Mediaboss Marketing

Ferris State's Deng Reng (1) leads the charge down the court. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Ferris State's Deng Reng (1) leads the charge down the court. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Ferris State's Deng Reng (1) leads the charge down the court. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Ferris State's Deng Reng (1) leads the charge down the court. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Down to the wire: Ferris men edge Grand Valley

BIG RAPIDS It went down to the wire, but Ferris States mens basketball team did enough to pull out a 68-65

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win against Grand Valley State at Wink Arena on Friday.

Walt Kelser had 20 points and four rebounds while Michael Peterson added 19 points and seven boards to lead Ferris (6-4. 7-6) to its third straight win.

Ferris built a 37-27 halftime lead. The Bulldogs were 13-of-29 from the floor for 44.8 percent while Grand Valley was 12 of 26 for 46.2 percent.

Michael Peterson was 5-of-8 from the floor and scored 14 points in the first half.

Deng Reng hit a 3-pointer and a field goal for an early 11-6 Bulldog lead.

Kelser scored for a 30-20 lead late in the half and sank a 3-pointer with 51 seconds to go for a 35-25 lead.

Kelser scored a 3-pointer off the glass to beat the shot clock and open the second half. Petersons 3-pointer made it 47-33 with 14:50. Mason Plines dunk at 12:17 put Ferris up 49-38. He hit two free throws with 10:17 to play for a 51-41 lead. Jordan Harris connected for Grand Valley to make it 51-45.

Petersons offensive rebound and putback at 6:55 made it 57-48. Jimmy Schollers 3-pointer made it 60-50.

Kelser scored for a 63-54 lead with 4:30 to go.

Harris 3-point play made it 63-59. Vejas Grazulis followed with a hoop for Ferris.

The Lakers hung tight and narrowed it to 65-63 with a minute to go on Jake Van Tubbergens basket. Kelser hit a free throw with 33 seconds to go. Christian Negron scored for a 66-65 game, but Reng hit two free throws with 15 seconds to go to make it 68-65. Jordans 3-point try was blocked but the Lakers got the inbounds underneath the basket with 3.7 seconds to go. They called another time out when they couldnt make the inbounds pass. Jordans 3-point try failed with a second to play and Ferris secured the win.

At the end they were a little more physical and getting to the free-throw line, FSU coach Andy Bronkema said. They were really pounding us on the glass. We hung on and made just enough free-throws. Kelser put up another 20 with all eyes on him. It was fun to see Grazulis battle. We have to do it again tomorrow. Well have to flip the page quick and see what we can learn.

Van Tubbergen had 19 points and nine rebounds for Grand Valley (4-4, 4-4).

We have figured out how to play hard and how to bring the energy, Bronkema said. Thats what we did again today for three wins in a row. We got beat up bad against Lake State as far as energy wise and hustle. Win or lose, you dont want to do that. Three games in a row, weve had it. I dont want to be outrebounded by 10 by anybody. Thats the game within the game.

Also scoring for Ferris were Pline (6), Reng (6), Grazulis (6), Scholler (3), Jeremiah Washington (3) and Logan Ryan (2).

Were used to packed gymnasiums for this rivalry, Bronkema said. Its unfortunate the guys dont get to experience that this year but yet its fortunate were playing. Were happy were playing.

Grand Valley had a 35-25 rebounding advantage. Ferris was 23-of-55 from the floor and 10-of-26 in triples. GV was 25-of-50 from the floor and 2-of-17 in 3-pointers.

There was a lot of energy on both sides, Bronkema said. That makes it fun.

The two teams play today at Wink Arena, with tipoff time at 3 p.m.

Visit link:
Down to the wire: Ferris men edge Grand Valley - The Pioneer

My debut feature Sator (out now on digital) has been the defining project of my life and took me seven years to complete, not least because I made this ever-changing, ever-evolving demonic thriller almost entirely by myself. What started as a simple run-of-the-mill film quickly morphed into something deeply personal, and led me to uncover my familys dark history.

