1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,319 Speaker 1: What's up, guys. This is Rob and you are listening 2 00:00:03,319 --> 00:00:09,000 to a special presentation of some of Softcore History's Patreon content. 3 00:00:09,439 --> 00:00:12,359 The following is a presentation of some of the amazing, 4 00:00:12,759 --> 00:00:16,800 incredible content you can get on our Patreon ad free 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,879 five dollars a month for a three year evergreen back 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:26,760 catalog of content, including an audiobooks worth of original sketches 7 00:00:27,399 --> 00:00:30,800 like this one. This sketch in particular, is a full 8 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,200 cast audio short story. So think of an audiobook and yeah, 9 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:40,000 it's about two people arguing on the Internet about history, 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,520 and it goes about as you would expect. Please enjoy 11 00:00:43,799 --> 00:00:47,840 the following presentation from the Softcore History Patreon Two people 12 00:00:48,359 --> 00:01:05,959 Arguing on the Internet about history. Soft Cool History Theater 13 00:01:06,079 --> 00:01:09,120 presents two people arguing with each other on the Internet 14 00:01:09,359 --> 00:01:15,640 about history a short audio story. It was nearing midnight. 15 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,040 John Phillips, a bulky fifty two year old married father 16 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,239 of three and the owner of a small but successful 17 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:25,159 landscaping company in Des Moines, was still awake. The only 18 00:01:25,239 --> 00:01:27,560 light in the otherwise black room was the cold blue 19 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,480 glow from his Hewlett Packard laptop. Though it did nothing 20 00:01:30,519 --> 00:01:33,959 to cool the man's temper most days, it was joy 21 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,840 that reverberated off the wood paneled walls of this cozy burrow, 22 00:01:37,439 --> 00:01:39,599 like when John cheered on the Chiefs on chilly fall 23 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,040 Sundays with his lifelong pals, Hank and Tweener, the latter 24 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,560 nicknamed so by John and Hank because in high school, 25 00:01:45,719 --> 00:01:48,159 all he needed to bet a girl to get tween 26 00:01:48,239 --> 00:01:51,319 her legs was his patented formula of a few shots 27 00:01:51,319 --> 00:01:53,959 of schnaps, a light of her smoke, and an offer 28 00:01:53,959 --> 00:01:56,200 to listen to whatever the coolest new cassette tape was 29 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:57,159 in his truck's cabin. 30 00:01:57,319 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 2: Those junior high girls are too easy, something man I swear. 31 00:02:03,079 --> 00:02:09,039 Speaker 3: Wasn't nothing junior about her, though not me more anyway, 32 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,000 You are an animal, Tweener. 33 00:02:12,759 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: They were also evenings spent watching pro wrestling with his 34 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,199 boys over the years, and quiet, serene summer nights alone 35 00:02:19,199 --> 00:02:21,560 with a baseball game or a World War two show 36 00:02:21,599 --> 00:02:24,560 and a few beers. Even the reception John and his 37 00:02:24,599 --> 00:02:28,039 wife Carol hosted after Tweener's funeral the year prior found 38 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,280 John's den filled with more laughter than tears, with everyone 39 00:02:31,319 --> 00:02:33,800 recounting the memories of their suddenly pasted on friend. 40 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 3: Let's all raise a glass to tweener, don't uh, don't 41 00:02:40,039 --> 00:02:47,240 let anyone tell you different. He did what he uh. 42 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,560 He left us because he was bored, just like he 43 00:02:51,599 --> 00:02:53,599 always did when things got a little too dull at 44 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,560 the bucket or a barbecue, on a float trip, or 45 00:02:57,599 --> 00:03:02,199 anywhere else, well, anywhere except for the field hockey freshman 46 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,960 orientation camp out in the summer of eighty nine. He's 47 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,080 snuck in there with a sixer of Bartles and James 48 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,400 and a pack of Salem's and was chased out of 49 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,240 there by Coach Gamble without his paints. We'll miss your 50 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:17,360 tweet her now. 51 00:03:17,479 --> 00:03:21,879 Speaker 1: Though the room was empty, a vacuum, a dense ball 52 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,240 of hate sitting in John's chest seemed to suck every 53 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,800 ounce of warmth and joy from every corner of the space. 54 00:03:27,199 --> 00:03:30,560 John's wife, still awake despite her dreariness, came to the 55 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:32,400 bottom of the stairs in the hope that her husband 56 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,520 would join her in their bed. She'd been waiting for hours, 57 00:03:35,879 --> 00:03:38,479 but she stopped herself on the last step, not wanting 58 00:03:38,479 --> 00:03:41,199 to intrude any further. She pulled the bottom of her 59 00:03:41,199 --> 00:03:44,599 wrinkled pink slip up her milky plump thigh, just slightly 60 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:49,400 inside John Her husband's gaze remained a fixed to the screen. 61 00:03:49,879 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 4: Come to bed, I've been wading. 62 00:03:55,479 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 3: Not yet. 63 00:03:56,719 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: His eyes narrowed, and he pounded on his keyboard, forcefully 64 00:03:59,439 --> 00:04:02,280 submitting apply into the Facebook comment thread argument he'd been 65 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:03,400 embroiled in for hours. 66 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 3: If you hate America's so much, then why do you 67 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,000 still even live here? 68 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 4: John? 69 00:04:10,719 --> 00:04:11,639 Speaker 3: I'm not done. 70 00:04:11,719 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: Carol dropped her hands to her side, and the slip 71 00:04:14,159 --> 00:04:17,040 along with it, resigned to sleep. John kept his eyes 72 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:19,399 on the screen. He knew a response to his comment, 73 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:21,759 which was a response to a previous comment, all part 74 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,199 of an online argument over American history that by this 75 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,720 point spanned hours, was imminent. The woman he was arguing 76 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,680 with had been responding to him within minutes for the 77 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,560 better part of the day before the argument had begun. 78 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,560 John's day had been a good one. He laughed over 79 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,959 breakfast with his two teenage boys as they showed him 80 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,600 tiktoks from an account they agreed their father would enjoy 81 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,079 and were excited to show him. It was called Fat 82 00:04:43,079 --> 00:04:47,199 Bitch Throwdowns, and it featured exclusively videos of obese women 83 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,639 fighting each other. One video, in particular, security footage of 84 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,439 two bulbous black women facing off in a sloppy slap 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,360 fight in the aisle of a seven to eleven, had 86 00:04:55,399 --> 00:04:58,319 scrambled eggs, tabasco and ham falling out of John's mouth 87 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,000 and onto his shirt. He was laughing so hard as 88 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:02,920 one of the black women's tank tops was ripped to 89 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,560 shreds by the other and she screamed, bitch, get off 90 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,079 my titty. That's my titty, Bitch, that's my titty. Your 91 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,240 cheap ass press on scratched up my titty. John lost 92 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,240 control to the point that he jabbed himself in the 93 00:05:14,319 --> 00:05:16,360 cheek with his fork while attempting to put the eggs 94 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,160 he lost back into his mouth. He and the boys 95 00:05:19,199 --> 00:05:21,600 then shared an even bigger laugh at his clumsy mishap. 96 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,279 After he finished breakfast, he kissed his wife goodbye and 97 00:05:24,319 --> 00:05:27,000 headed off to work on a bright sunny morning. After 98 00:05:27,079 --> 00:05:28,839 checking in on one of the work crews, John got 99 00:05:28,879 --> 00:05:30,720 a text from his wife. It was a picture of 100 00:05:30,759 --> 00:05:32,959 her in their bedroom mirror, trying on a sweater she'd 101 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,240 ordered that had arrived that morning. She wanted to know 102 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,279 if John liked it. Looking at the picture of the 103 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:39,720 wife he loved so dearly and found so beautiful, John 104 00:05:39,759 --> 00:05:41,439 decided to do something spontaneous. 