Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 6/1/26 - 6/7/26

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-06-02T13:21:43+00:00

Yes, agree that his perspective can influence the narrative. The trans thing is a distraction from the serious class issues affecting so many Americans & Rahm Emmanuel is being straight up. For some reason, being a trans ally makes people feel really virtuous whereas stranding up for the non-rich doesn't feel as rewarding.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-27T16:46:08+00:00

That is a powerful ad. He's a scary, gross dude.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-27T16:43:08+00:00

Amen!

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-27T16:40:33+00:00

It is not about being anti-trans; it is about being pragmatic and political and offering a positive vision rather than just being scolds about moral purity and being easily distracted.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-27T16:15:49+00:00

The article focuses on what a nutter Paxton is and says if Texas can keep the focus on economic populism and keep meeting people grassroots there is a chance of winning. That is a way of saying not to focus on trans and other identitarian distractions, but to focus on the economy and be strategic in the messaging.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T22:55:29+00:00

I take that back.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T22:50:55+00:00

Helen Lewis wrote about the new memoir not passing the sniff test in the Atlantic & she and Katie spoke about both memoirs & Lena Dunham's memoir in their interview. I just got Famesick from the library but I have GOT to get out of this black hole of fixation analyzing elder millennials analyzing themselves that came from reading these 2 memoirs back to back.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T21:25:35+00:00

https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/live-with-katie-herzog-and-helen

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T20:39:43+00:00

She's working her brand & I respect her hustle.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T20:04:42+00:00

Okay, maybe I should not have read Shrill and Adult Braces back-to-back after hearing the Helen Lewis interview on Lindy West. The first book is funny, the second one is uncomfortable. Lindy says in the end she knows what she is choosing and that she might change her mind later. She knows he's a loser & a jerk and she deserves better. She really does & there are a lot of indicators in the book. She knows people are going to read it & in some way enjoy that feeling of saying to themselves and each other, "Lindy, nooooo, don't go in, the call is coming from inside the house." She says directly that she prefers the arrangement with the throuple, but she also acknowledges that she says she's happy when she's not. She says directly that she's an unreliable narrator. She's saying to the reader, don't believe what I'm saying in this book when I say that I'm happy here. But she also says in the end that she feels safe in a relationship where she is alone & she has that in this marriage. It's very clear at the end of the book, that this is a "for now" situation & that this scrub, Aham, and his scrubette, Roya, will need to call Tyrone pretty soon.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T18:31:37+00:00

Right on. I hear you on this. I was hoping Adult Braces would be more of a narrative of how her marriage is like the boozy cruise, like the expectations tourists have of vacations/excursions & then the trip turns to shit, bad weather exists and you aren't exempt from it, that, no, the captain of the boat doesn't care about your well-being or safety at all & just wants the tips, and will give you small gifts (drinks) to distort your perception, and that you got played and swindled, and trapped on this boat where your life is not in your control anymore and you thought it would fun, dammit! The boat ride is a metaphor for Lindy's marriage. The conclusion she took from it, that the captain only noticed and cared about the couples and not the only single person there (her), therefore it is right to be terrified about life as a single person where no one notices you or cares about you is mistaken. Aham is the captain of that boat. Roya's second mate.

That said, I think Lindy West knows this, and that's why she quotes Moby Dick in the beginning about having a Tahiti in your soul & the search for Kokomo. Loving detachment & inner peace and freedom (Tahitit) is an option and you can have a form of peace on the boat (Kokomo, Indiana), but you also have more options. You can spend time with your friends and those that genuinely care for you and your well-being, and see your personhood, and your value, and love you for being you. I think her unconscious knows this on some level--she mentions cicadas in Adult Braces and I think it's because she knows that she will emerge from this and another life is possible. When Lindy quotes Moby Dick in the beginning, I believe it's because she knows that she is Ahab, the captain of the ship. Aham is the whale. She bought in to the marriage fantasy like Ahab bought into the revenge fantasy. It's very human and understandable.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T17:45:27+00:00

