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AMA Stream #61 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-08-23 20:04:50
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Hi all,

Here's the link for today's AMA livestream. It will begin fashionably late, let's say 4:20 ET, to choose a random time. The stream will likely run for 4+ hours and will be archived here for those who miss it live. Questions are posted on a separate post (the previous post here on Patreon) for $15+ Patrons.

Looking forward to chatting!

Natalie

Files

ContraPoints Patreon AMA Stream #61

Comments

SophieT

Wooooo!!

allegedlyangelo

It’s literally been 84 years since the last AMA. LFGO CONTRAPOINTS NATION!!

Jonathan Yule

Pressing question: is kamala "brat"?

Gagea Dani

So we are not getting a tangent this month??

Leo Kyle

'Ello 'ello!

Ruby Power

Great start to my bank holiday weekend tbh ❣️

Theo Stratford

Being in the UK won’t stop me from enjoying this. ESPRESSO TIME BITCH

River Page

Sad I can't catch it live, but excited for the recording ^-^

Jake

Just read Doppleganger after watching Granola Fascism, can’t wait to work my way thru every other book Natalie discusses/recommends 💕

Texfone

I believe she said no tangent this month because she's trying to finish her current main channel video by October

Laura S

4.20 as in now or as in 4.20 in the morning?

Edith Tamzin Burke

Currently being stood up on a date. The blow is softened.

DDRed

same! i'll probably read Natural Causes next

Michael T

Yep, you can watch private streams in the app. when the stream starts just click the "open in app" button wherever that is on your phone & it should open there.

Lauren Michelle

Nope, she's got too many irons in the fire. She explained things in one of the last couple of posts. (Don't remember which one)

Eric Kaplan

is this streaming now? I don't see anything.

Juliet 🏳️‍⚧️

I'm sorry. I feel you. I Dating as a trans person is depressing sometimes, but solidarity here definitely helps!

Clawdeena

I'm supposed to be doing work at 5:30 but I'm considering quitting for this

Eric Kaplan

it says: Waiting for ContraPointsLive

ether🪿

currently have a hornet stuck in my apartment. this will be a great way to pass the time while i wait for it to get out

Theo Stratford

I just finished the Dao De Jing bc of Spirituality. Very refreshing to read something so non-judgemental for a spiritual text, especially being raised Catholic. As if it’s an optional path to choose instead of one you must take….or else.

Dr. Alex

What are your thoughts on Jung? I am a psychiatry resident with psychoanalytic leanings and often find myself siding with Freud. Curious to hear your thoughts on their points of disagreement, the collective unconscious, etc.

Jasmine B

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Beau

How's your personal life? Anything you want to share?

Thais Laursen Munk

(my name is pronounced like the people of Thailand) Thank you for your videos, they have done a lot of good things for my mental health! What has been your most positive experience in the last year?

Sophie Williams

Hi! Probs a bad question but I’m about a year into my transition and not happy at all with my results. That said a lot of trans friends have expressed envy and jealousy my way for where I am. You’ve described similar experiences early on (I’ve been watching you forever) what advice do you have to deal with that dissonance? Are there ways to take others comments to heart?

Alvaro Toloza

We can't post questions here right?

Adam

NOOOO I LOVE SCHOENBERG

Katie

I am not Natalie and don't have great advice but I am just sending you empathy with respect to the friendship tension and best wishes for your continued transition. 💕 (if you are open to that from an internet stranger wanting to support someone going through something hard....)

Adam

ok Adorno was cringe. BUT SCHOENBERG

Patron Saint of Noodles

I decided last night to become a supporter on Patreon because of the absurd "flak" you are getting on birdsite. Thank you for all you do! <3

Andrea Schreiber

Hello everyone, guess who's back. The link below is about designing a nerd shirt with the title “Epistemology of the .....”, for which I'm still looking for inspiration. And my actual question has changed a bit in the meantime, as I was also looking for something on the topic of “sissy's” or, to broaden it a bit, “ forced sissyfication”, which I also found interesting how the term has changed since the Victorian era after Teddy Roosevelt suddenly used it for “cowardly men”, especially those who didn't want to play American football (which back then meant not being eligible for military service). What struck me as I rummaged through this rather large pile of pins was that I was looking for the “straw”, i.e. media that was precisely about equal and consensual communication, with initially rather hetrosexual cis couples, where the later sissy discovers in the end that she feels like a “real” trans woman after all and where a happier, more lesbian relationship develops in the end. So do you think there is such a thing, or do you think it's self-deception coming from the sissy perspective, or in other words, how many unicorns are hiding under fake zebras?

