#method speaks

[a-method-in-it]

You know that Chris Fleming line that goes "Call yourself a community organizer even though you're not on speaking terms with your roommates"?

I honestly think every leftist who talks about the "revolution" like Christians talk about the rapture needs to spend a year trying to organize their workplace. Anyone who sincerely talks about building a movement so vast and all-encompassing that it overwhelms all existing power structures needs the dose of humility that comes with realizing they can't even build a movement to get people paid better at a badly run AMC Theaters where everyone already hates the manager.

[a-method-in-it]

I'm re-watching Wake Up Dead Man, and one thing I really appreciate upon a second viewing is the way that they show Jud still does have the instinct to lash out and to fight: He punches the deacon in the opening scene, yes, but he also smacks Martha's hand away when she accuses him and has to go and swing at the punching bag in Sam's garage to cool down; he gets into a fighters stance when Wicks comes after him. He even throws that figurine through the church window while drunk without even knowing why, just acting on the instinct to lash out.

And I appreciate it for a few reasons, one being that it shows Jud's past is still with him; finding religion was part of his healing but it wasn't some definitive break. He is still that person with that past, just having grown from it now.

And second, it makes it that much clearer that being the way he is -- kind and patient and caring and thoughtful and soft-spoken and earnest -- that is a choice for him.

He is not a good person because he was capital S Saved by the Lord God, who Changed His Heart and turned him into a different man. He's a good person because he chooses to be one. He chooses to listen; he chooses to care; he chooses to be gentle.

And sometimes he slips up. Sometimes, when he's under stress and it's all getting to be too much for him, he slaps Martha's hand away without thinking about it. Those instincts are still there. And when that happens, he immediately regrets it, apologizes, and tries to get his head back where it needs to be.

It's something I feel like all the good people I know have in common and something I almost never see on TV or in movies: Goodness as a choice.

In real life, it's hard sometimes to do the right thing or even know what the right thing is. It's hard to reach for kindness instead of something sharper. But people do anyway. Not because they are inherently Just Like That, but because that's how the want to move through the world.

Anyway, there's a ton to love about this movie, including the fact that it is an excellent mystery story in and of itself. But I also love what it has to say about what it truly means to be a good person, a good leader, a good man. It means choosing to be those things.

[a-method-in-it]

Most of the time when you see movies that include a "religious vs. not" dynamic, the central tension is presented as "faith" vs. "rationality", and that's what I was expecting from Wake Up Dead Man --- and I was prepared to be on board for it. After all, that's a pretty natural theme for a murder mystery featuring a brilliant detective in the vein of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

Which is why it makes it that much more interesting that Rian Johnson goes off the beaten path. The central conflict is not "religious superstition (that may or may not be presented as secretly being true to some extent)" against "objective rationality (that may or may not be presented as not actually knowing everything it thinks it does)"

No, the central conflict in Wake Up Dead Man is "The Church" and "The World."

Wicks is obsessed with the world, with beating it back into submission to the church and its rules and dictates, and this attitude is also seen among some of the other senior clergy in the beginning, while in contrast Jud states outright that the goal of the church should be to serve the world, faithful and not, as Christ did.

Blanc, rather than just harping on the church as superstition and irrationality, focuses on the harms it causes out in the world --- and its hypocrisy in still trying to then claim moral superiority.

And ultimately, the takeaway the movie seems to be driving at is that the Church is part of the world, and that the biggest threats to the Church are not "Marxist feminist" worldliness like Wicks seems to think, but the greed and lust for domination that Wicks himself embodies.

Which I think is just such a more interesting angle to take.

[a-method-in-it]

So, I get a huge kick out of it when people say "this would kill a medieval peasant" because like, yeah, modern life is fucking wild and baffling and that's awesome, but also.

Medieval peasants were weird as fuck. Weird and also irreverent --- something medieval priests complained about a lot --- and also contrarian and just plain hilarious. Did you know there was a court case in I think medieval Germany where the peasants said that even though the law said they had to harvest the hay from the lord's field and stack it in his barn, the law didn't say anything about them transporting it from the field to the barn so that was his job. And the lord. Had to take them to court over this.

Bro that is hilarious. That is gold. That is a group of people who would absolutely appreciate the unnatural orange color of Doritos.

Anyway, the point is we should start talking about stuff that would kill a nineteenth century aristocrat. I've seen Bridgerton, and those people can't handle shit.

[a-method-in-it]

It's Election Night and I am so stressed I might be vibrating, but I want to say something important before I descend totally into madness:

No Matter Who Wins, Grassroots Efforts Must Continue

The thing about the grassroots stuff is that it never ends, no matter who is in office. The people in office determine how easy or hard it is, which issues you need to fight for and how much progress you can make. You will get more done and see bigger victories during Democratic administrations. But the work continues, regardless.

So if Kamala wins, get organizing.

If Trump wins, get organizing.

If your state legislature goes red, get organizing.

If your city council goes blue, get organizing.

Whatever it is, whatever election, whatever outcome, your next task is the same: get organizing.

It will be harder and scarier and probably more physically dangerous if Trump wins. The fight will be to preserve what we have, rather than to make the world any better. It will suck. But it needs to get done.

And if you're looking for ideas:

Unionize your workplace, or get involved in your union if you have one

Form a tenants union or get involved in the one you've got

Become a clinic escort or a court watcher

See what it takes to get your church or temple or other religious space designated as a sanctuary and talk to other congregants about it

Think about what problems exist in your community. Whatever they are, there's a local group trying to do something about it; if there's not, form one.

Find a local DSA chapter, or other left-y org, and attend a meeting

See what your local ACLU chapters are up to; a lot of them encourage members to come lobby the state legislature periodically

Donate money if you've got it

Get involved in your local Democratic Party; if you're in a rural or even suburban area, just showing up to meetings will give you a lot of sway.

No matter what happens, the grassroots game never ends.

[a-method-in-it]

The number of people who seem to think we'll be able to somehow stop a fascist regime from seizing dictatorial power after the wannabe fascist dictator is placed in charge of the military --- and therefore we don't need to vote --- is disturbing.

Baby doll, you won't even vote against fascism. You're not taking up arms against it.

[a-method-in-it]

I can't remember if I've plugged this here or not, but: The Federal Aviation Administration is currently taking comments about what the minimum size should be for airplane seats.

Link

Over time, airline seats have declined from an average of 18 or 19 inches to about 17 inches. Average waiting room seats are 22 inches. This presents obvious problems for...well, for a lot of people.

The FAA is specifically concerned with safety for this regulation (that's what Congress directed them to do), and not with comfort, so if you do comment, try to gear it towards safety concerns. They are particularly interested in hearing from disabled people and people over 60, apparently.

And even though this isn't about comfort, it's still the first time the agency has regulated seat size for airlines, so it's exciting and you should comment if you can.

Comments can be submitted here until November 3, 2022.

[a-method-in-it]

Kind of hate that when I first heard that Imane Khelif won gold, my second thought --- after "oh wow, good for her" --- was "I wonder what JK Rowling's reaction was." Because Imane Khelif is (clearly) an incredible athlete who never asked to be tangled up in this deeply dumb discourse, and shouldn't be, and it feels unfair that news about her is filtered through this lens.

But alas, here we are. Not the weirdest or worst thing about our social media discourse landscape in 2024, but perhaps the most random.

JKR is really having a normal one, if anyone was curious.