For a long time, back in my conservative Christian days throughout the 2000s, the hated enemy and the absolute worst was the “mainstream media”—or lamestream media as it was often derisively called.
Conservatives considered their media the alternative, a scrappy underground dropping truth bombs and speaking for the “silent majority” of true red-blooded patriotic Americans.
Oh what a difference a couple of decades makes! Now it seems conservative, or conservative-lite media, has become the mainstream media—and even the lamest of the lamestream aka MSNBC is starting to capitulate to the interests of timid corporations not wanting to rock the boat quite so much in this era of Trumpian #politics.
But perhaps a larger trend is at play here which is that for all intents and purposes, independent online media—newsletters, podcasts, YouTube channels, and the like—has won the day. Traditional broadcasters are on their way out. Indie is in. Young people couldn’t care less about cable news networks. It’s just not where they are.
I sure hope the people who have a modicum of power in progressive circles realize how desperately behind they are on this compared to MAGA. Because the future of our country is quite literally at stake!
{
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"name": "Jared White",
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
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"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/20250224/death-of-mainstream-media",
"published": "2025-02-24T23:13:57-08:00",
"content": {
"html": "<p>For a long time, back in my conservative Christian days throughout the 2000s, the hated enemy and the absolute <em>worst</em> was the \u201cmainstream media\u201d\u2014or <em>lamestream media</em> as it was often derisively called.</p>\n\n<p>Conservatives considered their media the alternative, a scrappy underground dropping truth bombs and speaking for the \u201csilent majority\u201d of true red-blooded patriotic Americans.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Oh what a difference a couple of decades makes!</strong> Now it seems conservative, or conservative-lite media, <strong>has become the mainstream media</strong>\u2014and even the lamest of the lamestream aka MSNBC is starting to capitulate to the interests of timid corporations not wanting to rock the boat <em>quite so much</em> in this era of Trumpian <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/politics\">#politics</a>.</p>\n\n<p>But perhaps a larger trend is at play here which is that for all intents and purposes, independent online media\u2014newsletters, podcasts, YouTube channels, and the like\u2014has won the day. Traditional broadcasters are on their way out. <strong>Indie is in.</strong> Young people couldn\u2019t care less about cable news networks. It\u2019s just not where they are.</p>\n\n<p>I sure hope the people who have a modicum of power in progressive circles realize how desperately behind they are on this compared to MAGA. <strong>Because the future of our country is quite literally at stake!</strong></p>",
"text": "For a long time, back in my conservative Christian days throughout the 2000s, the hated enemy and the absolute worst was the \u201cmainstream media\u201d\u2014or lamestream media as it was often derisively called.\n\nConservatives considered their media the alternative, a scrappy underground dropping truth bombs and speaking for the \u201csilent majority\u201d of true red-blooded patriotic Americans.\n\nOh what a difference a couple of decades makes! Now it seems conservative, or conservative-lite media, has become the mainstream media\u2014and even the lamest of the lamestream aka MSNBC is starting to capitulate to the interests of timid corporations not wanting to rock the boat quite so much in this era of Trumpian #politics.\n\nBut perhaps a larger trend is at play here which is that for all intents and purposes, independent online media\u2014newsletters, podcasts, YouTube channels, and the like\u2014has won the day. Traditional broadcasters are on their way out. Indie is in. Young people couldn\u2019t care less about cable news networks. It\u2019s just not where they are.\n\nI sure hope the people who have a modicum of power in progressive circles realize how desperately behind they are on this compared to MAGA. Because the future of our country is quite literally at stake!"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "44009711",
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Last week I published my first Cybersecurity Friday post with three key steps for indieweb cybersecurity. In summary:
1. Email MFA/2FA. Add multi-factor authentication (sometimes called two-factor authentication) to everywhere you store or check email. Do not use phone/cell numbers. 2. Domain Registrar MFA. Add multi-factor authentication to your domain registrar account. 3. Web Host MFA. Same for your web host and any intermediate name servers (DNS) or content delivery network (CDN) service accounts.
If you want my #Cybersecurity Friday posts as soon as I publish them, follow my site https://tantek.com/ directly in your reader rather than using #socialMedia or #Mastodon or some other notes-centric #fediverse client.
