Here’s a little case study in alt-right hypocrisy.
Last week, like a lot of people, the wannabe self-help guru and alt-right opinion-haver who calls himself “DarkTriadMan” professed to be outraged by Kathy Griffin posing for photos with a stylized severed head of Donald Trump.
Given that DarkTriadMan’s whole schtick is based on the idea that men should act more like psychopaths if they want to get ahead in life, you wouldn’t think he’d be much bothered by Griffin’s admittedly dark stunt, but he made quite a show of his outrage, endlessly retweeting alt-right attacks on Griffin and adding his own spin to the news:
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/870652822836195328
He was glad to see Griffin brought to tears by the reaction to her photos:
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/870689717049634816
And fantasized about Barron Trump ultimately taking his revenge:
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/869935774883500033
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/869958745186590720
Today, in the wake of latest London attacks, Mr. Dark Triad seems to have gotten over his squeamishness about Griffin’s supposed call for violence against a sitting politician. Now he’s quite openly calling for the mass slaughter of Muslims.
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/871471460543602688
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/871355215215304704
He’s also talking about how great it would be if the mayor of London — a sitting politician, like Trump, with two children — were to be burned at the stake.
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/871354479593091072
Or impaled:
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/871353175466496000
Or torn apart by horses:
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/871352151846658048
Or blinded and hung:
https://twitter.com/DarkTriadMan/status/871352529262694400
This is more or less what I’ve come to expect from the alt-right; their “moral outrage” is almost always in very bad faith. But it’s still a little surprising to see just how blatant their hypocrisy can be.
@Pavlov
@VP
Y’all are seriously making me tear up.
I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.
These are words I really wanted to hear, thank you.
I am so utterly exhausted from my daily tasks – like, today, I had to go the laundromat – that I can barely find the effort or spoons to navigate my byzantine, unhelpful low-grade medical insurance, but I’ll redouble my efforts.
Way the hell behind on the thread, but from this page:
@Fran
*hugs* It sucks you have to deal with that.
Fuck that noise. You’re in a shitty situation, and the fact that some people have it worse doesn’t make your situation any less shitty. Or any more ok. In a fair or just world, you’d have the support and resources you need to live your life, and your parents would have a caregiver who actually chose the role. And who your parents would probably give less shit, because the caregiver wouldn’t be their child.
@Fran
I would call the phone number on your insurance card and basically throw yourself on the better angels of the person who picks up to explain to you what to do and how the services will be covered. If your insurance is bare-bones, then a therapist’s services will probably apply to your deductible first, but maybe not! You may need to get visits pre-approved for them to be covered, or stick within a network of providers for coverage. The best way to find out is to just call and ask.
If all else fails, you can google “therapist sliding scale [your nearest city name here]” and hope something useful comes out. You might be surprised by how many therapists offer sliding scale.
Both me and T are here today and we both have to help with elderly relatives and know how it is.
Ours are at the point where they are still independent and can drive, but they are retired from work, are sedentary, and have had some health issues, and some memory issues.
One of the things my friend and I spend time on is real estate because we have to get new homes for some relatives, would like to move them closer. And there’s usually ‘some issue’ with about anything you look at from – it’s too far, too expensive, to the house has too many stairs, all of these issues.
It’s all very stressful. And not “fun shopping” for real estate that you could maybe fix up. Even those things – there’s always something too far wrong with it, so you click on the next pic. When you have to get things and they have to fit certain areas and criteria – not only not fun, it’s anxiety producing. And you start wondering exactly WTF you’re going to do…
Friends and I can commiserate on this, we’re all in the same age (late 30s – 40s) range with parents and other relatives who are – thus Senior Citizens. And some are in good health, some not. Some half and half but they do not listen about eating healthy or exercise.
Sigh.
Well, we commiserate. Hang in there.
@Dali
Thank you. Really, caregivers get so much shit that it’s impossible to not think of yourself as a garbage human.
I think one of the reasons they don’t want an independent person is that they wouldn’t be able to fuck around with someone who isn’t their child.
@POM
I will do this.
Here’s the thing: I’ve been looking people up on the website for my healthcare, but sometimes when I call the facility in question, they then say they literally just stopped taking my insurance about a week or so ago.
So I spend another week or two looking for another one and the same shit happens. So I gave up for a few months and decided I didn’t want to waste spoons doing it, but I’ve obviously just been declining further.
Perhaps calling the number on my card will be more useful.
