Q&A: Revolutions, Pseudoscience, My Changing Political Views

00:32:52
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQkaPwblyj0

Sintesi

TLDRIn this Q&A session, the creator engages with viewer questions on historical revolutions, the impact of societal changes on personal beliefs, and the importance of effective communication in combating misinformation. He highlights the relevance of events like the Dutch Revolt and the Glorious Revolution in framing modern democratic ideals, as well as his own evolving perspectives shaped by activism and personal experiences, especially after relocating to the South. The session also touches on topics like animal rights activism, the concept of free speech in society, and the future direction of the creator's content, implying a continued focus on history and its intersections with contemporary issues.

Punti di forza

  • 🎥 The YouTuber encourages viewers to submit video questions for a more engaging Q&A format.
  • 📜 The Dutch Revolt precedes the English Revolution and highlights early republican thought.
  • 🔍 The transition from feudalism to capitalism is a key theme in framing modern democracy.
  • 🚨 The creator emphasizes the importance of effective communication in addressing misinformation.
  • 🔈 Free speech should be upheld for everyone, regardless of controversial viewpoints.
  • 🐾 The creator is actively working on new episodes of 'Frozen 50s man'.
  • 🌍 Relocating to the South changed his perspective on poverty and class structure in America.
  • 🗣️ Viewers are urged to engage critically with historical narratives and current societal issues.

Linea temporale

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The speaker introduces a Q&A session on the channel, encouraging viewers to submit video questions. The first question addresses the impact of conversations about the Lost Cause, with a suggestion to explore earlier revolutions like the Dutch Revolt and their impact on modern capitalism and governance.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The speaker reflects on the evolution of content on the channel, emphasizing a shift towards the American Revolution, framed within the context of transitioning from feudalism to capitalism, and the ongoing struggle for rights and governance as seen throughout American history.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The discussion moves to the significance of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its liberalizing effects, likening it to the American Revolution and highlighting how such revolutions challenge established power structures in favor of a more representative government.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Transitioning from history to academia, the speaker discusses the rise of pseudoscience and the importance of effective communication in combating such trends. They emphasize the need for scientists to engage with audiences online using relatable and accessible storytelling techniques.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Addressing the relevancy of old institutions, the speaker expresses the belief that they are becoming obsolete, as people seek information online. They encourage young scholars to adapt to this changing landscape rather than cling to traditional methods, promoting a more populist approach in education.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:32:52

    The conversation concludes with a personal reflection on past projects like 'Frozen 50s Man' and a discussion of the importance of understanding political and historical contexts, especially related to identity and community engagement within the Southern United States. The speaker acknowledges a shift towards more politically radical content while ensuring a commitment to thoughtful and provocative exploration of history.

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Mappa mentale

Video Domande e Risposte

  • What historical topic does the creator plan to cover next?

    He is planning to make content about the American Revolution for its 250th anniversary.

  • What is his stance on free speech?

    He believes in free speech for everyone, even those with unpopular views, emphasizing the importance of a free society.

  • How has relocating to the South affected his understanding of history?

    He sees his views as progressive, although some may align with traditional conservative views. He prioritizes free speech.

  • What is the current status of Frozen 50s man?

    The fourth episode is in the works, and the creator has plans to continue it.