Nicole Marlin

I moved to Baltimore recently and always hoping I can say hi and how much your videos mean to me! When you’re not wearing a hoodie and sunglasses of course lol

Noah Carlin

sending love this weekend to all

Thais Laursen Munk

Lots of love Natalie <3 Preach sister, you don't deserve this kind of BS

Richard Williams

Just joined, is it too late to join the higher tier to ask a question?

piyopo

Just watched the part of your stream where you talked about Twitter drama and it is 100% ok to quit Twitter forever, don't force yourself into that trash fire any more than necessary. I'm not judging. I'm not even an influencer and I can't bear the rage of political discourse online, can't imagine how you must feel being immersed in it. Don't feel obligated to be present on any platform. Stay safe and healthy. ❤️

canilla

Thank you so much for speaking of and through the thoughts the struggles and all the hard wired stuff you put attention to! im reading a book on. Drones- and dronies, metaveillance weaponary .. How do you feel about art and the aesthetic endeavour on military and warfare- spheres?

Jake

Just got the Dao De Jing at a used book sale! Excited to check it out

Emma

thanks for articulating the impact of these kinds of images on the psyche and on the consequences for one’s political (in)action..I’m also the kind of person to get depressed and haunted by them and thus stay away from twitter/instagram. this helped me understand why it is not just my personal problem but a problem with leftist discourse in general. and I’m sorry you had to experience this!

peaduh

that's a fucking insane thing for a teacher to be telling students???

N Incaminato

What do you think about Milei and Musk? (Im from Argentina, i can't believe that Musk and Trump talk about your clown)

highclass_lady

If you want to watch Natalie's interview with Hilary Clinton, the series is called Gutsy, it's on Apple TV, & Natalie is in season 1, episode 2.

William Babbitt

Based on previous videos … who else is a cackling feathered maniac? 😉

Blastinkrastin

Have you seen the anime Swan Lake by Toei animation??

Eric Kaplan

now I see an empty room. is there anything happening?

Aderyn Albarelli

If Blanchard was right, I'd be transitioning into fender telecaster 😎

highclass_lady

Hi Natalie, fyi you can stream high-quality Operas & Ballet from the comfort of your own home that are offered by the Royal Opera House, you can rent them on their website. I've been to a bunch of those in person back when I lived in London, & they are incredible! Some of the options they offer are Mozart's The Magic Flute, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Verdi's La Traviata, Bizet's Carmen, & many more of your favorites. I don't work for them I just thought I'd suggest it because I don't know if you knew about this option! Here's the link https://www.rbo.org.uk/stream?tab=explore

highclass_lady

Hi Natalie, pro tip if you look on Eventbrite there should be French teachers who conduct the option of both group classes & individual French lessons on zoom. If you want I can give you the name of a really good tutor who I took lessons with over zoom while in the UK for a while, she has really reasonable rates, & I've had a lot of different French teachers & she was actually really good. Or, you can try checking Universities' language centers, they usually have a list of tutors for hire, especially at a University you are an alumni of. (again, I don't work for either of these, I just thought it was an idea that might be helpful)!

susan tiss

Thank you for voicing what I have been feeling about all the gruesome and graphic imsges being share by well-meaning leftist folks on social media. ❤️

Aninja

I have had a really rough year - multiple deaths/illnesses and moving house. Your tangents have gotten me through so many days 💗 I can’t express that enough

Ash Gabrielle

Holy cow, who knew that all I had to do was move halfway across the planet to finally wake up early enough to catch one of these while it was happening?

ContraPoints

Hey all, I was not able to get to every question on stream tonight so I will do a second stream in a couple weeks finishing up the rest of them. Thanks for watching! -Natalie

highclass_lady

You did fantastic! Get some sleep! We support a refreshed Natalie!

Faith Rush

cant believe i was drunk in the club during this. truly an atrocity

Tom Burke

RE: Europe, especially Paris:

Tom Burke

I didn't find the Parisians snooty at all, but I myself am a massive snob, so... I found them all friendly and helpful. Just be sure always to say "bonjour" when you approach them, eg upon entering a business. Not doing so is considered incredibly rude. It's also rude to signal a waiter with your hand, wait to make eye contact. It's true that Paris is much quieter than American cities, you'll have no trouble hearing/ being heard.

SuperMaria

Could we have these AMAs a bit more often? Maybe quarterly or something like that. You could have a randomized lottery system where you answer 50 questions out of all the questions that have been asked, or have a moderator cross off the ones that have been asked before. Thank you so much for the work you put into this stream, I enjoyed it to no end <3

Darren DM

Love this. I also want to thank you. I do sometimes worry that expressing thanks on here could descend into either a confessional or a parasocial delusion, so I'll stick to the pragmatic. Thanks for giving excellent value for money. If anything I feel my $2 sub is verging on insult.