Back in 2013, after Id been struggling for some time to raise funds for the film, a friend one day told me out of the blue that he would loan me half my budget in exchange for a percentage. I couldnt believe it and was almost in tears, knowing I could finally move forward now. So I took the offer, collected my personal savings from wedding videography, and began ordering all the gear I would need to get started.

I shot Sator over 120 days, most days of which consisted of just myself with one or two of the actors. There were about 10 days when I had someone assist me with basic tasks like holding an umbrella when it rained. There was only one day when I had three extra people help me for a couple hours, due to a stunt with fire that would have been too dangerous to do on my own. Out of all of these days, it was Day 10 that changed my world.

When I decided to use my grandmothers house as a location, I thought it would be pretty neat for her to have a quick one-scene cameo with one my childhood friends, actor Michael Daniel. When we arrived at her house, I set up lights while Michael hid out in the back room. My grandmother was so confused by the lights. Now what the hell is that contraption? she would say, and then just laugh. I said she was going to help me with something, but she didnt care she just loved the attention. I found Michael in the back room and told him to pretend to be her grandson, and since shes a very spiritual person, to maybe bring up spirits as well.

Action! Michael comes out and meets her for the first time. Hi, Nani! My grandmother is utterly confused, but Michael plays the role of grandson wonderfully. He eventually brings up the spirits, like I asked, then out of nowhere, my grandmother decides to share the voices that used to talk to her through something she called automatic writing. What is that? She has never talked to me about that before. Why hasnt anyone in my family mentioned this before?

After that day, I began doing a little research into my grandmothers supernatural past. Family members told me vague stories about Ouija boards and seances, but they were all too young at the time to remember all the details. I asked if Nani kept her automatic writings anywhere, and was disappointed to hear shed burned them all years ago. I knew I had something unique and personal here, though, so I aimed to incorporate as much of it as I could into the story I already had.

I spent a week rewriting the script and editing the footage to make Nanis scene work. Luckily, there was no schedule on this project, so I had all the time in the world to figure this out. Once the story was solid, I went back to my grandmother and did another improvisational scene. Now, you cant tell Nani what to say. I tried once: Hey, Nani. I need you to say, Does Sator love you? To which she replied, Yes, Sator loves me. You also can never predict anything she says either, so after every day of shooting with her, I would need to take a week-long break to figure out how to make the new footage work for the story. It was a draining process, but that wasnt even the worst of it.

There are so many stories of the struggle shooting this film, like almost burning down the cabin I built singlehanded for the movie, getting nearly trapped in a snowstorm, the dangers of lighting shit on fire. Or spending thousands of hours (and losing 20 pounds) working on postproduction for the film in my room. For seven years, this one project consumed my life, with little to no change. I cut myself off from everyone and started to wonder if I had just wasted years of my life. But as I love this artform so damn much, it was worth it.

Sometime while I was working on the films sound design, Nanis dementia had made it too dangerous for her to be in her house alone. After she moved into a care home, I helped my family clean out her house. I was going through the closet in the back room when I found two boxes. I opened one box, and there were her automatic writings! Not just a few, but hundreds and hundreds of the ones my family thought she had burned. Looking through them, I was seeing Sator this and Sator that. Before this point, I only knew that Sator was some sort of guardian to my grandmother, nothing more. But then I opened the next box, and inside was a thousand-page journal documenting Nanis entire journey with Sator and the massive impact he had on her life. Jackpot.

Reading through this journal, I came to learn all about my familys history with hearing voices. My great-great-grandmother had ended up in a psychiatric hospital because of it. When Nani was just four years old, her mother took her for a drive one stormy night along the coast and aimed the car towards the cliffs edge, ready to end her suffering. Just as she was about to drive off, she saw her daughter crying in the seat next to her and decided to not kill them both that night. If that had happened, I wouldnt be writing this. A few months later though, the voices became unbearable for my great-grandmother, and she put a shotgun in her mouth.

