CuriousCat Archive Page 169 of 202

  1. Hey, loved the newest video, "Always a bigger fish"

    I'm a little confused about the line where you seemingly refrence "consider the lobster" by david Foster Wallace while showing a picture of jorden Peterson.

    I read that essay years ago and didn't catch any kinship between the two authors ideologically. Did I miss something?

    No kinship. I just wanted to talk about Peterson's obsessions with lobsters and felt "consider the lobster" was a fun nod.

  2. "Someone needs to clean the toilets." Someone does... need to clean the toilets tho? What's wrong with this argument?

    The wealthy can, in fact, clean their own toilets. They can push their own elevator buttons, they can drive their own cars, they can cook their own food.

  3. Do know when you will be done with the altright playbook and what will that look like?

    Last summer I determined I had about 2 years worth of content to get through. That was 8 months later and I think I still have 2 years of content.

  4. So how are you liking your new mic?

    IT'S GOOD! :D

  5. Which part of New York?

    in response to Have you ever been to New York?

    that's a very stalker question

  7. Have you ever been to New York?

    I'm in New York right now.

  8. Would you go on Chapo Trap House?

    nah

  9. So what do you think of different cultures like say that of Irish not being considered white same as say an anglo-saxon would?

    I haven't heard you mention this distinction yet, if you did well my bad bro.

    I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Luu1Beb8ng

  10. Um, what was that Steve Shives video you linked? Sure felt like a fluffy acid trip

    it's the one he asked me to link

  11. Would you say it’s in the self interest of a white working man to recognize that the systemic oppression of minorities is a manifestation of class oppression, and therefore it’s in his self interest to combat it?

    in response to If it’s in one’s interest to be evil, why be good? If an act of exploitation benefits me and I get away with it and don’t feel guilty, why not do what’s wrong?

    People have competing interests. The average white working man has an ideological inclination to feel he is higher in the social hierarchy than people doing the exact same work as him but lack his privileges. His ability to feel kinship with wealthy white men is a psychological benefit of being white and male. While this gives him some relative power, it gives him the feeling of even more. So, in that sense, it is in his self-interest to keep things as they are, because the vicarious power he feels from identifying with the wealthy is meaningful to him.

    In the material sense, he benefits very little from people like him being wealthy. The kinship he feels with them is not reciprocated. His privilege makes his life very different from minoritized people of his class, but rarely elevates him to a higher class. In most any concrete way, it is in his interest to ally with minorities against the ruling class.

    But the FEELING of power is often more palpable than the reality of inequality. And he has to believe that fighting against the powerful would actually create a fairer society.

  12. Very serious question: how do you manage to keep improving your craft when it was near flawless to begin with?
    What you do is fantastic and the world would be a far worse place without you.

    Ah shucks, thank you! I don't think I have a secret I just... work really hard.

  13. You know you're going to get a ton of "but all your research is biased sources!!!" right?

    Do you have a plan for handling all that?

    hell yeah, I'm gonna ignore the shit out of it. that'll learn em!

  14. Would you consider yourself to be more of a liberal or more of a socialist/marxist?

    I am hovering somewhere in the vicinity of democratic socialism.

  15. Is it true that you are/were in a polygamous relationship and if so, what advice would you offer someone who feels ostracized for having a different kind of relationship?

    Polyamorous, not polygamist. And the answer to every relationship problem is communication and/or lube.

  16. Now that you are a Leftist are you staunchly anti-liberal now?

    I've been a lefty for the entire history of my channel. I am critical of liberals, but wouldn't call myself anti. I save my anti for the fascists and their more deliberate collaborators.

  17. Do you want Harvard scientists to dim our Sun to curb global warming?

    I'm in favor of the Wandering Earth method.

  18. what's the objectively best grafix option for return to obra dinn?

    default is fine

  19. Do you still do crowdfunding consulting? What are your typical rates?

    I don't do it anymore. Don't have time, haven't been keeping up with trends.

  20. What's up with that thing on the left side of your face?

    One thing about being on YouTube is I get people making shitty comments about my birthmark, which hadn't happened since middle school.

  21. Is there a piece of media you love that you'd like to cover, but feel is so far out of the zeitgeist that it wouldn't be worth the effort of production? Lindsay Ellis has taken on some older films, like Pocahontas, but have also been mostly pretty popular in their time.

