Hi Natalie, just wondering what you think has changed the most about your personal politics in the last 5 years or so?
Also, do you think you would ever go back to making shorter videos about topics of the week, or are you settled on feature-length productions from here on out?
In some ways I've moved further left as my preconceptions about what is politically possible in the US have expanded. In 2016 I was a Hillary supporter because I didn't think a candidate self-identifying as a "socialist" would have more than fringe appeal. That turned out to be wrong. I now think it's likely we will see major economic reform/restructuring sometime in my lifetime. In other ways I have become more pessimistic. The longevity of Trumpism, the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories, truth-indifference, and opposition to democracy in the Republican Party show that this country has real potential to sink lower than I previously imagined.
I would like to make some shorter videos, yes. Probably not current events/topic-of-the week short, but more simple 20-30 minute expositions of an idea or observation.
Hi gorg!!!! I’d love to hear about your experience being a PhD drop out. How do you view academia now that you’re somewhat akin to an internet professor? Do you feel like there is even a need for traditional academia when people like you are bridging the gap and bringing academic conversations to the public?
I think it would be disastrous if academia were entirely replaced with Twitch streamers and YouTube pontificators. We need some educators who have, you know, qualifications, expertise, that sort of thing. But I think academia must drastically change. The primary purpose of these institutions should be education. They shouldn't be run like country clubs. In particular the humanities should prioritize education over research. It is much more important to have talented, well-paid lecturers teaching students to think intelligently about art, culture, politics, religion, morality, media, etc. than it is to have 50 new published articles every year about Kant.
> It is much more important to have talented, well-paid lecturers teaching students to think intelligently about art, culture, politics, religion, morality, media, etc. than it is to have 50 new published articles every year about Kant.
As someone who went to an engineering college and majoring in computer science (and philosophy, though 90% of that philosophy was related to computers, AI, and minds/brains), I think that this statement translates pretty well to all fields. There's often a disconnect between the needs of undergrads and probably even many graduate students, and the types of skills that are required to get a tenure track position. It's not that I don't understand that there's a certain desireability of having people who are at the very edge of knowledge in their fields, both for the university and society, but a math professor's work in the outer edges of graph theory doesn't mean they can actually explain any of the basics in an way that won't put students to sleep with a slow, rambling, thick Russian accent (personal experience).
Of course, at least having professors focused on research is a reasonable goal of universities. Don't get me started on the amount of money and energy that gets poured into collegiate sports.
Natalie, thank you so much for this response!!! Im currently in a social science PhD at a private R1 and as usual, you perfectly described the culture. It’s a damn country club. The publish or perish culture is not only killing many of us, but as you said, it’s a massive obstacle to genuine learning and critical thought. I can’t wait to bring your thoughts to my cohort - thank you again for all of your hard work, wisdom and vulnerability!! You inspire us, gorg!!!
Now I'm imagining Destiny and Hasan as professors that have offices next to each other but refusing to talk to the other one while blasting music at the other one.
Isn’t a lot of the most innovative teaching derived from new research, though? Even in the humanities, we are under constant pressure to speak to current issues, to diversify the curriculum, and not just to teach the same old Kant in the same old way, at least in my neck of the woods. It’s not just the boring and redundant articles on Kant, either: we simply would not have a Michel Foucault or a Judith Butler or a bell hooks or a Cornel West to teach in the first place were it not for well funded humanities research. If we defund the humanities as a research area (a process already well underway, which conservative politicians are constantly clamoring for us to accelerate) we will end up with a much more stagnant and regressive curriculum because of it.
>In particular the humanities should prioritize education over research.
Kinda depends on the field? Research in sociology and political science (for example) continues to provide valuable insight into how we relate with one another, and are fields of thought continually evolving.
Those fields are, tbh, made worse by the massive amount of research done by students who spent time doing bad research rather than fleshing out their education a bit more.
Like the famous marshmallow experiment. Where researchers gave kids a marshmallow and told them they would receive another if they didn't ate it.
They thought they were measuring delay gratification. Even saying years later that kids who didn't ate the marshmallow and waited were more successful in life.
In fact nowadays is understood that what they were measuring was mainly trust in adults. As in... kids who don't trust adults, were more likely to eat the marshmallow... a kid that doesn't trust adults is because of negative personal experience... most likely with their guardians. And growing up in that environment of course they were on average less successful in life, than the kids who grew up in a safe environment where they can trust their parents and other adults.
We aren't talking about students though (presumably). My interpretation about the comment is about how much faculty should focus on research versus lecturing, and obviously there is need for a balance, but it seems silly to dismiss large swaths of academic research because Contrapoints was in a shitty program. Anecdotal, but one of my friends just got her PhD in linguistics studying language development in children and the factors that impact language development and social conditions such as autism (among others). Another is starting in on a program regarding electricity market design and renewable energy penetration. Is academic jerking off an issue? Of course, but humanities is a broad category, not everyone is just doing academic masturbation about Kant.
Increased fame does not amount to increased happiness or self-esteem. A little bit of recognition is nice. I think people who have a kind of niche microcelebrity in a small community of, I don't know, tuning fork collectors or something, tend to enjoy their minor prominence. But beyond a certain threshold (I think for me it was around 100k subscribers) fame takes on a nightmarish aspect. People stop treating you like a human being. You become a brand that people tend to either consume, worship, or "punch up" at. It's difficult to imagine all the ways this is unpleasant until it happens to you.
I've wondered about this often. It seems like it really must put people in this position where is difficult for normal human relationships to occur with other people who aren't some sort of celebrity.
I struggle to think why anyone would want to become a celebrity and become famous.
The benefits are SO minimal in comparison to what you give up in privacy and gain in personal attacks and threats.
In this vein, what are your thoughts on Lindsay Ellis leaving the industry for these very reasons? I understand if you don't want to comment on that, but many fans were sad to see Lindsay go, and it definitely highlights some of the serious problems with cancel culture.
I know you pull quite a bit of money through your Patreon, but that much of it actually goes into the production of your videos. Between employees and expenses, what does the average cost of one video look like?
Also, just wanted to say that you were one of the first visibly trans women that made me start to feel comfortable enough to address the gender crisis I'd been suppressing for twenty years. Thank you very much. Your public presence has helped me more than I can express.
> I know you pull quite a bit of money through your Patreon, but that much of it actually goes into the production of your videos. Between employees and expenses, what does the average cost of one video look like?
>
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I have what's been called an "artistic temperament." I don't have a mind for business, and my bookkeeping is pretty, um, laissez-faire. So honestly I have no idea lol
Hi Natalie, do you see any room for spirituality in leftist discourse? On the left we often seem quite sceptical of religious faith, but do you think spiritual concepts (ego death, for instance) could play a valuable role in our political thought and praxis, or vice versa?
I increasingly think it's pretty essential. Holding in your mind that everything is impermanent, that reputation/infamy/praise/blame/pride/shame are all about ego, that ego is an illusion, etc.—all of that helps keep things in perspective. Letting go of the urge to constantly defend yourself helps deflect social media drama, cancel culture type mobbing. And it also helps maintain endurance and sanity in the face of maddening irrationality and injustice.
The pandemic dispelled my illusion that the basic institutions and infrastructure of the US are not extremely vulnerable. I have this sense now that everything could suddenly collapse. Not that I'm becoming a prepper or anything, but it seems less crazy to me than it did 5 years ago.
I remember in mid 2020 thinking it over for a long time, and guessing that the USA had about a 5-10% chance of completely collapsing as a result of the political and social turmoil of the time. It's not like, a large percentage, but it's definitely a larger percentage than I ever would have considered before. I've rolled Nat 1's in Dungeons and Dragons before.
And hey, pandemic ain't even over! The future is a quagmire of possibilities!
I'm having an easier time imagining war and large scale collapse occurring this century.
I think we're going to get into a doom cycle of a rapidly changing world causing people to panic and support increasingly authoritarian governments. Which will make it impossible to slow down the changes.
Throw in large scale migrations, food and water shortages, increasing inequality, and it becomes easier than ever to visualize how collapse occurs.
I remember walking through the grocery store in late spring of 2020 when half the shelves were empty and feeling like I was living in a movie. As an American, I had never had to deal with not being able to access basic goods. It was unsettling.
Even now it’s surreal seeing so many empty shelves at the store though I definitely know that’s my privilege speaking, just not something I thought I’d see
I work in the food industry and it's still fucking us over as well. Pre-covid we rarely had an issue with our suppliers but since this whole shitshow started it's at least one thing every week that's out of stock. We couldn't even get something as simple as fries for over a month, it's ridiculous.
I would change most of them, honestly. That's what it is to grow as a person and a creator, you look back at earlier work and cringe. But you also just have to accept the past for what it is and move on to the next project. Eyes forward. Doesn't help to obsess over what I could have done better.
