of dislocation & graceful unravelling

1. explains so much about written communication especially online, truly, as many have observed, but also

https://web.archive.org/web/20260515113210/https://www.vulture.com/article/social-media-feeds-chaotic-good-projects-clipping.html

As an example, the article speculates on the “discussion” around Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show: “Gudea analyzed 3.7 million related social-media posts and found that fewer than 4 percent of the accounts in the conversation generated more than a quarter of the content. Also, the two opposing narratives were mirror images of each other in volume and posting cadence, suggesting that the same culprit may have been amplifying both sides of the fight.” Manufactured outrage in either direction still serves the purpose of driving engagement/attention to the brand of NFL (and Bad Bunny, and “the immigration question” in general, as it were). As another example, think about how often you encounter political ads or memes around the “threat” of “men using women’s bathrooms” compared to the actual demographics of this small minority: per wiki, “As of 2025, estimates for the total percentage of U.S. adults that are transgender or nonbinary range from 0.8% to 1.1%.” Not to mention, statistically, transgender people are far more likely to be the victims of violence (UCLA 2021, US Dept. of Justice 2022). How fucked up is it that the rightwing political machine throws its weight against such a small segment of our population! Anyway...

Corporate powers are constantly attempting to trigger and distract and tell us what to pay attention to. From the article: “The effect of all this is that every public argument big enough to be noticed now comes with a question attached: Is this legit, or did somebody just pay to make it look that way?”

prev, i'm sure you mean my guy Leonid Pasternak

A local paper had some great photographs, all taken by Nicole Hester:

The day before, Rep. Justin Pearson tries to attend a Senate Committee meeting and is barred access by the Sergeant at Arms.

Lawmakers and protesters link arms as the descend the capitol steps.

Once inside the chamber, Democratic representatives continued to stand together with arms linked.

They continued standing together with arms linked as votes were cast.

Democratic representatives take a group photo protesting the redistricting.

Rep. Justin Jones burns a photo of the Confederate flag with the words, We will not go back.

And stomps the ashes.

KeShaun Pearson being escorted from the building by the Staties.

KeShaun Pearson (left) being taken into custody. Rep. Justin Pearson (right) showing his support of his brother.

Additional information: State lawmakers have been gunning for Pearson and Jones nearly their entire terms. Most notably, in 2023, the House expelled them for participating in a protest at the Capitol. Their districts had to have special elections to have them reinstated.

Pearson is one of the plaintiffs of a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the redistricting.