people on this website are notoriously unable to be normal about things they love, but less discussed is the inability to be normal about things they hate and only one of those is a problem imo

What do the proxies think of each other?

this is gonna be kinda messy and disorganized but i got it HANDLED

again, THIS IS ALL MY AU!!! there is a streamline, detailed plot that intertwines, so these characters mingle and grow in ways they probably wouldnt in canon, since different events follow them here O/S Syndrome = Operator/Slender Syndrome, aka slender sickness

Toby: He thinks of Brian and Tim kinda like shitty uncles who only come around every now and again . they used to taunt him a lot cuz toby was always like. annoying, selfish, sarcastic - so it would piss them off, and they'd piss toby off, and then it would be pretty bad. but as toby gets older and calms the fuck down, it gets better between them . he gets pretty sad when they eventually cut him(and everyone) off to move to like, canada or oregon or something.

he likes kate. theyre both outcasts even in a group of creeps and killers and literal monsters.... so toby's always been nice to her. when she refused to come to the cabin, he ended up dragging a mattress over to the mines for her. brings her food, gallons of water, t shirts. she owns random band t shirts that she doesnt even listen to cuz toby gave it to her LMFAOOO . he's the reason kate starts coming and staying at the cabin

Kate: she hates tim. completely cannot stand him. she hates when slendy makes them work together. he's been a dick to her since he met her, because their first time meeting was um. her dragging tim through the forest while he was unconscious. and she was generally part of what tormented him during the events of marble hornets (IN MY AU OBVIOUSLY). he's also uncomfortable because when she kills people she does it with her bare hands. will lick the blood and dirt and grime off her fingers. generally freaky.

she's better with brian. he doesn't remember her tormenting him so much during MH, but he still knows - but he's better at empathizing with her situation. he kinda pieced together what happened to her, while tims just blinded by like. anger and trauma. dont get me wrong, brian is still uncomfortable around her (again, she acts really scary when working), but when she's not working and she just sits there. she looks so tired, and she's so quiet, and its sad. he feels for her.

she likes toby, too. first person to treat her fully like a person after becoming a proxy without her having to like, beg for it (directly or indirectly). again, he brings her things, he's kind to her, laughs with her. he'll tease her and make fun of her but she can tell it's not with ill intent so she'll do it back - she considers him her best friend for a while.

Tim:

HE'S A HATER HE'S A HATER HE'S A HATER ok i know i call him an asshole and say he's mean a lot but i legit am not mad at him and i think he is within reason (like 60% of the time) since like. kates dragged his unconscious body through the forest and left him covered in scratches/bruises, toby's almost always throwing the first punch, he's had his entire life derailed for so fucking long, and these kids don't make it any easier- he could've been in kates position, which is the one thing that makes him kinda hesitate when he wants to say smth mean. he usually isnt an asshole unprompted, but he'll always take it the second step.

a lot different for brian. he wanted him dead for a while too. blamed him for a lot of stuff, but at this point he........... has nobody else. brian is his friend. i feel like writing too much about the complication of their relationship kinda takes away from it. theyre roommates, they leave together, they'd fight tooth and nail to stay in eachothers lives. despite everything

Brian:

i feel like i dont have a lot to say about brian since I already described everyone else's relationship...

just to sum it all up with him, he cares more about all three of them then he lets on. but he's also a lot better at showing he cares. he brings some basic groceries and beer and shit over to the cabin pretty frequently, he'll hang around toby and if kates there, ask if she needs anything. she usually just shakes her head, but on the off chance she says she wants like. a specific drink. he kinda feels like he got +1 friendship points with her LMFAOOO . and obviously he jokes around and messes with toby when they're not fighting

and again, same thing with tim. that's his friend. he's missing a LOT of memories from the events of MH, but tim hasn't hesitated in telling him how he feels about it... and he feels bad. it all sucks. even now, he says things he doesnt mean, just because all of the guilt and anger and trauma gets him and tim both riled up. then they go get a drink together and move on

overall, the proxies are pretty messy. brian and tim arent very present anymore, toby and kate are sort of taking on their 'in charge' roles. their relationship slowly mends itself over time, since my AU largely focuses on improvement and recovery and redemption (HOWEVER MUCH THEY CAN ALL THINGS CONSIDERED...), but its still pretty bad

inhaling so heavily so so heavily,, hey guys its me im back. ninjago. This is just a huge rant about me HATING how trauma is handled in this show. ignore this if you do not want to see my HORRORS.

WHY. IS TRAUMA NOT A FUCKING THING IN THIS STUPID ASS SHOW. Im on another rewatch because im FUCKING INSANE but it drives me actually mad that there are so many downright horrific things that happen to these characters that are just NEVER addressed. lets talkabout the fucking first one that caught my eye when I was first watching the show!!! Im basically going from least infuriating to most infuriating, im trying to cut this show some slack but dear god. !!WHY IS COLE OKAY MAN. HE LITERALLY DIEEED. HE TURNED INTO A GHOST. listen Iknow ninjago death means nothing, and im going to talk about that too but he literally could have ceased to exist if he so much as touched water. after he got his body back, why was this never FUCKING mentioned. I think. if I was in a perpetual state of being horrified my existence would amount to nothing and id just stop BEING when I touched some clear shit coming out of my sink id be pretty scarred for life. I loved possession man, but this happened to TWO CHARACTERS. TWOOO. AND THE OTHER CHARACTER IS LLOYD. lets not even MENTION that hes been exploited the moment everyone found out he was a green ninja, and before that a bunch of grown ass people were bullying a CHILD WHO IS ACTUALLY HOMELESS, lets talk about how his fucking body was taken over by Morro while he ALSO worries about his DAD BEING STUCK IN THE FUCKING UNDERWORLD. IM LOSING IT. IM LOSSINGG ITT. On a smaller note, MISAKO ABANDONED LLOYD. KILL HER. I am the hashtag misako hater garmadon deserves better. The show made no attempt for them to bond or try to make amends for what happened when Lloyd was a kid, she barely appears at all really and it just makes me fucking despise her. ALSO MORRO. this kid. reminding you, CHILD, fucking died in a cave. the cave we SAW in the pilot, if i remember right which is FUCKING INSANE>,,?? we SEE HIS SKELETON. THAT IS A CHILDS SKELETON. never mentioned again after episode 8 I don't think. now the MEAT. THE MEATT. whatever the FUCK went on with garmadon after he got resurrected. They actually did cover this a bit with how Lloyd acted around garmadon, but crystalized also sucked ass and really gave us nothing on how Garmadon felt about this. on god im so sick that hes so normal shaped in crystalized too, He was literally growling with every breath in sons of garmadon why is he normal now. Its been years, i get it. also the Garmadon comic. but he SHOULDNT be a normal person whos just an asshole, I want him to be feral okay?? ok??? I am playfully gesturing to Devils Horns by TeuthidaRegina (did i spell that right. idk man. Its a super fucking good fanfic.)