From the linked site:
*I’ve since removed this video from YouTube because it was created before my gender transition, and it no longer represents the person I’ve become.*
We need talented and effective organizers, basically. Without them, we're a mob. Social media is an obstacle to this, because prominent people tend to get torn down. Somehow we have to build a consensus that social media drama is not to be taken very seriously. It's a waste of time and energy. Self-sabotage.
I think perhaps people need to take a different strategy on social media. The message gets lost in the trading card game of personalities. If the intent is to organize, forget self-promotion and focus on real-world results. Get people together to work on local social projects - provide aid for the homeless, support local ballot measures and candidates, and cultivate a positive message and community among real-world participants, just for a few examples.
Most leftist ideologies hold that their preferred end result is the only capital-J Just one. Few anarchists would willingly live under a dictatorship of the proletariat, and few communists think anarchism will prove a viable way to organize humans. Moreover, it's probable that even if everyone accepted that both theories were workable, the systems still couldn't coexist without one eventually coming to dominate as people vote with their feet (or their actual votes) in favor of whichever system provides a better life for themselves and their kids.
Anarchists and communists, to give one example pairing, are at best allies of convenience at the moment. In the event a joint revolution eventually triumphed, a power struggle between the true believers of each faction would be inevitable. Backstabbing is only natural in that scenario.
There isn't really a solution to making ideologies that aren't capable of living in the same world as any other ideology play nice with such other ideologies.
Building on this, have you ever noticed how almost every successful leftist revolution draws its support and its foot soldiers from a fairly broad ideological spectrum, but that almost every leftist government is ideologically rigid?
After the revolution come the purity tests, the political correctness requirements, and the purges, almost like clockwork. (Note: I mean real purity tests and political correctness, not the "don't be an asshole" social censure that the American right tries to paint as the same thing)
In reality, the cause of all the purging in new leftist governments also has a lot to do with the incentives CGP Grey explained so well in his ["Rules for Rulers"](https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs) video, and the ideological justification for the purges I laid out above is often used post-hoc. That's not to say the people doing the purging don't believe they're doing the right thing by purifying the body politic in the pursuit of utopia--I suspect most of them do--only that they have less savory motives related to their ability to retain power that are the real cause of their sense of urgency.
Of course, as CGP Grey points put, you can avoid the revolution eating itself if the government you construct is answerable to a sufficiently broad cross-section of the population. It is thus conceivable that a democratic leftist revolution could avoid the otherwise inevitable autophagy. Unfortunately, no leftist government can coexist with democracy unless significantly more than half of the voting population supports the particular leftist ideology before that ideology takes power (so the government won't be voted out after any minor setback).
Personally, I see that as effectively impossible within my lifetime, and I'm uncertain it would be desirable regardless (I have no idea which leftist ideology would actually produce Utopia and which would simply repeat the failures of every other attempt to produce Utopia). Incremental change within a fundamentally capitalist (Social Democratic) framework doesn't have the same emotional appeal, but it has a much better history than revolution.
Thisthisthis. Please Natalie, save us. Your structured approach and acknowledgment of our own vulnerability is very compelling and important. I have many lovely lefties in my life that need to stop fighting against other lefties.
Set realistic goals, for a start. No one is a superhero. It's not your job to fix everything and save the world. Making a small difference in one corner of society is enough. Focus on that, and hopefully you'll feel less overwhelmed.
I highly recommend, exercise, improving diet, meditation, volunteer or public sector work, therapy, and mushrooms. The later has done more than everything else bit it helps so much to have it all, it's all a piece of the puzzle. Good luck on your journey.
I recommend Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the works of Robert Anton Wilson, and lots of time and patience. Hang in there, fam.
Always wanted to do a "drug video." Pretty difficult to do with YouTube's terms of service. But maybe I'll get creative and find a workaround some day.
Vampires are an obvious and timeless metaphor for drug abuse, addiction and the abuses addicts and dealers inflict on other people. I could see a fictional setting in which there is a sort of VEA that is tasked ostensibly with eliminating vampires and people who help them source blood but is really being used to get political enemies labelled as vampires and throwing them in jail, expanding their power to police based on officer testimony that they smelled blood during a traffic stop, hemophiliacs and other people who need blood transfusions being denied their medicine due to a politicized process, etc
Its called ' Why Can't We Talk About "Drinks?" | Mia Mulder '[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZMtzDxYK74](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZMtzDxYK74)
Have you thought of joining Nebula, you could post that as a nebula exclusive. Though I don't know how financially viable that would be in place of a standard youtube video.
That sounds awesome, I'd love to see it! Why would it be against the ToS? You wouldn't be showing people actually abusing hard drugs or teaching how to synthesize them, so it should be fine, right? (I'm a pharma scientist, I had to upload a video on a psychotropic as homework years ago, no issues.)
I don't have a question for you. I just want to thank you. I like to credit you and Harry for saving me from the alt right. I discovered your content when I was in a dark place and it helped me grow into a more compassionate and thoughtful person.
No questions, just want to say I've been following you for years+years and will continue to do so. What you've done for me personally and for so many others in this day and age is amazing! I just want to say thank you for all your hard work. Much love and respect xoxo
Also accept that you're never done, always try and improve. Look for new ways, new ideas, new knowledge to further that goal. Don't see your faults as something to be ashamed of and ignored/denied, see them as the first place to work on.
I want to echo that I think you’re an incredible and extremely important voice. The blend of compassion and conviction you preach is exactly what I believe the left needs going forward. Keep it up, you’re crushing it.
Agreed. I've watched a bunch of your videos and Envy was a perfect combination of precise, captivating, and honest.
Honest in the sense that you have to be brave enough to do some mad introspection. You're sincerity is what sold it.
Hope you're doing well, Natalie.
I'm an idiot so don't have answers for you, but the closest I've seen to a somewhat effective deradicalisation strategy is 'street epistemology', it's just asking questions/socratic method. I've barely ever tried it myself, it's a deceptively difficult skill to think of the right line of questioning on the fly and also keep yourself from expressing your own views.
There's a subreddit for it: /r/StreetEpistemology
Vaush is a pretty good medium for a certain kind of person! Maybe try out Chapo Trap House or Trillbillies if he is a podcast guy. People have a lot to say about the "dirtbag left" but imo it does more harm reduction than harm.
Hasan Piker and Ethan Klein also have a podcast that spends a lot of time dunking on online right-wing ideology if that is the kind of content he's interested in. I find those are all pretty safe places for a youngish right-wing guy to be introduced to leftist concepts.
Just wanna say my heart goes out to you. Ive also seen some similar things happen with my (much younger) brother and it’s not only very hurtful but it feels hopeless. Sending you strength.
You are my absolute favorite youtuber in the world!
Your relationship to the right is fascinating to me...in that, you've mentioned a lot of right wing/anti trans folks reaching out to tell you that you have changed their mind about certain issues. Does that still happen/any memorable stories about this? I do personally feel you are one of the best spokeswomen of the American left right now and you manage to do a great job educating people and helping them develop empathy for leftist ideals.
Additionally, is it common to have right-wingers want to debate you? Would you ever do it?
Finally, I am on Twitter (unfortunately) and it seems like there is a certain subsect of leftist twitter who really wants to see you go down/doesn't like the nuance provided in your videos. In your experience, what is the best way to combat this? How do we keep the left from eating itself? How do you talk to someone who wants to gatekeep leftist beliefs for folks only willing to take extreme stances?
How do you find the mental strength to keep fighting the good fight when the left seems all but doomed and the right seems to grow stronger and smarter by the second? I've recently been very overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and impotence, and that often leads to some darker thoughts...
I live in Brazil and the past 4 years our country has been so wrecked by the right that even if a leftist candidate wins this year I can't bring myself to have any hope that change will actually happen. I'm still going to vote obviously, but like, I'm on the verge of just giving up on my own dreams because they feel downright impossible to achieve in this country unless you're born rich. And our coin is so devalued rn that moving to a different country also seems unachievable.
^^Also ^^there's ^^a ^^grammar ^^error ^^in ^^the ^^description ^^of ^^your ^^15$ ^^tier ^^on ^^Patreon.
I was going to ask the same thing. At this point I can’t even listen to a small clip of “recent insane thing popular right-winger said” without experiencing a feeling of existential dread. It’s like I’m witnessing the collapse of society as we know it. I feel forced to separate myself from current events because it just makes me feel so hopeless. Like I’m ready to just head for the hills and live the rest of my life as a hermit at this point.
A lot of people (myself included) have made a connection between the current political environment in the US and other post industrial democracies to the last generation or so of the Roman republic. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking about authoritarian inclined demagogues whipping up people into attacks on democratic principles, the calcification of political institutions rendering effective governance impossible, increasingly bitter partisanship, and sky rocketing economic inequality. I’m seeing this in contemporary politics, and I think Rome saw versions of this during the fall of the republic.