Liv

Thanks for sharing your experience re: war crime twitter. I'm a humanitarian and I was in Gaza recently. You're exactly right, sending these photos to you was exploitative, ghoulish, and wrong. I signed up to encounter this horror, and have the tools to make it through the day (mind vice). In contrast, I don't have the capacity to track anti-LGBTQ bills or hate movements - it's just too much. So, I'm grateful and comforted by the fact that others are leading those fights and I'm proud to support them. When it comes to Gaza, there are good people fighting the fight. We have objectively failed thus far. But there is no absolution in self flagellation - we just need to keep going. Thanks for all you do - you've helped me through some of the most confusing times in my life. And as you process this recent experience - feel free to energetically send your mental burden to my mind vice, and I will crush it. <3

CelesteK

Hey Natalie, I only managed to catch parts of the AMA yesterday but it was so refreshing to hear you ramble in real time through a truly stunning array of questions. :) I'm sure it's already been suggested in the comments, but for your next Patreon video, why don't you keep it simple by answering the remaining questions from this AMA stream? Six hours is a loooong commitment, and with the elections around the corner and your next video to complete, I think we could hold off on the next Tangent for a bit. That's my thought on the matter, but of course whatever you choose to do is perfect, as long as you don't feel unduly stressed doing it! (A self-update: just read Natalie's comment below and I support it completely.)

CelesteK

Lol we're on the same wavelength I see. Looking forward to the next one!

Faye K

I like the quarterly idea but I think just answering the first 50 questions asked would be fairer than a randomized system. That would avoid situations where some people never have a chance to have their questions answered.

CrystalJade

Thank you Natalie. I can listen to you talk for hours. It’s really comforting. Well done for putting yourself through this marathon! There were so many themes that just connect. I’d definitely recommend Patricia Gherovici’s book on transgender psychoanalysis which is one of the few that tries to disrupt prior conceptions / interpretations. Worthy of a read if you’ve yet to do so. Wishing you a lovely trip to Paris filled with culture and patisserie! Enjoy! Xx

Ann C

What a marathon of answering questions! It was my first time participating in an AMA and was fun. Thank you so much for doing it and for soldiering on for several hours. As you answered questions, it occurred to me that one way to streamline the process might be to dump the questions into a spreadsheet (shout-out to @Ada, who did it during the chat), sort questions by categories (music/film, trans-related, video-specific, philosophical, etc.), eliminate duplicates, and combine closely related questions where possible. I was happy to hear you answer my questions, but I would understand if you responded to its category more broadly if it sped up the process for you. Anyway, thank you again, and have a wonderful trip to Paris.

SuperMaria

Not sure, first come first serve would penalize people in different time zones, people with demanding jobs etc. Random is more fair to me. But tbh if a team of moderators could sift through the questions and identify the ones that have already been asked many times, the user could still have the answer to their question by being redirected to a past AMA stream, and the load would get lighter

Bara

Okay - I quit my membership yesterday because of your comments about Palestine and Harris. But I joined again because I value your voice and I want to make sure my mind stays open. But I’m going to be the 61 year old mother that I am and say if you have opinions you don’t want others to hear, maybe look at them more closely.

Christine Guzman

sending you a big hug. thank you for your work in Gaza.

Liz Jones

After Oct 7 I quit all social media because I couldn’t deal with all the traumatic images. I completely disengaged because I couldn’t handle it. I realize the “trauma” I feel from seeing these images is absolutely nothing compared to the suffering of the Palestinian people. Yet I feel my brain just shuts down from the horror. If someone’s goal is to inspire people to take action, spamming those photos is definitely not effective. I think people who share them “to bear witness” are overwhelmed with shame and guilt from being American and thus complicit in genocide. They punish themselves and everyone around them by sharing these images as a reaction to that guilt and shame.

Liz Jones

I don’t think that really applies when there is an army of obsessive haters waiting to twist anything you say into the most bad-faith interpretation possible

Isla View

Thank you for enlightening me on the goodness that is a shrimp sandwich!

William Knight

I really loved your thoughts about atrocity imagery, revenge and how that doesn’t lead anywhere good, politically.

no

only was there last half our for the live stream, making my way through it now. i am very much appreciating the point you are making about the fem stylings. opression opresses, not any particular sets of aesthetics... a lot of ppl's knee-jerk misogynist response is easily triggered by female form/feminine stylings and i see it as them allowing themselves to indulge in misogyny. oh that painted bitch is actually complicit in her opression did you know. i would like to plug here my favourite book by late james c scott 'seeing like a state'. it really influenced how i think about aesthetic and surveilance and the like. the very beginning offers short but riveting account of epic fail of 18-19 c german forestry <3

Eman Collins

*sending you a big internet hug from Texas*

William Knight

Though I am a believer (of a sort) I have never been able to believe in a divine plan. Whatever I get out of faith isn’t that. Some of that is theodicy and some of that is maybe not feeling like it’s comforting anyway.

Bipp

Keep your head up mother!

Անդրանիկ Սարեան

You butchered my name's pronunciation but more than made up for it by answering 3 (!) questions and giving us Justice Part 3. Thanks queen. Enjoy France.