ALSO Vinnys apartment is very inaccurate there should be scratch marks on the walls and then they should kiss. ANYWAYS Besides this, Lloyd being mad at Garmadon was really all we got for how *he* was effected by his once loving father now randomly coming back with his ribs exposed and only being able to say like. 3 words. and also him immediately trying to kill Lloyd. I feel like we should have gotten a LOT more man. Now this isn't really a problem with the show (Its a huge problem in crystalized but that's a given) but more a problem with the fandom, so that's why I'm putting it at the end. this does not hold relevancy over garmadon becoming a BEAST. (also garmadon becoming a beast is the best thing that ever happened in this show btw. you all are wrong and he should have been animalistic from the beginning. still nice. but he should have also growled. all the time.) My issue is with how people portray harumi. I already had my Harumi spout in a post I made earlier, but I only mentioned the toxicity of the ship with her and Lloyd a little bit. Let us THINK BACK on how she literally feels nothing for Lloyd at all. He was a stepping stone in getting Garmadon back, and she probably straight up hates him. She pretends to like him to manipulate him into helping her resurrect garmadon ok?? do we understand?? Ive seen actual tags on AO3 that say "no harumi hate here" and I am so done. all the harumi hate. dont FUCKING talk to me if you want to justify the downright horrendous things shes done. That ship is toxic as hell and Lloyd is downright being abused AGAIN for like the FIVE BILLIONTH TIME IN HIS LIFE. I dont care man. shes an abusive bitch. i HATE HER. Crystalized made the worst fucking decision trying to justify her and I genuinely hate whoever thought that was a good and right decision to make. If she comes back in dragons rising i hope she dies AGAIN, but Im honestly rooting for them to ignore crystalized's existence. Now finally, this is the absolute peak of how Ninjago shittily handles trauma. the ICE EMPEROR. Zane was stuck in a fucking hellscape of a realm for like. what was it. EIGHTY YEARS??? he went fucking mad man, he turned into a bloodthirsty tyrant during that time. and when this seasons conflict was fixed with the "power of friendship" the show literally mentions that the ice emperor is STILL INSIDE ZANES NOGGIN. AND WHAT DOTHEY DOO?? THEY MAKE IT INTO A FUCKING JOKE. its honestly almost disgusting to me how they handled it, Zane has DIED BEFORE. that's bad. he should have trauma. BUT Zane LITERALLY HAS A BLOODTHIRSTY KILLER IN HIS FUCKING HEAD. DO NOT JOKE ABOUT THIS SHIT. ACTUALLY. HE SHOULD HAVE SOME RELUCTANCE TO USING HIS POWERS OR SOMETHING, ANYTHING MAN. HE KILLLED AN ENTIRE RACEE. Genuinely this is one of my favorite shows, and I love adding onto the shaky ass plot and making it better, but I cannot DEAL with this. Im going to throw in the shit that happened in the spinjitzu brothers book, because oh my god Wu and Garmadon should be fucked up with all the stuff they have had to deal with for like. 5 thousand years. but its fine. its okay. its the book series. I wont mention it. (that book series is so good please release the final book please) ((I LOVE wu and garmadon they are some of my favorite characters in the ENTIRE series im blinking my eyes at you. please go indepth on those two. also give Wu a dragon form, or an Oni form, or literally anything he IS NOT HUMAN.) Also if anyone tells me im ignoring skybound its because I do not need to say anything about skybound. we all know what happened. we ALLL know what the fuck they did to Nya. and fucking. mister possibly a pedo creep man who does not care about consent. I dont even remember his name thats how bad I hate him .

No! This isn’t how you’re supposed to play the game! [Father!Corpse x Child!Reader]

Part 2 of Goddamnit kid, now they know I’m a single father! Warnings: None Summary: While streaming Among Us, Corpse decides to teach his kid Y/N how to play the game! A/N: And yes my warnings have the non-warning as well, just so you know what to expect from the story. Also, Requests for Cr1tiKal and Corpse Husband are always open! Ask or message me if you have any ideas. Also, message or ask if you’d like to be tagged- just please state what kind of fics you wanna be tagged be on. I’m always open to tag people! Request: Yes  Tag list:  @save-the-sky @alilshit @whatifwedo @hughugh20 @fleurmoon @bi-andready-tocry @itsminniekat @yoongi-holland @loraleiix @hacker-ghost @fanworrior @marvelous-musicals @annshit @unknown-and-invisible @letsloveimagines @hairbrush-anon @babyhoneystvles 

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“Oh by the way guys I have Y/N here for the stream today.” Corpse said to his chat as he moved his little guy around in Among Us. “Hai!” Y/N said happily. Corpse had them sitting on his lap just chilling and watching their father play. It has been a couple months since the announcement of Y/Ns existence happened and everyone fell in love. Corpse did have to tell Y/N how to deal with it and not to share his identity to anyone who asks. He was enjoying a happy life, getting so much support by his fans and his friends. Life was good, for once. But with happiness comes sadness, and of course with friendliness comes hatred. And there was hate.

People did not trust Corpse with a child, sadly. The hashtag ‘CorpseCPS’ trended on Twitter before someone came out and told everyone to fuck off. But even if that hashtag stopped, that didn’t stop the haters. People still tweeted about it, hated on Corpses kid, and just been assholes. 

“Corpse Husband is not fit to be a father. He already told a majority of his fans about his mental problems, so do you really think he will raise that kid properly? #CorpseCPS” 

“Wouldn’t be surprised if Y/N will grow up to not be able to sleep at night. Just like their father.”

“I stg I bet Y/N is terrified of Corpse. Have you heard his music and seen his videos? I wouldn’t trust someone like him with a child, he could emotionally abuse them. Someone call CPS!!! #CorpseCPS”

“Who the fuck is accepting single fathers? Children belong to their mothers, not their fathers. I hope @Corpse_Husband realized how he fucked up and gives that poor kid back to its mother.”

“Bet that the mother of Corpses kid fought so much for custody on that poor child on god.”

“Someone save this child. #CorpseCPS”

It really got to Corpse, making him think he wasn’t capable of raising Y/N. Was everybody right? Was he going to mess this child up? He didn’t like thinking about, but his mind always trailed back to it. It worried him, the only thing he wanted was to make his kid happy. Was he doing a bad job? Was his kid going to grow up wrong? 

“Can you guys please let me live my life and raise my kid? Don’t think you’d feel good if someone said you weren’t capable of raising the kid you had. Jesus.”

Corpse Tweeted that when the anxiety and bad thoughts got too much for him, hoping this would calm them down. But one small Tweet doesn’t go a long way sometimes. He was glad most of his fanbase supported him, at least his friends did. And now he didn’t have to worry about the haters. Right now, it was streaming with Y/N time.

“Alright Y/N, you control the little astronaut like this..” Corpse put Y/Ns hand on the mouse and put his over it, moving his horned avatar through the halls on the screen. “Those red words are my gamer tag, Corpse. Red means im an imposter and white means crewmate. The goal of the game as an imposter is to kill everyone without them finding out its you. The crewmates need to find out who the imposter is an eject them.” 

“Okeh!” Y/N said excitedly and laughed.

Corpse smiled fondly. He loved Y/Ns laugh, it melted his heart. “Ok, see those cameras?” Y/N nodded, “You gotta be careful killing people around those, someone could be watching.” Corpse moved to electrical, “See? This is electrical. And there's, felix. Whoop, now hes dead.” 

“That was mean!” Y/N whined. 

“It’s the point of the game though!” Corpse quickly vented. “Okay, to kill people, you click this.” He showed Y/N how to kill people, “And to hop into a vent to get away, you click this.” He showed Y/N how to vent. “Now, during an emergency meeting you need an alibi.” 

“Whats an alibi?” Y/N asked, glancing up at their fathers face. 

“If someone blames you for wiping someone out, you have to have an excuse to why you didn’t do it. That’s an alibi.” Corpse explained, heading down the hallway. “So next time after the next emergency meeting, you will play! Sound fun?” He smiled when Y/N replied with an upbeat yes. Then a body was reported, “Ok Y/N, don’t tell anyone it was us, alright?” Y/N nodded. 

“Where was the body?” Poki asked. 

“I found it in electrical.” Sykkuno replied. 

“I did see Sean go that way.” Corpse said, making Sean instantly reply. 

“I was just passing by!” Sean argued, “What about you Corpse? Didn’t you go near electrical?” 

“It was you Sean I saw it wit my own 2 eyes!” Y/N called out, making everyone nearly die. 

“Well you can’t really argue with that one Sean.” Charlie chuckled.

“Vote Sean the council has decided.” Sykkuno declared. 

“Wha-- I- B--” Sean stuttered as everyone vote for him. Soon, they all watched him float into the abyss of space.

Corpse chuckled, “You’re my superpower Y/N. Ok, I’ll guide you along but its your turn to play.”

Y/N made a happy squeal, putting their hand over the mouse and moving the astronaut across the screen excitedly. Corpse guided them along, having his hand placed over theirs. “Ok Y/N, be careful. remember, there are cameras.” 

“Okie.” Y/N said, heading down the hallway. They walked around for a bit and Corpse helped them fake tasks. “Ok, see Toast? We’re gonna kill him.” Corpse checked for cameras, “Do you remember how?” Corpse asked. 

“Yah!” Y/N moved the astronaut forward, killing Toast. 

“Ok now vent, vent vent vent!” Corpse said, leaning forward and moving the astronaut to hover over the vent. Y/N stalled but clicked the right button, quickly venting right when Poki walked in. A dead body was reported, and they were back at the emergency meeting.

“It was Corpse!! It was Corpse!! I saw him vent!” Poki screamed, being way too loud to Corpse, but he didn’t mind anymore. 

“That wasn’t me.” Corpse lied, “Where was the body?” 

“I found it it navigation! You vented!” Poki said. 

“Mmm nah it wasn’t me. I was in storage.” Corpse lied again, making Y/N feel pretty damn bad. I swear, this child was so innocent. They couldn’t stand seeing lies and murders happening. So, they said “It was dad!” 

“HAH! They just exposed you!” Sean laughed loudly. 

“Oh my god the betrayal.” Charlie laughed as well. 

“Vote Corpse!” Poki yelled, “I told you!” 

“Y/N knows whats right.” Sykkuno said, voting for Corpse. 

