"Monsters, if they are interesting, are unpredictable."

October 20, 2018 6:32 PM

“Polysemy (from Greek: πολυ-, poly-, "many" and σῆμα, sêma, "sign"), the capacity for a sign, such as a word, phrase, or symbol, to have multiple meanings, usually related by contiguity of meaning within a semantic field.” – definition adapted from Wikipedia

“If you cannot convince a fascist, acquaint his head with the pavement.” – Gritty (probably)

True Grit: From Weird Mascot to Eldritch Revolutionary
posted by Lexica (9 comments total)

In addition to the Gritty thing (which was cute, I was particularly taken with Gritty guillotining a pepe and with Gritty-as-Saturn-devouring-Trump) why not also read this very interesting interview with a communist organizer in this issue of Red Wedge? She is one of those people who can say "cadre" with a straight face, but it is a really smart interview full of both small interesting asides (her grandparents facing down a McCarthy-era anticommunist speaker, for instance) and good larger points.
posted by Frowner at 7:23 PM on October 20, 2018 [7 favorites]

I confess, I hated Gritty. Now I love Gritty.
posted by aramaic at 8:27 PM on October 20, 2018 [3 favorites]

This was pretty interesting - I've been watching the Gritty Antifa memes develop in the wild.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:44 PM on October 20, 2018

Gritty, Bowsette and Venom, what amonth ithas been.
posted by Artw at 10:58 PM on October 20, 2018 [4 favorites]

No more will we read about cultists trying to summon unearthly horrors and wonder why.
posted by Slackermagee at 3:36 AM on October 21, 2018 [5 favorites]

So many words and still the author failed to see or discuss the obvious class politics in both Gritty's origin and style and in his use as a Fellow Worker fighting alt right fascists. Kind of the obvious connection, and rather a huge blind spot.
posted by eviemath at 4:09 AM on October 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

From Frowners link:

The utility of this argument, if we can call it that, has to do with a focus on voting as a socialist strategy and the staying power of the liberal “science” of elections as primarily a demographic one. The idea here is that “the white working class,” particularly but not exclusively men, is the Lost Voter Block for “progressive” politics, and that appeals to their economic interests, combined with downplaying the “culture wars” amped up by liberals and the right around trans politics and black lives, can result in quick victories. I think this strategy is a bad one; I think, on its face, it aggressively ignores the class politics taking place in the black movement, in immigrant rights movements, in feminist movements, and in gay/queer/and trans politics, the degree to which these increasingly make themselves plain in the workplace, and sacrifices some of our most important opportunities to unite socialist politics and working class militance in a way that allows us to honestly organize with workers in motion. It condemns liberal “identity politics” while relying on those of us with “identities” to stay committed to the bankrupt politics of lesser-evilism, and fundamentally signals a commitment to the coalitional approach that has long been exploited by both parties and the ruling class as a whole in order to maintain a minority dictatorship of capital and capitalists.

There are several other good points in the interview as well!
posted by eviemath at 4:51 AM on October 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

Being from Philly, and a Flyers fan, I am honored that the left has co-opted Gritty into a left wing Pepe. Maybe the left can get a little of that Meme Magic that the alt-right seem to love and start getting some cultural cache out of it.
posted by SansPoint at 11:22 AM on October 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

“If you cannot convince a fascist, acquaint his head with the pavement.” – Gritty (probably)

Someone is a Homestuck fan.
posted by chronostachyon at 11:53 AM on October 21, 2018