Month: August 2020

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

I May Destroy You (HBO, 9:00 p.m.) — After a season-long mystery inside Arabella’s mind, she returns to the scene of the crime to confront the man who raped her. Let’s just say that closure comes in many shapes and sizes, and viewers will be thrilled and satisfied with where Arabella ends up personally and how she dispenses with the ghosts underneath her bed. It’s a blazingly beautiful ending to a firestarter of a season with wonderful resolutions for Kwame and Terry as well.

The Republican National Convention 2020 (ABC, CBS, NBC, 10:00 p.m.) — The 2020 Republican National Convention is officially underway while taking over the networks and plenty of cable coverage as well. The main attraction tonight should be Donald Trump Jr.’s bombastic ways, as well as an appearance by “St. Louis gun-toting couple” Mark and Patricia McCloskey. Other guests include Steve Scalise, Matt Gaetz, Nikki Haley, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Andrew Pollack, and more.

Lovecraft Country (HBO Max) — The unfurling of monsters continued on Sunday night, and there’s no time like now to catch up if you missed it. Snakes are darting across an astral plane and Atticus gets roped into a cult ceremony, and along the way, there’s plenty of pulpy sci-fi splatter as the bad guys go down.

Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor, Tim McGraw, and Laura Benanti

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Maisie Williams, Bright Eyes

Jimmy Kimmel Live — Dan Levy; Elle King

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

If you can get through more than two songs on Los Angeles rapper Duckwrth’s debut album SuperGood without at the very least two-stepping and snapping your fingers, the term “two left feet” is probably insufficient to describe your inability to dance. Within those first two songs, “New Love Song” and “Money Dance,” the veteran underground rapper utilizes such infectious four-on-the-floor beats and disco-influenced grooves that even the most off-beat person would feel hard-pressed to keep still.

Duckwrth’s debut, which has been nearly a decade in the making, comes along at a time when the lines between dance music and rap aren’t just blurring, they’re skittering and scratching like a California seismograph. Doja Cat scores her first No. 1 with nu-disco hit “Say So,” bringing Nicki Minaj along with her, then Nicki’s main rival Cardi B taps into a Jersey club classic to issue one of the most talked-about smashes in recent memory in “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion. That’s to say nothing of the resurgence of interest in the history of house music as a creation of Black subcultures in the 1980s.

SuperGood is right in line with these ideals, from the glittering dance-floor funk of lead single “Coming Closer” to “Quick,” a slippery bop that pulls from Afrocentric traditions. It’s the rare rap album — at least, it would have been rare just a year ago — more interested in stimulating listeners’ physical reactions than lighting up their intellect or convincing them how tough its creator had it growing up. That isn’t to say Duckwrth isn’t RAPPING on this project, because he has more than enough silver-tongued, slick observations to have listeners reaching for the rewind button.

But this album is about making you feel something, and that something is an involuntary urge to wiggle. It’s so effective that I was still rocking when I connected with Duckwrth via Zoom call to talk about the album, its eight-year gestation period, his gift for collaboration, the pioneering partnerships he formed over the past few years, and just why dance music is making such a tremendous comeback.

There’s some interesting evolution from your 2019 Falling Man EP to SuperGood, with SuperGood feeling a little more like your older stuff. Was Falling Man more like a detour, or was it a stop on the way?

Falling Man was definitely like a death and rebirth, and SuperGood is just like, “We’re cool.” Falling Man was reflective of my life as a part of me died. Every couple of years, a part of me dies. So at that moment, it was more of a physical manifestation of it. I cut all my hair off and for years people have known me, for ten years people known me for my hair.

So I got on IG Live. I got some razor, electric razor and cut all off. I was like, “Well, I got to do something from here,” so I knew I was going to do that. Actually, I was already writing the Falling Man, but I was like, “Something got to be different about this one.” And it just worked out. So I guess you die, and then you rebirth. So I guess SuperGood is the new launching pad for who I am today because I’ve been wanting to do SuperGood since 2013 but I never was in the right place to do it. I’m Uugly came from me wanting to do SuperGood, but I wasn’t in the right place. Xtra Uugly Mixtape, Falling Man was like, “Well, I know I got to do SuperGood, but until then let me do this.” And yeah, SuperGood it’s finally here. It’s finally out.

I think that for me, it was proving to myself who I am and what sound I like the most for myself, what space I want to be in, and it’s something about soul and more specifically rhythm. Rhythm is my shit. When I perform, I don’t stop moving. Unless it’s just one of those moments I have to sit still, but further than that rhythm is my shit. So I think SuperGood solidified it for me. Like, “N****, this is you, so kick it here for a bit,” but I’m still going to play with different genres.

