I Didn't Think This Would Affect Me The Way That It Has...[Expicit Language]

 Trigger Warning: Transphobia, Murder, Misogyny. Sexual Assault.

I spent a long time on Twitter last night trying to make sense of what I was seeing. And I'll freely admit that I had a hard time doing so. The Gender debate is doing me in as for me, it's pretty clear cut. My take on it, in black and white, is pretty simple:

Everyone has the right to be who they want to be as long as no-one gets hurt.

"But safe spaces".

Everyone should have safe spaces.

"They're trying to erase women".

No, they have a form of Body Dysmorphia that needs to be taken seriously but no-one's listening.

"They'll assault women!"

It's not that simple.

Most of the arguments against Trans people annoy me because it's so reminiscent of previous struggles by other groups. And the tone is similar to. I was born long after the decriminalization of homosexuality and the Stonewall Riots. I arrived not long after the AIDS Epidemic was taken more seriously by society rather than just assuming it was only a gay-related disease. I've grown up my entirely life, broadly speaking and literally speaking, around LGBT. As a young man, most of my Mum's friends were either gay or lesbian. And I was privileged enough, as a teenager, to hold someone's trust enough that I became the first person they came out to. I'll never forget that moment.

And while, for me, the Trans debate is fairly new, the same kind of vitriol and hatred that the LGB community experienced in the 70s/80s is happening again with the Trans community. I've even seen similar wording applied to the debate which makes me extremely uncomfortable.

Before I go any further, allow me to explain how I came to terms with my sexuality and gender identity. To anyone who knows me personally, these anecdotes should come as no surprise to you.

I was 12 when I realised I was not straight. And I worked it out in about 10 minutes. I had a massive crush on a girl called Zoe in our class. She was, and continues to be, stunning and I had my crush. However, I also realised one day that I was also attracted to a young man in my year called Paddy. Not that I wanted to do anything about it, I just thought he was very good looking too. When I realised this, I pondered it for a moment and arrived at the conclusion I must like both if I think both Zoe and Paddy were attractive. I accepted it and went about my day as I realised this was me now and couldn't change it. Nor did I want to. I didn't particularly care about it.

I was 27 when I first described myself as Androgynous. I've never felt "male", though I'm comfortable in a male body. The idea of Gender always felt kind of weird to me, even before I totally understood what it entailed. I never got the whole "boys wear blue, girls wear pink" thing. Growing up in the late 90s/early 00s, this was still a thing and Mum still got me "boys toys". I always preferred playing with my friend Katie's Barbie and Cindy dolls than I did the Action Man that Mum got me one time. Action Man was this masculine, khaki-laden, muscular creature that I held no affinity with. Not that I shared anything in common with Barbie, but I saw women as caring and kind. So I gravitated more to them. And I adored Baby Annabelle dolls. The chance for me to be a Mum or a Dad was exciting. I asked Mum for one once when I was 5 but it was a vehement no. I get why now. "Those toys are for girls, Josh", she said. Perhaps she was right at the time. I wouldn't deny my kids one if they wanted one. 

Though, to be fair, I don't even identify as human most of the time so what do I know. All I know is that as young as 11 I remember saying to Mum's friend Kathy "I don't feel like a boyish boy or a manly man". I still don't. I never have. I'm just happy being a neuro-spicy Time Lord, bypassing gender entirely. Maybe I am non-binary? Gender is a really weird doctrine to me anyway. And I hate doctrine.

Then I saw what Rowling was saying. Initially, after reading her first essay on the subject, I felt some minute modicum of sympathy. I know that a lot of Trans people online were criticizing her but, after reading her essay, I could kind of see where she was coming from. I didn't like it, but I could see her entry point into the conversation. But this changed after a conversation at work where someone pointed out a few things to me. Not to mention by sibling-in-law talking to me about it and a mutual friend. But, to be honest, I should've just read Twitter.

And that's where we were. This clash festering away on Twitter servers and, at times, out on the street. Or in the Green Party of all places. Hateful rhetoric from people who had no time or inclination to accept. At worst, it's transphobic. At best, it's a lack of education around multiple physical and psychological processes.

