Apparently our old friend Andrea “JudgyBitch” Hardie — oft-banned antifeminist Twitter “activist” and alt-right hanger-on — was once again feeling a bit ignored by the internet, so she bought herself a Nazi t-shirt and made a lovely video.
Despite the video’s deliberately provocative title (“Hello Fourth Reich!”), this is one of the duller “provocative” videos you’re likely to encounter on the YouTubes — at least until Hardie puts on her swastika t-shirt roughly three-quarters of the way in.
Hardie begins the video wearing a different t-shirt entirely — one adorned with the Rising Sun flag of Imperial Japan. Over the course of the first half of the video she offers a rambling, ignorant and often nonsensical take on the issue of populism — or at least the oversimplified and completely ahistorical caricature of populism she’s got bouncing around in her head.
Her main point, insofar as she has one, seems to be that anyone who’s critical of the current outbreak of “populism” is “sneering at the idea that common, ordinary, everyday people are the best people to identify what the problems in their own lives are.”
Well, no. Demagogues like Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen may claim the label of populism, but they are in fact racist right-wing autocrats who really aren’t much interested in democracy at all. “Populism” has, historically, always had a dark nativist streak to it, suffused with anti-Semitism and what historian Richard Hofstadter called the “paranoid style” of politics.
But let’s not linger too long on the history of actual populism, because we haven’t even gotten to the real point of the video, which is that Nazi t-shirt.
Hardie starts the t-shirt portion of the video by pretending to be shocked that the Rising Sun t-shirt she’s wearing isn’t likely to elicit the same outrage as a t-shirt festooned with a swastika — even though the Japanese military forces flying that flag did all sorts of truly horrible shit over the course of many years, from the Rape of Nanking to Pearl Harbor.
But those who wear Rising Sun t-shirts in public aren’t generally going to get accused of supporting any of these terrible things. To most people, Hardie declares, the Rising Sun is nothing more than a “fun meme,” and it turns out that’s just fine with her.
“What i want to know,” she asks, “why is this shirt ok, why is the Rising Sun ok, but” — she dons her Nazi t-shirt — “this shirt is not?”
This is a question that could actually lead to an interesting discussion. Why is the Rising Sun, at least here in North America, seen by most though definitely not all people as a rather innocent cultural symbol — much as the Confederate flag was back in the day when it flew unprotested from every southern state capital and adorned the top of the Dukes of Hazzard’s beloved creek-jumping car? Will perceptions of the Rising Sun change, much as they have for the Confederate flag?
But instead Hardie offers a rambling rant even more incoherent than the rant on populism in the first chunk of her video.
After informing us that the Nazis “were socialists; hey Bernie Sanders, hi” she indignantly asks why it’s considered “not ok” for people to wear Nazi shirts, so much so that YouTube probably “won’t let me monetize this video because of this shirt.”
Maybe because most people rightly connect Nazi symbolism with the Nazis and their hateful history? Maybe because virtually everyone who adorns themselves with Nazi symbols is either an actual Nazi or some other related kind of hateful shit? (Or perhaps the ghost of Sid Vicious.)
But Hardie has another theory, albeit one that makes no fucking sense whatsoever: Apparently people get mad about swastikas because they want to demonize true populists who stand up for the people! By “weaponizing the swastika” these evil liberal lefty anti-populists try to make ordinary people look bad!
I’m not even going to try to transcribe this portion of Hardie’s rant; I’m afraid it might damage my brain. Just watch. The video below should start at the beginning of her, er, explanation, a little more than 15 minutes in. Watch for the next two minutes or so, if you can manage it. Feel free to stop when she starts talking about Pepe the frog. Or if your head literally explodes.
https://youtu.be/A3Qi8VKb_dI?t=15m17s
Shortly after her Pepe digression, Hardie informs her viewers that
everyone, at the end of the day, is a stupid violent brute. Everyone. Violence is the only truth.
Huh. That sounds an awful lot like something a Nazi would say.
The only question to her is who controls this violence — evil leftists who actually hate the people, or
the common ordinary people who think, you know what, some of us is dumb assholes and, you know what, those are the first ones we’re gonna shoot. The people have a unique way of taking care of business.
