Join us on the Polecat Cast as we discuss the crazy news of the week, including how Google deals with microaggressions, Joss Whedon’s male feminist hypocracy, a college now offering degrees in memes, and more! Tune in @6pm Eastern!
Show Notes:
Joss Whedon is a Faux Feminist Ally? GTFO of Here!
By Max Derrat
Joss Whedon – or as his girlfriends call him, “Dr. Horrible” – has reportedly been a very bad boy. In a guest blog post at TheWrap.com, ex-wife Kai Cole revealed some pretty creepy, sinister details about the 53-year-old Ron Howard lookalike… namely some hypocritical behavior regarding his supposed feminist ethics.
Kai Cole was married to Joss Whedon for 16 years, and – according to her – he, quote, “hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had with his actresses, co-workers, fans, and friends.” This wasn’t revealed to her until a decade into their marriage, but all the while, Cole had her suspicions.
For example, she was always uncomfortable with the, quote, “attention Joss paid other women. He always had a lot of female friends, but (Joss) told (her) it was because his mother raised him as a feminist, so he just liked women better. He said he admired and respected females, he didn’t lust after them.”
After having confessed everything to Cole through a series of letters, Joss said the following to her, and every one of his words outlines the workings of the stereotypical male feminist mind. Quote: “I let myself love you. I stopped worrying about the contradiction. As a guilty man I knew the only way to hide was to act as though I were righteous.”
Kai goes on to outline the obvious hypocrisy here: that Joss has always preached feminist ideals, while, quote, “at the same time, taking away (Kai’s) right to make choices for (her) life and (her) body based on the truth.”
But she now sees, like we all do, how he, quote “used his relationship with (her) as a shield, both during and after (their) marriage, so no one would question his relationships with other women or scrutinize his writing as anything feminist.” As a result of this experience, Kai Cole was diagnosed with Complex PTSD (not from being lied to for 15 years, but from the mathematically complex mental gymnastics Joss Whedon’s mind must go through to justify this immoral, disgusing hypocrisy).
Due to this controversy, a Joss Whedon fansite, known as Whedonesque, has shut down. Also, in unconfirmed reports, famed Internet feminist, Anita Sarkeesian, is on suicide watch because her go-to coping mechanism of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer while simultaneously eating tubs of male-tear-flavored ice cream has now been tainted with the supposedly, quote, “gamergate levels of deception” She is currently considering several new coping mechanisms, including the super-imposition of Joseph Gordon Levitt’s face onto a body pillow so she can rub against it at night… as well as life-prolonging treatments to keep Patrick Stewart alive.
Source: http://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-feminist-hypocrite-infidelity-affairs-ex-wife-kai-cole-says/amp/
Kek Supremacy
By Mike J.
With the events of the Charlottesville protests still fresh in everyones minds, writer Narjas Zatat of website Indy100 has taken the time to point out nine symbols of white supremacy that you may not even know are white supremacist. Giving credit where credit’s due, symbols such as the Ku Klux Klan related Blood Drop Cross and The Reichsadler, Imperial Eagle, of Nazi Germany do have undoubted ties to supremacy movements. However other symbols on the list, such as the Norse Valknot and Sonnenrad, or sunwheel, have more dubious ties to supremacist ideals.
The list becomes downright ridiculous with the inclusion of the Kekistani flag. The Kekistani flag and Kekistan itself, a fictional territory created and made popular by places such as 4chan and Reddit, has been used to troll those not in on the joke since around a year ago when it was created during President Donald Trump’s 2016 run for The White House. This isn’t the first time the Kekistan flag has been mistaken for a symbol of white supremacy. Dan Siegel, attorney of the alleged Berkeley bike lock attacker Eric Clanton, claimed to the press that the flag was a symbol of The KKK after a court hearing. Despite having no tangible ties to hate groups or white supremacy movements, Kekistan and the Kekistani flag are still considered hate symbols by groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Sources:
https://www.indy100.com/article/symbols-white-supremacy-swastika-virginia-confederate-statue-violence-7902946 https://www.infowars.com/video-bike-lock-lawyer-triggered-by-kek-flag-claims-its-kkk/
Google E-Mails Employees Weekly on Microaggressions
By Andrew G.
