#the covid discourse

[soryualeksi]

I don’t really know what to do with the feelings that welled up inside me right now, so I do what everyone would consider the most logical thing and write a tumblr post about it, but.

The public discussion about Covid sure was.

“Covid isn’t dangerous! We don’t have to do anything! It only kills the old and the weak!”

vs.

“Nooo, Covid is ABSOLUTELY dangerous and we have to do something! It kills young and healthy people, too!!”

So.

#i don't know where that suddenly came from but it hit me and now tears are running #ah right i know where it came from because yesterday i got triggered by someone mentioning a german book about the dangers of nuclear war #that just so happened to include the 'mercy' murder of a disabled newborn #because what is worse than getting killed by nukes oh yes it's being born disabled afterwards #and it hit me how so many people will continue to read this completely uncritically and be like #'wow the poor family had to do this sad sad thing because the baby was born severely disabled' #yes the thing they HAD to do was cherish that person until their life's end if they had medical issues severe enough #that they could not survive long term without medical intervention #but no we absolutely need 'mercy killing' aka eugenicist murder completely uncritically or even endorsed in moral pointer stories #aimed at children btw #and that triggered me severely yesterday and i guess now it comes out #as fully facing how Covid just made more visible how society at large is ableist eugenicist and would like to murder all of us happily #ableist violence cw #ableist murder cw #ableist bullshit #eugenics #the covid discourse #'don't worry only the weak will die' vs 'yes worry the healthy will die too'

[communistkenobi]

The deeply moralist tone that a lot of discussions about media representation take on here are primarily neoliberal before they are anything else. Like the shouting matches people get into about “purity culture” “pro/anti” etc nonsense (even if I think it’s true that some people have a deeply christian worldview about what art ought to say and represent about the world) are downstream of the basic neoliberal assumption that we can and must educate the public by being consumers in a market. “Bad representation” is often framed as a writer’s/developer’s/director’s/etc’s failure to properly educate their audience, or to educate them the wrong way with bad information about the world (which will compel their audience to act, behave, internalise or otherwise believe these bad representations about some social issue). Likewise, to “consume” or give money to a piece of media with Bad Representation is to legitimate and make stronger these bad representations in the world, an act which will cause more people to believe or internalise bad things about themselves or other people. And at the heart of both of those claims is, again, the assumption that mass public education should be undertaken by artists in a private market, who are responsible for creating moral fables and political allegories that they will instil in their audiences by selling it to them. These conversations often become pure nonsense if you don’t accept that the moral and political education of the world should be directed by like, studio executives or tv actors or authors on twitter. There is no horizon of possibility being imagined beyond purchasing, as an individual consumer in a market, your way into good beliefs about the world, instilled in you by Media Product 

#just saw a very stupid post. but I will endure #these discussions also remind me of anti-vaxxer discourse #which in North America for Covid is framed as simply wanting to make the best informed choice as a consumer in a market* #ideas about public goods or civic responsibility towards others are incompatible with this consumer-citizen view of the world #like legitimately the idea of the consumer as the base civic unit of north american society is catastrophic for public health #and produces these interminable discourses about ‘media consumption’ #which itself is a neoliberal framing! I think ‘media’ as a catchall term is neoliberal because it links all art with the commonality of #being a good sold in a market #*outside of outright fascist anti-vax beliefs I should say. Although from my research so far these things seem to overlap heavily lol #which is not surprising but the distinction is worth teasing out #.txt

[beemovieerotica]

there has to be some kind of safe and sane middle ground between "wearing masks is oppression" and "I'm going to morally condemn you for no longer wearing a mask 3 years in, despite your being vaccinated 6 times, and you're not currently physically ill, and the city in which you live has a vaccination rate well above 80%" like I feel as though we lost the thread at some point...

i feel as though there's a portion of people on here who are no longer seeing what's always been the most effective way to keep people safe (getting vaccinated, which is not physically visible) and are relying morally instead on publicly visible indicators of compliance as evidence that someone is in the right. and it just feels very misguided and not reflective of where the vast majority of people are at right now

