Will Shetterly's Blog, page 35

Things shared on Nov 28ths

"Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn't know before you learned it." -Unknown - "Use it or lose it" is excellent advice for house-cleaning. - Conservatives telling socialists that we shouldn't like Bernie because he owns three homes makes as much sense as socialists telling conservatives that they shouldn't like Nikki Haley or Ben Carson because they're brown. - I may start

HBO's Watchmen swaps anarchism for race reductionism

I'm liking HBO's Watchmen so far, but this illustrates its reductionist core: "When we started thinking about what a superhero might look like in the 1930s, it's like, ‘who might be the person likeliest to seek justice outside the traditional means of obtaining justice? Who in the 1930s might be the person most likely to, to head down that path?’ Oh, of course, it's a black person, right?" They

Things shared on Nov 27ths

I was a long-haired kid in the South who got hassled regularly, so I'm thankful pictures like this are ancient history. Yes, I know the same sort of people have found new ways to demand conformity, but there's some satisfaction in knowing the definition of conformity is broader than it was. - Something I wrote a year ago that I failed to do (because I've yet to find a better term), but still

Things shared on Nov 26ths

Some people insist the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were racist. The abolitionists disagreed: "The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were a constant reproach to the slaveholding South." —Thaddeus Stevens - All borders are sites of tragedy. No one should suffer for crossing them, whether they’re seeking refuge or work or the chance to

Things shared on Nov 25ths

If you want to understand the US from detective shows, watch The Wire for the city and Justified for the country. - In honor of Thanksgiving, for the next two days, I will only share things that make me thankful. - When you hate haters, hatred wins.

Things shared on Nov. 24ths

1. Are you named after someone? My uncle who was killed by friendly fire in World War 2. 2. When is the last time you cried? When I heard that someone I know is suffering from an incurable condition. 3.Do you like your handwriting? No, but Emma does, so that's okay. I may measure mine against that of calligraphers and comic book letterers, so I'm always convinced mine is illegible. 4. What is

Things shared on Nov. 23rds

"The President pardoned two turkeys. Neither turkey thanked him. Expect a Tweet in which he threatens to eat them after all." —Emma Bull - Confirmation bias would be funny if only one side did it. - Now that I've learned about confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance, I'm going to stop trying to convince people of their errors. I'll just shoot them. - Right-libertarians reveal their

Things shared on Nov. 22nds

Dear conservatives, When most socialists share images associated with China or the USSR, it’s like when you share images associated with 1776: we don’t want authoritarian communism any more than you want slavery. You don’t want slavery, do you? - Expensive cities and cities with reputations for craziness overlap for a reason: to live in them, you either have to be crazy enough to keep paying

Things shared on Nov. 21sts

If you want to understand others, read charitably. - If you cannot fairly summarize your opponent’s position, you are furious about a fantasy. #MostInternetKerfuffles - The utopian left loves names for goals like No Borders, No Prisons, and No Police. But if we want the working class to join us, we have to have names for the process of getting to those goals, which requires a transitional

Gray Phoenix, or the Southern Superman, an old proposal for a DC Comics Elseworlds story

I found this file on my computer. I'd completely forgotten about it. I can't even remember if I ever sent it to DC—I might've done a draft, set it aside, and forgotten about it. With the right artist, it could've been fun, I suppose, but the only part that I especially like now is the idea for that world's Green Lantern. Kal-El arrives on Earth in the 19th century and grows up in Virginia,