In 1968, Nani was in her 40s when she came in possession of a Ouija board and summoned up many beings that only went by initials like FOJ, GEK. AIK, ANN, QXS. QXI was the evil one, the one that would just stand outside your bedroom door at night, watching as you slept. But the leader of them all, and the only one with a real name, was Sator. Nani fell in love with Sator. I literally mean in love, to where she did something called spiritual lovemaking with him. I will let your mind wander with that one. Sator also taught her how to move away from the Ouija board and communicate through automatic writing. When all her children went to bed, she would sit in an armchair with a glass of gin, look forward into the void, and let Sator speak through her. Everything he said, she would scribble down. But he wasnt the only one; the other voices would write through her as well. What gives me goosebumps is that Nanis handwriting would change with each person, as if that being itself was the one doing the writing. If there was a left-handed spirit, she would write left-handed, and sometimes she would even write backwards. My uncle told me that after he went to bed as a kid, Nani would sit there all night writing and would still be there in the morning when he got ready for school.

The voices in her head eventually got her into trouble, though. She would drive around, having them tell her where to go, but the voices would all argue with each other, causing Nani to get lost. Sator also eventually convinced her that she was the biblical Eve, and after three months of getting into shenanigans with him, she ended up in a psychiatric hospital herself.

Discovering this journal and Nanis automatic writings was like finding a goldmine. I featured her writings in the opening of the film, where they are spread out for all to see, all things she wrote back in 1968. One day I would love to adapt her full story into a separate film, but at the time of finding these, I was already well into post-production and now desperately trying to find a way to incorporate Sator into the film. It became a race against time to capture Nani speaking about Sator before her dementia completely took over. The first day she talked all about him, but the last day it took 40 minutes of footage to get her to say just three sentences, because he was pretty much wiped from her mind at that point.

This project had so much to do with perfect timing. If I had waited any longer to make it, I wouldnt have been able to capture what I did with my grandmother. Also, the time I spent getting to know her and being able to immortalize her in this film was invaluable to me. She and I really bonded over this whole experience. Shed call me every day saying, Hey, when are you going to come over and spend some time with me? Unfortunately, she passed before I finished the film, but she did see one clip of herself. Her only comment was, Whos that old goat?

But I did finally finish the film! I didnt have any doubt about that, actually; I just wasnt expecting it to take so long. Sator got accepted into Fantasia International Film Festival and a handful of other festivals, and what a rollercoaster of emotions that has been! Being isolated for so long and then being thrown into crowds of people was not an easy transition for me, but it was really worth it in the end. It was an amazing experience to travel the world and talk to so many fascinating people whom the film resonated with. To everyone who has approached me, I really do appreciate the conversations we have had.

Looking back, I wouldnt recommend making a feature film by yourself, and will never do that again. But I value what the experience has taught me and have grown a lot as a filmmaker. Hopefully, I have done enough to prove my worth with Sator and will inspire some people out there to want to work with me on future projects. Or at least help me set up the tripod.

Follow this link:
How I Spent Seven Years Single-handedly Making a Demonic Thriller and Accidentally Uncovered My Family's Dark History - Talkhouse

The Long Island Nets will be back in action Wednesday, one of 18 teams participating in the G League bubble (gubble?) down at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, the same venue the NBA took over last summer.

The regular season is down-sized from 28 teams and 50 games to a highly compact schedule. Long Island is set to play 15 games in 25 days beginning Wednesday night against the Iowa Wolves, Minnesotas affiliate, followed by an eight-team, single-elimination playoff tournament in early March. Typically, the regular season would consist of five-month schedule plus a more robust playoffs.

With the abbreviated schedule, development - always the top priority - will be tested. Bret Brielmaier, who will be in his first season serving in the head chair for LIN, says that the dense schedule will be big for him and his team of 13 players.