You can subscribe to my site directly with an h-feed supporting #indieweb Social Reader, or if you use a classic feed reader, it can auto-discover my Atom feed from my home page.
You can also read my article blog posts and those from other Mozillians on the Mozilla Planet: * https://planet.mozilla.org/ If you look closely you might even find my not-so-secret articles-only Atom feed linked there if you prefer.
This is post 9 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts #cyber #security
{
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"url": "https://tantek.com/2025/055/t1/three-steps-indieweb-cybersecurity",
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"text": "Last week I published my first Cybersecurity Friday post with three key steps for indieweb cybersecurity. In summary:\n\n1. Email MFA/2FA. Add multi-factor authentication (sometimes called two-factor authentication) to everywhere you store or check email. Do not use phone/cell numbers.\n2. Domain Registrar MFA. Add multi-factor authentication to your domain registrar account.\n3. Web Host MFA. Same for your web host and any intermediate name servers (DNS) or content delivery network (CDN) service accounts.\n\nFull post: https://tantek.com/2025/052/b1/steps-indieweb-cybersecurity\n\nNext time: entropy is your friend in security.\n\nIf you want my #Cybersecurity Friday posts as soon as I publish them, follow my site https://tantek.com/ directly in your reader rather than using #socialMedia or #Mastodon or some other notes-centric #fediverse client.\n\nYou can subscribe to my site directly with an h-feed supporting #indieweb Social Reader, or if you use a classic feed reader, it can auto-discover my Atom feed from my home page.\n\nYou can also read my article blog posts and those from other Mozillians on the Mozilla Planet:\n* https://planet.mozilla.org/\nIf you look closely you might even find my not-so-secret articles-only Atom feed linked there if you prefer.\n\n\nThis is post 9 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts #cyber #security\n\n\u2190 https://tantek.com/2025/020/t1/seek-2024-year-in-review\n\u2192 \ud83d\udd2e\n\n\nGlossary\n\narticle post\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/article\nAtom\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/Atom\ncontent delivery network\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/content_delivery_network\ncybersecurity\n\u00a0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cybersecurity\nDNS\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/DNS\ndomain registrar\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/domain_registrar\nentropy\n\u00a0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_(information_theory)\nfeed reader\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/feed_reader\nh-feed\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/h-feed\nMFA / 2FA\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/multi-factor_authentication sometimes called Two Factor Authentication or Second Factor Authentication\nmobile number for MFA\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/SMS#Criticism\nnote post\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/note\nsocial reader\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/social_reader\nweb host\n\u00a0 https://indieweb.org/web_hosting",
"html": "Last week I published my first Cybersecurity Friday post with three key steps for indieweb cybersecurity. In summary:<br /><br />1. Email MFA/2FA. Add multi-factor authentication (sometimes called two-factor authentication) to everywhere you store or check email. Do not use phone/cell numbers.<br />2. Domain Registrar MFA. Add multi-factor authentication to your domain registrar account.<br />3. Web Host MFA. Same for your web host and any intermediate name servers (DNS) or content delivery network (CDN) service accounts.<br /><br />Full post: <a href=\"https://tantek.com/2025/052/b1/steps-indieweb-cybersecurity\">https://tantek.com/2025/052/b1/steps-indieweb-cybersecurity</a><br /><br />Next time: entropy is your friend in security.<br /><br />If you want my #<span class=\"p-category\">Cybersecurity</span> Friday posts as soon as I publish them, follow my site <a href=\"https://tantek.com/\">https://tantek.com/</a> directly in your reader rather than using #<span class=\"p-category\">socialMedia</span> or #<span class=\"p-category\">Mastodon</span> or some other notes-centric #<span class=\"p-category\">fediverse</span> client.<br /><br />You can subscribe to my site directly with an h-feed supporting #<span class=\"p-category\">indieweb</span> Social Reader, or if you use a classic feed reader, it can auto-discover my Atom feed from my home page.<br /><br />You can also read my article blog posts and those from other Mozillians on the Mozilla Planet:<br />* <a href=\"https://planet.mozilla.org/\">https://planet.mozilla.org/</a><br />If you look closely you might even find my not-so-secret articles-only Atom feed linked there if you prefer.