Non-Monetized Together #svalien

I do have many articles saying I’m opposed to “politics” and that Nonmonetized Together is “not political.” Now I realized that’s not a good way to describe it because I do have values and use them to make people live better lives. 

Over the next little while I will look at the articles where I attack politics and replace that with “competitive politics,” because I think that’s the real problem and what I meant to say.

I felt I had to make a post about this because of how integral it is to the Nonmonetized Together context.

Picture from Caroline Veronez/Unsplash

This article can also be viewed at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/rare-examples-of-when-embracing-the-autistic-self-can-be-inauthentic-0efbc7b7feaf.

The dominant theory in the autism community seems to be that when an autistic person behaves in a way that is associated with autism, that person is expressing their true identity, and should be encouraged to do so, as long as they aren’t harming themselves or anyone else.

I think this is mostly true. But in my experience living on the spectrum, there are some examples where these behaviours actually make it harder for me to express my authentic self.

Especially in terms of conveying my emotions. Autistic habits like stimming, an inappropriate tone of voice, or low eye contact can result in my outer self not matching up with how I feel on the inside. In order to express myself authentically, I do need to restrain my autistic behaviours to some extent so people can see how I really feel.

Stimming comes across to other people as frustrated or uncomfortable, but often indicate pleasant emotions for autistic individuals. This means that when I’m stimming, I’m not expressing my emotions as I feel them, which means that I need to hide my stimming if I want to demonstrate my real emotions.

My autism also means I have a harder time gauging my tone of voice, so I need to actively monitor it if I want to express my true self.

And if I want to talk to someone in public, I have no choice but to demonstrate that by giving eye contact.

Here’s another example. I may have an urge to explore my special interests, but if I’m not careful, I can spend too much time looking at that and not enough time doing other things I want to do. The most authentic version of me would be the one where I spend some time absorbing my special interests and some time doing other things. The version of me that doesn’t regulate my autism-powered laser-focus and spends too much on my special interests would be less authentic.

Sensory and motor issues can also interfere with an autistic person’s self-expression. In the Letters from Aspergia blog post “Autism Really Cramps My Style,” the author explains how her fashion options are limited by her sensitivity to texture and fit, and how her poor motor skills rule out options such as wearing heels or doing her hair. When she wears uncomfortable clothing, it can bother her enough that she struggles to get things done or talk nicely to people. Despite this, she feels like her current fashion style doesn’t suit her and wishes she could dress differently.

In conclusion, non-autistic people should welcome autistic expression with a few caveats. It’s up to autistic people to decide what works best for them. Their views on the matter should be taken seriously. Do you have any other examples of when autism clashes with authenticity?

#Authenticity #Autism #Neurodivergent #Identity

Discuss...

This article can also be viewed at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/the-age-someone-gets-diagnosed-with-autism-matters-086bdb729d2e.

The autism experience can mean many different things, and the age of diagnosis is one of the reasons for this. As someone who was diagnosed early, I noticed that my life experience is very different from people who were diagnosed as adults.

For example, I don’t have a negative attitude towards masking, or hiding my autistic traits, because I’ve always known that it’s something I can turn off and on when necessary.

People who were diagnosed as adults did not have that knowledge growing up. Since they didn’t know they were autistic, they didn’t know that too much masking can be unhealthy for them. As a result, they usually tried masking all the time so they could fit into society. This is why they dislike masking so much.

Another difference is that I’m content with the fact that I need to work harder than neurotypicals in order to catch up to them. It’s my default way of approaching my life.

Yet this has a more negative connotation for those diagnosed late. When someone doesn’t know they have a neurological condition, they can feel frustrated and confused as to why they aren’t as successful as their peers who put in the same amount of effort and come from a similar background. It’s only when they get diagnosed do they realize they have to put in more effort.

Even after they find this out, it’s disheartening that they spent all those years unaware of this, so they can be bitter about the fact that they need to try harder.

Since I was diagnosed early, I was fortunate enough not to have this experience, and so there’s no reason for me to have a problem with putting in extra effort.

There’s one more difference I’ll share with you. Because I’m autistic, I had trouble figuring things out on my own as a child, so I had to rely a lot on listening to what adults had to say in order to learn about how the world works. This helped me get in the habit of being eager to hear other people’s perspectives and make something meaningful from them. This interest of mine inspired me to create Nonmonetized Together.

Meanwhile, those who were diagnosed late grew up surrounded by people who weren’t considering their autistic perspective when talking to them. These autistic people weren’t getting much use out of what society had to tell them, and this could result in them not being as open to hearing what others have to say.

So don’t ever compare me to people who get diagnosed as adults. My life is a lot different than theirs.

