Whenever someone makes an argument, a claim, or a prediction of some kind, it’s important to question just how sincere they are in making it. By that, I don’t mean always doubting them. People can say plenty of dumb things that that they’re convinced are true, even after most reasonable people point out how objectively dumb it is. The internet and social media has made this distressingly easy for any number of issues, be they political, cultural, or mundane.
But I don’t want to bemoan the method or the medium this time. There’s certainly a conversation to be had about the nature of social media and it has affected our collective approach to discourse.
Instead, I want to narrow my focus on one particular vocal group of people who keep making one particular argument again and again about a particular issue. The issue in this case has to do with pop culture and genre entertainment, which are subjects that have always inspired plenty of debate, productive and unproductive alike. Specifically, it has to do with the concept of “Get Woke, Go Broke,” a constant refrain that certain pop culture critics, YouTubers, and social media personalities love to state whenever an entertainment company dares to be diverse.
Now, let me make something clear. I think that refrain is a complete crock of shit.
Let me also make another thing clear. There was a time when I got somewhat sucked into this whole rabbit hole of anti-woke, anti-social justice warrior subculture that emerged in the mid-2010s. I even wrote about it on this site. And I genuinely regret that. I’m even embarrassed that I ever bought into that crap, thinking that there was some nefarious agenda by left-wing activists to ruin pop culture and beloved franchises.
These are multi-billion-dollar corporations, last I checked. Their only agenda has been profits and market share. That’s what it was before the word “woke” ever got coined. That’s what it’ll be whenever the next internet hate mob decides to whine about something.
As for the membership of that hate mob, I genuinely hesitate to identify them by name. I seriously don’t want to give these people any more undeserved attention than they already get. I’ll just say they’re the YouTubers, social media personalities, and online personas that whined constantly about “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” complained endlessly about comments Brie Larson made about a lack of diversity in film criticism, and never hesitate to bemoan any piece of media that dares to be more diverse than a 1980s action movie.
These are not legitimate critics who have something meaningful to say about the state of popular culture. Their professional whiners and grifters, plain and simple.
Now, I understand that’s a strong statement from someone who regularly reviews and criticizes pop culture. I’m an aspiring YouTuber, as well. And for the most part, my audience and subscriber base is a fraction of what some of these other personalities have. It’s very likely I’ll never achieve their numbers.
However, having followed some of these critics/grifters/whiners over the years, I’ve watched them become more and more dishonest with their criticism. It’s at a point now where I can easily predict their reaction to any new movie trailer, video game announcement, or entertainment news without ever even clicking on their videos or social media feeds. It goes like this.
If the news celebrates or announces something about diversity, inclusion, or anything that’s ideologically left of Archie Bunker, they complain that this is left wing, SJW attack on pop culture.
If the news celebrates or announces something that aligns with or reaffirms their personal politics, which tend to be right-leaning and often glorifies people or characters who are white males, they celebrate it as a triumph.
It’s why they’ll make a big deal about “Top Gun: Maverick” being a huge box office success, but constantly forget that Brie Larson’s “Captain Marvel” made over $1 billion at the box office. They may make endless excuses for why that is, but they’ll never concede that their arguments, rhetoric, and entire perspective are full of shit.
I have no respect for these grifters, in case that isn’t abundantly clear. And with each passing year, their whining and excuses get more pathetic.
But recently, a unique opportunity has emerged for these whiners/grifters to prove that they aren’t just saying what they think will get them subs, clicks, or attention. In fact, it’s an opportunity that could potentially make them and their families very rich.
It has to do with Disney and how it was recently announced that Bob Iger was returning as CEO. Now, there are a lot of uncertain details about this story and why it’s happening. Many have their theories, but it’s very unlikely that any of these wannabe critics know even a fraction of the story. Since Disney owns both Marvel and Star Wars, it certainly has the anti-woke, anti-SJW crowd talking.
To be fair, not all of them are whining about the same thing. But they’re all still whining about something. That’s just how grifters work.
That being said, I do feel this might be the best possible moment for those who genuinely believe what they say to set themself apart from those dishonest grifters. Because in the same news that announced Bob Iger returning to Disney, it made clear that he was going to be in charge for two years. That’s an important detail for what I’m about to propose.
So, with that in mind, I have a challenge for those who believe Disney has become too woke and will ultimately fail in accord with the whole “Get Woke, Go Broke” mantra. And it’s a simple challenge that any one of these individuals can do.
Short Disney’s stock.
That’s right. Put your money where your rhetoric is. Prove to everyone, supporters and critics alike, that you genuinely believe what you believe about entertainment that’s too “woke.” Because if that holds true and it eventually does hurt Disney’s business, then you have a perfect opportunity to profit from it.
In case you don’t know what shorting a stock is, I’ll gladly help. In general, it’s a way for anyone to profit from a company’s stock price going down. Instead of buying low and selling high, you essentially borrow shares of a company at a certain price and sell it off at that price for a profit as the stock declines in value. Almost any bank or brokerage offers these services. Here’s a quick video from the YouTube channel, ClayTrader.
I’ll even offer another tip that will help multiply those returns even more. Since Iger is going to be at Disney for two years, you can use that information to essentially leverage your investment through the use of options trading. That way, your returns are greatly increased. Yes, the risk is considerably greater and there is a chance you could lose much more than your initial investment. But that shouldn’t concern you.
Remember, you’re the ones who keep saying, “Get Woke, Go Broke,” remember? That means if you’re right, there’s no chance of that happening. If Disney’s commitment to diversity and inclusion continues to fail, its stock price will fall. And you’ll be there to profit from it. You just have to utilize a put option with a two-year timeframe.
If you need information on that process, here’s another helpful video by the YouTube channel, TastyTrade.