Corpse gasped, “Noo! that’s not how’re supposed to play the game!” Corpse sighed, watching as everyone voted for him. Y/N frowned, “Im sorry..” Corpse hugged Y/N, “no no it’s fine. Just don’t betray me like that.” he chuckled, watching his astronaut float through space. He sighed again, “Better luck next time. Guess I have to train you how to be a ghost.” 

Y/Ns eyes lit up, “Yaaaayyyy!~”

~The End~

survey results are in!

sorry, this is gonna be a long post. yesterday i posted a survey with a list of polls regarding Supernatural, and it was SO much fun. I got over 300 responses, which was A LOT to sort through for the short responses, but I’ve gathered all the “data” and here it is! My responses to each poll will be under the screenshots (they are in groups of 2). I’m going to include the short answer responses in another post. ENJOY!

1. Starting off strong.

2. Pleased with this one as well.

3. Yep, I expected this response from most of us.

4. Sami, I made the wincest and destiel response just for you. YW.

5. CMON YOU GUYS......live a little!!! samjack sexy

6. I’m not really surprised that Playthings got the bulk of votes here, but I think my vote would have been 8x23.

7.  :)

8. i’m disappointed that more people didn’t choose the yellow one tbh

9. it is sexy. it is. wake up.

10. i love Dean, but he’s definitely an asshole. and that’s what makes him a great character!

11. hehe.....i understand why not a lot of people picked noncon bait....u r valid its ok im gross.

12. WHO THE FUCK PICKED NO......have you ever consumed media

13. WBK.

14. damn, Dean kinda got the short end here! a lot of samgirls took this survey

15. i get why you wouldn’t like Bugs bc it does have harmful stereotypes about native ppl but the rest of it is peak season 1 wdymmm

16. almost 50/50 here! old vs new fans we love to see it. I am definitely wincest old guard.

17. YEP. Eric Kripke needs shock therapy for that one

18. The fact that some people admitted to being dry.....tragic. I think Eileen is a great character but they are NOT endgame.

19. SO YOURE JUST GONNA SIT THERE AND ADMIT HOW WRONG YOU ARE??

20. ugh. yeah. same.

21. who tf picked blue. cmon. red meat incest agenda.

22. SAM MOMMY MILKERS!!!!! hucow sam <3

23. Mixed on this one! My response is obviously yellow :)

24. I do think Bobby favored Dean somewhat.

25. Johnzazel agenda so true

26. HIGHKEY CANON. AND SEXY

27. someone requested a combination of blue and yellow and you’re so right i apologize.

28. mixed on this one for top vs bottom fans! almost a 50/50 split

29. ANNA DID NOTHING WRONG

30. I can’t believe this one is almost 50/50. Ruby girlboss you guys are haters

31. again. admitting you’re dry. THEY FUCKED

32. yeah :(

33. Q-anon level conspiracy theory.

34. I actually fall into the blue. I do believe Cas was in love with Dean, but not the other way around. I think Cas loving Dean makes wincest so much more spicy

35. I love sam so much

36. those of you who answered yes........join my movement.

37. c’mon. even if you don’t ship wincest you need to admit this one.

38. sorry this one was self-indulgent.

39. JESS PEGGED SAM.

40. idk, i personally think Cassie deffo pegged Dean. She has top energy.

41. So all the people who answered no have definitely not read the fic (were too young to remember it) or are squicked by underage which is ok! its one of those fics i read back in 2010 so i have fond memories of it

42. hahahah you guys were mean on this one

43. it’s canon bro sorry

44. thank god this one was majority yellow

45. i give wincestiel a valid pass! dean has multiple holes

46. Jack is hole <3

47. I actually think both are great (and ppl were mad I didn’t have that option srry) but deanpussy is incredible and underrated.

48. SEXY>>>>>>

49. thank you for enabling me.

50. can you guess the redacted part? it was: insert various objects into himself :))))

51. ok heres the big question! i’m not surprised ilysmmbb won, but i personally vote for “yeah, there he is” !! i think its underrated and such a tender moment.

52. i’m in the blue. i like cas.

53. i actually am in the yellow on this one. i think its more realistic, although blue is hot forsure

54. top 3 cas moment right there.

55. objectively yes on this one. thank god for COVID- *gets shot at*

56. sorry this was shady i’m not really like this usually haha. i think death is my fave besides Rowena

57. obviously i’m in the red. i’m shocked that so many people said Yes.......

58. Clearly.

59. I enjoyed fan fiction! i love campy episodes as you all know (like Dog Dean afternoon and such) so i loved fan fiction. it was a nice nod to someone like me who has been watching for a long time.

60. HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHO ANDY IS. i wish he would have been in the show longer........

61. uh....yeah.

62. Yeah c’mon. Dean would and you know it.

63. Thank god you guys didn’t fuck this up. I would agree, but Corbett is a close second for me.

64. IN THE RED BABY!!!!

65. we love a man bleeding out. we do.

66. i actually think misha is chill with J2 but.....you can’t deny J3 have more chemistry.

67. I uh......don’t think Dean would be a great father. is this me projecting my own issues with my father onto Dean? maybe,,,,

68. i’m surprised this was so negative! I think i would be interested

69. thanks for reading my shitty poetry!! i also had s4 dean in mind when writing this

70. CMON.....ITS KINDA SEXY CMON.......that spice of battered wife syndrome.......violent man in the house.......sam beaten down....im barking

71. haha yessss go yellow.

72. go yellow again.

73. I think I would actually vote yellow on this one. what a sweet and beautiful thing to say to someone, and its so very DEAN.

74. mhm. i think so. 

75. SEXY CONTROLLING OLDER BROTHER!!!!!

76. no idea why people answered yes to this one. that punch was fucked up. was it sexy? thats another story,,

77. WOKE. 

78. I do. I love pilot Dean.

79. Dean is a carfucker. any side of the fandom can recognize that

80. thank you GREEN!!!!!!

81. Sam is bi wtf! Sera Gamble erasure

82. Padackles commune <33333 they all fuck and they don’t know whose kid is whose!!!! (not really but this is sexy)

83.  THESE BROTHERS ARE WEIRD FOR SURE.

best seen in 2020.

My usual caveats from previous years are still applicable here: I don’t watch most of the major nominations the years they come out, and I’m usually not much for theaters and/or current TV. However, due to the pandemic, we watched a loooooooot of content. Here’s just a list of movies that I watched or rewatched this year, that were neither terrible, nor great, but I want to make note of:

Toy Story 4, The Brothers Bloom, Happiest Season, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Moana, Mr. Right, Moulin Rouge, Ocean’s Eleven, Spring Breakers, X-Men: Dark Phoenix (this might have been the worst movie I watched this year?), Widows, Gattaca, Black Klansman, Primer, It 2, Shazam (this maybe should have gone on the Honorable Mentions - it was fun), Training Day, Parasite (OK, now I have to update my Honorable Mentions), The Green Book, Strange Days, Elf, Love & Basketball, Above the Rim, Coach Carter.

That being said, there was some bad stuff, and I try not to shit on any artist’s creations too much, because I know no one sets out to make something bad, but these didn’t work for me. 

Anti

Uncut Gems - It’s not that it was BAD, it was just too stressful for me to enjoy.

Brick - It wasn’t even close to enjoyable on a rewatch that I encouraged my partner to take on for the first time. I felt bad. 

Hereditary - Neither a scary movie, nor a good movie.  

The Witch - Same, but maybe better made?

Under The Skin - Jesus, this was terrible. Maybe I’m not artsy enough to get it?

Now, however, let’s get to the good stuff. 

Honorable Mention TV

Avatar - I can’t legitimately put it on the Best Of list, because I’m not done yet, but I’m on Book 3, after finally actually getting started. I think I tried to start this in 2016, and i know all my nerd friends have been yelling at me for a long time because I haven’t gotten to it yet, and as someone who’s almost done, I can say: they were right! It’s great. 

Ozark - S1 was great. It fell off a fucking CLIFF after that. Ignore people who tell you that you HAVE to watch this. They’re wrong. It’s fine. 

The Last Dance - I know the world is obsessed with Michael Jordan, and I’m glad it came out when it did, but really, all it did for me was confirm that he’s an asshole who was very fortunate to play when he did. And also that the Bulls were fucking phenomenal. 

His Dark Materials - Neither as bad as some of my friends think, nor nearly as good as the books (obviously) but also not good enough that I’ve even started S2 yet, so....I guess it’s fine? 

The Mandalorian S2 - I think they know what they’re doing, and it’s super enjoyable, and I loved the ending, but I’m also curious as to where they’re going now. 