The biggest probable challenge for the season is just the density of games. We are going to play 15 games in 25 days. Thats a lot of playing and we dont have a very deep roster. We have 10 guys so how we manage the attacks on these guys bodies will be important but the G League has done an incredible job of giving our guys the resources to help these guys as recovered, well-fed, hydrated, and ready to play as possible.

Matt Riccardi, the Long Island Nets General Manager and the Nets Director of Scouting, called the decision to opt into the bubble as an easy one but as an opportunity to work with players that are fresh into their system.

We definitely looked at this G League bubble as an opportunity to take a look at some guys that we have not had in our system before, Riccardi said. We have an incredible coaching staff and we obviously wanted to make sure that we had players that had a chance to develop, look at as call-up targets for the NBA, and that can put our program as competitive as possible. You will see the makeup of that. I think our oldest player is 28 but we do have a younger group but some veterans mixed in there with some G League experience and NBA experience as well.

Brielmaier is excited about the roster makeup of his team. The Nets G League affiliate has five tiers of players: NBA experienced players, two-way players, some standouts acquired in the off-season, returning players, and the rookies. Add all those up and the Nets think its balanced.

Matt Riccardi has done an incredible job of putting this together, Breilmaier said during a Zoom call from Disney World. It is very balanced in my opinion. We have some veteran leadership that has a good deal of NBA experience.

The format of the regular season does have a hidden benefit. The Net G League affiliate will likely not see much player movement due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Chemistry will benefit.

Beyond their initial 10-man roster, the Nets added three two-ways in the last week.

Reggie Perry, the Nets two-way rookie, was assigned to Long Island last week, following a lengthy history of past Nets rookies who put on the blue, white, and red in recent years. Perry, who has 14 NBA games under his belt, will be joined by two other two-way players from the Dallas Mavericks: Nate Hinton, a 66 shooting guard out of Houston, and Tyler Bey, a 67 small forward out of Colorado. The Mavs opted out of the bubble but under league rules can send to players to the bubble while retaining the players NBA rights.

Perry is, for fans and Nets executives alike, is the player whose progress will be most monitored ... starting with where Brielmaier will play him, at the 4, at the 5? Perry showed flashes for Brooklyn and in his next-to-last game pulled off a double-double against OKC.

Aside from the two-ways, here are some players to keep an eye on

Elie Okobo leads the Nets G League affiliate when it comes to NBA experience. The French point guard, whos only 23, has played in 108 NBA games with the Suns over the course of the last two seasons and is the highest draft pick selection (31st) on Long Island.

Riccardi called him amazing and is really excited to work with him, noting that the Nets liked him prior to the 2018 NBA Draft.

Elie is an amazing player, Riccardi said of the 63 French point guard. Weve seen him from his draft time to being on the Phoenix Suns to playing for the Northern Arizona Suns. Similar to B.J. [Johnson] and the other guys on our roster, we are really excited to get a chance to work with Elie. Someone we have seen from afar. We liked all of his intangibles, skills, NBA size, and just looking forward to seeing how he mixes with our group, our coaching staff, and vice versa.

It is worth noting that Sean Marks personally scouted Okobo in France prior to the 2018 Draft.

B.J. Johnson, who was a G League standout last season as a two-way for the Magics G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic. A 67 small forward packed with athleticism, he too was on the Nets radar for a while as he put up big numbers playing against Long Island. In addition to his familiarity with Long Island, Johnson has appeared in 17 NBA games with the Hawks and the Magic.

We have seen BJ play a ton in the past, Riccardi said. We played against him in the playoffs two years ago when he was playing with Lakeland. We have seen him in the NBA. We think he is a really good player and a high-quality player that has a chance to continue to develop. Not just him but a lot of our guys, we feel the same way about it. They would not be here if we did not think highly of them and we didnt think they can contribute to this group and make it as competitive as possible for us.

