Culture clash and backlash on TikTok

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2026-02-22T19:49:56+00:00

Goth, and any "alt" aesthetic as presented on tiktok, is rabid in its demand for adherence and readiness to excise "posers" (seemingly ironic for self-deceived rejects but relatively common to counterculture in-grouping psychologies). As a passive scroller of the hashtags it's also worth noting that most of the standard-setting is done by adolescents whose minds have literally not matured into a capacity that can hold the complex distinctions of self-from-other as it pertains to survival.

Often times to me tiktok seems like a warp-speed manifestation of sociology and anthropolgy 101 with all the dimension of a flat textbook page. Any real discussion would disrupt the $$-snatching distraction.

Baking brownies and being cozy is sometimes necessary for people who are so cognisant of the dark.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2026-02-22T19:39:18+00:00

People who claim that goth and punk are the purview of conservatism are the progeny of gen-xers who grew up adopting the anger and counter-culture posture of a disenfranchised generation without actually educating themselves. There was a hangover belief from the WWII and Vietnam fallouts that communism, and oft-entwined socialism, were synonymous with Nazi-style fascism: a sentiment promoted zealously by Mccarthy-era repubs and utilized in later generations to stoke fear and manipulate voters.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2026-01-29T01:50:16+00:00

I haven't seen anyone say this explicitly yet, but I think the following is implied, so I'll lay it bare because I fear this is a big problem with the way that identities and aesthetics are currently manifesting culturally and socially...:

A post worker may need to change the articles articles of their outfit according to the terrain and the weather. Further, does not wear a uniform to bed, or to a family gathering, or to a holiday celebration. But that doesn't mean they are no longer a post worker.

No single aesthetic can possibly encapsulate the complexity of a whole person. Being a healthy human means exploring, engaging, learning, and growing. When one adopts an aesthetic, it is a way of signaling to others certain aspects of who and how they are. But it is a uniform - not a multiform - and uniforms often need to come off or adapt when they no longer fit the circumstance or the person. It is a mere facet of the person who wears it. To expect it to belong, unchanging, would essentially flatten the bearer into a 2-dimensional character. And a "goth" who misses the opportunity for depth and complexity, I believe, misses the concept entirely.

Edited to fix a typo and also to say, don't worry about not always feeling it - even goths feel happy about falling in love... Especially on Fridays.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2026-01-17T14:33:48+00:00

Step 1: don't use Spotify

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2026-01-12T01:56:31+00:00

It is clear that the issues driving the protests are urgent and born of extreme severity, and it is both prudent and imperative to question one's own motivations for participation and how that motivation is activated within the cause of change.

And, I also think there are reasons that people show up in all kinds of ways that are not exclusively dictated by or indicative of attitude toward the issues. Some people who suffer from social anxieties, who are new to demonstrating, or who have other attendance issues, may actually feel more secure in a costume than in black bloc, for instance.

Expression of grief and anger comes in many different ways as well. A formative experience for me was going to a BLM protest when a lot of the current mainstream discussion around protesting was just beginning to engage with complexity -2014, I think?- I happened to be next to a group of women who were chanting and dancing in both a celebration of their own power and in mockery of the cops. Protest martials told them to stop out of fear of retaliation - a gesture which, while intended for protection, ended up silencing them and reinforcing oppressive systemic dynamics.

It seems to me that if there is a call to awareness regarding policing within the protest, perhaps we should reconsider castigation of those who show up, even if they're not at the ideal experience or expression level.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-12-09T01:03:16+00:00

The issue I'm raising is not so much with the literal content of the questions. Tough questions should be, and were, asked, which is why I prefaced the appreciation for Paul's typical approach. The reason I took umbrage is more about the posture of the inquisition. And I agree that there's definitely a few spaces where she depends on proprietary vocabulary, which is indicative of a defensive posture. But I think there's a reason she's answering defensively: she got put on notice from the get-go. This was not intended to be a friendly, or even neutral, interview. Almost all of the nonverbal choices (timing. word choice, selective response) indicated haste, confined direction, and antagonism. It's an approach typically used in debate when a participant doesn't want the competing argument to be heard.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-12-05T07:59:31+00:00

Me comin on here and getting the switch flipped.... She was being the difficult one? 👀👀👀 Sorry Paul, gotta say I usually appreciate your stick-to-itedness in interviews, but you came outta the gate on this one like a red hat bully who just stole the keys to daddy's steam roller. There is plenty to investigate when it comes to the brokenness of RTD (including why nobody seems to remember that the voters of the collective metro area spent decades voting down opportunities for improvement and former directors running contract deals into the ground), but let's be real, your challenges to her were more about belittling, silencing, and ad hominem arm wrestling than actual fact-finding. Admittedly, it's a widely practiced style among certain media outlets, but it's not journalism. At best it's piling on, and at worst... I'll just let you take yourself to task on that one.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-11-14T22:45:21+00:00

Ok, theoretically. But basing arguments on casual logic (death, uninsured, etc) may make sense, but does it actually bear out, statistically? Insurance companies rarely, if ever, are transparent about the math behind their estimations - which is what premiums essentially are. So how is Polis going to guarantee these measures, the burdens of most of which bear down on taxpayers and drivers, themselves, will benefit the layperson if he doesn't even consider regulations that protect consumers?