Some debates were reasoned, some were not. Some awful people who raped and attacked others identified as Trans, helping to create a narrative of Predation. Of course, this isn't true for the majority of Trans people. In the same way that not all women or Feminists are attacking Trans people and wishing them harm or death. People like Posey Parker and Graham Linehan continued to make ill-thought-out statements and use disrespectful syntax, allowing others on social media to spread vitriol and hate under the guise of free speech being attacked. The Media not helping in any way and, in many ways, contributing. Creating an "us and them" divide. 

Women were under threat and from men pretending to be women, they said. It's an easy headline and an easy way to create a culture of fear, anger and extremism.

And then Brianna Ghey happened. 

And this is where the main crux of my ranting and musings takes shape.

Allow me first off to send love, thoughts and prayers to Brianna's family and friends at this difficult time. Losing a child is something I can't, and don't wish to, imagine. And they are in my thoughts and prayers.

But, sadly, it was never going to be a clear cut case.

Brianna Ghey was a 16 year old trans girl who was murdered in Warrington on Saturday 11th February. At the time of writing, the police do not suspect her murder to be a hate crime, but have described the murder as "targeted". Warrington Police have also urged people from speculating and theorizing about what lead to Brianna's death.

It's also British Law that Brianna cannot be identified as 'Brianna', or indeed female, on her death certificate. Her dead-name must be used on both the death certificate and the headstone.

Now, while the Police's warning against speculation is a reasonable request, that was always going to be difficult for the Trans community who, for all intents and purposes, are now in a state of panic. 

The Trans Community, understandably, believe Brianna was killed for being Trans. A reasonable assumption given the context but, at the time of writing, this has not been proved with some even claiming it's been ruled out entirely. While the "other side" are accusing the Trans Community of "politicizing" Brianna's death to further the "Trans Agenda". Last night, Twitter and TikTok saw anti-Trans activists celebrating Brianna's death. Not only that, when certain Tweets similar to this were reported to Twitter, they were found not to have broken Twitter's content rules. Which would be fine if it weren't for the fact that some Trans people were told THEY had broken the rules by arguing for Trans rights. (To be clear, one person was reported after tweeting they wished harm to a trans person, all fine. Said trans person wished for them to have a bike tyre puncture and this was found to be wrong).

And now, for whatever reason, a Trans girl has been killed. With the potential of being murdered for her identity hanging over the case. So, of course Trans people are going to be nervous. Because they feel they might be next.

One of the main arguments I've seen from the other side of it is "there's a major problem with knife crime and teen-on-teen violence in the UK anyway, gender doesn't factor into it". They've then shared other cases of dead teenagers in the UK in recent times. I have an issue with this on its own which is we shouldn't be comparing cases of murder when there's no tangible commonality. Unless it's a serial killer case which this is not. That's just common courtesy. Secondly, it seems a bit rich that some people will accuse the Trans community of "politicizing" a Trans-girl's death while they then end up dragging other deaths into the mix to make a political point. (IT Crowd and Father Ted creator Graham Linehan even went as far as to say that "there is no such thing as a Trans child" following the news of Brianna's gender status breaking).

Yes, there is a problem with knife crime in this country and yes teen-on-teen violence is on the rise but stuff like that doesn't really get talked about in depth until something like this happens. When someone who belongs to a group in contention dies and that group understandably becomes on edge as a result.

Can we also accept that celebrating a teenager's death, regardless of the circumstances, is fucking wrong and despicable?

Are Trans people innocent of provocation? No, some are not. I've seen some horrific things said by Trans people and Trans activists but, again, they are in the minority. But, as far as many are concerned, they are fighting for their identity, for better conditions and for acceptance. And now, potentially, for their lives.

I'm not siting here and trashing women either. Most women I know either don't understand or don't really think about Transgender people and just wish them well. Which I believe is the majority view. In the same way that the majority of Trans people just want to live their lives, which shouldn't be too much of an ask.