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Scorrimento automatico:
  • 00:00:00
    hey folks it's been a while since I've
  • 00:00:01
    done a Q&A here on the channel so uh I
  • 00:00:03
    thought I'd give it another whirl this
  • 00:00:05
    time I've got a bit of a gimmick I asked
  • 00:00:07
    you guys to submit your questions in
  • 00:00:11
    video format so that uh we could all see
  • 00:00:13
    your beautiful shining faces so without
  • 00:00:16
    any further Ado let's hop right into it
  • 00:00:18
    dear anouche films your Fireside talks
  • 00:00:21
    with Johnny have brought many people to
  • 00:00:23
    see the fully of the Lost Cause And to
  • 00:00:26
    see the light of our righteous cause now
  • 00:00:29
    that Johnny has seen the error of his
  • 00:00:31
    ways whatever became of it signed
  • 00:00:34
    Lieutenant Thompson Palmer I think
  • 00:00:36
    Archive of Our Own has
  • 00:00:39
    several literary works that uh delve
  • 00:00:42
    into that question in great detail first
  • 00:00:46
    thank you for covering the English Civil
  • 00:00:47
    War and the radical thought that it gave
  • 00:00:49
    birth to that period does not get the
  • 00:00:51
    kind of attention that it deserves uh
  • 00:00:53
    anyway here's my question have you given
  • 00:00:55
    any thought to covering an earlier
  • 00:00:57
    Revolution uh the Dutch Revolt otherwise
  • 00:00:59
    known as the 80 years War uh after all
  • 00:01:01
    the United provinces of the Netherlands
  • 00:01:02
    got rid of their King nearly 70 years
  • 00:01:04
    before the English the Dutch Republic
  • 00:01:06
    isn't really my area of expertise but I
  • 00:01:09
    do think it's an interesting comparison
  • 00:01:11
    and uh you know the Dutch were really
  • 00:01:13
    key players in creating the first truly
  • 00:01:17
    Global Market and uh you know it it's
  • 00:01:21
    something you see over and over again
  • 00:01:23
    throughout the early modern period you
  • 00:01:24
    know when the merchant class is
  • 00:01:28
    empowered when you have a rising middle
  • 00:01:30
    class uh suddenly enriched with you know
  • 00:01:35
    mercantilism and and and through sort of
  • 00:01:37
    global trade and uh colonization and
  • 00:01:40
    globalization and all that kind of stuff
  • 00:01:42
    then the old systems of feudal power
  • 00:01:45
    don't really make much sense anymore
  • 00:01:47
    sort of the the lubricant the economic
  • 00:01:49
    lubricant of your Society has changed no
  • 00:01:51
    longer is land the basis of wealth but
  • 00:01:54
    uh but capital is the basis of wealth
  • 00:01:56
    and it makes sense as well that the that
  • 00:01:59
    the Netherlands will also be a cradle of
  • 00:02:00
    liberalism and of free thought and of
  • 00:02:02
    art and culture as well because you
  • 00:02:05
    start to see that sort of when that
  • 00:02:07
    feudal order sort of uh diminish uh
  • 00:02:11
    diminishes in certain countries in
  • 00:02:13
    Europe then sort of a new kind of more
  • 00:02:16
    Republican more democratic not entirely
  • 00:02:19
    of course uh sort of system of
  • 00:02:21
    government sort of Rises to take its
  • 00:02:23
    place as that sort of merchant class
  • 00:02:25
    then essentially kind of takes the
  • 00:02:27
    Reigns of not just economic power but
  • 00:02:29
    political power I'm going to be making a
  • 00:02:31
    lot of content about the American
  • 00:02:33
    Revolution next year for the 250th
  • 00:02:35
    anniversary and uh you know and and
  • 00:02:39
    that's really how I want to sort of
  • 00:02:41
    Center that event in the transition from
  • 00:02:44
    feudalism to capitalism you know we we
  • 00:02:46
    kind of have this sort of false idea
  • 00:02:50
    this misunderstanding about the American
  • 00:02:51
    Revolution that the sort of wonderful
  • 00:02:54
    ideas of liberalism and and and
  • 00:02:56
    democracy and and human rights were sort
  • 00:02:58
    of this brand new idea
  • 00:03:00
    uh when in fact you know in a lot of
  • 00:03:02
    ways the Revolution was sort of the
  • 00:03:04
    culmination of 200 years of of Economic
  • 00:03:06
    and ideological development you know and
  • 00:03:08
    and really a lot of those ideas of Human
  • 00:03:09
    Rights and democracy and self-governance
  • 00:03:11
    and all that kind of stuff you know the
  • 00:03:13
    the settlers of the sort of what would
  • 00:03:16
    become the 13 colonies I mean they
  • 00:03:17
    brought a lot of those ideas with them
  • 00:03:20
    hey Andy Green from Brazil so a main
  • 00:03:23
    staple of the channel in this last
  • 00:03:24
    couple of years has been checkmates
  • 00:03:25
    lincolnite which wrapped up this year is
  • 00:03:28
    this changing Focus from the American
  • 00:03:30
    Civil War to the Revolutionary War a way
  • 00:03:33
    of quote unques moving on from
  • 00:03:35
    checkmates or are these unconnected and
  • 00:03:38
    I'm reading too much into it well even
  • 00:03:40
    before the finale i' I'd sort of stopped
  • 00:03:42
    making Checkmate videos regularly since
  • 00:03:44
    like 2021 and I feel like sort of
  • 00:03:47
    creatively and mentally I've kind of
  • 00:03:48
    moved on a long time ago but uh but no I
  • 00:03:52
    mean I think it has more to do with like
  • 00:03:53
    as I said you know the the anniversary
  • 00:03:55
    and and also you know I think it's the
  • 00:03:57
    logical kind of next step for the work
  • 00:03:59
    that I've done on the Puritans and and
  • 00:04:00
    sort of framing them sort of as this
  • 00:04:03
    liberalizing Force and and framing them
  • 00:04:05
    as uh uh you know sort of shining a
  • 00:04:08
    spotlight on their forgotten
  • 00:04:09
    progressivism and I think that you see
  • 00:04:12
    it be kind of beginning with the