This isn’t just a chance to vindicate everything you’ve been saying about diversity and inclusion in media. This is a chance to turn a massive profit from a multi-billion-dollar company’s failure. You won’t just be proven right in the eyes of every critic who has ever posted a nasty comment about you. You’ll end up richer, as a result. What could be more satisfying than that?
So, with all this knowledge and insight, what’s stopping you?
What’s preventing you from actually taking advantage of Disney’s actions on this front?
If you truly believe that Star Wars, Marvel, and the whole of Disney’s business is doomed to fail because of their agenda, this is your chance to take advantage of it and do something great for your financial future. You, your family, and your credibility in the sphere of pop culture and entertainment will be better.
Your only possible excuse for not doing this is if you actually don’t believe in the crap you say about getting woke and going broke. And the only reason you repeat that is because it earns you easy clicks and a reliable audience. If that’s the case, then you have no real credibility. You’re just a whiny grifter dancing like a drunk monkey in a digital space for tips. If that’s what you are, then that’s fine. People need to make a living. I get that. Just be honest about what a dishonest piece of shit you are.
I’ll ask again. What’s stopping you from doing this?
Go on. Short Disney’s stock. Throw your entire life savings into it. If Disney truly goes broke by going so woke, then you’ll come out ahead. Don’t you want that?
I dare you.
I double dare you.
I triple dog dare you.
Prove to the world that this anti-woke shit is more than just whiny grifters telling people what they want to hear.
I’ll wait.
Tales From The Comments Section: When Hypocrisy, Lying, And Trolling Converge
Even the most luxurious palace has a septic system that contains its foulest shit. It’s not just a fact of life. It might as well be a law of physics. In the same way the brightest light still casts a shadow, there’s always a dark underbelly to any world we explore.
The internet is no exception. If anything, the internet has more dark underbellies than most and I’m not just referring to porn sites or nefarious Google searches. Those are all plenty disturbing, but if the internet has an overflowing septic tank, it’s the collective comments section of many sites.
They’re not just the comments section to certain news sites.
They’re not just anonymous image boards like 4chan that pride themselves on excess shit-posting.
Even the comments section of mainstream websites like YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit have comments sections that will give your faith in humanity a hefty gut punch. They come in many forms, but they tend to follow the same patterns.
They’re degrading, insulting, whiny, vulgar, immature, and just plain wrong on multiple levels. I’m not calling for them to be censored or banned, outside the kind of comments that incite violence in the real world. I’m just pointing out that this is the ugly side of the internet and we can’t deny its stench.
I say that as someone who has spent many hours, much of them wasted, in comments sections and message boards over the years. Even during the early days of the internet, complete with dial up and AOL keyword searches, I’ve seen this ugliness firsthand. I also don’t deny that there are times when I’ve contributed to it. That’s something I genuinely regret.
While all toxic comments are different, they often employ similar rhetoric. It really hasn’t changed much from the AOL days. Just the other day, I made the mistake of browsing the comments of a YouTube video. I saw the same whiny, angry ranting that I saw on old message boards in 1999.
The topics may change. The verbiage may differ. Even the arguments made, if there are any, tend to be fairly similar. I could single out plenty of ugly comments I’ve encountered. However, I want to highlight one that I’ve seen a lot more of lately, especially among fans of superhero comics, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
They usually go like this.
It’s a sweeping, generalized statement. It’s usually said out of a mix of hate, resentment, and tribalism. Ironically, it’s often Star Wars fans who say stuff like this when talking about characters like Rey. It’s ironic because Obi-Wan Kanobi himself once said, “only a Sith deals in absolutes.”
It doesn’t help that these kinds of absolutes are total bullshit encased in wishful thinking that’s built entirely around head-canon. Certain fans want to believe that everyone agrees with them and those who don’t aren’t “true” fans.
It’s basically the old “no true Scotsman” fallacy, but this one is laced with a mix of lies and hypocrisy. That’s because it’s demonstrably provable that these kinds of sweeping statements are wrong.
Not everyone hates Rey, Captain Marvel, or whoever else is the object of resentment at the moment. For one, Captain Marvel’s movie raked in $1 billion at the box office. Clearly, more than a few people liked her.
The same can be said for Rey. You can go onto Amazon and readily find merchandise featuring her. She may not be on the same level as Luke Skywalker, but that’s not a reasonable bar for a character who has only recently entered the franchise.
I can also attest that Rey has plenty of fans. It’s not just that I’m one of them. I’ve been to comic book conventions. I’ve seen women, young girls, and even a few men dress up as Rey. I’ve seen even more dress up as Captain Marvel. She clearly has plenty of fans.
That makes the whole idea that “nobody likes this character” or “everyone hates this character” demonstrably false. Those who say it aren’t just lying trolls. They’re hypocrites.
Now, I’ve made the mistake of arguing with these people before. I can safely conclude that it’s not a productive use of my time. These people will never be dissuaded. They still want to live in their head-canon where everyone hates exactly who they hate and anyone who thinks otherwise is just part of an evil conspiracy out to get them.
It’s a dangerous, toxic mentality that extends beyond fandoms and into politics. We saw just how bad it could get on January 6th during the Capitol riots. I’m not saying angry Star Wars fans are that bad, but the mentality is the same and it’s just as dangerous.
Again, I freely admit I’ve posted my share of dumb comments. I’ve said dumb things before, as well. Everyone has. We’re only human. We’re not perfect and never will be. I believe in free speech strongly and I understand that this is a byproduct of that. I’m willing to accept that.
I’m also willing to use that same freedom to point out the idiocy and hypocrisy of those kinds of comments. They’re not just a useless waste of bandwidth. They’re a symptom of a much larger problem. For now, the best thing to do is ignore these people and let them live in their fanciful head-canon. It may not fix the problem, but it’ll keep it from getting worse.
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