i wish i could experience natural phenomena in the way ancient peoples did and decide that god was appearing before me

BIG DISCLAIMER: i was 9 when 9/11 happened, so this might be more about my own crystalizing tastes than anything else. i think it’s a pretty darn good theory tho and other people have validated it.

BIGGER DISCLAIMER: i am not saying that country music prior to 9/11 was free from nationalist, racist, misogynist undertones - i just think that these themes became more the norm!

MY HOT TAKE:

with very few exceptions, including goodbye earl, before he cheats, and daddy Iessons (side note - all women!) 9/11 ruined country music. around 2014 onward we’ve got margo price, sturgill simpson, jason isbell etc., who are making country music great again (wink), but those folks are mostly considered “alternative” country. the mainstream country music for well over a decade now is a glut of trash performative patriotic / working-class-but-not-really lab-crafted budweiser-sponsored nonsense that has managed to sound rebellious (or has convinced its fans that it sounds rebellious) without ever actually questioning any power structure. so much so that artists who ACTUALLY criticized the government were literally blacklisted for nearly a decade (the dixie chicks)

pre-9/11 country music, though not perfect or ideologically pure by any stretch, did not have the raging american flag painted truck boner that comes to mind for a lot of people who say “i like everything except rap and country”

SPECIFICALLY, toby keith’s “courtesy of the red, white, and blue (the angry american)” (2002) literally destroyed country music. it was a direct answer to the 9/11 attacks and war song in support of the invasion of afghanistan. the lyrics read like a disjointed feverish email chain letter forwarded from your great uncle sprinkled with glittering american flag gifs and heavily saturated pictures of bald eagles. the entire song is lifted from an estimated 248 peeling bumper stickers collected from rusted trucks on cinder blocks in overgrown yards, cut up and arranged to fit a catchy, formulaic tune that is almost certainly the background music playing in george w. bush’s head at all times.

“we’ll put a boot in your ass, it’s the american way and uncle sam put your name at the top of his list and the statue of liberty started shakin’ her fist and the eagle will fly, and it’s gonna be hell, when you hear mother freedom start a'ringin’ her bell”

country music and the new country musicians that toby keith paved the way for became so pro establishment and so unquestioningly nationalistic that, again, the dixie chicks who went against this grain were blacklisted by the industry and received death threats from country music fans. hell, there are folks who STILL froth at the mouth at the mere mention of the dixie chicks.

9/11 killed outlaw country - how can you sing the praises of law breakers when your main circuit consists of singing to troops? there are some great classic country songs critiquing the police state - especially from johnny cash and merle haggard - now country music artists hold fundraisers for FOPs. new country music is basically in-law country music.

you don’t have to write a pro-bush patriotic anthem to be part of this post-9/11 ruination. playing meaningless songs about living in the heart of (read: white) america, eschewing the city (read: not white), and cracking open a cold one with the boys for “authentic” country music is also important to the war effort.

there’s a progression of themes here:

post 9/11 top tier: war anthem, vocally patriotic, directly used as pro war propaganda; which paved the way for: “things used to be so much better” thinly veiled racist laments, good for campaign ads; which paved the way for meaningless party anthems - attempts to make things “like they used to be” and craft a reality that neither the artist nor listener likely ever experience.

that brings us to what most people think of today when they say they hate country music: the country party anthem - “tiny hot gal in tight jean shorts who can drink beer like the guys, she doesn’t like beyoncé Like Other Girls, oh she’s so into me and my truck, i’m gonna take her fishing after i finish sowing my corn - sung by a guy who’s never touched a tractor” - has overtaken the tragic, done me wrong, despairing country ballads of tammy wynette, george jones, and even up into pre-9/11 contemporaries like reba mcentire and george strait. you didn’t necessarily have to be country to relate to their pain. now you have to perform suburban redneckness to enjoy luke bryan.

when was the last time you heard a sad country song?

after 9/11, cowboys (whether or not they had ever been near a cow) weren’t allowed to be sad anymore (no more done me wrong country), and they certainly weren’t allowed to question authority (no more outlaw country). partying hardy became the most important American Thing and if you don’t sing about that, our Enemies Will Win.

so - understanding that country music has always had bad stuff, and that like any genre it suffers from commercialization, 9/11 DESTROYED COUNTRY MUSIC. and toby keith gleefully helped destroy it.

for some further evidence of the decline of country music, please listen to the dixie chicks’ “long time gone” which is an indictment of the industry (i believe it was written before 9/11 but my point still stands - the genre was on the decline and 9/11 was the major cultural event that hastened the decline).

maybe i am a curmudgeon - almost every generation of country music has had its own “country music is not what it used to be” anthem, but i really think something distinct happened with 9/11.