    Is there anything that is not necessarily just older, but perhaps lacks cultural recognition or even significance, but you could delve deep into?

    Let me tell you: I interned with a local filmmaker several years ago, and one type of gig she commonly got was filming local community theater productions. We're talking high school musicals and the Cambridge Family Opera*. And my job was the edit the footage for burning to DVD.

    There are two TERRIBLE musicals that I have had to go over with a fine-tooth comb twice each - because the shows were double-cast and both casts wanted DVDs - and have had them taking up space in my brain ever since. These shows have been seen by *no one*. They were original compositions. They will never be performed again after their original runs. But I have SO MANY OPINIONS about them. I can still sing half the songs. They rattle around my skull in that way that makes me want to write my thoughts down, the same as Fury Road and Life is Strange wouldn't leave me alone until I made videos about them.

    But no one has ever seen them. None will ever see them. No one who didn't edit each of them twice will care about my thoughts.

    So my thoughts will just eat up mental hard disk space for the rest of my life.

    *the Cambridge Family Opera is, in fact, usually pretty rad, and editing their musical adaptation of Star Wars was a joy, but this particular show wasn't written by their usual guy

  22. To follow up about my questions regarding being Jewish in the social justice community, would you say Jews who are white, do not experience privilege beyond white privilege? There are statistics that reflect the fact that we are the most likely demographic to go to college for example.

    I suppose Jews aren’t a minority in the same sense as black people right? Like it would be incorrect to describe a team of minorities as being made up of white Jews and white woman as being a ‘diverse team.’ and being jewish likely wouldn’t factor into a decision to hire me or not. Finally as silly as this question is; are Jews white? I am only referring to Jews of European descent that have fair pale skin. I think you’ve said before whiteness as a concept exists as a means of excluding groups of people. If white supremacists consider me not to be white is that actually enough to not be white anymore? I very obviously experience white privilege so in that case maybe whiteness must be part of your lived experience in order for you to actually be white?

    I want to be clear that I am not entirely qualified, as a gentile, to explain antisemitism, especially not to a Jewish person. So I am coming at this from the perspective of a person of privilege trying to do right by Jewish people in my community. Nothing I say is unimpeachable.

    I can't see any way that being Jewish confers privilege upon you. Attributing the rate of college attendance to privilege as opposed to Jewish culture simply placing a greater emphasis on education than America as a whole seems an uncharitable assumption.

    Oppression is not a competition. You are not "the same" as Black people, nor are they the same as you. You have overlapping oppressions, and unique ones. It doesn't make the bigotry you face any less real to compare it with the ways Black Americans suffer differently from you.

    The answer to "are Jews white" is going to change periodically. Such is the nature of whiteness. But Jewish whiteness is highly conditional - even when you're white, you're only white until racists decide you aren't. Light-skinned Jewish people have privilege over those with darker skin, this is true. I would say that is less white privilege than passing privilege. Just because a Nazi can't clock you doesn't mean he wouldn't oppress you if he knew the truth. I sometimes get shit from bigots who assume, from the sound of my voice or the shape of my nose, that I must be Jewish. Dealing with antisemitism doesn't make me Jewish; by the same token, getting white privilege doesn't make you white.

  25. Why are these people coming to you for answers instead of reading socialist economists ?

    in response to what are your plans for the economy to function if the only businesses that are allowed to exist are non-profit in nature? The virtue of only striving for altruism is a very noble one and the right thing to strive for, because I ultimately agree with the notion that the economy should serve humanity and not the other way around but trying to outlaw profits that Leftists are seeking to do feels like it'll destroy any sense of economy and I'm hesitant to support a paradigm shift if it doesn't address the human need for profit.

    nobody actually reads socialist economists.

  26. So the group of people you'd feel comfortable advocating violence against is the upper class? Is there any other group of people you would advocate violence for?

    in response to what are your plans for the economy to function if the only businesses that are allowed to exist are non-profit in nature? The virtue of only striving for altruism is a very noble one and the right thing to strive for, because I ultimately agree with the notion that the economy should serve humanity and not the other way around but trying to outlaw profits that Leftists are seeking to do feels like it'll destroy any sense of economy and I'm hesitant to support a paradigm shift if it doesn't address the human need for profit.

    o shit someone finally got me to advocate violence!

    well played, well played.

  28. i have a lot of ideas for long, mature (for young adults, teens and precocious tweens) animated films. Is getting any of them made a realistic goal, in your opinion?

    Depends on what you mean by "realistic."

    If you're asking, "Is this possible?" Yes, of course.

    If you're asking, "Is this likely?" Less so.

    If you're asking, "Is this reasonable?" Doing anything creative is rarely reasonable, but it can still be worth doing.

  29. I don't understand, what is the difference between making money and making profit?

    in response to Was this a sarcasm? I know a lot of leftists (including myself) who think this is a reasonable position. Profit is theft, and all that.

    If it costs me $10 to make a sandwich and I sell it to you for $5, I have made money but not profit.

    If it costs me $5 to make a sandwich and I sell it to you for $10, I have made money *and* profit.

  30. what are your plans for the economy to function if the only businesses that are allowed to exist are non-profit in nature? The virtue of only striving for altruism is a very noble one and the right thing to strive for, because I ultimately agree with the notion that the economy should serve humanity and not the other way around but trying to outlaw profits that Leftists are seeking to do feels like it'll destroy any sense of economy and I'm hesitant to support a paradigm shift if it doesn't address the human need for profit.

    my plan is to put all the millionaires on a boat and the billionaires on another boat and give each one a detonator that blows up the other boat and see which one pushes the button first

  31. hey, I was curious if you had any thoughts on creating more positive spaces online? it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, since negativity seems to be a very cyclical thing, and i wondered if you had any thoughts about that. thanks!

    It's not actually that hard to achieve provided it's your goal and you're willing to cultivate it. But it generally requires human moderation, so it doesn't scale up easily.

  32. I missed into the spider-verse in theaters. What do you think I'll miss out on when I view it on my laptop, and is there anything i might gain?

    In the modern day, there is very little difference except personal preference. I enjoyed it on the big screen, I will enjoy it on my TV, I will enjoy it on my laptop, I will enjoy it on my phone. It good.

  33. Was this a sarcasm? I know a lot of leftists (including myself) who think this is a reasonable position. Profit is theft, and all that.

    in response to Are you against businesses making money?

    It was sarcasm, but I'm drawing some distinction between businesses making MONEY and businesses making PROFITS.

  34. how is innuendostudios.com hosted?

    not a remotely suspicious question

  35. Not the same anon but do you have future plans to make a video series based on Into The Spider-verse in a similar fashion like you did with Furiosa and her Ladies: Fury Road?

    Anything that appeals you more about Into the Spider Verse besides the comic-book stuff? Just as how feminism and subversion of tropes (hence, giving birth to a new trope) appeal to you and us in Fury Road

    in response to Are you gonna see Into the Spider-Verse? Its infinitely better than most MCU movies not by Gunn, Waititi or Coogler in that its brightly colorful (its like you're watching a camic book come to life onscreen - which I think is how most MCU and other comic book-related movies should be), explicitly leftist and makes you feel like a kid again (in a good way) Also, it's meta not for the sake of being meta, at least it was meant to be meaningful (unlike Black Mirror: Bandersnatch)

    Um, I've kicked around a few ideas about metanarrative and genre literacy that would incorporate Spider-verse. Like, if we talk about the way films portray Spider-man's origin story, it has been told (Spider-man), retold (Amazing Spider-man), removed (Captain America: Civil War), and, finally, remixed (Into the Spider-verse). The fact that Spider-man is so ingrained in the cultural consciousness that the story of who Spider-man is can first be omitted entirely and then told in a variety of ways in which all that matters about the new stories is *how they differ* from the original, is a pretty postmodern way of telling stories, and seeing that in huge blockbusters is pretty fascinating. We never even find out WHY there's an interdimensional radioactive spider in the subway tunnels in Spider-verse, and that is *technically* a plot hole but it's not a problem because it doesn't matter. Spider-man gets bitten by a spider, we all know that. How isn't important. It is precisely the insignificance of Miles' origin story that makes the larger message about how *anyone* could be Spider-man so powerful. It's similar to what The Last Jedi did with the Force, and it all ties in with the audience's long history with these stories and characters, and the fact that these films are being made by people who grew up with the franchise and now get to play in it themselves. If it didn't get kinda meta, it would be inauthentic, and finding space in metatextuality to still be resonant and sincere is really special.