You have so many of great collaborations on SuperGood. What kind of energy do they bring to the recording process and how do they help get more out of you?

Jean Deaux, we met a year ago in the studio and just vibed immediately. She was hella cool. She’s a real Chicago woman to the truest extent and yeah, I was trying to figure out the groove and I had this beat from Terrace Martin and I was like, “This one thump. I’ll see if we can do some with it.” And it went from there, the relationship was lit because she just hella cool. She really from the hood and she’s intellectual as fuck. I always appreciate her bravery and essence. She powerful. And I always say I’m a dragon, but not on some Kanye shit.

Dragon energy.

We got dragon energy [laughs]. No, no, no, I mean, it’s something about that greatness that I try to find in other people and she got it. She got it hands down. That’s my friendship with her, and then also I flew out my homegirl Julia Romana who’s on “Coming Closer.” She lives in the UK, but I flew her out for a month to stay in the same place. We got one of those studios, that’s like a home studio. So the studio is in the back house and then the home is in the front. I just flew her out for a month and I was like, “Let’s just throw everything at the wall,” and yeah man, she’s on probably 60% the album as well.

She has those great vocals that work well with mine. It’s definitely a sweeter tone. But even shit, Alex Mali too, who’s on “Find A Way,” she did vocals on “Tuesday” and then she definitely did vocals on “Say What U Mean.” So very subtle, but perfect. “Say What U Mean” had a really crazy chorus. I love that chorus so much because it’s not elaborate. They’re just really saying, “Say.” That shit so tight to me.

I really had to research to find out more about G.L.A.M. What made you want to share this platform with kind of an unknown artist and what do you think it brought out of the song?

Well, G.L.A.M. is a long-overdue collaboration. That’s been my homie for a long time. We know each other from teen backpack days in San Francisco. She’s a fucking spitter. We both held back on “Coming Closer” because it’s a dance track, so we just going to try to have fun in it. But she, oh my gosh, she goes ham and she produces all her music. She knows her sound. She likes my sound. We both connect on some NERD shit. Even my song I had called “Love Is Like A Moshpit,” with Rico Nasty, that was originally supposed to be G.L.A.M.

I think she so tight that if I can use whatever bit of my platform to be able to shine some light on her so people can know, and then from there she can take the ball and run with it, whatever it may be. But I think world should definitely know her.

It’s funny because for the last week, I’ve been thinking about NERD and Gorillaz and Channel Tres. Recently, “WAP” came out and now we’re talking about Black people in house music again. We’re talking about those Jersey club tracks. The history doesn’t tell how closely related hip-hop is with these other Black-created forms of music, but now artists like the ones we mentioned and yourself are bringing them back together. Why is it so attractive to us now that we bring these things together these dance music grooves into hip-hop?

Personal theory, I think that the reason why house is so big in the white demographic is because it’s very much straightforward. It’s two, three, four, one, two, three, four, and with Black folks, we like…

We put a little swing in everything.

We put a little swing that thing. I feel the original creators of it like Mr. Fingers. I think Mr. Fingers had a bit more of a soulful flare to it, and then as time went on different people started grabbing it, and then it may have become more simple. Because even Mr. Fingers’ bass top line, it still has some swing to it. And that’s how we got [Kanye West’s] “Fade.” I think you can hear the Blackness in the original house.

SuperGood is obviously your first major label project and in your wildest dreams, in your ideal world, where does SuperGood place you in terms of on the charts, in your life, in the music scene, publications, press? Just spitball wildly here, go for broke.

I mean, my main thought in making it was just “Grammy.” Even if I don’t win shit, I want that shit to feel so fucking great that n****s would really have to consider nominating that motherfucker. Just the way I composed it. Right when you turn it on, it’s bringing you into a world and then just the chorus, or the girls that are singing at the end of “New Love Song,” it’s a Clark Sisters flip. So it’s taking these very classical moments, and composition, and sound, and mixing it with who I am today. I’m trying to bring sounds from the past, sounds from the present and then trying to fill out what’s going to be the future in putting it all into one sound. Even sounds that we use, we use the same synths that they had in Thriller, the [Roland Juno-106] and stuff like that. Michael was a big inspiration for this album. So it’s just taking those different textures of greats and putting that into my music.

What’s the story between 2012 when you were first popping up on 2DopeBoyz and now? What have you been doing? What have you been up to?

Just really finding myself, I suppose.

I think the best musicians are the ones that really know themselves. Because you can find yourself mimicking your favorite artists, but you never really find your sound until you find yourself. So I think for these past years, I’ve just been growing up and really diving into myself, not just as a creative but as a human. I think it’s gotten to this point of today
.
Absolutely. All the projects that you’ve done since Uugly, which is a funny album title by the way, have been-

It has a meaning. People never just look into the meaning.