Can confirm. Alan Jackson and Toby Keith, the blacklisting of Dixie Chicks, literally the only singer I can think of that ever spoke out against anything from 2001-2010 was Johnny Cash. I’d also say that the uber-patriotic stance lead to the shiny, vapid County Boy® nonsense that lead to so many of the solo artists all sounding and looking the same.

Johnny cash wrote an entire album about the destruction of Indigenous lands and of Indigenous people, Kris Kristofferson has been an activist most of his career working closely with the UFM, Woody Guthrie was a social justice advocate and union activist, Dolly Parton has tackled explicitly feminist issues even in the 60s and has been an avid supporter of her lgbt fans, Willie Nelson made Farm Aid to try and help farmers in danger of losing their farms due to mortgages keep them and is also an avid supporter of LGBT rights as well as marijuana legalization, Lorettea Lynn wrote about birth control in the 70s and had her song banned, i could go on!

When in the correct hands, country music is a powerful medium, but post 9/11 it’s been handed off to apathetic white men who have turned it into the most useless genre of music out there.

This is excellently spot-on and not actually fringe or a new take.

Examples of some Old Country and its subgenres/themes for the consideration of folks who think they hate country, but really hate the above-explained modern-country crisis:

Harper Valley PTA by Jeannie C Riley, aka an Epic Roast on suburban soccer mom culture that’s still super relevant

El Paso by Marty Robbins, one of the most hauntingly beautiful and classic Story Songs of Old Country

Big Bad John by Jimmy Dean (yes that Jimmy Dean), another great Story Song that invokes classic imagery of the coal-mine days, manages to criticize the coal industry, and honor the kind of men (usually men of color) who often lost their lives in those “worthless pit(s).” Also haunting and gorgeous.

Mississippi Squirrel Revival by Ray Stevens, a sadly endangered/extinct form of country– Comedy Country, as a subset of Story Songs.

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash, one of the true Classics of country, that exhibits the aforementioned outlaw country content style, and also the propensity of Old Country to use music and effects to evoke certain imagery–in this case, the music mimics a chugging train. Also Johnny Cash had a truly beautiful voice. He also recorded this IN Folsom Prison, for the prisoners, for free because when he went to prison (for all of something like 3 days) he was deeply moved by the inhumane conditions and how most of the men there didn’t really deserve to be there and how cruel the guards were. So yeah, just a cornerstone of classic country you deserve to hear at least once.

Crazy by Patsy Cline, once again a true classic, and a prime example of “been done wrong” country (this time by a female singer, with a deeply stunning and mesmerizing voice!)

16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford, aka Capitalism is Killing The Common Man and I’m Salty About It by Deep Voice McSassypants

Your Cheatin Heart by Hank Williams Sr, aka the first really big Done Me Wrong song.

Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song by BJ Thomas, which is super meta and a good example of the Done Me Wrong subgenre.

And a bonus, more modern country, but the response song from the Dixie Chicks after getting banned over being outspoken against Bush and the Iraq war: Not Ready To Back Down. GET IT, DIXIE CHICKS

Sorry for the link-dump, I just have a lot of feelings about country music because I was raised on the really old stuff and got super heartbroken and disillusioned once the Big Shift happened.

IIRC, country music of the big hair, rhinestones, Nashville variety has always been ultra-conservative and right wing, which is why things like Outlaw Country exist - it’s not just 9/11 (but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that triggered a resurgence of the worst of it). They made Willie Nelson cut his hair! It’s the weird contradictions about country, it comes from dirt-poor roots but has some of the wealthiest people in the world. Some of the best people in it, e.g. Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash, never forgot their roots.

Anyhow, I also recommend: 

Take This Job And Shove It by Johnny Paycheck, still the best song for walking out on your job. 

Put The O Back In Country by Shooter Jennings (Waylon Jennings’ son), which is specifically about the country music scene.

You’ll Always Be by Oh Susanna, which is not about the country music scene but is about exploitative men getting kicked to the curb, so I feel it’s appropriate. 

I grew up listening to pre 9/11 country and wanted to be a country singer when I was a kid, like the Dixie Chicks and Leann Rimes and Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline.

And then 9/11 happened and there was a hard shift in country music and I wasn’t hearing the sad, rebellious songs I’d always liked anymore, and started saying I didn’t like country. Because I didn’t anymore.

