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Michael Tae Sweeney@mtsw.bsky.social |
The concept of "kayfabe" from pro wrestling is weirdly useful for understanding elite DC political stuff. The Alito Flag story is causing so much consternation for DC elites not because it shows that pro wrestling is fake (they all know it's fake) but because Alito acknowledged it was fake.
28 replies 211 reposts 1102 likes
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Zach Rabiroff
@zachrabiroff.bsky.social
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This is basically the underlying thesis of Josie Riesman’s book Ringmaster, in which Vince McMahon is essentially the pioneer of what became Trump’s political reality.
0 replies 0 reposts 18 likes
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clear
@clearspark.bsky.social
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In case anyone else wants this I just pulled up the OED entry for it, since I didn't know that word: bsky.app/profile/clea... (Included screenshots of the entry with speculation on etymology).
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Steve Horton
@stevehorton.bsky.social
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@josie.zone wrote a book about this very concept. She calls it “Neo Kayfabe”
1 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Andy Pearlman
@apearlma.bsky.social
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Also puts a cherry on the sundae of RW SCOTUS judges ignoring precedent and just making up shit. Roberts was a master of a thousand cuts to progressive policy. The 5 to his right just smash things. Which is not great for kayfabe, but at least it isn't political, right? Alito: "It is political."
0 replies 0 reposts 9 likes
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Michael Tae Sweeney
@mtsw.bsky.social
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I think you see this really clearly in the post-Bork dance around "Roe is settled law." They all know the Republicans are there precisely to knock down Roe. That's boring. An unpleasantly controversial. But reporting on the *performance* of them *pretending* to not knock down Roe...
3 replies 36 reposts 434 likes
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Calisto Bob
@brettpickle.bsky.social
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Alito certainly seems to have made the “they’re just calling balls and strikes” crowd more uncomfortable.
0 replies 0 reposts 12 likes
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Coolbone Minoxidil
@dingokayfabe.bsky.social
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I think there’s a lot more going on here but mostly in ways that make kayfabe a more salient concept not a less salient one
0 replies 0 reposts 11 likes
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Adrian Kerrison
@adokerrison.bsky.social
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Oh God, is "they worked themselves into a shoot" actually going to be the key that unlocks modern politics?
2 replies 3 reposts 33 likes
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Roger Grow
@rogergrow.bsky.social
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Covfefe
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Indorfin
@indorfin.bsky.social
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Off-topic, but kayfabe is also very useful for understanding a lot of rappers’ personas, as well as some other musicians and celebrities.
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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WildGorillaMan
@wildgorillaman.bsky.social
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Been applying this rubric for years. Plus I've pointed out to other Canadians that the Prime Minister is essentially a rodeo clown: it's his job to distract the pissed-off bull (electorate) from the bull riders (big business).
0 replies 1 reposts 11 likes
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@lokicharms.bsky.social
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100%. The pro wrestling/acting frame explains so much of our politics.
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Sock Puppet Pundit
@sockpuppetpundit.bsky.social
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If DC elites can claim college students protesting war are ‘anti-semitic’ and ‘pro-Hamas,’ by their standards of escalation, Alito flew the flags on purpose *and* he’s a supporter of the insurrection and a dominionist. Goose. Gander. Spin.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Ken Raining
@kenraining.bsky.social
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Reminds me of when Sarah Huckabee Sanders was denied service at that restaurant and all the pundits were aghast. Like, don’t you RUBES all know this is supposed to be THEATER? How dare you punish her when she’s not in character?
0 replies 0 reposts 11 likes
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Estarianne
@estarianne.bsky.social
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I had to google this but yes. And when I see people, even reporters, suggesting something can't be true because it's not consistent with the "character" of a politician I wonder whether we are even watching the same reality show.
1 replies 0 reposts 16 likes
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Atrios
@eschatonblog.com
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Almost everyone in DC is paid to lie to some degree while often holding jobs in which *not being a liar* is an important part of the brand and this causes a lot of problems
0 replies 11 reposts 86 likes
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Lord Businessman II
@lordbusinessman.bsky.social
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Its useful because its a fundamentally honest and straightforward language that describes media phenomenon without without layering it in pretense
0 replies 0 reposts 10 likes
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Michael Kaplan
@differance.bsky.social
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Postmodernism explains a whole lot more than people realize these days
0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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Pyrholidon Enthusiast ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
@pyrholidon.bsky.social
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Just look at all the Republicans voting against spending bills and then taking credit for its passage at their rallies.
0 replies 0 reposts 14 likes
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sea shanty stan account ⛵
@anarchoshanties.bsky.social
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@josie.zone didn't you write a bunch on this?
1 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Tom Wrongbottom 🍦
@wrongbottom.bsky.social
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0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Micah
@rincewind.run
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this is also why Trump broke the DC press so much, because as much as he was clearly our most pro wrestling president his version of kayfabe was clearly very different from agreed-upon elite DC kayfabe and they kept trying to put him in the latter box instead
2 replies 25 reposts 320 likes
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🏳️⚧️ The Josie Zone
@josie.zone
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0 replies 3 reposts 29 likes
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Anguirus
@anguirus.bsky.social
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I haven’t read @josie.zone ‘s latest but I knew she was 100% correct in her analysis just from the back cover blurb
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Nothings Monstered
@nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social
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This is the opposite of kayfabe, right? Kayfabe is wrestlers pretending to try to kill each other, when really they're all professionals doing their jobs. Here it's someone who is treated as an impartial professional letting slip that he really wants to kill his opponents.
2 replies 1 reposts 26 likes
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Taco Bell's Cannon
@jamtoday.bsky.social
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@josie.zone!!!
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jody
@jodyshenn.bsky.social
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So true. Can someone finally confirm for me it comes from pig latin for fake?
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MisterJayEm
@misterjayem.bsky.social
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"Neo kayfabe," baby.
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes