Tag: woke cancel culture mob

MAGA Vs. The ‘Woke Cancel Culture Mob’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In my discussions with my Traditionalist relatives, one thing that is at the forefront of their minds is the idea that their lives will be ruined just because they’re conservative. Whenever I point out that that is “soft” power as opposed to the “hard” power that MAGA is rapidly accumulating, all I get is a hand wave.

In their minds, the issue is settled — the all powerful Left has all the power and it’s a struggle for oppressed MAGA people to survive without being “canceled” just because they don’t follow the media narrative. A prime example of this thinking is what has happened to J.K. Rowling over her anti-trans stance. (Out of spite, I’ve bought her latest self-indulgent book for no other reason than I want to see how she pulls off talking about herself for 1,000 pages.)

This is very alarming to me. It sets up a false equivalency that is very dangerous and corrosive. And, I think, it says more about how the United States is careening towards autocracy or civil war at some point between now and, say, spring of 2025. Something’s gotta give.

But there doesn’t seem to be much we can do about this particular situation. The sides have hardened to the point that there’s just no point in trying to clear up the difference between hard and soft power. White Christian (men) have their talking points and their ideology and that’s that.

The thing we don’t know is the endgame. Are white Christian (men) all talk, or will there reach a point when they’re going to follow MAGA Republicans off the cliff into political violence? It’s a forgone conclusion at this point that the United States is going to become an autocracy unless we have a civil war during the final transition.

Don’t know what to tell you. We’re on our own. The era of pining the entire fate of the United States on “hope” that things will work out is over. Time to prepare for something dramatic happening at some point between now and spring 2025.

Have I Accidently Red Pilled Myself?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, I decided to buy JK Rowling’s self-indulgent mystery tome out of spite towards the “woke cancel culture mob.” I have a feeling, given my dissipated youth that if I manage to miraculously sell my first novel, I’m probably going to get canceled pretty quick.

But, who knows, maybe I’ve overthinking things.

Something about why Rowling has been so vehemently “canceled” doesn’t set well with me. Her “cancelation” because of viewpoint that a lot of average people have is very troubling for a number of reasons. It’s because of shit like that that we got Trump.

When the average person begins to believe they risk their entire life being ruined for holding a view that seems pretty obvious and simple — then you have a serious problem. That’s when they start to doubt the very legitimacy of democracy and fascism becomes more and more appealing to them.

And I say all of this as someone who fucking hates the MAGA New Right. I suppose you might call it a little bit of political tough love. In the end, I think the “woke” era is going to end either when we have a civil war or when we turn into an autocracy.

The Existential Nature of a CIS White Male Writing a Novel With an Amerasian Heroine

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The more I learn about how novels are actually bought and marketed the more I begin to realize there may be some existential issues that I just can’t wiggle my way out of.

There are two such issues that are giving me serious pause for thought. One is that my protagonist is a POC — specifically Amerasian. The idea that THAT would make it more difficult to sell my novel kind of boggles my mind. Any modern American story has to address that American is browning and, as such, not every story can be just a bunch of white people talking to each other.

Having a non-White heroine — who, in my mind, looks a lot like Olivia Munn — is existential to the story I want to tell. And I’ve come up with a really interesting, clever story that I think is engaging and will appeal to people who liked stories like Mare of Easttown and Stieg Larsson’s stuff.

The other existential issue is, of course — me. The idea that a middle aged CIS white male would write a novel with a non-white heroine as its protagonist is, unto itself a big issue with the “woke cancel culture mob.” And the fact that I would write in the third person intimate POV and I shift POVs is another issue that could cause a lot of problems. Or not. Maybe I’m being paranoid.

This was a huge issue in the controversy around the novel “American Dirt” which was written, as I understand it, by a white woman. It told the story of, I think, an undocumented Latinx.

There are two lesser issues. One is, well, how I hope to make it clear over the course of these six novels how much I fucking hate Trumplandia. I hate it with the hate equal to the center of the sun. I suppose if I actually sold this first novel, my political views would become known and that, unto itself, might turn some people off.