It’s a goddamn shame is what it is and I applaud every country singer who’s breaking away from the new racist sexist up-America’s-butt mold.

I literally grew up singing Sixteen Tons while shoveling snow in the winters. My father taught it to me because his father and grandfather had both been coal miners.

I miss outlaw country. I miss Woody Guthrie and his guitar that said THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS and singing a song about Lyudmila Pavlyuchenko killing fascists and Pete Seeger singing “Which side are you on?”

I remember when I was a kid and listened to Darryl Worley’s “Have you forgotten?” and despite the emotional melody the lyrics didn’t seem quite right.

And all I thought was “wow americans get riled up easily if you mention their freedums”

fucking tired of being advertised to day in and day out without pause

I do truly feel bad for the young people who have been indoctrinated with the idea that “bisexual means two genders only and pansexual means all genders” because their entire identities as pansexual people has been built on a cisheteronormative lie that sought, with some success, to paint the bisexual community as bigoted towards trans ppl and exclusive of non-binary/third/mixed gender people. 

There’s a difference between choosing labels because linguistically they describe you more fluently than others, and choosing labels because you have been told that there are material differences between them. There is no material difference between pansexuality and bisexuality. “Two or more genders”… extends to “all genders”. “Genders like and unlike one’s own” extends to “all genders”. There is no real-world, physical difference between the two experiences.

And this notion that bisexual people have ever, as a community, hinged the definition of our sexuality on transphobic standards, ie. “only cis men and cis women”, is biphobic at its root. It’s not true. It has never been true.

it is important to learn our history beyond what ppl on the internet tell us tbh like if you are a young LGBT kid, you really should take a trip to a library and read some LGBT history books. Google some. anything to get yourself some primary knowledge on what it means to be LGBT.

thanks for coming to my ted talk

Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s more like bisexual is you’re attracted to two+ genders and pansexual means that gender doesn’t determine sexual attraction

you are wrong that’s why I made this whole post

I’ve heard in quite a few circles that:

BISEXUALITY (is an attraction to any gender so long as it includes more than one) tends to experience their attraction to the genders differently or even in a certain like ratio.

While PANSEXUALITY (is an attraction to any gender as long as it includes more than one just like bisexuality, but it) tends to experience their attraction to other genders all the same. There are no preferences. It all just feels the same.

get new circles then.

I still wanna know how we got from simple, obvious premises such as “the gender binary is socially constructed as is the heterosexual matrix that scaffolds it” to “we need a cornucopia of identities that perfectly captures the attraction of one gender to the possibility of any or all others”

same energy no i won’t explain no you can’t change my mind

we all know 2018 aziraphale uses a flip phone from 2003 right. we’re all clear on this

He has a very nice bakelite phone from around 1940 in the front of the shop, and a much older one in the back of the shop. They are rotary dial phones, of the kind that would need to be rewired to work with today’s exchanges. They have never been rewired and they still phone anywhere on Earth (and probably one place off Earth) perfectly.

I’m not entirely sure that he’ll ever approve of phones that aren’t wired in to the wall.

are you sure? cuz i kind of envision him being addicted to candy crush

god I strive for the confidence of asking the man who both wrote the book and ran the show if he’s sure 

There are lots of ways to help in political crises. Protesting, voting, joining unions, calling your asshole representatives so they know their days in office are numbered, making sure people know their rights, protecting immigrants and minorities-in-general who live in your neighborhood, etc. are all good,

but in terms of the human rights violations happening in America right now, here’s something more immediate you can do.

fairfightbondfund.org/ lgbtqfund.org/ communitybondproject.org immigrantfamilies.org freedomforimmigrants.org

If you’re in a financial place to make donations, check out these links. If not, spreading the word on any tangible way to make a difference will help; if you have a twitter, you could retweet the original thread here: twitter.com/sarahmirk/status/1143201552657575937

I don’t usually make these posts myself, but my influence on Twitter is practically nil, so here I am.

i saw someone on tumblr yesterday claiming that they saw gay men at Pride wearing “only cock rings and nothing else” and like. no you didn’t

i was the cock ring

This site is not only full of deliberate disinformation and hoaxes, it’s rife with anti-intellectualism. 

I encourage people to research anything that sounds fantastic and totally different than what they were taught - even in my posts.

If you see a blog post with startling information, do the CRAAP Test! (developed by Sarah Blakeslee and her team of librarians at California State University, Chico)

Currency:  What is the copyright, publication, or posting date? Does the date matter? Is the information outdated?

