charlie kirk and the myth of the shiny happy people | penny for your thoughts ep.15

a light work follow up for the eminem video to get back into the swing of things. missed yall. Lots of new people, welcome to the tragic optimist's club. I'm Dasia, rhymes with Asia and we actually talk alot less about Kirk in this video and much more about the shiny happy people myth, the groundwork is being laid for the most under discussed weapon of mass destruction in the American propaganda toolbox: white male radicalization. Left unexamined, it will make life much harder for everyone in it's path. Keep your eyes on the south because it's leading the way. For the uninitiated: the shiny, happy people myth is the collective performance of having ✨no problems✨ where white american culture maintains a public image of moral superiority, patriotism, and family values while actively living against those values in many cases and refusing to acknowledge or address the very real crises happening within its own communities. The myth requires everyone to "take their joy" and keep smiling, and anyone who names the reality gets punished for it. Penny for your thoughts on the shiny happy people myth. See you in the next one. 🎙️ Penny for Your Thoughts is a (semi) weekly (ish😬👉🏾👈🏾) voice note to the community, it's my spot for mini deep dives on politics, media, labor, culture, and the stories we’re told. 💬 What’s your thought? Drop your reflections in the comments or send it in: worthapenny@altmail.kr for the readers/sourced: Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood by Angela Denker Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era by Michael Kimmel Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America by Kathleen Belew Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right by Cynthia Miller-Idriss Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate by Alexandra Minna Stern Why Young Men: The Dangerous Allure of Violent Movements by Jamil Jivani Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland by Jonathan M. Metzl vid credits: https://tinyurl.com/2crj59at — 📌 Subscribe for civic truth-telling, cultural commentary, artist adventures and skating wisdom 🖤 Join the The Tragic Optimist’s Club newsletter: https://dasiasade.substack.com #PennyForYourThoughts #DasiaSade #dasiadoesit #tragicoptimism #tragicoptimis