@Fran
Well, I’m saying the stuff about your creativity because it’s true. And I second the PoM’s suggestions about inquiring about insurance coverage for a therapist. Heck, if you do get in to see someone you might even ask for advice on how you could use your writing can help you cope during a difficult time.
@dallilama
In that sub-thread on the bow as a military weapon in the late-medieval and early modern world a few posts back (and a cumulative thousand or so comments ago) you had introduced the issue of training, especially in contrast to later (e.g. eighteenth-century) firearms — had the comments not soared past that sub-topic in five second like they do now on this blog, I would have added something to that about the concomitant impact of the development of drill, etc. (I was in graduate school when the whole “Military Revolution” was THE historiographic rage in the scholarly military history world. Then they diluted it by deciding that it applied to everything from the freakin’ High Middle Ages to like 1800. Good grief. But, yeah, individual training time going down overall is part of that whole “infantry revolution” or “return of infantry to the battlefield” (to use the textbook-y phrase)…so, anyway, good point….
@Fran
In a past incarnation, I worked for an insurance company. There is often a separate number for mental health care vs. regular medical care, so be sure you call the right one if there are multiple numbers.
Just tell them you are having a hard time navigating your coverage and need help understanding what is covered, how it is covered, and how to get an appointment ASAP (assuming that the other questions leave you confident that you can afford care). The people on the phone are there to help you! Depending on the insurance company, they may even be able to make an appointment for you. Avail yourself of the help! This is the low-spoons method of getting an appointment, in my experience anyway.
@kupo
Nobody is strictly speaking owed anything unless they paid for it, but we do have something of a social contract with others of our species and can choose to communicate in a way that furthers it.
@Fran
OMG, honey, all the hugs in the universe. My father was not a pleasant person to me, and Parkinsons + delusional dementia made that much worse, so living with him to try to keep him out of a nursing home was hellish, and that was WITH the help of a nurse home attendant, and he STILL got himself committed by being a danger to himself and others.
Is there a visiting nurse service where you’re at? Those programs are free. And having someone else come to help you and a nurse visiting once a week to make sure everyone is getting what they need can be such relief.
@dashapants
So the social contract says that the person being hurt by the racist behavior needs to take the measures to calm the person oppressing them? Or could this work for your example, maybe?
White person dresses up in blackface.
Black person says “that’s racist.”
White person says “Holy shit, really? I had no idea, I’m sorry.”
*White person googles why blackface is racist.*
@kupo
That could happen. They’re more likely to ask the intervening person directly than go straight for Google, but sure your hypothetical is also possible. (I am not entirely certain if blackface historically carries the same connotation in all countries, would have to Google that myself.) Black person can also say “why are you dressed as racist stereotype”, and that might increase the chances of sensible inquiry in a genuinely confused white person.
A socially conscious person would likely do as you say and look it up themselves. A bigot would just say something bigoted. A person who isn’t really concerned one way or the other will respond based on how they are confronted.
Anyway, this is beating a dead hypothetical horse at this point. We can carry on dealing with bigots as seems most fitting to our situation. I do not have to face rampant racial discrimination, so it is easier for me to argue these points with bigots as I do, because my identity is not being assaulted and they are less likely to see me as calling them names. It’s not fair, but it is what it is.
@Pavlov
Honestly, I kinda used to do that. If you look at my most recent writings you will see that they carry heavy undertones of people who are cursed by fate.
Thing is, writing takes up spoons these days. It’s also hard to write if you’re exhausted.And if I take a nap I get yelled at and told I’m being a bad person. Amazing, right?
@PoM
I’ll do it! Thank you.
@Dasha
I’ll give it a try. Honestly, I don’t think there are any in the goddess-forsaken wasteland I live in, but I will check. Maybe things have changed for the better.
The social programs here are very much lacking.
@dashapants
You can approach these conversations however you like. It’s when you expect people of color to comfort and soothe white people who are actively being racist that it’s a problem. As any ally, please do spend your time and energy trying to change minds. Just don’t expect the people being oppressed to do the same. Instead, expect white people to react better to learning that they’re being problematic. Deal?
@Fran
Awesome. Good luck! You deserve great care and all the help you need.
Alan’s mention way upthread of Julius Caesar being called Julie reminded me of Wayne and Shuster’s classic comedy sketch Rinse the Blood Off My Toga.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR_5h8CzRcI
Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster met while Toronto high school students in the early 1930s. They studied theatre at the University of Toronto, and had their first national exposure on CBC Radio in 1941. In 1942 they began performing for Canadian troops overseas, and after the war continued to work on the CBC. In 1958 they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, and would go on to appear on Sullivan a record 58 times, more than any other performer.