<br /><br /><br />This is post 9 of #<span class=\"p-category\">100PostsOfIndieWeb</span>. #<span class=\"p-category\">100Posts</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">cyber</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">security</span><br /><br />\u2190 <a href=\"https://tantek.com/2025/020/t1/seek-2024-year-in-review\">https://tantek.com/2025/020/t1/seek-2024-year-in-review</a><br />\u2192 \ud83d\udd2e<br /><br /><br />Glossary<br /><br />article post<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/article\">https://indieweb.org/article</a><br />Atom<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/Atom\">https://indieweb.org/Atom</a><br />content delivery network<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/content_delivery_network\">https://indieweb.org/content_delivery_network</a><br />cybersecurity<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cybersecurity\">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cybersecurity</a><br />DNS<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/DNS\">https://indieweb.org/DNS</a><br />domain registrar<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/domain_registrar\">https://indieweb.org/domain_registrar</a><br />entropy<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_(information_theory)\">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_(information_theory)</a><br />feed reader<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/feed_reader\">https://indieweb.org/feed_reader</a><br />h-feed<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/h-feed\">https://indieweb.org/h-feed</a><br />MFA / 2FA<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/multi-factor_authentication\">https://indieweb.org/multi-factor_authentication</a> sometimes called Two Factor Authentication or Second Factor Authentication<br />mobile number for MFA<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/SMS#Criticism\">https://indieweb.org/SMS#Criticism</a><br />note post<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/note\">https://indieweb.org/note</a><br />social reader<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/social_reader\">https://indieweb.org/social_reader</a><br />web host<br />\u00a0 <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/web_hosting\">https://indieweb.org/web_hosting</a>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Tantek \u00c7elik",
"url": "https://tantek.com/",
"photo": "https://tantek.com/photo.jpg"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "44008525",
"_source": "2460"
}
{
"type": "event",
"name": "\ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f The Level Up",
"published": "2025-02-22T22:30:00-0500",
"start": "2025-02-22T22:30:00-0500",
"url": "https://martymcgui.re/2025/02/22/the-level-up/",
"featured": "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmarty/image/fetch/w_960,c_fill/https://media.martymcgui.re/18/c2/f5/ec/a054f44e92d9baa77a45abca345c8c7642995b16056a1d8b79de221d.jpg",
"category": [
"improv",
"show"
],
"location": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Magnet Theater",
"url": "https://magnettheater.com/"
},
"syndication": [
"https://fed.brid.gy/"
],
"content": {
"text": "The Level Up is an indie improv showcase. Join us as we watch amazing New York indie improv talents gain XP on the Magnet stage, unlock new achievements, and reach new milestones. Or do comedy.\n\nCome support Michael as he dons his hosting-duties cap for three exciting indie teams:\nFleischwunde\nPaul Ton Jon Mon and Son\nCandlelit Hot Dog Dinner For Two\nI\u2019ll be playing in with Michael and the rest of the Level Up!\nLooking forward to it! And to seeing you there!! (Yes, you. Come on out!!!)\nSaturday Feb 22nd, 2025 @ 10:30pm\n\nMagnet Theater\n\n254 West 29th St (btwn 7th and 8th Ave.)\n\nNew York City, NY 10001\n\nTickets $10: https://magnettheater.com/show/59276/",
"html": "<blockquote>\n<p>The Level Up is an indie improv showcase. Join us as we watch amazing New York indie improv talents gain XP on the Magnet stage, unlock new achievements, and reach new milestones. Or do comedy.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Come support Michael as he dons his hosting-duties cap for three exciting indie teams:</p>\n<ul><li>Fleischwunde</li>\n<li>Paul Ton Jon Mon and Son</li>\n<li>Candlelit Hot Dog Dinner For Two</li>\n</ul><p>I\u2019ll be playing in with Michael and the rest of the Level Up!</p>\n<p>Looking forward to it! And to seeing you there!! (Yes, you. Come on out!!!)</p>\n<p>Saturday Feb 22nd, 2025 @ 10:30pm<br />\nMagnet Theater<br />\n254 West 29th St (btwn 7th and 8th Ave.)<br />\nNew York City, NY 10001<br />\nTickets $10: <a href=\"https://magnettheater.com/show/59276/\">https://magnettheater.com/show/59276/</a></p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Marty McGuire",
