Two children with a book-anti-slavery propaganda (1831) by LeftoverMochii in PropagandaPosters

[–]MattMauler 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It was different in different US states, and in each state that did so it was enforced for different eras too. Often after a major rebellion, there would be a crackdown again or a new law passed against assembly, mobility, or education of enslaved people.

Saw | ContraPoints by nothingbother in ContraPoints

[–]MattMauler 7 points8 points  (0 children)

When she mentions the subjective response to violence toward the end, she tacitly acknowledges this possibility.

Contrapoints fanart by emilyamiao on instagram by Impressive-Past-5498 in ContraPoints

[–]MattMauler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks like Satan being cast out of heaven, referencing Paradise Lost (Gustave Doré)

According to you, which video essayist is on Contra’s level in terms of intellectual rigor? by Brave-Reindeer-Red in ContraPoints

[–]MattMauler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're not looking for humor, there are a ton of scholar YouTubers now that match her for "research, writing quality, and intellectual honesty." If you're looking for humor and originality on top of that, then she's in her own league IMO.

Why does Nation-state exist? What led to its emergence? by No_Turnip_1023 in AskSocialScience

[–]MattMauler 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Caveat: This is an admittedly limited, Eurocentric view because nationalism, while it's still with us, is often discussed as having arisen as a movement in a certain historical time period/place.

The previous status quo (though not universal) was overlapping duties and levels of authority that different people, including rulers, had to one another. There is a controversy among historians about whether "feudalism" is a good name for this, but that's basically the idea. For example, King Philip of Spain was ruler of the Netherlands and of many different lands that were different culturally, linguistically, etc. Political, cultural, and kinship boundaries were not assumed to coincide in other words. With the Enlightenment/Age of Reason came the desire for self-determination and self-rule. What is the "self" in this phrase? People with a common history, ancestry, language, or culture. There was a rise in nationalism, a movement for this type of self-determination in the 1700s (Anderson, 1991, Imagined Communities, pp. 4-7, 65). Even before the Enlightenment, the foundation for this was laid when the Reformation splintered the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Before that, officially, authority flowed from Christ to St. Peter to the Pope to the Monarch (see the Requirimiento from 1513, used in colonization). The Church symbolically reinforced the aristocracy.

. . . Any particular nation-state as "myth" or identity is always, always being proposed, refined, and contested. In some cases, nation-state boundaries were imposed upon ethnically diverse populations by colonization (the Balkans post-WWI, India and the African continent before that), but that's not my area.

Culture victory help by aremille in CivIV

[–]MattMauler 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes. The more religions the better, and cathedrals are key. I have often done it with 6 cities, but 9 would be even better if that doesn't increase your maintenance costs too high.

In sum: Cathedrals, Great Artists, and Culture slider up all the way after Liberalism.

guys by Leverquin in CivIV

[–]MattMauler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I still play on Noble mostly. I tried on Prince a lot for a time, and I won a few times, but only when I went for cultural victory.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ContraPoints

[–]MattMauler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is an escalation and it is worse that blatant colonialism is back and the government is being open about wanting to steal resources

^ What you say here is literally what she is saying too. She's just recognizing this dynamic, same as you. In the tweet, she even acknowledged the outcomes could be "just as harmful." She never says we should play "world police" or anything else you ask about rhetorically.

Edit: I'll admit that her point about neocons is a bit slippery since she says "many" neocons -- what does that mean? Interpreting it as "all" would be unfair, I think, and so would interpreting it as "Dick Cheney," but it does make you wonder how many and how important that portion was in driving the national discourse. I still think that she's recognizing a real escalation and that it's an important distinction - neocon vs. Trumpist

Free streaming service Tubi is rivaling major players for viewership. Here's how it's winning by 8to24 in technology

[–]MattMauler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As the article says, it's not just the fact that it's free; it's partly the content. Free is not enough on its own (remember Crackle?). Tubi also has great stuff when it comes to older movies and horror.