Okay, what’s the meaning behind Uugly then, because I always wondered.

Pretty much when the bass slap in a certain way, when the snares hit you in the spine, whatever it may be, when a beat knockin, your face frowning up. [We both do the face.] Exactly. I’m ugly.

So you have been pushing boundaries sonically for a while. What was the inspiration behind trying to push the boundary of what LA rap is supposed to sound like?

First, I got to show love to the people that did come before me. It was groups like J*Davey, which is Brook and Jack. It was mainly J*Davey that gave me the courage to, being from LA, just working a more eclectic sound. But yeah, I kind of dipped out… I definitely dipped out 2006. So when I dipped out from LA at that time, a lot of groups really started popping and I was in San Francisco, 2008, 2010, around that time. And then, 2012 or 11, that’s when it really started cracking off in Los Angeles. So it was like, I’m in San Francisco and I moved to San Francisco because LA just wasn’t eclectic like that. I say it was only like gang-bangers and jerkers.

I’m going to tell you, I first became aware that you were kind of on the scene again, when I was watching Spider-Man (Into The Spider-Verse). I actually had the Spider-Man soundtrack ahead of time. And I was like, Duckwrth is on here? And then I heard it and I was like, “This is hard.” But then when I saw it in the movie, I was like, it’s in the movie. A lot of songs get on the soundtrack, they’re not in the movie. And you had a song during one of the more pivotal parts of the movie. What went through your head when you saw that?

They told me they were going to be using that song during a scene where a kid was listening to music. And the way they described it was like, he was supposed to be listening to rebellious music or music you’re not suppose to be listening to, I guess.

But I didn’t know exactly what scene it was going to be in until I saw it. And I was like, “Oh, okay, that’s crazy.” And the feeling I had, I don’t know, man, it’s weird. These type of moments, they’re more surreal. It makes you feel like a dream. It don’t feel real. You know what I’m saying? Like, how is this even possible that my voice is being played in this movie? And it was tight because it was the Black Spider-Man. It was surreal, but it was tight. And then what hit me wasn’t even a scene. It was when the ending credits, when my name came down, my artist name came down and my real name came down. I’m like, “Yeah. Okay. That’s tight.”

Yes, sir. Speaking in terms of just the things that you were able to accomplish since your comeback, the one that stood out to me the most was your League Of Legends role, which is an incredible thing. Because it feels to me it’s getting a little lost in the wash. Travis Scott is in Fortnite and all these other guys are doing virtual concerts in games because of the pandemic and yet you were at the forefront of that before anybody else was whispering about it. So again, you’re a little bit ahead of your time. What’s the process of creating music that is supposed to be music, but as someone else for a very specific thing, that’s a little bit outside of what you would normally create it for in like normal concepts?

I think it’s like acting, like you’re playing out a role, especially in those types of scenarios where I’m playing a character. This is what the character would say. If I was this character, I would say this. And that’s the fun part, really. You know what I’m saying? The moment that you can be outside of your skin, think differently. Especially from a character that lives in a fantasy world, it’s just like, there’s a challenge. And I love that. But also, Gorillaz is one of my favorite groups, and I’ve always wanted to do some CG shit, where I make the music for it, but it’s a totally different character. So between League Of Legends or even the animated video for “Find A Way,” these are my “dip my toe in the pool,” and just satisfy my need to want to do like some type of illustrated character.

What’s a superhero-ish character that you would love to play?

Shit. It’s a great question. Shit, this is an easy one with Miles Morales, if they ever do another one. I for sho would be Miles Morales. Really, I want to do one of the X-Men, but I don’t have then accent. But I like Nightcrawler.

You can learn to do a German accent.

I’m not going to do that. No, there are some German folk they can get for that [laughs]. Okay. Static Shock, hands down.

Hey, a Static Shock reboot, featuring Duckwrth. Let’s pitch that to somebody make it happen.

Go crazy. Static Shock.

SuperGood is out now via Republic Records. Get it here.

Harrowing footage of another police shooting of a Black man circulated on social media on Sunday night after an incident in Kenosha, Wisconsin, quickly went viral and sparked outrage and protests in the town and online.

Jacob Blake, a Black resident of the town, was shot multiple times by police while his back was turned to officers, sparking a night of protests and condemnations from across the world, including Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The NBA world also expressed its outrage with yet another example of an unarmed Black man being shot by police, starting with Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.

“F the games and playoffs,” Mitchell wrote on Twitter Monday as video of the brutal shooting spread. “This is why we don’t feel safe.”