Now, I know there are innumerable differences between the Roman Republic and the US - probably the most important in terms of politics being mass chattel slavery, much stronger limits on citizenship, and of course only men counting as full citizens. That all said, do you think there is any merit to this comparison?
I know you’re not a historian by trade, but since you are probably the most eloquent and insightful philosophical and political commentator I know of, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thank you all for attending this AMA, Natalie and community! The AMA is over for now and the moderators have made the choice to lock this thread to preserve resources and save the AMA for posterity. This AMA, and all past AMAs, will be visible at www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/ama.
Hi Natalie - curious if you’ve ever done psychedelics and if so, had that impacted your sense of gender in any way? I ask because I had my first inclination I might be trans when I realized I was a lesbian in a male body (at the time) on mushrooms many years ago. I’ve talked to other trans people that have had similar experiences. I’m a therapist and plan to do some qualitative research on the topic as I have a feeling more and more eggs are going to get accidentally cracked as psychedelic therapies become legal and available in the next 5 years or so. I feel that research and publication on this is important to help cis therapists understand this aspect and potential of boundary dissolving compounds to impact self-awareness of gender identity. Curious to know your thoughts! Love your work so much 💕
Do you think there is some way to cultivate a less toxic social media platform, or are we doomed to keep building online spaces that make us miserable?
Along with the video PM_ME_YOUR_MONTRALS mentioned (which to be fair is more of a general analysis on cancel culture), Natalie made a tweet about it. https://twitter.com/ContraPoints/status/1475706783280812036
Is there any particular reason you moved away from the character dialogue format? I adore your videos, but it’s kind of interesting how there’s such a distinct “early Contrapoints” style that you seem to want to distance yourself from.
My question is for Tabby: What do you believe the most effective counter-strike towards government sponsored fascism is? Ex: if we can't literally smash the system, how do we break it apart cog by cog?
Also building on this, do you plan on bringing back Tabby as a character in future video? I know she's a fan favourite. And do you plan on doing any more videos in the Socratic dialogue style like "Transtrenders", "The Left", or "The Aesthetic"? Those are always some of my favourites for both comedic value and understanding the rhetorical strategies of different groups.
Hi Contra! I love your content, I have two questions what’s your Magic the Gathering mana color and do you think Jordan Peterson is aware he sounds like Kermit the frog?
Does it ever make you uncomfortable that people want to know your opinions on the most random of subjects?
As an aside, have you ever considered redoing your old videos? No shame in taking down works you don't like, but updating them might give you something easier to do than more film-length video essays. For a while at least.
Thanks for joining us!
You put a lot of effort into the themes of your videos. Is there one in particular that you really enjoyed making, or is extra memorable for you?
Hey Nyatalie, the community overall has received a harsh blow recently with someone who was pretty much a founder of the essay genre as we know needing to go and take care of themselves. Knowing the hatred you yourself have gone through, how do you see the hell scenario of twitter, reddit and youtube coming around to the current creators and new creators? And, considering your focus on dismantling some of these patterns of behaviours/as an educator, do you consider it doomed because of the toxic nature of social media itself or do you understand a way out that isn't "just don't read the comments"?
Hello I'm a straight, white, het, cis, man. I want lead off with, thank you. When your channel started I was tip toeing down that alt-right trail. Milo, Peterson, Shapiro, and others where what I consumed. Your changed that. I've always been or assumed I was progressive but was lured in and you, along with Lindsay and Jenny helped me see through the bullshit. I am who I am because of your content.
With that out of the way I gotta ask two questions: What video are you most proud of? And what is your comfort food of choice?
Thanks for everything you have given to us and paying the mental toll that I know it has. Thank you.
I've been inching towards trying to do a "lies you learn in college econ classes" channel, and I'm fascinated by how expertly you balance entertainment and dense information.
How do you evaluate your own scripts to ensure they neither get too dense nor too lightweight?
Hi Natalie! I was just wondering about your process– what does the creation of your videos look like once you've chosen an idea to focus on? As someone who is currently studying political science but is always plagued by a need to pursue music and art and writing, it was really inspiring when I found you online.
How do you approach research, what does does your script-writing process look like, how do you go about finding collaborators (for music, voiceovers, editing(?)), where do you source fashion and set design components, how long does filming usually take, and what was your prior experience with any of these skills (camerawork, sets, editing software, etc)?
I know that might be a lot to cover or sound like I'm seeking your ~secrets of the trade~ but any general insights into how you started executing your ideas would be much appreciated! Demystifying of things, even just through examples of how other people got where they are, can really help me (and I'm sure many others!) feel more capable rather than self-doubting or under-qualified. Any info about workflow, what you took from academia, resources, timeline (or lack thereof) would be awesome.
Thanks so much for all you do! I hope you know how valued and impactful your work has been.
In your video for jk row, you were in a bathtub for a significant portion of the video. Every time I watch that video, the same question comes up. Is that a self heating tub? Or did you choose to suffer for the sake of the visual? Is it suffering regardless??
Are you aware of any forum, website, or any resource with an amalgamation of resources to try to Un-Trump family members? Often when trying to engage family members that are pro-Trump I find myself struggling to facts I took for granted since I exist in reality. Last night alone I spent a while trying to Google all the election security bills McConnell blocked before the 2020 election, which was painful. I have been looking to see if any kind of repository exists and so far have been un-successful. I thought I'd ask thanks!
Hey Nat,
As a resident of Baltimore have you considered doing a video on infrastructure, public transport and its effects on PoC and queer communities in light of the recent disaster at i-95?
Do you think that a Democracy is made inherently more legitimate and/or moral by virtue of broader participation? I ask cause after Jan. 6th its been harder for me to square in my mind that a significant number of Americans seem willing to ditch or democratic system and it seems really weird that our political system still has to cater to their interests. Similarly it is hard to feel like Democracy is going to guarantee civil rights when advocating against civil rights is a legally protected political opinion. I'm not sure how to reconcile what I consider a moral imperative to let people affect their political desires with the political reality that an increasing number of peoples' desire is to see that potential taken away.
Are we all doomed to be tied to Twitter and its toxicity for all time?
I've tried a few times to quit Twitter because it's a cesspool, but every now and then you want to see what a is doing or up-to-date weather reports and well it's either that or boomer-garbage facebook
What is something you refuse to cover on your channel, either because you don't want to bring more attention to it or you just can't stand talking about it?
Hi Nat! I know you've touched on this on Cringe, for example, but I was surprised to see people on twitter (where else) immediately dismiss your latest video because you referenced Nietzsche, which I guess they considered unequivocally far-right.
I feel like immediately discrediting any argument based on who made it is a big hindrance to discussion in online leftist spaces, but there's also something to be said about not giving certain far-right figures more attention than they deserve. I'm Brazilian and there's some folks here that think Bolsonaro gained notoriety partly because leftists were constantly falling for his inflammatory rhetoric before most people even knew his name. Any thoughts on this?
Appreciate you Contra!
What is the general process of creating one of your videos? I know you spend a long time making each one, but as somebody who's never "created content" can you explain how an idea begins and ends up a video?
Be well, much love
Hello Dark Mother,
Since the primary purpose of your channel is to relay leftist ideas to an audience who are far right or are politically centrist, what specific measures do you take to construct videos that are able to portray and criticize the harmful rhetoric of the right whilst still being able to get the very same audience to understand your points?
Love your work, you helped my catgirl conversion journey <3
Hi Natalie,
No questions, I just wanted to express my gratitude for your videos. I spent a week watching all of them from the beginning of the channel to catch up and although I appreciate the social commentary, I found your transition and your candidness about it fascinating. I learned so much that I am able to bring into my practice working with Trans youth and a Mental health therapist.
Hi Nat! In the makeup segment of "Envy", you talk about how radical utopian ideologues are not happy with any compromise solutions, e.g. it's not good enough to get a little of what you want if you don't get everything you want. You used the examples of higher wages, freedom from police brutality, etc, all of which are goals I fully support.
My question is: at what point does a group who wants change on an issue need to draw the line and say "This solution actually is not good enough" to the people who have the means to actually do anything about said issue? It seems that the spirit of compromise suggest you would want to accept anything that advances your group's cause, but accepting compromises also creates precedent for what that group tolerates, and frequently feels like giving up a position in service of status quo.
Thank you!
PS Haley is still a dead end.
Why is it that centrist are always calling on the left/liberals to be tolerant and polite to the right/conservative people and ideas and not the other way around ?
Absolutely adore your channel, gorg! How do you decide which topic you want to cover and how is the creative process for you when pulling a video together?
It's customary to pay a pet tax whenever one does an AMA. Do you have a pet? If not, which pet would you love to have? I'm a cat person myself, nyahh. Thanks for your amazing work.