EDIT: I just wanted to mention how grateful I am that this article got some discussion and that it resonated with people. It has restored my hope in Nonmonetized Together, the movement this article is a part of. I was originally planning on ending the Nonmonetized Together publication in the near future because even though it was getting a lot of views, very few people were reacting to the articles or getting involved in the Nonmonetized Together community. I began questioning whether people were interested in using the original concepts behind Nonmonetized Together to achieve their own goals. Because of the response this article has gotten from readers, I have reversed my decision and decided to continue posting on here. Thank you!

To learn about Nonmonetized Together, read this: https://write.as/non-monetized-together/about-our-blog-tired-of-internet-drama-and-fakeness

#Autism #LifeExperience #Neurodiversity #Childhood

Discuss...

Medium comments:

I guess late diagnosed people are not bitter because they only found out late that they need to work much harder, they are bitter because of missed opportunities and wrong life choices, because of not knowing what was a realistic goal. I would have chosen some other degree to pursue and I don’t know if having 3 kids was smart… I’ve got the wrong career and I’ve hated myself not being able to give love only to my 3 kids.

Lotjeknorrie

Yeah, that's a better way of putting it. It's obvious to someone when they're falling behind others, what's less obvious is what they need to do next. Thank you for explaining that.

Kevin the Nonmonetized

---

For myself it's the 50 years of exploitation by others that's been challenging to navigate with late diagnosis. Set patterns in relationship that I'm now having to disrupt as I reclaim aspects of self and establish boundaries. “No, it was not acceptable for you to strew my private medical information across the family dinner table when I was at home experiencing catatonia and yes, I did call out your profound lack of discretion to everyone who didn't stop you, and no, I won't apologize for everyone's collective failure of will and no, I won't clean up the mess you've all made about me without me before you're done paying the consequences of your own actions.” Fun stuff. I can't do math for shit but I'm balancing accounts with surgical precision and it'll be a bit before the dust settles in this long-lost ok-corral.

bobbipatriciasmith

I'd love to help you out because I'm trying to make Nonmonetized Together a community with a more equitable social dynamic than the rest of the Internet. I just have no idea what you're talking about here.

Kevin the Nonmonetized

sorry, I meant social exploitation. The link below is to an academic paper. My comment is about narcissistic-style abuse where living undiagnosed and unaware has lead to a pattern of interactions where I've been cast as a “prop” for others. I've spent my whole life assuming other people thought and acted similarily to me – honest, obsessively ethical, limited capacity for bystander effect, etc. Previously I may have interpreted having my private medical information dissected at a dinner I wasn't in attendance for as internally demoralizing (shame spiral of RSD) while writing it off as the actions of people who cared imperfectly. No. That is not what was happening. With my diagnosis and consequent understanding of different brain processes, ways of making meaning, ways of communicating, etc, and through the lens of 20+ years of historical relationship review, I now understand that dinner table scene differently. The family member who lacked discretion used the details of my recent spectacular psychosis (brought on by the pernicious effects of over-masking that you touch on) as a prop to cue the listeners to the image she was hoping to present to them about herself. Every time she served up yet another salacious detail of my deeply private experience, she could perform empathy, thoughtfulness, and concern. And the listening family members took those cues and ran with them, engaging in a similar vein with a similar intent. People can absolutely be trusted but I didn't understand before diagnosis how that trust needs to be approached. As I build understanding of my autistic brain and excise narcissist after narcissist from my life, I am learning that I need to build trust with myself, first. I must approach every individual not from the hypervigilant watchful position of “what do you need that I can give before you even have to ask and so you're not mad at me” which is where I used to live, but rather from the position of “what are my strengths and where do I want to offer them while caring for myself in the process”. Thank christ the psychosis got me on disability cuz this is slooooooow going and I need all day every day to reflect and integrate. In between sharpening my knives, I MEAN EXCISING freudian slip I swear.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5980973/

bobbipatriciasmith

---

Speaking for myself (but I think probably many others as well), it's not that we “dislike” masking so much. It's the damage that runs through our lives and our selves because of doing it non-stop, with no other option available. It's really good to hear you grew up knowing it was something you'd need to do at times, but then turn off, so you got the essential “time off” from masking. That helps me have some hope I may learn to do that myself. But if you do anything too long without a break (run, hold your breath) there are negative consequences. Some of us have been holding our breath for decades (5 going on 6 in my case).

Lynn Springle

Exactly

Kevin the Nonmonetized

---

Even after they find this out, it’s disheartening that they spent all those years unaware of this, so they can be bitter about the fact that they need to try harder.

Accurate.

Jim Irion

---

I certainly did, as for easily it can be seen what I highlighted being late diagnosed myself.

I’m a mental health advocate. Last night I published my review of what I’ve learned. I would be most grateful if you, Kevin, would give it a look at your convenience. It will surely broaden your already impressive knowledge.

“Following in an Advocate’s Footsteps”

Jim Irion

I think that was a good article, would you be interested in joining Nonmonetized Together as an author?

Kevin the Nonmonetized

I’m rather inexperienced when it comes to Medium. So, a question or two to start if I may?

