Month: November 2022

You Are Vengeance, You Are The Night, You Are, And Always Will Be, Batman

/ falconlord5

As I’m sure you all know, Kevin Conroy passed away on November 10th, 2022.

For all of us who grew up in the 90s and beyond, Kevin Conroy was Batman. There simply was no other.

Debuting in 1992, Batman: The Animated Series would define the franchise for thirty years with every subsequent animated series, and even live-action series, being compared to Kevin Conroy and his masterful take.

I was first introduced to Batman through reruns of the Adam West series, but soon became an avid watcher of the Animated Series. Alas, I was often prevented from watching it. Partially, it was due to my home life at the time, but mostly it was due to the relentless bullying I was subjected to by my babysitter’s daughter and her friends, none of whom were Batman fans.

Years later, I rediscovered the Animated Series and all of its successor series. It took me back to the childhood I’d wished I had and never got: a childhood full of fun and joy, with no bullies and with Batman as my friend.

For reasons that I should think are obvious at this point, the episode that meant the most to me, that I was the most glad to rediscover, was See No Evil.

It’s hard for me to talk about this. Thinking back to my childhood brings up a lot of memories I would rather not revisit.

But Kevin Conroy represented, and will always represent, the best parts of that childhood.

Thank you.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Are You American Or Not?

/ falconlord5

A couple days ago, American representative and resident nutjob Marjorie Taylor Greene declared that, should the Republicans win the midterm elections, Ukraine will not receive any more support in its existential war against Russia.

And I only have one response to that:

Are you or are you not an American?

There was a time when America called itself the ‘Arsenal of Democracy.’ When America prided itself on being the backbone of the Free World and the ideals of democracy, freedom and liberty.

Guess those times are over, huh?

Look, I hate American imperialism as much as anybody. The attempted conquests of Afghanistan and Iraq (let us not kid ourselves here, that’s exactly what they were) were black marks on America’s already spotty record. They impose their culture on everybody else, demand perpetual recognition of their achievements and deflect any criticism. Americans are assholes, pure and simple.

Aaaand now they’re retreating into isolationism.

Isolationism is bad, okay? I’m going to do a whole post on why one of these days, but the short version is isolationism hurts everybody. It hurts your country, it hurts your allies and trading partners, it even hurts your enemies (who are also often your trading partners. International politics are complicated)! This is especially true when we’re talking about America.

Because, as much as we like to complain about Americans and their ego, the fact remains that they are the biggest economy in the world. And, as such, they are literally the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ whether they like it or not.

Which brings us back to Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting for its life against genocidal imperialist and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Putin has made no bones about his end goal for Ukraine: the eradication of the state and its people. He sees Ukraine as an extension of Russia, not an independent nation with its own history and customs.

So far, he hasn’t succeeded. And while a lot of that has to do with the valiant efforts of Ukraine’s defenders, a lot of it also has to do with America’s unstinting support.

The United States of America, forgive me, kind of found its groove again with the Ukrainian war. It’s supporting a democracy, in a way that actually supports it: with the weapons and money Ukraine needs, not by invading.

‘America’s back,’ Joe Biden proclaimed when he took office. And he came through.

So I ask MGT once more:

Are you American? Or Russian?

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