Fargo S3 - Given how good the rest of the series is (other than my distaste for S2, dealt with below, and out of step with pop culture) I thought this one was a misstep, 

Orphan Black - I cannot believe how late I was to this, and how good it still was. It really fell apart toward the end, but the acting was incredible, and the fact that they got to tell the story they wanted to was amazing. 

Best TV

7. All the Smoke with Kobe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3KIyEgCgc) - Maybe it was just his death, but it hits hard, and I miss him. Does this even count as TV? 

6. Looking for Alaska - It felt like gratuitous masochism to watch this and enjoy it, being 20 years older than when I fell for it, and feeling ashamed of the young person I was, but even knowing what was coming, I was weeping when it happened. Even knowing that they were ultimately going on a fruitless search and yelling at the TV while the Colonel and Pudge were searching for “signs” and hating them for it, I remember feeling like everything HAD to happen for a reason when I was this young... So yeah. It’s pure nostalgia for me. I’d be super interesting in hearing how kids responded to it. 

5. Locke and Key - I get that some people feel like they don’t need old shit in a new medium, but for me, I’m always up to try it out. If it’s fun, I’ll stick with it. And this is. It’s fun, it’s got some of the old shit, it’s got some new shit, and it’s a treat to see my favorite comic of the last decade in a new medium. Haters need a new bit. 

Fargo s1 and s4 (I didn’t love S3) - I know that I’m in the minority here, but I think 1 and 4 are the best and 2 was good, and 3 was fine. I literally watched all of this show this year, though, so I didn’t have the same time to digest as others. But I think that’s a benefit in some regards? 

4. Magicians s5 - One of the saddest conversations of the last year to two was when a nerd friend of mine said he didn’t like The Magicians because all of the characters were whiny and self-indulgent. For me, that was almost literally the point: they shoved Q into the corner and told the story of the others (at least one episode quite self-referentially so) and it was so much better for that. I wish it hadn’t ended, but I’m glad they left it where they did, because it was so good.  

3. Devs esp. The beginning of e5 - Jesus. The show of the year? Except for the fact that Watchmen came out at the tail end of last year, and I didn’t have it on my 2019 list? I mean, honestly, is there a show more tailored to me? I’m not gonna get into any spoilers, but it’s a quick watch, and it’s fucking fantastic. Watch it, have your mind blown by the concept, especially in the beginning sequence of E5, and then stick around for the subpar ending where basically all of the threads are resolved in the least good way. 

2. Watchmen - This deserves multiple re-watches and all the praise that people heaped upon it. 

1. The Good Place - I know, objectively, that Watchmen was a better show than The Good Place. But this is my list, and I’ll be damned if anything overtakes my favorite sitcom (maybe of all time?) for best of the year. I know it barely just ended this year, and there’s plenty of acclaim to go around for this show, but honestly, every time I talk to anyone about it, it feels like they kind of laugh it off. This show is not only worth your time, but should almost be considered must-watch material. If more people watched this show, we wouldn’t need the insult “sophomoric” to describe people who’ve just had their minds blown by Philosophy 101, and we’d be better off as a species. 

Honorable Mention Movies

In this order, and you can take the comedies and make them the only honorable mentions, if you’d like to make a nice, even top 10. (Until I saw Tenet the night before I posted this.( (And then I looked back at the playing cards that we use to randomly choose movies and I found that I needed to modify the Honorable Mentions and the Best Of lists.) 

21 and 22 Jump Street - In general, I’m not a fan of comedies. So I’m happy I watched these, thanks to Nathan Zed, and they’re funny. Good work guys. 

Palm Springs - Apparently there’s now backlash against Groundhog Day? I dunno, man, it was fun, and all the actors seemed like they were having a good time, and I was down for it. 

Parasite - I can’t add anything to this that hasn’t already been shouted from the rooftops, so let me just briefly say that I thought it was great, but it didn’t quite make the list of best. The combo of genres was great, the cast was fantastic, but what I loved the most about it was how quiet it was.

Best Movies

10. Blinded by the Light - Way more resonant than I thought it’d be from the previews, and I already thought it was gonna be stellar. I didn’t take into account TIME along with place, and that made a hell of a difference for this movie. 

9. Shoplifters - Yeesh. What a tough watch, but so good, and so necessary. For me, I think we watched it back to back to back with Parasite and I, Tonya, and this one just stood out so much more. The storyline was softer all the way through, but really had gravitas simultaneously. 

8. Tenet - It was fucking fun! I don’t get the hate! I liked it, I’ll like it more next time I see it, and I wish I’d seen it on the big screen, but I’m super glad I could see it on my TV! 

7. I, Tonya - Geez, what a powerhouse of acting. Not only did they get me to feel good about the villain of my childhood, they got me to feel good about Margot Robbie, who I’d only thought of as a hot lady before. Superb acting from everyone else, too, and what a great pick up to be like, yeah, this is the story we’re gonna tell. 

6. I Am Not Your Negro - I avoided watching it for so long because I was already depressed this year, and I didn’t think I needed any more of that, but it turns out I did, and I always do, from Baldwin. He’s a master for a reason. 

5. Hamilton - I know there was some backlash with the time difference, and I’m sure it was better to see it pre-2016 in the theater, where it’s meant to be seen, but I’m not a billionaire New Yorker, and I was plenty happy to see it when and where I could. 

4. Won’t You Be My Neighbor - I mean...what do you think? It’s so much exactly what you’re thinking it is, but then it’s even better, because it’s the real deal, and he was so good, and it’s so pure. Watch it. 

3. Her Smell - Elizabeth Moss has already gotten all the acclaim, but to play this different of a role, in a movie that felt as stressful as Uncut Gems, but pulled off an actual plot so much more successfully? I can’t believe this one didn’t get more pub, but then again, yes I can: it’s a movie about a girl band that rages against the machine, and she’s got severe issues. Small surprise that the people didn’t react well. Seek this one out! 

2. Arrival - Yes, I am going to totally cheat and put a movie that’s appeared on my list (sooooo long ago) as the #2 entry this year. You know why? Cuz fuck 2020, and this is a great movie, and it’s the movie that made me feel second best this year. It’s incredible, and I know people appreciated it in its time, but I feel like they should appreciate it even more. 

1. Moonlight - It’s not a shock, nor am I trying to appease anyone with anything. It’s just that I finally watched it, and it’s the best movie I saw this year. I don’t think I could possibly add anything to the authentic critics who have already heaped praise upon it, but I do have to say that it’s all due, and so much more. The acting obviously stands out, but the direction, from the color palettes, to the choice of when and where (and how) to break it up, are all masterful choices.  