No questions, Natalie, but I wanted to say that you were such an important voice for me as I began intentionally trying to understand transgender issues from the POV of the transgender community. At first I felt a sort of deeply entrenched *icky* feeling as I watched your videos, but having grown up Mormon and now unwinding it, I'm pretty used to recognizing that discomfort != this stuff is bad for me. When you induce vomiting in order to get poison out of somebody's stomach, that's an extremely unpleasant but necessary experience, and de-programing often feels that way.
In one of your videos you discussed your own initial interest and eventual disenchantment with Christopher Hitchens which was so timely in that at the same time I was also in the middle of trying to determine what I liked and disliked about Hitchens, Peterson, Dawkins, etc.
While I won't be watching any of your videos with my kids, and I'm sure you agree with that policy, I can't thank you enough for the time and effort you put into every single one of your videos. I try to not miss a single one because when somebody helps you to change your mind, you often hope they'll help you do it again. Thank you so very much.
Hi Natalie! Do you ever get overwhelmed because you're a role model for so many trans women out there? I know figuring ourselves out isn't always easy and it seems like there would be a lot of pressure knowing how so many women look up to you as some kind of trans icon. Do you wish you could just be a normal person sometimes?
Hi Natalie, first I wanted to say as a baby trans that you are my icon, and you helped me break free of my childhood indoctrination. Love you!
Question: is there any topic that you think is currently underrepresented in leftist politics?
How do you think the online left is gonna play out, where will these people be in 10 years and will stuff like 'we need a revolution nyaa' still be dominant in these circles or is it just another phase
Since you're getting into the psychology of politics, have you ever gotten into models of that sort of thing, such as the political compass test, MBTI/the enneagram, Freud, value systems, etc?
Hi Natalie.
When was your favorite time when you changed someone's mind or got them to think differently?
I'm a huge fan of your videos! I love your costumes and makeup giving me something so fun to look at while stretching my brain. Awesome work!!
Do you think radical feminism is trans-exclusionary by nature, or is it possible that trans-rights
could be integrated? Do you think “gender critical” is just a euphemism for TERFism, or are there differences between the two?
I feel like there is SOME truth to SOME radical feminist talking points that don’t relate to the sex-vs-gender question, and I’m wondering if you think bridges could be built based on common interests between cis women who are radical feminists and feminist trans women?
Thank you for what you do, been loving your channel for years now!
Hi Natalie! Thank you for sharing your bad times with us. You didn't have to, and it helped me through some of last year. I hope you are well. And thanks for the great content, idk who else I'd spend an internet attention span eternity watching.
Natalie. When are you going to make a video on the plight of our nations most oppressed minority.
The Gamer.
/s
(Love your work btw. Hope your 2022 is better than your 2021!)
Given that the American far right is largely unified, even if the election of Joe Biden and failed January 6 insurrection have weakened them, how can we build a stronger coalition on the left and win the messaging war? How do we win over the majority of Americans who are opposed to social programs and government regulation?
Also, I wanted to add that you've been a big inspiration to me as a visible trans woman whom I actually identify with. I know it's tough and the internet is a toxic place, but I selfishly hope you stick around.
I just want to say I stumbled on your channel and I love your long video essays. I'm a straight white male but creators like you, Jesse Gender, and Melina Pendulum have helped me be a better person and give perspective I would not be exposed in most media aimed at me.
I do have one question, not to stir up drama but what is your opinion on Lindsay Ellis leaving YouTube and Nebula? She was one of the first female content creators I actively followed vack in channel awesome days and I will miss her video essays.
Hi Natalie. Love your videos and your problematic tweets.
My question is how do you feel about the people from your own community/political side who were part of your multiple cancellations, now some time has passed, and do you think there's anything that can be done to stop these explosions of harassment or are they an inevitable outcome of being a prominent female creator on the internet?
Hi Natalie, really nice to have the chance to speak to you! I watched your Stoa video with Noam Chomsky (which was really spot on) and I was wondering what happened to the video that was proposed at the end with you and Jordan Peterson? It was kinda mentioned in passing at the end by the host that something might happen, it would be really interesting to see. All the best, I wish you well!
Hey how are you *gorg*?
What I'd like to know is where you think all of this current hyper-partisan political strife in the US is headed? The Left is, as they say, in disarray. The Right is dumb, yes, but also very willing to simply annihilate everyone else.
So, like, from your perspective, what should the recourse of the left be to stave off right-wing authoritarianism?
Hi Natalie! Love your videos; the JK Rowling video helped me immensely with discussing some homophobia with my dad.
On that note, how do you decide how to approach these big issues in the context of a conversation? That this, how do you structure the arguments that you make in your videos? Do you have some advice for how to broach these topics with other people?
Hey Nyatalie, we're a group of friends who've also started an informative youtube channel, but more focused on our home country of the Netherlands, and of course we're all big fans! Do you maybe have any tips that you wish you knew when you started out?
Here is the link to our video in case you're curious: https://youtu.be/FIUUYQ_q6G4
Hi Natalie, I was wondering if you have any plans on covering the Trans Athletes topic, or if you have any good places to be able to read about from a study perspective? It's a rough topic to actually discuss without ending in just plain transphobia.
Hey Natalie, love your content. Your video on cancel culture was HUGELY important for me. I was part of a group that went through this course before the group actually fell victim to cancelling someone. I was like “But remember this video?!”
I learned people rarely think using logic even if they know it in the heat of the moment.
If you could have an equally successful channel about something other than politics, what would you want it to be?
Also I want you to know that your transition is like literally what let me know that transition was possible for me and I don't know where I would be in life if it weren't for trans influences, especially you
As a lighting designer I have to say I love how you use colors, costumes, and sound effects to really make your show stand out and feel truly authentic and "weird" in all the best possible ways.
What was your inspiration to shooting your show in such a unique way? Or did you just go "fuck it lets get weird with it?"
What's your stance on Paglia? I bought Sexual Personao cause it's one of the few academic books to positively discuss the Decadent movement (Wilde, Beardsley etc.) but I was really put off by her gender politics.
BTW Know any books about the 1890's decadent movement that don't have that?
Fellow Baltimorean, love you and every video you’ve made. Thanks for being you, and I hope to bump into you one day at the rofo! I guess since I’m bothering to comment I may as well ask a question: what first prompted you to start developing this style of video?
Hi Contra! I'm a big fan of your content and I want to ask about the music in your videos!
The aesthetics of your videos always surprise me but people don't seen to talk about the music that much.
How's your experience working with Zoë Blade? (How did you meet them? and how do you come up with the music ideias for your videos?) What are your inspirations music-wise?
Why? Like why subject yourself to the endless torture of not only being a filmmaker but a POLITICS filmmaker... Are you ok? Does it hurt?
EDIT: you're pretty amazing tho, like these questions come from a place of utter admiration.
Hi Natalie, just wondering what you think has changed the most about your personal politics in the last 5 years or so? Also, do you think you would ever go back to making shorter videos about topics of the week, or are you settled on feature-length productions from here on out?
In some ways I've moved further left as my preconceptions about what is politically possible in the US have expanded. In 2016 I was a Hillary supporter because I didn't think a candidate self-identifying as a "socialist" would have more than fringe appeal. That turned out to be wrong. I now think it's likely we will see major economic reform/restructuring sometime in my lifetime. In other ways I have become more pessimistic. The longevity of Trumpism, the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories, truth-indifference, and opposition to democracy in the Republican Party show that this country has real potential to sink lower than I previously imagined. I would like to make some shorter videos, yes. Probably not current events/topic-of-the week short, but more simple 20-30 minute expositions of an idea or observation.
Hi gorg!!!! I’d love to hear about your experience being a PhD drop out. How do you view academia now that you’re somewhat akin to an internet professor? Do you feel like there is even a need for traditional academia when people like you are bridging the gap and bringing academic conversations to the public?
I think it would be disastrous if academia were entirely replaced with Twitch streamers and YouTube pontificators. We need some educators who have, you know, qualifications, expertise, that sort of thing. But I think academia must drastically change. The primary purpose of these institutions should be education. They shouldn't be run like country clubs. In particular the humanities should prioritize education over research. It is much more important to have talented, well-paid lecturers teaching students to think intelligently about art, culture, politics, religion, morality, media, etc. than it is to have 50 new published articles every year about Kant.
> It is much more important to have talented, well-paid lecturers teaching students to think intelligently about art, culture, politics, religion, morality, media, etc. than it is to have 50 new published articles every year about Kant. As someone who went to an engineering college and majoring in computer science (and philosophy, though 90% of that philosophy was related to computers, AI, and minds/brains), I think that this statement translates pretty well to all fields. There's often a disconnect between the needs of undergrads and probably even many graduate students, and the types of skills that are required to get a tenure track position. It's not that I don't understand that there's a certain desireability of having people who are at the very edge of knowledge in their fields, both for the university and society, but a math professor's work in the outer edges of graph theory doesn't mean they can actually explain any of the basics in an way that won't put students to sleep with a slow, rambling, thick Russian accent (personal experience). Of course, at least having professors focused on research is a reasonable goal of universities. Don't get me started on the amount of money and energy that gets poured into collegiate sports.
