For newcomers, more items from the archives.
A philosophy lecturer, a specialist in “critical whiteness studies,” apologises, at length, for his own heterosexuality.
Professor Yancy goes on to denounce, on behalf of all men, “our sexually objectifying gazes… our pornographic imaginations.” Our “dominant phallic economy.” Indeed, he continues, “we are collectively complicit with a sexist mind-set and a poisonous masculinity.” You see, being aroused by women, while not quite rape in itself, is nonetheless, as it were, rape-adjacent, and constitutes “a violent, pathetic and problematic masculinity.” One wonders how a species of suitably corrected human beings, purged of such heterosexual inclinations, might propagate and flourish. Such that we can indulge the theatrical sorrows of woke philosophy lecturers.
Zoe Williams warns Guardian readers that exercise “makes you rightwing.”
According to Zoe, if you visit a gym, or cycle, or merely take the occasional brisk walk with a dog in tow - or presumably have any kind of goals, however modest, and then achieve them - you’ll become boastful, consumed with “self-love” and wicked delusions of “self-sufficiency,” a gateway to the greatest sin of all: not being leftwing. Because leftwing people, like Zoe, are free of vanity and unblemished by urges to signal superiority of one kind or another. Say, by telling us, quite often, that they’re not at all rightwing.
Still, it’s strange just how readily Zoe leaps from ‘people can be a bit tedious when banging on about their enthusiasms’ – the word blogging comes to mind – to ‘regular jogging will make you vote Conservative because feelings of achievement and capability are politically corrupting’. Presumably, leftist piety is arrived at via indolence, whining and half-arsed flummery. Though it’s not, perhaps, as strange as declaring one’s own piety and compassion – as opposed to all those dreadful rightwing people - while sneering at a cancer charity because its most direct beneficiaries are men.
How To Impress Your Boss, An Intersectional Guide.
Self-described “educator” Sophia Stephens says that minority employees shouldn’t have to be reliable or competent.
Apparently, white employers must avoid using the phrase “I need such-and-such by the end of the week,” as this inflicts cruel and unusual hardship on those possessed of brown skin. And as an employer, a white employer, you must always remember to ask yourself, ‘Could I give this person’s work - which I hired them to do, and am paying them to do - to someone else - ideally, someone whiter?’ Or as Ms Stephens puts it, “It is important to reflect on how generations of access and entitlement to our labour does not mean you automatically get it from us now.”
It Was Raining Outside And They Were Promised Sandwiches.
Sshh. Art is happening.
Today it’s the art of Ms Nika López, seen below as she “establishes an intimate relationship” between herself and nature. Specifically, an indoor pile of dirt. Thereby, of course, permitting us to behold, “The connection with the earth, the immersion of bodies in matter, the transformation from inside to outside, the tracking of a body that multiplies and distributes energy to people.”
There’s more, should you want it, in the greatest hits.
Also, open thread.
I have been writing a fitness column for a year and in this time I’ve digested very little about what exercise does for your body.
A "fitness writer" who has no clue about exercise physiology, well, at least that is consistent with virtually all leftist "experts" on any subject, though they don't tend to brag about their ignorance of their field of "expertise".
...the self-love develops a carapace of self-sufficiency... over time, this makes you more rightwing...
Now I am confused, "self-love" and sufficiency are supposed to be admirable things to the fat-acceptance clowns, none of whom are what anyone not left of Pol Pot would call "rightwing".
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 12:35
Though it’s not, perhaps, as strange as declaring one’s own piety and compassion… while sneering at a cancer charity because its most direct beneficiaries are men.
She's stupid *and* vile.
Posted by: Jacob | June 04, 2019 at 12:46
"A 'fitness writer' who has no clue about exercise physiology, well, at least that is consistent with virtually all leftist "experts" on any subject..."
Yes indeed, because leftists choose "experts" based on their ideological purity rather than their knowledge of the subject at hand.
Posted by: pst314 | June 04, 2019 at 12:46
Marone - the other day we learned that Budwiser (The King of Amber Colored Water) UK (again not to be confused with Czech Budweiser Budvar which is good) had come out with a cup for "Asexual Pride".
Rest easy, they have gone full pander with a cup for everyone. Scroll down the link to see which is for what subset they are pandering to.