As a warning, the video is graphic but was shared by a number of players as further evidence of the systemic police brutality against Black people.

LeBron James, also in the Bubble in Orlando, shared his anger and pain about seeing yet another Black man shot by police, this time while an officer grabbed his shirt and fired several times into his back while Blake tried to get into a car with three of his children.

Others in the NBA community also shared their frustration and condemnation of the shooting.

Many retweeted a statement from Taylor Rooks on Monday.

The NBA’s players have made a point of continuing to advocate for social justice issues while in the Bubble, both with jersey slogans and actively commenting about societal issues while essentially sequestered from society in Orlando. Mitchell, for one, has largely turned his social media presence into a conduit to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement and encourage change.

Incidents like what happened in Kenosha on Sunday only seem to reaffirm their desire to speak about issues like this, as well as prove the point many have made that these societal problems are ongoing even while NBA basketball has resumed and that the focus can never shift off of these issues.

The Los Angeles Lakers will pay tribute to Kobe Bryant on Monday night by bringing back their “Black Mamba” uniforms for Game 4 of their first round series with the Portland Trail Blazers in honor of Bryant’s birthday on Sunday and it being 8/24.

Throughout the second half of this season since the tragic death of Kobe, his daughter Gigi, and the nine others that were killed in the helicopter crash that rocked the sports world in January, the Lakers have offered various tributes to their legendary star. On Monday, City of Los Angeles city council president Herb J. Wesson announced that Bryant’s memory will live on outside of Staples Center where the Lakers play every day going forward when they rename Figueroa Street, “Kobe Bryant Boulevard.”

The renamed section will run from MLK Jr Blvd, down by USC’s campus, to Olympic Blvd, just past L.A. Live, putting Staples Center officially at 1111 Kobe Bryant Blvd. It’s a great gesture by the city of L.A. and a fitting tribute to Bryant, given that he made Staples one of L.A.’s hottest destinations for almost two decades. A statue to join those of Shaquille O’Neal and other Laker (and Kings) legends is surely on the way for outside of Staples, as well, and the center of the L.A. sports world residing on Kobe Bryant Boulevard seems just about right.

“Cumbiatón is a party for the hood by the hood, it’s lead by women, queer, and trans people of color … It is a party where you can come and be your most authentic self and rejoice in your own existence.” DJ Sizzle Fantastic knows that at a time when we’re all feeling more isolated from one another, having a sense of community and a place where you can shed your layers and be your authentic self is vital. That’s why when COVID-19 threatened to put a pause on Cumbiatón, a haven so many had come to rely on as a safe space of self-expression, Sizzle, and her Cumbiatón co-founder Normz La Oaxaqueña stepped it up and got creative.

“Shifting our production from being out with people in real life 3D to Instagram or Twitch … it’s definitely been a journey,” says Sizzle in the above video, “But I think the love for the music and the love for my community fueled me to keep going and to keep learning.”

Prior to the pandemic, the Cumbiatón crew had taken their intergenerational movement from the LA barrio of Boyle Heights, California to communities in San Francisco, Seattle, and New York, acting as a vessel of art and music, and a healing place for people looking to belong.

“Cumbiatón is a space for you to come and be yourself and you will be loved and respected for that,” says La Oaxaqueña, and Cumbiatón’s ability to weather a pandemic proves just how essential that sense of community they were able to foster truly is.

Get to know the people behind Cumbiatón in the above video, which is the second episode of our Los Ángeles series.

It looks like Kanye West isn’t the only hip-hop artist looking to siphon some votes from Donald Trump and Joe Biden come November. Live streaming financial news network Cheddar reports that Akon has joined the political campaign for independent candidate Brock Pierce, best known for his acting roles in The Mighty Ducks and First Kid, as well as his work in cryptocurrency.

Pierce serves as chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation and was named one of the “top 20 wealthiest people in crypto” by Forbes magazine in 2018. Akon, meanwhile, funded a $6 billion “futuristic cryptocurrency themed city” Senegal built on his “Akoin” cryptocurrency, according to Bloomberg and Bitcoin. Akon will serve as the chief strategist for the campaign, calling Pierce a “standup guy” in the statement making the announcement.

“I’ve always known Brock Pierce to be a standup guy,” Akon said in a statement. “He’s a real people’s person and he doesn’t operate between party lines.”

Of course, Akon is better known for his musical hits “Locked Up” and “Lonely” and helping to launch the careers of pop superstars Lady Gaga and T-Pain. His musical work has gotten him nominated for five Grammy Awards and sold millions of copies of his hit songs. In 2018, he made headlines for “seriously considering” a presidential bid of his own, but has apparently decided that backing Pierce is the safer bet. Pierce said that Akon’s aspirations and accomplishments “will be valuable for our platform on a regional, national, and worldwide level.”