First, can any of the writing I’ve already done be added? Because of my lack of economic integration, at age 42 after my late autism diagnosis led to that, I’m at a crossroads with what to do. I really don’t know. Because of the late diagnosis trauma I uncovered last June 8th, I am now less able to write and highly stressed..

It doesn’t help that, aside from sharing my writing on Twitter (1,500 followers), my writing footprint is small here. I’m sitting in two informal theories that could upend autism knowledge. I lack the experience and connections to reach people as well.

Jim Irion

Submit whatever you want and I'll let you know if you need to make any changes 😊

Kevin the Nonmonetized

How should I? Email? Or list the titles here?

Jim Irion

I will add you as an author now, and then you will be able to submit to Nonmonetized Together.

Kevin the Nonmonetized

I don’t see an option to submit, for example, via a List. Haven’t received anything via email..

Jim Irion

Open your story, go to the edit page, click the three dots on the top of the screen, and head to “add to publication.” You should see Nonmonetized Together. Click it and it will send your story to me.

Kevin the Nonmonetized

Note:

The article about autism and women has a couple sentences removed and replaced with asterisks. I haven’t replaced it with research data yet by an autistic female researcher.

Jim Irion

I'm sorry, I accidentally published that article. I removed it from Nonmonetized Together, so now it's publicly available at jimiron.medium.com. There's nothing I can do to remove it from being publicly available, so if you want to do that, you will have to do it on your own. Also, you will have to resubmit the article on Nonmonetized Together.

Kevin the Nonmonetized

Could you explain this again? I’m a bit lost.. Autism and women, correct? I thought it was publicly available already.

Jim Irion

Maybe it was. You would know better than me. But you'll have to resubmit it to Nonmonetized Together to get it published there

Kevin the Nonmonetized

I re-submitted both the Time to Connect the Patterns and Part 5 on autism and women. I took out the bar graph. And I rewrote the text I removed from Part 5. Sufficiently to fill the space of what was removed and the original publication date.

That was yesterday. You should have both.

Jim Irion

[Comment section continued here](https://write.as/jbb5jugmcex7sk2t.md)

---

Okay. It worked and now I think I know what the next stage of publishing actually looks like from the entry point of view. Up to now, I had only seen writers publishing through publishers. I didn’t know how to gain entry to any of them.

Next questions. What happens now? Limitations? Can these be published with more than one outlet? Is this actual publishing or just adding stories to a List?

I held back some, such as my two informal theories, until I understand more about publishing. I would prefer my writing remain unedited. I already run them through a grammar checker, as well.

Jim Irion

What happens now?

I'll read your articles, and if they're a good match for the publication, I'll publish them. If not, I can explain what needs to be changed for the article to be published. In the case of your article about autism and women, I will wait until you finish writing it before I read it.

Limitations? Can these be published with more than one outlet?

Nonmonetized Together operates across two platforms: Medium and write.as. If you want me to share your posts on write.as, please let me know. I won't publish your article onto write.as unless you specifically ask me to.

Is this actual publishing or just adding stories to a list?

Yes, these stories will be added to Nonmonetized Together, which is its own publication.

Kevin the Nonmonetized

More than one outlet wasn’t necessarily meant publications of yours. I meant any others. I don’t know the rules or etiquette for that. Some publishers retain all rights. Some don’t seem to..

Jim Irion

You can publish it through other outlets, sure

Kevin the Nonmonetized

It took years to get that simple bit of information. Thank you. I know it at least from you for this instance.

Jim Irion

---

I’m curious…

You’ve been so gracious to offer me the chance to have these published, as such. It’s very hard for autistic adults to get published about autism, because the focus is still predominantly youth. Not us.

Do you know how I may go about searching for or finding other publishers who do so on here? Medium. How do I search for them?

I appreciate you giving me these chances. It opens doors to what more can be done. Thank you. Not for the pending advice. For publishing my writing. Thank you.

Jim Irion

You’re welcome! I can’t help but support you! I’m so glad to be making a difference in your life.

I would suggest searching for articles about adulthood with autism and see where those articles get published.

Kevin the Nonmonetized

---

I’ll give it a try and respond back here. Have to take a moment to decide how many, which ones, and what order.

Thank you for being so patient, as well.

Jim Irion

---

As a late-diagnosed autistic, it's interesting to hear your perspective. The problem isn't so much that I didn't know I had to try harder but that I had to at all, because the world is made for neurotypical brains. It's the failure of many people to appreciate this that continues to frustrate me.

Jae L

---

5️⃣0️⃣

M Paul Pintarich

---

I wouldn’t say that I having to “try harder”, in order to “catch up” as if it's a linear objective thing, because I was diagnosed later, tells the whole story. I would even say that part of why people like me get missed so much is because autism is so frequently seen as synonymous with being behind in every way possible.