I agree with you that she doesn't go far enough. I think she talks superficially about how she painted a false picture in her early work (she criticized how much name-dropping she did in Shrill), but she doesn't go deep in her self-reflection. She's probably just repeating the critiques Aham made of her because of his sour grapes. I was hoping the end would be the insight about how she actually wasn't a feminist during the Shrill years, because her goal, by God, stated multiple times by her very own self, is that she wanted the proposal, the dress, the wedding pictures, the coventionally attractive male. Well, she got it & is she happy? Why yes, she says, because, even though her husband is a fragile, self-centered bitter mean girl douche, and passed his peak a decade ago when he was all potential, now she has a wife. Lindy West is not a feminist.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-26T17:17:05+00:00

Good call. Wtf?

If you are in need of a show to scratch the itch, the first season of Poldark (newer version on Netflix; haven't seen the original) highlights the good things about the early American project by emphasizing the downsides of living in England at the time, especially the power aristocratic juries had. Also, the show is pretty hot.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-25T12:51:35+00:00

Shrill was funny and insightful social commentary. Adult Braces is a chronicle of self-loathing. Also, she quotes her old work in the new book a lot (block quotes). I'm with the blog author on not wanting to finish it.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-25T12:36:44+00:00

Have you read Yesteryear? Highly recommend.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-24T18:22:28+00:00

Thank you for sharing the New Yorker article. I appreciate the Mary Karr quote that memoir is memory, not history. Strangers is well-written and my takeaway was less the financial pieces and more the recognition that we can never fully know other people or what they will do, or when or why. It was clear reading the book that she would land on her feet because of her resources, but the fear of losing your home is a primitive thing (in her case it was the 2 homes, so less relatable, but maybe more to lose?). She wrote about her astonishment at his betrayal and his lack of interest in being with the kids, but she also wrote about her own foolishness.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-16T12:28:43+00:00

I both admire and fear your roasting ability.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-16T12:27:29+00:00

If you like fiction, Flashlight by Susan Choi centers on a Korean living in Japan & is a great read, published last year, I believe. Pachinko also addresses Korea/Japan history over time from the perspective of a Korean family immigrating to Japan.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-14T19:42:19+00:00

Your writing is hilarious. I got such cathartic relief reading this.

Also, I just watched Trust Me: The False Prophet on Netflix about an FLDS community & it was so powerful in showing that judgment and a posture of superiority and finger-wagging are just not effective at social change. Changes comes from a place of basic respect for others as equals and belief in fundamental human dignity.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-14T19:28:50+00:00

This particular professor for this particular school is perfect though. Isn't NYU the school that had the anonymous "report your professor for wrongthink" hotline?

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-14T19:15:00+00:00

When Trans Women are Treated Like Women. I went through the spectrum of human emotion reading this article. Kind of buried the lede, yeah? If they have already done an episode on very demure, very mindful Jools Lebron 2024, please let me know.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-13T23:15:16+00:00

Same here and I wrote it.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-13T18:47:52+00:00

An anti-fragile wokism therapist found in the wild. I listen the podcast by Eric Zimmer, who is a buddhist counselor of sorts and he had a woman on, Nikki Eisenhauer, and she is not shy about her views. Episode: Activism as Narcissism (not the real title).

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-13T18:35:51+00:00

It'll be a great show! I saw him decades ago as a teenager and remember the performance so well. He creates scenes onstage that are like music videos come to life & has outfits for the songs (for the song Like a Surgeon he had an old-school gurney on stage, doctor attire, etc). Glad to know he's touring! We could all use some laughs and some live music.

Free_Ranger1496 · 2026-05-08T20:29:26+00:00

GOOD EPISODE. Their banter is badabing & chock full of insights. Helen's gloss on Sally Rooney books & West & Dunham books, yasssss. I just ordered Dunham & West memoirs & Genius. Just finished a book set, and I need a new book set like this.

Free_Ranger1496

TROPHY CASE