So why am I here lamenting all of this? Why has this affected me the way it has? In a way I didn't anticipate.

Here's why:

1. The whole situation breaks my heart. Any child death does. And it seems to be happening a lot more at the moment and it's worrying. American children go to school hoping they don't get shot and it looks like British teenagers are having to go outside and worry about coming home. This shouldn't be the case.

2. If it does transpire that Brianna was killed because she was Trans, I know that the "Gender Critical" people won't accept it. They'll argue the toss or, worse, they'll justify it. I've seen some foundations of that with my own eyes already. (I refer you to Graham Linehan's previous comments).

3. I have family who are on the Trans spectrum. People I care about are at risk for their identity. As an Autistic person who has encountered people who want me dead for being Autistic, I sympathize. I do. It's fucking sick but it's a reality. I don't want them to go through that, no way.

4. I'm a parent. My kids may come out as Trans one day. Do I have to worry at that point whether they could be killed for their identity or not? Because even if the motivations for murder this case were not trans-related, it could be only a matter of time before that starts. I want my kids, in a scenario where they do come out as Trans, to live in a society that's accepting of it. A society that's safe for them to exist. Not to worry about about total strangers wishing my children dead because they dare not conform to social "norms".

5. Given what I've said about my own perceptions on Gender, I could've come out as trans. My friends could've. I or they could have been in a position where we were in fear of our lives. As it stands, I'm yet to hear of a case where someone was killed for being openly Autistic but, had I come out as Trans, I would now be in fear for my life. And no-one should be. Not Trans people. Not women. Not men. Not children.

What we're seeing, at the moment, are a few tragic examples of one simple truth. Words have power.

Far-right activists besieged a hotel housing asylum seekers in Merseyside at the weekend. And the Home Secretary, who's referred to asylum seekers as an "invasion", blamed asylum seekers for the clash. 

There is a libel law in the UK which means I cannot say certain things about certain people outright as it could be conceived as slander. So I'll make my point this way:

There are certain people in positions of influence and notoriety who stir up hate. And, while I believe the main person associated does not wish people dead, they inspire and embolden people who do wish and seek to cause harm.

Words inspire. Words hurt. Words cause damage.

"Sticks and stones" is a load of bollocks. Because, as we've discovered this weekend, words can, in some cases, cause death.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

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Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

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Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

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No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

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All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

- Articles 1, 2, 3, 5 & 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Regardless of gender identity, everyone should be safe. It should be that simple. It NEEDS to be that simple.

Below is a link to a fundraiser for the family of Brianna Ghey to help with funeral costs. If you can donate, please do. Please also consider donating to charities that work with Trans Youth and Youth Mental Health services. And, as always, please challenge injustice and hatred wherever you find it.

Fundraiser by Victoria Potter : Brianna Ghey (gofundme.com)

I Saw This Hilarious End Of Days Documentary And I Simply Must Share It With You

So, Blogger, we meet again.

Been a while.

But I must share this with the people of the world. It's too funny not to.

The other day, while my son was asleep on me, I went down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole. Weirdly, this is not what this blog post is about. But I will briefly touch on it.

That conspiracy theory is that the world did in fact end on 2012, as per the Mayan Calendar's supposed prediction. However, the theory suggests that scientists at CERN ended the world after discovering the God Particle (the Higgs Boson) earlier that year. The supposition is that the world did end but, due to either being put in a simulation or the idea of Quantum Immortality, we ended up in a parallel universe. This is said to explain why there have been more instances of the Mandela Effect sine 2012. (Nelson Mandela died in 2013 so makes sense). 

Anyway, like I say, that's not why I'm here.

During this deep dive through tin-foil-hat-town, I found what is, perhaps, the single greatest hour of television I have ever seen. A mid-Noughties marvel that I'm shocked hasn't got more attention. However, through the medium of Blogger, I present to you: End Day.