Maximum Daddy-O

the half naked body in the pickup was fake - it was a dummy

Tyla Stark

I am so sorry you had to deal with that twitter bullshit. Like it's great folks are so sympathetic to the atrocities happening over there, but how about using that big heart to also be sympathetic to someone feeling relief that they might not need to flee the country? How hard is that? How you're feeling is how a lot of trans folks have been feeling. I too am relieved to have a different Democrat to vote for

Tyla Stark

Like obviously she isn't great, ACAB and all that, but when you're this beaten down by society just for being trans, like shit, I'll take my wins where I can get them! I think those extremists are mistaking relief and hope for something else. Like this isn't maga, we aren't worshipping Kamala, we're just trying to have a sliver of hope.

satiro

Kind of amazed at people saying that Paris is quieter than US cities... Maybe it is when you're indoors in a cafe, or in the quieter residential areas, but when you're on any street with traffic it's horrendously noisy. I've never seen so many people walking around using earbuds to talk on their phones because it's the only way they can hear the other person speak. But I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Don't miss Versailles, obviously. And come to Berlin sometime! It's much quieter here, and there are far more trees. We also have Sanssouci, which is like a smaller Versailles but massively over-the-top camp

dean

isn't Hozier kind of a lesbian icon? there are three current great gay pop stars i can name, ryan beatty, lil nas x and troye sivan. i feel like they're being embraced by gay men? but it's not the same level of drama and flair as beyonce or gaga, esp not with ryan. most great pop stars kinda happen to be women atm. imo, it's also nice to be able to parasocially love an artist without "having to" lust over them.

Maximum Daddy-O

Thou ARt That is a bit easier to understand as "I am That".

Maximum Daddy-O

FRESH (2022) is a good cannibalism movie

Amanda Halbrock

I can do musical movie recommendations. A new one that's great is Annette. There's a really good queer afro futuristic musical movie called neptune frost. All that jazz is an absolutely amazing and intense movie with one of my favorite ending numbers. The boy friend is a visually stunning movie about musicals. It's from the 60s and set in the 20s which makes for a really good aesthetic. It's also a great acid movie. As is Lisztomania (same director). If you want visually exciting camp madness very loosely based on the life of Franz Liszt with antagonist undead Richard Wagner and a musical number with a giant penis may pole... Well then this is the movie for you. And if you want to just watch a gorgeous opera with amazing costumes and sets then the tales of Hoffmann is great. I don't care about the story but it just looks sooo good and is a delight to see.

CrystalJade

I have similar feelings on this subject. I studied Lacan who often critiqued Jung without naming him directly. Something to do with Freudian theory resulting in an unconscious structured like a language that is central to interpretation of the transference. That makes the technique highly individualistic, yet Jung would have us think that our unconscious is instead structured as a mish mash of shared myths and religious doctrines - and much less individualised. Instead Lacan saw all of these matters being symbolised already by language. ‘Agency of the letter….’ ‘The function and field of speech….’ and ‘The Freudian thing’ in Ecrits cover a lot of this. There were other differences in conceptualisation of the role of the ego. That’s from the top of my head. I do think your question is an important one in terms of implications for practice. Good luck with your studies!

Albertyna Varga

not necessarily disagreeing but how was this disproven?

Andrea Schreiber

I'm pretty sure it will be announced for the next round beforehand, I also placed a question at this point, but I can also use it as a placeholder or backup in case I do get it wrong.

Nate Card 🇺🇦

This was my first time watching one of your AMAs and it is amazing how insightful you are even unscripted. Thank you so much. I do hope you consider giving Bluesky another chance. It has become much more active and fun since I joined a year and a half ago, especially with election season in full swing. When Elon publicly disparaged a disabled person for being disabled it made me so upset I nuked my twitter, but I think I’m way better off anyway.

Matthew Peterson

As far as Palestine, I don't agree with Natalie receiving death threats, that's insane. I do say that pictures of Palestinians being harmed can help stir the conscience. I disagree with Natalie's satisfaction with Harris/Walz. I only see Democrats doing Obama style optics again after the anomaly of a white man president (ha!) of Biden. Harris can pretend she's for a ceasefire, she can pretend she's helping immigrants, she can pretend everything good that we want, but she doesn't want to reduce the US MIC. She refuses to turn toward domestic issues unless they aren't about money, like abortion, LGBT issues. So while she may be better on a couple social issues, she's horrifically bad on foreign policy and probably marginally less evil than Trump on domestic policy. We're screwed. Jill Stein 2024. (I'm in a red state so I would be stupid to vote for Harris anyway. And if you're in a blue state, I think you'd be stupid to vote for Harris. Sorry to be so damn harsh. I've gotten into rages lately watching the DNC lie to our faces night after night and beat the drums of war.)

Matthew Peterson

you know what, when I say pictures, I really mean pictures in addition to discussion of facts and context and scale to understand the back and forth between Israel and Palestine, and how Israel is by far the violent aggressor historically, Palestine the victim.

Zachary Going

I like to think of Interview with the Vampire (the show) as a story about intersectional identity, where one of the protagonists intersecting identities is "Vampire".