  • 00:04:13
    Puritans in New England and then sort of
  • 00:04:15
    continuing on through American history
  • 00:04:17
    this idea of sort of right seeking being
  • 00:04:19
    a basic facet of American life and uh
  • 00:04:23
    you know initially that sort of um and
  • 00:04:26
    and and more I guess to the point and
  • 00:04:28
    and and sort of in a darker sense sense
  • 00:04:31
    always in American democracy or pseudo
  • 00:04:34
    democracy whatever you want to call it
  • 00:04:37
    um there's always been kind of a
  • 00:04:39
    privileged
  • 00:04:40
    ingroup to whom those sort of rights are
  • 00:04:44
    inviable but people outside of that in
  • 00:04:47
    group individuals outside of that in
  • 00:04:48
    group well you know I mean whatever
  • 00:04:51
    right they're sort of Open Season for uh
  • 00:04:54
    for for oppression and and violence and
  • 00:04:56
    and rights violation and throughout
  • 00:04:58
    American history and I would argue this
  • 00:05:00
    began in the 1630s you know throughout
  • 00:05:03
    American history you saw that sort of
  • 00:05:06
    Circle of moral concern sort of expand
  • 00:05:08
    as sort of people outside of that Circle
  • 00:05:11
    started to seek their rights sort of
  • 00:05:13
    within the circle right and I think that
  • 00:05:16
    is very appropo of the Revolution I
  • 00:05:18
    think it's very appropo of of a
  • 00:05:20
    Jacksonian Democracy of the Heron vul
  • 00:05:23
    democracy of the Confederacy you know I
  • 00:05:26
    really think that the revolution is kind
  • 00:05:27
    of the it's kind of the Nexus of we're
  • 00:05:29
    going back in time from the Civil War
  • 00:05:31
    and from sort of the Abolitionist
  • 00:05:33
    Movement which I've you know of course
  • 00:05:35
    covered regularly and then going sort of
  • 00:05:37
    forward in time from the liberal uh from
  • 00:05:39
    the Puritans and I feel like we're all
  • 00:05:41
    it all kind of converges on on this this
  • 00:05:44
    you know 8-year period of the of the
  • 00:05:45
    Revolutionary War so Andy most
  • 00:05:48
    historians of revolutions like Mike
  • 00:05:50
    Duncan tend to ignore the 1688 Glorious
  • 00:05:54
    Revolution whereas you mentioned it as
  • 00:05:56
    the witchfinder general what is more
  • 00:05:58
    that can be done on this topic topic and
  • 00:06:00
    how is it relevant and exploratory of
  • 00:06:03
    American history in general yeah so this
  • 00:06:04
    is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking
  • 00:06:06
    about I think 1688 really fits within
  • 00:06:09
    that sort of framework of the Bourgeois
  • 00:06:11
    Revolutions of the transition you know
  • 00:06:12
    from feudalism to capitalism and you
  • 00:06:14
    know the you know it's easy to kind of
  • 00:06:16
    think of the Glorious Revolution as just
  • 00:06:19
    another squabble between Protestants and
  • 00:06:21
    Catholics and that's kind of what it
  • 00:06:22
    sort of appears to be at first glance
  • 00:06:24
    but I'd say that the sort of
  • 00:06:26
    biggest uh you know Legacy of of that
  • 00:06:30
    Revolution was that it was a
  • 00:06:31
    liberalizing force and it was kind of a
  • 00:06:33
    it it sort of was like the ship kind of
  • 00:06:35
    writing itself it was it was the
  • 00:06:37
    Compromise that was kind of necessary in
  • 00:06:38
    British Society because you know
  • 00:06:41
    Cromwell sort of went way too far on one
  • 00:06:43
    hand and then Charles II you know was uh
  • 00:06:46
    uh kind of went way too far on the other
  • 00:06:48
    you know the restoration sort of
  • 00:06:49
    happened because people were desperate
  • 00:06:50
    to be done with Cromwell and the
  • 00:06:52
    Puritans but you know then then of
  • 00:06:54
    course this was sort of the era of the
  • 00:06:56
    Sun King the late 17th century the
  • 00:06:57
    height of ab of uh of absolutism and you
  • 00:07:01
    know and and sort of the in a lot of
  • 00:07:03
    ways kind of like a a a last gasp of the
  • 00:07:06
    feudal order to kind of retain it its
  • 00:07:08
    power that was slipping away under sort
  • 00:07:09
    of this new Global e economic sort of
  • 00:07:12
    Paradigm that was emerging and uh and
  • 00:07:15
    you know and and and then of course you
  • 00:07:16
    know uh with James and and sort of with
  • 00:07:19
    this sort of tension between King and
  • 00:07:21
    Parliament that had been going on for
  • 00:07:22
    Generations in England at that point you
  • 00:07:24
    know I think that you start to see with
  • 00:07:25
    William and Mary you kind of see this
  • 00:07:27
    this counterbalance you know it sort of
  • 00:07:28
    the ship stops cap sizing and sort of
  • 00:07:30
    ends up in this equilibrium where you
  • 00:07:32
    have a a you still have a monarchy but
  • 00:07:34
    it's a defanged monarchy a liberalized
  • 00:07:38
    society a much more sort of
  • 00:07:40
    representative government yeah I mean I
  • 00:07:42
    think 1688 was to Britain what 1776 was
  • 00:07:46
    to America I think it's it's crucial to
  • 00:07:48
    understanding
  • 00:07:49
    within uh the context of the early
  • 00:07:51
    modern revolutions for sure hey Andy so
  • 00:07:54
    a lot of your videos recently have
  • 00:07:55
    focused on pseudo history pseudo
  • 00:07:57
    archaeology and giving academics a prac
  • 00:07:59
    iCal guide to uh tackling that online uh
  • 00:08:02
    any stem specific advice for dealing
  • 00:08:04
    with a similar rise in pseudoscience
  • 00:08:06
    recently online and finally what's your
  • 00:08:08
    favorite dinosaur my favorite dinosaur
  • 00:08:10
    is a Tyrannosaurus Rex uh what can I say
  • 00:08:12
    I'm a child of the 9s my advice to
  • 00:08:14
    scientists is pretty similar to my
  • 00:08:16