105 00:05:43,639 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 4: Hey, is everything okay? 106 00:05:46,079 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: Yeah? 107 00:05:46,519 --> 00:05:51,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, it was just thinking meet me at Henderson's for lunch. 108 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 5: Henderson's Steakhouse. Don't you have that site check at twelve 109 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:56,759 thirty h. 110 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,319 Speaker 3: Miguel can handle it. He's been doing a good job lately. 111 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,040 There's a chance to prove himself. And I think you 112 00:06:03,079 --> 00:06:06,519 and I deserve some gin and tonics and cheesy stuffed mushrooms. 113 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 5: What's gotten into you? You want to play hockey? 114 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:14,079 Speaker 3: What's the point of owning your own business if you 115 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,839 can't take a day off when you want. I'll pick 116 00:06:16,879 --> 00:06:20,040 you up in thirty minutes. You better wear something pretty. 117 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:22,319 Speaker 2: Okay. 118 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,519 Speaker 1: That afternoon, with their bellies foal and their jeans crumpled 119 00:06:26,519 --> 00:06:28,399 at the foot of their bed, John and his wife 120 00:06:28,439 --> 00:06:30,879 made love with a passion they had not in years, 121 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:36,240 fueled by the spontaneity of the day. 122 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:44,439 Speaker 6: Here you go, that's right, jus. 123 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:47,160 Speaker 3: Oh you got me? 124 00:06:51,759 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 7: Here you go, Here you go. 125 00:06:55,399 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 8: That hurt. 126 00:06:57,639 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 5: You you got in. 127 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 4: I want to hear you're getting there. 128 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 3: I'm there, You're You're okay, I'm getting there. 129 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 5: You're there, You're there, You're getting there. 130 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:26,519 Speaker 1: You were getting. 131 00:07:40,639 --> 00:07:40,879 Speaker 3: Yeah. 132 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: When they were finished, they retired to their back patio 133 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,120 with a chilled bottle of chardonnay. They sat there and 134 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:53,079 talked about their children, about plans for a vacation that 135 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,759 summer to Destin, Florida, about their dreams for retirement. After 136 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:58,920 a bit, Carol got up to check the oven. 137 00:07:58,959 --> 00:08:00,759 Speaker 4: I'm gonna go check on your brownies. 138 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 3: Stood okay. 139 00:08:05,199 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: John took a sip of his wine and looked out 140 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:13,120 over his backyard, his property another blessing. His phone buzzed, 141 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:16,560 Oh what is this? John reached into his pocket to 142 00:08:16,639 --> 00:08:20,319 check it. MIGUELID texted the site. Check went fine, that 143 00:08:20,399 --> 00:08:23,959 could start next week. John texted back, and then, with 144 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,920 nothing else to do, started to fiddle around on his phone. 145 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,199 He opened Facebook and began to scroll. He liked a 146 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,600 Bible verse meme, and then under an obvious stock photograph 147 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:35,879 of a Ford raptor that John's neighbor down the street 148 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:39,240 posted with the caption goals, John commented, she's a butte 149 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:44,240 almost as purty as my wife. Almost, then three crying 150 00:08:44,279 --> 00:08:48,840 laughing emojis, and then John came to another post, one 151 00:08:48,879 --> 00:08:51,399 from a page he did not follow, a page that 152 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,320 was served to him by the algorithm. Though he had 153 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,639 no idea that was the case, or even possible. The 154 00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:00,360 page was called Patriot American History Facts. The post featured 155 00:09:00,399 --> 00:09:03,159 a pixelated photo of the famed flag raising on Mount 156 00:09:03,159 --> 00:09:06,759 Serabachi during the Battle of Ewejima. Superimposed over the photo 157 00:09:06,879 --> 00:09:09,519 was a quote from General George Patten spoken in his 158 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:12,240 speech to the Third Army, the one immortalized in the 159 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,399 film Patent. It read, Americans have never lost and will 160 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,879 never lose a war. The quote, however, was left uncredited 161 00:09:19,879 --> 00:09:22,799 as Pavel. The Belarusian nineteen year old who'd created the 162 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,879 meme and worked on the troll farm that owned the page, 163 00:09:24,919 --> 00:09:27,399 had no idea who the quote belonged to, or who 164 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,240 General Patten even was, and he didn't care. All Paveel 165 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:33,399 knew or cared about was that if he, a poor 166 00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:35,799 orphan fresh out of the state foster home and newly 167 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,320 living on his own as an adult, didn't create three 168 00:09:38,399 --> 00:09:40,799 hundred memes per day to be published across the farms 169 00:09:40,879 --> 00:09:43,559 hundreds of Facebook accounts, he'd be fired and forced into 170 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,080 a life of male prostitution in order to afford rent 171 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,879 at the rooming house he'd recently moved into, trading black 172 00:09:48,919 --> 00:09:51,000 tea and working around the cracked monitor of an old 173 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,480 desktop PC for meth and pulling back the cracking, wilted 174 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,799 foreskins of insatiable drunk old men. Visions of that path 175 00:09:57,879 --> 00:10:01,360 haunted Paviel knelt down beneath the greedy, salivating man in 176 00:10:01,399 --> 00:10:04,360 a dingy bar bathroom. Another month of shelter and bedding, 177 00:10:04,399 --> 00:10:06,679 only a few perilous minutes away. 178 00:10:09,039 --> 00:10:13,759 Speaker 3: Good, ye, take hold of it. 179 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 1: Hundred roubles, yes, dah da. 180 00:10:16,879 --> 00:10:22,919 Speaker 3: Hundred now go open op. 181 00:10:26,919 --> 00:10:30,039 Speaker 1: And so with those visions in his head, Pavel worked 182 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,200 ever harder. His output of memes was unmatched in the warehouse. 183 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:35,360 He resolved that it would not be a lack of 184 00:10:35,399 --> 00:10:38,159 effort that cost him his job. It would, however, be 185 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,600 ai A year and a half later, and four years 186 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,759 after that, Pavel's body, ravaged by drugs and old men, 187 00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:46,399 was pulled from a river and minsk On his back 188 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,240 porch in Iowa, John nodded at the meme, Amen, he thought, 189 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,360 looking back out over his yard. He went to common 190 00:10:53,399 --> 00:10:56,360 as much on the post literally amen, but was met 191 00:10:56,519 --> 00:11:00,840 with an unpleasant surprise disagreement, disagree with as far as 192 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,720 he could figure, the most agreeable sentiment he'd ever read. 193 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,919 Of course, there were plenty of people agreeing as well, 194 00:11:07,399 --> 00:11:10,120 most people were agreeing. In fact, a sixty four year 195 00:11:10,159 --> 00:11:13,960 old woman from Arizona, Barb Copple, wrote, God bless our troops. 196 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,879 A thirty seven year old man wearing Oakley sunglasses and 197 00:11:16,919 --> 00:11:19,720 a black, crumpled Carolina Panther's hat and his profile picture 198 00:11:19,759 --> 00:11:23,320 left a bicep emoji as his comment. Another man, Greg Weathers, 199 00:11:23,799 --> 00:11:27,279 wrote kill pedophiles, which John took to be a tacit 200 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,840 agreement with the overall sentiment of the post, But others 201 00:11:29,919 --> 00:11:32,440 did not express the appreciation that John felt was required 202 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:36,399 of anyone inserting themselves into this conversation. One man a 203 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,240 thirty something sack of milk with bedraggled patches of pubic 204 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,159 hair that crawled up his neck like weeds to where 205 00:11:41,159 --> 00:11:43,840 his chin should be, and whose typical contribution on social 206 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,080 media was assuring the world that all five feet eight 207 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,200 inches and two hundred and twenty pounds of him would 208 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,559 be helping lead the charge of revolution into the breach, 209 00:11:50,799 --> 00:11:53,720 harvesting blood from political infidels as payment for their crimes. 