At least for me, I see it as a splintered-inconsistent thing. There have been certain things that have come easier to me than most NTs. I taught myself to read at age 3. In middle school, I was more interested in doing calculus problems and practicing my instrument several hours a day, which allowed me to finish high school two years early, instead of succumbing to peer pressure and going to parties. Just yesterday at work, my boss was amazed that I was able to catch certain details in their vinyl quality control process that people far more experienced missed.

On the other hand, it took me until the age of about 20 to figure out that “How are you?” is an instance of phatic speech and not a literal question, I got made fun of for being the last one to tie my shoes at school, and have struggled for over 10 years to build the professional network I've always wanted. Growing up, adults, especially teachers, felt threatened when I knew more than them, or inadvertently challenged them to think about their subject area in ways they hadn't before, particularly because I saw no social hierarchy between me and them.

You're right, you can't compare people strictly on the basis of age of diagnosis. In theory, it would have been great for me to get diagnosed at 2 instead of 22, but I also know what I would have gotten in the way of support back in the late 90's might have been traumatizing in and of itself. Neither set of experiences is “a privilege”. There are too many variables involved to make this a cut and dry metric.

Noisy Skin Bag

Thank you, I didn’t consider that

Kevin the Nonmonetized

---

As late diagnosed I feel exhausted more than anything. The amount of energy it’s taken to make it this far has left me with little to move forward with. It takes a lot less for me to end up spending days or weeks in bed after a meltdown. My sadness comes from not learning earlier that I needed a lot more self care to prevent myself ending up in this position.

Chakalaka

This article is also available at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/8-things-i-can-only-do-here-on-nonmonetized-together-2d829fdceb63

Nonmonetized Together, the publication you are reading right now, is an experiment in deliberately creating an online culture that will counteract the problems with Internet culture. This online environment is structured and organized to allow for social interactions that wouldn’t be feasible anywhere else. In doing so, you and I can receive opportunities we wouldn’t receive elsewhere and use those opportunities to do things that wouldn’t be achievable elsewhere.

Whenever you think to yourself, “if only I could get the chance to do so-and-so in a so-and-so way” or “if only I could do so-and-so without dealing with so-and-so,” try doing it on Nonmonetized Together. Maybe this publication can make your dreams come true.

Here is a list of things I could do on Nonmonetized Together that I couldn’t do anywhere else:

1. I don’t target any specific demographic with Nonmonetized Together.

Personal photo representing diversity

This means Nonmonetized Together can empower a greater variety of readers than I would anywhere else, which creates a more equitable impact than creators who focus on individual demographics. Depending on political orientation, nationality, race, age, and socioeconomic status, people have many different ideas of what it means to have a better life, but I try to write in a way so anybody can get closer to achieving that by joining the conversation.

They just have to be willing to put up with writers that refuse to deploy psychological tactics other writers use to keep readers loyal, such as sugarcoating morbid realities or reaffirming their preexisting beliefs (yes, I know this will reduce my audience in the short term, but I think being authentic will make this blog more valuable in the long term).

Keep in mind, I’m not a self-help guru. I am trying to create a culture without a power dynamic, where you can find your own way of gaining strength and supporting others.

2. I can take online incidents that most people would see as insignificant and give people reasons to see them as significant.

Personal photo

A few of my articles are about little-known Internet posts from ordinary Internet people. Typically, if I saw those sort of posts acted out in the physical world, I wouldn’t bother getting involved because it just wouldn’t be any of my business. But it’s different when these things get posted publicly on the Internet.

Whenever you make a public post on the Internet, that post becomes everybody’s business. You’re inviting the whole world to see your post, interact with it, and potentially get influenced by it. You’re letting people know that you’re comfortable with it receiving all this attention.

So, even though most people would expect a blogger to write about things that the public has already shown interest in, I sometimes write about Internet occurrences that, at first glance, appear non-notable. I’m aware that it’s not always just celebrities and major brands that shape our experiences. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that make the biggest difference, and I think there should be a public online space where we can discuss the significance behind random people’s posts. By putting it on the open Web, readers can use this discussion to make a bigger difference in the world than if they kept it private.

So whenever I write an article about these so-called mundane topics, my goal is to answer the question, “why should this topic be taken seriously?” I want people to ignore the commonly accepted definition of notability and instead recognize the transformative potential of what less powerful individuals have to say.

3. I get to approach social justice in a way that I hope will appeal to both sides: people who support the current movement AND people who think it’s going too far.

Personal photo

Nonmonetized Together is a place where people can discuss social justice ideas from an experimental lens. This means that it’s from the perspective of “let’s try this social justice idea, see how it goes, collect the results, and from there on ask how can we develop this further?”

It’s not like elsewhere on the Internet, where it’s either “everybody needs to behave like this or we’ll insult them, and we’ll do it behind their backs so they don’t know” or it’s “I don’t like obeying these dumb rules, so instead of choosing not to follow them, I’ll insult other people for participating in them, and I’ll do it behind their backs so they don’t know.”