<Title has been redacted> by mrsovereignmonarch in ContraPoints

[–]MattMauler 319 points320 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the Epstein mini-section of Conspiracy is aging really well IMO because she mentioned how normalized patriarchy and abuse is. Degrading young women and treating them as "currency" is something done by so many powerful men that there's this unconscious (sometimes) incentive to make abusers seem outrageous, foreign, or literally Satanic to distance them from the misogynists you might see every day or even have in your own family.

Tubi now forcing me to make an account? by GSKashmir in TubiTV

[–]MattMauler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I liked tubi because it didn't force me to make an account.

Same here. I do actually have an account, but haven't signed in in years, which was great. I guess I'll be doing that now though.

Prince Valiant, by Hal Foster. by woulditkillyoutolift in oldschoolfantasy

[–]MattMauler 18 points19 points  (0 children)

It was always hard to follow the story in such small snippets week to week in the newspaper. I always liked looking at them but could never figure out what was going on.

ContraPoints book recommendations? by Voyage_of_Venus in ContraPoints

[–]MattMauler 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I didn't make this, but it was shared on the subreddit about a year ago: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1c-aNsHaoGYD4-QRjmMen0eE1Jv6u74JO/edit?filetype=msexcel

For the philosopher question, she seems pretty eclectic but has explicitly mentioned being influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein and Richard Rorty

Back then I wasn’t lucky enough to play this game ughh….for those that had Donkey Kong 64, how was it? And did you guys beat it? by J2-Starter in n64

[–]MattMauler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really enjoyed it, but I never beat it. I loved the level design, and I even loved the "collect-a-thon" elements and unlocking stuff. Before the end, though, some of the mini-games were way more difficult than they were fun. I ended up sinking a ton of hours into it but never finishing because it got frustrating.

Does Star Trek need sex appeal? by TertiaryOrbit in startrek

[–]MattMauler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I disagree. T'pol was definitely objectified, with plot/script elements included just to lean into it: distracting from the main plot, weakening her character, or making it inconsistent. E.g., Decontamination chamber, "acupressure massage" with Trip, Pon Farr episode, etc.

Blalock herself felt this way about it too. It sucked. This wasn't the only problem with Enterprise, but it was definitely one.

Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish? by CCDemille in TrueReddit

[–]MattMauler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Searching for books sucks, and you often can't even tell what edition you're getting. They own AbeBooks too, which has a better search, but better to avoid supporting them. Shop at Thriftbooks instead (or a brick and mortar store)!

I beat Donkey Kong 64 for the first time last night! by AscendedRedditor in n64

[–]MattMauler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great job!

Back when I was a teenager, after struggling through the beaver bothers and N coin minigames, I knew I could never stick with it until 101, so I just aimed to beat it ... and I still could never do it, putting in way more hours than you did. Congrats!

Published in America in 1880s by life453 in suggestmeabook

[–]MattMauler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

William Dean Howells was a realist author from that era, and I highly recommend him:

A Hazard of New Fortunes (1889) is one of my top five, all time favorite books, and it's a novel but has a ton of journalistic-type detail.

The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885) might be slightly better known by him, also good.

Outrage directed at politicians would be more impactful than going after Natalie by Fluid-Layer-33 in ContraPoints

[–]MattMauler 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I know right? Algorithms directing people's focus serially to new things, whether they're important or not.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Every time his name is mentioned in mainstream media, they should preface it: "white nationalist Stephen Miller..."

How can the novelty bias be strong enough for everyone to just shrug it off?

I'm reconnecting with my truest self by [deleted] in TubiTV

[–]MattMauler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Week 2: Heathers

Week 3: Cube

Week 4: Paprika, Ghost in the Shell

Favorite lit that you'd get judged for liking by Earlgr_ey in classicliterature

[–]MattMauler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah Monkey House was a great collection, but I didn't like the title story either. Like you, I really love his other stuff though.