210 00:11:53,759 --> 00:11:56,279 With glee and ease, wrote if you like winning World 211 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:00,360 War two, thank a communist. A digitally politically acting mother 212 00:12:00,399 --> 00:12:03,159 of two young boys. In her early forties, Ashley Ives, 213 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,320 who'd graduated with a communications degree from Michigan State in 214 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,879 two thousand and six, wrote, Vietnam and Desert Storm proved 215 00:12:09,879 --> 00:12:13,000 this isn't true, but even if it were, why celebrate violence? 216 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:14,919 But the comment that caught John's eye or. 217 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 9: Read yeah lol, We're such a brave country slaughtering indigenous 218 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,840 peoples and drone bombing brown people from the stratosphere. 219 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 1: The comment was authored by Claire Matheson, a pan sexual 220 00:12:24,879 --> 00:12:27,559 Amazon employee in her early thirties living in the Capitol 221 00:12:27,639 --> 00:12:31,080 Hill neighborhood in Seattle. Originally from Houston, the clever brunette was, 222 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,919 though typically dressed in beanies and boots, conventionally attracted by 223 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,639 modern American standards. Though she never stood out much in 224 00:12:37,639 --> 00:12:40,279 the bright blonde Texas world she grew up in. Claire's 225 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,279 day hadn't been as idyllic as John's when the meme 226 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,759 from Patriot American History Facts slid across her screen. She'd 227 00:12:45,759 --> 00:12:48,120 been reprimanded by her manager Paul at a team meeting 228 00:12:48,159 --> 00:12:51,720 that morning, maliciously, she believed, over messages she'd sent on 229 00:12:51,759 --> 00:12:53,919 their workplace messaging app chime. 230 00:12:53,879 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 10: Hey guys, before we finish, I wanted to address some 231 00:12:56,519 --> 00:12:59,840 controversial communications that have been going out on workplace channels. 232 00:13:00,039 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: The unexpected announcement piqued Claire's anxiety. Her chest tightened. She 233 00:13:03,919 --> 00:13:06,039 knew this was about her. She began to see that 234 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:10,720 her techno fascist corporate overlords and their enforcer, Paul I understand. 235 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 10: We have very passionate people here and diverse viewpoints. That's 236 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,799 part of what makes our culture so exciting, and we 237 00:13:16,919 --> 00:13:20,000 encourage expression and authenticity we do. 238 00:13:20,159 --> 00:13:23,679 Speaker 1: The hypocrisy maddened Claire. The nerve of them to trade 239 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:26,679 on the suffering and structural violence experienced by their most 240 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,000 vulnerable employees as they deploy that structure to strangle what 241 00:13:30,039 --> 00:13:32,600 little voice she and the others had left out of them. 242 00:13:32,639 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 10: That said, we still do need to remember that this 243 00:13:35,159 --> 00:13:39,320 is a workplace and professionalism and appropriateness is expected. 244 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: Claire braced herself, ready to grin and bear the unbearable 245 00:13:42,879 --> 00:13:46,039 once again, to agree with an oppressor with sufficient politeness 246 00:13:46,039 --> 00:13:48,120 so they may continue to give her some of all 247 00:13:48,159 --> 00:13:51,080 that they have. It would be easy, she knew, to 248 00:13:51,159 --> 00:13:53,639 numb herself to this degradation in order to endure it. 249 00:13:54,159 --> 00:13:57,080 But to Claire that would be surrender. She wanted the 250 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,440 depravity to terrator, to not viscerally suffer. The in justice 251 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:01,559 was to be complicit in it. 252 00:14:01,799 --> 00:14:05,759 Speaker 10: So I hate to do call outs. I don't want 253 00:14:05,799 --> 00:14:08,399 to do call outs. I don't like them. But we're 254 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,240 we're I gotta do them. 255 00:14:11,519 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 1: Paul flipped to a slide on the projector displaying what 256 00:14:13,919 --> 00:14:18,320 were apparently some of the messages they determined to be inappropriate, 257 00:14:18,639 --> 00:14:21,840 though Claire thought threatening was a more apt adjective, because 258 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:23,919 that's what these people really felt when they read. These 259 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:28,720 threatened their order, their peace and quiet, their power, the 260 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:30,240 lie they portrayed to the public. 261 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 10: Stuff like this just you know, it just doesn't fly 262 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:35,679 in an office setting. 263 00:14:36,039 --> 00:14:38,399 Speaker 1: The messages on the screen were exactly the sort Claire 264 00:14:38,399 --> 00:14:41,279 expected to see. She could not help but scoff audibly. 265 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,240 How fragile these powerful men must be to want to 266 00:14:44,279 --> 00:14:46,879 censor this. There was a reply Claire sent on the 267 00:14:46,919 --> 00:14:49,720 General Channel in response to Paul, saying Happy Pride Month 268 00:14:49,759 --> 00:14:52,000 that read they can prye the pussy from my cold, 269 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:55,039 dead mouth. Under a picture Paul posted of himself with 270 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,399 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Claire replied, it's so hard to 271 00:14:58,399 --> 00:15:00,080 want to eat the rich when they all look like 272 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,559 they taste like shit guests, We'll just have to leave 273 00:15:02,639 --> 00:15:06,519 Jeffy in the oven hashtag the richer inedible hashtag just 274 00:15:06,639 --> 00:15:09,600 kill the rich. In response to a message from Paul 275 00:15:09,679 --> 00:15:11,919 telling the team that he brought an orange chicken his 276 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,480 wife made for the office, Claire wrote, Hi, sorry, gonna 277 00:15:15,519 --> 00:15:18,559 go ahead and skip the imperialist buffet. The only thing 278 00:15:18,639 --> 00:15:21,039 I trust cis white women to cook is a hearty 279 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,559 meal that gives a colonizer the energy he needs to 280 00:15:23,639 --> 00:15:27,080 rape cultures hashtag support black owned businesses. 281 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 10: So Claire, as well as Eduardo and Toshura, we're gonna 282 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,919 have to be more mindful of the setting in future communications. 283 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:41,399 Speaker 1: Okay. Replies from Claire's two most similarly tempered coworkers were 284 00:15:41,399 --> 00:15:45,039 also displayed under Claire's comment about her militant unwillingness to 285 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,600 ever stop eating pussy. Eduardo, a chubby, feminine gay man, 286 00:15:48,679 --> 00:15:50,879 posted a picture of himself at a Pride event holding 287 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,519 up a sign that said good people don't oppress good boys, 288 00:15:53,559 --> 00:15:56,720 while his penis fully exposed save for the Dalmatian pattern 289 00:15:56,759 --> 00:15:59,159 paint on it, was leashed and being walked by a 290 00:15:59,159 --> 00:16:02,879 fully naked fire fighter. To Eduardo's photo, Claire replied, you 291 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:06,000 are my queen. To sure is highlighted in fraction was 292 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,840 a reply from another team message from Paul, this time 293 00:16:08,879 --> 00:16:11,759 a milk toast statement from their corporate caretaker and celebration 294 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,519 of Martin Luther King Day. Tish's response to it read, 295 00:16:14,799 --> 00:16:17,240 y'all still owe us a body from Martin? One for 296 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:21,639 Malcolm two Claire chimed in, yes, and one for Matthew Shepard, 297 00:16:21,679 --> 00:16:25,039 also which to Schuer liked. Then Claire to Shura and 298 00:16:25,159 --> 00:16:27,919 Eduardo toss around ideas about the best white men to 299 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,559 kill and how to kill them as repayment for the 300 00:16:30,559 --> 00:16:34,320 aforementioned victims. The white men suggested as sacrifices were stock 301 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,720 standard targets for the Trio, so predictable is to be inoffensive. 302 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:42,039 The methods of execution that were offered, however, were jarring, 303 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,000 so much so that even a typically politically sympathetic coworker, Nina, 304 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,279 made a complaint to Paul after being presented with the 305 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,360 idea that Joel Ostein be boiled alive with used lube 306 00:16:51,399 --> 00:16:53,559 and all seamen and anal juices that came with its 307 00:16:53,559 --> 00:16:55,320 harvesting in front of his children. 