For those of you who don't know, or wish to remember, 'End Day' was a one off show on BBC 3 back in 2005 with what is, honestly, a pretty cool premise. A guy named Professor Howell, who helps run a Particle Accelerator in New York, is in London. He wakes up in a hotel room and gets a phone call that the experiment will go ahead that day. He tries to get to the Airport in order to get to New York on time. And, with the exception of one particular outcome, he doesn't reach New York. This is because, every time he does, some weird cataclysmic disaster ends up happening. 

There are 5 scenarios in this show which I will go into for you. I'll also attach the full episode on YouTube so that you can see it for yourself should you decide to. Though, I will explain the stories a little bit out of order. The reason why will become clear as this post goes on.

I love End Day for a number of reasons:

1. I absolutely adore disaster flicks. They're so unbearably random.
2. I like thinking about the end of the world sometimes. Sue me.
3. Some scenarios are likely to occur at some stage in human history. So it's fun to see what could happen.

But mostly I love End Day for the absolutely God awful special effects it's decided to use. Now, by mid-00s standards, it was probably acceptable. However, truthfully, it is absolutely atrocious. Only Classic Doctor Who can boast worse special effects in terms of BBC programming. If you decide to watch the show, you will see what I mean. And I'm saying that there are Roland Emmerich level of bizarre moments. A tsunami that goes super fast, despite that not being how it really works. Really fast lava flows, even though that's not the case. That kind of thing.

Anyway, let's go.

SCENARIO 1: LA PALMA ERUPTION/MEGA-TSUNAMI

There's an island in the Atlantic called La Palma. On it has a volcano. Now, at some stage, it's generally accepted that La Palma will erupt and cause a momentous landslide. So bad, in fact, that half of the volcano could tumble into the Ocean. If this were to happen, then it could cause a really bad tsunami that crashes into the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

This is the general gist of scenario 1. Professor Howell wakes up, attempts to get to New York, but cannot due to the fact that it's about to be engulfed by a tsunami.

Oh, I forgot to mention, there are other little stories woven throughout this. The story from other people's perspectives. The main characters of this scenario are a family of three, a married couple and their little boy, who attempt to escape New York and avoid the tsunami.

They are unsuccessful. 

The tsunami devastates New York City and goes 2 miles inland as well. The Eastern Seaboard is battered and emergency rescue efforts are difficult but initiated. People seem to survive by going to the top of skyscrapers and watch the calamity unfold before their very eyes. You even get a first person perspective view from a shop, which is kind of cool. (If you've seen The Day After Tomorrow, you'll get the kind of thing I'm getting at here). The scenario ends with a Presidential spokesman talking of the devastation. The "credits" roll and we are transported into Scenario 2. (Very Groundhog Day).

Oh, I also forgot to mention, these things are interwoven with interviews and segments taken from BBC's Horizon programs and National Geographic. All experts speaking on the scenario we are watching unfold. These are quite fun as they probably hold more educational value than whatever the awful special effects are trying to convey.

The sole issue I have with this segment is that this was made in 2005. Months after the worst Tsunami the world had seen. (Boxing Day 2004). So this feels a little shallow given that the whole world saw what a major tsunami was capable of. Mind you, I don't know when this was all completed. So I suppose I should give the show the benefit of the doubt that it was completed before Boxing Day occurred. If I am right, then they obviously didn't have adequate time or funds to remedy it in time. When I was watching it, I just felt a little uncomfortable with how quickly the wave was coming into New York. 

The Boxing Day Tsunami really affected me when I saw it unfold on live television, so maybe I'm a little biased here.

SCENARIO 2: METEOR!

At this point, you realise that Howell cannot catch a break. This time, a massive meteor (or 'Dead Comet' is plummeting to Earth and all countermeasures to prevent it fail. To the point where even a nuclear weapon exploding on its surface, surprise surprise, does not work. (Why is this even a concept?)

The other story follows yet another family. This time in Berlin, where the meteor is confirmed to collide with. (Why Berlin? I like Berlin). The mother of the family is at home. She sees the news and decides to try and find her husband and son. However, she doesn't phone them, she just gets supplies and jumps in her car to find them. (I remember phones being a thing back then...)

