#ratlimit

There's one specific account, twitter user ratlimit. She posts satire and ragebait. And a lot of it is genuinely funny. One of her posts has actually been making the rounds here lately. Like these are all hilarious.

[context: she is a trans woman]

And also, sometimes she's right!! That's something that I don't see troll accounts do all that often. She usually phrases things in ways that are 'abrasive' or too direct, but I'm autistic so tbh I prefer that style of communication. I laugh when I initially read her posts, but sometimes I read one a second time and think, "wait a minute, I think I actually agree with this one".

Some of these are have genuinely shifted my perspective in small ways. I'll never be able to hear the phrase "brown-nosing" again without thinking about coprophilia. Small expressions of aggression, cruelty, or callousness -- even if they aren't political -- help create a culture where fascism can thrive.

And then there's my favorite part of twitter user ratlimit. There's the character. Ratlimit the character is obtuse and she's unflinchingly insistent on all of her opinions, right or wrong. But she's also deeply relatable.

Ratlimit cares about her social media presence.

Ratlimit wants all of her best work to get seen. To get likes.

Ratlimit thinks she's a genius, and she's not afraid to say it.

In most satire/troll accounts, the joke is "what if there was a real person who was like this". To me, this feels more like "what if someone didn't know you aren't supposed to say these things". There's nothing wrong with caring about your follower count or mentally comparing yourself as an artist with someone you admire. But you aren't supposed to say it out loud. Ratlimit's biggest flaw is that she doesn't understand that social convention.

And, as an observer, I'm someone who can relate to all of these feelings. I care what people think about me and I wish I had more followers on social media and sometimes I think I'm the best writer to ever live. But I can't say any of that. It's almost cathartic to see someone else saying those things so unashamed, even if it is a comedic character.

Also, this is a work of art.