I remember this tweet "fox channel did to our parents what they thought video games would do to us"

Shanspeare's Cosplay as a conservative podcaster and his set is immaculate

I live in a very right leaning state, which means everytime I go into the break room at my work, I get greeted with the horrible sound of screaming conservatives on the tv debating over problems that don't actually exist. The remote also never seems to be found so I just sit in agony through my break 🙃

I am a trans person, and fox News ruined any chance of me having a relationship with my parents. They’ll never accept me, they’ll never love the real me. They’ve been brainwashed into thinking I’ve been indoctrinated or “groomed” by my high-school. When I’ve been out of highschool for a ages and I am still trans. Once I finally get my own apartment and make sure they don’t have access to any important stuff (like medical and bills) I’m going to start hrt and go low-no contact.

I am so sorry but I had to pause the video for like 2 minutes because I couldn't stop laughing at the WOKE Act. As a German, if history class isn't making you uncomfortable and/or you personally feel attack by true events, you can't be helped.

I live in a relatively rural area and have family friends who listen to Fox News constantly. I’ve definitely noticed a change in their behavior - they seem angrier, less open minded, and less likely to listen to people with different viewpoints. I grew up in a diverse city and am liberal so it’s been scary to see these changes in people I love and respect.

As a black woman, I'm dedicated to "Gentle Education ", when I experience microaggression or even overt racism. Sometimes, it's genuine ignorance. Of course, if the person is intent on hurting me, they're worth a small history lesson and no more.

I really appreciated this video, I feel like I kind of understand why so much of my family is so spiteful and right leaning. I'm a white girl from a very upper middle class family, and my parents are well into their 70s. My dad over the last 3ish years has gone from never voting or caring about politics to being COMPLETELY radicalized to the right. Almost all of my extended family falls into the white somewhat wealthy upper middle class, and they constantly express anger at immigrants for losing their jobs, affirmative action for their kids being unable to get into schools, loan programs meant for people of color as why interest rates are high, etc. It always felt strange to me because I'm the next generation and I am so vastly improvished compared to them, despite having the highest education in my entire family. Even during family get togethers my cousins literally said "It's so hard to be a white man in this country" I feel like now watching this series I realize why so much of my family is so angry, and hateful even when they are living pretty priviledged lives, and how the right radicallizes these feelings

listening to you speak feels like reading through a research paper ive spent weeks making sound smarter. you are so eloquent and i love learning from you hahahahaha so dorky but

Years ago, when I still identified as a man, I was looking for resources for male survivors of abuse and was filtered into MRA KZfaq. Contrapoints saved me.

Your old conservative white man cosplay in this video is the EXACT outfit my conservative dad wears to go golfing with his buddies 😭😭 TOO REAL

I was with my very conservative family on Thanksgiving, and literally the first thing wake up to in my grandparents house is "FiRsTs It WaS cOlOmBuS dAy NoW tHeRe AfTeR tHaNkSgIvInG" So nice to see conservatives care about the saintity of Thanksgiving by instead of spending time with family, watching a bunch of people victimize themselves. It's a politically charged Thanksgiving Charlie Brown.

At 6:00 you literally spilled omg. No one is going to find a place that is saying that they might be wrong, that’s why the far right is so appealing.

My doctors office keeps it on fox news 🥴 it makes me think my problems won't be taken very seriously

you are so unbelievably smart. literally one of my favourite channels

When Shan is talking about the different uses of the word "love", I am reminded of a series of recent episodes of the Mormon Stories podcast 1712-1714, the first of which is called "Joining the Mormon Church as a Black Teenager - Channel Achenbach". She talks about the teachings of the church and the behavior within it, and how the "curse" of her skin was always mentioned with a quick "but we love you." It made my stomach turn.

I’ve been thinking about this topic. I live near a really poor town which lost economic stability since it’s railroads became obsolete in the mid 1800s. I always wondered why people were so conservative near me. I guess it makes sense with how they’re being manipulated. Thank you for this video ❤

This is only a half-baked thought at the moment, but the concept of conservatives seeing evil as "inherent" or even necessary is so clearly tied to Christianity/Evangelicalism. As someone raised evangelical, I was taught that humans are evil at our core - and I think that belief actually makes it VERY easy to ignore evils like systemic racism and instead to focus on your own individual experience of "being good."