    It's all half-formed ideas right now, though, so I dunno if it'll come to anything.

  36. If it’s in one’s interest to be evil, why be good? If an act of exploitation benefits me and I get away with it and don’t feel guilty, why not do what’s wrong?

    The whole reason empathy and altruism are evolutionarily advantageous is because, as a pattern of behavior, evil will harm you more often than it will benefit you. And because the well-being of your species and your community is, in fact, tied up in your own well-being. Your community is more valuable to you when it is happy and prosperous, so don't dick them around.

    Also because it's the right thing to do.

  37. People are saying that if you have even the slightest inclination to make a Patreon at any point ever, you should do it now so you can avoid the change. I’m considering it, I definitely wouldn’t use it right now but I could see myself doing so in the future. Is this an accurate understanding of the situation (as in, would it work) and would you recommend doing this?

    It's hard to say whether it's accurate, because we're running on too little information. We don't know how users are going to respond to these changes, and we don't know how much Patreon will be willing to roll them back, if at all, if users hate them. It may end up that new creators won't have that different an experience from older ones. But, since it costs nothing to set one up and is functionally invisible if you aren't linking to it, I see no harm in nabbing one to play safe.

  38. When my ex was doing video essays a lot of what he did was influenced by conversation we had and he bounced ideas of me. I got credit in some vids where I *did* do some writing but mostly I didn't, and don't think I should have.

    Do you have people around you who help sharpen and clarify your video ideas while you are doing a script ?

    Note : I think this is an important question because too many people imagine that creative work is either done by solitary geniuses hard working from the top of their tower or hacks that use ghost writing and get effortless praise. Both these stereotypes are damaging to aspiring creative people imo...

    in response to I generally assume that video essays are written by the creator/editor/speaker (in the case where there's a single identifiable creator) but I was wondering about ghost writers - do you think they are common in YT video essays? Have you used one? Have you ghost written for another video essayist? (to be clear - this is 100% ok, ghost writer are legitimate, etc)

    The only times I've had people look over my scripts and give feedback, I've credited them. I do talk about some of the concepts with people, and obviously my thinking is affected by these conversations, but that's true of pretty much all ideas. Anything where I feel another person's thoughts formed a core argument, I would credit them, but so far the influence has been subtler.

  39. I am jewish and have found that fact to be an interesting circumstance to navigate while interacting with friends in the social justice community. I like many jews grew up privileged, more so than even many other white people. I dont support the actions of the Israeli government and am not a practicing member of the actual faith.

    However, i do receive flack from my peers for donors like sheldon adeleson, the fact that jews and israel itself received reparations from germany, and the fact that many jews work on wall street and exploited minorities in the entertainment industry for decades.

    I am unsure exactly when legitimate criticism crosses the line. I certainly do not think anything congresswoman ohmar said was remotely anti semetic. However, i found that to be pretty clear whereas when the topic shifts toward the actions of jews in american history i find the line to be much harder to find.

    I suppose i have two questions; do you have any advice for determining if a comment about jews is anti semetic or not? And, where do jewish concerns fit into the larger social justice picture?

    Anyone who says you carry responsibility for the actions of your ancestors, Israel, or the larger Jewish community is being antisemitic.

    Here's the deal with privilege: as a white person, I carry some responsibility for the actions of white people, now and throughout history, because I am profiting off them. White people hoard wealth, control governments, dominate media, and reflexively do each other favors, and all of that benefits me, whether I want it to or not. Most bosses are white and tend to hire white people. Every time a white supremacist commits a hate crime, he does it in my name. My country contorts itself into a pretzel to make my life easier by virtue of having been born a white man. My people are the oppressors. That implicates me.

    The Jewish people are not the oppressors. The Israeli government is oppressive, but, no matter how much they claim otherwise, the Israeli government is not a proxy for the Jewish people. (Nor is it a proxy for its own citizens.) Their actions do not benefit the Jewish diaspora. German reparations or the history of wealthy Jewish bankers have not made you a privileged class. For fuck's sake, the first is the result of genocide and the second the result of discrimination. You do not profit off of discrimination and violence; being Jewish makes you a potential target of them.

    Anyone who tells you being Jewish makes you privileged is on some Elders of Zion conspiracy bullshit and can fuck right off.