Darren DM

Just finished watching. Girl, you are NOT behind. You gave us a 6 hour epic AMA, ffs! Overwork and too much coke zero will both give what I have: Stomach ulcers. Take care and have a lovely time in Paris.

Christopher

RE: Disco Elysium. I (liberal) also put off playing it for the same reason. Then I played it, and it rewired my brain. One of the top games of all time. “Play it blah blah leftism” is a severe underselling of what DE does. Obviously the creators were leftists and that informed the work, 1. honestly it’s one of the better representations of politics in a game and 2. it’s a lot more about living with destroying your life, the post-cold-war landscape of the game is sympathetic nature

Christopher

To be clear that isn’t critiquing what you said, I heard the exact same pitches and I’m kinda worried that the most people can say about DE is “ah I am a communist” bc they saw communism represented in it

Ana Cecilia Alvarez

musical recommendation: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE streamable on youtube, bernadette and mandy (icons), by sondheim (icon). imo, a masterpiece, v operatic

Ilana Galpert

I feel like you probably know this but there's a socrates quote (alleged quote?) about seeing himself as a gadfly on the rump of a noble horse, there to stir the horse into action and mobility

Christopher

I feel like I’ve commented this before

Sara

I joined Patreon when I learned about the Tangents. I’ve never seen an AMA. This was amazing. Personally, I enjoyed how invested Natalie became with so many questions. This was such a treat.

Kate Searle

Hi Natalie, the Twilight video unironically might influence the topic I choose for my philosophy PhD also you speak with such muted eloquence and I find it so inspiring

Bibi

Maybe I'm missing something, but I feel like when you talk about psychology, you go straight to Freudian psycoanalysis, but there's so many more psychological modes than that!! Somatic therapy, Internal Family Systems/ parts work, DBT, EMDR, process work, all with very different approaches and evidence bases!

Fiodor

Re: male singers beloved by gay people (or the lack of them) - maybe I'm biased but one token straight male artist is definitely Leonard Cohen, I know his poetry definitely speaks to the lesbian audience (as in screaming crying throwing up bcs his way of describing love and women taps into so many feelings at once). It's not cultish the way gay men treat female celebrities (thank God...) and it's more individual, whereas the obsession with "icons" has more of a collective vibe. Probably has to do with how different queer communities are structured tbh

a malicious lawn ornament

Why stop the twitter break at a month? How many times does a nonessential thing need to ruin your life before it’s not worth it?

H.S.

I‘m so with you, I REALLY DISLIKED Tar, such a pretentious, fake film, with a completely unbelievable protagonist. The writing of the psychology of the main character was so infantile as to be laugh out loud ridiculous.

Chazie

As a person who has worked in a parisian hotel and still works in Paris, it's totally fine if you don't speak french, the french are probably as nervous about their english as you are about your french. It's a very touristic city so you'll get by, it's just polite to ask if people speak english before blurting out a whole sentence. Parisians are not that snooty they just have a very low tolerance for the type of attitude some americans have (acting like they're in disneyland and you're a cast member) My advice that isn't a completely obvious thing to visit in Paris is going on top of the Tour Montparnasse instead of the Eiffel tower, the view is nicer because you can see the Eiffel tower and not the Tour Montparnasse which kind of ruins the landscape. The last remaining lesbian bar in Paris is called La Mutinerie, right next to the Pompidou modern art museum. Walking around in Paris is nice because it's a lot smaller and more walkable than most European capitals, and take the metro if it's too far, it'll seem scary at first but it's not hard to get a hang of and will take you pretty much anywhere for cheap. Try not to eat in tourist traps that serve overpriced reheated trash, but you've probably heard that advice before. There are too many good restaurants in Paris to waste your time in there so it's worth mentioning! I'll stop now but I hope you enjoy your stay <3

Jacob Palmer

Thanks so much for answering my question! For a bit I thought you were answering only live questions. Then when you described the active harassment and trauma on Twitter, I'd understand if you wanted to just not.

Kelly T

Mother, you can butcher my name any day of the week ❤️

charlie spring

stop spreading lies. stop denying the horrifying sexual violence committed by hamas. just stop

Christopher

Second comment now that I’m deeper in. I think you described really well a lot of my (cis? male) trepidations around relationships, and sort of … wistfulness? about the pop culture image of lesbian relationships (which ofc in actuality can be messy and abusive and antagonistic too). I speculate that this is informed by an unhappy home life growing up, both in the sense that I feel a real tension/weight around heterosexual relationships and also in the sense that I’m extremely focused on Understanding/Being Understood, so the ‘promise’ of a sort of gentle simpatico is persistently appealing (even once understood as illusory). By far my best social/sexual experiences have been with women who had very similar personalities and interests to mine. There’s the spark moment on the first conversation that drags on way too long and gets way too loud that signals this will happen.

