Culture

They Have A Fetish

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I’m rather genteel here, but I don’t feel like being genteel about the issue of idiots banning abortion. Abortion is necessary to let people who get pregnant to control their bodies. As far as I’m concerned a lot of the people who want to ban it or limit it extremely are acting out a sexual fetish by creating and enforcing these laws.

Harsh? Cruel? Well if you read this we probably think alike, so you may agree, but look, I’m on a roll here.

So first of all, let’s note that most of the “for the children” claims come from people who don’t give a damn about actual kids. There’s no concern about immigrant children (quite the opposite). No one’s talking about expanding medical care or heavens forbid universal health care. Schooling is treated as just a chance for indoctrination by the forced-birth crowd. Also if kids are LGBTQIA+ then, well, this crew of womb-controllers seem to be happy to let them die.

Since all the reasons for banning abortion as “protecting kids” are obviously not what the control-freaks say, we can focus on the anti-choice crowd’s obsession with controlling people’s bodies. Yes, it’s an obsession, because it’s everywhere in the usual right-wing control-o-sphere. If you’re familiar at all with these right-wing mindspaces, the overwhelming, constant anti-choice repetition is unmistakable. It is embraced, it is, in short, a fetish.

Now the anti-choice swarm ignores people’s right to control their bodies, ignores their choice of medical treatment, and ignores abortion is a lifesaver in many ways. The need of the pregnant people is tuned out. Again, the utter obsession is beyond anything, into the realm of sexual obsession – of a fetish.

Sounds harsh? Not really. You’ll also notice as much as womb-controllers say they’re “for the kids” they are also obsessed with suffering. Most of the anti-choice people also seem to want to “save the children” from assorted imagined Satanists, evil cabals, etc. They’ll talk endlessly about human suffering, and it’s clear they take pleasure recounting how kids are tortured in their imagination. Again, these people have a weird sexual fetish about control and suffering.

And they go on, and on, and on . . .

But all of these people who want to tell people who can get pregnant what to do with their bodies want to do it with force. With the law, with the police, with threats, and in a few too many cases when you really listen with execution. There’s a sick, bloody, need for control and to punish.

So, yes, the anti-choice crowd as far as I’m concerned are sexual fetishists who want to nonconsensually draw others into their obsession. They’re ready to use the state to act out their twisted desires.

Sure, there’s also issues of control and politics, but this stuff goes all the way into weird, sexual fetishism. These people are obsessed, unhealthily so, and to the detriment of everyone.

And, yeah, this isn’t my usual deep discussion. Or maybe it is in a more angry way. But having a bunch of people who can’t confront their own fetishes and who want the police and government to rope us into them? We should be angry.

– Xenofact

The Bigfoot Discovery Museum

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I visited a local Bigfoot museum here in California, the Bigfoot Discovery Museum. I didn’t know what to expect, because once you hear “local Bigfoot museum” I’m pretty much ready to go.

Before I describe it, you may wonder my stance on Bigfoot, because why not. Based on what I’ve seen I don’t think we have an undiscovered apelike cryptid here in the US (or one that’s survived to the modern day). Other “mystery primates” I give credit to on an individual basis. I do think there’s a Bigfoot phenomena that does hint at something weirder and wilder, something that’s more paranormal, psychosocial, or both. You now have an idea of my mindset – but I went in wanting to just see what this was like.

I was not disappointed. The Museum is small, two rooms and a few outdoor exhibits. It’s run by a few people for the most part and has been for years. It’s delightful (and powered by donations and merch so go to the link above).

The first room is mostly pop culture representations of bigfoot, and this was absolutely enthralling. Until you pause and see this small but surprising slice of Bigfoot culture, you don’t realize how much Bigfoot is part of our culture. Honestly, the proprietor could probably have only focused on Bigfoot in culture and built a larger museum.

The rest of the museum are various aged exhibits, the famous video running in a loop, and a small library and merch area. There’s nothing overly surprising to a person like myself who’s had an interest in this, but it’s a nice compilation, especially for California which is big and has many a cryptid. For me it was nostalgia, and a reminder of the enduring story of Bigfoot.

There’s a few outside exhibits, again nothing unusual, just nice to see it all in one place. There’s a diorama and some great wall art to bring it all home, though the diorama wasn’t well lighted.

Of course I got a T-shirt. Of course I donated. How could I not?

Did I learn anything new? Come away with an increased appreciation of Bigfoot? Nothing changed my mind on the phenomena of Bigfoot – but what I did was appreciate the impact on culture and the museum.

This museum was a vision of a small dedicated group They believed in Bigfoot, they were curious about Bigfoot, they wanted to connect on Bigfoot. They had a museum that was a unique and personal. They had made something, something sincere and honest and very much itself.

In the world of the paranormal, of cryptids, and the like there are tons of grifters and obvious scams. There’s crystals and weird testimonies by people whose so-called experiences magically evolve with current fads. Then there’s the Bigfoot Discovery Museum.

Just some people doing their thing. I might not believe in Bigfoot, but I believe in them.

–Xenofact

Getting a Handle On The Messiahs: We Can Be Heroes

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I’m still writing on Messiahs in our world. Last few times I suggested that Messiahs were usually pathological, at least in modern times, and often arose promising to clean up messes made by other Messiahs. It’s world saviors all the way down, a giant Jenga tower of narcissism and delusion.

(Probably why I adore the almost-certainly fictional story of Lao Tzu, who basically wrote one book and f***d off into the wilderness.)*

I’ve realized lower down the Messiah Tower of Babel-on are the Heroes.

The Heroes are people who aren’t Messiahs (yet) but want to fight a battle against darkness. They may not launch a Crusade, but they’re more than ready to get on board with whatever you’re willing to hand them. They’re vital fuel for the Messiahs, at least the pathological ones.

I see a lot of Heroes on the internet – what are sometimes called Keyboard Commandos, the 101st Chairborne, and so on. People who are ready to talk a big game, who want to be involved – as long as they just keep typing. They feel important for posting the latest meme, even if they’re at best a cog in a large social or propaganda machine.

I see plenty of Heroes ready to get sold a cause they can support if it’s not too hard.. They can “help the children” or “stop the conspiracy” or whatever. They’ll gladly donate or buy some merch or whatever is offered to them. They are happy to provide money so they feel good, funding whatever the Messiah Of The Month is. Maybe they even go to seminars and so on, shelling out funds to take hours of courses that will just get them to pay more.

Finally, there are the Heroes who take action – and make things worse or create more problems. They’ll go on some “mission” for whatever grifter they latched onto that invades privacy, disrupts lives, or accuses the innocent of crimes. Some of them do various forms of misery tourism where they “help” others by swooping in, take a few photos, and pretend to care for an hour. Hours just end up engaging in what is bluntly terrorism, their Hero status replaced with people screaming “false flag” or “lone wolf” – especially the Messiahs they followed.

The heroes are the foot soldiers – and cannon fodder – of the various would-be Messiahs. They’re much easier to rile up today with mass media, internet connectivity, and weakened social bonds. You can sell them a fantasy to keep your grift going with ease.

They’re also easy to rile up because of our media. So many tales sell hero stories, where the hero is righteous, supposedly humble, and of course ultimately justified in their actions. We’ve been told we have to be James Bond, Aragorn, and Jack Reacher. Of course, people want that, and are glad to buy a simulation by whoever will sell it to them.

We need more people who are people, not Heroes following a script. They’re just Messiah fuel.

– Xenofact

* If you wonder my actual take on the Tao Te Ching, in my limited knowledge, I think there were a few writers who held the title Lao Tzu and that solidified a political guide to the Taoist mystical philosophy.