Just a 24-year-old Texan living in Los Angeles with their partner and a cat named Moose. Posts various Pagan-y things, computer science and programming miscellany, Hufflepuff nonsense, fitness/health-related things,...
Can I punch Nazis? I don’t know. Can you? I am capable of the act, yes. Then you should. May I? The answer to that is also yes.
Can I punch Nazis?
I don’t know. Can you?
I am capable of the act, yes.
Then you should.
May I?
The answer to that is also yes.
My mother told me that violence was never the answer.
My mother told me I was handsome; you can’t always listen to your mother.
What happened to letting the other guy throw the first punch?
Nazis don’t throw the first punch. Nazis burn the first Reichstag.
Aren’t the Left supposed to be the tolerant ones?
Supposed to be the smart ones, too, but they keep falling for that “I thought you were supposed to be the tolerant ones” horseshit.
What about dialogue?
Dialogue is for reasonable people acting in good faith. Dialogue is between two acceptable positions. “Taxes need to be raised” vs. “taxes need to be lowered” is grounds for dialogue. “Taxes need to be raised” vs. “Jews should be thrown in ovens” is grounds for a beating.
But isn’t this sinking to their level?
That depends. After you punch the Nazi, do you espouse the tenets of National Socialism?
No.
Then you’re better than a Nazi.
But doesn’t this just give the other side ammunition?
The other side in this argument are lying fucks who can twist any piece of information into a swastika-shaped balloon animal if you engage them in good faith; lacking a piece of information, they’ll just make shit up. Might as well punch a Nazi.
What about peace, love, and understanding?
Great goals, and once we get rid of the Nazis we can get to work on them. All three are completely impossible when Nazis are about.
When should you punch a Nazi?
Whenever you get a chance. Preferably when they’re not looking.
What if they’re smaller than you?
Hit them with your fist.
What if they’re bigger?
Hit them with a bat.
Isn’t this a slippery slope?
After we defeated the Nazis in World War II, did we keep shooting people or did the troops come home and start having babies?
The second thing.
There you go. The slippery slope argument is nine times out of ten bullshit. Human beings are good with slippery slopes: we build stairs.
What if you think you’re punching a Nazi, but you just hit a white guy with a shitty haircut?
Run.
What should you do if you hit a Nazi?
You should run then, too. Don’t get me wrong: punching Nazis is still illegal. We’re discussing morality.
But I don’t want to punch anyone.
Then get off your duff, mister, and give aid and support to the boys on the front lines. We’re all in this together. Again.
Vote in local and state elections while you can. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate—do not look away and do not get used to them.
Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today:
1. Do not obey in advance.
Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You’ve already done this, haven’t you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.
2. Defend an institution.
Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don’t protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.
3. Recall professional ethics.
When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without judges.
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words.
Look out for the expansive use of “terrorism” and “extremism.” Be alive to the fatal notions of “exception” and “emergency.” Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don’t fall for it.
6. Be kind to our language.
Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don’t use the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps The Power of the Powerless by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.
7. Stand out.
Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
8. Believe in truth.
To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
9. Investigate.
Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Bookmark PropOrNot or other sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.
10. Practice corporeal politics.
Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
11. Make eye contact and small talk.
This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
13. Hinder the one-party state.
The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections while you can.
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can.
Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.
15. Establish a private life.
Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.
16. Learn from others in other countries.
Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries.
When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.
18. Be reflective if you must be armed.
If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)
19. Be as courageous as you can.
If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.
20. Be a patriot.
The incoming president is not. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.
amidst all this celebration i hope we can also take a sec to remember Ramsey Orta who will be in prison for another 3.5 years for simply catching clear police brutality on tape, and i hope we can remember all the people that we don’t know about who have been effectively silenced and imprisoned for trying to reveal corruption within government
Ramsey Orta found rat poison in his food, so he doesn’t trust prison meals, and is only eating pre-wrapped snacks from the commissary,
WHEN they let him have access to the money on his books.
They’re trying to break him and kill him,
All because he filmed police killing Eric Garner.
Don’t forget about Ramsey Orta and his family.
This is the official page for information on his well-being and donation efforts.
Michelle and Barack Obama’s last annual Christmas address is a poignant reminder of how much we love these two
President Obama says that Christmas inspires him to strive toward love, compassion, and hope. “Those are values that help guide not just my family’s Christian faith but that of Jewish Americans and Muslim Americans, non-believers and Americans of all backgrounds,“ adds the President. Plus, the POTUS and First Lady are just totally adorable.
In honor of POTUS’s final half day in office we’re reblogging some of our favorite moments of his Presidency. Look at how cute Michelle is. “Get it together, POTUS.” 😂 😂 😂
I’m seeing a ton of people posting this copy-and-paste update about boycotting the inauguration by SWITCHING YOUR TELEVISION TO A DIFFERENT CHANNEL. It’s a nice thought and a nice gesture, but that WON’T WORK.
I’m not putting those things in all caps to yell at you, I just want to make sure you see it.
How TV Ratings Work:
Viewership is measured through Nielsen ratings. Unless you’re a “Nielsen family,” you don’t really count. Nielsen Family data is recorded through their Nielsen boxes, and then that data is gathered on a value curve to represent a larger audience.
Basically, no Nielsen box = no count.
Ratings are an estimate. It’s super archaic. But so is cable. That’s why viewer data is ALSO gathered through internet clicks and posts, interaction with online videos and social feeds, and streaming data.
How to REALLY Boycott the Inauguration:
Avoid online content. Avoid clicking on videos, avoid linking articles and tweets, avoid social feeds, avoid recaps. Even hate-watching a video or posting a link to add the comment, “An oil spill in the Pacific Ocean is better for humanity than this administration,” still counts toward viewer data. Your hate-click is still an added view, and it doesn’t come with a little asterisk next to it that says, “But this person loathed it and weeps for the future.”
So changing your channel is chill, and I recommend it! There is so much beautiful, amazing television! It’s a Golden Age of scripted content! But for god’s sake, don’t then go and negate your boycott by opening your Facebook and putting angry faces on a bunch of Trump videos.
Fun Viking Facts:
An Icelandic hero named Grettir, subject of the poem Grettisfaersla, was said to have had crazy sex with “maidens and widows, everyone’s wives, farmers’ sons, deans and courtiers, abbots and abbesses, cows and calves, indeed with near all living creatures.”
The amusement of Old Icelandic verse never ceases to amaze me! You can actually read this poem for free, along with academic insights and footnotes by Dr. Kate Hislop of UC Berkeley: http://kate-heslop.com/media/heslop.pdf.
The poem itself is fragmented, so not all of it makes sense, but it is still quite hilarious to read in full. I have pasted over the best parts below (an ‘//’ means that I skipped a few lines. Also, any ‘ …’ indicates missing words or lines).
To quote directly from her source and translation (The language is a bit vulgar for some, so I will clip it with a read more because I don’t know how to properly use tw tags, if that’s what would be appropriate here):
A little anti-depressing rough sketch. There’s an old idea for a troll character I’ve had for fucking ever now?? I’ve been thinking of calling Momba for a while. Even her wardrobe alone, I’ve been undecided on. I have no idea what she’ll look like when I finally get a final painting, but I know she’s gonna wear shoes and have the same hair and skin. ‘Cause what better way to show your authority than with big hoops and boots.
She has a magic telescope that takes her to ancient treasures and on wild adventures. At least that’s what she tells her massive hunky man crew when she guides them off in fuck-all directions to heck-knows-anywhere.