Frank Shuster’s Canadian born cousin Joe Shuster was co-creator with Jerry Siegal of Superman.
Just to point out, every single one of the rulers he brings up is also one of the worst examples to use for his point. He claims the Mary he’s talking about is Mary Tudor, though she ran into some legal trouble at one point for committing treason. Back then, her having an affair was considered high treason, so I don’t think she helps his point.
William the Conqueror? A non-English guy who successfully invaded England. He’s kind of on the opposite side of the point the guy up there is making.
Richard the Lionheart? Recognized as a piss-poor ruler who ran around fighting Saladin, who he was incredibly friendly with, then got captured on his way back from failing to retake Jerusalem. So he’s both a military failure, and friendly to Muslims.
Henry the V? So rebellious, he was almost forced to abdicate. One of the first things he did on taking the throne was forgive all his enemies.
You know he’s got his history completely wrong.
@kupo
I expect the same things from all people. But given that people have had significantly different hurdles in their lives to overcome, this expectation is often thwarted by circumstances. Because some people can afford to start from scratch while others are starting from the depth of oppression. Even if all things are suddenly equal, the baggage is different. Still, I can’t make a blanket promise like that. Precisely because the baggage is always different and one has to look at the specific circumstances. It’s why intersectionality is a thing. We’re all allies to each other often in more causes than one, and the argument that men, or white people, or bisexuals, or whoever do not deserve an explanation or even a perfunctory direction to “google it” following an accusation of bad behavior is to me a bit close to playing at oppression olympics. “Don’t expect me to educate you” is usually met with “Then don’t expect me to be educated.” And this isn’t a white person response. That’s any person response. No, I don’t think it’s the job of black people to massage the feelings of white people. I think it’s the job of all people to do their best to understand exactly where the other person is coming from and try to meet up somewhere they can both live without resentments. Don’t argue with assholes, for sure, they are not having a good faith argument. But something like this? You and I are having this argument right now, for the most part civilly, no one has yet lapsed into insults even though we’ve sort of disagreed. I am sure thought is being given here on both sides. This is not exactly anathema, no?
@Everyone
CW: Historical violence
I returned from cooking food – brown rice, grilled chicken, boiled cauliflower with butter, and channa with curry powder, sliced onion, tumeric, and geerah – and ate and cleaned up.
Meanwhile, I watched some documentaries that are relevant to the discussion.
1.) Apparently Alexander Pushkin, the esteemed Russian writer, was partially black due to his heritage, so Valentine ought to be pleased with my research. Seems to be a hotly contested issue, though.
2.) So the guy in the OP, along with other white racist alt-right folk, adores the Crusader Knights and Crusader Kings, yes?
It’s just the sort of thing that makes the alt-right people get excited and breathe hard, this glorious vision of armored knights in white tunic bearing the Red Christian Cross, charging down in attack formations upon the evil brown Muslims.
Let me introduce y’all to the Battle of Ma’ara. Here, the Glorious White Christian Crusaders ate human flesh. They cut the buttocks off people, as the Civilized White People do, and roasted and ate them.
So civilized! Such superior white racial instinct in action! Surely these are people to admire!
Of course, Wikipedia is quick to mention that this might just have been a story the Muslims made up to make the Crusaders look bad.
A brief tangent: in the A Song of Ice and Fire books, Queen Daenerys Targaryen, who is, of course, a breathtaking white woman with hair so blonde it’s almost white, plays at being a Richard the Lionheart and initiates a brutal war against Muslim-like brown people who are funny and cruel and speak like idiots.
Knowing what I know now about the Crusaders, and drawing on my ASOIAF expertise, I’m sorely tempted to write a book in which a blonde white woman who is a Queen brutally attacks a fortified desert city with her knights and then has her (white) people eat the buttocks of the desert dwellers.
I’m guessing the alt-right people would think she’s cool and the heroine of the story, but – spoilers! – she is actually the villain of the story. They’d probably still root for her, though, because they are evil.
Oh man, Daenerys Targaryen. Setting aside the fact that her entire plot line is a series of setbacks that are really opportunities, and while every other character is having a shit time of it and losing limbs, she leads a charmed life of ever mounting triumph, which in narrative terms (in the books at least) becomes extra annoying, BUT she is essentially Tarzan as depicted in the original novels (which were racist as all get out). The whole point of Tarzan is to prove the superiority of the white race, and what better way to do so than to strip white man of all civilization and to abandon him as a baby in the jungle, ONLY to show him triumph over all obstacles to become the “king” of said jungle on the basis of his innate white man awesomeness.