308 00:16:55,639 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 10: So, you know, just clean it up a little bit, 309 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,559 I also said, and then email to Greta, who was 310 00:17:01,639 --> 00:17:04,920 taking part in these conversations while at home on her 311 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:06,359 two year paid maternity leave. 312 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: Fucking fascist. Claire thought, are we good? 313 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:14,279 Speaker 3: Okay? Great? 314 00:17:15,319 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 10: You're doing a great job, guys. 315 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,599 Speaker 1: Keep up the good work. Claire fumed her desk for 316 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:21,720 a half an hour after the meeting, before she decided 317 00:17:21,759 --> 00:17:23,960 she could not sit inside these walls for another moment. 318 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,559 She marched over to Eduardo into Shore's desks. 319 00:17:26,759 --> 00:17:28,839 Speaker 6: I can't be here anymore, not after that. 320 00:17:29,319 --> 00:17:31,039 Speaker 4: Nuhuh no, girl, me neither. 321 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:32,079 Speaker 1: That was insane. 322 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:33,079 Speaker 6: Let's go. 323 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 1: The aggrieved trio marched into Paul's office. Hey guys, what's up. 324 00:17:37,319 --> 00:17:39,559 Claire looked Paul dead in the eyes and advocated for 325 00:17:39,599 --> 00:17:40,680 herself and her friends. 326 00:17:40,799 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 6: We're uh gonna. 327 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,559 Speaker 9: Take a mental health day if that's cool. We're just 328 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,920 kind of you know, ah right now? 329 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:54,400 Speaker 10: Oh yeah, yeah, I totally get it. You guys take 330 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,200 care of yourselves. I'll see you tomorrow. 331 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 7: Okay. 332 00:17:57,759 --> 00:18:00,519 Speaker 1: Thanks. Claire loathed herself for saying thank you you, a 333 00:18:00,559 --> 00:18:03,240 line of code programmed into her by years of surviving 334 00:18:03,279 --> 00:18:05,440 in this broken society that she had not yet been 335 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:09,039 able to successfully disembed She to shore. Eduardo left work 336 00:18:09,079 --> 00:18:11,359 and went straight to a brunch spot nearby to commiserate 337 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:13,839 about what they'd experienced that morning over drinks in an 338 00:18:13,839 --> 00:18:14,480 early lunch. 339 00:18:14,559 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 9: I think what just makes me so angry is that 340 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:19,880 you just know Paul is so full of shit. He's 341 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:21,200 so fucking fake. 342 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,200 Speaker 4: He doesn't mean anything he says. 343 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,079 Speaker 1: Oh, he's so fake. I got on grinding there at 344 00:18:25,079 --> 00:18:26,480 work just to see if he secretly on. 345 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 9: There, and you just know how he really votes. I 346 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,680 bet if anyone ever caught him, he'd be all panicked, like, 347 00:18:30,759 --> 00:18:34,000 oh oh oh, I just move my kids safety, move 348 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:35,359 my kid's crime. 349 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:36,440 Speaker 3: For my kids. 350 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,839 Speaker 9: Sometimes I just feel so gross working for a company 351 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:41,519 that makes so much fucking money. 352 00:18:41,599 --> 00:18:43,839 Speaker 1: Back in Paul's office, his supervisor had popped in to 353 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:45,960 check on the department. Where's the socialty? 354 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 10: Oh yeah, they took him mental health. 355 00:18:48,279 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 3: They what again? 356 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,000 Speaker 1: Well, I did those callouts like you asked. 357 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,359 Speaker 10: The callouts can be tough, you know, it's not so 358 00:18:56,519 --> 00:18:59,200 easy having such a harsh light shine on you like that. 359 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:01,319 Speaker 4: How many metal Well, if these they have left, they 360 00:19:01,319 --> 00:19:02,559 take them all the time. 361 00:19:02,839 --> 00:19:03,640 Speaker 1: Uh, let me check. 362 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,279 Speaker 10: Twelve out of twenty one. 363 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:13,039 Speaker 3: This company makes too much fucking money. 364 00:19:13,279 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 1: After their drinks, Claire and her friends parted ways, and 365 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,240 Claire went home to her apartment to further decompress. She 366 00:19:18,279 --> 00:19:20,359 grabbed a package from the girl who worked the lobby, 367 00:19:20,559 --> 00:19:22,920 checked on her plants, and refilled her cat's water, which 368 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:24,640 she was surprised to see already empty. 369 00:19:24,799 --> 00:19:27,640 Speaker 9: Oh you're a thirsty guy. Glad I was able to 370 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:29,920 come home. You would have been waiting all day for more. 371 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,079 Speaker 1: Despite it only being the early afternoon, Claire poured herself 372 00:19:33,079 --> 00:19:35,400 a glass of wine. A few drinks, capped off by 373 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,160 some tie food from Postmates in an early bedtime sounded 374 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:39,799 like an ideal way to put the stress from the 375 00:19:39,839 --> 00:19:41,880 day behind her. She curled up on her couch with 376 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,599 her cat, Nolan, whom she'd named for Nolan Ryan, the 377 00:19:44,599 --> 00:19:47,839 baseball player her dad idolized. Though she felt embarrassed admitting 378 00:19:47,839 --> 00:19:49,720 to her friends or anyone else she brought over to 379 00:19:49,759 --> 00:19:52,200 her apartment that the name had such a Texasy origin, 380 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,680 she'd often lie and say the cat was named for 381 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,799 director Christopher Nolan, though ironically that still elicited the sort 382 00:19:57,799 --> 00:20:00,680 of derision she'd hoped to avoid. Her friend, who started 383 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,759 going by Scout, after moving to Seattle, was particularly haughty 384 00:20:03,799 --> 00:20:06,720 about that explanation for Nolan's name one night, and said 385 00:20:06,759 --> 00:20:09,680 between guffaws exaggerated in the hopes that others in the 386 00:20:09,759 --> 00:20:12,759 room would share and laugh, along with the observation that 387 00:20:12,799 --> 00:20:14,960 Claire may as well have named the cat Michael Bay 388 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,359 or Logan Paul. You're so basic, Claire, But I feel 389 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,599 like that's just the Texas in you, like you just 390 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:26,000 genetically have megaplex tendencies. Claire gave an insincere obligated laugh, 391 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,799 as did the handful of people in her apartment, none 392 00:20:28,839 --> 00:20:31,240 of them interested in drawing the pointed attention of such 393 00:20:31,279 --> 00:20:34,960 an insistent personality. Claire wasn't happy with Scout's comments, but 394 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,079 convinced herself that her tactfulness was necessary because Scout, who'd 395 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:42,200 only recently begun flourishing as a person, was still figuring 396 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,519 out how to take up space after spending so much 397 00:20:44,519 --> 00:20:46,960 of life with no space at all to exist in 398 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:47,880 let alone. 399 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 6: Command I had to call it out. That's just a 400 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,160 stupid fucking name. It's so fucking stupid. 401 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: Frustrating as Scout was, Claire still held the night close. 402 00:20:57,799 --> 00:20:59,920 It was her first night with Zoe They'd flirted for 403 00:21:00,079 --> 00:21:02,319 weeks after meeting through these mutual friends at a drag 404 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:04,200 show for Turtles, but hadn't been able to find a 405 00:21:04,279 --> 00:21:06,880 chance to be with each other until then. Lying in 406 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,000 bed together in the early hours of that morning, Zoe 407 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,279 ran her thin tan fingers through Claire's hair. 408 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 4: Did you really name your cat after Christopher Nolan? 409 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:14,799 Speaker 8: Um? 410 00:21:15,799 --> 00:21:17,440 Speaker 6: Yeah, that's cute. 411 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,519 Speaker 4: I don't know why Scout was shitting on it. Who 412 00:21:19,519 --> 00:21:20,440 doesn't like the dark night? 