I work in a nursing home in a red state, all they watch is Fox News or the occasional sports game 😩 luckily I have some great coworkers but you really see the hate in some of these old folks

As someone who lives in Aotearoa (New Zealand) this video series is so interesting in the way it applies to conservatism here due to the Americanisation of media (unfortunately that means we have started cosplaying American styles of conservative protest- we had anti-vaxxers living on parliament lawn for a few weeks)

Shan, if you keep upping the bar we're gonna be out of a job

Your explanation of true love is so important for us trying to deradicalize those around us. In my experience with conservative family and community members, I’ve noticed that the best way to best de-program them from right wing ideology is to not just focus on their political opinions in the distant way many people do in the internet, but to (in a way that’s safe for you) focus on their whole person and build a close relationship with them. Many times these options are the product of a taught lack of introspection or the desire to introspect. When I’ve encouraged them to be self-critical on all aspects of life (usually through doing so myself) I’ve found they are more likely to begin to become skeptical of their political opinions too. As someone who has lived in these space their whole life, there is a lack of education on how to process information in an empathetic and critical way, so they are easily programmed into reactionary thought (which is built on emotional ignorance.) Reactionary thought is deeply unpleasant to exist in. When these people have the tools to escape it, I find they almost immediately start to pull away from their anger and hatred. We just have a society which is invested in keeping these tools out of reach. Also, if anyone has a similar/ different experience from this I’d love to read it! I can only know so much from my own. Thx to all! 😊💛

My father over the past few months has become more into right leaning KZfaq, every time I come into the living room he's consuming some sort of right leaning content. I don't know what to tell him anymore, and I'm also embarrassed to tell anyone around me. The answer you always get from our side is, "just go no contact with them." Which largely I have found to be a damaging thing to resort to in these situations. Most of the time, if it's a friend or someone you're dating, its easy to remove them from your life, but when its my father it's not nearly as easy. My father, the man who loved and provided for me, who took care of my family through severe legal, financial, and emotional troubles. Can I blame him for listening to these men who scream platitudes from the mountain tops? Who tell him "this is the secret! The reason your life is hard is because this country is against you, because the woke media!" It is not enough to be angry at god, at the president, at your father. It is easier to be angry at a concept- like you said. It removes the ability to have any sort of empathy attached to the feeling. And I'm sure at 50 years old, it is eventually exhausting to inspect every feeling you have. I am sure, after 24 years of trying to make ends meet, raising 2 kids, going to college and being in the military, living in a motel and scraping together cash for cup of noodles for your kids- maybe it would be exhausting to try and find out who really did this to you, where the pain comes from. At some point you lay down and decide to rest and let someone else give the answers for a while. Donald Trump came up with good answers that satisfied him and my mother. I don't think I can blame them, I'm not mad anymore. I think I'm just sad- I'm sad because they've run out of gas- I don't think any amount of what I say whether it's correct or not will ever matter. Cutting them off is not an option nor do I feel like I need to because it's not fair for me to be upset at them for being tired. I don't really know why I threw this into your comments- It's not really something I've organized into words before. I'm tearing up just writing about it because I think this video gets down to the part of this whole problem that really matters- people are in pain, and love is political. We're all flopping fish on this deck of life just begging for someone to throw us back into the water and many people don't care who tosses us back in. At this point I think the only thing my parents and some other folks care about is being with the people they love, and being able to take care of the people that they love. Is it wrong to go about that desire in this way? Probably. I don't know. Hopefully I worded this well/correctly. Thanks for always giving me nice videos to ponder on while I go about my day.

It's still taught falsely in med text books that poc have a "naturally" higher pain tolerances

It’s both amazing and a bit worrying that you got both videos out within a week of each other. Rest well and pls don’t overwork yourself!