Christopher

On the flip side my process of unpacking a lot of discomfort with masculinity and prejudice toward men came with me realizing that actually I do occasionally feel attracted to them. So it cuts both ways

Ted(dy)

omg i can’t believe i missed this

Munchy Lunchco

I'm sad I missed this but was on vacation out of province, so I guess that was a pretty alright reason to have not attended haha. Excited to watch the stream!

Mimi G

I got the patreon for the tangents and now I'm compelled to watch all the AMAs because I love the way you discuss and critique

Sappho's Friend

Theres a lot of fandom centered around men in the more alt realm of popular music, for example Gerard Way of MCR. At the height of emo's popularity it was so many bi and gay men, though id say more so lusting over Gerard than identifying with him. But still obsessive fandom.

Sappho's Friend

im not vegetarian but tbh ive never heard this argument that "humans are naturally vegetarian" from them. All ive personally seen acknowledge that in a natural setting humans. Ive seen other issues in some vegans, like ableism and reversion to an individualist lens (though i agree with their other points). Must be some tik tok stuff, im not on there so not sure whats going on there when it comes to lab grown meat, that's not going to materialise, unfortunately it's just a pipe dream. And it requires fetal bovine serum anyway iirc

Femininja

"The toddler would never kill the broccoli and eat the rabbit" lol I laugh so hard. Te amo Contrapoints

Sappho's Friend

Im really sorry people sent you gore :((( . I think that goes beyond harassment and into emotional torture a bit. And im really bad at my writing sounding empathetic (autism) but i felt really sad watching you hold back because i could see how much these images were traumatising to you (and would be to anyone, certainly to me). Hug <3 I think it's likely that among the ML circles, they see exposing themselves to these pics as a badge of honor of sorts, which is emotionally upsetting to them as well, and they might "unleash" these same traumatising images that had an effect on them onto the first person they encounter that breaches their standards a bit, as punishment. Offloading trauma essentially. Thats really toxic. One of the reasons i dont use twitter, f that. And i dont like MLs, nor them nor liberals.

Ilana Galpert

re: "eating the beloved" you would love the first season of beastars. I didn't think i was going to like it at all and season 2 sucks, but season one is all about carnality and desire and guilt and the intersection between, it's very good

Isla

I think I’ve answered the question, and I won’t respond to it

Kallie Watters

Agree, Parisians are normal, ime. If you try but your French sucks, they will take pity on you!

Maria van Agthoven

It's so exciting that you're going to Paris! I lived there for 7 years, so this is me paying you to recommend stuff to you ;-) * If you're frustrated by the fact you can't visit Notre-Dame, you should visit La Sainte Chapelle (on the boulevard Saint Michel), which was built by King Saint Louis. It's high gothic, it's gorgeous, and it's beautifully restaured. * If you're visiting the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes, take the elevator to go to the top floor. You'll have a beautiful view of the dinosaur exhibit. * Once you're done with the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, go to the café next to the Mosque for Moroccan peppermint tea and pastries from the Maghreb. * The arènes de Lutèce are right next door. It's a park built on the ruins of the Roman arena and a nice place to have take out lunch in nice weather. * the movie theater Ecoles Cinéma Club (https://pariscinemaclub.com/ecoles-cinema-club/) shows old movies in the original version with French subtitles, so you can catch old Holywood movies on a large screen. * If you're going to the Louvre, don't take the entrance under the pyramid, take one of the side entrances in the Jardin des Tuileries to avoid the line (once you're in, you'll have to walk a bit to get to the Mona Lisa). * The Louvre is free on the first Sunday of the month.

Sage Wilson

If you ever wanna know more about ballet I would LOVE to talk or find you some good sources. My creds are I’m a professional ballet dancer, danced with Washington ballet, Atlanta ballet, and trained with ABT coaches, Bolshoi Ballet, and others

Sweety

I am a vegetarian and I really hate the "humans are naturally vegetarian" argument (its not even a real argument, its a lie/being disingenuous tbh). That kind of arguing does more harm to the vegetarian movement/philosophy. Also fuck those people that sent you gore.

Cassidy Brinn

"last remaining lesbian bar" 😢

Christopher

No one should want twitter-addled MLs to hear anything they say bc it would entail being in the same room as them

L

1) I don’t think anyone should send you those videos as “punishment” - that’s harassment and awful. And… 2) I think US citizens that are unwilling to look at the videos of what their tax dollars pay for because they’re traumatizing to THEM is the epitome of privilege of empire. 3) It is binary thinking to think that this can only depress someone, or make them want to retaliate. For 1000s of people across this country, it has lit a fire, an understanding, and energized us to continue to fight against Empire every day of our lives. I have looked at enough videos to know what’s going on to feel like I don’t have to look at more on a daily basis. But I will say that seeing them in the first place was life-changing for me. And so I hate to discredit the whole idea of it on its head as “always bad/never helpful” - anytime anyone starts talking and absolutes I feel like it’s not helpful. I think it’s fine to say that this might not be the case for YOU. It’s important to understand that everyone processes information differently, and different actions can have different effects for different people. The way that you relate to those videos is not the way that thousands of other people relate to those videos. There is not one human experience. Either way, it was definitely not appropriate to send you hundreds or thousands of terrible videos. But I really don’t like talking in absolutes about them.

