By David Futrelle
So this little blog of mine (and yours!) got a nice writeup in the New York Times today by fellow Illinois writer Peter C. Baker. Check it out! Nice to see the Paper of Record take note of what we’re doing here.
Or old friend Mike Cernovich, quoted in the piece, has decided that you commenters here are a bunch of sock puppets. Which makes about as much sense as the rest of his nonsense, I guess. And dear old Paul Elam, whose idea of helping men consists of charging them $90 an hour to talk to his unqualified ass on Skype, sputters that what we do here is like making fun of cancer patients. Nah. It’s more like making fun of cancer itself.
Big thanks to Jaclyn Friedman for her kind comments in the piece.
And speaking of thanks, this seems like a good opportunity to once again offer my humble thanks to all the (extremely real) commenters on and supporters of WHTM for making this blog possible in the first place!
@ Valentine
I’m a bit of a fan of Russkaja; don’t know if you’re familiar with them.
Also into Leningrad Cowboys. Did some work for them back in my roadie days. They used the bring the entire Red Army orchestra with them as back up group.
@Valentine
Yes! The Invisible Hand Of The United States Free Market gives you everything you need.
You don’t have to have a prescription or anything. The Invisible Hand does its magic all by itself.
It is truly amazing. Late stage capitalism at it’s finest.
We don’t have good infrastructure or health care, water is undrinkable in some parts, but you can get all the drugs you could ever want, any time you like, and numb yourself to the existential horror of being an underprivileged lower class citizen.
Congratulations, David, on the article. Internet hugs (as required) for handling the inevitable uptick in trolls as a result.
I’m a little confused by the “echo chamber” comment. Couldn’t it be levelled at any website dedicated to discussion of one topic? Terry Pratchett fan websites are an echo chamber of people who agree that Pterry is cool, knitting websites are bursting at the seams with people who spend time knitting… so why is it noteworthy or surprising that a site dedicated to mocking online misogyny has a lot of commenters who think misogyny should be mocked? That said, the best of such sites engage in plenty of off-topic conversations and healthy debate. WHTM is an exemplar of this (quick diversion to dictionary to check that means what I think it means; it does, good), I suspect because of David’s excellent comments policy and because the community not only abides by it and self-polices, but does so in a generally non-judgmental and kind way where commenters seem to be genuine.
I came for the mockery and stayed for the education (on both related and very unrelated matters), the sense of community and the pictures of cats.
And, whilst I’ve been Ninja’d a thousand times over on this point, well done David (by which I mean me) for the intricate and complex use of sock puppets. It must take a ridiculous amount of research and imagination; do you (again, meaning I) not need sleep?
Congratulations, all (or just David, depending on the sock puppet thing)!
Alan forgive me but Russkaja is german. Just lead singer is russian or speaking russian as first language. And also they market for german people, you can see from translation in song like ‘Raz Dwa Tri’. See they using ‘w’ here for в sound? Really no one in russia listening this band i dont think. They playing for the stereotypes.
Fran you really not needing perscribtion for anything? I dont know if that is good or bad. Seems maybe bad. Especially since you mention sleeping pills which is quite dangerous. I read VDR transcript from El Faro, she sank last year in Hurricane Joaquim. Second officer there was taking sleeping pills. Her whole crew there on that ship was americans apart from i think 3 or 4 polish. I very sad to say, no one survived.
Hello.
Congratulation, David !
I do not know if i am a sock puppet. Or maybe the one manipulating me does not want me to know ? Or maybe someone is sock puppeting the one manipulating me ? Or maybe… ad lib. Kind of inception, i guess ?
I wonder if there are stocking or tight puppets.
And i agree with the whole hole in the sock problem. I do not know if it is a general tendancy, but as years go along, socks seem to be more and more fragile (and shoes too) and last less and less long. Heel, toes, sole are quick to become holey. I wonder if it is a problem of shoes or foot morphology ? Or maybe they just do not bother to make good strong socks anymore ?
Have a nice day.
@Valentine
Personally, I think it’s good because we can do anything we want within reason, provided you have the capability of buying things on the black market.
However, I agree that it is incredibly dangerous. Let me let you into a secret about the USA: they want you to die here. Everything is set up so you can die very easily. The mortality rate in America is far higher than it should be for an advanced global superpower.
If you die, you make room for another consumer. Nobody cares and our system is set up specifically to make people die. Death and blood oils the U.S. economic machine.
I am not surprised that the doomed vessel you mentioned was crewed by Americans who were well blotto on drugs. It’s more or less the American Way. I was smiling to myself and thinking how totally American the crew of that vessel sounds.
I suppose we probably have a reputation as being likely to get people killed at sea due to ineptitude, drugs, or both.
ETA:
Our money should not say ‘In God We Trust’, it should say “I hope you die quickly”. That’s America for you.
@ fran
Scottish money literally tries to pick a fight. That’s Scotland for you. 🙂
http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/3/34/Nemo_Me_Impune_Lacessit.jpg
ETA: Translates as “No one has a go at me and gets away with it”.