That’s human history. That’s all of human history.
Er, there are are forms of government that don’t involve whatever group is in power just going out and shooting everyone they don’t like.
And all the swastikas in the world aren’t going to change that.
No. They’re going to make that sort of thing more likely. That’s why most people FUCKING HATE NAZIS. That’s why people tend to get mad when idiots put on Nazi shirts and make videos defending other idiots who put on Nazi shirts.
If you need to clear your head a little after watching that video, this might help.
@Fran
Welp. At least I ain’t alone in the phases.
Hopefully, further damage can be nullified.
(I feel you on the mucous membrane damage, though. I’ve chewed on…several parts of my mouth in the past.)
@Troubelle
Basically, I feel like my teeth are way too large for my mouth and too loose. Like, it’s probably just because I work out and am a strong girl, but I feel like I can move my teeth with my fingers and that isn’t supposed to happen, yeah?
Otherwise, I guess I’m strong enough to pull an adult’s teeth out with my bare hands.
Advances in transhuman technology need to happen quicker so I can get my mind placed in a cybernetic body already. This flesh body mess is severely limiting my ability to do things.
Wait, I just realized something.
I’m a girl with snaggleteeth who can swim and is strong.
I guess that makes me a shark-girl.
Pic related, it’s me in real life. Right down to the dark skin and slightly annoyed expression.
Re: Handsome Jack
Didn’t he say he needed a few weeks to unwind?
Continuing the gnarly teeth theme, I’ve got a noticeable snaggle in the upper incisors, receded gums on one of the lower incisors, two wisdom teeth that are more cavity than teeth, and two half-finished root canals. Homelessness will wreck your teeth. Thankfully my job situation is looking far better and should include real dental care soon.
And I agree with Alan. Punching Nazis is a praiseworthy action, but repercussions need to be considered first. Fight the Nazis where you live, don’t invade someone else’s neighborhood or protest just to get your knuckles bloody.
@Bakunin
I don’t eat anything sweet anymore if I can help it. I have one half-finished root canal myself.
Don’t get me wrong, Pearl Harbor was a major dick move, but does it bug anyone else how often it’s equated to acts of large-scale terrorism on civilians?? Mainly by excessively patriotic Americans (and, I guess, wannabe Americans like Hardie – I’ll HAPPILY switch nationalities with you, buddy). It’s like, the US probably kills more civilians than died in Pearl Harbor every week. Am I exaggerating?
I used to be quite fond of an imperial rising sun hachimaki (Japanese headband) I had as a (white) kid, until a classmate from a Chinese family quite rightly pointed out the uncomfortable historical connotations. It is treated with surprising lightness by white people. Although referring to it as a “fun meme” is kind of hilarious.
@EJ “swastikawaii” fucking slayed me. XD
@Francesca Or an Undyne!
@OoglyBoggles,
I must have missed that comment. Okay, then.
@Fran
*fans self*
@Boogerghost
Yes, it bugs me, and no you aren’t exaggerating. In Afghanistan it currently appears that it’s a Pearl Harbour of civilians every week and a half, on average. I can’t find collected figures for Syria or the other places we’re bombing as conveniently, but it’s not looking good for team Yankee on that front.
Re- teeth – i have one massive mutant wisdom tooth that is 3 times size of all other teeth. There is lots of spikes on it like spikes on other teeth but instead of 4 there are about 8 or 9 little spikes.
Also regarding hardie. Since david has to be more political now since turnip was elected, is nice when he does write about the classics – hardie, aurini, aaron clarey, matt forney. They might be horrible but at leadt they dont lead a country.
@M:
It’s really good to see you again, I was worried about you after you got off the wagon.
If you need a friend, please don’t hesitate to give me a shout.
@Valentine:
Agreed. It’s also interesting to see how pathetic the classics are, compared to the real thing. They’re not leading any movement so much as scurrying along in its wake, trying to toady favour with those who are actually making history.
Fuck ’em.
@ej
I would feel sorry for them if it wasnt a waste of my brain.
@numerobis : the last information I had was that flossing was largely cosmetical. I don’t know if brushing isn’t cosmetical too, that being said.
@SomeGuy
I agree so much with your comment that the only way I feel I can properly honor it is to repost it.