413 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: Weeks went by after that without the two being apart 414 00:21:23,319 --> 00:21:25,079 for more than the eight hours a day Claire was 415 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,799 at work. They spent every free moment together on coffee dates, 416 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,839 perusing bookstores, sprawled out on a blanket at Gasworks Park, 417 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,799 or curled up on Claire's couch with wine and tequila 418 00:21:35,839 --> 00:21:40,359 and takeout watching trashy Netflix reality shows. Claire was completely infatuated. 419 00:21:40,559 --> 00:21:42,920 Zoe too, was full of affection for this spunky little 420 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:45,559 Texas girl she'd found, But Zoe had been having trouble 421 00:21:45,599 --> 00:21:48,559 finding work in Seattle, and she missed her hometown, San 422 00:21:48,559 --> 00:21:52,559 Diego and her parents and friends there. Their connection was exciting, 423 00:21:52,599 --> 00:21:54,440 but too new for them to ask big things of 424 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,839 each other, So when Zoe broke the news to Claire 425 00:21:56,839 --> 00:21:59,240 that she was moving home. There was only one thing 426 00:21:59,279 --> 00:22:01,039 Claire could bring her self to ask. 427 00:22:01,319 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 6: Why, if I'm going to be poor, it's at least 428 00:22:03,759 --> 00:22:04,440 got to be sunny. 429 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,839 Speaker 4: I mean, I'm already living off ramin and cereal. That's 430 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:08,680 just too many vitamin deficiencies. 431 00:22:08,799 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 6: I can get you a job at Amazon. 432 00:22:10,319 --> 00:22:11,160 Speaker 3: I don't work in tech. 433 00:22:11,599 --> 00:22:14,279 Speaker 6: No, it's a huge company. It's great. It's so great. 434 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 9: There's so many different things you can do, like pretty 435 00:22:17,039 --> 00:22:19,240 much whatever, media marketing. 436 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,359 Speaker 6: I mean, you can even cook. You said maybe you 437 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:22,079 wanted to do that. 438 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,559 Speaker 4: It's not just that my parents are getting older. I mean, 439 00:22:25,599 --> 00:22:26,359 I just miss. 440 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,880 Speaker 6: Home, but I'll miss you. 441 00:22:29,759 --> 00:22:32,400 Speaker 1: Zoe knew Claire was hurting. She insisted she'd visit all 442 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,039 the time, that they'd talk all the time, that Claire 443 00:22:35,079 --> 00:22:37,559 should plan a trip to San Diego because she'd never been. 444 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,079 The sudden shot of hope Zoe provided caused Claire to 445 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,039 blurt out the sword of ideas she'd been keeping to 446 00:22:42,079 --> 00:22:44,559 herself in order to not add embarrassment to the night's 447 00:22:44,559 --> 00:22:45,559 list of misfortunes. 448 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:47,880 Speaker 9: I can help you move I can drive down with you, 449 00:22:48,079 --> 00:22:50,039 help you move in. You shouldn't have to do that 450 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:50,799 drive alone. 451 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 3: That's that's okay, that's that's too much. I don't I 452 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:54,960 don't want you to do all that. 453 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,680 Speaker 9: Okay, Well, we at least have to have one of 454 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:01,039 our here before you leave. 455 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,319 Speaker 6: One last time, Claire patted her couch. 456 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:09,160 Speaker 1: They did, and it was wonderful and bittersweet, and Zoe left. 457 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,319 The next morning, Claire was on the couch alone, now 458 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:14,960 save for Nolan, whose name she never got to actually 459 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,960 explain to Zoe. They hadn't texted in weeks, and Claire 460 00:23:18,039 --> 00:23:21,000 was actively avoiding Instagram after seeing a story from Zoe 461 00:23:21,039 --> 00:23:23,480 with another girl. So Claire sat with a glass of 462 00:23:23,519 --> 00:23:25,759 wine in a dating show playing in the background. 463 00:23:26,279 --> 00:23:29,599 Speaker 7: One woman looking for love, eight male suitors who she 464 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,880 is only allowed to communicate with via text message, and 465 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:34,960 thanks to the fact that we're filming in Dubai, she 466 00:23:35,079 --> 00:23:38,039 is legally obligated to marry the winner and consummate the 467 00:23:38,039 --> 00:23:42,039 marriage that night. The catch one of the random men 468 00:23:42,519 --> 00:23:45,839 is her dad. This is Daddy issued us. 469 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:50,839 Speaker 9: My name's Ashton Tyat and hug as you could say, 470 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,799 I'm looking for an old soul. 471 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,079 Speaker 1: To pass the time, Claire scrolled Facebook, hoping that at 472 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,880 least some measure of schadenfreud from the dull and un 473 00:24:00,039 --> 00:24:03,000 spectacular lives of high school acquaintances might make her feel 474 00:24:03,039 --> 00:24:05,759 better about her own day. In recent life, morbid glee 475 00:24:05,839 --> 00:24:07,920 was her main reason for scrolling Facebook at all. At 476 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,640 this point, she hadn't posted on the platform in five years. 477 00:24:11,039 --> 00:24:14,319 The algorithm knew this and served her accordingly, never judging 478 00:24:15,079 --> 00:24:18,759 only feeding. Claire got a sprinkle of dopamine from a 479 00:24:18,759 --> 00:24:21,480 few depressing posts that crossed her screen between ads and 480 00:24:21,519 --> 00:24:23,839 suggested pages that she did not follow and did not 481 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,559 have even the remotest interest in following. But the algorithm 482 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,160 must feed too. Claire's joy was particularly sparked at seeing 483 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,880 a status from a former high school classmate complaining about 484 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,799 the current quality of fast food dollar menus. It read, 485 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,920 dollar menus are whackaf now, y'all angry emoji. Angry emoji. 486 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,519 Angry emoji used to roll up a blunt, cruised down 487 00:24:44,559 --> 00:24:46,440 to wend dizzles, and be able to feast like a 488 00:24:46,519 --> 00:24:48,759 king with just the change of my cup holders back 489 00:24:48,799 --> 00:24:51,440 in the day. Now my high ass is putting junior 490 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:55,599 bacon cheeseburgers on layaway like dey Kelsey's school clothes. Laughing emoji, 491 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,279 laughing emoji, laughing emoji. Least I can still pay for 492 00:24:59,279 --> 00:25:03,200 Swiss or sweet with quarters lmao, laughing emoji. Claire was 493 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,160 pleased to be once again assured that the trashy asshole Stoner, 494 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,319 who was one of the first people to ever suspect 495 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,680 she was queer and would based on his suspicion, challenged 496 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:13,960 her to pussy eating contests in the middle of English 497 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,480 class had not emotionally nor financially progressed beyond high school. 498 00:25:17,799 --> 00:25:22,480 But the moment fled lost in scrolling like turds in mud. 499 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,720 Then she came to the meme, the Patriot American History 500 00:25:27,759 --> 00:25:32,119 Facts patent quote meme contents she never asked for, but 501 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,240 the algorithm, by now running low on posts to suggest, 502 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,519 tossed this history account at Claire because a few days earlier, 503 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,680 she'd lingered over an infographic about an eighteenth century pirate 504 00:25:41,759 --> 00:25:45,759 queen from a suggested page called Yassified History. That and 505 00:25:45,799 --> 00:25:48,079 because the algorithm knew there was a forty seven point 506 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,799 thirty nine five one zero percent chance it would elicit 507 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:52,119 rage engagement from Claire. 508 00:25:52,319 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 6: Uh, why am I seeing this? 509 00:25:53,839 --> 00:25:56,519 Speaker 1: Claire started to scroll past it, but still in a hole. 510 00:25:56,599 --> 00:25:58,720 She flicked back to the post and decided to open 511 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:00,880 the comments in search of more rubes to stand on. 512 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,920 Despite knowing what she'd find and finding what she'd hoped for, 513 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,279 the waterfall of comments from the carpenter gene clad Cabella's 514 00:26:07,319 --> 00:26:11,200 tableware owners, submitted in blind, simple enthusiastic support of the 515 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:15,319 memes sentiment delivered her no joy. Instead, this exurban nationalist 516 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,960 digital pep rally sent her into a spiral. Claire was 517 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,200 incredulous at their clueless exuberance, their celebration of something that 518 00:26:21,279 --> 00:26:25,119 was neither true, nor valorous, nor something they themselves even achieved. 