Midrange Weekly June 21
Your Weekly Round Up On What’s Got The Midrange Staff’s Attention
Midrange Staff @midrangeyvr
Thanks again for joining us here at Midrange Weekly. With this past week behind us we are all no doubt exhausted from exercising the terrible, terrible freedom that comes with eased pandemic restrictions. That any of us ever thought we could return to a life of camping on weekends, going on a boat, or staying at a bar past 10:30pm was clearly insane. Our hermetic panopticon of covid lockdown life is not so easily shaken but good for us all for trying. What begins with post lockdown trauma will eventually end with weeeee outside. Until then, let’s see what’s happening this week.
Cancel Culture Stopped Meaning Anything A Long Time Ago. Let’s Not Pretend Otherwise
image via Christina Animashaun/Vox
I cannot think of a more linguistically useless phrase than cancel culture. The term’s evolution, annexation and weaponization have followed one of the stupidest etymological trajectories in our lifetime. What was once a construct for the marginalized on online spaces has been repurposed and stretched into the broadest applications to suit the wildly disparate needs and agendas of the worst of the bad faith actors out there. Far from its roots as a mechanism within social media that individuals used to assert some kind of collective will and power is now a catchall tool for conservatives, and yes even some times liberals with a not so progressive chip on their shoulders, to decry anything they don’t like. It wasn’t always like this, but over the last few years the term’s fluidity has been affixed to such an increasingly nebulous cultural diaspora that no one can even claim to narrow down what cancel culture even means any more. When it doesn’t mean anything, it can be used for whatever self-serving or hypocritical purpose one desires, and if that isn’t the kind of dead end nihilism we’ve grown to expect from the Republican Party and its supplicants, I don’t know what is.
Before cancel culture was alleged to elide on everything from Mr. Potato Head’s gender to Superman’s skin color in a film that is barely even in pre production, the neoglism had a definition that operated on a much more narrow and coherent bandwidth. While the phrase “cancelling” in a colloquial sense has been used as far back as the 80s, the idea as a modern social commodity can roughly be traced back to black twitter around 2014/2015. Fed up with problematic actors within various discourses that were important to them, minorities on social media platforms recognized their limited legal or financial power, and more importantly individual cultural clout they possessed to do anything about pernicious people in their community- especially the really famous ones. However as online platforms like Twitter evolved, and its interstitial communicative pathways become more of a selling point than a quirk, online communities realized that they had collective power in simply ignoring these people, thus diminishing their social relevancy. No online mobs with pitchforks, no feverish calls for punishment; just not paying attention. That’s all cancel culture ever was.
Flash forward five years or so and things are much different, and far dumber. Just like Trump latched on to the term fake news like a moth to a flame and rebranded it simply as news he didn’t like instead of the more nominally honest meaning behind the term originally, the republican party is obsessed with all things cancel culture. Indeed, they want to make cancel culture all things. They’ve spent the last few years short circuiting our understanding of a simple term with limited scope and applied it to anything they don’t like; anything that relates to consequences for their actions, and anything that improves the lives of those they have neglected which they view in cynically zero sum terms as diminishing their own power. When I say power, such dimensions must be understood along the vectors that this is how white supremacy has always operated- they are just using new words to disguise it. Let’s consider a sampling of recent events or controversies, some consequential, some mind numbingly ephemeral, that the GOP and conservative pundits have erroneously ascribed to cancel culture run amok.
In early 2021, Gina Carano, an actor on the Disney+ show The Mandalorian made several asinine comments on social media equating an imagined climate of persecution for being a conservative in America to what the Jewish people faced during the holocaust. Reasonable people can disagree if that was her intended point or not, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s been proven time and time again that you just don’t compare anything, certainly ideological grievances to the holocaust. Furthermore, Carano was an employee of Disney! The most ostensibly family friendly brand on the planet! Don’t bring this stuff up in a public setting, when you are a representative of their brand- this is simple stuff! She was summarily fired and swiftly went on the soapbox claiming to have been cancelled. This is rich because during this whole debacle not only did many casual observers of the show learn Carano’s actual name, as opposed to simply the really tough one with the large gun, she never had more exposure in various media outlets or her named mentioned than any other point in her career. Conservative media flocked to her in support; she simply swapped fame in progressive media for that in conservative media- both are big and influential institutions. Carano was never more famous than when she was assiduously bemoaning she had been completely discarded.