    advice for historians and and
  • 00:08:19
    archaeologists which is you've got to
  • 00:08:22
    become a good communicator right you've
  • 00:08:24
    you've got to become as good a
  • 00:08:25
    Storyteller as you are a scholar and
  • 00:08:27
    you've got to reach people and come to
  • 00:08:30
    people where they're at which is online
  • 00:08:32
    you know learn the language of the
  • 00:08:35
    online World learn the sort of humor of
  • 00:08:38
    memes and and not everything has to be
  • 00:08:40
    sort of this terminally online thing but
  • 00:08:42
    you know you need to understand the
  • 00:08:44
    media landscape uh that the internet is
  • 00:08:48
    sort of ushering in what sort of art
  • 00:08:50
    forms are people sort of searching for
  • 00:08:53
    online what are they interested in
  • 00:08:55
    watching how can those forms be sort of
  • 00:08:58
    adapted to fit uh whether it be sort of
  • 00:09:03
    an old school type of documentary or a
  • 00:09:05
    traditional sort of academic uh or uh
  • 00:09:09
    you know pop history sort of lecture how
  • 00:09:12
    can those things be sort of adapted uh
  • 00:09:14
    to the art forms of uh uh of New Media
  • 00:09:19
    you know how can the form sort of
  • 00:09:21
    complement the content these are very
  • 00:09:24
    important things that
  • 00:09:26
    any academic uh or intellectual you know
  • 00:09:29
    in the sort of traditional sort of
  • 00:09:31
    institutions of of of you know stammer
  • 00:09:33
    the humanities or whatever needs to
  • 00:09:35
    consider when they are trying to
  • 00:09:38
    democratize that education to a wide
  • 00:09:42
    audience and in doing so you know combat
  • 00:09:44
    pseudo science pseudo history pseudo
  • 00:09:46
    archaeology all that stuff and embrace
  • 00:09:48
    populism uh this is really important you
  • 00:09:51
    know um and and it's something that a
  • 00:09:53
    lot of people from sort of old school
  • 00:09:57
    traditional institutions fail pretty
  • 00:09:58
    miserably at um when Dr fouchy got on TV
  • 00:10:03
    and he was being grilled by I think it
  • 00:10:05
    was Rand Paul or somebody in front of
  • 00:10:08
    Congress uh you know the the the
  • 00:10:11
    Republican Congress people asked him you
  • 00:10:13
    know Dr fouchy uh you know you seem your
  • 00:10:17
    story seems to be inconsistent about
  • 00:10:19
    this it seems to be in you know you seem
  • 00:10:21
    to be like sort of talking out both
  • 00:10:24
    sides of your mouth about that you know
  • 00:10:25
    trying to sort of do these gotcha kind
  • 00:10:27
    of questions a planner who believes he
  • 00:10:29
    is is the science leads to an arrogance
  • 00:10:32
    that justifies in his mind using
  • 00:10:34
    government resources to smear and to
  • 00:10:36
    destroy the reputations of other
  • 00:10:38
    scientists and fouchi
  • 00:10:41
    goes I can't believe you you don't know
  • 00:10:43
    what you're talking about you simply
  • 00:10:45
    don't have all the facts you are not
  • 00:10:47
    educated in this
  • 00:10:49
    matter Senator you are distorting
  • 00:10:52
    everything about me Madam chair I would
  • 00:10:54
    like just a couple of minutes because
  • 00:10:56
    this this happens all the time you
  • 00:10:58
    personally attack me and with absolutely
  • 00:11:01
    not a shred of evidence of anything you
  • 00:11:04
    say what happens when he gets out and
  • 00:11:07
    accuses me of things that are completely
  • 00:11:09
    untrue is that all of a sudden that
  • 00:11:12
    Kindles the crazies out there and I have
  • 00:11:16
    life that threats upon my life I am Dr
  • 00:11:19
    fouchy I am a virologist and he came
  • 00:11:22
    across Like A pompous
  • 00:11:24
    [ __ ] he came across Like A pompous
  • 00:11:27
    outof touch elitist
  • 00:11:29
    [ __ ] don't be like Dr fouchy right
  • 00:11:33
    don't be like Dr fouchy learn the
  • 00:11:35
    lessons from that Dr fouchy looked like
  • 00:11:37
    an idiot and his reputation Plum
  • 00:11:39
    plummeted and this virologist who did
  • 00:11:41
    all these amazing things over a long
  • 00:11:43
    career that's all he's going to be
  • 00:11:44
    remembered for right uh we are in a new
  • 00:11:47
    age we are in a new age and this is not
  • 00:11:51
    something that you can
  • 00:11:53
    combat I know a lot of people are not
  • 00:11:55
    going to want to hear this this is not
  • 00:11:56
    something you can
  • 00:11:57
    fight um
  • 00:12:01
    the old institutions are dying people
  • 00:12:02
    are not going to want to
  • 00:12:05
    pay $33,000 a year to learn about
  • 00:12:09
    archaeology in a classroom they're just
  • 00:12:10
    not right that's just not those days are
  • 00:12:12
    over they're done they are done right
  • 00:12:15
    people look for information online and
  • 00:12:20
    that's where and they're going to and
  • 00:12:21
    they're going to listen to the person
  • 00:12:22
    who is most charismatic and and best at
  • 00:12:24
    communicating these are decades long
  • 00:12:27
    historical and material circumstances
  • 00:12:29
    right we're going back to this is
  • 00:12:31
    something this age of populism was set
  • 00:12:33
    in Motion in the 80s with you know
  • 00:12:37
    Macintosh computers at home and and and
  • 00:12:39
    Bill Gates and all this stuff right this
  • 00:12:42
    has been this has been in motion for
  • 00:12:44
    decades it has been in motion for
  • 00:12:46
    probably longer than most of you have
  • 00:12:48
    been alive and it is just continuing the
  • 00:12:50
    train is continuing with or without you
  • 00:12:52
    get on the
  • 00:12:53
    train get on the train Embrace populism
  • 00:12:57
    in your rhetoric in your communic ation
  • 00:12:59
    style and in your
  • 00:13:02
    institutions right if you are part of an