519 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,079 How could it be so they cheered without reason, They 520 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,680 cheered without cause, They cheered without reflection, knowledge, or pause. 521 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,240 Unable to let this stand, Claire fired off a comment 522 00:26:34,279 --> 00:26:37,319 she thought would illuminate these people's ignorance, if not for themselves, 523 00:26:37,319 --> 00:26:40,039 at least as context for other readers thinking about joining 524 00:26:40,039 --> 00:26:40,680 in the revelry. 525 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 3: Yeah. 526 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,720 Speaker 9: Lol, we're such a brave country slaughtering indigenous peoples and 527 00:26:44,839 --> 00:26:46,119 drone bombing brown people. 528 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:47,519 Speaker 6: From the stratosphere, she. 529 00:26:47,519 --> 00:26:49,640 Speaker 1: Closed out of Facebook and disgust and moved over to 530 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,839 Pinterest to decompress with pictures of home crafted succulent pots. 531 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:56,200 Sitting on his back porch, his wife still inside, John 532 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,519 ced that Claire's comment, the petulance of it, the void 533 00:26:59,559 --> 00:27:02,400 of gratitude, to typical of these younger generations, that they 534 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,720 could so viciously ignore all they'd been given. John looked 535 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,319 out again at his yard, the hoop and his driveway, 536 00:27:08,559 --> 00:27:12,920 the trampoline, his grill, Carol's garden. No, sir, he thought 537 00:27:13,319 --> 00:27:15,359 he would not let this ingrade ignore the gifts they 538 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:16,599 were unwilling to acknowledge. 539 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,519 Speaker 5: Brownies are done, but the kids won't be home for 540 00:27:20,599 --> 00:27:25,400 another hour. If you want to go back upstairs, hass 541 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:26,440 hold on a minute. 542 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:31,319 Speaker 1: John's round thumbs pressed his response below Claire's comment, you should. 543 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:35,079 Speaker 3: Thanks soldiers for keeping terrorists from killing you. If they 544 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:38,799 had their way, you would be wearing a bed sheet 545 00:27:38,839 --> 00:27:39,319 all day. 546 00:27:39,799 --> 00:27:40,720 Speaker 4: Who were you talking to? 547 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:42,839 Speaker 3: What? No one? 548 00:27:43,599 --> 00:27:47,680 Speaker 4: So what do you say about? What do you want 549 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:52,079 to go upstairs again? Before Aiden and Hendrix get home 550 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:52,960 from school? 551 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:55,519 Speaker 3: Oh? 552 00:27:55,559 --> 00:27:58,839 Speaker 1: On her couch, Claire's Pinterest browsing was interrupted by a notification. 553 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,880 John's replace, Oh, I ugh, this should be good. Claire 554 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,759 clicked the notification and read John's comment. It was exactly 555 00:28:05,799 --> 00:28:08,200 the sort of fat fingered slop she expected to get, 556 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:10,440 but she wasn't amused by it like she thought she'd be. 557 00:28:10,799 --> 00:28:15,000 His indignation was infuriating, unearned. He sounded like a child. 558 00:28:15,279 --> 00:28:16,720 Claire shot a quick reply. 559 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,200 Speaker 9: Back sheets, Oh honey, I'd never steal your wardrobe. 560 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:22,519 Speaker 1: The landing had been stuck. Claire thought it was a 561 00:28:22,559 --> 00:28:24,960 dig cleverer than anything John would be able to come 562 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,000 back with, if he could even bring himself to show 563 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,240 his face again in the comments after she'd so searingly 564 00:28:29,279 --> 00:28:30,279 called out his bigotry. 565 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:34,880 Speaker 3: Don't have to worry about that. Men don't dress like 566 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:36,519 women where I come from. 567 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: John had typed his response. Standing at the foot of 568 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,799 his bed, shirtless, stopped in the middle of pulling down 569 00:28:41,839 --> 00:28:43,720 his pants while his wife lay on the bed working 570 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,160 herself over with a rabbit to get warmed up. His 571 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:50,519 mind was elsewhere and his erection was flagging. Eventually, John's 572 00:28:50,519 --> 00:28:53,079 wife noticed her husband's absence from the moment. She removed 573 00:28:53,079 --> 00:28:55,079 her rabbit from its hutch and propped herself up on 574 00:28:55,119 --> 00:28:57,119 her elbows to see what he could possibly be doing. 575 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 4: John, what are you doing? 576 00:29:00,559 --> 00:29:04,039 Speaker 3: Sorry? Just a text for Miguel. It sounded important. 577 00:29:04,359 --> 00:29:07,160 Speaker 5: Well, come on, the boys will be home soon, and 578 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,039 you're standing there at six o'clock. 579 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: I got first turn on court night. 580 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 3: Fuck you, I called it. 581 00:29:17,319 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 4: Oh nice, the boys are home. 582 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,759 Speaker 3: I'm sorry. Listen, I promise I'll make it up later. 583 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 4: Okay. 584 00:29:28,119 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: Carol got up off the bed and kissed John on 585 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:30,319 the cheek. 586 00:29:30,759 --> 00:29:33,319 Speaker 5: Now, I gotta go deal with those two animals with 587 00:29:33,359 --> 00:29:35,680 my girl slobign like a bulldog. 588 00:29:36,039 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: Carol hurried to put on her shirt and pants and 589 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:39,440 walked briskly out of the bedroom. 590 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 4: Boys. 591 00:29:40,519 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 1: Claire, meanwhile, was reading John's comment in a rage. Not 592 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:45,880 only was he so shameless as to reply at all, 593 00:29:46,079 --> 00:29:48,839 but he doubled down on his hate with Claire believed 594 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,799 a pointed jab at her identity group, knowing me out 595 00:29:51,839 --> 00:29:54,799 from the kitchen for food. But Claire didn't hear. She 596 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:59,039 was typing an encompassing, biting response to this unrepentant monster one, 597 00:29:59,079 --> 00:30:01,680 addressing every ounce of ignorance in his comments and the 598 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,440 meme he and the other idiot commenters supported. 599 00:30:04,599 --> 00:30:08,119 Speaker 9: Hi, your ignorance is showing, though I'm sure you wear 600 00:30:08,119 --> 00:30:10,680 it as proudly as the female Body Inspector T shirt. 601 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:11,599 Speaker 6: I assume you own. 602 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,480 Speaker 1: John did in fact own a female body inspector t shirt. 603 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,079 He'd purchased it in Brandson seven years ago to the 604 00:30:17,119 --> 00:30:19,359 great amusement of his boys, and he wore it proudly 605 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,160 to the public pool every summer after, delighted by his 606 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,759 own sense of humor and his son's giggling maniacally each 607 00:30:24,799 --> 00:30:27,680 time he did. And no amount of complaints which came 608 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:32,039 immediately and in great volume from lifeguards, pool management, other parents, friends, 609 00:30:32,079 --> 00:30:34,839 and his wife could get John to stop. Even tweener 610 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,160 before he passed, had thought it was a bit much. 611 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 2: It's a family pool man, the saint backwater jacks down 612 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,079 at o Sage Beach. No one's getting their titty pierce 613 00:30:43,119 --> 00:30:44,599 on top of the bar with the course tree from 614 00:30:44,599 --> 00:30:47,000 a pocket knife to win Sammy Hagar tickets. You know, 615 00:30:47,359 --> 00:30:49,960 I mean, I gotta sure this is tough muffer, funny 616 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:51,720 as hell, But I don't wear it to high school 617 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:52,680 cross country meets. 