In what will hopefully be one of the dumbest cultural exercises of 2021, earlier in the year the publisher behind Dr. Suess decided to cease publication of three books in the highly prolific series due to their out-dated and racist depictions of many minorities. Republican leaders efficiently and swiftly lost their shit, claiming that the woke liberal mob was cancelling a treasured slice of American nostalgia. Firstly, no one asked the publisher to do this; they did so simply of their own volition (good for them!) Beyond that, the vast majority of Dr. Suess books are still available. You can still buy new prints of Cat In The Hat or Green Eggs And Ham and read them to your child. Who ever read the other ones anyways? Dr. Suess still exists; the books are still an available entry into our culture zeitgeist. They haven’t been banished to the hinterlands of the ash heap of history. It’s fine.
Florida congressional representative Matt Gaetz is embroiled in a truly bizarre and potentially horrible sex trafficking scandal. Alleged to have paid to transport minors across state lines to have sex with, he potentially committed serious crimes with serious consequences. Note that consequences for terrible and illegal actions have existed in one form or another pretty much forever, even if the distribution of consequences often thins out to being negligible for the upper class. Still the idea of facing some kind of penalty for what amounts to statutory rape didn’t use to be controversial. Gaetz however is using the cancel culture angle, saying he may be ‘cancelled’ in some parts of America now (what?) but he won’t back down. He takes the term and uses it as a badge of honour to draw meaningless and irrelevant contrasts between himself and liberals whom he thinks are destroying the fabric of America. Simply facing consequences has now been relegated to the hyper partisan province of cancel culture inanity, instead of a basic understanding that he potentially broke a bunch of sex crime laws and maybe we should address that. And that’s not even where we are at with him; he is merely under investigation.
There’s been a great deal of consternation these past few weeks over critical race theory being taught in schools. In the briefest of primers on the concept, CRT is an intersectional curriculum that examines the roles structural racism has played in the development and administration of the many social, cultural, and governmental mechanisms that make up everyday life. It can be complicated and painful material to unravel but it is vital in pursuing a more accurate and honest understanding of our own history. Many governors and state legislature have whipped themselves into a frenzy outlawing its teaching in grade school or high school. It should be noted that nowhere, anywhere in America or otherwise is CRT being taught in K-12 classrooms. If your kid is learning about it, then they are in grad school or law school. Still those that would bemoan it claim that CRT is cancelling American history. We can see the white supremacist angle in their weaponization of cancel culture here. Anything that could shed additional and much needed light on the racist history of America, Canada, or any similar country is merely a far leftist ploy to make white people feel bad, they blithely assume. According to republicans, which never cease to ascend to higher levels of pithy and whiny narcissism, this is also cancel culture.
Congress and the senate are currently mired in gridlock over legislation that would expand and enforce protections pertaining to voting rights. Considering the popular vote has gone to the democratic candidate in the last 5 out of 6 presidential elections, republicans have become pretty explicit in their agenda to limit the number of overall people that can vote by any means necessary. As such, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has flat out said no to any kind of voting rights reform, even the recently proposed compromise bill drafted by frustratingly middle of the road Senator Joe Manchin. When asked why even on the watered down bill that excised the more progressive elements it was still a no, McConnell said it was ensconced in hyper charged cancel culture. When pressed to elucidate on the comment, other republican senators claimed that expanding voting rights would likely amount in more democratic electoral wins (true, but beside the point), and that would be equivalent to cancelling republicans. Again, what? Democrats and republicans have been winning and losing elections for centuries, but now even that infinitely mundane conceptual reality is akin to being part cancel culture. They wouldn’t lose elections because they have unpopular policies or that more of the American electorate quite simply does lean to the left, but because they are being unfairly cancelled. Sure.
Are you sensing a pattern in these examples? Because there isn’t one. It’s nothing more than incoherent mental gymnastics to redefine a boogeyman phrase of their own design to whatever they need it to be at the moment. It’s a deflection from their own actions towards a pretend, vitriolic mob meant to make us not think about what they are doing and instead think about if the snails pace crawl of progressive activism is going too far. It’s the exact same rhetoric form 30 years ago when conservative leaders decried the heretical nature of political correctness simply because people wanted the terms in which women, gay people and monitories were addressed to be more respectful. As kids we laughed at the out of date adults freaking out over something as benign as political correctness. Now as adults too many of us are failing for the exact same thing. Do not let our political leaders or cultural standard bearers whine about cancel culture, for it’s not really a thing at all anymore. Comedians bitch about cancel culture ruining comedy when in reality they are just pissed they can’t employ the lowest of common denominator jokes that use virulently bigoted or racist terms. The myopic insecurity in their failure to acknowledge that comedy is a constantly evolving format is evident less of a progressive agenda in overdrive and more of them just being stale performers. Don’t be manipulated by those that would wield a term to exploit your own lesser biases just to subsidize the cultural purchase of their decaying white supremacist ecosystems. Instead, simply just ignore them. -Tristan
What Does It All Mean?
