MissPiggyOnRollerSkates

MissPiggyOnRollerSkates wrote

Reply to comment by hogposting in 435 - Cancel Crisis feat. Matt Taibbi (7/9/20) by shellac

I saw another person point out that Joseph Boyden, the novelist they were writing about, actually has a more complicated relationship to representing other cultures. He claimed to be First Nations person, wrote novels about First Nations people, won awards for First Nations writers, and spoke out publicly on issues relating to how it is to be First Nations in Canada, but . . . he isn't actually a member of any tribe. It's possible that he has some First Nations ancestry, in the same way my granny claims that we have Miami heritage back in the mists of time, but tribal membership isn't based on blood quantum and that ancestry, whether it exists or not, doesn't give anyone insight into what it's actually like to live as a minority in Canada or the US. Joseph Boyden wasn't cancelled for writing fiction. In fact, several First Nations leaders said that they were aware that his claim was a sham, but as long as he was just writing fiction, they didn't give a shit. They started caring a whole lot though when he started speaking more publicly and politically and was contradicting what actual First Nations people were saying. He wasn't canceled for writing novels, he was canceled for naming himself the spokesman for a group he doesn't actually belong to.

Sorry, this is getting really long, but it's something I really care about. I love reading fiction, and I agree that it is a good exercise to attempt to imagine someone different from yourself; it helps you see other people as full people, not just NPCs that you encounter in the show that you're starring in every day of your life. HOWEVER, Joseph Boyden was wrong to pretend to be a minority in an attempt to stand out from the crowd of other novelists, and was especially wrong to try to speak for (and contradict!) people that have actually lived the experiences he has only imagined.

To get back to the Chapo episode, I'm not saying that they were deliberately disingenuous in telling Boyden's story that way--I didn't have that information on the tip of my tongue either, until someone else reminded me of it. You can't just remember the details to everything all the time. What I am accusing them of is speaking too glibly about situations that they maybe should have spent a minute researching before taking a stance on.

And now I'll climb back off my soapbox.

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MissPiggyOnRollerSkates wrote

Reply to Min wage machine by suma

No, no it's not the same! Because you see, at other minimum wage jobs you get the satisfaction of serving your betters. I am but a humble cog in this mighty wheel, but it pleases me to know that my drudgery makes it possible for the elite to live in luxury. If I was a better person and just worked harder, surely I too could be a millionaire! My chance will come any day now, I just know it!

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MissPiggyOnRollerSkates wrote

Reply to comment by cleverpanda1 in Can we kick it old school and bring back brigading reactionary reddit threads? by shellac

I've been very lucky in that regard in my working life. Not to say that I've never disliked a coworker, but by and large, I've worked with people that I found it easy to get along with. And I've had some shitty and low-paid jobs! The system sucks (and the people at the top suck), but the workers are good people who deserve better.

This has been an episode of "How I Got Radicalized" by Miss Piggy on Roller Skates.

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MissPiggyOnRollerSkates wrote

Reply to comment by PootrKrobuttkin in Can we kick it old school and bring back brigading reactionary reddit threads? by shellac

I worked at Kohl's for a few years and it sucked aaaaaaassssssssssssssss. My coworkers were so happy for me when I got a new job and got to move on that they threw me a little party. I hated to leave them behind. Seriously, some of the best people I've ever worked for, in the worst environment I've ever worked in. Fuck Kohl's.

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MissPiggyOnRollerSkates wrote

Reply to comment by ziq in Saddened to hear about tragic upcoming suicide of Ghislaine Maxwell 😔 by youwillgivemeanegg

HOLY SHIT

I assumed that she would live quietly for a few years and then everyone would cease to care, and that nothing will be resolved.

Instead, she's arrested, people will care a lot for a bit, she'll be suicided, and then nothing will be resolved.

Haha. But I do have a teeny bit of hope that some people may go down this time. Call me an optimist.

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MissPiggyOnRollerSkates OP wrote

Reply to comment by PyotrKropotkin in Q Anon Confession Time by MissPiggyOnRollerSkates

That's a good point. I think some people are in it just for personal grifting, but I do think there's good reason to believe that conspiracy theories are manufactured, or at least encouraged, by the powers that be to distract from the the fact that the system is just a cash grab.

Like I said elsewhere, I think the expression "antisemitism is the socialism of fools" is a good explanation for most conspiracy theories as well. (And anyway, a lot of conspiracy theories circle back to antisemitism once you dig deep enough.) People see their material conditions, they see what the problems are, but they draw batshit conclusions instead of just following the money back to captialism.

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