Personally, I thought the one second row far left in the three subtractive primary colors was for Offset Lithographers Pride, not for "I'll Screw Anything With A Pulse And The Pulse Is Optional Pride"
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 12:52
As an aside, I am still trying to figure out why "Bi Pride" has three colors and not two.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 12:56
She’s stupid *and* vile.
Dear sweet Zoe does struggle with even the basics of a wide range of subjects, on which she nonetheless holds forth with great certainty. And her compulsion to be obnoxious, indeed gleefully sadistic – not as a private vice but a public piety - is a defining attribute.
As when airing her belief that charity galas, to help Romanian orphans and fund the distribution of retro-viral drugs in Africa, are not only terribly problematic but abhorrent, because giving money away “creates inequality.” And as when wishing elaborate and protracted humiliation on parents who can no longer afford to give their children an education as comfortable as Zoe’s own, in which, extracurricular activities included visits to Rome and Morocco and an eight-day tour of Barbados. And which of course she doesn’t mention.
I don’t think she can help herself.
Posted by: David | June 04, 2019 at 13:03
What happens when you have a degree in Racial Angry Studies, but never took course in history or geography.
"Chernobyl ! With Morgan Freeman as Mikhail Gorbachev and Halle Berry as Lead Fireman Anton Balsfalov"
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 13:15
What happens when you have a degree in Racial Angry Studies, but never took course in history or geography.
Have you seen history curricula lately?
Posted by: Cake | June 04, 2019 at 14:30
@Cake
Makes sense to me. I've seen the musical Hamilton, and all the Founding Fathers were black.
Wypipo - the only folks who don't give a shit about being culturally appropriated.
Posted by: prm | June 04, 2019 at 14:57
Have you seen history curricula lately?
So Volume 2 is accurate, I take it...
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 15:09
I see that the anti-Trump brains trust is once again out in force.
With its signature compassion and sensitivity.
Posted by: David | June 04, 2019 at 16:42
[Budweiser] have gone full pander with a cup for everyone
I thought the only point to drinking Budweiser was to do so in such quantities as to render sexual attraction moot. It's inclusive in its own way.
Posted by: Sam | June 04, 2019 at 17:43
[Charity galas are abhorrent] because giving money away “creates inequality.”
Wait, I thought the accepted method to combat inequality was to take money from rich people and give it to not-rich people. Why the fuss when this happens without coercion? Answers on a postcard please.
Posted by: Sam | June 04, 2019 at 17:47
Why the fuss when this happens without coercion? Answers on a postcard please.
Because there's no bureaucrat in between to siphon funds off the top.
It's all about creating jobs, you see.
Posted by: WTP | June 04, 2019 at 17:54
Has Budweiser designed a glass for people who identify as Clydesdale horses? :-)
Posted by: Pst314 | June 04, 2019 at 18:14
Historians of the future will describe our age as the Silly Hat Period.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/06/macrame-sculptures-by-sandra-de-groot/?mc_cid=049195a678&mc_eid=d63b7b651c
Posted by: Pogonip | June 04, 2019 at 18:27
Personally, I thought the one second row far left in the three subtractive primary colors was for Offset Lithographers Pride, not for . . .
It might be for Romania When So Drunk It's Fallen On It's Side.
Posted by: Hal | June 04, 2019 at 18:37
Michael P. writes: And there’s even a Volume 2 [Making Europe] with a nice strong picture of Lenin on the cover.
So Volume 2 is accurate, I take it...
The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages: The British Isles from 500 to 1500, which starts off with the picture of Elizabeth I of England--- September 1533 – 24 March 1603--- on the cover, and then gets even more . . . ah . . . "detailed" from there, inside . . .
I and quite a few medieval historians got our copies just to see the level of . . . accuracy . . . for ourselves . . .
Posted by: Hal | June 04, 2019 at 18:48
Is there anyone creepier then a male feminist?
Posted by: Rob | June 04, 2019 at 18:50
"Tolerance": A play in two acts.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 18:59
@Rob
A female feminist in charge of the police?
Posted by: Sam | June 04, 2019 at 19:26
"Tolerance": A play in two acts.
That's not parody, right? Assuming it's all in earnest, this bit stood out:
In other words, "While we agree that the frog must die, we would prefer a slow boil lest the frog take us seriously as a threat." Christ, what pathetic assholes. They're just like Nazi's, except they expect the Juden to gas themselves out of a sense of duty to the Fatherland.