To Brielmaier, both Okobo and Johnson are the high-level experienced guys in their unit. The 35-year-old head coach called them impressive and is fortunate to coach the two.

Both B.J. and Elie, you can tell they have had high-level experience through their careers so far, Brielmaier said. They have a way about them. They understand the game and their ability to help the younger guys, the less seasoned guys, has been really impressive. In both of them, you see great bodies, understand angles, great anticipation, and we are very fortunate to have those guys.

Paul Eboua may be Long Islands most intriguing player. Eboua, who is only 20 years old, is 68, built like a wall and has a 73 wingspan to go with it all.

The 20-year-old, who was claimed by Brooklyn after being waived by the Heat in December, (the first waiver claim in Sean Marks five-year tenure). He is viewed as raw and undeveloped by many pro scouts but Riccardi credits his international scouts for finding him. Long Island is thrilled to have him, he said.

Incredible young prospect that our international scouts Simone Casali, Jeff Peterson, B.J. Johnson (the Nets player development coordinator, not the player), who have done an incredible job of identifying in the past, Riccardi said. Someone we have followed closely and someone our coaching staff targeted as someone being really excited to work with.

Prior to the 2020 NBA Draft, multiple mock drafts linked Eboua falling to the Nets in the second round but the Cameroonian-Italian player went undrafted.

Some other players to keep an eye on:

Shannon Scott, who at 28 years old, is the oldest player on the roster, returns to LI. He was a member of the 2019 NBA G League Finals team. Scott is ready to apply his veteran experience to his new cast of teammates.

Just being able to talk about the foundation being built from previous years, Scott said on veteran leadership. A lot of similar schemes that we are going through to kind of help the younger guys out to let them know how things were in the past, how we were successful, and the things that didnt work out for us.

Nate Sestina, was four-year star at Bucknell, then filled a journeymans role as a grad transfer at Kentucky, is likely to serve as a stretch-5 for the Nets G League affiliate in the bubble. Sestina already provided a preview that he will be shooting from deep - a part of his game Brielmaier wants him to consistently bring to each game.

Coach Bret has messaged me and sent me clips. We have talked about it a lot, Sestina said. He said you got a flamethrower. You got to let that thing go. If you leave the game with a full clip, that is on you so they are very confident in me, and having a front office and coaching staff that is confident in you should give you the ultimate confidence to go out and play as well as knowing your teammates are confident in you as well and your ability to do something.

C.J. Massinburg, who is one of two returning Net from last seasons G League roster, is excited to be back. Massinburg missed several games last season due to injury.

Im excited to be back again, the 65 shooting guard said. When you come back the second time, you have more experience under your belt, you know how the pace of the game is, and you basically know what to expect. Im excited to be back again.

Massinburg is coming into the bubble confident with a year of experience under his belt. In addition, Massinburg is very familiar with Brielmaier from past summer workouts and Nets training camp.

Even though when Bret was with Brooklyn, I had some summer workouts with Brooklyn and I was in training camp with Brooklyn so I was pretty familiar with Bret, Massinburg said. Built a relationship with him there so now that he has the head job, everything is just comfortable and nothing is really foreign. The sets that we run, concepts, and so it is just good to be back another year and I am able to pass down that knowledge to the younger guys and guys who arent so familiar.

Jeremiah Martin, who is no longer on a two-way with Brooklyn, is a player the Nets organization still likes a lot. Martin, who has played in nine NBA games with Brooklyn, is a top-quality defender and is known for his quickness.

The Nets also signed Jordan Bowden back in November, believing he has potential as a 3-and-D possibilities. A four-year player at Tennessee, Bowden is 65 with a reputation for toughness. He played with several NBA players in Knoxville, including Grant Williams, Jordan Bone, Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander.

Riccardi is banking on the trio of Scott, Massinburg, and Martin to help navigate the ship as the veteran leaders through the unique bubble experience.