This past week I was lucky enough to have Professor Edward Slingerland on my podcast to discuss his latest book, Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, And Stumble Our Way To Civilization. It was an illuminating chat to say the least as Professor Slingerland detailed the numerous ways we have used alcohol as a way of advancing our civilization through cooperation and bonding. You can listen to the episode here. I definitely believe it is worth your time.
But, in looking back at our chat and what I gained from reading his book, I’ve found myself gazing inward a lot towards my own drinking habits and more specifically one specific idea more than anything.
Coping.
It’s no secret that many of us use alcohol and drugs more for how they help us cope than for whatever physiological or psychological benefits we normally associate them with. It’s with this amount of coping I’ve found myself coming back to over and over this past week. How I see so many of us in perilous states of our lives, unable or unwilling to address our issues. To help us navigate, we cope and abuse drugs and alcohol as numbing agents versus fixing things.
I’m no stranger to this as I’m sure everyone who has used these substances has at some point in their lives done so for that very reason. But, it makes me wonder if in doing so we’ve lost sight of our most important tool to handling our lives, and that is just being present and listening to our emotions and feelings. I realize that what I’m writing right now isn’t novel. Meditation is a common tool a lot of us use to cope with our own mental health and well being. It’s definitely a great way to go and one of many.
Nonetheless, what I’m more referring to is those times when we drown our issues with any number or agents, be it alcohol or drugs, rather than processing and feeling out our own progress. Whether it’s letting go of something and moving on or dealing with regret, the hurt is what makes us human and it’s what shows us we are alive. Brutal as it may be at times, I’ve come to realize that it’s in these moments of stillness where I truly grow versus getting drunk or high. How many times have you caught yourself lying in your bed just running over whatever issue you have on your mind over and over and over? You do it so much you can’t stop. Those moments are crazy times for anyone and what would be most easy in those situations is to just stop and have a few drinks or pop a pill or smoke a bowl. These agents do help and they often aid us and remedy our situation, but when they wear off, I often find you’re back where you once were, only now hungover. No progress made.
Was there any point then?
Slingerland’s book illuminated the joys and dangers of drinking and it certainly opened up my eyes to the long history of our desire for lucidity. But, it more than anything gave me a deeper insight into human behaviour and the mental aspect of what we’re ultimately searching for when we are on and off these substances, that is meaning.
How we choose to get there in our own personal journey is up to us, whether drunk or high. I guess I’ll let you decide.
Buy the book, listen to the podcast then ruminate. — Jamie
Things From The Internet We Liked
Al Jaseera’s “Witness: The Fight For Greenland” Spotlights Global Indigenous Suffering and Our Post-Colonization Quagmire
As time slowly pushes forward and the horror of the residential school system continues to gain mass media attention, we Canadians are on a collision course with a moral reckoning for our countries past sins. Unfortunately, the struggle for indigenous justice in this country has been a long and messy one with push back from our government at every turn. The political rhetoric our leaders have engaged in seems ingenuin and performative at best when you consider the fact that the government continues to take legal action against residential school survivors, prolonging the suffering that they have had to endure. But, we push forward, and the whole world is slowly waking up the the legacy that colonization has left on its Indigenous communities. This Al Jaseera documentary follows four youths dedicated to the eventual independence of Greenland by any means necessary. It also shows us that as people we need to closure to heal, and as countries, we need to confront the reality of what colonization has done to the people on all sides.
How Is This Sarcastic British Teenager Every Pop Star All At Once?
Rachel Sandy is an 18 year old Tik Toker, but also apparently she is the living incarnate of several of the biggest names in pop music. In a series of videos posted to Tik Tok, Sandy effortlessly just makes up songs on the fly that in terms of writing, instrumentals, even vocals, could and absolutely would be released by the likes of Phoebe Bridgers or Taylor Swift. That she does so with an air of casual derision for just how easy all of this is will likely leave any fan feeling attacked- but it’s hard to try and drag her when she is this naturally good at it. Check some of them out below.
Yves Tumor Is Back With The Searing Track Jackie
The ever enigmatic Yves Tumor has released a new track and accompanying video titled Jackie. Like much of his best work he can translate tormented and doomed romance into some of the most distinctly fiery electronic guitars this side of, well, anything. Also, this video is fucking wild.
Ripley Johnson Releases Another Killer Single From His Forthcoming Rose City Band Album, “Earth Trip”.
This probably won’t be last time we post a track from Ripley’s work. In the span of three short years, he’s released some of the best psychy americana rock we’ve ever come across. This new single, In The Rain, makes one want to get in their truck, roll down the windows, have their pup on their side, its nose out smelling away as you drive towards the most beautiful sunset.
The title does has rain in it, but we’re leaning towards a more summery vibe here folks. So please excuse the possible confusional metaphor. The summer solstice is today, however, so why not?
In any event, please enjoy the beauty of this song.