Posted by: Sam | June 04, 2019 at 19:38
Though, on balance, I suppose it's better we have lazy Nazis. The organized, motivated, technically competent variety were damned difficult to contend with.
Posted by: Sam | June 04, 2019 at 19:40
I and quite a few medieval historians got our copies just to see the level of . . . accuracy . . . for ourselves . . .
The authors primary oeuvre is the frothy, rough-edges-sanded-off version of Laurell K. Hamilton paranormal romance. Not someone I'd expect a great deal of scholarly acumen from, historical or otherwise.
Posted by: Daniel Ream | June 04, 2019 at 19:55
That's not parody, right?
Not parody, brought to you by some "Anti"fa in the Pacific Northwest, who are probably ytes themselves.
Of course it escapes their grasp that if PoCs reproduce with ytes, the result is some form of PoCs, not wypipo, but it is interesting that the left are again big on anti-miscegenation.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 20:19
Well Mr Muldoon, it seems some "ytes" are taking the message seriously.
Posted by: Sam | June 04, 2019 at 21:15
Zoe Williams warns Guardian readers that exercise “makes you rightwing.”
"Rightwing".
Posted by: Hal | June 04, 2019 at 22:40
brought to you by some "Anti"fa in the Pacific Northwest
Their logo looks suspiciously like a bundle of spears.
Posted by: Daniel Ream | June 04, 2019 at 22:43
Their logo looks suspiciously like a bundle of spears.
I initially thought they were advertising Baretta's upside down, but that is their version of the "Anti-Fascist Circle" of the "Iron Front", a bunch of commie thugs in the Weimar Republic, but yeah a fasces would actually be more appropriate for these asses, or just go full hammer and sickle.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 04, 2019 at 23:05
Of slippery slopes.
Posted by: Darleen | June 05, 2019 at 02:51
What a tragedy.
Posted by: Pogonip | June 05, 2019 at 04:09
Sam,
I rtwt, and the most telling thing was ms. dick's tossed off remark about how "of course" the bar owner's baseball bat would be illegal today.
What does one call people who can't even learn from their own experience? (Apparently, "Commissioner" ).
Posted by: Fred the Fourth | June 05, 2019 at 04:52
I've only visited England once on vacation (2004) and that was sufficient to convince me to never set foot there again.
The mind-boggling chaos around the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace that I saw led me to wonder how the devil the British managed to gain an empire at all. I mentioned the same to an ethnic Indian colleague at work who had seen something similar during his visit to England and who was rather ashamed that such a disorganized lot had been able to conquer India.
I'm not convinced that the idiots who had been running my country for the last 30 years could have won WWII, so there's that as well.
Posted by: Richard Cranium | June 05, 2019 at 05:49
Hi Richard,
My dad was in England in the ‘40’s. The way he described it things ran pretty smoothly then.
Kids These Days...
Posted by: Pogonip | June 05, 2019 at 06:14
With its signature compassion and sensitivity.
She looks the part.
Posted by: Jen | June 05, 2019 at 07:03
She looks the part.
The seemingly demented shrieking lady, the lovely Siobhan, is a self-described “intersectional feminist,” and is, she says, “trying to educate myself daily.”
Hence the learnedness.
Posted by: David | June 05, 2019 at 07:27
In “diversity” news, the Young Democratic Socialists at Texas State University are celebrating the fact that their super-diverse Coordinating Committee includes “literally no straight people.” Oh, and apparently LGBT should stand for “Let’s Guillotine Bourgeois Traitors.”
Leon Trotsky could not be reached for comment.
Posted by: David | June 05, 2019 at 08:04
Oh, and apparently LGBT should stand for “Let’s Guillotine Bourgeois Traitors.”
That is a bit confusing, do they mean traitors to the bourgeois seeing as how college students in the US tend to be of the "bourgeois" even at Texas State with its laughable 71% admission rate ? If they think they are not because they spout commie slogans, they might want a chat with one Mr. Pot.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 05, 2019 at 12:29
Potato, pototo...
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 05, 2019 at 12:36
Only $300-350, such a deal, sign up now !
Wouldn't miss it for the world.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 05, 2019 at 12:43
Only $300-350, such a deal, sign up now!