We have been leaning on both coach and our players a ton, especially the guys that have been in the bubble before and giving us some examples of what to expect and pointers on how we can navigate this thing to the best of our ability, Riccardi said, referring in particular to Martin who averaged 10 points in the NBA bubble. We are thankful we have such guidance in this group of people to lean on and have been there before.

The Nets traded for two other prospects in the off-season: Tariq Owens, a shot-blocking 610 center who played for St. Johns and Texas Tech in college and Northern Arizona in the G League last season. He impressed enough to be chosen for the G League team that took part in scrimmages last month with Team Ignite, the select group of high school stars the NBA recruited to play in the G League.

Kaiser Gates, a 67 wing the Celtics had on their Red Claws roster last season. A 3-point specialist, Gates is likely to see action off the bench.

No doubt development will be tested throughout the bubble experience but the duo of Brielmaier and Riccardi has a track record of finding solid players. The two 35-year-olds have already found two diamonds-in-the rough.

The head coach pushed the Nets to sign Joe Harris, a castoff struggling to find a landing spot after he joined Brooklyn. Brielmaier had served as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Harris last stop before Brooklyn.

Riccardi pushed hard for the front office to take a strong look at Spencer Dinwiddie a few months later. Dinwiddie, then with the Windy City Bulls, had already been cut by two NBA teams.

Wednesdays 7 p.m. game vs. Iowa and all their games will be streamed on ESPN+. The game against Team Ignite will be featured on ESPNU February 22.

See the article here:
Long Island Nets Season Preview: Development will be tested in the bubble. - NetsDaily

Over the years, Matthew McConaughey has carved out a persona for himself as a laid-back guy youd maybe expect to be pretty progressive, but as a new piece by The Daily Beast points out, hes made a habit recently of referencing the illiberal left in interviews while promoting his new book Greenlights and chatting about cancel culture with podcast hosts like Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan, who are beloved by the right.

Peterson is especially controversial due to his views on mens rights and his vocal opposition to legislation in Canada designed to protect transgender and non-binary people. And as The Daily Beast notes, McConaughey appears to be a fan of his; he thanked him in the back of Greenlights, and this week the actor appeared on Petersons podcast.

Many of the things you said I had been thinking about, but I heard you putting them into words and contexts, I was like,Wow, thats what Im talking about, thats what Im trying to get to, McConaughey told the host. And a lot of it goes back to self-determination, which weve talked a lot about. Self-authoring.

You see a lot of those threads through my book, McConaughey continued. Maybe in a different way, in a more folksy way. But a lot of what youve said gave me confidence to go, Im gonna put my story on paper. So I thank you for that. And thats why I thank you in the back of the book.

The pair also discussed cancel culture with respect to Louis C.K. (yikes). You can read the full story about their conversation (as well as McConaugheys history of putting his foot in his mouth when it comes to talking about Trump and the Hollywood elite) here.

Subscribe herefor our free daily newsletter.

Link:
Why Is Matthew McConaughey So Chummy With "Men's Rights" Activist Jordan Peterson? - InsideHook

Like many Americans, I was shocked and outraged at the violent coup attempt incited by President Donald Trump and his sycophantic cabal on January 6th. As the carnage unfolded on my television, I found myself filled with rage and horror at what I was witnessing though in all honestly, I was not surprised.

Here before my eyes was the very thing that I feared back in 2015, when Trump was just an almost comically strange candidate for the nations highest office. His lies, his deranged rhetoric, and his misogyny and racism were on full display even then, though at the time few seemed to take him seriously. When he was actually elected and fairly, due to our electoral college I wept, because I knew what this could mean for our country, as well as for the rest of the world: A rise in violence and hatred. A denial of science and facts. The demonizing of a free press and of any serious criticism. An abject rejection of responsibility and of public service.