    Where Jewish concerns fit into the larger social justice picture is social justice needs to fight to bring you equality same as it fights for all other minoritized people, and any time it doesn't it is failing you. Antisemitism is sometimes coded as an "acceptable" prejudice, and it's bunk, and your community owes you better. I have zero patience for it. We have white nationalists saying "when in doubt blame the Jews" as a recruitment tactic. We have dogwhistles like "postmodernists" and "cultural Marxists" and "funded by George Soros" used to fight and discredit the Left, and ALL mean "Jews." It is impossible to achieve justice without fighting antisemitism.

    Any SJ community that doesn't take your struggle seriously needs major reform.

  40. Are you against businesses making money?

    yep. no money for businesses.

  41. Are you gonna see Into the Spider-Verse?

    Its infinitely better than most MCU movies not by Gunn, Waititi or Coogler in that its brightly colorful (its like you're watching a camic book come to life onscreen - which I think is how most MCU and other comic book-related movies should be), explicitly leftist and makes you feel like a kid again (in a good way)

    Also, it's meta not for the sake of being meta, at least it was meant to be meaningful (unlike Black Mirror: Bandersnatch)

    I've seen it twice already. I love it so much.

  42. What do you do for a living?

    this

  43. Why is everyone on dating websites an adventurous mountain-climbing outdoors-person?

    I don't want to go hiking every weekend. I wanna watch movies.

    Dating means meeting your interest partway.

  44. As a reader of this curiouscat, I feel like I have recently seen more transparently hostile questions than when I started reading last year- though, I'm aware that that's just a feeling, based only on the ones you answer. Have you noticed a similar trend on the whole, do you think you are just answering more hostile questions recently, or do you think it may just be bias based on my gaining parasocial sympathy for you?

    I think since I stopped forwarding as many answers to Twitter and stopped linking to Curious Cat in my YouTube show notes, the people who come here are either particularly dedicated or already hang out on my Curious Cat. So I get fewer "hey I wonder what Ian thinks about X" questions but still get "I am going to find Ian and yell at him about Y" questions. I also mostly stopped answering insubstantial "have you heard of Z" questions. All that stuff changes the ratios.

    I should probably just stop answering hostile questions, but sometimes what I want to say in response feels at least *potentially* constructive?

  45. I generally assume that video essays are written by the creator/editor/speaker (in the case where there's a single identifiable creator) but I was wondering about ghost writers - do you think they are common in YT video essays? Have you used one? Have you ghost written for another video essayist?

    (to be clear - this is 100% ok, ghost writer are legitimate, etc)

    I have never written anything I wasn't credited on. Similar to you, I seriously doubt that anyone is ghostwriting video essays, but couldn't actually say for sure. I mean, maybe some of the reactionary stuff, since we know most of Milo's Breitbart articles were written by interns. Wouldn't be surprised if that carried over to video.

  46. Hi! I’m in a literary theory class and wondering which literary theories you would tend to subscribe to.

    Your arguments imply (to me at least) that you fall on the post-structuralist side (deconstruction/feminist/gender/Marxist/postcolonial etc) but you’ll sometimes use essentialist terms and language similar to those used by structuralists, especially in the first part of your Davey Wreden video explaining language and storytelling. The same video also has some reader-response type criticism as well about the metatextual response. Do you identify with a particular theory, or take pieces from them all intersectionally and not think “there is one best way to examine literature”

    As a postscript, also curious about your opinion on formalism - does it still have some analytic worth or is it just too much trouble?

    Uh... I was an art major, and most of my critical theory has been broad. From how you describe post-structuralism, I would agree that I have a lot of post-structuralism in me, but I couldn't tell you which schools of thought fall under structuralism and otherwise. Ditto formalism. I've consumed a decent amount of theory for an amateur, but it's never been rigorous enough to claim adherence to or even comprehensive knowledge of any one movement.

    Sorry if that answer's unsatisfying!