#discourse #covid

[snzluv3r]

hey!!!! since pretty much everybody who’s made shitty, bad faith takes on this whole situation (that was never drama or some witch-hunt of the ‘puritans of tumblr persecuting thought crime’ as people like @fluziska wanted to refer to it) has ended up retracting or trying to reword their original (shitty) statements, because they realized they didn’t actually know what they were commenting on in the first place, let’s all just agree to one thing. let’s shut the fuck up and think before we talk for five seconds, especially when it comes to a marginalized group of people having a conversation that centers their literal distress and lack of safety

#some of you have this weird fucking need to be on the other side of all social discourse to the point you harm others #who were never engaging in said (or imagined) discourse in the first place #like shut the fuck up #tagged you fluziska since you wanna pretend to be covid conscious then engage in bullshit like that #weird ass behavior but glad i know who to unfollow #stop talking over disabled people i’m done being nice to y’all

[just-antithings]

The "how dare they run a charity drive during a war" thing is so baffling because like... War has been active pretty much every year the drive was done? The Palestine war didn't just start this year? The Ukraine war has been ongoing for a while now? Hell, why did we do drives during covid, don't you know people are dying? It's just grasping at straws imo 🤦🏼‍♂️

yep yep

#mod erin #ask #just anti things #ao3 discourse #covid mention #ask to tag

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

I don’t give a rat’s a$$ about the Golden Globes but the nominees are so white. Again. The fact that they nominated the fucking Eras tour over Blue Beetle makes me mad.

Check it out so obviously my first thought was uhh literally why did the Eras Tour movie even got nominated for a Golden Globe like if we allow the premise that industry awards are meant to recognize artistic achievement then truly wtf made them nominate it. And I don’t mean any disrespect towards Swift in this convo because she obviously works hard but the tour was basically her putting on a few different pretty dresses and strutting around a stage re-singing her old stuff… right?

Then the brilliant idea struck me that I should maybe check the category that Swift was nominated for, and yall I know I shouldn’t have been surprised but they literally added a capitalism category for the 2024 Globes:

i’m………………………

At least they’re not hiding it lmao. It’s straight up just about the money /shrug emoji

mod dyr

#anti taylor swift #side note: on a certain level i wouldn’t mind if Barbie and Oppenheimer had this category created for them #bc hopefully we are all mature enough to admit that hashtag barbenheimer will be their lasting cultural impact #(if anything) #and that whole situation relivened the public discourse about the film industry especially after the covid shutdowns #and its fair to take a moment at an industry awards to acknowledge that (but they better give it to Barbie lbr) #(Oppenheimer wouldn’t’ve been shit without Barbie lmao) #but i maintain to platform taylor swift and her lil good vibes victory tour on the same level as barbenheimer is just silly #its not quite apples and oranges… maybe oranges and lemons lol

[liskantope]

I think part of the reason I tend to get so argumentative nowadays about "what your side proposes kills people" -type political talking points is that it seems that this is being used more and more frequently as a rhetorical bludgeon, mainly (though not entirely) from the Left. There's a lot of shutting down of arguments based on "but HUMAN LIVES", and it's begun to feel to me like a disturbing trend. For instance, a good bit of the rhetoric in favor of shutting down schools in 2020-2021 seemed to center on "here, look at my computation that the expected value of children's lives lost if we don't shut down schools is greater than zero; anyone who disagrees with us doesn't VALUE HUMAN LIVES", with the effect that a lot of us (including to some extent me) were blinded for a long time to the absolutely devastating effect such extensive school shutdowns (in some geographic areas) had on children and their whole families, an effect that is still scarring them today. I'm not saying anything about whether or how far those school shutdown policies went wrong, just that they had very substantial harmful effects that don't vanish relative to the VALUE OF HUMAN LIVES.