"url": "https://martymcgui.re/",
"photo": "https://martymcgui.re/images/logo.jpg"
},
"post-type": "event",
"_id": "43997501",
"_source": "175"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Jared White",
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/links/20250223/joy-reid-gone-from-msnbc",
"published": "2025-02-23T21:55:00-08:00",
"content": {
"html": "<blockquote>\n <h2><a href=\"https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5160187-msnbc-cancels-joy-reid-show-in-major-shake-up/\"></a></h2>\n\n <p>MSNBC is canceling Joy Reid\u2019s evening news show as part of the network\u2019s overhaul under the new presidential administration. Reid\u2019s final show is planned for sometime this week, a source familiar with the changes said.</p>\n\n<p>Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, who currently host the network\u2019s \u201cThe Weekend,\u201d will now be anchoring in Reid\u2019s former 7 p.m. slot, sources at MSNBC said.</p>\n\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I like the crew at The Weekend, so I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll do a fine job in their new weekday slot. But this news is surprising to me, as I always felt like Joy Reid was one of the strongest voices at the network, alongside Rachel Maddow. At the same time, I also felt like it would be a slam dunk for her to strike out on her own and go independent, like so many others have (Don Lemon for example). Truth be told, I rarely watch MSNBC anymore and prefer supporting independent broadcasters online. I suspect that is increasingly true across the whole industry.</p>",
"text": "MSNBC is canceling Joy Reid\u2019s evening news show as part of the network\u2019s overhaul under the new presidential administration. Reid\u2019s final show is planned for sometime this week, a source familiar with the changes said.\n\nSymone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, who currently host the network\u2019s \u201cThe Weekend,\u201d will now be anchoring in Reid\u2019s former 7 p.m. slot, sources at MSNBC said.\n\n\n\nI like the crew at The Weekend, so I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll do a fine job in their new weekday slot. But this news is surprising to me, as I always felt like Joy Reid was one of the strongest voices at the network, alongside Rachel Maddow. At the same time, I also felt like it would be a slam dunk for her to strike out on her own and go independent, like so many others have (Don Lemon for example). Truth be told, I rarely watch MSNBC anymore and prefer supporting independent broadcasters online. I suspect that is increasingly true across the whole industry."
},
"name": "Link: Joy Reid Leaving MSNBC Primetime",
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "43996989",
"_source": "2783"
}
The entry chandelier is in! I met with the electrician today to go over all the details of the finish electrical work, and they already put up the chandelier!
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2025-02-21T16:55:00-08:00",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/2025/02/21/13/chandelier",
"category": [
"365",
"triplex"
],
"photo": [
"https://aaronparecki.com/img/620x0,q30/2025/02/21/13/photo.jpg"
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"content": {
"text": "The entry chandelier is in! I met with the electrician today to go over all the details of the finish electrical work, and they already put up the chandelier!"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Aaron Parecki",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/",
"photo": "https://aaronparecki.com/images/profile.jpg"
},
"post-type": "photo",
"_id": "43995386",
"_source": "16"
}
The extremely custom range hood is getting closer! The hood insert will slide in from the bottom, and the top part will have storage in front of the duct!
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2025-02-19T17:15:00-08:00",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/2025/02/19/13/range-hood",
"category": [
"365",
"triplex"
],
"photo": [
"https://aaronparecki.com/img/620x0,q30/2025/02/19/13/photo-9681.jpg"
],
"content": {
"text": "The extremely custom range hood is getting closer! The hood insert will slide in from the bottom, and the top part will have storage in front of the duct!"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Aaron Parecki",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/",
"photo": "https://aaronparecki.com/images/profile.jpg"
},
"post-type": "photo",
"_id": "43994980",
"_source": "16"
}
Had some fun testing out the AVKANS Go they sent me during the livestream today! At around the same price as a GoPro, it's a clear winner vs the GoPro for livestreaming!