Well of course every country has black market i just thinking very strange in america you can speak easily to doctor for medicine. But then if you just purchasing from black market then that is different.
On El Faro second officer was female there. Also one stewardess. I dont think that sleeping pills were any reason for vessel to sink, she was going through the tropical storm and she old from 1975 (this quite old for ships now, my ship only from 2002 and oldest i sail on from 1999). Investigation still ongoing by NOAA but i think drugs will not be important in this. But company that was operating el faro definately will take some blame – they putting pressure on captain and he make the poor descisons and then vessel gets lost. I cant remember what this shipping company is called. But they american. But trust, for amercian sailors their conditons much better than our because they have strong unions and can only go on us flag vessel. Company called Tote i think.
I do not really know what reputation American sailors having. I never work with them. But American sailors not maintian their ships – they go into port and others come and make this. Or this is what i hear. We maintain our ship by ourself – she little bit rusty now because we have dry dock next year but still she look much better than any Us flag vessel you can see.
@Sir Alan
To quote Orwell (poorly), as I write this, highly intelligent, accredited professional men are trying to kill me.
Seriously, they are in the Capitol taking away our healthcare and banning the press from asking questions about it.
If by some chance you defy the odds and survive the generally hazardous nature of American life, have no fear: our Republican politicians will do their damndest to try to kill you.
The U.S. is basically a very large death cult. We have made it so that complete strangers can take it upon themselves to end your life.
@ fran
One of the most bewildering, and disturbing, things to me is when my American friends (you included of course) tell me about their experiences of your health care system. One of my friends has the best insurance you can get, yet she still had to pay an $8,000 excess after a breast cancer scare. There was also an incident after a car crash where she declined going to the hospital for a check up because she’d be charged for the ambulance ride.
Were you around for our discussion of government costs of health care? What got me was that the US govt actually pays more than the UK and Canada per person for health care. I just don’t understand it.
@ Valentine:
Me too! But the Russian music I like is classical (technically, mostly romantic). Borodin, Prokofiev, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and so on. My Russian is remedial at best so I don’t try to listen to anything with lyrics I can’t follow in a libretto.
@ Fran:
You’re not wrong about how conservatives view the way America ought to operate. I’m in California so I’m pretty optimistic about how we can all work together, despite those bastards. We’re going to have universal medical care here in the next few years! And that’ll be a proving ground for other states.
Also: sleep is necessary for survival and wellness. Please do get some, on your own terms, when you’re ready and able. Speaking as a fellow insomniac, 3 hours really isn’t enough for most of us, most of the time. Please do take care of yourself, however you define that. I’m not here to judge, but I do care.
@Fran, Alan
Sorry for the length of my essay as I said in the other thread I’m pretty stoned and it makes me even more verbose than normal
But if anyone is knows a lot about the drug market, it’s me. I’m 33, and I started smoking weed at 13. So I’ve been buying and occasionally selling drugs(to personal friends at school and such, I’ve never been a “corner boy”, or anything like that, it’s crazy dangerous)since my freshman year of high school. Before I went to rehab, in my early 20’s, I’d tried almost every drug that exists at least once. First it was just weed, but by 16 I was getting big into the rave scene(most of my friends were at least 18+my boyfriend was 19.)Back then, they were much more lax about carding, and I had a halfway decent fake ID. Drugs were an integral part of the rave scene, and easy to buy as candy. Ecstasy, acid, mushrooms, Special K(and occasionally coke if you could afford it)a 16 year old could buy in quantity enough to party constantly(every other day pretty much) then sell the rest to friends to earn enough for more drugs and a profit that seemed like a fortune to a 16 year old.
And in most late 90’s teen counterculture groups this was not at all unusual. In fact it’s seemed to me the majority of punks, ravers, goths, skaters, etc, I met indulged. The specific drugs differed between subcultures but they were almost always there. Then after my grandmother died I went down the rabbit hole. I was closer to her than I was to anyone else in my family and I was the person who took care of her along with her home attendant while diabetes completely ravaged her body. First, she lost her circulation in her limbs till she completely lost her mobility then it got even worse because some extremities, toes mostly at first were dying because the flesh wasn’t getting enough blood to stay alive and she had to get multiple amputations and it just got more and more horrific. She did not believe in suicide at all even in situations where you’re dying painfully. She was truly ready to go when she passed, but her death still utterly devastated me and I turned to harder drugs, mostly heroin. It was no harder to get when I decided I wanted it. I thought it would be but it wasn’t. Well I’m not going into detail past this part, it’s depressing but I eventually went to rehab and now I use drugs recreationally but not stupidly. I defer to my to my boyfriends opinion(we’ve been friends for two decades and been dating for eight and a half years. He knows me best)on how much is too much and I’m much less self destructive on purpose than I was then.