Embed from Getty Images

We knew where this has been leading. The last four years have been a train-wreck, a fever dream of xenophobia, misogyny, racism, propaganda, and megalomania. We have seen the exaltation of the far right (those very fine people) and the demonization of the left.

With social media as his bully pulpit, Trump was able to get his message out to the masses, spinning conspiracy theories and blatant lies (or alternative facts) that spread like wildfire, even into our own communities. The effect of all this was the radicalization of our own citizens, fashioning them into a weapon aimed at the very democratic institutions that are supposed to stand for our highest collective ideals.

The parallels between the rise of Trump and the rise of fascists like Adolf Hitler cannot be overstated. While it has become something of a national pastime for liberals to compare those on the right with Hitler, its both exacerbating and exhausting to watch literal neo-Nazis storming the Capitol and still hearing conservative voices continuing to deny reality, even as the threats of violence continue.

All that said there are some bright spots. Some of the insurrectionists are being arrested, and even some members of the MAGA cult are reportedly having second thoughts about their worldview in the wake of the Capitol riots perhaps as a result of being thrown under the bus by Trump himself. On Tuesday, the U.S. Congress impeached Trump for a second time, trying to send a message that a president cannot be above the law.

Embed from Getty Images

What do we do now? How shall we respond in our own lives and communities to this national threat?

There is no one answer, but as for me, I have to renew my commitment to speaking out whenever I see injustice, of being involved in local politics, and of remembering to practice self-care all the while.

We must become skilled at demanding inclusivity in our spaces. No longer can we tolerate the intolerance of others who would share our Pagan and Witchy communities. By now we should all know where this leads. It is not enough to simply not be racist, to not be transphobic, or not be a bigot. We need to be the antithesis of bigotry. We need to openly embrace others with whom we have differences.

The time is over for blatant tribalism and the xenophobic, insular mindset it engenders. We have to be tolerant, but not of intolerance. When it comes to who can have a seat at the table, we must be open to everyone, barring only those who would deny others their basic humanity.

In our Witch communities we are called to be gatekeepers, not necessarily rooted in practice or theology, but in our basic shared humanity. Here is the bottom line: No Nazis. No racists. No transphobes. If we see or hear someone is our communities expressing those values, then it is up to us to confront and possibly expel them. Those who are in charge of creating Pagan spaces must work to help ensure the safety of their members. No more catering to both sides. We simply cannot allow hate speech to go unchecked. Because we know what will happen if we dont.

We are not all called to be activists I would not consider myself such. Though I am no stranger to political demonstrations, I have many friends who are far more experienced in those areas than me. But one thing that I have consistently heard from my activist friends is the deep need to disengage from constant stress and find the humor, even in the darkest of situations. This can be difficult, especially when we have been in the throes of real trauma that these events have caused. This makes it all the more important to find little pieces of joy wherever we can.

Police staging outside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021 [Tyler Merbler, Wikimedia Commons, CC 2.0]

The queer community has often been known to respond to darkness and evil with humor. With that in mind, I want to provide a few topical distractions from the stress of the news for our twisted amusement. We need to have a laugh, to try to shake off that dark cloud of existential dread. Then we can recommit to being part of the answer, to be a voice of inclusion and acceptance, as we all try to move forward together into a brighter future of our own making.

Here are some of the things that made me laugh recently, all of which mock at Trump and the insurrectionists. They may not all be your style of humor (Im the first to admit that I am far from an enlightened being) but I hope they bring a little levity to an otherwise terribly heavy situation.

I hope these help you find a little bit of joy. In the meantime, stay safe out there. Lets wash our hands, wear our masks, get vaccinated as soon as possible and for the love of all that is holy, lets stop peddling baseless conspiracy theories. YouTube is great for music and comedic parodies, but its not so much for actual news.

Read the original post:
Column: Laughing in the Face of Treason | Opinion, Perspectives, Politics, US - The Wild Hunt