Meanwhile, said husband and son are in a train station. (I think it may be underground). However, instead of going to an underground station, they decide to take an over-ground train out of the city. (Pointless tbh).

We never see the mother again. But we do see the father and son getting separated. The son gets on a train as the father desperately tries to find him on the train that is now departing from the station. They don't see each other again, at least as far as the program is concerned. In fact, a meteorite just misses the train with the child on and he seemingly survives.

Should've gone to an underground station.

Was definitely less Armageddon and more a comedy of errors.

SCENARIO 4: YELLOWSTONE SUPERVOLCANO

I'll talk about Scenario 3 later.

Ok, admit it. You probably saw this coming.

Yellowstone National Park is built on a Supervolcano. And, again, Howell cannot catch a break. This time, a family sits at a geyser after a series of Earthquakes. (Again, a little idiotic but more than certain to occur). The family die after their 4X4 can't start and it gets pushed over the edge of a cliff. (The director must REALLY like Roland Emmerich). 

Scene cuts to a café somewhere in the park where a lot of people are eating. Suddenly, BOOM. No one is safe from the ensuing explosion of the Supervolcano. Goodbye Wyoming, goodnight Vienna. They even put in a very poorly made up car/lorry collision for good measure which gives no value to the story being told.

Yellowstone is one of those things that just captures the public imagination. And I remember, around the same time, a similar program being made called 'Supervolcano' which spoke about the same thing but in far greater detail. I remember being both fascinated and terrified in equal measure from that. So to see this was a little lackluster. Again, effects were golden. And Howell's reactions are totally deadpan and non-descript.

We then see the Wyoming State Capitol engulfed in volcanic material which just makes zero sense. Especially when you see the speed of the lava. If you've seen the films 2012 or Volcano, you'll get what I mean. Apparently, Yellowstone has the fastest lava ever. Especially given that it's a viscous liquid from the Mantle of the Earth. Anyway. Credits roll and we're back to the final Scenario.

SCENARIO 5: PARTICLE ACCELERATOR

Do you remember the Noughties? The fears around CERN? Remember how it was all ok? Well, this is Professor Howell. And nothing seems to go right for him. 

This particular scenario plays on the fears that we all had before the switching on of the Large Hadron Collider and how we all thought that a Black Hole was going to engulf the planet. And, spoilers, that's exactly what happens in this scenario.

What annoys me is the speed in which the Earth gets engulfed. It's PAINFULLY slow. To the point where the perspective of the other story comes not from one character, but a commercial flight who are dragged slowly towards the well of the black hole. Except, it doesn't go in, because another plane is sling-shotted into it.

Anyway, Earth goes kaput because of humans messing with things they don't understand. We all thought it would happen in reality. It didn't. Woop Woop!

Ok, onto the best scenario in this damn show.

SCENARIO 3

This one is my favourite segment and my least favourite segment for reasons that will become clear. Overall, the meteor one is my favourite as, other than scenario 3, that's the one most likely to occur in our lifetime. But this one just takes the biscuit for a whole plethora of reasons.

I'd like to point out before I explain what happens that, in 2005, this scenario was a very a difficult thing to imagine in practicality. It hadn't happened in the 21st Century up until that point so trying to guess a whole load of variables was always going to be problematic. However, the end result is not only completely farcical, but just plain weird and wrong.

The scenario starts with Howell in the hotel room. Alarm goes off, Howell gets phone call, gets in the taxi to get to the Airport. However, we find out the true meaning behind a rather throwaway detail in Scenarios 1 and 2 that I've left out. In those scenarios, and in 4 and 5, the taxi that Howell is in is always cut up by a black Seat. It has a weird toy in the back window which we always see. However, Scenario 3 reveals that this is an actual character within the law of this multiversal pantomime. This is a lady and her daughter. And, for this scenario, this is the "other story".

A plane enters Heathrow airport. However, there's a problem. A passenger is dead. Dead from a new virus...flu like...from the "far East". Sound familiar? Oh yeah, we're Pandemicing this shit. (You may have worked out now why it's also my least favourite because, deep down, you know what's coming). 

