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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   2400 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 13, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I find Matt Walsh vapid and not very bright in general but sometimes I have to laugh at his antics. He produced this new mockumentary called "Am I Racist?" and tricked Robin DiAngelo into sitting down for an interview with him (while wearing the flimsiest disguise).

Robin DiAngelo figured it out eventually, weeks later, and offered a statement in defense: https://www.robindiangelo.com/about-that-film/

From her damage control statement above:

Matt asked what I thought about reparations for Black Americans. I said that I agreed with reparations but that it was not my area of expertise. He then pulled up a chair and invited a Black crew-member who went by “Ben” to sit with us, took out his wallet and handed Ben some cash. He said that if I believed in reparations, I should also give Ben cash. While some Black people have asked white people to engage in reparations by giving directly to individuals, reparations are generally understood as a systemic approach to past and current injustice. The way Matt set this up felt intended to put Ben and I on the spot. Because Matt was pushing this on us, I expressed my discomfort and checked in with Ben, to be sure he was okay with receiving cash in this way. Ben reassured me that he was, so I went to my wallet and handed him my cash and the interview ended.

My reaction to this is: what the fuck? Did she really feel pressured into handing a random black person money because they were talking about reparations? LOL

While we're on the topic of mockumentaries, Tyler Cowen mentioned in a recent podcast that Trump has a surprisingly good bullshit detector and that when Ali G tried to punk him, Trump figured out in like one minute that this was a con and bounced. Contrast to Noam Chomsky just going on and on. Ali G punks a lot of people, but not Trump? Completely unexpected!

Robin DiAngelo seems in a class of her own here. Self-punking, perhaps? Talk about being high on your own farts.

I can't get over the scene in his mockumentary where the folks at some kind of woke circle realize who he is and kick him out because they "fear for their physical safety."

I find myself wondering: do they really believe this? Do they literally think Matt Walsh is going to rise from his folding chair and physically assault them? I have to think they know they are full of shit and this is just rhetoric to justify kicking someone out whose real crime is being an ass. I do not like Walsh or his tactics, he's a troll, but ffs just say "You're an asshole and we don't feel like being mocked on camera, so gtfo," don't make up some bullshit about fearing for your physical safety.

What's so surprising about them using words of power to summon The Manager? It's how they solve every interpersonal conflict and take over neutral institutions. It would be an enormous surprise if they didn't reflexively use the same universally successful tactic here.

What's even the point of asking this question? If you're in 1930s Russia, is there any benefit in asking "wow, do you really believe this railyard manager was part of the vast fascist-capitalist-trotskyist conspiracy to wreck the glorious five year plan?"
Just by asking the question you're buying into their frame and positioning the argument right where they want it: fighting over how racist you are for daring to question the lived experiences of trans black womxn.

A 2014 tumblrinaction post doesn't help anything, or it would have stopped this a decade ago. It's been 84 10 years, it's time to let the haughty fake surprise posts go, before you end up saying "these kids are in for a shock when they meet the real world"

Yes, I do think it's useful to question whether people really believe what they are saying.

Your post is very random and appears kneejerk and written without much reflection or content beyond seething at your enemy tribe.

Just by asking the question you're buying into their frame and positioning the argument right where they want it: fighting over how racist you are for daring to question the lived experiences of trans black womxn.

This makes no sense and looks like outrage generated by ChatGPT.

And to make my point more plainly: yes, I know why they do it. At the same time, maybe I am just too literalist, but I am genuinely curious who is a true believer. Some people did believe in the Red Scare, and heretics, and witches. So when I see a woke person saying, very earnestly, "You are making me feel physically unsafe," I get that it's a tactic, and she probably does "feel" unsafe, but at the same time I don't buy into the whole NPC/zombie meme, so I want to know (and would ask if I were there): "No, seriously, can you explain? Do you think he's literally going to pull a knife on you?"

(It's a good thing I am not a public figure who can be cancelled.)

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