I totally get what you mean. I actually find soulslike games to be calming in a similar way

(Reviewers should still probably not be describing it with that word, though)

Her wonderful video essay on Beserk got me to go read it, despite previously having zero interest in touching it.

Not only did I love it, it touched me on a deep level and has genuinely helped me a lot with getting through some pretty rough times.

Thank you for your excellent work, Lady Emily

It's less like a depiction of the dystopia we're actually heading towards, vs. a depiction of what the creators of our actual dystopia would *think* a dystopia looks like

If that made any sense

Basically, it has a lot in common with right-wing "satire" of the left

The most valuable cultural myth we have is that we can improve ourselves.

It used to be in our public consciousness that this is what we strive to do. And have done before.

Better people turned their shame into action. Small people use their shame as an excuse for nihilism.

There can be multiple red lines. And Newsom has crossed plenty

1. Peaceful protest does matter

2. The person above is not the literal governor of the fucking state

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect more and stronger action from leaders with tons of real-world power over the state than from random bluesky users

Maduro was not kidnapped for the benefit of Venezuelans. The US wants their oil, nothing more. There are a lot of unknowns, sure, but what's almost certain is that going to war with their country will make their lives worse, not better.

That message being "the United States has no problem attacking countries we aren't at war with, unprovoked, in order to steal their resources." I don't see how that could possibly end well, for anybody.

It's supposed to, but let's be honest, some people didn't get the memo

(Is this an example of that "death of the author" thing I keep hearing about? I wouldn't know)

Maybe this is my bias talking, but it seems more applicable to cases where politicians are trying to rip out a bunch of regulations without knowing what they were put in place to prevent (or pretending not to know). Like, "don't gut Glass-Steagall unless you want another economic crisis" (oops)

Like, we know why people didn't want women to vote. It was seen by people in power as a threat to their power structures. That's a terrible reason for a law, so Chesterton's fence says go ahead, tear it down.

Hmm...I mean, Chesterton himself definitely vibes like the type to be against women's suffrage. But I don't think the principle is wrong, or that it's an argument for not giving people their rights.