WAS A LIE. NO BIG DEAL. NOW WHO’S READY FOR A VACATION IN TEVINTER BECAUSE BOY HOWDY ME AND MY QUNARI FRIEND ARE DOWN FOR SOME FIRST CLASS NORTHERN HOSPITALITY.

AS MUCH AS I CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT A LOT OF IT I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I NEVER PLAYED THE PREVIOUS GAMES BUT I ABSORBED THE DRAGON AGE WIKI AND I THINK I HAVE A PRETTY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WENT DOWN. I HAVE DA:O AND I DO PLAN ON PLAYING IT SOME TIME.

THE SADDEST PART IS THAT IT SEEMS PRETTY CERTAIN THAT THE SERIES IS PERMA-DEAD. AND I ACTUALLY WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WHERE THEY SEEMED TO BE TAKING IT. IT’S A FUCKING SHAME.

#DA:I #DRAGON AGE #KARKAT VANTAS #INQUISITION #saccharineomens

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