Listen, I'm Not Saying That Not Liking Either Candidate In An Election And Believing "both Parties Are

Listen, I'm not saying that not liking either candidate in an election and believing "both parties are the same" is grounds to not vote at all. I'm aware that harm reduction is a very serious issue and that throwing caution to the wind conveys a sort of privilege-driven apathy towards society.

That being said, the response of leftists towards people who believe that both parties are the same attempting to shame them for feeling this way is always so funny to me, because they'll say something akin to:

"Saying both parties are the same would've been profound 30 years ago, but now it just shows that you're out of touch."

not realizing the incredibly fitting irony in the fact that in the same way those who don't vote maintain the status quo by not taking action, they themselves are also contributing to it by actively playing into a system that always makes you choose the "lesser of two evils" rather than completely dismantling it and starting from scratch.

What's even more is the fact that these same leftists will always use the argument of:

"Politicians wouldn't try to take away voting rights if voting didn't do anything" as if the Electoral College and gerrymandering don't exist which stand squarely in the way of actual democracy, and as if both of these aren't just different forms of control that they've been duped into believing have any legitimate purpose behind them.

Fittingly, you'll find that their passion towards abolishing the Electoral College seems to be much quieter as well as their focus on participating and spreading awareness of local and state elections. Instances in which voting has a more immediate effect.

At the end of the day, while marginalized people will not be placed in immediate danger by choosing the "lesser of two evils", they will never truly be protected. Their fates will forever be hanging in the balance as if it were purgatory, never truly feeling secure because there will always be a potential countdown to when your existence expires.

The so-called "lesser of two evils" will not given them protection as much as it will continue to use them as a means of promoting an inauthentic message of progression and acceptance that the public overtime will come to accept as reality.

Oh, and for those leftists who are going to inevitably tell me:

"If you don't see the difference between either party then I don't know what to tell you."

Let it be known, not once did I ever say they stood for the same things, nor that you shouldn't fight against the worse reality. All I'm simply asking is, why have you become complacent with only two options, and if you are in fact not content with this, what are you doing to fix this?

How I feel logging into Instagram once every 7 days just to comment nice things on the posts of people I went to high school with 3 years ago:

After learning that TruTV has canceled Tacoma F.D. and is not renewing it for a 5th season, I would like to say that I think it would've been perfect, and it's such a missed opportunity that they never had a fart contest scene in the show's running.

I will say I'm glad that they had every main male cast member fart at least once, but given how much they reference and take pride in their constant flatulence, it would've made so much sense for the sendoff to have been them all putting their skills to the test for the last time.

Say, for instance, by having some sort of contest like in the first season, where they all compete to win the Fart Jar, but this time there's a montage where they all go around in a circle for an extended period of time all emptying their tanks until the last person has nothing left.

This could've also been a great way for them to do the standard trope of showing a girl's fart be louder and more impressive than all the guys by having Lucy be the final fart when all the guys have finished, much to all of their shock.

I've talked about this before, but it leaves such a bad taste in my mouth whenever the character in a movie or series who is meant to be the comedic relief due to his constant flatulence is fat.

Not because — as some of you might incorrectly and sensitively assume — I think the idea of something as innocuous as fart humor should be limited to a certain body type, but because it feels so in line with the "Fat Slob" trope that assigns most, if not all unpleasant bodily functions to those characters who are not conventionally attractive.

It goes without saying that gross actions like burping, farting, sweating, etc., are things that everyone does, so I needn't write an entire think piece explaining how much more socially conscious we should be.

However, what I find funny is that if we are to employ the logic that the reason why fat people do these things more often because of their "worse" diet, there are so many food choices that thinner, conventionally attractive make that cause them to do exactly the same things.

For example, it's a commonly used joke amongst those who frequent the gym especially on social media, that in order to build muscle you have to eat a lot of protein and that this often involves adding lots of whey powder to things which makes people gassy given that it's a component of dairy products.

There's already many depictions in media of the typical douchey, frat-bro, jock gymbro who in some instances uses bodily functions as a way to convey his arrogance (namely in the form of belching loudly in someone's face after drinking a beer). How hard would it be to extend this concept to men like this that lack these antagonistic qualities?

I know subversions of the "Fat Slob" trope are already out there, but I think it would be a great way to continue this subversion as well as contributing to more range and inclusivity in plus-sized characters.

Imagine a friendship or relationship where it's the guy who's 6'2 with 6-pack abs, bulging biceps, and thick legs who blushes whenever he accidentally lets one go and people chastise him for it?

It's worth noting that the series Tacoma F.D. does a great job of accomplishing this with it's predominately male cast that has many muscled-up, in shape guys, and an abundance of fart scenes when compared to other shows.

Take notes Hollywood.

Hell is real, and it's called watching in increasing annoyance as your parents have what I can only assume is an anxiety-induced frenzy in which they will somehow find every way possible to avoid walking out the door for as long as possible by aimlessly walk around the house claiming they "just need to do this" or they "just need to grab that" and then they'll supposedly be "ready to go".

The children may yearn for the mines, but they also yearn for a "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter, "Say So" by Doja Cat, '70s-adjacent, Barbie-inspired pop track that transports them to an imaginary land filled with nothing but pool parties and beach trips where the temperature never dips below 70, never reaches past 85, no humidity, and everyone sips on endless iced drinks.