Long Reads

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Donnie Ebert
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Re: Long Reads

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heyzeus
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Re: Long Reads

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Y'all may have seen this article, or discussion of it, pop up in your feeds. It's delightfully polarizing. The Imo's Pizza of long reads. Maybe 40% of the posts are vehemently on Team Kidney Lady, 40% are on Team Writer's Workshop, and 20% are Everyone Sucks Here votes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/maga ... arson.html

This is truly great journalism. It takes you on a journey. The predominant themes are: Can altruism ever not be self-interested? How thirsty are we, as a society, for online approval, and what will it make us do? Do you own the intellectual property rights to your own life? To what extent are all creative arts essentially plagiarism?

And my personal lawyerly favorite: Write every email or text as though it could end up an exhibit in a lawsuit some day.

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heyzeus
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Re: Long Reads

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Here's an amazing and heartbreaking story about a girl from St. Louis (ok, Chesterfield). I don't want to give away too much. But it's an important piece.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022 ... ket-newtab

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GeddyWrox
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Re: Long Reads

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heyzeus wrote:
March 30 22, 8:31 am
Here's an amazing and heartbreaking story about a girl from St. Louis (ok, Chesterfield). I don't want to give away too much. But it's an important piece.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022 ... ket-newtab
Good god that's more than any one young person should ever have to bare. JFC

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heyzeus
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Re: Long Reads

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GeddyWrox wrote:
March 30 22, 10:06 am
heyzeus wrote:
March 30 22, 8:31 am
Here's an amazing and heartbreaking story about a girl from St. Louis (ok, Chesterfield). I don't want to give away too much. But it's an important piece.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022 ... ket-newtab
Good god that's more than any one young person should ever have to bare. JFC
It broke my heart. Just a total failure institutions that could have protected her, over and over and over again.

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GeddyWrox
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Re: Long Reads

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Cross-posting this in Right Wing Violence and Long Reads.

This is a deep dive into the militia/army that Ammon Bundy (yes, that guy) has been assembling. It is eye-opening, and terrifying.

These gravy seals are ready to go to war. There's 20,000+ of them (so far).

https://www.irehr.org/reports/peoples-rights-report/
Instead of a more traditional “anti-government” narrative, People’s Rights leaders have expressed a desire for governmental power to be used to protect the “righteous” against “wicked” liberals, antifa, Black Lives Matter activists, and others. Several People’s Rights leaders are running for elected office—to become the government. Absent that sort of intervention, leaders have proposed a type of armed enclave-style “neighborhood” nationalism, where “righteous” neighbors stand against the “wicked.” People’s Rights leaders have often defined the “wicked” using far-right conspiracism, racism, antisemitism, anti-indigenous, and anti-transgender sentiment.

Despite the different network branding, this report further highlights how the People’s Rights network shares many commonalities with far-right paramilitary movements of the past, including the Posse Comitatus and the militia movement.

Throughout the report, the danger of Ammon’s army becomes evident. Already there have been significant clashes and growing rage. In the context of the pandemic, it puts the lives of community members and public servants at risk, straining democratic institutions, and damaging civil society. We hope this report will serve as an alert to all communities in the path of Ammon’s army.

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Joe Shlabotnik
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Re: Long Reads

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It is crazy. Crazy these guys weren't taken seriously back then and still aren't. Just like with us and Putin. Hoping for the best. It isn't going to end well.

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BottenFieldofDreams
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Re: Long Reads

Post by BottenFieldofDreams »

GeddyWrox wrote:
October 7 22, 8:23 am
Cross-posting this in Right Wing Violence and Long Reads.

This is a deep dive into the militia/army that Ammon Bundy (yes, that guy) has been assembling. It is eye-opening, and terrifying.

These gravy seals are ready to go to war. There's 20,000+ of them (so far).

https://www.irehr.org/reports/peoples-rights-report/
Instead of a more traditional “anti-government” narrative, People’s Rights leaders have expressed a desire for governmental power to be used to protect the “righteous” against “wicked” liberals, antifa, Black Lives Matter activists, and others. Several People’s Rights leaders are running for elected office—to become the government. Absent that sort of intervention, leaders have proposed a type of armed enclave-style “neighborhood” nationalism, where “righteous” neighbors stand against the “wicked.” People’s Rights leaders have often defined the “wicked” using far-right conspiracism, racism, antisemitism, anti-indigenous, and anti-transgender sentiment.

Despite the different network branding, this report further highlights how the People’s Rights network shares many commonalities with far-right paramilitary movements of the past, including the Posse Comitatus and the militia movement.

Throughout the report, the danger of Ammon’s army becomes evident. Already there have been significant clashes and growing rage. In the context of the pandemic, it puts the lives of community members and public servants at risk, straining democratic institutions, and damaging civil society. We hope this report will serve as an alert to all communities in the path of Ammon’s army.
I'll read this at some point. Did they explore the Mormon angle?

Ammon is named from a character in the Book of Mormon who cut off a bunch of guys arms and delivered them in a bag to a king. This movement is undoubtedly at some level connected to other notions and anecdotes in Mormonism, especially in the Book of Mormon, likely from Brigham Young and even Joseph Smith (who created and marshalled an army in Illinois with uniforms and everything). There was a guy on Jan 6 carrying a "Title of Liberty" from the Book of Mormon. There's some sad and amusing video of this.

In his mind, for certain, God is telling Ammon Bundy to do this. He's not acting for the church, but definitely as a Mormon.

The Mormon church has always been on the wrong side of progress. They opposed the ERA vehemently. One of the prophets called MLK and the Civil Rights movement a communist ploy. The last time I ever attended church, in the men's meeting "priesthood" we talked more bout where Obama was born than Jesus or Joseph Smith.

Anyway, speaking of long reads, I could keep going. I just think it's notable where Bundy is coming from. it's not just bald eagles and Lee Greenwood. That word "righteous" is critical. This is, at some level a Mormon/Christian jihad.

And the history of Mormonism is fascinating (especially the true and demonstrable history I was taught was untrue as a member), as are the stories of people leaving it. Under the Banner of Heaven was mostly bad (I could provide details). But check out the Last House on the Left podcast's episodes on it. They did a good job.

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GeddyWrox
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Re: Long Reads

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Nothing specifically about Mormonism. Anti-semitism comes up several times, as does Christian Nationalism. But they largely steer clear of saying religion is a driving force of their movement.

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BottenFieldofDreams
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Re: Long Reads

Post by BottenFieldofDreams »

I don't mean to suggest that it's a Mormon operation, just that I'm certain it's informing Bundy's actions and mindset.

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