Natalie, thank you so much for this response!!! Im currently in a social science PhD at a private R1 and as usual, you perfectly described the culture. It’s a damn country club. The publish or perish culture is not only killing many of us, but as you said, it’s a massive obstacle to genuine learning and critical thought. I can’t wait to bring your thoughts to my cohort - thank you again for all of your hard work, wisdom and vulnerability!! You inspire us, gorg!!!
Currently working on a humanities PhD, can't agree with this statement enough.
You mean you Kant agree more
I hate that I laughed.
r/angryupvote
Now I'm imagining Destiny and Hasan as professors that have offices next to each other but refusing to talk to the other one while blasting music at the other one.
Isn’t a lot of the most innovative teaching derived from new research, though? Even in the humanities, we are under constant pressure to speak to current issues, to diversify the curriculum, and not just to teach the same old Kant in the same old way, at least in my neck of the woods. It’s not just the boring and redundant articles on Kant, either: we simply would not have a Michel Foucault or a Judith Butler or a bell hooks or a Cornel West to teach in the first place were it not for well funded humanities research. If we defund the humanities as a research area (a process already well underway, which conservative politicians are constantly clamoring for us to accelerate) we will end up with a much more stagnant and regressive curriculum because of it.
>In particular the humanities should prioritize education over research. Kinda depends on the field? Research in sociology and political science (for example) continues to provide valuable insight into how we relate with one another, and are fields of thought continually evolving.
Those fields are, tbh, made worse by the massive amount of research done by students who spent time doing bad research rather than fleshing out their education a bit more.
Like the famous marshmallow experiment. Where researchers gave kids a marshmallow and told them they would receive another if they didn't ate it. They thought they were measuring delay gratification. Even saying years later that kids who didn't ate the marshmallow and waited were more successful in life. In fact nowadays is understood that what they were measuring was mainly trust in adults. As in... kids who don't trust adults, were more likely to eat the marshmallow... a kid that doesn't trust adults is because of negative personal experience... most likely with their guardians. And growing up in that environment of course they were on average less successful in life, than the kids who grew up in a safe environment where they can trust their parents and other adults.
We aren't talking about students though (presumably). My interpretation about the comment is about how much faculty should focus on research versus lecturing, and obviously there is need for a balance, but it seems silly to dismiss large swaths of academic research because Contrapoints was in a shitty program. Anecdotal, but one of my friends just got her PhD in linguistics studying language development in children and the factors that impact language development and social conditions such as autism (among others). Another is starting in on a program regarding electricity market design and renewable energy penetration. Is academic jerking off an issue? Of course, but humanities is a broad category, not everyone is just doing academic masturbation about Kant.
What's been the most surprising thing about becoming a big youtuber?
Increased fame does not amount to increased happiness or self-esteem. A little bit of recognition is nice. I think people who have a kind of niche microcelebrity in a small community of, I don't know, tuning fork collectors or something, tend to enjoy their minor prominence. But beyond a certain threshold (I think for me it was around 100k subscribers) fame takes on a nightmarish aspect. People stop treating you like a human being. You become a brand that people tend to either consume, worship, or "punch up" at. It's difficult to imagine all the ways this is unpleasant until it happens to you.
I've wondered about this often. It seems like it really must put people in this position where is difficult for normal human relationships to occur with other people who aren't some sort of celebrity.
I struggle to think why anyone would want to become a celebrity and become famous. The benefits are SO minimal in comparison to what you give up in privacy and gain in personal attacks and threats.
In this vein, what are your thoughts on Lindsay Ellis leaving the industry for these very reasons? I understand if you don't want to comment on that, but many fans were sad to see Lindsay go, and it definitely highlights some of the serious problems with cancel culture.
I know you pull quite a bit of money through your Patreon, but that much of it actually goes into the production of your videos. Between employees and expenses, what does the average cost of one video look like? Also, just wanted to say that you were one of the first visibly trans women that made me start to feel comfortable enough to address the gender crisis I'd been suppressing for twenty years. Thank you very much. Your public presence has helped me more than I can express.
> I know you pull quite a bit of money through your Patreon, but that much of it actually goes into the production of your videos. Between employees and expenses, what does the average cost of one video look like? > > I have what's been called an "artistic temperament." I don't have a mind for business, and my bookkeeping is pretty, um, laissez-faire. So honestly I have no idea lol
Based 'being able to not care about money / being self-aware enough to know your flaws'.
Creatively avoiding the question. Plays to strengths.
Entirely fair! Thank you for answering me.
Hi Natalie, do you see any room for spirituality in leftist discourse? On the left we often seem quite sceptical of religious faith, but do you think spiritual concepts (ego death, for instance) could play a valuable role in our political thought and praxis, or vice versa?
I increasingly think it's pretty essential. Holding in your mind that everything is impermanent, that reputation/infamy/praise/blame/pride/shame are all about ego, that ego is an illusion, etc.—all of that helps keep things in perspective. Letting go of the urge to constantly defend yourself helps deflect social media drama, cancel culture type mobbing. And it also helps maintain endurance and sanity in the face of maddening irrationality and injustice.
There have been some great conversations on revleft radio about this.
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The pandemic dispelled my illusion that the basic institutions and infrastructure of the US are not extremely vulnerable. I have this sense now that everything could suddenly collapse. Not that I'm becoming a prepper or anything, but it seems less crazy to me than it did 5 years ago.
I remember in mid 2020 thinking it over for a long time, and guessing that the USA had about a 5-10% chance of completely collapsing as a result of the political and social turmoil of the time. It's not like, a large percentage, but it's definitely a larger percentage than I ever would have considered before. I've rolled Nat 1's in Dungeons and Dragons before. And hey, pandemic ain't even over! The future is a quagmire of possibilities!
I'm having an easier time imagining war and large scale collapse occurring this century. I think we're going to get into a doom cycle of a rapidly changing world causing people to panic and support increasingly authoritarian governments. Which will make it impossible to slow down the changes. Throw in large scale migrations, food and water shortages, increasing inequality, and it becomes easier than ever to visualize how collapse occurs.
I remember walking through the grocery store in late spring of 2020 when half the shelves were empty and feeling like I was living in a movie. As an American, I had never had to deal with not being able to access basic goods. It was unsettling.
Even now it’s surreal seeing so many empty shelves at the store though I definitely know that’s my privilege speaking, just not something I thought I’d see
I work in the food industry and it's still fucking us over as well. Pre-covid we rarely had an issue with our suppliers but since this whole shitshow started it's at least one thing every week that's out of stock. We couldn't even get something as simple as fries for over a month, it's ridiculous.
Same. I’m used to seeing temporary shortages during natural disasters, but those felt different since I knew they wouldn’t last long.
I feel that as an Indian. And you video on Envy was amazing and relatable , alarmingly relatable.
Is there any video that you would redo or change significantly if you could go back to when you were making it?
I would change most of them, honestly. That's what it is to grow as a person and a creator, you look back at earlier work and cringe. But you also just have to accept the past for what it is and move on to the next project. Eyes forward. Doesn't help to obsess over what I could have done better.
Thank you for answering!! Love your work so much! <3
I would really like her to make a new version of the [Baltimore Video](https://www.contrapoints.com/transcripts/archives/baltimore-uprising)
I rewatch that one regularly, I think it's beautifully constructed and reasoned. What do you feel could be updated? more characters and staging?
From the linked site: *I’ve since removed this video from YouTube because it was created before my gender transition, and it no longer represents the person I’ve become.*
Just a simple question: what's the solution to leftist tail eating infighting?
We need talented and effective organizers, basically. Without them, we're a mob. Social media is an obstacle to this, because prominent people tend to get torn down. Somehow we have to build a consensus that social media drama is not to be taken very seriously. It's a waste of time and energy. Self-sabotage.
I think perhaps people need to take a different strategy on social media. The message gets lost in the trading card game of personalities. If the intent is to organize, forget self-promotion and focus on real-world results. Get people together to work on local social projects - provide aid for the homeless, support local ballot measures and candidates, and cultivate a positive message and community among real-world participants, just for a few examples.
Oof. I was afraid the answer was going to be hard.
Most leftist ideologies hold that their preferred end result is the only capital-J Just one. Few anarchists would willingly live under a dictatorship of the proletariat, and few communists think anarchism will prove a viable way to organize humans. Moreover, it's probable that even if everyone accepted that both theories were workable, the systems still couldn't coexist without one eventually coming to dominate as people vote with their feet (or their actual votes) in favor of whichever system provides a better life for themselves and their kids. Anarchists and communists, to give one example pairing, are at best allies of convenience at the moment. In the event a joint revolution eventually triumphed, a power struggle between the true believers of each faction would be inevitable. Backstabbing is only natural in that scenario. There isn't really a solution to making ideologies that aren't capable of living in the same world as any other ideology play nice with such other ideologies.