The mother in the Seat's mother was on that flight. The plane was not quarantined (for some reason because, hey, SARS clearly didn't happen in this universe) and the passengers have gone out into the community. The Seat woman tries to phone her mother but, mysteriously, she doesn't answer the phone. (This is why she's parked where she is in order to cut Howell's taxi up on the road). Worrying about her mother given the virus news, she decides to go to the mother's house. (Red flag number 1 but totally understandable).

Howell gets on a flight to New York. All's good for him so far. He just watches the in-flight entertainment. Which isn't a film or anything, it's BBC News. Because of course it is.

Five hours have passed in-world and the Seat mother has finally reached her mother's estate. However, the Army have set up a quarantine cordon. She ain't getting in. So she does what all sane people do in this situation. Go the back way in.

Despite reports of people stealing cars, Seat mother leaves her car (and daughter) alone for a few moments down the end of the road so that she can try and get to her mother's house. In order to avoid detection from the military, she writes a note and puts it through her mum's letterbox. We get a cutscene of the note falling in. Then a body. THE MOTHER WAS DEAD THE WHOLE TIME. (Le shoque, le horreur). 

Seat mother goes back to her car to discover the car is not there anymore. As she tries to work out what's happening, she hears the squeal of wheels. She turns, she sees her car off in the distance. And, through ZERO REACTION, attempts to brisk walk after the car. Her daughter, by the way, still in the car enjoying life. She has no idea she's just been kidnapped. Which is a relief because her mother really didn't seem to care about that aspect.

Howell's flight from the UK has been diverted now to JFK and has been quarantined. This is due to, within 5 hours, multiple countries locking down their borders and their citizens in order to try and contain the spread of this virus. However, when Howell looks out of the window to see "JFK", what we're confronted with is an airport docking bay with the words 'Berlin - Tegel' on it. They didn't even attempt to correct this geographical error either way, they just left it which is sheer genius on the BBC's part. Total twist. Honestly didn't see that coming.

Back to London. The Seat has crashed and a soldier stumbles upon it. He, gas mask and all, looks in the driver's seat and sees the dead driver. Blood on the wheel and windscreen. He then looks in the back seat and sees the little girl, completely fine and intact. In fact, she seems completely oblivious to the fact she's just been in a car crash. (Cause unknown by the way, it just kinda happens). The soldier calls a helicopter over to get the girl out and rescue her. 

Now, this is my favourite part of the ENTIRE show. Because it makes ZERO sense contextually. The soldier finds the girl and it's made clear he's going to rescue her. All's good. I totally understand that the chances are she will be rescued, taken to a safe location, checked for the virus and treated accordingly. She may even be reunited with her mother in this universe. However, what we see is the soldier looking at the girl, the girl finally looking somewhat perturbed and the most dramatic musical stinger I have ever heard in my life. WHAT? WHY? ARE THEY GOING TO KILL HER? It makes zero sense when you watch it. I guess they're trying to convey the girl finds the gas mask soldier menacing but, even so, the way it's presented is absolutely bat-shit crazy.

So why do I love and hate this scenario?

I love it because it is totally crazy. Within five hours of the dead Heathrow passenger, deaths in London alone amount to 300,000 people. With cases detected in France and Canada among other places. But the sheer "storyline" within it is just bonkers. It's nuts and I love it. Especially the mother's non-reaction to her daughter's abduction. 

I hate it because we've spent 2 years in a Pandemic it wasn't nearly this exciting. Yeah, ok, Lockdown 1 was a unique thing because we hadn't experienced that before and it changed EVERYTHING. Covid will affect EVERYTHING for years to come directly or indirectly. Because it's just one of those events that affects every facet of existence. But the closest thing we got to a military quarantine zone was Arrow Park Hospital, people weren't just randomly dying in the streets and we certainly didn't achieve that fictional death toll in five hours. The UK death toll has only just gone over half that figure in 2 years. 