  • 00:13:05
    institution in stem or the humanities
  • 00:13:07
    you know a university research lab
  • 00:13:10
    whatever change those institutions from
  • 00:13:12
    the inside if you don't they will die I
  • 00:13:15
    guess the question on everyone's mind is
  • 00:13:17
    what is the current status of Frozen 50s
  • 00:13:19
    man I mean is it quietly cancelled what
  • 00:13:23
    what exactly happened to it frozen 50s
  • 00:13:25
    man uh have you had any bites on like a
  • 00:13:28
    channel picking it up I know that was
  • 00:13:29
    the goal what does that process even
  • 00:13:31
    look like are you going to make
  • 00:13:34
    more I absolutely love it so Frozen 50s
  • 00:13:37
    man please uh no no uh Frozen 50s man
  • 00:13:40
    has not been cancelled um in fact we
  • 00:13:42
    wrote the fourth episode um and we're
  • 00:13:45
    filming it this winter you know and and
  • 00:13:47
    many uh of familiar faces are returning
  • 00:13:49
    Benton Guinness is going to be in it
  • 00:13:51
    Matthew rigdon's going to be in it
  • 00:13:52
    Kendra of course and yes we joked about
  • 00:13:55
    it getting picked up by a TV network
  • 00:13:57
    which I would love to have happen but I
  • 00:13:59
    never seriously thought it was in the
  • 00:14:01
    cards the closest that that ever came to
  • 00:14:04
    happening was that I pitched Frozen 50s
  • 00:14:06
    man to nebula a while back and uh I
  • 00:14:10
    basically said like look if you give us
  • 00:14:13
    $10,000 uh in a budget per episode I
  • 00:14:16
    will take Frozen 50s man off of YouTube
  • 00:14:20
    and I'll make it a a nebula exclusive
  • 00:14:22
    and uh you know and and you know it'll
  • 00:14:24
    be just your thing I'll just make them
  • 00:14:26
    for you I'll make two episodes a year
  • 00:14:27
    for you as long as you want me to to the
  • 00:14:29
    only catch is I want to like keep doing
  • 00:14:31
    it in New Orleans I want to do it sort
  • 00:14:33
    of like with the people that I have a
  • 00:14:35
    rapport with and they didn't go for it
  • 00:14:37
    sadly um I think they have their own
  • 00:14:39
    sort of group of like YouTubers and
  • 00:14:41
    filmmakers who they're like they're
  • 00:14:43
    friends with and that they are more
  • 00:14:45
    interested in working with and they
  • 00:14:46
    would rather throw money at which is
  • 00:14:48
    completely understandable you know
  • 00:14:49
    really um but uh yeah and I think they
  • 00:14:53
    also kind of had a vision that I would
  • 00:14:54
    like come and work on like their stuff
  • 00:14:58
    right like I would like crew on their
  • 00:15:00
    films or something or I would be part of
  • 00:15:01
    like you know a Patrick Williams
  • 00:15:04
    production uh and you know Patrick
  • 00:15:05
    Williams is great I'm not you know he's
  • 00:15:07
    he's I like his videos but uh it's just
  • 00:15:09
    not really something I'm like super
  • 00:15:11
    interested in right I've got sort of my
  • 00:15:12
    own thing going on with my own people um
  • 00:15:15
    and shockingly enough
  • 00:15:18
    I do not think that police procedural
  • 00:15:22
    spoofs are really that uh sought after
  • 00:15:25
    in the New Media landscape weird right
  • 00:15:29
    hey Andrew Rachel as a lifelong
  • 00:15:31
    Southerner and as a New Orlean myself
  • 00:15:32
    for the past decade or so my question is
  • 00:15:35
    how has relocating from New England to
  • 00:15:36
    the Southern United States impacted or
  • 00:15:38
    affected your understanding of US
  • 00:15:40
    history and especially the history of
  • 00:15:41
    the South thank you so much for what you
  • 00:15:43
    do keep doing it accessible history
  • 00:15:45
    education is so important you know I'm
  • 00:15:47
    not sure to be honest um it's a good
  • 00:15:51
    question I think it might have affected
  • 00:15:53
    my understanding of politics much more
  • 00:15:55
    than history you know I grew up in a
  • 00:15:57
    small middle upper middle class town in
  • 00:16:01
    Massachusetts and you know Massachusetts
  • 00:16:03
    has problems but in that kind of
  • 00:16:06
    environment they're not super like
  • 00:16:08
    visible you know what I mean like it's
  • 00:16:10
    uh
  • 00:16:12
    um everybody's quality of life is like
  • 00:16:16
    generally more or less fine moving first
  • 00:16:20
    to North Carolina in 2009 and then to
  • 00:16:22
    New Orleans in
  • 00:16:23
    2014 um you know uh poverty became
  • 00:16:27
    something that sort of I saw uh on a
  • 00:16:30
    daily basis you know for the first time
  • 00:16:31
    in my life like real like extreme
  • 00:16:34
    poverty um and you know at first it was
  • 00:16:36
    horrifying and it was a culture shock
  • 00:16:38
    and then it was mundane that kind of
  • 00:16:42
    made me realize that our current system
  • 00:16:44
    is not really working for most
  • 00:16:48
    people and that even in places where it
  • 00:16:53
    seems to be working like uh you know
  • 00:16:56
    Eastern Massachusetts or you know I
  • 00:16:58
    spent a lot time in Colorado this year
  • 00:17:00
    and in Denver and
  • 00:17:01
    Boulder the sort of prosperity and the
  • 00:17:04
    opulent lifestyles of those places is
  • 00:17:07
    supported by the existence of an
  • 00:17:10
    underclass just like it is here in the
  • 00:17:12
    South it's just that underclass is kind
  • 00:17:14
    of hidden away so the nice suburbanites
  • 00:17:17
    don't really have to deal with it right
  • 00:17:19
    uh there's a level of ecological
  • 00:17:20
    destruction and labor exploitation that
  • 00:17:23
    makes that sort of insanely opulent
  • 00:17:26
    post-industrial middle class lifestyle
  • 00:17:29
    possible um but it's just in other
  • 00:17:31