Make Resistance Great Again

From a friend on Facebook, although she didn't write it, so I'm not sure of the origin, but I agree with these points and thought it was worth sharing: *** HOW TO RESIST THE FASCISM THAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO EXPERIENCE (and if you don't think that religious tests for immigrants and citizens is not fascist, then you have do not know the history of Nazi Germany, Stalinist USSR, Franco's Spain, and Mussolini's Italy-- as well as fascist Saudi Arabia, etc, etc)... These pointers are actually helpful--people have been looking for something, these are a starting point. Especially #2 and #7 (which is not a pollyanna point, THINK ABOUT IT: movements require social ties among their members--if everything is awful and hopeless and gray it won't last, get to know people, feel good just being with them). "Make Resistance Great Again" 1. Avoid using his name -- Every time you use his name, you make him stronger. He has developed a cult of personality around himself that thrives on your hatred. He wasn't kidding when he tweeted, "I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th." He really does extend best wishes to you, the hater, because you give him power; you make him seem like something bigger than he really is, and you are the object of hatred that motivates his supporters. You are his Emmanuel Goldstein (1984 reference -- read it if you haven't already). 2. Spread the blame -- Don't allow moderate Republicans to hide behind ambiguity and equivocation. They are supporting a President who is trying to destroy our democracy, and are therefore members of a regime, not an administration. If you focus all of your attacks on their leader, you are only reinforcing his message that "I alone can fix [our problems.]". In reality, he requires the support of collaborators. Call it what it is -- "the regime." 3. Do not engage the regime's base -- Let's do a thought experiment. Imagine your favorite song; hear the music inside your head. Now imagine someone telling you that the song sucks, and you should never listen to it ever again. How likely are you to be swayed? The regime is music to the ears of its most ardent supporters, and you will never convince them otherwise. Remember when their leader said, "we're going to win so much, you're going to be sick and tired of winning"? That statement was meant to appeal to a base of supporters who feel like they're losers, people who get a high from being associated with a "tremendously successful" billionaire. Now try to imagine how good they must have felt when he won the election. Every time you get mad at them and argue with them, you remind them of how good it felt to win. You motivate them to work harder toward their leader's re-election. If you deny them the pleasure of yelling at you, you will make politics less enjoyable for them, and thus more apathetic about the regime. You will never dislike your favorite song, but you might stop listening to it as much as you once did, and this is the best we can hope for with the regime's base. 4. Focus on policies, not personality -- Most polls showed the President's favorability rating around 38% on the eve of the election, but 47% ended up voting for him anyway. That means 9% of his voters already think he's an asshole, but, nevertheless, an asshole who's going to do a better job than his opponents will. These are the people we need to focus on; if we can convince them that his policies suck just as much as his personality sucks, we are likely to flip their votes. So, stop focusing on the guy's hands. Everyone already knows, and it didn't work during the first time we tried it. Remember Einstein's quote about the definition of insanity. 5. Keep it positive -- The regime feeds on negativity. The policies they support are born from fear and anger. People filled with love and optimism generally do not support policies that are centered upon walls, torture, and deportation. This is why the leader of the regime didn't tell a single joke during his convention speech. He wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. Keep it positive, and spread love; it's poison to the regime. 6. Don't spread hopelessness -- Whenever you say "we're screwed," you communicate hopelessness. Saying things like, "I don't understand how this happened" is the same as saying, "I don't know what the solution is and you shouldn't listen to anything I propose because I just don't understand." But, you do have hope; otherwise, you wouldn't have read this far. And, you do have a solution -- resistance! It's ok to be down and to seek out other likeminded people for comfort, but try to stay focused on spreading hope and confidence. We got this, ok? 7. Make resistance cool and fun -- As the country becomes more political, and more polarized, Americans will feel increasingly pressured into choosing a side (sociology happens). We want healthy, positive people to choose the resistance because we ultimately don't want the entire country to end up resembling one of the regime's rallies. Besides, we ARE cool and fun; just look at all the musicians who boycotted the regime's inauguration. The fact that the Resistance is responsible for the generation of almost all of our society's visual and musical culture is one of our strengths; let's maximize it. 8. Stop spreading fake news -- Sorry everybody, but we do it too. Do you remember when Trump went on Oprah and said, "if I ever run for president, I'll run as a republican because they're stupid enough to vote for me?" That never happened. And, you know how the regime deleted all the information about LGBT rights from the White House website as soon as it came to power? Actually, the regime deleted almost all information from the White House website, which is a common practice for all incoming presidents -- Obama did it too. When we spread fake news, we contribute to the confusion many Americans are feeling right now, thus contributing to the problem. The regime doesn't need everyone to believe its lies; it only needs 1/3 to believe the lies, and another 1/3 to be so confused that they don't even know who to trust anymore. Let's show them that they can trust us -- educate yourself on the issues, hold other members of the Resistance accountable, fact check information before you post it, and retract anything you post if it is later proven wrong. Reality still exists, and we are the communicators of that reality. 9. Take care of yourself -- The world will not end if you take a break or have fun doing something that's not explicitly political. But, the world will end if the majority of the Resistance ends up too burned out to fight. Just remember -- even when you're sleeping or recreating, you're only recharging yourself for more resistance. 10. Resist, resist, resist, and don't apologize for it -- Your constant political posts are not annoying; the regime is annoying, and they are the ones who are inciting us to raise our voices.

Resisting fascism

These are not my ideas or words, but I like almost everything in there so it’s going up.

COPY/PASTE BUT DON’T REBLOG

========

1. Avoid using his name –Every time you use his name, you make him stronger. He has developed a cult of personality around himself that thrives on your hatred. He wasn’t kidding when he tweeted, “I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th.” He really does extend best wishes to you, the hater, because you give him power; you make him seem like something bigger than he really is, and you are the object of hatred that motivates his supporters. You are his Emmanuel Goldstein (1984 reference – read it if you haven’t already).

2. Spread the blame –Don’t allow moderate Republicans to hide behind ambiguity and equivocation. They are supporting a President who is trying to destroy our democracy, and are therefore members of a regime, not an administration. If you focus all of your attacks on their leader, you are only reinforcing his message that “I alone can fix [our problems.]”. In reality, he requires the support of collaborators. Call it what it is – “the regime.”

3. Do not engage the regime’s base –Let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine your favorite song; hear the music inside your head. Now imagine someone telling you that the song sucks, and you should never listen to it ever again. How likely are you to be swayed? The regime is music to the ears of its most ardent supporters, and you will never convince them otherwise. Remember when their leader said, “we’re going to win so much, you’re going to be sick and tired of winning”? That statement was meant to appeal to a base of supporters who feel like they’re losers, people who get a high from being associated with a “tremendously successful” billionaire. Now try to imagine how good they must have felt when he won the election. Every time you get mad at them and argue with them, you remind them of how good it felt to win. You motivate them to work harder toward their leader’s re-election. If you deny them the pleasure of yelling at you, you will make politics less enjoyable for them, and thus more apathetic about the regime. You will never dislike your favorite song, but you might stop listening to it as much as you once did, and this is the best we can hope for with the regime’s base.

4. Focus on policies, not personality –Most polls showed the President’s favorability rating around 38% on the eve of the election, but 47% ended up voting for him anyway. That means 9% of his voters already think he’s an asshole, but, nevertheless, an asshole who’s going to do a better job than his opponents will. These are the people we need to focus on; if we can convince them that his policies suck just as much as his personality sucks, we are likely to flip their votes. So, stop focusing on the guy’s hands. Everyone already knows, and it didn’t work during the first time we tried it. Remember Einstein’s quote about the definition of insanity.

5. Keep it positive –The regime feeds on negativity. The policies they support are born from fear and anger. People filled with love and optimism generally do not support policies that are centered upon walls, torture, and deportation. This is why the leader of the regime didn’t tell a single joke during his convention speech. He wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. Keep it positive, and spread love; it’s poison to the regime.

6. Don’t spread hopelessness –Whenever you say “we’re screwed,” you communicate hopelessness. Saying things like, “I don’t understand how this happened” is the same as saying, “I don’t know what the solution is and you shouldn’t listen to anything I propose because I just don’t understand.” But, you do have hope; otherwise, you wouldn’t have read this far. And, you do have a solution – resistance! It’s ok to be down and to seek out other likeminded people for comfort, but try to stay focused on spreading hope and confidence. We got this, ok?

7. Make resistance cool and fun –As the country becomes more political, and more polarized, Americans will feel increasingly pressured into choosing a side (sociology happens). We want healthy, positive people to choose the resistance because we ultimately don’t want the entire country to end up resembling one of the regime’s rallies. Besides, we ARE cool and fun; just look at all the musicians who boycotted the regime’s inauguration. The fact that the Resistance is responsible for the generation of almost all of our society’s visual and musical culture is one of our strengths; let’s maximize it.

8. Stop spreading fake news –Sorry everybody, but we do it too. Do you remember when Trump went on Oprah and said, “if I ever run for president, I’ll run as a republican because they’re stupid enough to vote for me?” That never happened. And, you know how the regime deleted all the information about LGBT rights from the White House website as soon as it came to power? Actually, the regime deleted almost all information from the White House website, which is a common practice for all incoming presidents – Obama did it too. When we spread fake news, we contribute to the confusion many Americans are feeling right now, thus contributing to the problem. The regime doesn’t need everyone to believe its lies; it only needs 1/3 to believe the lies, and another 1/3 to be so confused that they don’t even know who to trust anymore. Let’s show them that they can trust us – educate yourself on the issues, hold other members of the Resistance accountable, fact check information before you post it, and retract anything you post if it is later proven wrong. Reality still exists, and we are the communicators of that reality.

9. Take care of yourself –The world will not end if you take a break or have fun doing something that’s not explicitly political. But, the world will end if the majority of the Resistance ends up too burned out to fight. Just remember – even when you’re sleeping or recreating, you’re only recharging yourself for more resistance.10. Resist, resist, resist, and don’t apologize for it –Your constant political posts are not annoying; the regime is annoying, and they are the ones who are inciting us to raise our voices.

Some thoughts on how to resist fascism today

I found the post, pasted below, to be excellent. It is making the rounds on Facebook.

My own observations are that the inauguration day at UCSD had a dance party at the noon rally. I saw people join while passing by just because the music was awesome (Rihanna, Ana Tijoux, stuff people could dance to), and then they began to enjoy the company of fellow resisters on that very rainy and uncomfortable day. That's #5, #6, #7, and #9. 

Please, no more tiny hands jokes at the protests. That just perpetuates an emasculating gendered insult that is tied up to gender oppression. 

Okay, on with the tips.... Please share by copy pasting, not clicking share. HOW TO RESIST THE FASCISM THAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO EXPERIENCE (and if you don't think that religious tests for immigrants and citizens is not fascist, then you have do not know the history of Nazi Germany, Stalinist USSR, Franco's Spain, and Mussolini's Italy-- as well as fascist Saudi Arabia, etc, etc)...

COPY AND PASTE BUT DO NOT HIT "REBLOG":

1. Avoid using his name --Every time you use his name, you make him stronger. He has developed a cult of personality around himself that thrives on your hatred. He wasn't kidding when he tweeted, "I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th." He really does extend best wishes to you, the hater, because you give him power; you make him seem like something bigger than he really is, and you are the object of hatred that motivates his supporters. You are his Emmanuel Goldstein (1984 reference -- read it if you haven't already).

2. Spread the blame --Don't allow moderate Republicans to hide behind ambiguity and equivocation. They are supporting a President who is trying to destroy our democracy, and are therefore members of a regime, not an administration. If you focus all of your attacks on their leader, you are only reinforcing his message that "I alone can fix [our problems.]". In reality, he requires the support of collaborators. Call it what it is -- "the regime."

3. Do not engage the regime's base --Let's do a thought experiment. Imagine your favorite song; hear the music inside your head. Now imagine someone telling you that the song sucks, and you should never listen to it ever again. How likely are you to be swayed? The regime is music to the ears of its most ardent supporters, and you will never convince them otherwise. Remember when their leader said, "we're going to win so much, you're going to be sick and tired of winning"? That statement was meant to appeal to a base of supporters who feel like they're losers, people who get a high from being associated with a "tremendously successful" billionaire. Now try to imagine how good they must have felt when he won the election. Every time you get mad at them and argue with them, you remind them of how good it felt to win. You motivate them to work harder toward their leader's re-election. If you deny them the pleasure of yelling at you, you will make politics less enjoyable for them, and thus more apathetic about the regime. You will never dislike your favorite song, but you might stop listening to it as much as you once did, and this is the best we can hope for with the regime's base.

4. Focus on policies, not personality --Most polls showed the President's favorability rating around 38% on the eve of the election, but 47% ended up voting for him anyway. That means 9% of his voters already think he's an asshole, but, nevertheless, an asshole who's going to do a better job than his opponents will. These are the people we need to focus on; if we can convince them that his policies suck just as much as his personality sucks, we are likely to flip their votes. So, stop focusing on the guy's hands. Everyone already knows, and it didn't work during the first time we tried it. Remember Einstein's quote about the definition of insanity. 

5. Keep it positive --The regime feeds on negativity. The policies they support are born from fear and anger. People filled with love and optimism generally do not support policies that are centered upon walls, torture, and deportation. This is why the leader of the regime didn't tell a single joke during his convention speech. He wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. Keep it positive, and spread love; it's poison to the regime.

6. Don't spread hopelessness --Whenever you say "we're screwed," you communicate hopelessness. Saying things like, "I don't understand how this happened" is the same as saying, "I don't know what the solution is and you shouldn't listen to anything I propose because I just don't understand." But, you do have hope; otherwise, you wouldn't have read this far. And, you do have a solution -- resistance! It's ok to be down and to seek out other likeminded people for comfort, but try to stay focused on spreading hope and confidence. We got this, ok?

7. Make resistance cool and fun --As the country becomes more political, and more polarized, Americans will feel increasingly pressured into choosing a side (sociology happens). We want healthy, positive people to choose the resistance because we ultimately don't want the entire country to end up resembling one of the regime's rallies. Besides, we ARE cool and fun; just look at all the musicians who boycotted the regime's inauguration. The fact that the Resistance is responsible for the generation of almost all of our society's visual and musical culture is one of our strengths; let's maximize it.

8. Stop spreading fake news --Sorry everybody, but we do it too. Do you remember when Trump went on Oprah and said, "if I ever run for president, I'll run as a republican because they're stupid enough to vote for me?" That never happened. And, you know how the regime deleted all the information about LGBT rights from the White House website as soon as it came to power? Actually, the regime deleted almost all information from the White House website, which is a common practice for all incoming presidents -- Obama did it too. When we spread fake news, we contribute to the confusion many Americans are feeling right now, thus contributing to the problem. The regime doesn't need everyone to believe its lies; it only needs 1/3 to believe the lies, and another 1/3 to be so confused that they don't even know who to trust anymore. Let's show them that they can trust us -- educate yourself on the issues, hold other members of the Resistance accountable, fact check information before you post it, and retract anything you post if it is later proven wrong. Reality still exists, and we are the communicators of that reality.

9. Take care of yourself --The world will not end if you take a break or have fun doing something that's not explicitly political. But, the world will end if the majority of the Resistance ends up too burned out to fight. Just remember -- even when you're sleeping or recreating, you're only recharging yourself for more resistance.10. Resist, resist, resist, and don't apologize for it --Your constant political posts are not annoying; the regime is annoying, and they are the ones who are inciting us to raise our voices.

Resisting Fascism

These are not my ideas or words, but I like almost everything in there so it’s going up. COPY/PASTE BUT DON’T REBLOG ======== 1. Avoid using his name –Every time you use his name, you make him stronger. He has developed a cult of personality around himself that thrives on your hatred. He wasn’t kidding when he tweeted, “I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th.” He really does extend best wishes to you, the hater, because you give him power; you make him seem like something bigger than he really is, and you are the object of hatred that motivates his supporters. You are his Emmanuel Goldstein (1984 reference – read it if you haven’t already). 2. Spread the blame –Don’t allow moderate Republicans to hide behind ambiguity and equivocation. They are supporting a President who is trying to destroy our democracy, and are therefore members of a regime, not an administration. If you focus all of your attacks on their leader, you are only reinforcing his message that “I alone can fix [our problems.]”. In reality, he requires the support of collaborators. Call it what it is – “the regime.” 3. Do not engage the regime’s base –Let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine your favorite song; hear the music inside your head. Now imagine someone telling you that the song sucks, and you should never listen to it ever again. How likely are you to be swayed? The regime is music to the ears of its most ardent supporters, and you will never convince them otherwise. Remember when their leader said, “we’re going to win so much, you’re going to be sick and tired of winning”? That statement was meant to appeal to a base of supporters who feel like they’re losers, people who get a high from being associated with a “tremendously successful” billionaire. Now try to imagine how good they must have felt when he won the election. Every time you get mad at them and argue with them, you remind them of how good it felt to win. You motivate them to work harder toward their leader’s re-election. If you deny them the pleasure of yelling at you, you will make politics less enjoyable for them, and thus more apathetic about the regime. You will never dislike your favorite song, but you might stop listening to it as much as you once did, and this is the best we can hope for with the regime’s base. 4. Focus on policies, not personality –Most polls showed the President’s favorability rating around 38% on the eve of the election, but 47% ended up voting for him anyway. That means 9% of his voters already think he’s an asshole, but, nevertheless, an asshole who’s going to do a better job than his opponents will. These are the people we need to focus on; if we can convince them that his policies suck just as much as his personality sucks, we are likely to flip their votes. So, stop focusing on the guy’s hands. Everyone already knows, and it didn’t work during the first time we tried it. Remember Einstein’s quote about the definition of insanity. 5. Keep it positive –The regime feeds on negativity. The policies they support are born from fear and anger. People filled with love and optimism generally do not support policies that are centered upon walls, torture, and deportation. This is why the leader of the regime didn’t tell a single joke during his convention speech. He wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. Keep it positive, and spread love; it’s poison to the regime. 6. Don’t spread hopelessness –Whenever you say “we’re screwed,” you communicate hopelessness. Saying things like, “I don’t understand how this happened” is the same as saying, “I don’t know what the solution is and you shouldn’t listen to anything I propose because I just don’t understand.” But, you do have hope; otherwise, you wouldn’t have read this far. And, you do have a solution – resistance! It’s ok to be down and to seek out other likeminded people for comfort, but try to stay focused on spreading hope and confidence. We got this, ok? 7. Make resistance cool and fun –As the country becomes more political, and more polarized, Americans will feel increasingly pressured into choosing a side (sociology happens). We want healthy, positive people to choose the resistance because we ultimately don’t want the entire country to end up resembling one of the regime’s rallies. Besides, we ARE cool and fun; just look at all the musicians who boycotted the regime’s inauguration. The fact that the Resistance is responsible for the generation of almost all of our society’s visual and musical culture is one of our strengths; let’s maximize it. 8. Stop spreading fake news –Sorry everybody, but we do it too. Do you remember when Trump went on Oprah and said, “if I ever run for president, I’ll run as a republican because they’re stupid enough to vote for me?” That never happened. And, you know how the regime deleted all the information about LGBT rights from the White House website as soon as it came to power? Actually, the regime deleted almost all information from the White House website, which is a common practice for all incoming presidents – Obama did it too. When we spread fake news, we contribute to the confusion many Americans are feeling right now, thus contributing to the problem. The regime doesn’t need everyone to believe its lies; it only needs 1/3 to believe the lies, and another 1/3 to be so confused that they don’t even know who to trust anymore. Let’s show them that they can trust us – educate yourself on the issues, hold other members of the Resistance accountable, fact check information before you post it, and retract anything you post if it is later proven wrong. Reality still exists, and we are the communicators of that reality. 9. Take care of yourself –The world will not end if you take a break or have fun doing something that’s not explicitly political. But, the world will end if the majority of the Resistance ends up too burned out to fight. Just remember – even when you’re sleeping or recreating, you’re only recharging yourself for more resistance. 10. Resist, resist, resist, and don’t apologize for it –Your constant political posts are not annoying; the regime is annoying, and they are the ones who are inciting us to raise our voices.

