This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This video is a brief video essay, as well as a reflection of sorts, on the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. It’s an issue that has suddenly become more relevant in recent years and for all the wrong reasons. But the circumstances (and absurdities) of what happened in the 1980s were unique. And they’re worth learning from, especially if those with agendas are intent on starting a whole new panic.
Tag Archives: right wing grifters
Remembering And Learning From The Satanic Panic
Filed under Current Events, Jack's World, politics, psychology, YouTube
The Steps To Telling Whether Someone Is A Dishonest Grifter
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19137197/1154154922.jpg.jpg)
There are lying, cheating, whiny grifters everywhere these days. They were always present to some extent, but the internet, social media, and algorithms have made them more prominent than ever. It’s never been easier to be a grifter, telling people what they want to hear or trolling them into giving you their money, attention, or trust.
These people are assholes, plain and simple.
Do not give them the time of day, let alone a penny of your money.
They are just scamming you while pretending to enlighten you. Don’t give them the satisfaction. Some are religious grifters. Some are political grifters. Some are just plain attention whores. The only common thread is that they’re assholes seeking money, attention, likes, or subscribers.
Most of the time, it’s easy to tell the grifters from sincere individuals just seeking to put themselves out there. It’s not exactly subtle. More often than not, you can rightly assume that most professional trolls are just blatant grifters.
Others are more subtle and it’s these types you have to be careful with. They’ll rarely claim to have an agenda. If they do, they’re usually good at hiding it behind coded language and dog whistles. It’s important to be on the lookout for that sort of thing because it’s easy to get sucked into their narrative. Once you’re in that narrative, they’ve got you in their grasp and like cult leaders, they’ll do whatever they can to possess you.
Having come across plenty of grifters over the years of being online, I’ve noticed plenty of telling signs. I’d like to share some of those signs. Everyone, regardless of age or affiliation, should be mindful of all the grifts and scams on the internet. The more we recognize them, the more we can call them out for the lying, cheating assholes they are.
Sign #1: Their opinions and reviews on certain movies, TV shows, comics, or public figures never changes, be it negative or positive.
Sign #2: Their opinions, ideology, and rhetoric are extremely similar, if not identical, to other known grifters.
Sign #3: They frequently make the claim that they have inside sources on a particular industry or sub-culture that they never name (and can usually be traced to trolling comments from sites like 4chan).
Sign #4: They throw around politically loaded insults like SJW, whamen, and plebs while talking about non-political topics.
Sign #5: They try to sell you something other than a typical sponsorship like vitamins, merch, or subscriptions services that they exclusively control.
Sign #6: They claim to offer the “real” story behind a particular media narrative, be it political or entertainment.
Sign #7: They constantly claim they’re being oppressed, marginalized, and censored by some nefarious organization with no official name or face (think Big Tech, establishment media, or some outsider sub-group).
Sign #8: They claim that they’re representing the “true” opinions of fans/Christians/Americans/whatever group they’re affiliated with.
Sign #9: They have a select number of public figures they go out of their way to hate, criticize, or demean.
Sign #10: They reject all criticism and debunking as part of a conspiracy against them or people like them.
Sign #11: They never, ever stop whining.
Again, these are just some of the signs. There are probably plenty more. If you have others, please share them in the comments. Remain vigilant for lying, grifting assholes of all types. They’re always out there, looking for their next grift. Don’t let them get you. You don’t deserve to be their victims.
Filed under outrage culture, psychology, rants, YouTube
X-Men The Animated Series Is Coming Back! (And All The Politics Therein)
Every now and then, some news comes along that is so incredible and so exciting that words simply fail to convey the joy I feel. I could spend hours on end on multiple blog posts trying to do justice to those feelings and it would still fall short.
Just a couple days ago, some news came about with Disney’s annual Disney Plus Day that just filled my heart and soul with omega level joy. I’m still buzzing from it, so I’ll just say it outright.
X-Men: The Animated series is coming back, former producers and voice actors and all!
Just typing that out put a smile on my face.
Seriously, this is the kind of news you have to shake your head several times to be sure that it’s real. I’ve since lost track of how many times I’ve pinched myself or slapped my own face, on the off-chance that this is a dream. I’m now convinced that this is the real deal. The same X-Men cartoon that got me into X-Men and comics, in general, is coming back in all it’s 90s glory.
Now, rest assured I will be following this story. Before I wrote this, I began work on a script for a video on my YouTube channel. I have every intention of making that video a priority. It should cover the full breadth of my reaction, as well as my hopes and dreams for this series.
However, even before I could fully process my excitement, some assholes and whiny grifters began making content of their own. I won’t give their names or link to their content, but they’re the same assholes who whine about everything being “political” or “woke” or just plain “Too different/diverse for my liking.”
First off, fuck these people. Fuck them to the end of the multiverse.
Second, the very fact they’re whining about X-Men being “political” is definitive proof that they don’t know shit about X-Men or why this show was so groundbreaking. Thankfully, I’m not the only one who noticed that. On Twitter, stuff like this began popping up the day after the announcement.
Now, make no mistake. This sort of thing does nothing to temper my joy and excitement for this announcement. However, I’m already expecting asshole grifters like this to whine as loudly as the internet will allow, harping on everything they deem too ”political” for their liking.
They’ve done that with every franchise for the past six years and I don’t expect them to stop. Grifters will never stop, so long as there’s a grift to be maintained.
For that reason, I want to make one statement to these assholes and anyone who might take them seriously. Brace yourself because this might be a distressing revelation for some of you. It’s simply this.
X-Men was ALWAYS political.
I’ll give you a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor, but it’s true. Take it from someone who has been following X-Men since Clinton Administration. As a franchise, a concept, and a narrative, it was always political to begin with.
It’s not about some handsome square-jawed demigod coming down to Earth and saving the day. It’s about people born different, using their extraordinary powers to find their place in a world that hates and fears them. It was always about minorities and their struggles. It was always about civil rights and social issues.
That’s not just my opinion. That’s exactly what Stan Lee and the creators of the original series have stated outright. It’s not exactly a secret, nor is it subtle. Hell, there are multiple episodes of the original show that belabor and explore that. It’s pretty overt, as it should be. After all, that’s what X-Men has always been about.
Now, I don’t expect this revelation to stop asshole grifters from doing plenty of grifting. I know the second someone in this show says something about social justice, racism, bigotry, or anything else that might offend you’re typical racist asshole, grifters are going to melt with the force of a trillion snowflakes. It’ll be infuriating and pathetic, but it will happen.
Never-the-less, I will NOT let that stop me from getting excited about this show, nor will I let it undermine everything I love about X-Men. This show is coming back in all its 90s glory and I, for one, am eager to celebrate!
Stay tuned for a more comprehensive reaction on my YouTube channel. In the meantime, let’s all just take a moment to appreciate this moment and the catchy opening theme that we’ll be humming until 2023.
Filed under Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, politics, superhero comics, television, X-men, YouTube