Then there's the now-everyday claim that the anti-trans culture warriors "ARE KILLING US [TRANS PEOPLE]", which is true under a particular interpretation of "killing" and tragically true to an extent pretty well beyond some vanishingly rare extreme cases but is also transparently being used to drown out most other aspects of the debates around trans issues. Much more disturbing still is the accusation I now semi-regularly see casually flung that conservatives "actively want us [trans or LGBT+ people in general] dead" (I think I've occasionally seen left-wing variations on this that aren't even about LGBT+ people). A couple of months ago I called it "stomach-turning" ("it" being both the content of the accusation itself and the fact that so many people in our cultural discourse have seen fit to use it; this of course was semi-willfully misinterpreted by someone as my saying that trans people turn my stomach), and I reiterate now that it's still completely turning my stomach. This example is different from others in some fundamental ways, some of which make me more sympathetic with why people feel driven to use it (and it's not being used to drown out completely unrelated issues, for instance, like the guns thing is), and the general rhetorical weapon of "the other side wants to kill us" deserves its own effortpost which I intend to write later this summer.

So anyway, yeah, I'm also getting a kind of short fuse around insinuations of "what they show kids in school won't kill them, but guns could, so that's the only issue involving schoolchildren that anyone should care about" that I now see daily.

Of course, invocations of "my cause is the one whose stakes directly involve life or death so it outranks everything else" isn't exclusive to the Left at all. The Right has been doing it for decades with abortion to shut down both the abortion debate and whatever unrelated debate they didn't want to have ("millions of babies are being MURDERED each year, while liberals obsess over [women's bodies] [or] [just about any totally unrelated issue which appears frivolous next to MURDER]"). I also vaguely remember something that sounded like this in the post-9/11 years ("we're the ones looking out for Americans who might be KILLED in the next terrorist attack, that has to be the only priority right now"). And there was that bizarre "death panels" accusation around 2010-2011 when Obamacare was being debated which I guess might also count.

Only loosely related, but I'm reminded of a moment in the very first vice presidential debate, between Bob Dole and Walter Mondale in 1976, where Dole invoked a computation of the number of deaths in wars the US engaged in under Democratic versus Republican presidents, and apparently he got a lot of blowback from how underhanded this rhetorical move came across.

#political discourse #death #suicide #covid pandemic #school shutdowns #trans issues #gun control #abortion #terrorism #universal health care #american presidential politics

[superbeeny]

The ‘American Feelings Yakuza’ article reminded me of something that’s been brewing in my head for a couple years about Japanese media and the rise of antis.  Like, there's always been inflammatory bad faith criticism of characters and ships due to ship wars, but I think antis in the modern sense started to really gel when we started getting really obviously anime-inspired American cartoons by creators who actually grew up on anime and the fandoms that emerged around them (See Avatar, Korra, Steven Universe, and Voltron: Legendary Defender).  

Like, it’s not wrong to like those shows, but I do think they tended to be especially efficient spawning vats for modern anti rhetoric and behavior for some reason, and I think the way the Japanese cartoon aesthetics were removed from their original context (Japanese culture, especially their post-war period) and sanitized for the consumption of American viewers that lent itself to batshit, self-entitled fandoms who spread their attitudes like a mind-virus.  

#like americans struggle with the more indulgent aspects (fanservice) AND the more hard-hitting confronting portrayal of violence and trauma #imo voltron is an especially egregious case because it's a reboot of an already heavily altered and Americanized dub #but then look at disney. maybe appropriating and sanitizing art from other culture's is kinda american animation's original sin #decline of people actually travelling to japan doesn't help (plus covid) #antis #anti discourse #proship #proship discourse #shipping #fandoms #fandom discourse #geek culture #nerd culture #animation #cartoons #anime #weebs #weeb culture #manga

[tavina-writes]

i'm too tired to truly get my thoughts in order about this but like, for c-fandom, in general, you're not immune to propaganda about the model minority and the powers of the model minority nor are you immune to east asian hate especially violence towards east asian men even if you claim to love a queer show full of east asian men and regularly engage in c-fandom and queer c-fandoms.