  48. Regressive all over the world are using this trick. Germans in the 19th century claimed liberal values are french. here in Israel fascists claim traditional Jewish values are about loyalty to one's people and survival of the strong (i.e it's fascism). Most cultures in fact have both progressive and authoritarian traditions.

    in response to Progressives say don't apply western lenses to non western societies but where does the line get drawn exactly? I've heard online Russia people (You know the type) say that the west criticizing Russia for annexing Crimea is using western ideas of sovereignty when they are acting according to eurasianism (weird semi fascist ideology used by the Russian government) What should a person do when caught in conflict with progressive ideals and liberal ones?

    which means the progressives in Russia will have a better idea of how to combat fascism within their own idiom

  49. The cheap answer to this anon is "watch Adam Curtis documentaries" because that is like 90% of what he's spent his career making, but by virtue of being an introductory thing it misses a bunch out.
    Actual followup question though, is the neoliberal consensus actually dead in your opinion, or is this just a transition to an even more right wing pivot for it?

    in response to What would you recommend to learn more about What Happened in the 70s to arrive at the neoliberal consensus of the 80s and 90s?

    I don't know if I can recommend Adam Curtis. I've watched a few shorts and like the first 45 minutes of Hypernormalisation, and I feel like he's way too reductive to give you a nuanced understanding of the 70's.

  50. So now that you have a high quality mic, when will the Alt-Right Playbook: ASMR version be dropping?

    ASMR is like concentrated parasocial interaction, which is almost the opposite of my brand.

  51. Progressives say don't apply western lenses to non western societies but where does the line get drawn exactly? I've heard online Russia people (You know the type) say that the west criticizing Russia for annexing Crimea is using western ideas of sovereignty when they are acting according to eurasianism (weird semi fascist ideology used by the Russian government) What should a person do when caught in conflict with progressive ideals and liberal ones?

    listen to what Russian progressives are saying

  52. Ok, not a question, but it would be super awesome if you could review the English subtitles submitted for the Alt-Right Playbook series.

    I'll get to it one of these days.

  53. What would you recommend to learn more about What Happened in the 70s to arrive at the neoliberal consensus of the 80s and 90s?

    I don't really understand what happened in the 70's myself.

  54. Is "let's not discuss what the shooter wrote/said because that's what he wants" the new "let's not politicize mass shooting"? Funny how the proper decorum always seem to be "let's not discuss issues and hope it goes away"

    Some of the people saying this are claiming they don't want to give the shooter's beliefs a platform, and it's hard to tell how many are making that argument in bad faith.

    I think it's necessary to discuss the issue but there are more and less ethical ways to do it. It's thorny, and there probably isn't a wholly harmless method. But it's what we gotta do.

  55. Can you elaborate on what you mean by that? Is capitalism inherently fascist then? I had learned that a lot of early fascist movements were anti-capitalist

    in response to We've been sold "Capitalism is the opposite of Communism" pretty much our whole lives. But thinking about this country since the start of the cold war and Germany up to the start of World War 2 ... Is Communism or Socialism (or both) the actual counters to Fascism?

    stay tuned for my next video

  56. I don't have a question, I just want you to know that I use the term "New England" to refer to an area that includes places like New York and Pennsylvania.

    New York is reasonable, and I refer to Pennsylvania as "Midwest" so I can't say shit to you.

  57. If people like Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, Dankula and co. just wanted to distance themselves from far-right extremists when those extremists attack.

    Why don't they condemned them outright instead of pulling the "Both Sides", "Don't politicize it" arguments showing there desperation?

    If they condemned them, they would implicate themselves.

  58. We've been sold "Capitalism is the opposite of Communism" pretty much our whole lives. But thinking about this country since the start of the cold war and Germany up to the start of World War 2 ...
    Is Communism or Socialism (or both) the actual counters to Fascism?

    I would say countering fascism and countering capitalism are not as different as most conservatives would like us to believe.

  59. Your videos about alt-right playbook are really i informative, but do you agree that some of the methods you are describing are used by the left too?

    Yes. I discuss that passingly in several videos, and delve into it explicitly here: https://youtu.be/51a4N_qv-u0?t=191

  60. Amber Heard is one exception of the rule when it comes to domestic abuse, yes?

    How quick we are to exonerate the accused man and vilify the woman who accused him.

    There are photos of Heard with black eyes and a bloody lip. There is video footage of Depp kicking and breaking things while he screams at her. There are screenshots of texts from one of Depp's friends where the he says Depp kicked Heard. Depp has also been sued in the past for trashing a hotel room during a fight with a previous partner.