Nonmonetized Together is a free-thinking community that is less about fulfilling power fantasies and more about producing knowledge. You may not agree with all social justice ideas on the community, and on Nonmonetized Together, you don’t have to participate in them. But it’s important for people to try certain social justice strategies and collect data. I hope this will help us make the world a better place without getting pushback from the traditionalists.

4. I can have a conversation without getting bogged down by political code words.

Personal photo

If anybody uses political code words, I will stop to clarify what the user really means before going forward in the conversation. What if they choose to refuse explaining what they mean by the code word? Well then, it would make them look bad, and I wouldn’t want to do that. When I clarify the code word, the user gets a chance to become more transparent and get closer to achieving a productive conversation. Yes, they admit to making a mistake but that’s not a bad thing, even if you’re Donald Trump.

For example, let’s say you’re somewhere other than Nonmonetized Together, and you want to turn your followers against someone, but you lack any concrete reason to do so. Well then, you can just call them “mentally ill” and that will do the job. But on Nonmonetized Together, “mentally ill” doesn’t have those connotations. It just refers to its literal definition.

So to weed out people who start political drama instead of political progress, I will ask them to clarify what mental illness they meant and why it’s relevant to the discussion. If they have an answer, then they probably actually meant “mentally ill.” If they don’t have a real answer or start acting attacked, I will explain Nonmonetized Together, find the term they meant to use, forgive them, and continue the discussion from there.

I know other political codewords as well (like the recent popularity of “women’s rights” in reference to being able to easily get an abortion) but I probably don’t know them all. If you notice someone use a political codeword that I can’t catch, please let me know, and I will try to come up with a solution. But be wary if you misuse this guideline for the purpose of sowing disorder. I’m politically neutral and will be able to catch that right away.

5. I can write about niche topics. Outside Nonmonetized Together, I know not to bore people by talking about obscure things they probably don’t know about, but the Internet is different. There will always be someone online who will find your posts useful.

Nonmonetized Together takes advantage of this reality by making articles about incredibly niche topics sometimes. I even invited the “decadeology anarchy” community to share their posts onto Nonmonetized Together, despite them being an even nichier version of the already niche community r/decadeology. None of them have taken up my offer yet, though I at least hope Slim95 will write for Nonmonetized Together as he recently got fed up with Reddit and left r/decadeologyanarchy.

6. I can communicate with people I would not want to talk to in real life.

I can reach a stadium full of people (Personal photo)

Nazis, trolls, cult leaders, rape apologists, terrorist supporters, abusers, pro-anorexia participants — I would not want anything to do with any of these people outside of Nonmonetized Together. But I can’t just leave them to their own devices as that would be turning a blind eye to the problems they perpetuate.

Maybe if they stumble upon Nonmonetized Together, we can hold them accountable or even get them to go down a different path. If we aren’t successful, at least we get to provide the Internet with examples and results of our intervention methods, which could inform people on how they could do it in the future. And if you want to say something to these people but feel scared, send your message to me in a private note and I will speak on your behalf.

If there’s any place on the Internet that can pull this off, it’s this one. Nonmonetized Together is dedicated to figuring out how Internet communities can function better. It tries to promote patience and understanding of everyone’s situation, yet at the same time, tries to hold people accountable. It encourages participants to challenge each other’s preconceptions.

If the comment sections get dominated by people promoting horrific ideas while refusing to practice self-reflection, I promise I will either make changes to how this community functions or declare it a failed experiment. But if that doesn’t happen, we can make some progress or inspire other people to make progress.

7. I can acknowledge advertisements for what they really are.

Personal photo

Since this blog is nonmonetized, I don’t care about appeasing advertisers, so when I discuss them, I will describe them as what they truly are: entitled, narcissistic, shallow leeches that would rather turn everyone into morons than challenge society.

I once had a dream that advertisers were cool. I was walking through a store and I see these promotional banners hanging from the ceiling. Each banner contained a sentence in the format, “In (year), (person or group of people) were perceived as terrorists.” Could you imagine if an advertiser had the soul and spunk to do this in real life? But people don’t care that advertisers are lame because they get distracted by the fact that advertisements play an important role in society. And yes, that dream ended up inspiring me to write the article Year-By-Year Google Trends Data Shows How Terrorists Were Represented From 2005–2023.

8. I get to communicate outside of the competitive political context.

Peaceful personal photo

Nonmonetized Together is the only secular environment that operates outside of the competitive political sphere. Outside of Nonmonetized Together, everywhere you go, you see a society built on competing over resources and overpowering enemies. Everyone seems to be working for their own interest and trying to take advantage of each other. This type of society will burn to the ground. Disadvantaged people are most at risk as they are desperate and rely on powerful people.