You’re going to set off the bedlamite klaxon.
Posted by: David | June 05, 2019 at 12:50
“For people of color, each day is a barrage of microaggressions, macroaggressions, and interactions that highlight and trigger our personal identities of oppression. And let me tell you, it is exhausting,” Houston continued.
Oh my. Is it ever.
It never ends over there at Everyday Feminism, does it?
Posted by: Burnsie | June 05, 2019 at 15:27
"For people of color, each day is a barrage of microaggressions, macroaggressions..."
Posted by: pst314 | June 05, 2019 at 17:09
The firm I work for was recently gobbled up by a larger company, which meant that I had to sit through corporate propaganda sessions for a week. I think I got off to a good start with the new HR department, since I was the most enthusiastic participant in the corporate diversity workshop.
For instance, when asked why diversity was so important, I offered up: "Because blacks and queers don't have the same brains as you and me!" When we spoke about how {ethnic} jokes were harmful, I said I found it easy to get around the problem by always telling Polish jokes 'cuz we Polacks have such a great sense of humor.
The feather in my cap, and the moment when I think the HR ladies really took a shine to me, was when they said that my demonstrated behavior could be considered a microaggression toward some of the others in the room. Without hesitation, I offered my most sincere micro-apology to anybody I micro-offended. I think they were impressed by my sensitivity!
Posted by: Governor Squid | June 05, 2019 at 17:23
According to Zoe, if you visit a gym, or cycle, or merely take the occasional brisk walk with a dog in tow - or presumably have any kind of goals, however modest, and then achieve them - you’ll become boastful, consumed with “self-love” and wicked delusions of “self-sufficiency,”
Got a very similar message from my decidedly right-wing parochial school as a child. The same one that had me believing, as I think I related here recently, that the world would likely be ending Christmas of '73. How odd. Yet not.
Posted by: WTP | June 06, 2019 at 03:47
http://americandigest.org/wp/to-vacuum-the-vacuum-use-the-vacuum/
😄
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 03:54
The expression “beyond the pale” is “racist,” apparently, and use of such oppressive language must be publicly atoned for.
The gentleman doing the pretentious fretting can be seen here.
Posted by: David | June 06, 2019 at 09:17
The expression “beyond the pale” is “racist,”...
Never having looked it up before, the etymology is interesting, if that is accurate.
However, as the ancient Hibernian Muldoons were from beyond the pale - WooHoo ! I am now oppressed, you racysiss bassards. I want reparations. Reparations and a pony.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 06, 2019 at 13:27
the etymology is interesting, if that is accurate.
Were you triggered, traumatised, shaken to the core? Do I need to fetch tissues? I ask because fairly obscure etymology that’s likely unknown to most people, including the supposed victim group, and not generally cared about by pretty much anyone, apparently warrants public prostration and theatrical piety.
Though it occurs to me that if someone claims that the phrase “beyond the pale,” with its long-forgotten connotations of legal boundaries, and before that wooden posts, will somehow reduce the entire Irish population to tears and feelings of desolation – either because he believes these things or feels he needs to pretend to – then that sounds a tad neurotic.
And that’s before we get to the whole polyamory thing.
Reparations and a pony.
A whole one?
Posted by: David | June 06, 2019 at 13:45
Were you triggered, traumatised, shaken to the core? Do I need to fetch tissues?
I am literally shaking even as we speak, I think I have PTSD from this, and unless your tissues are from fair trade, locally sourced, union forested renewable tree pulp, no thank you, Sir, I'll stick to my artisnal hemp handkerchief hand embroidered by trans artists of color at our local arts co-op and organic farm.
This whole violent imbroglio is probably why my people took to drink.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 06, 2019 at 14:28
A whole one?
Well, landlord, you could offer him a small beer, since that is one meaning of pony. Or we could have a whip-around to give him 25 pounds.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pony#English
Posted by: pst314 | June 06, 2019 at 14:31
either because he believes these things or feels he needs to pretend to – then that sounds a tad neurotic.
That.
Posted by: Jacob | June 06, 2019 at 14:32
That.
That’s the thing. If the above is sincere, it suggests somewhat neurotic thinking; and if it’s just pretence, which seems more likely, the compulsion to pretend - to publicly feign some competitively improbable concern - is also rather neurotic. This seems to apply to a great deal of leftist psychology.