SuperMaria

Your point n2 and n3 are so unnecessary and so unhelpful. Being sent multiple videos against their will by an angry Twitter mob is not what lit a fire in 1000s of people across the country. Context and personal initiative matter. Seeking out the raw, graphic truth is not the same things as being harassed with it. It *is* always bad and never helpful to harass someone, totally fine to talk in absolute about that. If a rape victim talked about their experience, would you feel the need to add your thoughts about how empowering sex can be for 1000s of people and how everyone processes things differently? I don't even disagree with your points per se, but context matters and this was completely unnecessary.

Liz Jones

For every person who has been motivated to act based on seeing graphic images, as many or more have completely shut down and disengaged because of them. And of those thousands who have had a fire lit under them by a steady diet of gore, a not-insignificant number have become so enraged they do nothing but lash out at their own allies and have become vulnerable to antisemitic conspiracy theories. Most people with basic human empathy would be just as moved (but less traumatized) by text descriptions and non-graphic photos depicting the suffering of Gaza. To anyone widely sharing graphic images, I would ask them if their goal to inspire constructive action or if it is to punish everyone they see as complicit and “privileged” regardless of effectiveness.

Liz Jones

I read & liked your article (sorry I don’t have anything more insightful to say, just wanted you to know I someone did indeed find it worth reading)

Amalia

Listening to your answer about what you like in a video game, and I think you'd like If On A Winter's Night Four Travelers. It's pretty short, 2-3 hours, and has a gorgeous art style. Fairly liminal themes as well. Strongly recommend.

lotusmaglite

About 54 minutes in, and yeah, get that out of you. The people bombing you with traumatizing ugliness aren't trying to make a point, or even signal their superior morality. They're trying to punish and hurt you. Fuck them.

Chazie

Kind of tragic yeah, but the younger gays are hanging out at the boba tea shops nowadays!

Eric Kaplan

Wasn't Kant living with his husband Heinrich? I thought he was about as out as you could be back then.

Karen Lowe

Natalie is terrible on foreign policy? What an odd comment. She is not a politician effecting policy and she is not a commentator specializing in foreign policy. Why does she need to perfectly reflect your views on every topic you’re passionate about?

Eric Kaplan

if you think being on twitter skews your understanding of what people really like and really think IRL, what do you do to correct that? How do you rub shoulders with Joe Public, if you do?

Eric Kaplan

btw I highly recommend Liu I-ming -- I think you'd dig him.

Julie

Long-time fan and Parisian here! We're really not that snooty :) I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Christopher B

Hi Natalie, I am so sorry to hear about the terrible backlash from the left. It's really shite and I think that your laser focus in so much of your material to find conflict resolution is so commendable. You question yourself, you show us how you question yourself, and I think, for most, it is the most convincing and encouraging part of your approach. Wish you could find a way to not be harrassed by the mob (I have not read Leviticus enough, does it cover online harassement on twitter? ill check it out)

a. j. archer

been a long time since i've heard a good roast of atonalists, get their pretentious lil asses

Rose

Dear Natalie, of course being happy about a brighter future doesn't mean you can't be just as critical of a government. It's a shame that the people attacking you don't understand that. Being able to criticize the reprehensible actions of a government and even fight against them is easier in a democratic context, a context that could be significantly weakened if Trump is elected again. Whether the grumpy people like it or not, it is very likely that joyful struggle will enable us to achieve what simple struggle has never given us. By chance, yesterday I came across a great quote by Deleuze along these lines: ‘Power requires sad bodies. Power needs sadness because it can dominate it. Joy, therefore, is resistance, because it doesn't give up. Joy, as the power of life, takes us to places where sadness would never take us.’ Thank you for your work, thank you for being joyful, YOU take us to places haters would never take us. with love.

Anna

Your hair looks so good!! Also sorry about the harassment.

Megan

I don't have a question. We should combine the Dakotas, the Carolinas and the Virginias. Then split up California, Florida and Texas. Free trade cocaine.

Sophie!

Longtime fan but new to the Patreon, I'm never on Twitter but it's so unfortunate to hear about the harassment. You're inspiring!

Ann C

I left before the end of the AMA but came back to hear what I missed. I just heard Natalie say, "time-traveling trans woman," and I love it. Great answer.

Anna

Re death penalty comment: journalist Liz Bruenig is great on her anti death penalty work. Isn’t it the case that the state shouldn’t be able to kill people? Rights have to exist even for those who have done bad things.