A beginner’s guide to resisting American Fascism. (1) Avoid using his name (2) Spread the blame & call it what it is: "the regime." (3) Do not engage the regime's base (4) Focus on policies, not personality (5) Keep it positive: The Regime feeds on negativity. (6) Don't spread hopelessness (7) Make resistance cool and fun (8) Stop spreading fake news (9) Take care of yourself (10) Resist, resist, resist, and don't apologize for it. HOW TO RESIST THE FASCISM THAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO EXPERIENCE (and if you don't think that religious tests for immigrants and citizens is not fascist, then you have do not know the history of Nazi Germany, Stalinist USSR, Franco's Spain, and Mussolini's Italy-- as well as fascist Saudi Arabia, etc, etc)... These pointers are actually helpful--people have been looking for something, these are a starting point. Especially #2 and #7 (which is not a pollyanna point, THINK ABOUT IT: movements require social ties among their members--if everything is awful and hopeless and gray it won't last, get to know people, feel good just being with them). "Make Resistance Great Again" 1. Avoid using his name -- Every time you use his name, you make him stronger. He has developed a cult of personality around himself that thrives on your hatred. He wasn't kidding when he tweeted, "I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th." He really does extend best wishes to you, the hater, because you give him power; you make him seem like something bigger than he really is, and you are the object of hatred that motivates his supporters. You are his Emmanuel Goldstein (1984 reference -- read it if you haven't already). 2. Spread the blame -- Don't allow moderate Republicans to hide behind ambiguity and equivocation. They are supporting a President who is trying to destroy our democracy, and are therefore members of a regime, not an administration. If you focus all of your attacks on their leader, you are only reinforcing his message that "I alone can fix [our problems.]". In reality, he requires the support of collaborators. Call it what it is -- "the regime." 3. Do not engage the regime's base -- Let's do a thought experiment. Imagine your favorite song; hear the music inside your head. Now imagine someone telling you that the song sucks, and you should never listen to it ever again. How likely are you to be swayed? The regime is music to the ears of its most ardent supporters, and you will never convince them otherwise. Remember when their leader said, "we're going to win so much, you're going to be sick and tired of winning"? That statement was meant to appeal to a base of supporters who feel like they're losers, people who get a high from being associated with a "tremendously successful" billionaire. Now try to imagine how good they must have felt when he won the election. Every time you get mad at them and argue with them, you remind them of how good it felt to win. You motivate them to work harder toward their leader's re-election. If you deny them the pleasure of yelling at you, you will make politics less enjoyable for them, and thus more apathetic about the regime. You will never dislike your favorite song, but you might stop listening to it as much as you once did, and this is the best we can hope for with the regime's base. 4. Focus on policies, not personality -- Most polls showed the President's favorability rating around 38% on the eve of the election, but 47% ended up voting for him anyway. That means 9% of his voters already think he's an asshole, but, nevertheless, an asshole who's going to do a better job than his opponents will. These are the people we need to focus on; if we can convince them that his policies suck just as much as his personality sucks, we are likely to flip their votes. So, stop focusing on the guy's hands. Everyone already knows, and it didn't work during the first time we tried it. Remember Einstein's quote about the definition of insanity. 5. Keep it positive -- The regime feeds on negativity. The policies they support are born from fear and anger. People filled with love and optimism generally do not support policies that are centered upon walls, torture, and deportation. This is why the leader of the regime didn't tell a single joke during his convention speech. He wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. Keep it positive, and spread love; it's poison to the regime. 6. Don't spread hopelessness -- Whenever you say "we're screwed," you communicate hopelessness. Saying things like, "I don't understand how this happened" is the same as saying, "I don't know what the solution is and you shouldn't listen to anything I propose because I just don't understand." But, you do have hope; otherwise, you wouldn't have read this far. And, you do have a solution -- resistance! It's ok to be down and to seek out other like-minded people for comfort, but try to stay focused on spreading hope and confidence. We got this, ok? 7. Make resistance cool and fun -- As the country becomes more political, and more polarized, Americans will feel increasingly pressured into choosing a side (sociology happens). We want healthy, positive people to choose the resistance because we ultimately don't want the entire country to end up resembling one of the regime's rallies. Besides, we ARE cool and fun; just look at all the musicians who boycotted the regime's inauguration. The fact that the Resistance is responsible for the generation of almost all of our society's visual and musical culture is one of our strengths; let's maximize it. 8. Stop spreading fake news -- Sorry everybody, but we do it too. Do you remember when Trump went on Oprah and said, "if I ever run for president, I'll run as a republican because they're stupid enough to vote for me?" That never happened. And, you know how the regime deleted all the information about LGBT rights from the White House website as soon as it came to power? Actually, the regime deleted almost all information from the White House website, which is a common practice for all incoming presidents -- Obama did it too. When we spread fake news, we contribute to the confusion many Americans are feeling right now, thus contributing to the problem. The regime doesn't need everyone to believe its lies; it only needs 1/3 to believe the lies, and another 1/3 to be so confused that they don't even know who to trust anymore. Let's show them that they can trust us -- educate yourself on the issues, hold other members of the Resistance accountable, fact check information before you post it, and retract anything you post if it is later proven wrong. Reality still exists, and we are the communicators of that reality. 9. Take care of yourself -- The world will not end if you take a break or have fun doing something that's not explicitly political. But, the world will end if the majority of the Resistance ends up too burned out to fight. Just remember -- even when you're sleeping or recreating, you're only recharging yourself for more resistance. 10. Resist, resist, resist, and don't apologize for it -- Your constant political posts are not annoying; the regime is annoying, and they are the ones who are inciting us to raise our voices.