Posted by: David | June 06, 2019 at 14:38
The guy is pictured with his wife and his wife's boyfriend. I mean, come on. In what universe are such people taken seriously? OMG, he teaches at the University of British Columbia. Canada. That's not the D-Day Juno Beach Canada, is it? Some other Canada. Surely.
Posted by: WTP | June 06, 2019 at 15:04
Here’s a bit of fun, for certain values of fun.
You paste in a chunk of text and the programme will attempt to analyse the writer’s personality. Apparently, I’m “shrewd, somewhat inconsiderate and informal.” It also says I probably “like musical movies,” which I don’t.
No laughing at the back.
Posted by: David | June 06, 2019 at 15:23
Apparently, I’m “shrewd, somewhat inconsiderate and informal.” It also says I probably “like musical movies,” which I don’t.
Oh, I can top that. I got:
Posted by: WTP | June 06, 2019 at 15:29
OK, tried again with longer text...this time:
Yes. Shrewd and philosophical. And "somewhat" critical. Heh.
Posted by: WTP | June 06, 2019 at 15:32
Oh, I can top that.
Setting aside my alleged enthusiasm for musicals, some of it was pretty good. At least it corresponds with other tests and my own estimation. High in openness, low in neuroticism, slightly introverted, etc. It also thinks I’m somewhat solemn, which I dispute.
Posted by: David | June 06, 2019 at 15:43
Here’s a bit of fun, for certain values of fun.
I don't think it knows me very well, is the conclusion I take from that. I am apparently "unconcerned with both tradition and taking pleasure in life." Which I have to admit comes as news to me, as I happen to be someone with a broadly cultural traditionalist outlook, who freely takes pleasure in both very simple and very complicated things.
Posted by: Captain Nemo | June 06, 2019 at 15:54
"You are shrewd and somewhat critical..."
"You have green, scaly skin, and a soft yellow underbelly with a series of fin-like ridges running down your spine and tail. Although lizardlike in shape, you can grow anything up to thirty feet in length with huge teeth that can bite off great rocks and trees. You inhabit arid sub-tropical zones and wear spectacles."
Posted by: pst314 | June 06, 2019 at 16:04
I don’t think it knows me very well,
My results varied quite a bit – say, with regard to conscientiousness, extraversion and pleasure-seeking - depending on the length and type of text I used. I’d imagine things like irony and sarcasm may also be confounding.
Comically, one of the more consistent results was the thing about musicals.
Posted by: David | June 06, 2019 at 16:09
If you laugh at this lady's lack of understanding of the Spanish language, then you're a terrible, terrible person. And yes, I laughed: https://twitter.com/TamikaQueenz/status/1136358209537470464
Posted by: Captain Nemo | June 06, 2019 at 17:36
Comically, one of the more consistent results was the thing about musicals.
I got that too. In my case, it's also inaccurate, as I'm not a fan of musicals. I do, however, enjoy listening to opera, but that's not the same thing.
Posted by: Captain Nemo | June 06, 2019 at 17:42
Comically, one of the more consistent results was the thing about musicals.
The computer doesn't lie. ;-)
Posted by: Jen | June 06, 2019 at 17:45
I’m a terrible, terrible person.
And proud of it! 😄
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 18:01
If you laugh at this lady's lack of understanding of the Spanish language
I laugh because all of those people who speak Spanish will now have to come up with a new word for "black". It's all so socially tacaño.
Posted by: WTP | June 06, 2019 at 18:07
@pogonip
O/T but how is the book coming along?
Posted by: prm | June 06, 2019 at 18:14
Here’s a bit of fun, for certain values of fun.
I entered several paragraphs from The Communist Manifesto.
Apparently Marx was likely to enjoy Musical Movies, Play Music and Read Autobiographical Books. He didn't likely like Country Music, be influenced by social media or be influenced by brand name when making product purchases.
Interestingly enough the man who gave us Communism has a 32% score in "Helping Others" as a value.
Posted by: Steve E | June 06, 2019 at 18:22
Here’s a bit of fun, for certain values of fun.
To be, or not to be: that is the question
Posted by: Hal | June 06, 2019 at 18:25
Oh yes, and,
You are likely to like musical movies, have experience playing music, volunteer for social causes . . .
Posted by: Hal | June 06, 2019 at 18:32
Summary
You are a bit critical, excitable and unconventional.