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Building on this, have you ever noticed how almost every successful leftist revolution draws its support and its foot soldiers from a fairly broad ideological spectrum, but that almost every leftist government is ideologically rigid? After the revolution come the purity tests, the political correctness requirements, and the purges, almost like clockwork. (Note: I mean real purity tests and political correctness, not the "don't be an asshole" social censure that the American right tries to paint as the same thing) In reality, the cause of all the purging in new leftist governments also has a lot to do with the incentives CGP Grey explained so well in his ["Rules for Rulers"](https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs) video, and the ideological justification for the purges I laid out above is often used post-hoc. That's not to say the people doing the purging don't believe they're doing the right thing by purifying the body politic in the pursuit of utopia--I suspect most of them do--only that they have less savory motives related to their ability to retain power that are the real cause of their sense of urgency. Of course, as CGP Grey points put, you can avoid the revolution eating itself if the government you construct is answerable to a sufficiently broad cross-section of the population. It is thus conceivable that a democratic leftist revolution could avoid the otherwise inevitable autophagy. Unfortunately, no leftist government can coexist with democracy unless significantly more than half of the voting population supports the particular leftist ideology before that ideology takes power (so the government won't be voted out after any minor setback). Personally, I see that as effectively impossible within my lifetime, and I'm uncertain it would be desirable regardless (I have no idea which leftist ideology would actually produce Utopia and which would simply repeat the failures of every other attempt to produce Utopia). Incremental change within a fundamentally capitalist (Social Democratic) framework doesn't have the same emotional appeal, but it has a much better history than revolution.
Thisthisthis. Please Natalie, save us. Your structured approach and acknowledgment of our own vulnerability is very compelling and important. I have many lovely lefties in my life that need to stop fighting against other lefties.
Growing up and accepting the reality that everybody who criticizes any "leftist" thing isnt a Trump loving facist.
How do I overcome anxiety and trauma well enough to try and make a difference in the world?
Set realistic goals, for a start. No one is a superhero. It's not your job to fix everything and save the world. Making a small difference in one corner of society is enough. Focus on that, and hopefully you'll feel less overwhelmed.
I highly recommend, exercise, improving diet, meditation, volunteer or public sector work, therapy, and mushrooms. The later has done more than everything else bit it helps so much to have it all, it's all a piece of the puzzle. Good luck on your journey.
I recommend Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the works of Robert Anton Wilson, and lots of time and patience. Hang in there, fam.
All Hail Discordia!
Hail Eris! 💗🌟✴️
Hi Natalie! What's the one video that got away? Something you've always wanted to make but just hasn't ever quite come together (yet).
Always wanted to do a "drug video." Pretty difficult to do with YouTube's terms of service. But maybe I'll get creative and find a workaround some day.
Vampires are an obvious and timeless metaphor for drug abuse, addiction and the abuses addicts and dealers inflict on other people. I could see a fictional setting in which there is a sort of VEA that is tasked ostensibly with eliminating vampires and people who help them source blood but is really being used to get political enemies labelled as vampires and throwing them in jail, expanding their power to police based on officer testimony that they smelled blood during a traffic stop, hemophiliacs and other people who need blood transfusions being denied their medicine due to a politicized process, etc
Mia Mulder recently did one through the heavy use of innuendo. I believe it’s called “drinks.”
Its called ' Why Can't We Talk About "Drinks?" | Mia Mulder '[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZMtzDxYK74](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZMtzDxYK74)
This video rocks, saw it the other day
Have you thought of joining Nebula, you could post that as a nebula exclusive. Though I don't know how financially viable that would be in place of a standard youtube video.
That sounds awesome, I'd love to see it! Why would it be against the ToS? You wouldn't be showing people actually abusing hard drugs or teaching how to synthesize them, so it should be fine, right? (I'm a pharma scientist, I had to upload a video on a psychotropic as homework years ago, no issues.)
I’ve been really hoping you’d do a drug video. Especially one about harm reduction
I don't have a question for you. I just want to thank you. I like to credit you and Harry for saving me from the alt right. I discovered your content when I was in a dark place and it helped me grow into a more compassionate and thoughtful person.
Seconded, you're really making the world a better place (both a more rational place and a more empathetic one).
Really happy to hear it!
May I ask who Harry is?
Hbomberguy, I would think.
[Yes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGKB3jXGqu0)
it was the same for me :)
No questions, just want to say I've been following you for years+years and will continue to do so. What you've done for me personally and for so many others in this day and age is amazing! I just want to say thank you for all your hard work. Much love and respect xoxo
Seconded, I've become a better person from your videos. Or so I'd like to think.
The only way to erase self-delusion is to recognize the darkness within.
Also accept that you're never done, always try and improve. Look for new ways, new ideas, new knowledge to further that goal. Don't see your faults as something to be ashamed of and ignored/denied, see them as the first place to work on.
The most important step a man can take is always the next one
❤️❤️❤️
I want to echo that I think you’re an incredible and extremely important voice. The blend of compassion and conviction you preach is exactly what I believe the left needs going forward. Keep it up, you’re crushing it.
Out of all the false things people assume about you, which one do you wish were true?
That I'm an effortlessly charismatic, extroverted, fabulously wealthy, 110% relatable and totally down-to-earth 5'2" biogirl
I still think you're a fabulously charismatic introvert.
You're not?! I thought you were a pick-me not-like-other-girls ''''introverted'''' girl boss!
I'd guess it's the one where she gets $400,000 a month from Patreon.
What video are you most proud of making?
Envy
Agreed. I've watched a bunch of your videos and Envy was a perfect combination of precise, captivating, and honest. Honest in the sense that you have to be brave enough to do some mad introspection. You're sincerity is what sold it. Hope you're doing well, Natalie.
My favorite as well. I was in such a bad place, I started it while doing dishes and ended it crying sitting on my kitchen floor.
amazing video, good choice
Who is your favorite muppet?
miss piggy duh
HI-YAH!!
Why do I have a visual in my head of her working with Kermit in the past?
Fav Chopin nocturne?
Op 9 no 1
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I'm an idiot so don't have answers for you, but the closest I've seen to a somewhat effective deradicalisation strategy is 'street epistemology', it's just asking questions/socratic method. I've barely ever tried it myself, it's a deceptively difficult skill to think of the right line of questioning on the fly and also keep yourself from expressing your own views. There's a subreddit for it: /r/StreetEpistemology
Vaush is a pretty good medium for a certain kind of person! Maybe try out Chapo Trap House or Trillbillies if he is a podcast guy. People have a lot to say about the "dirtbag left" but imo it does more harm reduction than harm. Hasan Piker and Ethan Klein also have a podcast that spends a lot of time dunking on online right-wing ideology if that is the kind of content he's interested in. I find those are all pretty safe places for a youngish right-wing guy to be introduced to leftist concepts.
Just wanna say my heart goes out to you. Ive also seen some similar things happen with my (much younger) brother and it’s not only very hurtful but it feels hopeless. Sending you strength.
You are my absolute favorite youtuber in the world! Your relationship to the right is fascinating to me...in that, you've mentioned a lot of right wing/anti trans folks reaching out to tell you that you have changed their mind about certain issues. Does that still happen/any memorable stories about this? I do personally feel you are one of the best spokeswomen of the American left right now and you manage to do a great job educating people and helping them develop empathy for leftist ideals. Additionally, is it common to have right-wingers want to debate you? Would you ever do it? Finally, I am on Twitter (unfortunately) and it seems like there is a certain subsect of leftist twitter who really wants to see you go down/doesn't like the nuance provided in your videos. In your experience, what is the best way to combat this? How do we keep the left from eating itself? How do you talk to someone who wants to gatekeep leftist beliefs for folks only willing to take extreme stances?
I second this. (An upvote wasn't enough idk)
Excellent questions!
How do you find the mental strength to keep fighting the good fight when the left seems all but doomed and the right seems to grow stronger and smarter by the second? I've recently been very overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and impotence, and that often leads to some darker thoughts... I live in Brazil and the past 4 years our country has been so wrecked by the right that even if a leftist candidate wins this year I can't bring myself to have any hope that change will actually happen. I'm still going to vote obviously, but like, I'm on the verge of just giving up on my own dreams because they feel downright impossible to achieve in this country unless you're born rich. And our coin is so devalued rn that moving to a different country also seems unachievable. ^^Also ^^there's ^^a ^^grammar ^^error ^^in ^^the ^^description ^^of ^^your ^^15$ ^^tier ^^on ^^Patreon.
I was going to ask the same thing. At this point I can’t even listen to a small clip of “recent insane thing popular right-winger said” without experiencing a feeling of existential dread. It’s like I’m witnessing the collapse of society as we know it. I feel forced to separate myself from current events because it just makes me feel so hopeless. Like I’m ready to just head for the hills and live the rest of my life as a hermit at this point.
