Back in 2020, I learned 2 lessons about the Internet: 1) that when there is a 'crisis' that affects the nation or the world, big platforms CAN clamp down on your ability to source information that is important to you...and that is scary when only you seem to care about it and nobody in the "real world" seems to see the extent to which censorship is taking place; and 2) that Internet Armies can bleed into the real world and affect people IRL, namely those that stick their necks out and make statements to public audiences on the Internet (and once again, in ways that people in the "real world" would be unable to actually see occur). These two lessons shaped me significantly and changed my content consumption on the Internet in at least 2 dramatic ways. 1. My stance on the free speech / censorship debate transformed my position from one where I was very supportive of "free speech spaces" to a position of where I became a zealot of "free speech spaces" and would dedicate attention toward various e-celebs that utilized their free speech capabilities and various digital technologies that allow for "tech decentralization" so that I could rest assured that if "free speech spaces" started getting excised from the Internet, I would know where the remaining ones existed. 2. My stance on what power on the Internet looks like and what capabilities one is able to exert while hidden behind anonymous accounts and different Internet social mechanisms (ie groupchats, forums, platforms). These 2 lessons were learned as I discovered a series of increasingly politically-/parapolitically-oriented commentators, and the platforms on which they inhabited. Naturally, at the time, I was ardently anti-lockdown. I don't respond as happily as some others might to government authorities being arbitrarily authoritative, especially when I've acquired various information that there may be more to the story. 2/x

In response to the various new information regarding the COVID situation presented by mainstream outlets, I consumed a YouTube (and various other platforms) video content diet of the following video content creators who shared similar sentiment as myself and spoke out about it to some extent: Tim Pool, Nick Fuentes, The Quartering, Metokur, Sam Hyde, Null (Kiwifarms owner), Mr Obvious, Liberal Hivemind As well as those that spoke about solutions that might exist with regard to tech decentralization: Luke Smith, Mental Outlaw, Null (Kiwifarms owner), Graf (owner of [poa.st](http://poa.st/) on the Fediverse) Via a Discord Server that was anti-lockdown that I barely managed to get into after Reddit quarantined its subreddit, many of the Discord Server users all seemed to like a livestreamer called "Mister Metokur" who spoke on alternative information of the lockdown to that which was presented by mainstream media outlets. They posted his streams in the server regularly. It was through this streamer, that I ultimately discovered Kiwifarms, that was anti-lockdown, and Nick Fuentes, who was anti-lockdown, of which both I spent more time following due to their anti-lockdown positions. I never really got into the Red Scare Podcast, but it was always mentioned on the periphery, whether it be Sam Hyde, who had the Red Scare Podcast girl on his show once, mentions on threads on Kiwifarms, mentions by superchatters of Nick Fuentes on his show, mentions by Chapo Traphouse or CumTown or Adam Friedland followers who I'd encounter at times. Over time, I did become more aware of the Red Scare Podcast, when they had some good tweets that entered into my purview, and ultimately checked out some of their podcast (I listened to a couple of their episodes; I do kind of like their "chill" style, and the way that they generally have pretty grounded takes). 3/x

As far as video content consumption is concerned however, the whole COVID thing made me entirely more parasocial for excitable politically-oriented content. Post-COVID, I continued to listen to Tim Pool, Nick Fuentes, Null (Kiwifarms owner), and Mr Metokur for a while, largely because they seemed to have this understanding of how to be a livestreamer when there are ostensibly forces beyond your control that may be trying to 'take you down' (whether that be government sanctions from above, or trolls from below). All of this parasocial interest on my end was bolstered and underpinned by my further interest in observing the Kiwifarms forum, which served at least in part as a real-time TMZ for Internet influencers that ostensibly anyone can contribute to to comment upon them. I consumed a significant amount of all of the video content produced of the influencers I've mentioned so far to the point where I more or less understood their schtick, their lore, and the various insight that they provided. As time has gone on, so have I when it comes to these various influencers to the point where "I've been there, done that" as far as understanding what they bring to the table. However, despite my best efforts and knowing full well that 'it may not be what it seems', I continue to tune into 3 influencer video creator / livestreamers / social media influencers that are tracked by the Kiwifarms forum / in the peripheral Kiwifarms orbit as well. Each of these individuals has a public presence that they put on the Internet, and seem to have a strong philosophical presence that goes "against the grain" to some extent, whereby they brush up with "the real world" at times, and it's compelling to watch their sagas as they present their philosophy against larger influencers / establishment personalities / the long arm of the law, so as to see how they react/adapt/cope/rise above with their reality either challenging or being challenged by the status quo. 4/x

The three influencers: 1. Destiny - well known hyperonline livestreamer, probably the best online debater, very consequentialist when it comes to winning Internet debates ("the ends justify the means"). I found out about him when he had a couple of political debates with Nick Fuentes that the YouTube algorithm provided me a couple of years ago. I disagree with so many of Destiny's takes, but his ability to use rhetoric and trickery to deceive his debate opponents is very impressive and entertaining to watch. He produces video content way too often, so I only catch them when I can, but he's clearly someone who is motivated to win, and is likely the best online debater as a result. https://kiwifarms.st/threads/steven-bonnell-ii-destiny-destiny-gg.29205/ https://www.youtube.com/@destiny https://x.com/TheOmniLiberal 5/x