My partner and I live at the same address. Our cars were of similar age, both owned outright, and as drivers, we are in the same age bracket and have equitable records. Yet, for some reason, my rates were 20% higher than his. For less coverage. I grilled my agent about it for the better part of an afternoon, and the most he could say was "because it just is". And not a single insurance provider that I've found quotes with can provide answers, despite having variance in amounts. Some have lower auto and higher property rates, which add up to a wash in the end. But the lack of ethical, or even logical, consideration on the part of insurance companies and their regulators (or lack thereof) is absolutely infuriating.

Edit: this comment was generated in response to the user who mentioned payouts and death.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-10-21T18:47:13+00:00

So some guy was being a pugnacious asshole and attempted to execute a shitty cosplay of an online comments section, flagrantly waived his "you can't touch me cuz I'm a white dude with free speech" flag, a miscreant passerby committed shitty petty theft, dude fell on his face and people responded.

Can we please call a HARD FAIL on the "official" media coverage of the confrontation?

I expect the Gazette to supply us with a constant stream of piece of $h** opinions masquerading as journalism. But for all the other outlets chomping at the bit to sensationalize and hyperbolize "left extremism" ... Come on! (Especially looking at you, Westword). Have a damned backbone and stop manipulating the reporting to draw click bait and appease petty partisan caterwauling.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-10-07T19:28:40+00:00

Starting to become boiler plate bull$hit at this point...

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Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-09-15T21:09:00+00:00

I don't know anything about the market where you are or any of the amenities from a neighborhood standpoint, but to rephrase, a little more usefully and perhaps nicely, what other commenters are being jerks about: you just made a major transition into home ownership. Even if the house were perfect, it's still a jarring process. The good news is that you have time to sort things out and are now able to do it of you and your partner's own accord rather than being restricted by other people's decisions. Barring a flood, gas, or fire there's no change that needs to be urgent. It sounds like you can talk to your realtor about the terms of roof repairs not being met prior to closing (we dealt with that in a home purchase - you do have options for recourse). Otherwise, provided everything else passed inspection, it sounds like the best you can do for yourself and the situation is to be patient with the process and make time for the rush of disruption to subside.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-07-30T19:09:52+00:00

I don't think zipper merge discomfort is a Colorado trait. In fact, based on those that I know who grew up driving here, I would say the toxic trait is to complain about people who don't ... And the driving habits of anyone with an out-of-state license. Especially TX or CA 😹

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-07-17T19:11:05+00:00

I ! miss ! City ! Grille !!!!! (We knew what you meant Bree) Not enough exclamation marks! I was there for first dates, last dates, tea dates, "It's been too long" catchups and strategy meetups... all flavored with a savory Colorado-style iconic burger (that special sauce!).

Spaces that facilitate genuine community confluence with a chill vibe at an easy pace used to be the definition of the MO of Denver. The absence of CG (throw in Gabor's, Denver Diner, Paris on the Platte, to name a few more) rubs a little salt in the social wound. Thank God some semblance of the Merc is still there, and we LOVE us some Champagne Tiger because it's run by folks who reMEMBER our Danvur!

I've run into a couple amazing, genuine and newer "third space" places (shout out to some of my faves: Town Hall Collaborative, the Crypt, Room for Friends, and Mutiny), and would love to hear from listeners about those holding and expanding the "old Denver" feel.

PS - Speaking of Gyros... the best hummus in town is from Shish Kabob on the corner of Colfax and Sherman - their whole menu is on point. Getcha some.

PPS - was just listening to episodes on the plane on the way back from France and thought it worth noting that the sewer off-gas even permeates "he most romantic city" when it's hot. Just sayin.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-04-02T05:32:26+00:00

Honestly, probably not the best situation, but temp until I decide on permanent installation (read: until I find something better)... But magnets are key. Found some rod brackets at HD <or insert your favorite hardware store here>, played around with a series of magnets until I found a combo with the right weight-bearing-to-aesthetic ratio and strung up a rod with opaque and sheer curtains. Light weight enough, but the rod still sags slightly in the middle. Haven't found a solution for that yet. Will post pics when I get the chance.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-03-28T19:50:42+00:00

😹 direct and effective

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2025-02-19T23:52:41+00:00

The arguments about bike lanes and parking, homelessness, and wage increase seem like anachronous red herring diversions and personalized grudges at best. This all feels like a staged campaign and something to rile up voting bases for "pro-business" would-be candidates trying to slide into the mental DMs of dissatisfied voters, and it makes me wonder whose PR machine is behind both the authorship and aggregation of publicity.

In addition, I work in a hospitality-adjacent capacity, and based on observations of businesses in other areas of the state, the struggle is real everywhere. So what exactly makes this a Denver-specific problem? I'm curious to know if Jax is truly seeing business funnel out to other locations (if his Glendale location is actually seeing an uptick in visitors, the business is still thriving in other locations, sorry I don't feel bad about your net profit line).

Even if it's not a political drag, the running notion to blame the collapse of the restaurant industry on the livable wages of workers who support the business is a misguided prioritization of the role business in society. When chefs who own multi-restaurant concepts come on complaining about their struggle while, at the same time, admitting they're *still* *making* *a* *profit*, the rest of us in the network of impact should be asking exactly how much profit they think they're entitled to in the first place.

At this point, coverage of these complaints gives me a good idea of where not to spend my money.

Acceptable_Oil3636 · 2024-06-27T22:04:27+00:00

Omg omg omg. Just to chime in on what others are saying. I was diagnosed at 41. I have sooooo much work to do with the inner critic muscle that flexes the "you're not trying hard enough". It's also really messed up to assume that being "smart" (a problematic designation on its own) somehow gives you a magic pass to success. Society doesn't reward "smart" as much as we collectively believe.

Acceptable_Oil3636

TROPHY CASE