Relevance:  For what audience or level is the information written (general public, experts/scholars, etc.)?

Authority:  Who is the author, creator, or publisher of the source or what organization is responsible for the source? How do you know if the author is an expert on the topic (e.g examine the author’s credentials and/or organizational affiliation)?

Accuracy:  What indications do you see that the information is or is not well researched or provides sufficient evidence? What kind of language, imagery and/or tone is used (e.g. emotional, objective, professional, etc.)?

Purpose:  Why was this source written (e.g.to inform, teach, entertain, persuade)? How might the author’s affiliation affect the point of view, slant, or potential bias of the source?

More help:

The Ultimate Cheatsheet for Critical Thinking

Judging Source Quality

The Layperson’s Guide to Online Research

Media Bias/Fact Check Use the search feature to find the bias (left, right, center, and in-between) of any news source.

Snopes fact check

How to Spot Fake News from FactCheck.org

What is a “Good” Source? Determining the Validity of Evidence

Fake News and News Bias

so you’ve probably seen the post going around detailing the horrific human rights abuses in what are, undeniably, concentration camps in the US…. accompanied by the suggestion that the only thing you can do is call your senators.

it’s unfathomable to me that someone would see we have actual nazi death camps in our country, and think the solution is writing to the politicians who allowed it to happen.

i have yet to see a post on any social media that has meaningfully helpful suggestions for how to get involved, so:

this article offers a number of suggestions including getting involved with your local chapter of Sanctuary Not Deportation, which connects faith groups to offer sanctuary to immigrants fleeing ICE. it also has a comprehensive list of immigrant-lead organizations to get involved with or donate to, as well as a link to crowdfund for detainee’s phone bills, which allows them to contact their families, legal counsel, and inform the outside world of the realities they are facing in detention.

here is a link for finding detention centers near you. there are many rallies directly outside of these camps you can participate in, and physically going to them is crucial in liberation efforts.

posting bond for detained immigrants is still one of the best ways to get people out of the death camps, even though ICE is increasingly unwilling to participate. the linked article has a list of both federal and state-by-state bail funds/organizations.

host a refugee if you have the room. Room For Refugees is still trying to build a network in the US. keeping people out of ICE’s grip and preventing detention in the first place is the best thing we can do because these camps are becoming more and more impenetrable.

help the legal organizations helping immigrants near you; if you’re anywhere close to NYC the New Sanctuary Coalition needs volunteers/donations, and if you’re on the border get involved with Texas Civil Rights Project.

on top of free legal aid, the NSC specifically also organizes rapid responses to ICE raids, which is one of the most important things you can do – there are many local networks already in place, but here is how to organize a rapid response network if your city doesn’t have one.

one of the easiest things we can all do is learn the rights of immigrants in this country, and how to react to ICE raids. spread this information to everyone you know and keep the toolkit in easy access on your phone.

the only government policy that can make an immediate and tangible impact is municipal policy; push your local politicians to support or build sanctuary city initiatives – here is a toolkit for local political action.

finally, get involved with local antifa and leftist orgs! follow their social media to get updates on calls to action and protests happening near you. i cannot stress enough how important it is to be aware of efforts in your own city. antifa international’s tumblr is one page you can follow, but please research the orgs specifically in your area that are fighting the rise of fascism. the torch network has a list of chapters in several cities around the US, but again this is just a place to start.

i encourage everyone to find at least ONE thing from this list you can do, beyond donating. i know we are all stressed and have our time/energy zapped by capitalism, but if we do nothing, nothing will change. and please share these links wherever you can – copy and paste this post or at least share the first article i linked.

fascism is here, NOW, and we need to step up, because no one is going to invade us to free the camps this time.

No More Deaths is also a good org to donate to. they rescue migrants and leave water in the desert, where thousands have died because of US deterrence strategies that deliberately herd people into the deadliest parts of the desert.

http://forms.nomoredeaths.org/donate-money/

Jennicet Gutierrez actually protested the Obama administration’s inhumane immigration policies while he was president, to his face, and swathes of Democrats called her the devil. Obama dismissed her. I don’t know how people think just voting for a Dem and leaving it at that will do anything remotely positive for the injustice. All of us will definitely still have to fight tooth and nail for Democrats in office to deign themselves to maybe possibly treat immigrants as human beings. They want your vote, but they will never concede to corroding American hegemony in the interest of human rights without pressure, just like any other American politician. I know I’m expecting too much but I truly do hope libs and everyone else keep the same energy no matter what. Maintaining momentum and vigilance is crucial.

PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS:

there are several posts going around about how to best help if you witness an ICE raid/arrest as a (white) citizen. many of them are filled with extremely bad, LARP-y advice such as screaming at agents and getting physically close to them. in most cases, this is just going to make things worse for everyone at risk (including yourself). you need to stay calm, and avoid getting someone accused of resisting arrest.

to be clear: most of these fascists dont care about the law. “illegal” is not a magic word you can say to make them stop. and, being a white citizen is not an impenetrable shield. you can still be arrested, so be prepared for that. you are, however, less likely to be arrested, and MUCH less likely to be killed or held extralegally.

here is what you should actually do to help:

record, and make sure your phone auto-backups to a cloud. streaming can be problematic because its best to have lawyers look over the footage first. be aware they might also grab your phone, even without a warrant. if they’re grabbing it out of your hands, try to lock it. make sure you have a pin lock, not pattern or fingerprint. here’s some other ways to protect your phone from cops.

if you are able to film, and have determined it won’t escalate the situation, make it obvious you are doing so, because secretly recording is illegal in several states. narrate any violation of rights you see. here is a Q&A about filming ICE.

stay several feet back from agents, because they can claim you’re impeding them. if you’re recording and they claim this, take several steps back, and announce it as you’re doing so, if you’re filming.

ask if they are free to go, if someone is being approached. if ICE insists on the person asking for themself, and they speak spanish*, tell them “por favor repita: ‘am i free to go?’” (this just means “please repeat”) if the agent says yes, tell them “usted puede dejar”. if not..

calmly inform people of their rights if they are being arrested. they do not have to speak at all to agents, answer any questions without a lawyer, or sign anything. they do have to show their paperwork if they have it, but do NOT have to hand over the paperwork/passport, or consent to a search of themselves/belongings, without a judicial warrant (not administrative! here’s the difference). it is crucial that they give as little information as possible to ICE.

if you speak spanish, list their rights in spanish as well, and translate what the agents are saying. if not, keep the google translate app on your phone – it’s not perfect, but it’s quick/accessible and can download languages for offline use. you can also memorize this sentence: “no tiene que responder/dar su consentimiento” - “you dont have to respond/consent”

get their lawyer’s contact info, if they have one and are being taken away by ICE. many people carry a card with emergency contact info on it, including childcare info and loved ones, so you can offer to call those numbers for them.

call for legal help. do not call the ACLU or other big organizations for immediate help, call your local immigration help center (for New York State, contact IDP at 212-725-6422. for California, call the TRUST hotline at 844-878-7801). United We Dream is an immigrant-lead organization that provides aid nationwide, and can be reached at 844-363-1423. please save these numbers in your phone!

know the ICE rapid response network in your town, and keep their number on hand. if there isn’t one close to you, here’s how to make one.

finally, here are some useful toolkits:

comprehensive ICE response guide

know your rights posters for in-home raid readiness, community flyers, and informative videos

ACLU videos explaining what to do in various situations with ICE

*of course not every immigrant speaks spanish; people from south america are being targeted en masse right now, but may speak many indigenous languages as well as portuguese. so ask if you dont know what language someone speaks, and see if google translate can help.

I’m seeing a lot of tags on the posts talking about the concentration camps asking what to do. I think now is one of those times when it’s really important to “think global; act local.” 

You might not be able to have material impact on any of the children at a specific facility if you’re across the country or states away. But you can have an impact on people being detained in your own county. 

Freedom for Immigrants has a map of all the detention centers in the country. Look up those closest to you. 

You can use this website to look up the number of people detained (and the name of the detention center) nearest you. 

For example, say I live in Suffolk County, MA. 

I can find that the latest numbers retrieved in Dec 2018 there were 17 people held at the Suffolk County House of Corrections.

Once you know the location, you can look up that detention center and “ICE” to get news articles about protests from inside or outside the facility. Look for the organizations involved, and reach out to them. I guarantee they have lots of work that needs to be done and will be grateful for your help. 

we joke about tumblr’s pjge (post john green era) but it is legitimately wild that a) a social media site allowed others to edit your posts for five years, and b) that we all agreed to use the honor system about it until mr. green arrived

Anyone have the gif’s of the Chilean goalkeeper Christiane Endler lifting two of her teammates with ease.

I need them for um reasons lol

Let’s take a look at it one more time