Watch Cheddar’s announcement below.

Twins born with separate fathers are rare in the human population. Although there isn’t much known about heteropaternal superfecundation — as it’s known in the scientific community — a study published in The Guardian, says about one in every 400 sets of fraternal twins has different fathers.

Simon and Graeme Berney-Edwards, a gay married couple, from London, England both wanted to be the biological father of their first child.

“We couldn’t decide on who would be the biological father,” Simon told The Daily Mail. “Graeme said it should be me, but I said that he had just as much right as I did.”

The only way to make it happen would be to have twins through in vitro fertilization. But they would have to find a doctor that would implant embryos from separate fathers in the same surrogate.

They knew it wouldn’t happen in England, so they looked for a doctor and surrogate mother in a different countries.

“I saw Simon and Graeme’s profile on a surrogacy website and I thought they had lovely smiles,” Meg Stone, the Canadian soon-to-be surrogate, said. “I had recently split with my partner and I wasn’t ready for another baby, so I wanted to help someone.”

via Meg Seroki-Stone / Facebook

Meg was already a mother of two children, Jeffrey, 12, and Max, five.

The couple flew out to Los Angeles, where they both fertilized eggs from an anonymous donor. Then, they journeyed to Canada where they met with Meg to be sure she was the perfect fit.

“We were nervous at the beginning — in case that we didn’t click with her. But we needn’t have worried,” Simon said.

Six months later, one fertilized embryo of Simon’s, and one embryo of Graeme’s, were inserted into Meg’s womb.

The couple spent a stressful week hoping both embryos would take. They were afraid that one of the fathers’ embryos would work, the other wouldn’t, and they’d have to eventually go through the same process again.

“She FaceTimed us from the scanning room. First of all, we saw one heartbeat, and our stomach clenched with nerves,” Simon said.

“Then we saw the other heartbeat. Graeme and I just hugged each other,” he continued. “We were just over the moon. We were both going to be dads — she was pregnant with both of our babies.”

The couple kept in close touch with Meg over the coming weeks and flew back to Canada for her 19-week scan. The two proud fathers-to-be were delighted to touch her belly and feel their babies kicking inside the womb.

At 31 weeks, Meg was in pain and thought she was about to go into labor. So the two men quickly packed their bags and flew to Canada.

“We dashed to the hospital when we arrived, to find out it was a false alarm,” Simon said. “We were just so relieved that she and the babies were fine.”

The couple remained in Canada and five weeks later, Meg gave birth to Calder and Alexandra Berney Edwards.

“It was the most amazing experience of our lives,” Simon said. “Alexandra was born first and then Calder arrived minutes later.

“When we both held them for the first time, we couldn’t believe that we were both daddies,” he added. “It was a long way to go and do this, but it was worth it to both be able to have fathered one of the twins each.”

“Calder was the double of Graeme, and Alexandra was the image of me,” Simon said.

The couple remained in Canada for seven more weeks before they could take their newborns home. Then, they hopped on a plane and returned to England.

But sadly, they had to leave a new member of their family behind.

“It was sad to say goodbye to Meg, When we brought them home for the first time, it was just incredible,” Simon said. “Since then they have gone from strength to strength. They are doing so well and hitting all their milestones.”

The twins recently celebrated their first birthday and the fathers flew Meg out to celebrate with them.

“Simon and Graeme are like brothers to me now,” Meg said. “They call me the twins ‘Tummy Mummy’ which I love.”

via LGBT News World

Let me preface this post by saying that I am not a regular Fox News watcher. The handful of times I’ve tried to watch it, I haven’t been able to stomach it for long. I don’t watch televised news much anyway, but the blatant biases and sensationalist tone of Fox News is a huge turnoff for me.

It’s not for a sizable percentage of Americans, though. There are more than a few people who believe Fox News when it says it’s “fair and balanced.” There are folks who believe Fox News when they tell them that “mainstream media” is hopelessly biased toward “the liberal left” and therefore can’t be trusted like they can.

I wrote a whole article once about venturing over to Fox News’s Facebook page to expose myself to different perspectives and coming away endlessly frustrated by the amount of verifiable falsehoods Fox News followers were perpetuating—a sad reality that only confirmed my belief that Fox News erodes people’s ability to discern what is actually true.

But don’t take my word for it. Take one of their analysts who quit the network and called it a “propaganda machine.” Or take this veteran on Reddit who shared how they used to be an avid Fox News watcher until their tour in Iraq gave them a wake-up call.