Meanwhile, there is the still very nebulous prospect that Something Big and Bad might happen in late 2024, early 2025, to the point that it will be difficult for any novel I sell to actually be read because either people will be dodging explosions or a weaponized ICE will start to knock heads.

But I would like to think that, maybe, if I manage to write a good enough story that all of these obstacles might not be such such an issue. I am also the first to admit that this project is based on delusion and me having a huge ego. And, yet, lulz. Why not?

All of this gives me something to think about. Something to focus on other than how I’m about to be 50 and have nothing to my name other than a failed expat magazine in Seoul.

A Review (Of Sorts) Of ‘Lightyear’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I finally finished Lightyear. But I’m drunk and lazy. So, this is going to be a “review” as done under those conditions. So, the key thing that pops out at me about this movie — which looks gorgeous — is how dull it is. It’s boring. I just didn’t feel any emotional connection to the story or the characters.

It was only because of that that I noticed how “woke” it is.

It was very, very woke.

Now, let me give you some context to all of this relative to me. I’m writing six (!) novels that I’m using as a creative outlet to rant at the top of my lungs about how much I fucking hate Trumplandia and, as well, the “woke cancel culture mob.” A pox on both your houses, as they say.

But I’m going to use subtext. I’m not going to deconstruct the white savior trope. Or have characters be gay just to make myself feel better. I’m not going to bang my political views over you, the reader, in other words. But the whole thing is designed to, at the end of six novels, layout why I fucking hate extremism from both sides of the aisle.

Anyway, back to Lightyear.

If it wasn’t so dull, I wouldn’t care how woke it was. If it had a good story that was compelling and didn’t have me thinking in the back of my mind, “Ahhh, of course, this is supposed to teach White People A Lesson About Relying Upon Brown People” because it was so dull, then that would be a whole different situation.

And, I’m sheepish to admit, I found myself rooting for Zerg. I agreed with his motivation. But, then, that might mean more about me not being the kid audience more than anything else.

Lightyear is not a bad movie. But it’s very much more a movie you might want to see on Disney+ as opposed to in a theatre.

‘Lightyear’ As a Woke Deconstruction of The ‘White Savior’ Trope

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Ok, I’m working my way through Disney’s “Lightyear” and I’ve reached a pretty woke aspect of this movie — its determination to attack the “White Savior” trope for the benefit of the plot. They even go so far as to say, at one point, “we don’t want us to save us, we want you to join us.” (Or something like that.)

Let me be clear — I’m anti-fascist and I fucking hate MAGA. But I’m not oblivious to what’s going on. Lightyear is, in a sense, woke propaganda for the benefits of the browning of America. I’m indifferent to the browning of America and definitely wouldn’t even notice this attack on the “White Savior” trope if the movie was…good.

But the movie isn’t very good. It’s boring. I just don’t care. I don’t know how much of that is it’s meant to be a kids’ movie and how much of it is, well, it really is just boring.

If Lightyear was a better movie, I would be so engaged by the plot that I wouldn’t have time to notice the “woke” elements of it all. But, lulz, nothing matters.

I suppose the point is — give me a good plot and I won’t care how woke your story is.

Uh Oh — Am I Too Much Of A CIS White Male To Ever Get Published?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I saw this tweet by Carol Joyce Oats and winced.

Even though I’m not young anymore, I am a male white writer. Of course, the Usual Suspects of Woke Twitter poo-pooed the tweet. And, yet, I have to admit the sentiment of the tweet rings true.

This is definitely an instance of me being far more anti-MAGA than Leftist. I hate identity politics and I’m coming to grow tired with people being “woke.” Even though the usual caveats apply of what exactly it means to be “woke” is very, very muddled and loaded to the point of being practically meaningless.

Or, put another way, I think my general angst about ever being able to get published in a traditional way really works well with the what the tweet above suggests. But I went into this literary project knowing that to get traditionally published is to, essentially, play the lottery.

It’s almost impossible to break into the literary world and to do so requires as much luck as it does talent. You have to hit the zeitgeist in just the right way for you to get through all the gatekeepers between you and success. It helps, of course, to have a relative who is already famous, but, lulz.