Fascism redux

Copied and pasted from a friend. 1. Don't use his name; 2. Remember this is a regime and he's not acting alone; 3. Do not argue with those who support him--it doesn't work; 4. Focus on his policies, not his orange-ness and small hands; 5. Keep your message positive; he wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. 6. No more helpless/hopeless talk 7. Support artists and the arts 8. Be careful not to spread fake news 9. Take care of yourself; and 10. Resist! HOW TO RESIST THE FASCISM THAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO EXPERIENCE (and if you don't think that religious tests for immigrants and citizens is not fascist, then you have do not know the history of Nazi Germany, Stalinist USSR, Franco's Spain, and Mussolini's Italy-- as well as fascist Saudi Arabia, etc, etc)... COPY AND PASTE BUT DO NOT HIT "SHARE": These pointers are actually helpful--people have been looking for something, these are a starting point. Some are strategic, like #1 and #2, some are psychological, like #5 and #6. Don't give in to depression and anxiety. Go to #7 instead. "Make Resistance Great Again" 1. Avoid using his name -- Every time you use his name, you make him stronger. He has developed a cult of personality around himself that thrives on your hatred. He wasn't kidding when he tweeted, "I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th." He really does extend best wishes to you, the hater, because you give him power; you make him seem like something bigger than he really is, and you are the object of hatred that motivates his supporters. You are his Emmanuel Goldstein (1984 reference -- read it if you haven't already). 2. Spread the blame -- Don't allow moderate Republicans to hide behind ambiguity and equivocation. They are supporting a President who is trying to destroy our democracy, and are therefore members of a regime, not an administration. If you focus all of your attacks on their leader, you are only reinforcing his message that "I alone can fix [our problems.]". In reality, he requires the support of collaborators. Call it what it is -- "the regime." 3. Do not engage the regime's base -- Let's do a thought experiment. Imagine your favorite song; hear the music inside your head. Now imagine someone telling you that the song sucks, and you should never listen to it ever again. How likely are you to be swayed? The regime is music to the ears of its most ardent supporters, and you will never convince them otherwise. Remember when their leader said, "we're going to win so much, you're going to be sick and tired of winning"? That statement was meant to appeal to a base of supporters who feel like they're losers, people who get a high from being associated with a "tremendously successful" billionaire. Now try to imagine how good they must have felt when he won the election. Every time you get mad at them and argue with them, you remind them of how good it felt to win. You motivate them to work harder toward their leader's re-election. If you deny them the pleasure of yelling at you, you will make politics less enjoyable for them, and thus more apathetic about the regime. You will never dislike your favorite song, but you might stop listening to it as much as you once did, and this is the best we can hope for with the regime's base. 4. Focus on policies, not personality -- Most polls showed the President's favorability rating around 38% on the eve of the election, but 47% ended up voting for him anyway. That means 9% of his voters already think he's an asshole, but, nevertheless, an asshole who's going to do a better job than his opponents will. These are the people we need to focus on; if we can convince them that his policies suck just as much as his personality sucks, we are likely to flip their votes. So, stop focusing on the guy's hands. Everyone already knows, and it didn't work during the first time we tried it. Remember Einstein's quote about the definition of insanity. 5. Keep it positive -- The regime feeds on negativity. The policies they support are born from fear and anger. People filled with love and optimism generally do not support policies that are centered upon walls, torture, and deportation. This is why the leader of the regime didn't tell a single joke during his convention speech. He wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. Keep it positive, and spread love; it's poison to the regime. 6. Don't spread hopelessness -- Whenever you say "we're screwed," you communicate hopelessness. Saying things like, "I don't understand how this happened" is the same as saying, "I don't know what the solution is and you shouldn't listen to anything I propose because I just don't understand." But, you do have hope; otherwise, you wouldn't have read this far. And, you do have a solution -- resistance! It's ok to be down and to seek out other likeminded people for comfort, but try to stay focused on spreading hope and confidence. We got this, ok? 7. Make resistance cool and fun -- As the country becomes more political, and more polarized, Americans will feel increasingly pressured into choosing a side (sociology happens). We want healthy, positive people to choose the resistance because we ultimately don't want the entire country to end up resembling one of the regime's rallies. Besides, we ARE cool and fun; just look at all the musicians who boycotted the regime's inauguration. The fact that the Resistance is responsible for the generation of almost all of our society's visual and musical culture is one of our strengths; let's maximize it. 8. Stop spreading fake news -- Sorry everybody, but we do it too. Do you remember when Trump went on Oprah and said, "if I ever run for president, I'll run as a republican because they're stupid enough to vote for me?" That never happened. And, you know how the regime deleted all the information about LGBT rights from the White House website as soon as it came to power? Actually, the regime deleted almost all information from the White House website, which is a common practice for all incoming presidents -- Obama did it too. When we spread fake news, we contribute to the confusion many Americans are feeling right now, thus contributing to the problem. The regime doesn't need everyone to believe its lies; it only needs 1/3 to believe the lies, and another 1/3 to be so confused that they don't even know who to trust anymore. Let's show them that they can trust us -- educate yourself on the issues, hold other members of the Resistance accountable, fact check information before you post it, and retract anything you post if it is later proven wrong. Reality still exists, and we are the communicators of that reality. 9. Take care of yourself -- The world will not end if you take a break or have fun doing something that's not explicitly political. But, the world will end if the majority of the Resistance ends up too burned out to fight. Just remember -- even when you're sleeping or recreating, you're only recharging yourself for more resistance. 10. Resist, resist, resist, and don't apologize for it -- Your constant political posts are not annoying; the regime is annoying, and they are the ones who are inciting us to raise our voices. #resist

What to do now: Make Resistance Great Again.

Cut and pasted from what was passed around on facebook. Source: Unattributed

These pointers are actually helpful--people have been looking for something, these are a starting point. Especially #2 and #7 (which is not a pollyanna point, THINK ABOUT IT: movements require social ties among their members--if everything is awful and hopeless and gray it won't last, get to know people, feel good just being with them). "Make Resistance Great Again" 1. Avoid using his name -- Every time you use his name, you make him stronger. He has developed a cult of personality around himself that thrives on your hatred. He wasn't kidding when he tweeted, "I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th." He really does extend best wishes to you, the hater, because you give him power; you make him seem like something bigger than he really is, and you are the object of hatred that motivates his supporters. You are his Emmanuel Goldstein (1984 reference -- read it if you haven't already). 2. Spread the blame -- Don't allow moderate Republicans to hide behind ambiguity and equivocation. They are supporting a President who is trying to destroy our democracy, and are therefore members of a regime, not an administration. If you focus all of your attacks on their leader, you are only reinforcing his message that "I alone can fix [our problems.]". In reality, he requires the support of collaborators. Call it what it is -- "the regime." 3. Do not engage the regime's base -- Let's do a thought experiment. Imagine your favorite song; hear the music inside your head. Now imagine someone telling you that the song sucks, and you should never listen to it ever again. How likely are you to be swayed? The regime is music to the ears of its most ardent supporters, and you will never convince them otherwise. Remember when their leader said, "we're going to win so much, you're going to be sick and tired of winning"? That statement was meant to appeal to a base of supporters who feel like they're losers, people who get a high from being associated with a "tremendously successful" billionaire. Now try to imagine how good they must have felt when he won the election. Every time you get mad at them and argue with them, you remind them of how good it felt to win. You motivate them to work harder toward their leader's re-election. If you deny them the pleasure of yelling at you, you will make politics less enjoyable for them, and thus more apathetic about the regime. You will never dislike your favorite song, but you might stop listening to it as much as you once did, and this is the best we can hope for with the regime's base. 4. Focus on policies, not personality -- Most polls showed the President's favorability rating around 38% on the eve of the election, but 47% ended up voting for him anyway. That means 9% of his voters already think he's an asshole, but, nevertheless, an asshole who's going to do a better job than his opponents will. These are the people we need to focus on; if we can convince them that his policies suck just as much as his personality sucks, we are likely to flip their votes. So, stop focusing on the guy's hands. Everyone already knows, and it didn't work during the first time we tried it. Remember Einstein's quote about the definition of insanity. 5. Keep it positive -- The regime feeds on negativity. The policies they support are born from fear and anger. People filled with love and optimism generally do not support policies that are centered upon walls, torture, and deportation. This is why the leader of the regime didn't tell a single joke during his convention speech. He wants the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which his darkest policies will grow. Keep it positive, and spread love; it's poison to the regime. 6. Don't spread hopelessness -- Whenever you say "we're screwed," you communicate hopelessness. Saying things like, "I don't understand how this happened" is the same as saying, "I don't know what the solution is and you shouldn't listen to anything I propose because I just don't understand." But, you do have hope; otherwise, you wouldn't have read this far. And, you do have a solution -- resistance! It's ok to be down and to seek out other likeminded people for comfort, but try to stay focused on spreading hope and confidence. We got this, ok? 7. Make resistance cool and fun -- As the country becomes more political, and more polarized, Americans will feel increasingly pressured into choosing a side (sociology happens). We want healthy, positive people to choose the resistance because we ultimately don't want the entire country to end up resembling one of the regime's rallies. Besides, we ARE cool and fun; just look at all the musicians who boycotted the regime's inauguration. The fact that the Resistance is responsible for the generation of almost all of our society's visual and musical culture is one of our strengths; let's maximize it. 8. Stop spreading fake news -- Sorry everybody, but we do it too. Do you remember when Trump went on Oprah and said, "if I ever run for president, I'll run as a republican because they're stupid enough to vote for me?" That never happened. And, you know how the regime deleted all the information about LGBT rights from the White House website as soon as it came to power? Actually, the regime deleted almost all information from the White House website, which is a common practice for all incoming presidents -- Obama did it too. When we spread fake news, we contribute to the confusion many Americans are feeling right now, thus contributing to the problem. The regime doesn't need everyone to believe its lies; it only needs 1/3 to believe the lies, and another 1/3 to be so confused that they don't even know who to trust anymore. Let's show them that they can trust us -- educate yourself on the issues, hold other members of the Resistance accountable, fact check information before you post it, and retract anything you post if it is later proven wrong. Reality still exists, and we are the communicators of that reality. 9. Take care of yourself -- The world will not end if you take a break or have fun doing something that's not explicitly political. But, the world will end if the majority of the Resistance ends up too burned out to fight. Just remember -- even when you're sleeping or recreating, you're only recharging yourself for more resistance. 10. Resist, resist, resist, and don't apologize for it -- Your constant political posts are not annoying; the regime is annoying, and they are the ones who are inciting us to raise our voices.