In a Reddit thread about a Fox News segment discussing Fox News’ coverage of Michelle Obama’s DNC convention speech, user BabyMFBear wrote:

“My personal thoughts on Fox News:

Following 9/11, I found myself glued to Fox News. It was, after all, ‘America’s news network,’ and included a ‘no-spin zone’ to ensure we were getting the real story. The reporting was ‘fair and balanced,’ and it was up to the viewer to come to conclusions based on ‘we report; you decide.’

The hosts proudly wore their American flags on their lapels, and they taunted the French for not supporting our call to arms, and I cheered as we established the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ as we trounced Iraq, and started kicking Taliban ass in Afghanistan.

Then I got to Iraq, and my attitude changed. The Iraqis I worked with were normal, every day people. They were friendly and inviting. Aside from the language and cultural differences, they were no different than myself.

And then I met Colin Powell when he addressed everyone in the compound and, in not so many words, told us he appreciated our service but this mission was in error.

His exact words were ‘You may hear a lot of things about the mission here in Iraq, but just know I am grateful for all of you who answered the call on behalf of your nation.’

That was quite a profound moment, not only for my time in service, but for my entire outlook on information, politics, and life in general.

Were Iraqi’s better off without Saddam? Most likely. Looking back, that wasn’t our problem to solve.

We have more weapons of mass destruction than nearly every other country combined, with the most advanced delivery systems available.

Could you imagine another country bombing us because our President isn’t a good person with nuke release authority? Could you imagine being blown back into the Stone Age over it?

We are just living our lives, in total disagreement, in an intense atmosphere, but could you sit by peacefully while getting obliterated by a foreign country over it?

I’d be making homemade bombs to protect my family. I would want those invaders out of my country, even if it was because they and I both agree in our views of the U.S. President. That goes out the window when foreign troops are at my door.

Fox News helped sell a lie. Fox News put on theatrics, and pumped me up for war.

Two years later, I was covering a high-level NATO Security Conference. A 4-star Dutch general made the opening remarks about ‘a war of necessity (Afghanistan)’ and a ‘war of choice (Iraq).’

I served in an unnecessary war. I am proud of my service to the Iraqi government. I was there to help. I am happy my next two deployments were in support of combat operations in Afghanistan.

Fox News sells theatrics. They sell hyperbole. That network’s agenda is to serve the defense industry and military industrial complex.

Fox News has convinced people that someone like me hates America.

Fox News has convinced people that someone like me doesn’t belong here.

Fox News has convinced people my views are unAmerican.

I’d be the first person to lead a charge against a foreign invasion.

Fox News has people convinced I’m the enemy.

Turn off Fox News. I’m pleading with you.”

Comments have poured in, thanking the poster not only for their service, but for sharing their experience of breaking up with Fox News. Many of us have friends and relatives who are hopelessly glued to that station, constantly being fed the propaganda they’re peddling, distrustful of award-winning journalism yet somehow trusting of Tucker Carlson.

Others shared similar stories of having once been Fox News fans but then recognizing it for what it was:

“I remember being a young man, watching Fox News after 9/11. It was shiny, entertaining, engrossing.

But I knew something was off about it. I didn’t really know what Jingoism was, but I was sensing that this was most definitely some kind of propaganda.

I really do see the appeal and why it captures so many.” – Antnee83

“Brother, U.S. Army Signal Corp. Vet here, and I have to say a big Thanks, to you for being able to share your experience. I have also tried to share my experience from the perspective of a Signal Solder that is saturated with intel. as part of the job, and to witness the active misinformation campaigns that are used by the FOX propaganda outlets and how they were coordinated from the inside out, not to mention outside interference from hostile nations using 3rd wave warfare tactics against the U.S.” – UrzasPunchline

“Iraq Vet here as well and the same for my wife (2004-2005) coming home I was a different person than when I went and not just for the obvious “going to war” reasons, but for the reasons you laid out above. If someone bombed my county to the Stone Age I’d be out there fighting them too, they’re just supposed to lay down and let us run over them?!

I think there are a lot of Vets just like us but there are plenty of trump supporters too. I just hope this year is a wake up and the crazy things he’s doing now will wake ppl up. I do know many trump supporters that say they can’t vote for Biden and won’t… but they also can’t vote for trump so they’ll stay home. That’s good enough for me.” – Lathus01

I’d be making homemade bombs to protect my family

“Yep. Formerly in intelligence, and spent 2 years in Baghdad doing it. Lots of other intelligence people would refer to insurgents as “terrorists”, and it always felt so wrong. They aren’t terrorists, they are doing exactly what I would be doing if someone invaded my country and my city, and if you wouldn’t you can’t call yourself a patriot. Those people were basically fighting an army from the future and they STILL fought. Now THAT is bravery and patriotism.” – TalentKeyh0le

“Great post brother. I too was in the same boat as you. Born and raised in conservative catholic household and watched much of the same hyperbolic “America is great at kicking ass” propaganda generated by Fox News.