Anyway, when it comes down to it, you just do the best you can see what happens. And, if all else fails, I can always self-publish.

The ‘Canceling’ Of Dave Chappelle

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

One of the most misguided things to happen in pop culture of late is the “canceling” of Dave Chappelle. He’s a gifted storyteller as well as comic and the Left is doing itself no favors by “canceling” him.

Dave Chappelle

All they will do is to make him angry and, in a surreal way, a new favorite of people he definitely doesn’t like — the MAGA New Right. The interesting thing is Chappelle’s “crime” is he refuses to back down and refuses to abide by the Leftist media narrative when it comes to, specifically, trans issues. The whole trans debate is very complicated and requires a nuance that the fucking cocksuckers of the MAGA New Right simply do not have in them.

Their political response to what’s going on between Chappelle and the trans community is nothing more than a grunt — “Chappelle good, trans people bad.” They know nothing more about what’s going on — anything else about Chappelle’s oeuvre than this particular situation.

Admittedly, Chappelle is probably a bit more traditionalist than a lot of other comics. But he’s nowhere near conservative enough to make him the golden child, the exemplar that the MAGA New Right would have you believe. But it is interesting that, weirdly enough, Chappelle is actually facing some consequences for his bucking the trans media narrative. Not here to judge this situation, just telling you what’s going on.

Chappelle is getting shows canceled here and there because of what is perceived as his anti-trans stance. Usually, people who are allegedly “canceled” are actually not canceled and if they are cancelled, they legitimately did something bad enough to deserve it.

So, Chappelle’s canceling is unusual because it actually fits the definition of the shorthand of what it means to be “cancelled.”

What’s so weird is where did the idea of being “canceled” come from in the first place. I have, in the past, suggested that the canceling movement comes from a combination of a generational shift in pop culture expectations being amplified by something akin to a “soft Singularity.”

Anyway, leave Chappelle alone. Please?

Folks, America Has Some Serious Problems

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I talk to my Traditionalist relatives and when they’re not talking about their extreme abstract fears of being personally “canceled” by the woke cancel culture mob just for being conservative — they believe that that very same woke cancel culture mob is trying to turn everyone gay.

In fact, I have to spend 10 minutes wading through their homophobic talking points distilled from Fox News and various rabidly conservative podcasts before we can even talk about the issues of the day. Relative to Traditionalists, the “homosexual agenda” has grow so absolutely powerful that no one can escape its maw.

Traditionalists think everyone who isn’t a Traditionalists is either gay or about to become gay or is “grooming” little tykes to become gay in the not so distant future.

I guess what it all boils down to is the center-Left has a branding problem. A serious one. MAGA has successfully painted their opposition as either “groomers’ or a “woke cancel culture mob” to the people who would otherwise serve as a firebreak against fascists: Traditionalists. When Traditionalists become Good Germans, your nation has a serious fucking problem on its hands.

But that’s where we are.

As I’ve written before, it definitely seems as though Americans have collectively just given up. We’re slouching towards either autocracy or civil war. We’re in a post-accountability era and, as such, that’s post truth. If you’re post truth, you’re pre-fascist. And only because officially becoming an autocratic state would bump up against American self-perception in a big way to I still have any doubts about us becoming an autocracy.

Otherwise, all systems are go for us to become a Hungary – Turkey style autocracy and maybe even drift towards being a Russian clone on a political basis. The center-Left is so weak, so focused on identity politics driven by the latest outraged tweet that we’re all just fucked. Some of it is out of the center-Left’s hands because of macro trends, and some of it is unforced errors.

Anyway. Good luck, I guess?

The Trouble With ‘Wokeism’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Ok, this is something I think about way, way too much. And I think I might have come up with an explanation for what troubled me about both “being woke” and the conservatives who want to burn our Western democracy to the ground because of it.

It seems to me that “being woke” is actually a catch all for a hodge-podge of different things that represent different ideas to different people. Rather than being some sort of set orthodoxy, “being woke” is an amorphous blob of ideas that are used, abused and twisted as needed by both sides to prove their points. (This is coming from someone who absolutely HATES using “both sides” for any reason.)