Thus dear whiter than white Daenerys overcomes being sold into sex slavery to some brown people by becoming mother of dragons, and having learned firsthand that slavery is bad, becomes the great white savior of some other brown peoples, and the peoples rejoice. Some of them. Others are much too wicked or too foolish, but that’s what the dragons are for.
And there are so, so many other things to criticize about ASOIAF. Not the least of which is unrelenting character torture masquerading as plot development, and semblance of plot and character complexity by simply having MORE characters.
Is it entertaining? Sure. Is it a literary mess? Oh yes it is.
Okay, I am quitting this thread in a vain attempt to get some sleep.
@Dasha
Basically what you said.
So, between that and what I just read about the Noble Crusaders eating people, I now want to turn her entire story on its head by portraying a character like her as the Villain, replete with an exact play-by-play reworking of her stuff.
It’s also a critique of all the medieval fantasy fics that portray the Crusaders as cool people. Ever read the sourcebooks for the Fading Suns: Star Crusade roleplaying game?
I’m going to go sleep too, I’m exhausted and can barely move a muscle. Sleep well.
@Fran
The useful things have all been said already, but I send you hugs.
@Fran if you ever want to complain about caretaking let me know, we can complain and scream about life being unfair and all that shit us selfless-caretaking-angels aren’t supposed to do.
I had a different take on the Danaerys as white savior narrative. I don’t think it was a white saviors, yay! thing. I think it was a subversion of that trope. At first it seems like standard white savior. She blows in with her silver hair and dragons and everyone worships her. Then she actually tries to rule. And it’s a mess. She’s a foreigner who doesn’t understand the culture. She has no experience with all the complexities of actually ruling so she has no idea at all what to do. The freed slaves who worshipped her at first start to mistrust her. The masters don’t go away and she has to form alliances with some of them. Meanwhile Astapor and Yunkai in her absence fall into chaos while the camps of her followers outside of Meereen become cesspits of disease. Slavery makes a comeback, it’s just more black market. Assuming the show is following the same trajectory as the unpublished as of yet book material will, she’s going to wash her hands of Slaver’s Bay and who knows what is going to happen to the region.
Plus, although you wouldn’t get it from watching the TV show, the books are pretty clear that Essos isn’t all brown people and a lot of the slaves are actually white. I think the show made a mistake by depicting slaves as brown because it made Dany look like such a white savior when I don’t think that was the entire point.
There’s definitely some problematic shit on race in ASOIAF, particularly with the Dothraki, but I don’t think it’s fair to say Dany is a white savior Mary Sue either. Despite the kind of unfortunate fetishization of her silver hair and violet eyes. GRRM has been very vocal about how he’s a big Lord of the Rings fan but found it unrealistic that it ended with Aragorn taking his rightful place as king and it’s all happily ever after. A common issue with fantasy. You don’t see the protagonists having to deal with the day to day leadership that’s not quite so glamorous. It’s a big theme with the books that you have characters being good at rising to power but having no idea what to do once they get it. So they make huge mistakes. You see it with Dany, Jon Snow, Robert Baratheon, Theon Greyjoy in Winterfell, Aerys Targaryen.
Sorry for the rant. I can nerd about ASOIAF basically forever!
What WWTH said. When I read the books I encountered both Danaerys and Jon Snow as being deconstructions of Mary Sue / Marty Stu characters. They behave with the typical decisive-heroic-flouting-of-traditions that such characters typically have; but instead of it leading to glorious victories, it leads to everything falling apart.
The series seems to be shying away from that, though, in favour of making both of them the sort of straight-up wish-fulfillment heroes that they were originally written as deconstructions of. Amongst other problems, this creates exactly the White Saviour motif that the books avoided.
I could be annoyed at this, but life is short and it’s not like the books are going away.
@Fran
I offer any and all hugs if you so desire them. Feel free to post here whenever you’re having a problem. We’re willing to lend a sympathetic ear or two if you need to vent every once in a while 🙂
I think almost every one of the monarchs mentioned would have had Ivan Throne imprisoned, exiled or executed for presuming to speak on their behalf. A great adviser like Buckingham, or Warwick the Kingmaker, might have got to put words in the Royal mouth, some jumped up non-entity certainly wouldn’t. That’s feudalism for you.