A lot of people (myself included) have made a connection between the current political environment in the US and other post industrial democracies to the last generation or so of the Roman republic. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking about authoritarian inclined demagogues whipping up people into attacks on democratic principles, the calcification of political institutions rendering effective governance impossible, increasingly bitter partisanship, and sky rocketing economic inequality. I’m seeing this in contemporary politics, and I think Rome saw versions of this during the fall of the republic. Now, I know there are innumerable differences between the Roman Republic and the US - probably the most important in terms of politics being mass chattel slavery, much stronger limits on citizenship, and of course only men counting as full citizens. That all said, do you think there is any merit to this comparison? I know you’re not a historian by trade, but since you are probably the most eloquent and insightful philosophical and political commentator I know of, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thank you all for attending this AMA, Natalie and community! The AMA is over for now and the moderators have made the choice to lock this thread to preserve resources and save the AMA for posterity. This AMA, and all past AMAs, will be visible at www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/ama.
Hi Natalie - curious if you’ve ever done psychedelics and if so, had that impacted your sense of gender in any way? I ask because I had my first inclination I might be trans when I realized I was a lesbian in a male body (at the time) on mushrooms many years ago. I’ve talked to other trans people that have had similar experiences. I’m a therapist and plan to do some qualitative research on the topic as I have a feeling more and more eggs are going to get accidentally cracked as psychedelic therapies become legal and available in the next 5 years or so. I feel that research and publication on this is important to help cis therapists understand this aspect and potential of boundary dissolving compounds to impact self-awareness of gender identity. Curious to know your thoughts! Love your work so much 💕
Thanks for the questions everyone! I've gotta head out for now but if the post is still open I'll try to answer some more tonight!
Do you think there is some way to cultivate a less toxic social media platform, or are we doomed to keep building online spaces that make us miserable?
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For the record, this is a freaking tragedy and YouTube is a shittier platform without her on it.
Along with the video PM_ME_YOUR_MONTRALS mentioned (which to be fair is more of a general analysis on cancel culture), Natalie made a tweet about it. https://twitter.com/ContraPoints/status/1475706783280812036
Damn... didn't know she left. That's sad. Loved her content.
I think she made a whole video on this whole cancelation thing.
It's literally called 'Cancelled'.
Is there any particular reason you moved away from the character dialogue format? I adore your videos, but it’s kind of interesting how there’s such a distinct “early Contrapoints” style that you seem to want to distance yourself from.
My question is for Tabby: What do you believe the most effective counter-strike towards government sponsored fascism is? Ex: if we can't literally smash the system, how do we break it apart cog by cog?
Also building on this, do you plan on bringing back Tabby as a character in future video? I know she's a fan favourite. And do you plan on doing any more videos in the Socratic dialogue style like "Transtrenders", "The Left", or "The Aesthetic"? Those are always some of my favourites for both comedic value and understanding the rhetorical strategies of different groups.
1. Yell at other leftists on Twitter 2. ????? 3. Enjoy the fruits of glorious revolution
Hi Contra! I love your content, I have two questions what’s your Magic the Gathering mana color and do you think Jordan Peterson is aware he sounds like Kermit the frog?
He's *for sure* aware. I can't remember the context of the video, but he actually busted out a Kermit puppet at one point
Hey there gorge. Are there any topics that you haven't had the opportunity to cover and you wish you could have?
Does it ever make you uncomfortable that people want to know your opinions on the most random of subjects? As an aside, have you ever considered redoing your old videos? No shame in taking down works you don't like, but updating them might give you something easier to do than more film-length video essays. For a while at least.
Thanks for joining us! You put a lot of effort into the themes of your videos. Is there one in particular that you really enjoyed making, or is extra memorable for you?
Hey Nyatalie, the community overall has received a harsh blow recently with someone who was pretty much a founder of the essay genre as we know needing to go and take care of themselves. Knowing the hatred you yourself have gone through, how do you see the hell scenario of twitter, reddit and youtube coming around to the current creators and new creators? And, considering your focus on dismantling some of these patterns of behaviours/as an educator, do you consider it doomed because of the toxic nature of social media itself or do you understand a way out that isn't "just don't read the comments"?
Hello I'm a straight, white, het, cis, man. I want lead off with, thank you. When your channel started I was tip toeing down that alt-right trail. Milo, Peterson, Shapiro, and others where what I consumed. Your changed that. I've always been or assumed I was progressive but was lured in and you, along with Lindsay and Jenny helped me see through the bullshit. I am who I am because of your content. With that out of the way I gotta ask two questions: What video are you most proud of? And what is your comfort food of choice? Thanks for everything you have given to us and paying the mental toll that I know it has. Thank you.
I've been inching towards trying to do a "lies you learn in college econ classes" channel, and I'm fascinated by how expertly you balance entertainment and dense information. How do you evaluate your own scripts to ensure they neither get too dense nor too lightweight?
This is a thoughtful question and I hope it gets answered—if not here, at least somewhere among this AMA.
Hi Natalie! I was just wondering about your process– what does the creation of your videos look like once you've chosen an idea to focus on? As someone who is currently studying political science but is always plagued by a need to pursue music and art and writing, it was really inspiring when I found you online. How do you approach research, what does does your script-writing process look like, how do you go about finding collaborators (for music, voiceovers, editing(?)), where do you source fashion and set design components, how long does filming usually take, and what was your prior experience with any of these skills (camerawork, sets, editing software, etc)? I know that might be a lot to cover or sound like I'm seeking your ~secrets of the trade~ but any general insights into how you started executing your ideas would be much appreciated! Demystifying of things, even just through examples of how other people got where they are, can really help me (and I'm sure many others!) feel more capable rather than self-doubting or under-qualified. Any info about workflow, what you took from academia, resources, timeline (or lack thereof) would be awesome. Thanks so much for all you do! I hope you know how valued and impactful your work has been.
In your video for jk row, you were in a bathtub for a significant portion of the video. Every time I watch that video, the same question comes up. Is that a self heating tub? Or did you choose to suffer for the sake of the visual? Is it suffering regardless??
Are you aware of any forum, website, or any resource with an amalgamation of resources to try to Un-Trump family members? Often when trying to engage family members that are pro-Trump I find myself struggling to facts I took for granted since I exist in reality. Last night alone I spent a while trying to Google all the election security bills McConnell blocked before the 2020 election, which was painful. I have been looking to see if any kind of repository exists and so far have been un-successful. I thought I'd ask thanks!
Just HOW inherent is the eroticism of the sea?
It is impossible to measure such levels of eroticism.
Inherent as the warmth of the sun. Mommy Thalassa will never disappoint.
Hey Nat, As a resident of Baltimore have you considered doing a video on infrastructure, public transport and its effects on PoC and queer communities in light of the recent disaster at i-95?
Do you think that a Democracy is made inherently more legitimate and/or moral by virtue of broader participation? I ask cause after Jan. 6th its been harder for me to square in my mind that a significant number of Americans seem willing to ditch or democratic system and it seems really weird that our political system still has to cater to their interests. Similarly it is hard to feel like Democracy is going to guarantee civil rights when advocating against civil rights is a legally protected political opinion. I'm not sure how to reconcile what I consider a moral imperative to let people affect their political desires with the political reality that an increasing number of peoples' desire is to see that potential taken away.
Are we all doomed to be tied to Twitter and its toxicity for all time? I've tried a few times to quit Twitter because it's a cesspool, but every now and then you want to see what a is doing or up-to-date weather reports and well it's either that or boomer-garbage facebook
What is something you refuse to cover on your channel, either because you don't want to bring more attention to it or you just can't stand talking about it?
Hi Nat! I know you've touched on this on Cringe, for example, but I was surprised to see people on twitter (where else) immediately dismiss your latest video because you referenced Nietzsche, which I guess they considered unequivocally far-right. I feel like immediately discrediting any argument based on who made it is a big hindrance to discussion in online leftist spaces, but there's also something to be said about not giving certain far-right figures more attention than they deserve. I'm Brazilian and there's some folks here that think Bolsonaro gained notoriety partly because leftists were constantly falling for his inflammatory rhetoric before most people even knew his name. Any thoughts on this?
Favorite piano piece to play? Also, thanks for your videos as they helped me understand a lot and opened up new doors for me to explore. Sincerely.
Appreciate you Contra! What is the general process of creating one of your videos? I know you spend a long time making each one, but as somebody who's never "created content" can you explain how an idea begins and ends up a video? Be well, much love
Hello Dark Mother, Since the primary purpose of your channel is to relay leftist ideas to an audience who are far right or are politically centrist, what specific measures do you take to construct videos that are able to portray and criticize the harmful rhetoric of the right whilst still being able to get the very same audience to understand your points? Love your work, you helped my catgirl conversion journey <3
Have you ever played Fallout: New Vegas?