Not only that, competitive politics is a losing game. No matter how much political power you obtain, the other side isn’t going away. They will always be there, obstructing your path to true happiness and fulfillment. The only way to win the game of politics is to do it noncompetitively, which is what I did.

I decided I would make a better influence on society if I didn’t align with any of these competitive political movements. I trained my mind to let go of the political beliefs I had previously.

Instead, I started viewing the world from a Catholic and Freirean perspective and tried to live like Jesus, even if it comes at a personal cost. I began using peaceful, open dialogue to allow people to navigate the world’s issues in their own authentic way. I focused on giving people the tools to enrich their own minds while trying to take something positive away from my own interactions with people. I encouraged people to challenge my blog posts (shoutout to @michaelzwierzanski) as I knew that would give them intellectual strength and agency.

This became more fulfilling for me than political involvement and eventually became my default state of mind. This is how Nonmonetized Together became the only secular environment that operates outside of the competitive political sphere, because it is run by someone who is not politically motivated but is instead motivated by knowledge and fairness.

The world may feel like it’s spinning out-of-control, but by creating my own community from scratch, I can provide a space to escape from the chaos and start anew. We can use better techniques, use better information, and have better relationships than the rest of the internet. This way, we can protect future generations the best we can.

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/about-our-blog-tired-of-internet-drama-and-fakeness

#Internet #Writing #Blogging #InternetCulture #SocialJustice

Discuss...

Obie Fernandez/Unsplash

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/autism-is-a-mental-condition-not-a-pr-strategy-11247e24bd34.

I’m so tired of hearing this from people. Whenever a disgraced celebrity, such as Kanye West or Sia, comes out as autistic, there will always be somebody who will claim that the autism is a PR attempt for levelling public backlash against them. These people are very uninformed on what autism means.

News flash: autism is not, and never was, a status symbol for protecting someone from being criticized. It is a medical term for people who mentally process things differently than other people.

Some people will respond to Kanye, Sia, or Brewdog CEO James Watt with “autism isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card,” but these comments are still wrong because they feel a need to bring up the PR aspect unprompted. None of these three public figures never said anything about it being a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Anybody who thinks autism is a PR tool is completely detached from reality. They need to stop sensationalizing things and get in touch with the life experiences of the people around them. Could celebrities be taking advantage of people who have this wrong idea about autism? Maybe, but if commentators stop associating autism with PR, then autism won’t be an effective PR tool.

Before I leave, I noticed that even though Nonmonetized Together keeps getting more and more views, nobody other than me has written an article for it yet. I started Nonmonetized Together because I wanted a place where anybody on the Internet could have their voice taken seriously. Because of this, I would appreciate it if you provided me feedback as to why you haven’t yet wrote an article for this publication. Are there any changes you want me to make to Nonmonetized Together first?

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/about-our-blog-tired-of-internet-drama-and-fakeness

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/why-i-added-svalien-to-the-nonmonetized-together-title

#Autism #Neurodivergence #Society #Celebrity #Feedback

Discuss...

AI-generated photo from Pixabay

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/the-first-musician-to-make-future-funk-music-8c59f5fe8df2.

What was the first example of future funk music? Some people say the Louis LaRoche track “Peach” (2008) or The Phantom Revenge track “Absolute Ego Riot” (2008), but I don’t think either track is fully future funk, even if they are precursors of the style. Other cited examples include Keats Collective, Saint Pepsi, the song “Close to Me” (2010) by Teams & Star Slinger, and even the song “Arabest” (2011) by SebastiAn, but I have a contender that predates all of these examples, and that I haven’t seen anybody mention before.

My suggestion is Go Go Bizkitt’s 2010 EP The Bizkitt, which is just two songs and a remix. The two songs are Miami Nights and Get Up, and the remix is a redone version of Miami Nights.

When determining the answer to the question “who was the first future funk musician,” what you really need to be asking is “when did filter house evolve into future funk?” You can find music that sounds close to future funk as far back as the mid-90s if you look at the genre “filter house,” also inconveniently known as “French house.” Future funk grew out of filter house in the early 2010s. Both genres are funky, energetic, and prominently sample tracks from the 70s and 80s.

But what are the differences between filter house and future funk? I have trouble answering this question, and even if I use the Internet to help me, there are not very many sources online that can help me. Thalia Harris of YumeTwins tries distinguishing the two styles of music in her article “Future Funk: A Guide to This Retro Aesthetic.”

“[Filter house] tends to have more ambient build-up and repetition, with short loops and repetitive structures at 120–128 bpm and longer track durations. On the other hand, future funk is more melody-driven, sample-heavy, and influenced by the psychedelic elements of vaporwave. It features tracks typically under three minutes long and at 100–110 bpm.” — Thalia Harris/YumeTwins

Harris’s claim that future funk is more sample-heavy is not true. As a filter house fan myself, I can tell you that almost all tracks in the genre are based off samples. Other than that, Harris seems to have a good grasp on the differences between the two genres.