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2025-02-16T13:00:00-08:00",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/2025/02/16/19/avkans",
"category": [
"365",
"livestream",
"youtube"
],
"photo": [
"https://aaronparecki.com/img/620x0,q30/2025/02/16/19/photo.jpg"
],
"content": {
"text": "Had some fun testing out the AVKANS Go they sent me during the livestream today! At around the same price as a GoPro, it's a clear winner vs the GoPro for livestreaming!"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Aaron Parecki",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/",
"photo": "https://aaronparecki.com/images/profile.jpg"
},
"post-type": "photo",
"_id": "43994981",
"_source": "16"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Jared White",
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/20250222/fragile-masculinity-is-never-satisfied",
"published": "2025-02-22T18:20:57-08:00",
"content": {
"html": "<p>The extreme ends of performative <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/gender\">#gender</a> expressions, for both men and women, are truly pits of despair. Because no matter how much of a woman you are as a woman, you can still be \u201cmore woman\u201d\u2014and the same is true for men. <strong>You are never man enough.</strong> And so you have to be \u201cmore man\u201d and then \u201cmore man\u201d yet again. There\u2019s no end to this Sisyphean loop.</p>\n\n<p>Alas, performative masculinity\u2014particularly its extreme form of <em>fragile masculinity</em> which inevitably leads to <em>toxic masculinity</em>\u2014is quite literally tearing my country \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 apart right now and is infecting business, art, technology, politics, and more across the globe.</p>\n\n<p>A couple of links I want to share with you, the second nicely reinforcing the first.</p>\n\n<p><strong>First:</strong> one of my favorite video essayists, Adam Conover, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol4X6oc-tz8\">produced what I think is one of his best yet titled <strong>Elon and Zuck are INSECURE Men</strong></a>. Adam goes right for it, explaining how so many of the bizarro-world activities we see both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg engaging in\u2014even down to the over-the-top \u201cbro\u201d dress code\u2014are in essence flagrant attempts to prove how manly they are. Their fragile masculinity has metastasized into toxic masculinity, and due to the fact they also happen to be multibillionaires with obscene control over vast swaths of digital commerce and communication, their personal crisis unfortunately affect us all.</p>\n\n<p>The crazy part about all this, as Adam explains and as my next link will prove, is that <strong>it doesn\u2019t work!</strong> Extreme performative masculinity doesn\u2019t work. Outside of the \u201cbro bubble\u201d and weird far-right echo chambers, nobody is looking to these dudes and thinking \u201cayup, that is the kind of man I aspire to be.\u201d These people aren\u2019t men\u2019s men\u2014truly, a man\u2019s man doesn\u2019t look how they look and act like they act.</p>\n\n<p><strong>They are fools.</strong></p>\n\n<p>That\u2019s it. That\u2019s the toot.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Second:</strong> <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/20/mark-zuckerbergs-makeover-didnt-make-people-like-him-study-shows/\">TechCrunch reports on a recent Pew Research Center study</a> which shows that Musk is now viewed unfavorably more than favorably in the U.S.\u2014and Zuck is viewed <em>even more</em> unfavorably, with 67% feeling negatively toward him.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>While Zuck may be playing the part of the cool guy, Americans haven\u2019t been fooled by his gold chains or musical ambitions, it seems.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><em>Ya think?!</em></p>\n\n<p>Look, there\u2019s no doubt that the present-day issues of masculine culture and what it means to be a man\u2014especially for young men with uncertain job prospects and challenges organically making friends and or meeting potential love interests\u2014can be complex and nuanced. Adam\u2019s video makes that point well. It doesn\u2019t do anyone any good to simply shout \u201cMEN SUCK!\u201d and leave it there. There needs to be real and ongoing work done to help men and to counter the toxic narratives which are dominating out there.