618 00:30:53,079 --> 00:30:56,759 Speaker 1: I wear it to backwater jacks. But John stood fast. 619 00:30:57,039 --> 00:30:59,599 He would not be compelled to suppress his authenticity by 620 00:30:59,599 --> 00:31:02,279 mediocre people and others timid enough to be concerned with 621 00:31:02,319 --> 00:31:04,640 their opinions. Was it a little inappropriate to wear a 622 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:07,319 shirt purporting that he had brought authority to inspect female 623 00:31:07,319 --> 00:31:10,799 bodies around children and little girls in particular. Sure, but 624 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:14,720 that's what made it funny. He obviously was not going 625 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,599 to inspect any female bodies, let alone children's anyone thinking 626 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:23,160 that was, in his estimation, probably projecting perverts themselves made 627 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:26,640 nervous by their own darkness, not his harmless joke. Nevertheless, 628 00:31:26,839 --> 00:31:29,599 John persisted, that is until one July afternoon, while the 629 00:31:29,599 --> 00:31:32,519 female body Inspector shirt lay crumpled and unattended between the 630 00:31:32,519 --> 00:31:35,000 pool chairs. The Phillip's family had claimed that day, and 631 00:31:35,079 --> 00:31:38,160 his youngest son Aidan, commandeered it, put it on, walked 632 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,480 straight into the women's locker room showers with the shirt 633 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:42,880 hanging at his knees, and ordered a trio of nude, 634 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,279 soapy women in their sixties to quote line up. Finally, 635 00:31:46,799 --> 00:31:49,079 John conceded that the shirt may have been more trouble 636 00:31:49,119 --> 00:31:51,279 than it was worth, though still only out of a 637 00:31:51,319 --> 00:31:55,480 misinterpretation of its meaning. Claire continued to type out her screed, ay. 638 00:31:55,759 --> 00:31:59,400 Speaker 9: The American Revolution wasn't fought for liberty or freedom. It 639 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,799 was fought to maintain slavery and white supremacy. This has 640 00:32:02,839 --> 00:32:07,319 been proven by renowned historians of color. B we used 641 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:13,119 two nuclear weapons on wait for it, innocent people of color. See, 642 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:18,079 we committed a two hundred year genocide against indigenous people 643 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,319 whose land we stole, and now we drone bomb brown 644 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,559 people because boat lives matter more than brown lives to 645 00:32:24,599 --> 00:32:25,240 this country. 646 00:32:25,359 --> 00:32:27,799 Speaker 1: John was walking into the kitchen as he got the notification. 647 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:30,160 His two boys were going through a Costco bag of 648 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,119 chili cheese friedos like hyenas tearing at a zebra. Their 649 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,599 eyes lit up at seeing their dad walk in, excited 650 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:37,160 to tell him about their day at school. 651 00:32:37,319 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 10: Ohb dabt, we gotta tell you, Dad, the funniest shit Hendricks. 652 00:32:41,839 --> 00:32:44,119 Speaker 3: Sorry, the funniest thing happened today. 653 00:32:44,319 --> 00:32:47,319 Speaker 1: Hendrix made a kid shit his pants. We were playing 654 00:32:47,359 --> 00:32:49,680 dodgeball and Jim and this kid on the other team. 655 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:51,920 Speaker 2: He was born without a butthole, right, so he has 656 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:53,440 to leak poop into a bag. 657 00:32:53,559 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 5: It's called the colossomy bag, Hendrix, and you shouldn't make 658 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:57,680 fun of people who have them. 659 00:32:57,799 --> 00:33:00,000 Speaker 1: Hendricks hit him in the bag and it explodes. 660 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 3: Dad. 661 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: It was an absolute dart. They had to evacuate the gym. 662 00:33:04,119 --> 00:33:06,759 Speaker 10: A janitor called his union rep and the kid had 663 00:33:06,799 --> 00:33:09,359 to lay sideways on a toilet in the nurse's office 664 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,720 until his parents came with new bags and hoses. 665 00:33:11,839 --> 00:33:14,839 Speaker 4: That is not a funny story. That is awful, John, 666 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:15,720 tell them. 667 00:33:15,799 --> 00:33:18,359 Speaker 1: John hadn't heard much. He was lost in his phone 668 00:33:18,559 --> 00:33:20,480 and sensed reading Claire's diatribe. 669 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:25,480 Speaker 3: John, Oh, boys, don't hit cripples. It's wrong. 670 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 4: What are you doing on your phone? 671 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,079 Speaker 3: Uh? It's uh Miguel again. I gotta go into my office. 672 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,839 Speaker 1: John retreated to his home office, leaving his wife confused 673 00:33:33,839 --> 00:33:36,160 and his boys disappointed by his indifference to a story 674 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:38,079 they were sure would get a laugh from him. John 675 00:33:38,119 --> 00:33:40,359 closed the office door behind him and put himself into 676 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,160 his chair with purpose. He was going to properly address 677 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,920 this pretentious bleeding heart who insulted him not only directly, 678 00:33:47,079 --> 00:33:49,240 but also with her presumption to lecture him at all. 679 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:52,880 He threw his laptop open, logged into Facebook, and started 680 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:54,920 to smash his index fingers into the keyboard. 681 00:33:55,240 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 3: Well, it's clear they don't teach history anymore. Innocent Japanese 682 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:06,480 people got nuked. I guess you can't look up Pearl 683 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:12,760 Harbor on Wokapedia. And how many comic Kazi planes do 684 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:16,360 you think we're flying right at our plane carrying that nuke, 685 00:34:17,119 --> 00:34:23,039 trying to ram into the Americans, risking their lives for 686 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:29,760 you as they flew over Hiroshima and Indians. We're genociding 687 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:34,119 each other for one hundred years before we got here. 688 00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:40,440 What were we supposed to do? Hug them? Why don't 689 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:45,000 you let squatting bull live with you rent free if 690 00:34:45,039 --> 00:34:49,039 you feel so bad about it? But how I really 691 00:34:49,119 --> 00:34:53,360 know you don't know. What you're talking about is judging 692 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:59,800 the past by the present. If Thomas Jefferson had slaves today, 693 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:04,760 he obviously wouldn't have had sex with them. But we 694 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,639 can't judge people by what they used to do before 695 00:35:08,679 --> 00:35:09,400 we got here. 696 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,599 Speaker 1: Hours passed as John and Claire traded salvos in their 697 00:35:12,639 --> 00:35:16,360 historical argument. John skipped dinner with his family, Claire forgot 698 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,400 to order hers. Claire's cat Nolan, remained unfed as well. 699 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:22,000 From the office. In order to keep his wife from 700 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,360 bothering him about what he was doing, John would yell 701 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:26,679 random non sequitars that sounded work related. 702 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:31,119 Speaker 3: I didn't order that much limestone. That Moultz job looks 703 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:36,440 like shit. God damn it, Miguel, God, damn it, Miguel God. 704 00:35:36,519 --> 00:35:37,280 Damn it, Miguel. 705 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:41,000 Speaker 1: Carol, though hesitant, eventually did peek through the door of 706 00:35:41,079 --> 00:35:42,440 John's office to check on him. 707 00:35:42,559 --> 00:35:44,320 Speaker 4: I thought you weren't working today. 708 00:35:44,719 --> 00:35:51,079 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, no, just some stuff came up. It's stupid you. Okay, yeah, yeah, 709 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,320 I'll be done in a little bit. I'm sure. 710 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:56,599 Speaker 4: Okay, because you still need to come up to bed. 711 00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:01,199 Speaker 3: Has Oh I'll be there. That girl warm for me. 712 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:03,440 Speaker 4: I'll do some stretches. 