Drake

Question: is monogamy good? Natalie: *drinks tea*

Shona Black

I found this answer very validating (not the drinking tea; her actual answer, lol) because it was basically verbatim what I have thought & expressed as someone in a 'poly' relationship for the first time: I'm ok with it intellectually, but a) I don't know how I will react if/when my partner takes up with others; but I do know that b) it is absolutely not for me in the sense that I need time for my friends, and time for myself on my own. There's only so may days in the week...another partner would be frankly irritating and exhausting.

Drake

Oh idk Natalie's mannerisms and timing just make me laugh Also I was drunk pls ignore me 😅😅

Casey White

As a practicing and professional astrologer, astrology has been the spiritual segway to my sense of light and darkness, akin to yours with Tao Te Ching. Just thought I would pop in from the astrology perspective, as you shared your strong aversion to it. From what you briefly shared, your understanding of it is of “Sun sign astrology” or what we astrologers deem “pop astrology”. I too have a strong aversion to that as well. From an astrologer’s understanding, we are much more complex creatures than our Sun sign, and therefore I like to personally utilize a snowflake or fingerprint as a comparable metaphor to said individual complexities. You emanate with such PI tracker-scholarly spirit that I would guess strong Mercury Pluto Saturn vibes and would LOVE to see your chart for one, if you felt so inclined to share, and for two, would HIGHLY suggest reading astrologer/podcaster/teacher/author Chris Brennan’s highly acclaimed book, Hellenistic Astrology, The Study Of Fate And Fortune to satiate your bookworm needs. The first third of the book is on the history of astrology, which is the part I think would most interest you, to either further inform your skeptical nature, or broaden a new astrological disposition!

Ash Gabrielle

Lol that's cool, no worries. I thought maybe it was some internet thing I was too old to get :)

Mathilda

did anyone get the 5 YouTubers she mentioned ? :)

L

I think you missed my first point - that sending anyone videos of violence against their will is awful and harassment, and I never justified that action. I am following up on the additional commentary that people are simply "re-traumatizing themselves" by individually choosing (the operative word being "chose") to watch videos of the violence and acting as if their choices are misguided. It is belittling to those who have decided to act as witnesses or feel that it is one of the few things they can offer to witness and not look away. Again, I am a person who chooses *not* to look at videos of violence regularly. I check in sometimes, or sometimes against my will on social media. I do think it's important to be aware and not too removed for me personally. But, I also understand the choice of others to relate the documentation in a different way. I cannot speak to how it is effecting another person's mind, motivations, or political development - because I'm simply not them. Only they can speak to it. So, I find it condescending when others prescribe what they think is "wrong, unhelpful" for others - because you simply aren't those other people, you cannot experience their inner world, so you don't know. "I" statements are helpful here - if you find watching videos for you unhelpful - say that. But, I will never state what other people should or should not be doing as they navigate this awful time in human history.

highclass_lady

I think Super Eyepatch Wolf, Jenny Nicholson, Tantacrul were among them!

Konrad x

I like and respect you but the fact you don’t mention how Kamala supports the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and Israeli war crimes, rape, torture is frankly disgusting. Her saying that about Palestinians whilist there’s a holocaust happening is meaningless. I don’t know if ur just uneducated about the scale of Israeli racist ethno-supremacist war crimes or if you have double standards when it comes to Arab lives….. disappointing

Konrad x

And before anyone says that she doesn’t openly say it : Providing arms unconditionally to a rouge state with decades of documented systemic human rights abuse ( which quite frankly state that resembles Nazi Germany to a horrific extent) is supporting them to carry out ethnic cleaning and genocide. The comparison was made by many holocaust survivors themselves, some whom I have personally met so this comparison is not out of place…

Ellie Fitzpatrick

To me, the ultimate Dyke Icon male musician is Bruce Springsteen. Also a lot of drag kings tend to identify with people like Dean Martin

Ellie Fitzpatrick

There’s also a lot of ugly transphobia thrown towards gay trans guys that paints us as “fetishizing gay men” and being “anime poisoned” (real term I saw on a terf blog!)

Rose Dombegh

I was wondering about Hozier? A lot of lesbians seem to idolize him or appreciate him, if not identify with him.

Darren DM

So I was rewatching this stream and got to the question about whether you think you'd be good at something without justification. It reminded me of a joke by the English comedian from the 1970s, Tommy Cooper: “I inherited a painting and a violin which turned out to be a Rembrandt and a Stradivarius. Unfortunately, Rembrandt made lousy violins and Stradivarius was a terrible painter.”

Cole

Natalie's celebrity children's book when

Darren DM

I was not aware of that. Thank you :)

rk

Love your description of Baudrillard 😂

XYA|6782

around 4:54:00 you talked about having X as social media platform and it becoming more right wing. luckily I only use instagram for people I know and TikTok. I no longer even use YouTube or if I do its very rarely because of the excessive ads on the platform. I found that me never originally signing up to download a particular social media and making an account has helped me tremendously, I never bothered downloading twitter/X when it was actually good. happy with the few social media account I have 😌