This is partially why I have a really hard time engaging with modern AUs for mdzs/cql, and again, I am in no shape post the disaster these last weeks have been irl to post an essay talking about this with real nuance, but I am begging y'all to please consider what knock on effects this has when you start transcribing "rich and privileged gentry person" into. your modern Chinese-American AU.

#do not discourse in my notes #I'm just heartsick and tired #'why are you making mountains out of molehills tav?' #maybe it's because that one time right before covid got big in the US #some woman in the bathroom pressed herself against the wall rather than be normal bc since I look the way I do #I'm probably diseased like all the other people over there #and fandom is where I go to be silly about blorbo #not get smacked in the face with. #yeah anyway

[statementlou]

One thing I remember reading when the venues for SA came out, was that folks from there said that it was pretty standard to book the larger venues and start off with only a portion available and then if those seats were bought up then they would move the stage and release more. If that’s true then the concept of sold out is fluid. From what I’ve seen on twitter, uas are trying to buy tickets to give to fans who can’t afford them but would love to go. Times are challenging. According to touring data n twitter, Niall has only sold roughly 65 % of his available tickets in the US. He has some full venues and some not so full. Touring must be a nightmare these days from an economic stand point.

about the seats for sure! Louis' tours have been doing that all along (in venues large enough), Harry's do it, everyone does it probably, and god knows they just say sold out or don't seemingly at random. Oh actually I just saw something about this earlier- this is from the IQ Magazine article: "[Matt] Vines says, “For example, in Chile, originally the show was scheduled at a 5,000-cap, half-capacity arena in Santiago. And what we ended up doing [was] three nights at 10,000-cap in that same venue." IDK anyway like I said before, those dates are far off and I don't think there's any reason to think they won't do well, but I suppose we will see.

#as for niall I have paid ZERO attention to whats going on with his current tour but I know last time he scheduled one #(canceled by covid) he over reached SO MUCH in venue size #I wouldn't be surprised if he has done it again #maybe people should be talking shit about HIS team and their decisions #instead of the only woman on Louis' management team #jakarta discourse #ticket sales

[radinclus-not-radqueer]

Hello! Over time I’ve learned what radqueer means, but what exactly does radinclus mean? I used to think they were the same thing but that doesn’t seem to be the case so I want to know the definitions and how they differ ^^ /nm /nf

Radinclus is about supporting all lgbtq+/mogai identities that are harmless and in good-faith (like xenogenders, neopronouns, mspec lesbians/gays, etc). Radqueers have tried to steal the definition and apply it to things that are very harmful/not good faith (like transracial, transautistic, transnazi, etc), where the logic of "accept all good-faith identities" doesn't work because the identities have been proven to be harmful and most aren't good-faith.

Radinclus is about harmless lgbtq+ identities, while radqueer is about harmful non-lgbtq+ identities (most of which originated on 4chan or from other troll/bad faith uses), if that makes sense

#from the inbox #ive been sick for a few days which is why i havent been posting much #it isnt covid thankfully. probably just bad seasonal allergies or something #tw discourse

[samdyke]

spn discourse would kill most other bloggers i think

#that really good queer trans tweet thats like only like cunts are left like roaches! that but spn fandom. #some of the discourse. soooo funny. #like is it ******* ** ***** *** ***** to **** ** **** **** because he’s ******** ***** #theres probably not the right number of things there. im tired #or the destiel blogger strain of covid for example #kora.txt

[boglamb]

sad and lonely bc my friends keep inviting me to do stuff with them but covid is spiking and they don’t mask + frustrated because everyone said they would continue to wear a mask “even after covid is gone” because they liked not getting sick. well covid is here to stay, everyone’s stopped masking, and no one understands why i don’t hang out as much

#like. y’all im still dealing with long covid symptoms from my infection in 2021 #why on earth would i want to risk my health for you when you can’t even take precautions for me #also feel bad bc i did used to go to parties & go to group hang outs unmasked but that was before i started following wastewater data #bc before i used to just follow positive testing data and thought i was safe going out during “lows’’ #but there are no lows anymore it’s a constant surge since no one masks even in leftist groups. it’s so alienating #like. y’all don’t even wear them to go grocery shppping anymore? but everyone wants to get in on the instacart/doordash discourse every time #also didn’t think i was ‘safe’ thought i was ‘safer’ my autocorrect changed that