    There are two probable explanations for why Depp would have a black eye:
    1. One time, Heard fought back.
    2. They were both abusive to each other.

    It in no way shows that Depp wasn't an abuser.

  62. Care to rank the legal competitive Melee stages if you have any opinion on them. I've watched so much competitive Melee that I kind of do. I like the Pokemon Stadium stage because it's has the most variety and dislike Dreamland.

    I think it's too character- and even player-dependent to make a ranking. Like, I wanna watch S2J on Pokemon Stadium but I wanna watch Jeapie on Yoshi's Story.

    But, incidentally, those are probably my two favorite to spectate. I actually like Dreamland when I'm playing because I like having room to run around as Falcon, and prefer it to FD because I like platforms. But *watching* a Falcon on Dreamland isn't very exciting.

  63. Is recuperation and dominant discourse a topic you feel you could cover in a video? Theft of revolutionary language and the muddying of waters by the ruling class--and its supporters--is one of the most important topics leftists should engage, if not the most.

    Before we can even talk of revolution, we have to clear the false definitions of it. Hell, Bernie Sanders has people convinced voting for Democrats is a revolutionary act. We have liberals calling themselves revolutionaries. We have democrats telling us that ours is not the real socialism, because it's not realistic to want to change the system..."Let's take the best parts of both systems!"

    While aspects can be gleaned implicitly through other topics(especially in series like the A-R playbook, that covers language as weapons), it seems like a direct conversation has yet to be had amongst today's left-tubers to give it a name people recognize.

    I think LeftTubers pretty consistently stop short of encouraging revolution, because that's the kind of thing you don't want to endorse irresponsibly. When I was still a nobody on Twitter, I could advocate for whatever I want. But, while I think violent struggle is sometimes justified, it's not something I can advocate half-cocked. I'm not PewDiePie. I give a shit about what effect I have on my audience and want to use my platform appropriately. So I wouldn't talk meaningfully about revolution until I had done much, much, MUCH more research. Before talking about the need to reclaim revolutionary language, I would need every t crossed and i dotted, because if someone took action based on what I said, I'd carry some responsibility for it.

    Not to say I would never do it - and I have some ideas for a video about revolutions - but there is real cause for hesitance. I don't think any of us feel qualified, and we take our positions of influence seriously.

  64. Have you heard any songs from The Midnight?

    They got some pretty great beats. So nice to listen to

    I haven't. What song should I start with?

  65. have you seen umbrella academy? i cant find anyone who has seen the whole thing and hated it as much as i did so i have to resort to weird parasocial approval

    sorry, fam, haven't watched it. you'll have to get the approval elsewhere!

  66. I thought your next video would have gone public by now, since you usually make them public one day after the early access version. Any major problems?

    There's a short companion video I wanted to release alongside it, so I've been sitting on the rough cut of the first while I finish the second. They're both almost done and should come out in a few days.

  67. "oh, not being creepy is easy; just make it clear that she has the power."

    Are you saying that men always have to concede power in flirting?

    in response to It’s hilarious seeing these accusatory questions. A lot of men’s problems seems to revolve around them realizing they’re not the protag of some romantic movie. Can’t these dudes accept that miscommunications and awkwardness will happen when you bother strangers, especially women, who have to deal with it a whole lot more than men?

    I'm saying the person making the ask is making themselves vulnerable. The same is true if a woman approaches a man.

  68. On your thread about Louis CK you made a big deal about how his point would've been better if it was written by a women. I gotta ask, do you honestly believe that? Like, surely by virtue of having to look up who-wrote-what, you're showing a lack of belief in something that resonates with you.

    I didn't have to look up who wrote what, Louie wrote the show himself

  69. It’s hilarious seeing these accusatory questions. A lot of men’s problems seems to revolve around them realizing they’re not the protag of some romantic movie. Can’t these dudes accept that miscommunications and awkwardness will happen when you bother strangers, especially women, who have to deal with it a whole lot more than men?

    in response to Not the same anon, but recommend watching the scene in Adaptation where and how Charlie (Nicholas Cage) tries to ask the waiter (Judy Greer) out... It's tough but how are we sure if what we're saying is condescending or not when sincerely what we meant by "newfound" strength tends to be more of a positive note rather than a discriminatory one

    I think the genuine issue here is that, in order to understand what is and isn't appropriate behavior, you have to actually imagine yourself in the woman's shoes. You have to actually consider what it's like for a woman to be weightlifting in a male-dominated space, consider the number of men who have probably said condescending things to her, how many men have hit on her, and think of yourself as part of a pattern. To know that it's not OK to flirt with your waitress you have to think about the position that puts her in, that she has an professional and economic obligation to be nice to you, that she literally *cannot walk away from you* if she doesn't want your attention, that her tip or even her job could be at stake if she handles you wrong, and that she has probably dealt with men who have tried to exploit those facts to get attention from her.