I too served in Iraq and in a very much “enemy” facing role where I spoke to these men we were holding indefinitely as enemy combatants and there were some long conversations I had with them where things sometimes didn’t sit right, honestly.

I’ve had many years to realize what I was a part of, not necessarily regret, but certainly had to come to terms with things I did against men who were probably acting exactly as I would have in opposite roles.

I love this country and I love its people and still appreciate the time getting to serve it, but Jesus if I don’t worry every day about what may be needed to save it’s soul and that of all its citizens.” – TheRealAJ58

The original poster thanked people for the responses, saying “I hope what I’ve said here empowers other vets to speak out, and know they are not alone.”

They also wrote of veteran suicides and the role false information plays:

“The number of veteran suicides is not hyperbole. Reconciliation is sometimes not possible without self-destructive behaviors. Some just cannot bring themselves to face their actions, and I cannot place blame on them. I place the blame on those who manipulate our youth into believing false realities.”

I’m not saying we don’t need a military. I fully believe in having national defense as a priority- right now more than at any other time since WWII.

We just need a military that is willing to defend our citizens, and not an away-team “bringing the fight to an enemy” under false pretenses.

Again, thank you. I’m now drained and emotional – in a good way.

I wish nothing but the best for all of us.”

The U.S. has long engaged in discussions and debates over civil rights and social justice—issues that certainly don’t seem like they should be controversial, but somehow turn out to be. In an ideal world, no one would ever have to fight for their rights or beg for equal justice, but we’ve never lived in an ideal world. And while much of the work that needs to be done to get there lies at the level of systems and institutions, those systems and institutions are run and upheld by people. So by extension, people’s individual beliefs and attitudes matter.

A post shared on Reddit shows a viral copy-and-paste post that has been circulating on social media that reads:

“YOU KNOW FOLKS, I never cared that you were gay, until you started shoving it down my throat, and I never cared what color you were, till you started blaming me for your problems, and I never cared about your political affiliation, until you started condemning me for mine. I really never even cared where you were born, until you wanted to erase my history, and blame my ancestors for your problems…you know I never even cared if your beliefs were different than mine, until you said my beliefs were wrong, but now I care, my patience and tolerence [sic] are gone, and I am not alone in feeling this, there are millions of us who feel like this…”

u/beerbellybegone/Reddit

The screenshot was shared along with a response that the poster called “as devastating a response as they come.” It reads:

“‘I never cared that you were gay, I just supported laws making it a felony for you to have sex with the partner of your choices, preventing you from marrying who you love, stopping you from adopting children, and saying it was okay to fire you for being gay. ESPECIALLY if you’re in the military, where I wanted firing you to be a requirement.’

‘I never cared what color you were, I just made excuses for discrimination against you in hiring and law enforcement and fetishized a movement that fought and lost a war to keep you from being treated as human beings with actual rights.’

‘I never cared about your political affiliation as long as you shut up about it and let mine have total control of the government.’

‘I never cared about your beliefs as long as you let me use the government to impose mine.’

‘And when I say all my patience and tolerance are gone, I mean I never had any in the first place.’

Fixed it for you.”

u/beerbellybegone/Reddit

The most interesting thing about the initial post is the sense of victimization coming from the original poster. It seems to say that having to pay attention to issues of justice and civil rights and being asked to acknowledge the ongoing impact of historical oppression and what role each of us might play in keeping others down somehow takes something away from them.

Being asked to see and care about victims of injustice doesn’t make you a victim yourself. The logic there is so strange. And what does it mean to shove being gay down someone’s throat? Because of course it would be reasonable to push back against someone actually cramming something down your throat, but the in this context “shove it down my throat” usually means “did something publicly in my line of vision.” Not the same thing.

As a few commenters explained:

“The trouble is that the top phrases are all dog whistles. For example, ‘shoving (being gay) down one’s throat’ is simply another term for being gay in a public space. This can range from being openly gay, mentioning your boyfriend to a coworker, etc to calling yourself a sparkle fairy or whatever. It’s not just the literal definition of what they say, but how these terms are used in real life.“

“I spend so much time surrounded by straight guys who talk about nothing except women’s bodies and sex, but my pride flag bumper sticker is apparently throwing my sexuality in people’s throats.”