2. Trollcow - lesser known and smaller influencer by subscribers/community, but compelling person to watch based on shock-factor of the various claims they make, while also carrying themselves with a certain air of sophistication at times that pretenses legitimacy in a clever way. I'd have no idea who this person is except for the fact that they encountered the Kiwifarms owner when they took credit for trying to get his forum taken down and he mentioned on his podcast as a result (the Kiwifarms owner refuses to speak about this influencer nowadays as a result, but has a thread for her on his forum). Trollcow is an active tweeter (when her accounts aren't getting taken down) and says insane shit that I've never seen anywhere else before (she tweets that she is "pro-swatting" on Twitter and consistently makes #shtwt and radfem takes, presumably for attention, but it's unclear). She doesn't put out video streams as often anymore, but her Kiwifarms thread is active, as she seems to have acquired a die-hard "anti" audience that tracks her social media presence and the antics that she gets up to. https://kiwifarms.st/threads/elaine-april-gertler-miller-elaine-georgie-gertler-miller-elaine-miller-trollcow-pissminge-z3r6-echo.87610/ https://www.youtube.com/@trollcowbackup/videos https://odysee.com/@Trollcow-Archive:6 6/x

3. Null - owner of Kiwifarms and podcaster. From my standpoint, the Kiwifarms seems to be the ostensibly largest collective Internet Army (even though the forum has strict rules against "brigading"), and Null would naturally be the leader of this large Internet Army. For a forum that has all the receipts (real or fake) on any Internet influencer or community, and the staying power to influence them significantly, has with it the implication of a massive gravity well for the owner of the forum that manages all of his people. Therefore, with his podcast that he produces twice a week, I try to keep tabs on the various things he covers, as it would seem to directionally move global Internet Culture in general. https://t.me/kiwifarms https://kiwifarms.st/members/null.1/https://x.com/KiwiFarmsDotNet https://www.youtube.com/@MATIArchive410 (archive channel) https://odysee.com/@mati:c 7/x

Beyond these three, I'll eye up if the Red Scare Podcast girls, Nick Fuentes, or if Sam Hyde do anything new and provocative, as these three seem to also have significant devoted followings toward a particular way of thinking, but beyond that I don't really tune into their content regularly or, as they all seem to be on the edge of "falling off", as has been the case with many other Internet e-celebs. I don't really tune into any other e-celeb at this point for that reason (I've already seen the most compelling of what they had to offer). Such is e-fame. 8/x

"men who were never popular in high school healing their trauma". To clarify, are you saying they were traumatized, either literally or hyperbolically, by being unpopular? that such a condition left a non-trivial impact (albeit delible) on their psyche? or that this exacerbated other traumas?

earlichka

3 months ago

They never had a chance at being anything other than the bottom rung of the social hierarchy of teenagers, and each has in their own way alluded to a feeling of rejection and alienation sharpened by their peers. Steve Bannon and Slavoj Zizek: fat broke disgusting slobs with abnormally dry/oily skin and uncool interests. Adam Curtis: too autistic to talk to girls, didn't yet have access to BBC archives to reveal his inner artistic talent as a storyteller through archival collage. Glenn Greenwald: closeted argumentative jewish twink in 1970s Florida, perhaps one of the worst places on earth to be an effeminate secular nerd. So yeah, I think there was something genuinely healing about two undeniably attractive, New York cool, archetypically "mean girls", hanging on your every word, laughing at your every joke, and making you feel like part of the in-crowd in a way that even the other successful people in your field just aren't. The first and last time I ever heard Steve Bannon speak approvingly of (evil socialist administrative state) medicaid is when Dasha said it really helped her out when she was having mental issues. Suddenly, Steve Bannon the culture warrior was falling all over himself to find a way to not offend his cool new actress friend Dasha, the first attractive woman that had *ever* said she liked his sense of fashion and thought it was a "hot look." When Anna mindlessly seconded it in a convincing tone instead of breaking out into mocking laughter, you could almost hear him preen and blush. In that moment, he was truly pleased, vulnerable, seduced. Remarkable stuff, a human interaction that's stayed with me.

3Reply

Fantastic comment. You said a lot of what I wanted to say but in a more articulate and elegant manner. They are a big hit or miss ep to ep basis, but they are popular for a reason beyond the fact that Dasha is on No Agency softcore nude shots. And there's also a reason why /r/rsp is so popular and filled with people who don't even listen to the pod. Beyond just the sheer entertainment value of their podcast, the mythology they created around themselves and the podcast capture what people who are in their 20s in cities like new york want deep down. They want to be young, hot, popular, know everyone, have their voices heard, be different, financially independent, have good taste, and most of all, be desired. Most people who like /r/rsp probably like it because it doesn't feel like Reddit. It doesn't feel like some web1.0 forum either, even though that's a quip I hear often. It's the audience and the crowd it attracts. People who can jest, people who can see the absurd, people who want to provoke, people who understand that punching down is sometimes funnier than punching up, people who are tired of the neutered internet, people who never wanted to impress everyone, but a very specific group of people they deemed cool. People who are narcissists but also mega self-conscious about it. People who always thought they were so cool and special yet always felt privately slighted at the world that the world doesn't validate them as much as they deserve. I personally don't think any of these traits are inherently bad or cringe at all. There's a reason why the first place I launched this site was RSP/RSBC. I knew if these groups of people liked it, it was special. The internet is so neutered now. The fact that the most profitable companies in modern history are entirely reliant on advertising killed the internet. And RSP is probably the last place where you forget that fact. And hopefully lit salon, lol.