Aside from this, the only other sources I can find that differentiate the two genres would be a bunch of Reddit discussion threads. They mostly echo the points Thalia has already made, though some users have added other points of diversion, like the drums in future funk being louder, or future funk being more maximalist.

Some other people say that filter house and future funk are too similar to each other to be different genres. To be honest, I can’t say I disagree with this take. I’m surprised that people thought future funk was different enough from filter house that it had to be its own thing. Despite this, no one person can control how new music genres are defined and categorized. Once enough people recognize a genre as its own thing, the genre name is out there in the world, and you can’t change it back.

So based off the minor differences future funk has from filter house, when was the moment that filter house first transitioned to future funk? There are two tracks from 2008 that have been brought up as candidates — “Peach” by Louis La Roche and “Absolute Ego Riot” by The Phantom’s Revenge.

Peach — 

Absolute Ego Riot — 

Feel free to disagree, but I don’t think either of these tracks classify as future funk due to their lack of melody. The two tracks on the Go Go Bizkitt EP have some melodic parts, so I think they’re more like future funk than the two tracks from 2008.

I would also say “The Bizkitt” matches the other criteria for future funk. It’s psychedelic, the drums are loud, and it’s maximalist. “Get Up” uses samples from the 1981 Gwenn McRae song “Funky Sensation.” Both original tracks use more variation than most filter house tracks, and are structured more like a pop song. You could argue that the speed and tempo of these songs are closer to filter house than future funk, but I don’t think that makes these tracks not future funk. Here’s the Apple Music link to the EP. I can’t pull up a YouTube link to the songs on the EP, because they aren’t publicly available on YouTube.

AI-generated photo from Pixabay

“The Bizkitt” was released on April 21, 2010. This predates other contenders, such as the label Keats Collective or the musician Saint Pepsi, both who began creating music in 2012. SebastiAn’s one-off foray into future funk, “Arabest,” was released in 2011. Even the earliest future funk release in RateYourMusic’s database — “Close to Me” by Teams vs Star Slinger — was only released in June 2010.

Another reason that Go Go Bizkitt, whose real name is Tom Nelson, could lay claim to being “the father of future funk” is that he actually intended to create a new genre. Except he didn’t call it future funk, he called it “stutter funk,” as you can see in the Bandcamp description for his second EP StutterFunk. This EP may be the second-earliest future-funk release, having been released on May 4, 2010, still earlier than any future funk track I can find from any other artist.

Go Go Bizkitt’s pioneering tracks still hold up today. They are fun and energetic, with sound design that pops and sparkles. Nonetheless, Nelson no longer makes future funk under the name Go Go Bizkitt, which is understandable because that style of music doesn’t seem as popular as it used to be. Now, he makes 80s-style synthpop under the name Luxxly.

Even though Luxxly’s music sounds nothing like future funk, Luxxly’s aesthetics are more future funk-like than Go Go Bizkitt’s aesthetics have ever been. Luxxly music videos use a lot of nostalgic and consumerist footage from the 80s and 90s, and there’s lots of anime in his SoundCloud artwork. I enjoy some Luxxly’s songs, but I prefer Go Go Bizkitt. I feel like Nelson had more ideas as a future funk artist than a synthpop artist.

We may be nearing the end of this blog post, but the story is not over yet. I always want Nonmonetized Together to be an interactive community, so not only will I challenge you to find an earlier future funk release, but I’ve found a good starting point you can use. This blog post from 2011 has described Go Go Bizkitt as being part of a new era of disco producers, which includes U-Tern, Starsmith, Ghost of Venice, and Geisha Twins.

Despite being a follower of nu-disco music, I have never heard of any of these musicians. Perhaps one of them has a future funk release dated earlier than “The Bizkitt.” I’ll leave this as a project for my readers to explore.

Here are two links that explain to you what Nonmonetized Together is:

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/about-our-blog-tired-of-internet-drama-and-fakeness

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/why-i-added-svalien-to-the-nonmonetized-together-title

Discuss...

#Music #MusicHistory #FutureFunk #Vaporwave #DanceMusic

syndey Rae, Unsplash

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/@non-monetized_together/dont-be-one-of-those-grown-ups-screwing-up-the-world-17c3e24cdabf.

If the child version of you could see the person you are now, would they think you’re one of the grown-ups who are screwing up the world? As you got older, did you remember the promise you made as a child, that you would be the one to fix things up? Are you passing up the opportunity to turn your dreams into reality?

At the moment, are you working to fulfill the hopes and dreams your child self hoped to achieve as an adult? Or are you avoiding letting them come to fruition, wasting all that excitement you used to have? Are you letting down your child self? Are you ignoring their needs and emotions?

Are you letting down today’s children? Are you setting a good example for them, inspiring them to make their dreams become a reality? Do you think about how your decisions can help children get what they want, and how your decisions will shape people’s lives after you die?