    neighborhoods it's in other cities it's
  • 00:17:33
    in other states it's in other countries
  • 00:17:35
    right so it's not super visible so yeah
  • 00:17:38
    that definitely had I think a pretty big
  • 00:17:41
    effect on my understanding of the world
  • 00:17:42
    but I I would say in terms of History
  • 00:17:44
    you know moving south has probably had a
  • 00:17:47
    huge impact on my understanding of
  • 00:17:48
    history but maybe in ways that I'm not
  • 00:17:51
    entirely aware of hey I've noticed that
  • 00:17:54
    a lot of your more recent videos
  • 00:17:56
    especially with your abolitionist Series
  • 00:17:59
    has been more explicitly politically
  • 00:18:03
    radical in its messaging would you say
  • 00:18:06
    that this is reflective of a larger
  • 00:18:10
    change in your own belief system over
  • 00:18:12
    time or is it just kind of where your
  • 00:18:16
    interests are at at the moment both
  • 00:18:19
    definitely um I started getting involved
  • 00:18:21
    in activism about four years ago and um
  • 00:18:25
    most of the stuff that I've been
  • 00:18:26
    involved in kind of when you look at it
  • 00:18:28
    on face they're really very benign
  • 00:18:32
    causes you know it's it's can have a
  • 00:18:34
    very radicalizing effect when you are
  • 00:18:37
    just in a group that's just trying to
  • 00:18:38
    like save animals and serious
  • 00:18:42
    discussions need to be had about who in
  • 00:18:45
    the group might be an FBI
  • 00:18:49
    plant that kind of makes you think
  • 00:18:52
    that the powers that be are more
  • 00:18:55
    interested in corporate profit than they
  • 00:18:57
    are in doing the right thing or even
  • 00:18:59
    modestly moving Society forward in any
  • 00:19:03
    way and uh yeah that's definitely as
  • 00:19:07
    evidenced by my abolitionist series
  • 00:19:09
    that's definitely made me sort of
  • 00:19:11
    identify much more with the sort of
  • 00:19:14
    radicals and revolutionaries throughout
  • 00:19:15
    history and I've sort of come to the
  • 00:19:17
    conclusion that
  • 00:19:19
    the most effective activism I can do and
  • 00:19:22
    the sort of most powerful way that I can
  • 00:19:24
    leave the world a better place than I
  • 00:19:26
    found it is by using my particular sets
  • 00:19:29
    of skills and my platform to to inspire
  • 00:19:32
    people and and play around with
  • 00:19:35
    ideas and you know I think it would be a
  • 00:19:41
    moral failing for me to have the power
  • 00:19:44
    of a large platform and not use it for
  • 00:19:48
    what I see to
  • 00:19:50
    be good um I I know there are many who
  • 00:19:54
    will argue that that is not the place of
  • 00:19:56
    a historian but uh I have good news I'm
  • 00:19:59
    not a historian nor have I ever claimed
  • 00:20:01
    to be I'm a filmmaker who happens to be
  • 00:20:03
    pretty good at research and the way that
  • 00:20:04
    I've approached my work has always been
  • 00:20:06
    as an art form I don't just want people
  • 00:20:09
    to learn something I want them to feel
  • 00:20:11
    something and I want to make them think
  • 00:20:12
    I hold all my beliefs super
  • 00:20:14
    provisionally right I I I I don't really
  • 00:20:18
    go in for Dogma I see ideology as a tool
  • 00:20:23
    with which one can better understand the
  • 00:20:26
    world I think that ideology as a lens to
  • 00:20:30
    look through can illuminate things in
  • 00:20:32
    the historical record that have gone
  • 00:20:34
    overlooked like and and I don't just
  • 00:20:36
    mean in terms of ideologies that I agree
  • 00:20:39
    with that would be absurd I think for
  • 00:20:40
    instance a devout Catholic
  • 00:20:44
    historian might be able to glean
  • 00:20:46
    something from the historical record or
  • 00:20:49
    from a particular set of documents or
  • 00:20:51
    from a topic or a subject or whatever
  • 00:20:53
    that a Marxist historian would Overlook
  • 00:20:55
    or wouldn't even think to emphasize and
  • 00:20:58
    vice vers Versa for example my recent
  • 00:21:00
    video about the ecological Indian is
  • 00:21:02
    very much an ideological piece I mean
  • 00:21:05
    I'm a pretty hardcore environmentalist
  • 00:21:07
    and
  • 00:21:09
    I have gotten frustrated with historians
  • 00:21:12
    and the general public kind of
  • 00:21:14
    conflating indigenous conservation
  • 00:21:16
    practices with my ideology and and I
  • 00:21:19
    approached the topic from that
  • 00:21:21
    perspective and I think that in that
  • 00:21:24
    video I sort of Drew indigenous olical
  • 00:21:29
    practices into much sharper
  • 00:21:31
    Focus
  • 00:21:33
    than they would have otherwise been if
  • 00:21:36
    that video was made by someone who was
  • 00:21:39
    less enthusiastic about tofu and
  • 00:21:42
    composting than I am and and you know
  • 00:21:44
    crucially I think in that video I also
  • 00:21:46
    subjected my own perspective and my own
  • 00:21:48
    ideology to considerable scrutiny which
  • 00:21:51
    I think is so important I think
  • 00:21:53
    self-reflection is key uh you know when
  • 00:21:56
    you are approaching history from an IDE
  • 00:21:58
    olical Viewpoint you know for example
  • 00:22:01
    Thomas D Lorenzo you know who wrote uh
  • 00:22:04
    the the book The Real Lincoln which is
  • 00:22:06
    all the sort of Lincoln where all the
  • 00:22:07
    Lincoln is a tyrant stuff comes from um
  • 00:22:11
    well in you know sort of in recent years
  • 00:22:14
    uh you know Thomas D Lorenzo he isn't a
  • 00:22:16
    bad historian because he's a Libertarian
  • 00:22:18
    he's a bad historian because his
  • 00:22:20
    research is [ __ ] sloppy right it's
  • 00:22:22
    not there's a difference between being
  • 00:22:25
    ideological and being dogmatic and
  • 00:22:27
