rhetormorrison - Network

Ad 4: Gym BrosA group of guys in too-tight gym clothes stand outside a gym. They are having a loud conversation with lots of yelling...

Ad 4: Gym Bros

A group of guys in too-tight gym clothes stand outside a gym. They are having a loud conversation with lots of yelling (“bam,” fist bumps, “two plates”). Two try to chest bump. The focus shifts and we see through the gym window a man quietly lifting. We pan back to the crowd. A moment later the doors open and the guy inside walks out. The pseudo-gym-bros fall quiet as he walks through them and gets into an old muscle car. We see the Democrats sticker as it drives away.
5/5

Ad 3: Your Business is YoursA woman is trying to talk to her doctor but there is loud yelling & they can't hear each other. The...

Ad 3: Your Business is Yours

A woman is trying to talk to her doctor but there is loud yelling & they can't hear each other. The camera reveals an open door. In is is a stereotypical televangelist is yelling about weird bible verses. The doctor touches the woman’s arm and mouths “just a second.” She stands up and shuts the door, & she sits back down and asks the woman, “now what were you saying?” A “Democrats” sticker is visible on the now-shut doors.

4/5

Ad 2: Democrats Get **** DoneWorkers in a factory. It is loud, but organized. The line is moving. Suddenly the line stops and all goes...

Ad 2: Democrats Get **** Done

Workers in a factory. It is loud, but organized. The line is moving. Suddenly the line stops and all goes quiet. Three old execs walk in. They say some corporate buzzwords then one goes to a worker and pulls the tool out of his hand, demonstrating poorly. The worker nods, giving amused looks at his coworkers. When the execs leave, the workers go back to doing things the right way and the line starts moving again. We see a “Democrats” sticker on a toolbox.
3/5

Ad 1: All Hat, No CattleA group of farm workers in jeans & boots lean on a battered work truck talking. A Democrats sticker is visible....

Ad 1: All Hat, No Cattle

A group of farm workers in jeans & boots lean on a battered work truck talking. A Democrats sticker is visible. A new absolutely clean truck pulls up. Out steps a old guy in khakis and cowboy hat. He jokes with the workers; they play along, but give each other eye rolls. As the guy starts back to his truck, he steps in something. The camera zooms in, revealing that he’s wearing dress shoes. As he drives away, we see the Republicans sticker on the truck.
2/5

I've long believed that Democrats need brand advertising. Not advertising for specific candidates, but advertising for the Democratic...

I've long believed that Democrats need brand advertising. Not advertising for specific candidates, but advertising for the Democratic brand as a whole.

So I roughed together a few ad ideas

1/5

Doing some grading, and listening to the quiet ticking of the clock in the background. Then I realized that I don't have a clock that...

Doing some grading, and listening to the quiet ticking of the clock in the background. Then I realized that I don't have a clock that ticks, and haven't for thirty years or more.

(It was the ceiling fan, btw)

Smokey knows the fight against fascism requires frequent naps.#cats #fascism #howfascismworks

Smokey knows the fight against fascism requires frequent naps.
#cats #fascism #howfascismworks

Smokey is a delicate flower. #Caturday

Smokey is a delicate flower. #Caturday

Interesting article on one woman's efforts to reduce the glorification of Nazis on Wikipedia--and the pushback she faced....

Interesting article on one woman's efforts to reduce the glorification of Nazis on Wikipedia--and the pushback she faced.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/one-woman-s-mission-to-rewrite-nazi-history-on-wikipedia?utm_source=pocket-newtab

https://www.theage.com.au/national/covid-19-lab-leak-theory-ends-with-a-whimper-not-a-bang-20230627-p5djqb.html"The combined powers of...

https://www.theage.com.au/national/covid-19-lab-leak-theory-ends-with-a-whimper-not-a-bang-20230627-p5djqb.html

"The combined powers of the world’s most expansive intelligence apparatus could turn up no evidence the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) had SARS-CoV-2, nor its progenitor, nor a backbone on which it could have been engineered, before the pandemic broke out. Nor could they find any evidence of a biosafety incident."