You are self-assured: you tend to feel calm and self-assured. You are hardened: you think that people should generally rely more on themselves than on other people. And you are down-to-earth: you prefer facts over fantasy.
Your choices are driven by a desire for prestige.
You are relatively unconcerned with both helping others and independence. You think people can handle their own business without interference. And you welcome when others direct your activities for you.
Who's on first?
Posted by: Hal | June 06, 2019 at 18:36
If you laugh at this lady's lack of understanding of the Spanish language...
For the love of god let that be a joke or clever troll.
C'mon that's too perfect to be a real idiot in the wild, right? Right?!?
[ drinks from bottle ]
Posted by: Sam | June 06, 2019 at 18:44
It's a parody account:
(Whew)
Posted by: Sam | June 06, 2019 at 18:48
Of course it's parody. Germany doesn't have a queen. They have a Keisenhimer.
Posted by: WTP | June 06, 2019 at 19:17
I got this as part:
"You are relatively unconcerned with both tradition and taking pleasure in life. You care more about making your own path than following what others have done. And you prefer activities with a purpose greater than just personal enjoyment."
The first is not really true. The second is true. last is just plain wrong -- more wrong than could be.
I think, however, that almost all people would think that all three phrases would apply to them, because everyone likes to think that they are open spirits and not motivated by simple pleasures.
The technical term is "Barnum Effect".
Posted by: Chester Draws | June 06, 2019 at 20:58
Hi prm,
Thanks for asking! It’s on hold because, after 15 years I recovered my ability to write fiction. And I mean literally 15 years. One night I went to bed thinking of what I was going to write the next day and when I woke up everything was gone from my mind. My story-teller had flipped to Off and for 15 years I couldn’t figure out how to turn it back on. Then on 22 May it came back on, praise God, so I immediately picked back up with the novel I’d been working on 15 years ago. Once I finish that I will type up what I am tentatively calling “ What Mom Knew.”
In a way the 15 years left me better off because today writers have much more freedom. You don’t have to get past an editor any more, you can follow your people wherever their stories lead, because Amazon and other self-publishers. If two guys have a rip-roaring sword fight, I don’t have to change one of them to a grrrrl. If a 14-year-old girl suddenly inherits the job of High Priestess of the sun goddess, because of the untimely death of her father, I don’t have to tell people she adapted perfectly, I can show them how she makes mistakes and grows into the job. If a democratic revolution that threw out a monarchy went bad, I can show the people who staked all on the revolution struggling to figure out where they went wrong and correct it. In short, where a publisher will impose a certain sameness because they have to appeal to a certain market, I can put my story out there even if it’s different and anybody who wants to can read it and enjoy it. (Of course, if a publisher says “We’ll pay you $400,000.00 for this...”)
15 years ago I was about halfway through. It’ll go faster today because of the aforementioned freedom. No more thinking “No, that’ll never get past the gatekeeper” and rewriting. Wheee!
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 21:09
I wonder what the fascination is with grrrrls and swords, anyway? If the story’s about someplace where they haven’t invented guns yet (or even if they have, e.g. Star Wars) then give the lady a naginata, and let her slash off the bad guy’s head from 6 feet away and never get anywhere within his reach. In its never-ending quest for new and better ways to kill each other, mankind has come up with an astounding variety of weapons, and yet, if there’s a grrrrl in the story, they’ll find some way to put a sword in her hand (Princess Leia being a notable exception; she, quite sensibly, carried a gun).
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 21:21
if there’s a grrrrl in the story, they’ll find some way to put a sword in her hand
Because it is not about empowerment or any of that malarky, so much as ensuring there are no male-only "spaces" left (except in particularly dirty or unpleasant work), and traditional male pride is reduced. Those are the true goals, evidenced by the now-familiar formula of (1) identify predominantly male space, then (2) demand it conform to the most feminine of sensibilities.
Posted by: Sam | June 06, 2019 at 21:51
Hi Sam,
I’ll take a 12-gauge over empowerment any day! 😄
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 21:59
Damn skippy Pogo!
The missus has to make do with a break action 20-gauge and 9mm. So the Texas statutory minimum of 2 guns per person per household has been met at least.
Posted by: Sam | June 06, 2019 at 22:06
Hi Sam,
Only 2 guns? In Texas? What are you, a family of communists?