I think because we've lived through (and are still living through) a global pandemic, it's easy to laugh at it and go "ha, wrong!" (Full Moss from IT Crows stylee). But the last global pandemic was Spanish Flu in 1919. Covid was the first 21st Century pandemic. And no-one could've really comprehended what a 21st Century Pandemic would look like. And things like this or Outbreak or Contagion do a good job at the basics, but the pace is all wrong and is done for dramatic effect. Living through one was far more intriguing because it makes all of these films completely obsolete. For a start, the lockdowns happened far quicker in End Day, meaning there was good governance which, as we know from reality, is not always a guarantee.

So that's that. That's End Day. It's a bonkers ride and is a great way to kill 50 or so minutes. I thoroughly recommend watching it for the sheer hilarity that ensues. If you like really OTT disaster movies, this really is one for you. It's so exaggerated it's laughable. 

The only thing that truly annoys me about it is that all of the things put forward (maybe not the particle accelerator one to be fair) are real threats humans could face at any moment. And they're being reduced to jokes. In the space of two days, I went from thinking 'Don't Look Up' was a masterpiece to realizing that it's actually terrible. And he reason I reached the latter conclusion is because it eventually made a joke out of something fundamentally terrifying. I'm not saying we should see films that are 100% accurate and depressing, but we should be portraying these events more as a threat than they are in the realms of disaster movies. 

A mega-tsunami that hit the US would likely cause a major economic collapse because the financial centre of the globe would be submerged. The knock on effect from that event could be catastrophic. Speaking of America, if the San Andreas Fault decided to go for the big one, or the Cascadia Subduction Zone for that matter, it would be an economic and humanitarian disaster.

A meteor, asteroid or a comet hitting Earth anywhere would cause untold levels of devastation and, like a Supervolcanic eruption, could lead to a nuclear winter and cause widespread crop failure. One super volcanic eruption caused the human race to lower to just 5000 people worldwide, why are we laughing at this? Such events could, and I say could with emphasis, lead to millions of people losing their life. So we are we making a joke out of these kinds of things?

Gamma Ray Bursts, Climate Change, Solar Flares, all of these sorts of things get reduced to jokes when they really shouldn't be. Maybe it's the dark humour side of the human race dealing with or else it lives in perpetual fear of its own demise. (Look up Terror Management Theory, it's kind of like that).

Anyway, I ramble. Watch it, enjoy it, see what you make of it. If it gives you a giggle, fair enough. It certainly did me. Especially the Pandemic one. Seasoned veterans of a Pandemic now, ladies and gents. We are allowed to laugh in the face of a virus from the East.

See you next time.

An Open Letter To "Fans" Of Doctor Who [WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE]

I don't usually write about Doctor Who but, on this occasion, I need to get this off my chest. I'm going to keep it short and sweet, and there will be some explicit language.

Dear "Fans" of Doctor Who.

We need to talk.

If you're in the fandom on Facebook or Twitter, you may have noticed that things feel...negative...since Jodie Whittaker took over as the Doctor and Chris Chibnall took over as head writer. I've certainly noticed and I've been watching it unfold as time has gone on.

However, this morning, I reached the point where I couldn't stand it any longer.

This open letter is designed to be read by all fans that come across it, but it's addressing those who dislike the Whittaker/Chibnall era and comment on every post about Doctor Who expressing this disgust.

I'm going to put my core message to you in the strongest possible terms.

If you don't like what Chibnall is doing, or how Jodie is playing the Doctor, then stop fucking watching. Seriously.

I cannot express enough how much of a waste of time it is for you people to put up a negative comment about the show on every single post you come across about it. Of course you're entitled to your own opinions and it's good you feel the need to express that, but frankly the amount you're posting about the same subject to no effect is tedious and, frankly, it puts those of us who like Jodie into a difficult position. 

I understand you have some legitimate concerns about the direction that the show is going and you have some concerns about how it's being presented. But by calling this era "woke" is frankly lazy and it's not an argument. And it's now a word which usage is now becoming quickly associated with people like Laurence Fox and Nigel Farage.