    Men generally don't do this kind of hypothetical role-switching because a) we're not socialized to care what women want from us beyond "what buttons do I have to push to get what I want from them?" and b) it means acknowledging the power imbalance between men and women, which many men are unwilling to do.

    The smartest thing anyone ever said to me about flirting was when I told a friend that I was usually nervous to flirt with women in public, because I don't know how many guys may have already hounded her today and don't want to be yet another, and she said, "oh, not being creepy is easy; just make it clear that she has the power."

    Like, if you want a woman's attention, she has the choice of whether or not to give it to you. That gives her a tiny amount of power over you. Condescending to a woman, or hitting on her while she's serving you, are both ways of asserting your own power, of (often unconsciously) taking that little bit of agency back. She has the power to deny you, but if she does, she'll seem rude, or lose her tip, or whatever. Men reflexively put a cost on exercising that agency.

    Any time you're talking to a woman you don't know, you should be scanning for the most basic cue: does she want to be interacting with you? That's a thing you should care about. And it should be clear that you do. And if she snubs you, and come on Curious Cat to ask a YouTuber why that woman was rude to you, it doesn't instill confidence in me that you care.

  70. Is that scene bad then? And is it wrong to like that scene?

    in response to Not the same anon, but recommend watching the scene in Adaptation where and how Charlie (Nicholas Cage) tries to ask the waiter (Judy Greer) out... It's tough but how are we sure if what we're saying is condescending or not when sincerely what we meant by "newfound" strength tends to be more of a positive note rather than a discriminatory one

    I don't get to tell you what is "wrong" to like.

  71. Not the same anon, but recommend watching the scene in Adaptation where and how Charlie (Nicholas Cage) tries to ask the waiter (Judy Greer) out...

    It's tough but how are we sure if what we're saying is condescending or not when sincerely what we meant by "newfound" strength tends to be more of a positive note rather than a discriminatory one

    in response to Also, different anon but How are we supposed to interact with others of the opposite gender appropriately in public then? Through friends? How about those who are truly lonely? Come on, dude!

    a) that scene is fictional and written by a man
    b) never. flirt. with. food. service. workers. while. they're. working.

  72. Also, different anon but

    How are we supposed to interact with others of the opposite gender appropriately in public then? Through friends? How about those who are truly lonely?

    Come on, dude!

    in response to Not the original, but I used to be pretty big into working out, and I can tell you men absolutely compliment each other on successfully lifting particularly heavy weights.

    I just love how any time someone says "this particular thing you said to a woman was condescending" is immediately distorted into "you can't talk to women ever."

    Like, dude, don't say condescending shit to strangers at the gym is not a hard rule to follow.

  73. Is the truth only Leftist positions?

    in response to Defense for the position?

    the position that says the green new deal will cost 93 trillion dollars with zero evidence and that planes crash because they're too complicated is the untrue one

    I can't believe I have to explain this

  74. I've noticed many YouTubers on the left also dabble in media criticism (you, Lindsay Ellis, Hbomberguy, Jack Saint, Eric Taxxon, etc.) Do you feel as if your media analysis background feeds into your politics - or vice versa? Or do you think it's coincidental?

    I think there's a lot of us who started as mostly media criticism and then circumstances drove us to be more overt about our politics. Since the various -gates (gamer and otherwise), we can't really ignore the Culture War going on in media criticism, and silence is assent to the status quo, so we got more vocal. And, as we've gotten more political, some of us have drifted further left.

    I'd say many of the ways I try to engage intellectually with media cross over into how I engage with politics, but I can only speak for myself.

  75. Not the original, but I used to be pretty big into working out, and I can tell you men absolutely compliment each other on successfully lifting particularly heavy weights.

    Do they call each other's strength "newfound"?

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