The End of the Underground
Being on the lam today would suck, but I’m not going anywhere
From the Weather Underground to a Senior Assisted Living Facility
You’re never too old to be a fugitive from yourself
In January of 1969, the Yippies, a.k.a. The Youth International Party, called for an “Inhoguration” in Washington, DC, to protest Richard Nixon’s victory at the polls. In those days, cops were “pigs” and politicians were “hogs.” This Yippie Inhoguration was meant to be a reverse inauguration: Unseat King Richard from the throne. Today the posters for that event sell for $298. They’re a reminder of a time when Yippies, Zippies, Weathermen, feminists, and Black Panthers “let it all hang out” — to borrow the parlance of that time. Suffice it to say that being on the lam back then was far less arduous than it is today. There was an element of mischief and naughtiness to the game of playing hide-and-seek with the cops, even when the guns and bombs were real.
Today, there’s nowhere to hide for anyone, not presidents, not corporate cats, and not mass murdering dictators like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, who …
THE CURTAIN CALL IS COMING
Donald Trump’s Cardinal Sin Wasn’t Fascism. It was Exposing the DC Kayfabe
American politics are nothing more than professional wrestling for people with college diplomas
Shave Kamala’s head
For all the ink spilled analyzing Donald Trump’s success in US politics over the last nine years, nearly everyone in legacy media has missed the obvious. More than anything, Trump’s return as the once and future king of our national stage signals the complete professional wrestlization of our democracy, with the White House now becoming the arena for both of America’s favorite pseudo-sports.
If you watch Rachel Maddow or Sean Hannity’s cable news shows and think of “Mean Gene” Okerlund doing his iconic 1980s promos with “Macho Man” Randy Savage or the Ultimate Warrior, the entire spectacle of American politics makes much more sense. The “journalist” plays the part of a solemn straight man, but in reality is nothing more than a glorified prop assisting the scripted theatrics of their outlandish subject, who rants and raves on cue. Behind it all, there’s no substance whatsoever. Cheer for the …
The Fight of the Century
Dallas defines the modern American city, i.e., an Instagram backdrop that repeats itself across physical space without losing its distinctiveness.
Jake Paul is an Instagram story that repeats itself across time without losing its distinctive Jake Paul-ness.
So what about Mike Tyson?
With its bridge-length trusses and translucent façade, the three-million-square-foot dome of AT&T Stadium sits at the geographical heart of Dallas, a landscape of skyscrapers, shopping centers, convention halls, hotel districts, amusement centers, and ballparks that repeat across the city’s various hubs. The stadium hosts everything from Super Bowls to Taylor Swift concerts, from rodeos to World Cup matches. Recently it served as the backdrop for a highly anticipated event in the dying sport of boxing: Twenty-seven-year-old Jake Paul, a YouTuber turned professional fighter, taking on fifty-eight-year-old Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion of the world.
Perhaps the simplest way to talk about Jake Paul, at least in the context of our current moment, is through his relationship to boxing. In 2018, he and his brother Logan, already millionaires many times over thanks to the popularity of …