Discuss...

What is svalien?

#VibeCheck #SelfReflection #Success #Childhood #Motivation

This article can also be viewed at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/my-third-idea-for-a-film-genre-7217b8862b45

Just in case you’re wondering, here’s a link to my first idea and here’s a link to my second idea.

The video for the NZCA Lines and VIAA song For Your Love is one of the most emotionally powerful videos I’ve seen in a long time. It prompted feelings I may have never felt before when watching a movie. I asked myself, what is it about this video, directed by Florence Winter Hill, that allowed those feelings to develop?

Link to music video

And the answer I found was a strange one. What sets this video apart from most other films is that we don’t know anything about the characters.

The two “main characters” are depicted as silhouettes, so they could be anybody. The other characters all show up only once apiece and we don’t know anything about any of them. Rather, their purpose of being in the video is to symbolize emotions. Emotions such as excitement, passion, longing, and celebration.

How does this allow the music video to succeed? Because it heightens these emotions to the point where they come across as feeling different than they do in the real world. Filmmakers may put a lot of time and effort into making characters seem real and getting the audience to relate to the characters’ emotions, but let’s be honest, real-world emotions are a drag. They’re linked to the random chances of your life situation. They’re grounded and reasonable. They’re messy and sometimes confusing. They can ruin your day or even your life, but they will only satisfy the former.

This music video presents an escapist fantasy where none of that gets in the way. The people in this video do not come across as human beings with their own inner lives. They only exist to express the video’s themes and to coordinate the video to the music. And because of that, the video feels more emotionally intense than anything I experience in my own real life.

So how could this approach to filmmaking become its own genre?

My vision is of a movie that contains dramatic character interactions, but always at a distance from the characters. The audience is not to know anything about the characters. The film will also show the consequences of the characters’ actions. An example of this would be the film showing an announcement of a bill being passed, followed by a scene depicting an anonymous person’s everyday life under this new law, which would then lead to a shot from a moving vehicle capturing the law’s effect on the city.

Whose perspective would the film be shot from? Surely not from any of the characters. I’m envisioning the film instead being shot from the perspective of the land and of the space inhabited by the land. I think this will allow the films in this genre to feel like the music video I linked earlier.

So if you have writer’s block, why not try making a “distance drama?” By combining drama, symbolism, and escapism, your film can maximize its emotional power.

#Cinema #Emotions #Filmmaking #Dramas #Creativity

Discuss...

Markus Spiske/Unsplash

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/what-are-some-subtle-changes-youve-noticed-in-the-world-lately-ef455bc602d9.

Here I’m starting a discussion thread about subtle changes you’ve noticed among people in the past few years. Not big changes that people talk about, but ones you just barely notice, registering as nothing more than a different sense in the air.

I’m interested in hearing your responses because I like hearing perspectives about things I might not be thinking about much. Here are a few examples I’ve noticed:

· People don’t react to music anymore. Remember how people would be like “that’s my jam!” when they hear a song they like in public? Why don’t people do that anymore? I feel like this has been a thing since the pandemic started. Maybe they just don’t play good music in public anymore.

· Nobody my age is living in my town anymore. This is very noticeable for me, but not so for most other people. When I was in high school, there were a ton of other teenagers in the area, and there still are. But now that I’m 24, it seems like people my age have mysteriously abandoned my town. Where did they go? I doubt they’re finding a place of their own because it’s pretty rare for someone to do that immediately after they graduate. Yeah, there’s university residence, but that’s temporary, and besides, most of my peers are finished university already. Since I live in a suburban town that orbits a major city, you would think new graduates would want to stay here because it’s the cheaper option, but they aren’t, so I’m really confused about this one.

· Social media comment sections are mostly simple reactions or emojis. Entire comment sections on TikTok and Instagram containing huge stretches of emojis and simple sentences like “whoa” or “I’M DYING.” These comments were always a thing but I don’t remember them overtaking feeds to the extent they do now. Please don’t do that in this discussion!

· Commercials feeling like an AI wrote them. I never pay much attention to commercials, but I saw someone on r/decadeology point this out, and so I just had to start paying closer attention to ads. Once I did that, it was extremely obvious how generic ads have become. The script for these commercials literally feels like AI without the quirkiness.

Zoomers not holding conversations. When I was in high school, my classmates could all hold conversations no problem. But for most of university, it seemed like people really had to force themselves to keep a discussion going. I feel like I’ve actually gotten better at it over time. However, I’ve noticed socializing has become a challenge for other zoomers. Not just when they talk to me, but when they talk to other people as well. Oh, and this only seems to be a problem with Generation Z. Not with other age groups. I think it might have to do with a rise in social isolation among zoomers.

Have you noticed any of these examples yet? Do you agree or disagree with any of them? What other changes have you noticed?

#SocietalChange #Observations #SocialTrends #Discussion #PersonalExperience

Discuss...