“Ok, so I am a lesbian, in the relationship with the woman who is now my wife and the mother of my children for the last almost 2 decades (for reference that I really do have a ton of experience), and from personal experience when people say ‘don’t cram it down my throat’ they mean ‘stay in the closet’. When I talk about my relationship at work, it is ‘cramming things down their throat’. When I hold her hand in public, same deal. When the laws about marriage were discussed, it was ‘cramming down their throats’, when health insurance was being discussed – the same, same again when adoption was discussed. As soon as being a lesbian was equal to being not lesbian, all of a sudden I appear to have stopped ‘cramming’ anything anywhere.”

Another commenter summed up the gist of the initial post in one sentence.

“I never cared about other people being different because society used to make it easy to pretend they didn’t exist.”

The thing is, the complaints in the original post are not actual complaints. People being gay in public isn’t cramming it down people’s throats. People pointing out all of the insidious ways ingrained white supremacy works is not blaming an individual for their problems. Pointing out that someone’s political views or affiliation are doing real harm to real people could be seen as condemnation, but shouldn’t things that harm people be condemned? And as for erasing history, that’s a hard no. No one is erasing history, because 1) that’s literally not possible and 2) a good portion of our history has been “erased” through omission or dishonesty, such as school textbooks referring to enslaved people as “workers.” All that’s being asked if for history to be taught accurately and for the heinous parts of our history not to be celebrated with monuments to it. And as for patience and tolerance, the irony of a person who clearly doesn’t fit into the marginalized categories of people they are addressing saying they’ve lost both simply because they’re being asked to actually care about the ways people have been and still are experiencing injustice is quite rich.

No one is asking people to care about their sexual orientation or race or religion political affiliation or beliefs. They’re asking people to care about those things being used as excuses or tools discrimination. Until we have actually achieved equal justice and society no longer tacitly accepts or perpetuates people being marginalized due to race, sexual orientation, gender, or non-harmful beliefs, we have to care about those things.

It’s been nearly 100 years since Hermann Rorschach introduced the well-known inkblot test used by psychologists to analyze personality characteristics and emotional processing. Where one person sees a bat, another may see a butterfly. One person might find an inkblot shape soothing while another finds it unnerving.

Whether the test truly tells psychologists anything definitive, there’s no doubt that our perceptions are colored by our thoughts, emotions, and experiences. And that’s quite clear in people’s reactions to this video from a school in China.

The video, shared by ShanghaiPanda on Twitter, shows a large circle of children bouncing dozens of balls in unison and moving around the circle in a rhythmic pattern. “China’s kindergarten game: Cooperation,” the post reads.

Responses to the post reveal a wide range of perceptions of the purpose and value of the activity. As a former teacher, I see kids learning and practicing excellent hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. I also see them working together, cooperating to keep the balls moving in unison. To me, it’s a really cool example of using the whole body to perform a task and focusing one’s attention on what’s in front of them while preparing for what’s to come. It also builds trust, as you have to trust that your neighbor is going to perform their task of bouncing the ball at the right time, and your other neighbor has to trust that you will do the same. (A far better lesson than, say, the cut-through terror and individual dominance most of us remember from playing dodgeball in school.)

From my perspective, this is a valuable group activity for young kids that teaches multiple skills at the same time.

But for others, it’s a creepy example of group-think indoctrination, molding kids to accept uniformity and train them into obedience.

Huh.

If the first thing you think of when you think of Chinese culture is communist indoctrination, then I can see why this video would elicit that response. But that doesn’t make it correct or okay.

Thankfully, most of those responses were met with rebuttals that showed the hypocrisy and xenophobia inherent in them.

Considering how we have kids recite the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag every morning in unison, the “indoctrination” argument falls a bit flat.

It’s not hard to imagine very different responses if this were a group of American kids coordinating to do the same thing. They would be hailed as impressive kids who worked toward a goal, not communists.

Not to mention, nearly anything can be twisted into something dark or sinister simply by describing it that way, as evidenced by this description of “musical chairs.”

The video also ignited some interesting conversations about competition vs. coordination.

Ultimately, the idea that working together in unison to build skills and create a cool effect is somehow “communist indoctrination” is purely a product of people’s perceptions about China and its people. After all, our marching bands and cheer squads do the same thing.

If our first impression or reaction to a video of kids doing something educational in another country is “that’s creepy” or “ew, communism” we may want to check ourselves. Replace those kids faces with ones who look American to you and be honest about what your reaction would be to see it. Our prejudices can color our perceptions, and it’s important for all of us to acknowledge and challenge our own thoughts.

Especially when we’re looking at children bouncing balls, for goodness sake.