</p>\n\n<p>At the same time, I also get uncomfortable focusing too much on this topic from a \u201cgendered\u201d perspective. Part of me wants to deconstruct gender performance entirely, <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/20241211/post-toxic-masculinity\">as I said in a previous post:</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My wish is we could spend less time talking about \u201cwhat women should be like\u201d or \u201cwhat men should be like\u201d and simply talk about \u201cwhat humans should be like\u201d. And that list really shouldn\u2019t be very prescriptive at all, other than to define universal qualities such as egalitarianism, altruism, strength of character, and so forth.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>So I can\u2019t say I have a lot of concrete answers right now. My favorite way of \u201cbeing a man\u201d some days is <a href=\"https://indieweb.social/@jaredwhite/114049028127172049\">simply to poke fun at the whole concept</a>.</p>\n\n<p>At any rate, I appreciated Adam\u2019s video quite a lot, and then immediately reading that Pew study was icing on the cake.</p>",
"text": "The extreme ends of performative #gender expressions, for both men and women, are truly pits of despair. Because no matter how much of a woman you are as a woman, you can still be \u201cmore woman\u201d\u2014and the same is true for men. You are never man enough. And so you have to be \u201cmore man\u201d and then \u201cmore man\u201d yet again. There\u2019s no end to this Sisyphean loop.\n\nAlas, performative masculinity\u2014particularly its extreme form of fragile masculinity which inevitably leads to toxic masculinity\u2014is quite literally tearing my country \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 apart right now and is infecting business, art, technology, politics, and more across the globe.\n\nA couple of links I want to share with you, the second nicely reinforcing the first.\n\nFirst: one of my favorite video essayists, Adam Conover, produced what I think is one of his best yet titled Elon and Zuck are INSECURE Men. Adam goes right for it, explaining how so many of the bizarro-world activities we see both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg engaging in\u2014even down to the over-the-top \u201cbro\u201d dress code\u2014are in essence flagrant attempts to prove how manly they are. Their fragile masculinity has metastasized into toxic masculinity, and due to the fact they also happen to be multibillionaires with obscene control over vast swaths of digital commerce and communication, their personal crisis unfortunately affect us all.\n\nThe crazy part about all this, as Adam explains and as my next link will prove, is that it doesn\u2019t work! Extreme performative masculinity doesn\u2019t work. Outside of the \u201cbro bubble\u201d and weird far-right echo chambers, nobody is looking to these dudes and thinking \u201cayup, that is the kind of man I aspire to be.\u201d These people aren\u2019t men\u2019s men\u2014truly, a man\u2019s man doesn\u2019t look how they look and act like they act.\n\nThey are fools.\n\nThat\u2019s it. That\u2019s the toot.\n\nSecond: TechCrunch reports on a recent Pew Research Center study which shows that Musk is now viewed unfavorably more than favorably in the U.S.\u2014and Zuck is viewed even more unfavorably, with 67% feeling negatively toward him.\n\n\n While Zuck may be playing the part of the cool guy, Americans haven\u2019t been fooled by his gold chains or musical ambitions, it seems.\n\n\nYa think?!\n\nLook, there\u2019s no doubt that the present-day issues of masculine culture and what it means to be a man\u2014especially for young men with uncertain job prospects and challenges organically making friends and or meeting potential love interests\u2014can be complex and nuanced. Adam\u2019s video makes that point well. It doesn\u2019t do anyone any good to simply shout \u201cMEN SUCK!\u201d and leave it there. There needs to be real and ongoing work done to help men and to counter the toxic narratives which are dominating out there.\n\nAt the same time, I also get uncomfortable focusing too much on this topic from a \u201cgendered\u201d perspective. Part of me wants to deconstruct gender performance entirely, as I said in a previous post:\n\n\n My wish is we could spend less time talking about \u201cwhat women should be like\u201d or \u201cwhat men should be like\u201d and simply talk about \u201cwhat humans should be like\u201d. And that list really shouldn\u2019t be very prescriptive at all, other than to define universal qualities such as egalitarianism, altruism, strength of character, and so forth.\n\n\nSo I can\u2019t say I have a lot of concrete answers right now. My favorite way of \u201cbeing a man\u201d some days is simply to poke fun at the whole concept.\n\nAt any rate, I appreciated Adam\u2019s video quite a lot, and then immediately reading that Pew study was icing on the cake."
},
"name": "Fragile Masculinity is Never Ever Satisfied",
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "43986722",
"_source": "2783"
}