713 00:36:04,159 --> 00:36:07,360 Speaker 3: Oh no, Hon, I'll be the one stretching it. 714 00:36:09,159 --> 00:36:09,639 Speaker 4: Okay. 715 00:36:10,159 --> 00:36:12,559 Speaker 1: Carol left the office for their bedroom to wait. She 716 00:36:12,679 --> 00:36:15,519 undressed and reached for her normal pajama set, caught in 717 00:36:15,559 --> 00:36:18,280 PJ pants and one of John's old T shirts when 718 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:20,559 she spotted the little pink slip she'd bought for John's 719 00:36:20,559 --> 00:36:23,559 fiftieth birthday. Thinking back to their afternoon with a smirk, 720 00:36:24,039 --> 00:36:26,519 she put back her everyday pjs and grabbed the slip 721 00:36:26,559 --> 00:36:28,639 from its hanger. She checked herself in the mirror and 722 00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:32,000 lay down on the bed to wait for John. John, meanwhile, 723 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,280 worked up again from the argument, relocated to his wreck 724 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,079 room to have a beer and calm down. In the meantime, 725 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,679 the strangers, who hated each other continued to commit their 726 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:43,159 entire evenings and all of their mental and emotional energy 727 00:36:43,159 --> 00:36:43,719 to one another. 728 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,079 Speaker 9: You're right, America did slaughter her natives because they were 729 00:36:47,119 --> 00:36:51,199 a threat. White men like Cortes showed up, saw a 730 00:36:51,199 --> 00:36:55,239 bunch of sexually liberated brown people who were living harmoniously 731 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:58,840 with the people in landscape around them, and was threatened. 732 00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:01,719 And it turns out we're still threatened by those brown 733 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:05,239 people today, considering that anyone who speaks Spanish isn't allowed 734 00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:05,960 in this country. 735 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 3: If America didn't exist, we wouldn't have won the Civil 736 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:17,119 War and freed the slaves. We wouldn't have beat Hitler, 737 00:37:17,679 --> 00:37:21,760 we wouldn't have killed Bin Lauden. The world is a 738 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:28,079 better place because of a Meyerica. You gotta break a 739 00:37:28,159 --> 00:37:30,360 few eggs to make an omelet. 740 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,440 Speaker 6: What are you talking about. Slavery wouldn't have existed if. 741 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,360 Speaker 9: It weren't for America, And you can thank America's Smoot 742 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:39,960 Holly tariffs for helping Hitler even exist. 743 00:37:40,159 --> 00:37:42,679 Speaker 1: Claire had recently learned what the Smoot Holly tariffs were 744 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:44,960 after reading economic history for the first time in her 745 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,639 life in response to recent news about tariffs, and had 746 00:37:47,639 --> 00:37:51,199 happily shared that conclusion on several occasions, including now, and if. 747 00:37:51,079 --> 00:37:53,159 Speaker 9: We hadn't stationed troops in Mecca as part of a 748 00:37:53,199 --> 00:37:56,280 neocolonialist oil grab, terrorists wouldn't exist. 749 00:37:56,800 --> 00:38:04,719 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, America invented it. Everything bad in the world, slavery, hitler. 750 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:15,119 Speaker 8: Terrorism, famine, nuclear war, racism, mean people, we get it. 751 00:38:15,559 --> 00:38:16,800 Speaker 3: You hate America. 752 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,000 Speaker 9: I do hate this country's blood soakd history, and I 753 00:38:20,039 --> 00:38:22,960 do hate that I live inside a world built on genocide. 754 00:38:23,079 --> 00:38:25,599 Speaker 1: Hours had passed. It was almost midnight in Iowa and 755 00:38:25,679 --> 00:38:28,360 nearly ten pm in Seattle. Both combatants had long ago 756 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,119 lost track of the time. Only John's wife's slight intrusion 757 00:38:31,119 --> 00:38:32,960 to coax him up to bed to save what started 758 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,400 as a special day alerted him to the hour. Claire 759 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:37,960 only checked the time after the smell of hot, rancid 760 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,480 catpiss began to waft through her apartment. Nolan, hungry and 761 00:38:41,519 --> 00:38:44,000 furious about it, had gone into the bedroom and shot 762 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,599 an angry stream of pungent urine onto Claire's pillow and 763 00:38:46,599 --> 00:38:47,800 protest of his abandonment. 764 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:49,280 Speaker 8: Nolan, what the fuck? 765 00:38:49,559 --> 00:38:51,679 Speaker 1: Still? They both punched away at each other. 766 00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:54,119 Speaker 9: If you think America is so perfect, then why do 767 00:38:54,159 --> 00:38:56,159 you get so upset when people point out that it 768 00:38:56,199 --> 00:38:59,000 isn't take the fact that the true founding of America, 769 00:38:59,079 --> 00:39:02,599 the most violent anti woman country on earth, was in 770 00:39:02,639 --> 00:39:05,840 sixteen ninety two, when the Salem witch trials began. If 771 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:09,119 that was so obviously not true. It is true, but whatever, 772 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:10,320 you wouldn't even care. 773 00:39:10,639 --> 00:39:11,360 Speaker 6: Would you get. 774 00:39:11,159 --> 00:39:13,880 Speaker 9: Mad if someone called you a pretty pretty unicorn? No, 775 00:39:14,199 --> 00:39:16,679 it'd be too ridiculous to get mad about. But you're 776 00:39:16,679 --> 00:39:20,159 getting mad because deep down you know it's true. America 777 00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:21,840 isn't an infallible country. 778 00:39:22,039 --> 00:39:27,079 Speaker 3: Well, I agree with you there. America is definitely gonna 779 00:39:27,119 --> 00:39:31,719 be a failable country if people like you get to 780 00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:36,960 run it. People who don't appreciate our history will make 781 00:39:37,039 --> 00:39:42,239 this country fail. At any point in this country's history, 782 00:39:42,679 --> 00:39:45,000 I would have thought to keep it free from people 783 00:39:45,079 --> 00:39:48,599 trying to oppress us. I would have charged up San 784 00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:52,840 Juan Hill and Little Round Top. I would have braved 785 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:58,239 the jungles of Dnong and the streets of Fallujah with 786 00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:04,119 no regard for my life, anything to keep the people 787 00:40:04,159 --> 00:40:07,280 trying to conquer our freedom from succeeding. 788 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:10,039 Speaker 1: John sat Back took a sip of his beer and 789 00:40:10,079 --> 00:40:12,800 waited for a response. Claire couldn't even commit to moving 790 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:15,480 to a foreign country forever. John was willing to risk 791 00:40:15,519 --> 00:40:17,840 his life in the Spanish American War had he had 792 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:20,960 the chance to. They were not the same, but no 793 00:40:21,079 --> 00:40:23,679 response came. Claire had gotten up to finally feed her 794 00:40:23,719 --> 00:40:25,679 cat and throw a pillow in the wash. This was 795 00:40:25,719 --> 00:40:27,599 the most movement she'd gotten in hours, and the two 796 00:40:27,639 --> 00:40:30,559 bottles of wine hit her hard upon standing up. After 797 00:40:30,559 --> 00:40:32,639 starting the washing machine, she went back to her room 798 00:40:32,719 --> 00:40:35,280 and sat on her bed to collect herself. Still woozy, 799 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,280 she laid down. She was out within minutes. John waited 800 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,760 another hour until almost two in the morning before deciding 801 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:43,679 that his closing argument must have indeed left Claire checkmated 802 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:48,400 he'd won. He was right. He smiled, finished his beer, 803 00:40:48,639 --> 00:40:51,320 and dragged himself up to bed. Hundreds of miles away 804 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,039 in a Boston brownstone, an old man sat in a 805 00:40:54,119 --> 00:40:56,480 leather chair in his study. In his right hand, he 806 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:58,679 held a tumbler bourbon, his fifth or sixth of the 807 00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:02,719 night in his life left a pistol, a Colt Model 808 00:41:02,719 --> 00:41:06,480 eighteen sixty Army Revolver, a still functional relic from the 809 00:41:06,559 --> 00:41:09,400 US Civil War. It had belonged to General Philip Sheridan, 810 00:41:09,519 --> 00:41:12,320 the revolver was a prized historical possession among many for 811 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:15,320 this man, a historian, he too had been reading the 812 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:18,239 Patriot American History Facts comment War. It was served to 813 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:20,159 him while he was ineptly looking to see if his 814 00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:22,440 niece had posted any new pictures of her children, But 815 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:26,559 he only lurked, never participated. He looked around his study, 816 00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:32,000 at all the books, all the artifacts, at his own 817 00:41:32,079 --> 00:41:37,800 tomes of painstakingly researched history. Then he looked down at 818 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:45,920 his pistol. My life has been a waste. This has 819 00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:49,760 been soft core history theaters presentation of two people arguing 820 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:52,679 with each other on the Internet about history. A short 821 00:41:52,719 --> 00:41:56,440 audio story