    actually I've I've dab in libertarian
  • 00:22:29
    history myself uh episode 8 of Checkmate
  • 00:22:31
    lincolnites which is my favorite episode
  • 00:22:33
    I think is is the most brazenly
  • 00:22:37
    ideological uh episode in that series
  • 00:22:39
    episode 8 is looking at the states
  • 00:22:42
    rights Doctrine from a Libertarian
  • 00:22:44
    perspective like I am an
  • 00:22:46
    anti-authoritarian guy like I do not
  • 00:22:48
    think I think the best government is
  • 00:22:50
    that which governs least I I do believe
  • 00:22:52
    that and so and I am frustrated by
  • 00:22:55
    Libertarians who ostensibly believe the
  • 00:22:57
    same things that I do at least in that
  • 00:22:59
    sense um sort of holding up the
  • 00:23:02
    Confederacy as this great sort of
  • 00:23:03
    Bastion of anti-authoritarianism when in
  • 00:23:07
    fact I would argue uh it it was just the
  • 00:23:10
    opposite and you know uh getting back to
  • 00:23:12
    the sort of the question here um I I
  • 00:23:15
    don't think it's always appropriate for
  • 00:23:16
    me to put my own opinions in my stuff
  • 00:23:18
    right I view atun not as like episodes
  • 00:23:22
    of a TV show but as a whole like TV
  • 00:23:25
    network or a whole TV channel or a
  • 00:23:26
    streaming service where you'll find lots
  • 00:23:28
    of
  • 00:23:29
    different uh shows and and and and films
  • 00:23:33
    and stuff of different genres right I
  • 00:23:34
    don't really like to limit myself in
  • 00:23:36
    that way you know and and I think
  • 00:23:37
    something like you know the birth of an
  • 00:23:39
    American town would be a extremely
  • 00:23:43
    inappropriate vehicle for my own
  • 00:23:46
    ideology um although of course again the
  • 00:23:50
    choices that I make in that series and
  • 00:23:52
    in others like it which I see as like as
  • 00:23:55
    non-
  • 00:23:56
    ideological you know that's informed by
  • 00:23:58
    my own biases consciously or not and you
  • 00:24:01
    know every once in a while I reserve the
  • 00:24:03
    right to just drop an opinion piece
  • 00:24:06
    frankly you know I mean like my
  • 00:24:07
    Confederate monuments video or my
  • 00:24:09
    overanalyzing ravenous video you know
  • 00:24:11
    sometimes it's just fun to just have a
  • 00:24:13
    have a good oldfashioned rant every once
  • 00:24:15
    in a while uh hi Aton Shay um what are
  • 00:24:18
    your political views on many things and
  • 00:24:21
    also are you kind of conservative on
  • 00:24:24
    some issues or not I mean well I don't
  • 00:24:26
    think so I I see all my views as being
  • 00:24:28
    very Progressive and forward thinking
  • 00:24:29
    but um but sure I mean there's certainly
  • 00:24:32
    some things that I believe that are sort
  • 00:24:34
    of arbitrarily sort of have been placed
  • 00:24:36
    on the right side of the political
  • 00:24:37
    Spectrum um I mean you know I mean I
  • 00:24:41
    think that it it's definitely bothers me
  • 00:24:44
    how sort of free speech has become kind
  • 00:24:47
    of a Maga thing I made some social media
  • 00:24:50
    post recently about how you know I just
  • 00:24:53
    mentioned free speech in there and
  • 00:24:55
    somebody was like well we shouldn't give
  • 00:24:57
    free speech to Nazis right I'm thinking
  • 00:25:01
    like what the [ __ ]
  • 00:25:04
    like yeah like of course we should give
  • 00:25:07
    free speech to Nazis Free Speech means
  • 00:25:09
    free speech for everybody and I know
  • 00:25:11
    it's scary when you know Patriot front
  • 00:25:12
    goes you know Goose stepping down your
  • 00:25:14
    your your street but
  • 00:25:16
    like you
  • 00:25:18
    know free societies are a little
  • 00:25:21
    dangerous and and frankly I wouldn't
  • 00:25:23
    have it any other way you know it just
  • 00:25:25
    seems like what's the plan here right if
  • 00:25:26
    we're like criminalizing
  • 00:25:29
    Nazis and like they can't speak freely
  • 00:25:31
    or they can't like organize or they
  • 00:25:34
    can't assemble in public
  • 00:25:36
    like so who's going to enforce that you
  • 00:25:41
    know our
  • 00:25:42
    famously
  • 00:25:44
    anti-racist Brave police
  • 00:25:48
    forces you know like the the uh you know
  • 00:25:51
    when we're sort of taking people's
  • 00:25:53
    speech away who's going to be sort of
  • 00:25:55
    primarily at the reign of that the the
  • 00:25:57
    corporate owned [ __ ] Boomers who own
  • 00:25:59
    our [ __ ] government who are in in
  • 00:26:01
    charge of [ __ ] the rich ass [ __ ]
  • 00:26:03
    like vampires like that's who we're
  • 00:26:06
    going to like entrust this power
  • 00:26:08
    to no no absolutely not the best way to
  • 00:26:12
    get rid of patriot front when they're
  • 00:26:13
    Goose stepping down your your down your
  • 00:26:16
    [ __ ] street is not calling the cops
  • 00:26:19
    it's Community defense um to put not put
  • 00:26:22
    to find a point on it and I don't think
  • 00:26:24
    we should Outsource our community
  • 00:26:27
    defense to the government hi in previous
  • 00:26:30
    videos of yours I noticed you had a
  • 00:26:32
    animal Liberation Front poster behind
  • 00:26:34
    you and I saw that you were working with
  • 00:26:35
    Pro animal future in Denver I was
  • 00:26:37
    wondering have you ever considered
  • 00:26:39
    making a video just about the animal
  • 00:26:41
    Liberation Front well eventually I would
  • 00:26:43
    love to do an abolitionists episode
  • 00:26:45
    about the green scare which is kind of
  • 00:26:47
    Al adjacent for those of you who don't
  • 00:26:50
    know the animal Liberation Front is a
  • 00:26:52
    nonviolent direct action group that is
  • 00:26:54
    decentralized so basically it doesn't
  • 00:26:56
    have like a leader or whatever it's just