So the explanation that was always most likely--an animal virus naturally evolved to infect humans--continues to be the most likely.

8/xThing that made me think: I'm not sure we wouldn't all be better off focusing on being good people rather than being good men and...

8/x
Thing that made me think: I'm not sure we wouldn't all be better off focusing on being good people rather than being good men and women, but clearly there's an audience desperate to know how to "be a man," and as she points out, the only people stepping in to fill that void are the worst imaginable misogynists of the right. I think I may start working on something like: "How to Be a Man, But Also Not an Asshole." (not that I'm all that well qualified on either count, but oh well)

7/xThing I liked: She also points out that most of the modern "how to be a man" stuff from the right is really about sexual...

7/x
Thing I liked: She also points out that most of the modern "how to be a man" stuff from the right is really about sexual anxiety, and frames masculinity as nothing more than "the opposite of whatever femininity is."

6/xThing I liked: Her discussion of the Jordan Peterson types and their appeal is interesting. She suggests that--in addition to the...

6/x
Thing I liked: Her discussion of the Jordan Peterson types and their appeal is interesting. She suggests that--in addition to the seething sexism and "it's not your fault" message--their audience really appreciates being clearly told what to do. Their audience wants a clear hierarchy, even if they aren't at the very top.

5/xQuibble: She notes that while men still dominate society, many lower-class men lack access to the power of these elites. This is true,...

5/x
Quibble: She notes that while men still dominate society, many lower-class men lack access to the power of these elites. This is true, but has it ever been different? The only difference seems to be that in the past even the "low" men could take comfort in their supposed superiority to women. But if that's a crisis of masculinity, then masculinity (as defined there) is nothing more than a sexist hierarchy.

4/xBig Quibble: Another of the "problems of men" she mentions is that women are doing well in school and getting good jobs. If you...

4/x
Big Quibble: Another of the "problems of men" she mentions is that women are doing well in school and getting good jobs. If you are a man who feels this is a problem for you, then you're not just a crappy man, you're a crappy person. If your success relies on other people's failure, your definition of success sucks.

3/xQuibble: One the main problems she believes men face is that old skills are no longer sufficient or valuable in today's working...

3/x
Quibble: One the main problems she believes men face is that old skills are no longer sufficient or valuable in today's working world. Well of course! People--men and women--have been needing to learn new skills since the industrial revolution. This isn't anti-man; it's just the nature of a technological society.

2/xPoint I liked: For hundreds of years, people have been claiming that "men these days aren't as manly as they used to be."...

2/x
Point I liked: For hundreds of years, people have been claiming that "men these days aren't as manly as they used to be." It's clearly a moral panic without grounding, and little more accurate than the standard gripes about "kids these days." (Recall Jackie Gleason's comment, "the past remembers better than it lived.")

Quibble: But then she blows it, and says basically, "This time it's real, though!"

"Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness" by Christine Emba. "I started noticing it a few years ago. Men,...

"Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness" by Christine Emba.

"I started noticing it a few years ago. Men, especially young men, were getting weird..."

This is an interesting piece--absolutely worth reading. And I have some thoughts. 1/x

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/10/christine-emba-masculinity-new-model/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=wp_main

9. The right of the chosen people to dominate others without restraint from any kind of human or divine law, right being decided by the sole...

9. The right of the chosen people to dominate others without restraint from any kind of human or divine law, right being decided by the sole criterion of the group's prowess within a Darwinian struggle.

So I think we once again--as it was in many countries after WW1, see an authoritarian--even fascist--political movement driven by a backlash against feminism and gay rights.

4/4

6. The need for authority by natural leaders (always male), culminating in a national chief who alone is capable of incarnating the...

6. The need for authority by natural leaders (always male), culminating in a national chief who alone is capable of incarnating the groups' destiny;

7. The superiority of the leader's instincts over abstract and universal reason;

8. The beauty of violence and the efficacy of will, when they are devoted to the group's success;

3/x