Juan Ersatzman
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juanersatzman.bsky.social
Juan Ersatzman
@juanersatzman.bsky.social
160 followers 300 following 730 posts
Grad student in philosophy. Soccer fan from Ohio. Hobbyist musician. Resident of the Kensington/Port Richmond, Philadelphia gradient.
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juanersatzman.bsky.social
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A headline asking “What's the difference between Mormons and the Amish?” and text: “The Mormons and the Amish are both religious groups with distinct beliefs, practices, and cultural norms. Here's a breakdown of the key differences between them:”
November 18, 2025 at 1:12 AM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
When your military action definitely isn’t masturbatory:
A screencap from Pete Hegseth which reads “Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR.”
November 13, 2025 at 11:20 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
A popular meme showing dominos of ascending size from small to large with "this post" at the small end and "2030 Russian Goal-Dopeness Judge Scandal" at the far end.
November 4, 2025 at 9:31 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Sad to me that so many Christians not only don’t cultivate this *biblically-emphasized* aspect of Christian heaven in their lives, but fight it to the point of compromising scriptural commands about how to treat others. You could be delighting in God’s good creation! Why sit around justifying sin?!
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothes in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
October 31, 2025 at 4:29 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Another image of the No Kings Rally in front of Independence Hall, but this time with an enormous sign depicting neckbeard JD Vance prominent in the left foreground.
October 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
A photo of the crowd gathering at the No Kings rally in Philadelphia with Independence Hall in the background. A yellow sign in the far foreground reads “dismantle thrones, not democracy.”
October 18, 2025 at 5:23 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
“Hopeful! We now know who was right! No one.”

[pause]

“Well. Seventeen percent of you.”
A graphic showing the results of a poll of Philadelphia sports fans showing that 48% expected three wins, 30% expected two wins, 5% expected one win, and 17% expected zero wins.
October 10, 2025 at 3:44 AM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Shame on you, @defector.com
A photo showing that Joe Burrow is 28.
October 5, 2025 at 9:26 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Sean Bean as Boromir in The Fellowship of the Rings, with a speech bubble added to the bottom, implying that he is the one saying that "it's like sending the Smurfs against Sauron," in reference to hobbits, rather than Ken White saying it in reference to congressional Democrats, who are intent on playing the role of Shiriffs (or perhaps Lotho Sackville-Baggins) in a real-life reenactment of the Scouring of the Shire.
September 28, 2025 at 3:06 AM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Thanks for this! I wasn’t aware of Coetzee, but I’m excited to read more. It reminds me of Anabaptist political theology, and Ellul’s pessimistic Christian anarchism, which sees a nonviolent anarchist society as impossible, but necessary to struggle for (nonviolently).
…The true anarchist thinks that an anarchist society - with no state, no organization, no hierarchy, and no authorities - is possible, livable, and practicable. But I do not. In other words, I believe that the anarchist fight, the struggle for an anarchist society, is essential, but I also think that the realizing of such a society is impossible.
September 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
A web search result for an article from the Philadephia Inquirer showing a photo of the Michelin green guide for Philadelphia over the partial headline “Michelin calls Philadelphia the ‘Frenchest American city’ in its new gu…
July 10, 2025 at 10:28 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Today’s news has me thinking about Jacques Ellul, and this quote in particular:
A photo of text reading “The true anarchist thinks that an anarchist society - with no state, no organization, no hierarchy, and no authorities - is possible, livable, and practicable. But I do not. In other words, I believe that the anarchist fight, the struggle for an anarchist society, is essential, but I also think that the realizing of such a society is impossible.”
July 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
A stunning resemblance:
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, seemingly dead and wrapped in web by Shelob.
June 1, 2025 at 6:50 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Owners are organizationally superfluous and capture profit, glory and pride from people who would generate it anyway. And again, high-level sports teams do exist and flourish without relying on owners to inject capital. Structurally, even a good owner is a kleptoparasite.
May 17, 2025 at 10:35 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Exuberant Philadelphians crowd onto a dump truck. A young man in an Eagles jersey yells into the crowd atop a sign on a light pole in center city, Philadelphia. A quartet of Philadelphia Eagles fans sit on the roof and hang out the windows of a car in traffic.
February 10, 2025 at 6:35 AM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
It’s too bad. Pictures of Philadelphians celebrating are fun, but it’s impossible to capture just how good of a time everyone was having.
A man in an Eagles Jersey hangs onto a light pole in Center City, Philadelphia. A blurry photo of a large crowd in center city, Philadelphia. A firework goes off blurrily above the crowd on Broad Street in Philadelphia. A bunch of people sit and stand atop a bus stop in center city, Philadelphia, with sparklers, having an incredible time.
February 10, 2025 at 5:58 AM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
There’s a paragraph here about how Walter Lippman overestimated the epistemic capacities of experts which reminded me of Chesterton’s “Cheat the Prophet” game from The Napoleon of Notting Hill
Text from Chesterton: “The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called, "Keep to-morrow dark," and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) "Cheat the Prophet". The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. They then go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.”
February 1, 2025 at 3:01 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Prototype of a Bison head (no mane). Scrap paper and painter’s tape.
A sculpture of the head of a bison made with folded and cut scrap paper, and bits of blue painter’s tape, hanging on a wall. A front view of a bison’s head (no mane) made of cut and folded scrap paper, held together with pieces of blue painter’s tape.
January 25, 2025 at 9:17 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
I thought, “we need to make the methods of analytic philosophy more rigorous,” just meant this:
A drawing from the XKCD web comic showing a large structure of stacked rectangles labeled “sophisticated formal apparatus” supported by a slender pillar labeled “vibes.”
January 13, 2025 at 6:46 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
Deals in all directions.
A photo of an online advertisement reading “See rock shows near Philadelphia: get tickets as low as $798”
January 7, 2025 at 9:52 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
I thought this post in the Port Richmond FB group summed up parental sentiment nicely.
A screencap of a post from Facebook group THE Original EYES and EARS of PORT RICHMOND, reading “Did I just hear schools are close already for tomorrow this can’t be true”
January 6, 2025 at 2:24 AM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
A chain reaction meme showing domino-shapes of escalating size. The smallest domino is “Maybe I’ll apply to grad school in philosophy,” and the largest is “Cutting holes in the ceiling at night, trying to ratproof the party wall in a Philly rowhouse.”
December 17, 2024 at 2:40 AM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
November 5, 2024 at 11:38 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
I meant to smile, but I was trying to catch the building in the background and keep walking. Anyway, I voted. Kensington, Philly. No lines.
November 5, 2024 at 1:22 PM
juanersatzman.bsky.social
My candy is pedestrian, and I’m not even wearing a costume, but I *do* have a live cannibalistic predator hanging out on my stoop with me. Halloween vibes.
A gray praying mantis hangs from the bottom of a stoop railing against the backdrop of parked cars, row houses, and a sunset sky in North Philadelphia.
October 31, 2024 at 10:09 PM