Or maybe we might look at “being woke” as a spectrum.

On one end of the spectrum is “classical college sophomore wokeism” that hates all “straight CIS white men” because they’re a member of the patriarchy that needs to be “slayed.” This is the wokeism that your typical rabid conservative podcaster rants about in ever growing heated monologues.

I’ve only rarely encounter this Hyper Wokeism outside of my time in college and I have to admit it is pretty fucking annoying. It’s annoying because its corrosive and causes the bedrock of any stable Western democracy — conservative men — to start babbling about how the US isn’t REALLY a democracy, but rather a constitutional republic and fuck you, lib. I suppose the case could be made that this form of Hyper Wokeism leapt out of its natural college campus environment because of social media.

On the OTHER end of the spectrum, there are things that conservatives CALL “being woke” that aren’t all being woke, but rather just normal life in a modern Western democracy — or a constitutional republic that aspires to be a democracy. Things like not being overtly racist or misogynistic are now used by Conservatives as examples of people being “woke.” Throw in the #MeToo movement’s abrupt and long-overdue change in expectations for men in power and the word “woke” is thrown around a whole lot in ways that are meaningless other than to jerk off angry white men who can’t find a job because they don’t have a college degree.

The issue is, even though “being woke” is a blob, conservatives mix and match different types of “being woke.” They actively conflate the different concepts associated with being woke for their own purposes, making everyone angry which is what they want — they want to destroy everything and the best way to do that is make everyone so mad that we don’t have any functioning politics. Conservatives hate government unless it’s doing things they like.

So, taxes for the wealthy can never be too low and taxes for the poor can never be too high. They have no shame and so they want to expand or contract government control depending upon which part of their fascist governing alliance we’re talking about.

Anyway, we’re fucked. Get out the country if you can.

‘Wokeism’ Is Extremely Corrosive To Democracy

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

At it’s heart, I think it’s possible that what we call “wokeism” is part of a soft Singularity that causes culture to move at such a fast pace that Olds can’t figure out how to adjust to a strange new world. Add to this that something about the second Obama Administration broke the brain of the Right and we’re really careening towards a dark and uncertain future.

Now, before I continue, I’ve made my choice. I’ve picked my side. For all the bullshit that the “woke cancel culture mob” generates, I’d rather side with them than the fucking tyrannical, fascist MAGA New Right. I know this is negative polarization — something I often bemoan with others — but everyone seems to be dipping into the poison well of negative polarization so I can feel only so bad.

But, in my experience as middle aged “CIS white male,” there are, in fact, people who are too “woke” for their own good and that wokeism is extremely corrosive to our democracy. Things have obviously gone too far at this point for us to fix anything, but it’s a shame that that is now the case. If only we had collectively decided that we shouldn’t make conservative men feel bad for being conservative….then we wouldn’t have fucking MAGA to worry about.

Because, from my discussions with my Traditionalists relatives — who I love dearly — they believe that they risk being “canceled” by the “woke cancel culture mob” simply because they don’t follow the “woke media narrative.” Now, obviously, things are far more complicated than this statement might suggest.

There is a whole cottage industry of Far Right podcasts devoted specifically to banging MAGA talking points into the minds of very receptive conservative white men. In fact, I would even go so far as to suggest that conservative podcasts, more so than talk radio or FOX News (or OANN or NewsMax) is where the real damage is being done.

Even though my Traditionalist relatives would not admit to being Good Germans in waiting, that’s what they are — they are willful in their desire to live in a white Christian autocratic fascist state with white minority rule. That’s what they want, damn the consequences.

And it definitely seems that we’re going to turn into an autocratic state starting the moment a Republican is POTUS again. It’s an asymmetrical attack on our democracy — they only have to win once.

I don’t know what to tell you. We’re fucked. And I know that there’s a good chance I’m going to run afoul of ICE once President DeSantis is president and forces through some sort of dystpian “Second Bill of Rights” that will be, in fact, enabling acts that will assure Republican minority rule for at least the rest of my life, if not far beyond.

Good luck.