The writer Vinay Patel, who wrote Fugitive of the Judoon and Demons of the Punjab, recently told a fan to "GTFO" when they asked about Jo Martin's incarnation and many fans, who see the show as Woke now, got up in arms. However, when you consider that this "fan" on twitter changed official artwork to remove Jodie and Jo from them and was a constant critic of Jo's inclusion, of course that should be brought up and taken to task. But the amount of comments I found in support of this "fan" who had been sworn at was overwhelming.

And with the trailer for Revolution of the Daleks, Facebook was swamped with negative comments, while the YouTube upload didn't seem to have many at all. Maybe I'm on the wrong media platform? Maybe I should spend more time on YouTube.

I'm not going to lie, Chibnall's writing is not the best writing the show's had. As someone who started Who with Eccleston and grew up with Tennant, Russell T Davies' era of the show is my favourite by far. However, I absolutely adore Jodie's Doctor. And every time I see someone comment, quite aggressively, that they've stopped watching the show because of Jodie or  Chibnall, I feel like I'm in a strange minority that actually accepts the show's 57 year tradition of CHANGE.

As a result of this, it's increasingly becoming clear that there's a weird double standard with these people in terms of narrative. I'll use the Timeless Child revelation as an example.

1. It's not the first time that Doctor Who has theorized about regenerations prior to William Hartnell. The Brain Of Morbius in the 1970s alluded to this. But, until now, it could also be assumed that they were Morbius' faces. Either way, it's not the first time that the Doctor's chronology has come into question.
2. If the writer was Russell T Davies, and the Doctor was David Tennant, I'd bet there would not be the same outcry by some fans as there has been now. Given that a lot of NuWho fans see the Davies era as some kind of Holy Grail for the show, I'd bet there wouldn't be nearly as much opposition as there is now with Jodie/Chibnall.
3. The show adapts and evolves with time. It did so in the 60s, it did so in the 80s and it's doing it continually. Also, the show has to adapt to both a change in the world around it, but also how people consume television. The episodic formula that has underpinned Doctor Who since 1963 doesn't work the same today. Nor does it work the same today as it did 5 years ago. You expect Doctor Who to get it right every time?

Frankly, I'm thankful we still HAVE Doctor Who.

For so many years, Doctor Who has been a safe haven for people who feel they don't belong in the real world. It means so much to so many. Which is why, when people attack it like they are, there's mixed feelings by those who frankly don't care.

Of course not everyone is going to like every era of Doctor Who. Not everyone is going to like everything that the show does. But this kind of argument, and this kind of aggression, is where politics is going. This is how political discourse operates these days, not Doctor Who!

And of course the show is going to, as it always has, reflect the time in which it airs. So the prospect of a female Doctor, a potential lesbian relationship and multi-racial representation SHOULD NOT BE A MASSIVE SURPRISE IN 2020. 

Doctor Who is not some weird sleeper agent in the so-called "Culture Wars". It's not some leftist device to overthrow the established order and it's certainly not designed to alienate you into accepting certain things. Doctor Who has always been a show that promotes kindness and acceptance over all else. It's always been the show where the person or being that tries to sow discord or division loses and that love and hope wins. This has stood for 57 years. Why are some fans alienated about this now?

So if you are someone who isn't watching Jodie's era because she's a woman and think that the show has become "woke", stop watching Doctor Who and let those of us who enjoy it just enjoy it. Because you're not going to like it going forward. Jodie doesn't seem to be going anywhere right now and it seems Chibnall's going to stick around. Hell, he might even write the 60th!

Or, who knows, maybe he'll leave fairly soon along with Jodie because he can't cope with the toxicity that's infected the fandom.

So to those people I've described, seriously, fuck off and let us enjoy the show we love. There's plenty of other shows that will cater to your tastes. I'm sure Netflix or Prime will have something you can watch instead. 

As an aside, if you've stopped watching because you're just bored of it, or don't like it but don't feel the need to let every person in the world know, I like you. You're fine. It's just those who have nothing better to do but bring it down for everyone else that's the problem.

Just maybe don't try Star Trek as you may have a heart attack.