As long as we’re talking bujutsu, David, how about a shout-out to the WW II vets? We still have some left. Congratulations, gentlemen. You did your best and your best turned out pretty good.
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 22:10
P.S. My little boy, good guy that he is, remembers D-Day every year, probably because his grandfather was a WW II vet (although Grandpa was not involved in Operation Overlord). He also remembers V-E and V-J Days. 😊
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 22:16
The missus has to make do with a break action 20-gauge and 9mm.
It is sexist, misogynistic, and patriarchal not to give her a 12 gauge and a .45 instead.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | June 06, 2019 at 22:59
Pogonip, I’d say a 12-gauge is empowering. :-)
Posted by: Pst314 | June 06, 2019 at 23:15
*chortle* When I’ve fired that old 12-gauge I’ve always felt like I’m about to go into orbit. 4 or 5 times was enough. We keep it, though, since I’m highly unlikely to have to fire it (jacking a shell into a chamber gets people’s attention and is known as a Chicago burglar alarm, as the sound greatly alarms burglars 😄) and if I did have to fire it, if I aimed at the miscreant’s chest and missed I would still probably blow off a good portion of his head or arm or leg as I assumed orbit.
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 23:20
Hi Pst314,
I would too. I never understood why feminist groups are not closely allied with gun-rights groups, since there’s a strong common interest there. But then I don’t really understand American politics. Seriously. All the groups that have, or should have, common interests never unite. Shrug.
Posted by: Pogonip | June 06, 2019 at 23:31
I wonder what the fascination is with grrrrls and swords, anyway?
There's a significant chunk of geek fandom that fetishizes Action Girls. Guns are real things that exist and are scary and dangerous, while swords are fantasy weapons. A badass female character armed with a sword is someone these geeks can drool over; a badass female character armed with a gun is intimidating and emasculating.
Posted by: Daniel Ream | June 07, 2019 at 00:27
Well, I know who won’t be in MY audience...
Swords had their place for a long time and are still used occasionally to kill people, and in lodge ceremonies and such. They probably won’t ever go away completely, but I still maintain that in a story where the people have gunpowder and up, like Star Wars, they would not be the primary weapon. The earlier films realized this, there was a lot of shooting going on, but the later films got lazy and relied too much on the light saber. This affects my suspension of disbelief, especially when the character does dumb things with his sword, e.g. Yoda’s sword fight with Christopher Lee where Yoda bounces around like a ping pong ball. I was sitting there thinking “Yoda, you moron, stand up as tall as you can and SLICE THROUGH HIS KNEES!” 😄
Posted by: Pogonip | June 07, 2019 at 00:56
when the character does dumb things
Such as swinging a light saber to deflect multiple continuous volleys of rapid-fire laser bolts?
Posted by: pst314 | June 07, 2019 at 01:27
That’s not dumb, it’s ridiculous. It would be a pretty smart thing to do if they could make it believable.
Posted by: Pogonip | June 07, 2019 at 02:01
Ah, I see. I was thinking more in terms of dumb things the screenwriters did.
Posted by: pst314 | June 07, 2019 at 02:18
We could spend another 80 comments covering that!
Posted by: Pogonip | June 07, 2019 at 02:48
I’ll take that as a hint to go no further. :-)
Posted by: Pst314 | June 07, 2019 at 13:25
The original Star Wars trilogy is a fusion of mid-20th century Westerns, WWII movies, and perhaps most importantly for this discussion Kurosawa samurai films, all wrapped up in a Flash Gordon visual aesthetic.
The Jedi are samurai[1]. They can deflect blaster bolts with lightsabers because in chambara samurai can deflect arrows with their katana. It's a visual homage, as is everything in Star Wars. Star Wars is a visual fantasy and homage to the films George Lucas watched on Saturday matinee afternoons when he was ten. Complaining that it's not realistic or believable is missing the point by twelve parsecs.
This affects my suspension of disbelief
All of Star Wars takes place in a single solar system. It has to. Faster than light travel is impossible.
[1] In the original trilogy. In the prequel trilogy the New Asian Cinema Hotness had moved on to wu xia, so the Jedi are wudong fighters and you get superball Yoda and everyone is Carrie.
Posted by: Daniel Ream | June 07, 2019 at 16:57