@Troubelle
Until you get to the dentist this summer, would you be willing/able to try putting a tea bag directly on the trouble spot? I don’t really have anything like you’re describing, but I’ve done the tea bag trick for canker sores in the past and it made them feel a lot less painful/irritating.
In other odd dental stories, I have one tooth-bottom front left-that pokes out farther than the others, mostly due to erratic retainer usage since my 2-year braces stint in middle school. I ran it by my orthodontist when I first noticed it a couple years ago, and she said I don’t need to take any more corrective action (other than getting better about the retainer) unless it gets painful or any worse. Since it’s not painful and not that noticeable, I don’t see the point in messing with it unless it does get worse.
I also never had my top left wisdom tooth come in. When the other 3 came in, I had them all removed at once with just Novocaine. My oral surgeon sent me home with prescription-strength ibuprofen, which I took for the first day or 2, and Vicodin, which I #1) wasn’t in enough pain to need and #2) refused to touch for fear of becoming addicted. With the current epidemic of opioid abuse, I see that as a wise decision.
@SFHC
It’s nice to see you back. I’m glad that your break was restorative.
Oh, are we discussing our teeth?
I have quite an overbite. No brag, just fact. And they’re kinda yellow, kinda dark. I wear a retainer at night because otherwise I get pain in my jaw. Again, no brag, just fact. Oh, and I haven’t seen a dentist in a long time. With any luck, I’ll go in the fall.
On the plus side, I’m pretty good about brushing and flossing twice a day. Yay, me! Okay, that was a brag.
Sorry to hear about other people’s dental problems.
ETA: I’m not sure how rare this is — or if it’s rare at all — but I got my 12-year molar when I was 18. If that’s a rare thing, I’ll count it as a brag.
@Linax54
I live in Germany, more specifically in BaWü. The town I live in has a refugee center and is planning on adding another. I have noticed no significant increase in crime, so… where exactly are you in Germany?
The trolls are hilarious when they try to go all Scary-Frightening about situations in Europe (for the most part) and make it blindingly obvious that a) they have never been there and b) it has not occurred to them that many of us live in the places they are ranting about.
Teeth, I could never get round the physical awkwardness of flossing until I started using interstitial brushes instead. Soooo much easier and more comfortable. Worth a try if you find flossing a pain.
OK, teeth horror stories…PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS if you haven’t had your wisdom teeth out. It is in NO WAY a typical story and I don’t want to freak you.
When dentists took x-rays of my impacted wisdom teeth, they recoiled. All were full-sized teeth, with massive roots. Three of the four were lying horizontally, completely encased in the jawbone. One also had a facial nerve tangled around its roots. I was sent to an oral surgeon to have them removed under general anaesthetic.
The surgeon incised along the inside of my cheek and peeled the gum off my jawbone. He then cut a hole in my jawbone to expose the tooth, cut it into pieces and pulled the pieces out. Then the piece of bone was glued back into place, the gum was stitched down and he went onto the next tooth. Four times. Part of one tooth had to be left in place to avoid severing the nerve. I had 40 stitches inside my mouth.
The first day after the operation, I felt surprisingly OK. The second day I felt lousy. The third day…I woke with the thought, “I’m dying”. I rang the surgeon’s office, who explained the anaesthetist had loaded me up with long-acting analgesics and anti-inflammatories, and they’d finally worn off. I needed three weeks off work.
@Tosca
Holy cow! You have my sympathy.
@Tosca
Bloody hell, that made me wince. Sorry you had to go through that. Let’s all thank the Lord for our ‘intelligently designed’ mouths…
@Opposable Thumbs
Yeah, like Birmingham is 100% Muslim, even when I’m there, apparently. Joe Lycett did a funny routine about that.
The day the ‘Birmingham is no go for Christians’ story came out Twitter had my office in stitches. My favourite (which I wish I’d saved) was a photo of a car with a cover over it and the caption ‘in Birmingham even the cars have to wear burqas.’
@Tosca: ‘wince’ OK, you win the dental horror story trophy. I’m glad you’re doing ok now, though.
@DanHolme, Guest: I nearly didn’t even know Birmingham was majority Muslim. When did that happen?