  • 00:26:58
    anybody who rescues animals from a bad
  • 00:27:01
    situation like a fur Farm or a Viv
  • 00:27:04
    section lab uh who abides by a certain
  • 00:27:07
    set of principles can call themselves Al
  • 00:27:10
    and the green scare is a story that is
  • 00:27:12
    not widely known but should be uh in the
  • 00:27:16
    9s the animal and uh animal rights and
  • 00:27:19
    radical environmental movements had like
  • 00:27:21
    kind of a moment um they were getting
  • 00:27:25
    huge wins in activism and uh Direct
  • 00:27:28
    action was at an all-time high and it
  • 00:27:30
    was like big news right it was like
  • 00:27:32
    seeping into the culture I don't know if
  • 00:27:34
    many of you remember the Lost World
  • 00:27:35
    Jurassic Park but Vince Von's character
  • 00:27:38
    is like literally a hunt sabator he says
  • 00:27:41
    like at the beginning oh I work for
  • 00:27:42
    Greenpeace and then uh halfway through
  • 00:27:44
    the movie he pulls out a monkey wrench
  • 00:27:46
    that like Earth First and Edward Abby
  • 00:27:48
    you know these like famous Eco Defenders
  • 00:27:51
    made famous like I'm not just in Green
  • 00:27:52
    Piece and then they go and rescue
  • 00:27:54
    dinosaurs from cages in an Al style raid
  • 00:27:57
    against like the ghoulish corpos and big
  • 00:27:59
    game Hunters it's it's awesome but you
  • 00:28:01
    know this is a major Motion Picture Sten
  • 00:28:02
    Spielberg movie you know this was like
  • 00:28:04
    in the culture and um after the Bush
  • 00:28:08
    Administration came into power and 9/11
  • 00:28:11
    happened and the Patriot Act was passed
  • 00:28:13
    um the government had a huge Crackdown
  • 00:28:18
    on the animal and Earth Liberation
  • 00:28:20
    movement and under the strengthened
  • 00:28:22
    legislation any activist who did $10,000
  • 00:28:25
    or more worth of damages to an animal
  • 00:28:29
    Enterprise basically a a corporation
  • 00:28:31
    that uh exploits animals could be
  • 00:28:33
    charged as a domestic terrorist now
  • 00:28:35
    damages could refer to property damage
  • 00:28:37
    as with the animal Liberation Front or
  • 00:28:39
    the Earth Liberation Front but it also
  • 00:28:42
    could refer to lost
  • 00:28:44
    profits so this meant that
  • 00:28:48
    entirely above board totally legal
  • 00:28:52
    activism was now being prosecuted as
  • 00:28:55
    terrorism tell me what you're here about
  • 00:28:58
    well um my name is Josh Harper I'm one
  • 00:29:00
    of the stop Huntington animal cruelty 7
  • 00:29:03
    um we're six activists plus one activist
  • 00:29:05
    group um stop Huntington animal cruelty
  • 00:29:08
    who are indicted under Federal terrorism
  • 00:29:11
    laws um the interesting thing is though
  • 00:29:14
    uh we didn't break anything we didn't
  • 00:29:16
    burn anything we didn't beat anyone uh
  • 00:29:18
    we didn't even so much as
  • 00:29:20
    trespass our crime is doing exactly what
  • 00:29:24
    I'm doing right now
  • 00:29:26
    speaking um everything in this case
  • 00:29:28
    every charge every count in the
  • 00:29:30
    indictment relates to things that we
  • 00:29:33
    wrote things that we said and things
  • 00:29:35
    that we posted on the internet um so
  • 00:29:38
    right now I'm facing 5 years in federal
  • 00:29:41
    prison for talking and three of my
  • 00:29:43
    codefendants are facing as much as 23
  • 00:29:46
    years in prison for running a website
  • 00:29:48
    this I am afraid will become very
  • 00:29:52
    relevant again very soon because a few
  • 00:29:55
    weeks ago the House of Representatives
  • 00:29:58
    just uh passed a bill I believe that
  • 00:30:01
    would give the treasury Department
  • 00:30:02
    unilateral authority to strip the
  • 00:30:04
    nonprofit status uh of any nonprofit
  • 00:30:08
    that they deem to be supporting
  • 00:30:10
    terrorism so I think we're going to see
  • 00:30:13
    another green scare and another Red
  • 00:30:15
    Scare and another black scare and pretty
  • 00:30:17
    much every scare you can probably
  • 00:30:19
    possibly imagine under Trump 2 with with
  • 00:30:21
    this uh new law maybe we'll see but um
  • 00:30:24
    in any case I think it's something that
  • 00:30:26
    people should learn about because you
  • 00:30:27
    know the animal and Earth Liberation
  • 00:30:29
    movements went through this you know 20
  • 00:30:31
    years ago and uh and I think
  • 00:30:34
    unfortunately a lot of other people are
  • 00:30:36
    going to start going through it too um I
  • 00:30:38
    mean you know again a trump helmed
  • 00:30:41
    Treasury Department like you know does
  • 00:30:43
    plant Parenthood support terrorism does
  • 00:30:46
    the Trevor Project support terrorism
  • 00:30:47
    right
  • 00:30:50
    like I mean I volunteer for an animal
  • 00:30:52
    rights group and an environmental group
  • 00:30:54
    based on what I've said in this video do
  • 00:30:56
    those groups support Terror ISM you
  • 00:31:04
    know anyway uh thank you all for sending
  • 00:31:07
    in your questions I know I didn't get to
  • 00:31:08
    all of them uh even you know there were
  • 00:31:10
    ones that I didn't get to that that were
  • 00:31:11
    just so juicy and and thought-provoking
  • 00:31:14
    and wonderful and and yeah I just really
  • 00:31:15
    appreciate uh you guys sending them in
  • 00:31:17
    and I'm very lucky to have an audience
  • 00:31:19
    that uh is uh Wicked smat I'll see you
  • 00:31:23
    guys in the next video uh like subscribe
  • 00:31:30
    you know buy my
  • 00:31:33
    movie support me on
  • 00:31:38
    patreon smash the state you know all
  • 00:31:41
    that good stuff so uh yeah see you
  • 00:31:46
    [Music]
  • 00:32:23
    [Music]
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