TL-DR: I only really know about New York City but buying drugs in New York City is as easy as buying almost anything else as long as you know where to go and is very easy to find someone who will show you where to go. I was a naive teenager and was able to get whatever my little mind could think of. I’m sure no even halfway intelligent adult would have any trouble getting whatever they wanted.
The other fucked-up thing is the misinformation they give you in school about drugs like weed and mushrooms they say they can kill you and drive you crazy and all sorts of horror stories and then you try them and it’s nothing like that at all, it’s just a a pleasant time.
Especially at that age, when most people, definitely including me, are averse to authority figures and you’re young and ignorant, it makes you think they’re lying about all drugs including the worst ones like heroin and meth. At least that’s what it did to me and and a good portion of my friends at that time. If they were honest about the effects of drugs and what they did I think people would act more intelligently because they be properly informed.
As I’ve mentioned I’m a day-sleeper so I’m getting ready for bed I hope everyone has at least something pleasant in their day if they can’t have a lovely day all total. Good morning all! Happy Wednesday?!
@ katiekitten
And good morning to you too! I don’t think I’ve said a proper hello to you yet (“Hello!”); but I’m really enjoying reading your posts. You have my sympathies where appropriate and hugs where needed.
Ah drugs. I was a bit of an early starter like yourself when it came to weed. I was lucky I suppose though that I had older friends who kept an eye on me during my formative youth as it were. Then I got involved in the music scene. Well, you can imagine what that was like. Having said that, when I entered the legal profession I didn’t exactly notice a drop off in the number of people taking drugs.
You really sound like you’ve got your head screwed on (as we say here) so I’m sure you’ll do fine. Hopefully we’ll be having further chats in future, so for now I’ll just say, you make sure you take care of yourself, and smoke a fat one for me.
I kind of don’t like how this article ignores trans-commentators, but anyway. Apparently Daves commentators are all women. Now my little lady brain is all confused!? Am I a sock!? A woman!? A Soman?! Ahhhhh….
Get me some pearls to clutch!
@RosieLa
Commenters all women/sock puppets eh ? Well those trolls probably spend too much time under their bridges.
Can I be a pair of hi – tech thermals ?
This is as good a time as any to personally thank David and all the other Davids (the exceptionally wonderful commenters) for what how now been years of teaching and helping me to be a better person.
Thanks for letting me lurk.
Sincerely,
a sock in moderation?
OK, so how *fucking funny* is it that Elam claims WHTM helps his “career”??
That’s very well put. It’s how I see this blog, too. I don’t have the resilience it takes to trudge through the filth of the manosphere all by myself. It depresses me and angers me too much and makes me feel like my IQ is going down minute by minute.
The filter of mockery and counter-arguments makes it more tolerable. Not tolerable as in more acceptable/less shocking, but easier to get through without the urge to throw my laptop out the window.
(Although there are times where, even with the filter, I must avert my eyes from the eclipse.)
@occasional
That not really what i mean but okay ))) also good to enjoy classical music. I mean like this:
https://youtu.be/4IxQtRME9Zo
And this:
https://youtu.be/xEi3SwKUc10
And this:
https://youtu.be/q7kapSyQg5s
If you like to enjoy something new ))
Congratulations, David, for the well-deserved attention from the New York Times.
Congrats, David. You deserve the positive attention. This place is a gem.Watch though, here will come the trolls because that article will make them seethe against WHTM.
P.S. I’m representing Davids cats because they are adorable.
Re: transwomen who read the Mammoth
I’ve heard some trans advocates say we are actually Just Women and should not preface ourselves by saying we’re Trans Women.
Some transpeople get really angry if you declare that you are trans. Apparently it’s not The Done Thing.
@Everyone, re: Fran sleeping
I passed out due to the sleeping tablets kicking in and got some rest. Sorry if you were wondering what happened to me.
@Katie
This is why we have to hang out together. I’d like you to check out my exotic Medicine Cabinet full of goodies and sample them.
Nothing wacky and life-threatening like black tar heroin or anything, but rare psychedelics like 2CB, 5-MeO-DIPT, DOB, and so on – compounds you don’t usually see floating around.
Concordantly, you can then show me what you’ve got. I’m sure you get rare shit us Long Islanders can’t get in this Goddessforsaken wilderness.
You all can be regular socks. I’d rather be a sock animal myself. They’re cuter:
http://luvstampinsewmuch.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/cropped-banner3-soft-edge1.jpg
Maaaaybe not technically a sock animal:
http://www.roroart.com/graphics/home3.gif
This one I may have to get the pattern for, since I have a bunch of socks that have a few too many holes in them to wear anymore:
http://www.plushiepatterns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/sock-snake.jpg
LOL seriously again? I mean David you’ve been what, how many ferrets or cats or I don’t know – elephants? – in a David suit for how long? For some reason, they love leveling the accusation that everyone on this blog is a sock puppet. Is the Northern Hemisphere just beginning to warm up? Then it must be time to accuse David of having sock puppets on his blog.
They have to maintain the illusion that they’re winning after all.