As a kid, my favorite Disney movie was the 1997 animated classic Hercules. It’s about the titular Greek hero (Tate Donovan) trying to prove his godhood so he can be reunited with his family in Mt. Olympus. However, he ultimately rejects his mantle so that he can stay with his love interest Megara (Susan Egan) back on Earth — in essence, repudiating the divinity of his biological family for a romantic partner he doesn’t even marry by the time the film comes to a close.

Even as a child, I remember being struck by how different this ending was from…

Inside the rationalization that keeps the QAnon conspiracy ticking.

After the January 6th insurrection, Facebook, Twitter, and the rest of the major social media platforms started to ban groups that promoted conspiracy theories. These recently booted alt-righters flocked to alternative sites such as Telegram and MeWe, where they continued more or less the same as they did before, claiming that a vast government conspiracy had taken over America.

On these fringes of the Internet, it’s common to see far-right conspiracy theorists allege ideas that border on the truly bizarre. Many are still convinced that Trump never lost the election. Entire…

Years ago, I was temping at a racial justice nonprofit. I was helping to staff their annual conference on the social determinants of health when a middle-aged white man darted straight towards our table, which was set up in a convention center of a trendy hotel chain. He swung his arms wildly from side-to-side as he walked up to us and immediately addressed the woman sitting next to me—a Black woman in her early thirties who was a full-time employee for the nonprofit.

“Excuse me, where is the lobbying meeting taking place for the pediatric conference,” he asked abruptly.

For…

An inclusive, queer, leftist scene is just one click away.

On a typical day, the server is abuzz with activity. Gamers are sharing their favorite memes and songs, coordinating sessions, and promoting their Twitch streams. The discord server is dedicated to over twenty games and counting, and most of the players are queer, so much that there is a macro in one of the introduction rooms reading “React below if you’re some kind of straight (unfortunately).”

The gaming scene has never been the most inclusive space, which is what makes this queer server so refreshing. In between scheduling for pathfinder…

Conservatives also love PC Culture and it’s dangerous.

For decades now, there has been a frustrating conversation around the concept of political correctness. The narrative that we hear repeatedly is that certain Americans, usually liberals and leftists, are trying to censor what the rest of us say in our day-to-day lives. Those arguing against political correctness claim that “liberals” want to track our language for implicit biases and microaggressions and cancel us if we say or do anything wrong.

There have been a string of studies, articles, and exposes claiming that Americans hate political correctness. It seems to be one…

The filibuster makes reasoned debate impossible.

The filibuster is a Senate tactic where one or more Senators block legislation through “unlimited debate.” They do not yield their time and effectively kill the legislation by not letting it advance to a vote. It’s, in essence, talking a bill to death. The only way to prevent this obstruction is to end debate through a procedure known as “cloture,” which requires a three-fifths majority (currently 60 votes) — a virtual impossibility in our modern political climate.

The filibuster is one reason that legislation with the support of a simple majority is rarely passed…

The how-to guide for being an ethical writer on this burning planet

It sometimes feels like it’s both the best and worst time alive to be a writer. If you have a computer connection, it has never been easier to publish your thoughts to the semi-public space known as the Internet (though your mileage may vary depending on an array of factors). You hit publish, and the possibility of hundreds, maybe even thousands of viewers, suddenly appears on the horizon.

Simultaneously, we live during a time period where so many looming problems, both within the industry and outside of it…

The roots of leftist infighting and the path towards healing.

Recently, there was a heated disagreement in leftist spaces over how to vote for the Speaker of the House. Some leftists wanted leaders such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to threaten to withhold votes from incumbent Nancy Pelosi unless she promised to hold a vote on Medicare for All legislation during the 2021 calendar year.

AOC disagreed with this strategy for a variety of reasons we are not going to be going over here (read Paul Blest’s A Medicare for All Vote Isn’t Worth the Risk as well as Briahna Joy Gray’s…