The Google Saga as it relates to James Damore continues. Recently, James Damore was fired from Google for disseminating a memo that addressed reasons for the gender disparity seen in the tech industry, as well as a list of potential solutions to narrow the gap. Damore’s memo, in general, addressed the Ideological Echo chamber within Google’s workplace. Damore was eventually fired; the main cause for his termination being the creation of a “hostile work environment.” Since his firing, Damore has given many interviews, most recently meeting with Cathy Young.
During Damore’s interview with Young, Damore revealed that Google sends out a weekly e-mail to its employees regarding microaggressions, asking for examples seen throughout the workplace to be submitted. In his own words, Damore said that “microaggressions are being taught and compared to actual violence.” One example that was blown out of proportion involved an employee suggesting to use a more attractive person in an advertisement to generate an increase in traffic via more page clicks. Based on the many lists of so-called microaggressions being disseminated through the public sphere, especially on college campuses, Google most likely receives many microaggression example submissions.
Despite what some people claim about microaggressions, recent studies, such as “Microaggressions: Strong Claims, Inadequate Evidence” by Scott O. Lilienfld suggest that microaggressions have not been fully researched. Without more research and development with regards to so called Microaggression Research Programs(MRP), it would be unwise to continue to use the term “microaggression” until the MRP’s scientific limitations are addressed. However, it is doubtful that Google will stop its practice of soliciting examples of microaggressions seen throughout the workplace.
Sources:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fired-google-engineer-james-damore-says-the-company-sends-employees-a-weekly-email-on-microaggressions/article/2632002
https://reason.com/archives/2017/08/14/an-interview-with-james-damore/
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1745691616659391?journalCode=ppsa
agepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1745691616659391?journalCode=ppsa
Man Stabbed 4 Times Saving a Woman
By L Kemlo
A terrorist attack in Finland has left two women dead and eight people injured: six women and two men. The lone 18-year-old attacker, who has been described as an asylum seeker from Morocco by police, went on a stabbing spree in a market place in the city of Turku on Friday. According to the Finnish investigators it is thought that the attacker was specifically targeting women and the men were wounded after coming to their defense.
One of the men, Hassan Zubier, a Briton was stabbed four times in the neck and chest. Mr Zubier told Swedish daily Expressen from the Turku hospital (as cited by The Telegraph) : “We [he and his girlfriend] were strolling around the square when we suddenly heard someone screaming. I turned around and saw a guy stabbing a woman with a knife while she was on the ground. I rushed to help her and tried to stop the blood flow. I tried to stop the violent bleeding from her throat. Then he stabs me with the knife again. The woman was so badly injured and she died in my arms.”
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reports, but “police are investigating possible links to Thursday’s van attack by suspected Islamist militants in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where 13 people were killed.”
Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/19/finnish-knifeman-moroccan-say-police/ http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/21/545043958/suspect-in-finland-stabbing-rampage-identified-as-18-year-old-moroccan
Memology Degree? Praise Kek
Source: https://my.umbc.edu/groups/retrieverweekly/posts/66860
Vagina Nails, the Newest “Trend”
By L Kemlo
Ok you guys, like MTV’s new article says “vagina nail art is here & it’s actually fkn amazing”. So like, we should like totally talk about this. Memeology may be fake, but this, unfortunately, is not.
While MTV is “seriously impressed” by nail technicians are giving “power to the pussy”, I’m less excited by screaming vaginas on people’s nails and doubtful that this is truly trending. But let’s have a look and see what you think.
Concierge, Student, Illustrator at Mercury Theater, Good Guy Comics
Part time student, part time concierge and full time illustrator all wrapped up in one creative package. Looking for opportunities to use my aptitudes, talents and competence to serve a worthy company, or start my own. Dude. Roots in Chicago. Thinker and go-getter.
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