[drakey-wakey]

something i really really dont understand about anti mask folks (mostly on the left bc lets face it most right wingers have no empathy or community care drive) is just.. why would you choose against doing something that makes your community safer? why would you choose the option that makes life harder and worse for some of the most marginalized folks out there? it is genuinely such a nice feeling for me to just be wearing a mask because I do when i go most places and for someone to come up and tell me that theyre glad I am or that it makes them feel safer going out. why would you choose against community care and safety and still call yourself a leftist? if you constantly talk about mutual aid and caring for your community but refuse to even wear a mask I don't really want to hear what you have to say tbh

#mask discourse #leftist #covid isnt over #let draco say fuck #genuinely stupid behavior #inspired by the older guy at the grocery store who saw us as the only two folks wearing masis #masks* #and felt the need to tell me that i was smart for doing so #and i imagine how unsafe it feels to be in everyday environments when youre the only person masking and everyone's either #looking at you weird and judging you for ur choice or actively sick and not even trying to avoid spreading their germs by not masking #really frustrating

[morlock-holmes]

I may have exaggerated the case a bit but for all you foreigners (And for that matter, locals) who want to understand US politics you need to watch Biden's press secretary sarcastically dismissing the idea of sending free tests to people.

I said it before but I can't emphasize this enough:

When I talk to people from other first world countries they are baffled that the US could possibly have had a test shortage as late as October of 2021.

When I talk to people from the US some of them are pissed but not one is shocked or confused.

In fact, the shortages were taken for granted basically by the entire political establishment. The Biden administration worked off the assumption that we wouldn't need tests and most people didn't want them anyway, but the people who did could buy them and get reimbursed. Congress agreed.

On December 6 of 2021 Biden's Press Secretary Jan Psaki gave a press briefing about test availability and her first instinct was to aver that the shortages and roundabout reimbursement schemes we had in 2021 were obviously the best that we could do and it was just blatantly obvious and the idea that the US could be handling testing any better than we already were was just pie in the sky nonsense. Might as well ask the administration to buy every US citizen a pony while you're at it.

By January 18 of 2020 you could order the first free test delivery online.

Seven goddamn weeks.

MASSIVE improvements in test distribution were insanely easily achievable with extraordinarily little effort.

I'm obsessed with it because the test shortage isn't the result of some big culture war battle, or of partisan gridlock in Congress; as it turns out there were basically no obstacles at all to increased test production and more efficient test distribution.

And it just simply had not occurred to the US government to do it before than.

After all, we all know that the government doesn't do that kind of thing.

That intense, decades long, in many ways deliberate, government dysfunction and apathy is at the heart of American politics. That's your Rosetta Stone for our psychology. You can't understand, e.g. anti-mask protests unless you first understand that the test shortage is not an aberration here, but the ordinary, expected functioning of the government.

#USA #politics #discourse #covid

[the-wildmother]

CR fandom right now feels so, so divided.

Social medias can’t decide what they like or hate - I see so many complaints that c3 is bad or boring, that their music has no presence, that so-and-so is annoying. They’re getting lost in breaking down the metas and interpersonal relationships, or just building entirely parasocial relationships with the cast and making bold claims about intent.

Ever since the party split, views on episodes are distinctly lower, people are siding with crazy moon cult leader guy who’s been evil since last campaign, and people are comparing the gods to colonists. People call it railroady and boring when sometimes d&d (and heroes?) needs oversized failures to find their footing. There’s VERY thinly-veiled racism, borderline sexism, and overall shittalking.

i’m tired, man. i wanna watch my silly dnd shows and it sucks to go online and see nothing but dissent.

#in some ways i feel like CR has gotten too self aware and it is affecting the show overall #but does no one have suspension of disbelief anymore #this has been such a depressing fandom to be in since post-covid c2 #cr discourse #i guess