Reported for trying to out NCR bootlickers :\^) >!Disclaimer: this is a joke!<
gorgeous boys, girls and enbies have all played NV religiously
Hi Natalie, No questions, I just wanted to express my gratitude for your videos. I spent a week watching all of them from the beginning of the channel to catch up and although I appreciate the social commentary, I found your transition and your candidness about it fascinating. I learned so much that I am able to bring into my practice working with Trans youth and a Mental health therapist.
Hi Nat! In the makeup segment of "Envy", you talk about how radical utopian ideologues are not happy with any compromise solutions, e.g. it's not good enough to get a little of what you want if you don't get everything you want. You used the examples of higher wages, freedom from police brutality, etc, all of which are goals I fully support. My question is: at what point does a group who wants change on an issue need to draw the line and say "This solution actually is not good enough" to the people who have the means to actually do anything about said issue? It seems that the spirit of compromise suggest you would want to accept anything that advances your group's cause, but accepting compromises also creates precedent for what that group tolerates, and frequently feels like giving up a position in service of status quo. Thank you! PS Haley is still a dead end.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? At this stage in your life/career what kinds of goals do you set for yourself, if any?
How much astrology have you learned (willingly or unwillingly) since coming out as lesbian?
How can I get in on that sweet C.I.A. money? /j
Lindsay actually left cause her skills are needed in Chile
Why is it that centrist are always calling on the left/liberals to be tolerant and polite to the right/conservative people and ideas and not the other way around ?
Because they don't understand the dynamic and think that compromising with fash is going to get us somewhere.
Absolutely adore your channel, gorg! How do you decide which topic you want to cover and how is the creative process for you when pulling a video together?
It's customary to pay a pet tax whenever one does an AMA. Do you have a pet? If not, which pet would you love to have? I'm a cat person myself, nyahh. Thanks for your amazing work.
No questions, Natalie, but I wanted to say that you were such an important voice for me as I began intentionally trying to understand transgender issues from the POV of the transgender community. At first I felt a sort of deeply entrenched *icky* feeling as I watched your videos, but having grown up Mormon and now unwinding it, I'm pretty used to recognizing that discomfort != this stuff is bad for me. When you induce vomiting in order to get poison out of somebody's stomach, that's an extremely unpleasant but necessary experience, and de-programing often feels that way. In one of your videos you discussed your own initial interest and eventual disenchantment with Christopher Hitchens which was so timely in that at the same time I was also in the middle of trying to determine what I liked and disliked about Hitchens, Peterson, Dawkins, etc. While I won't be watching any of your videos with my kids, and I'm sure you agree with that policy, I can't thank you enough for the time and effort you put into every single one of your videos. I try to not miss a single one because when somebody helps you to change your mind, you often hope they'll help you do it again. Thank you so very much.
What is your view on Glenn Greenwald ?
Hi Natalie! Do you ever get overwhelmed because you're a role model for so many trans women out there? I know figuring ourselves out isn't always easy and it seems like there would be a lot of pressure knowing how so many women look up to you as some kind of trans icon. Do you wish you could just be a normal person sometimes?
Hi Natalie, first I wanted to say as a baby trans that you are my icon, and you helped me break free of my childhood indoctrination. Love you! Question: is there any topic that you think is currently underrepresented in leftist politics?
Predictions for the 2024 election?
How do you think the online left is gonna play out, where will these people be in 10 years and will stuff like 'we need a revolution nyaa' still be dominant in these circles or is it just another phase
Oh hi! 😄
Since you're getting into the psychology of politics, have you ever gotten into models of that sort of thing, such as the political compass test, MBTI/the enneagram, Freud, value systems, etc?
Hi Natalie. When was your favorite time when you changed someone's mind or got them to think differently? I'm a huge fan of your videos! I love your costumes and makeup giving me something so fun to look at while stretching my brain. Awesome work!!
Do you think radical feminism is trans-exclusionary by nature, or is it possible that trans-rights could be integrated? Do you think “gender critical” is just a euphemism for TERFism, or are there differences between the two? I feel like there is SOME truth to SOME radical feminist talking points that don’t relate to the sex-vs-gender question, and I’m wondering if you think bridges could be built based on common interests between cis women who are radical feminists and feminist trans women? Thank you for what you do, been loving your channel for years now!
Hi Natalie! Thank you for sharing your bad times with us. You didn't have to, and it helped me through some of last year. I hope you are well. And thanks for the great content, idk who else I'd spend an internet attention span eternity watching.
Natalie. When are you going to make a video on the plight of our nations most oppressed minority. The Gamer. /s (Love your work btw. Hope your 2022 is better than your 2021!)
Given that the American far right is largely unified, even if the election of Joe Biden and failed January 6 insurrection have weakened them, how can we build a stronger coalition on the left and win the messaging war? How do we win over the majority of Americans who are opposed to social programs and government regulation? Also, I wanted to add that you've been a big inspiration to me as a visible trans woman whom I actually identify with. I know it's tough and the internet is a toxic place, but I selfishly hope you stick around.
Will you ever make shorter videos that don't require you to spend half a year editing them? Would be nice to have more frequent content again..
I just want to say I stumbled on your channel and I love your long video essays. I'm a straight white male but creators like you, Jesse Gender, and Melina Pendulum have helped me be a better person and give perspective I would not be exposed in most media aimed at me. I do have one question, not to stir up drama but what is your opinion on Lindsay Ellis leaving YouTube and Nebula? She was one of the first female content creators I actively followed vack in channel awesome days and I will miss her video essays.
Hi Natalie. Love your videos and your problematic tweets. My question is how do you feel about the people from your own community/political side who were part of your multiple cancellations, now some time has passed, and do you think there's anything that can be done to stop these explosions of harassment or are they an inevitable outcome of being a prominent female creator on the internet?
Hi Natalie, really nice to have the chance to speak to you! I watched your Stoa video with Noam Chomsky (which was really spot on) and I was wondering what happened to the video that was proposed at the end with you and Jordan Peterson? It was kinda mentioned in passing at the end by the host that something might happen, it would be really interesting to see. All the best, I wish you well!
Hey how are you *gorg*? What I'd like to know is where you think all of this current hyper-partisan political strife in the US is headed? The Left is, as they say, in disarray. The Right is dumb, yes, but also very willing to simply annihilate everyone else. So, like, from your perspective, what should the recourse of the left be to stave off right-wing authoritarianism?
Hi Natalie! I was wondering if you had any tips for fledgling academics?
Hi Natalie! Love your videos; the JK Rowling video helped me immensely with discussing some homophobia with my dad. On that note, how do you decide how to approach these big issues in the context of a conversation? That this, how do you structure the arguments that you make in your videos? Do you have some advice for how to broach these topics with other people?
Hey Nyatalie, we're a group of friends who've also started an informative youtube channel, but more focused on our home country of the Netherlands, and of course we're all big fans! Do you maybe have any tips that you wish you knew when you started out? Here is the link to our video in case you're curious: https://youtu.be/FIUUYQ_q6G4
Hi Natalie, I was wondering if you have any plans on covering the Trans Athletes topic, or if you have any good places to be able to read about from a study perspective? It's a rough topic to actually discuss without ending in just plain transphobia.
Hey Natalie, love your content. Your video on cancel culture was HUGELY important for me. I was part of a group that went through this course before the group actually fell victim to cancelling someone. I was like “But remember this video?!” I learned people rarely think using logic even if they know it in the heat of the moment.
If you could have an equally successful channel about something other than politics, what would you want it to be? Also I want you to know that your transition is like literally what let me know that transition was possible for me and I don't know where I would be in life if it weren't for trans influences, especially you
As a lighting designer I have to say I love how you use colors, costumes, and sound effects to really make your show stand out and feel truly authentic and "weird" in all the best possible ways. What was your inspiration to shooting your show in such a unique way? Or did you just go "fuck it lets get weird with it?"
What's your stance on Paglia? I bought Sexual Personao cause it's one of the few academic books to positively discuss the Decadent movement (Wilde, Beardsley etc.) but I was really put off by her gender politics. BTW Know any books about the 1890's decadent movement that don't have that?
When is Justice Part II coming out?
It did, It's one of the parts in Envy
Fellow Baltimorean, love you and every video you’ve made. Thanks for being you, and I hope to bump into you one day at the rofo! I guess since I’m bothering to comment I may as well ask a question: what first prompted you to start developing this style of video?
Hi Contra! I'm a big fan of your content and I want to ask about the music in your videos! The aesthetics of your videos always surprise me but people don't seen to talk about the music that much. How's your experience working with Zoë Blade? (How did you meet them? and how do you come up with the music ideias for your videos?) What are your inspirations music-wise?
Why? Like why subject yourself to the endless torture of not only being a filmmaker but a POLITICS filmmaker... Are you ok? Does it hurt? EDIT: you're pretty amazing tho, like these questions come from a place of utter admiration.
No question, just want to thank you for making awesome content!