That Limbaugh episode is extremely illuminating to me. It demonstrates perfectly why toxic masculinity is the way it is in the US. Limbaugh did not accept his caller’s fear, or his feeling of inadequacy, or his cry for help. All he accepted was that man’s anger. Men are not supposed to “whine”, to “be scared”, men are ONLY supposed to be mad. And through that framework, men who follow this form of masculinity are easily manipulated through that angers. It’s chilling to see this mechanism so clearly in action in that one exchange.

the music blends so seamlessly with the poetry in the intro it gave me chills

I just found your channel, I immediately subscribed. I'm a white man and I'm angry. I'm angry about the lies I was told in school, im angry about my ancestors, and I'm angry about the way this country treats people of color and the hypocrisy of American 'freedom', keep up your videos, and thank you

Fascinating insight into Fox News! Great work Shanspeare!

I love how eloquently you articulated the difference between fear and anger, and how drastically that can influence people's political leaning! It made so much sense, and you managed to put a thought I've been having into words so perfectly :') I'll definitely be listening to more of the Shansperience podcast heheh

When Shapiro said about people of colour just 'naturally' dying in childbirth more easily or from illnesses or whatever, like that's just eugenics right? I have diabetes, so my body just 'naturally' cannot process sugar as well as a typical person. I guess in his head that means I should just die as well because that's also 'natural'? Like even if it were true somehow and black people were naturally more likely to die in childbirth because of genetics or whatever, the fact that that isn't accounted for is still a sign that the system is failing.

I am a trans masculine nonbinary person who has a Palestinian mother and a republican father who got more radicalized as I grew up. Fox News was on in the background all of the time in my house and it never felt safe to be there. I’m out now and ready to do anything I can to pull my family away from the echo chamber.

This is truly a matter of apathy and ignorance in the end, isn't it? People don't like being told they have to fix things, and that because of that they're guilty for upholding a broken system. People prefer ignorance and hatered over guilt even if they know it hurts others.

"The right is more welcoming."* *Terms and conditions apply. Results may vary.

I'm not American and seeing that stack of Twilight books where everything else is red, white and blue just makes me think that Twilight is now a symbol of American nationalism

"he's not angry, he's scared" its both! Anger is a secondary emotion that often covers up fear or sadness. Highly recommend looking into "anger as a secondary emotion"

I should be studying for exams rn, but wooo new Shanspeare content!!

i truly believe "time will not dismantle oppression, we do that" is one of my new favorite quotes of all-time. i absolutely loved (no pun intended) the third section; i always appreciate how you approach these large topics with such nuance.

I've definitely noticed a trend of moderates or in some cases even peoole who are fairly liberal becoming more conservative after getting a boo boo when they get called out. The rights strategy is to accept those who have been embarrassed and provide a soft cuddly cushion where they don't have to evaluate their own thoughts or actions.

"If It Ain't Woke, Don't Fix It" is the cheesiest thing I've ever seen in my life 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Love you Shan, you're so intelligent and articulate. And thank you for your research. I think especially as a trans person, it's easier for me to see the many ways in which we are all oppressed by the systems of the US and confront some of my own biases. Not to say I'm enlightened or can ever fully understand the oppression poc face in this country or anything like that, but there's solidarity there. I'm so grateful to people such as yourself who make this information and these topics more accessible. I feel that there is so much to be learned from you. "None of us can be free, until everybody is free". ✊️✊️

thank you for the video, I love learning about different perspectives from you♥️🙏 I don't claim to be super educated about this whole topic but this 2 part series really helped a lot!

I remember that whole "Left doesn't do a good job at reaching disaffected dudes" "debate" That's the main reason I unsubscribed from Vaush, because he did the whole "that's why the left loses...because they don't coddle bigoted/racist minded people" argument.

8:58 the entire video, i struggled to put myself in the shoes of the people youre talking about. i really dont understand them. but when you said, something like, "say what you cant- and without fear." i suddenly just understood. ive felt like that before, and while im probably not the target audience whatsoever for any of these quotes, nor do I think my experiences truly relate to what you were saying, I know how it feels to be *silent.* i know how it feels to see someone and their voice and realize oh my god people who can do these things *exist* and they speak *loud* and they know what you're thinking too, and what youre thinking isnt dumb or random or irrelevant and that hairstyle really *is* cool. this odd feeling of validation by someone co-opting your opinion-- or someone giving voice to words that your body wont let you say- i can understand *that,* and how liberated you feel once those words hit air, and then to know that those words- *your* words, if you could say them- hit millions of ears -- the sense of vindication would be enough for me to believe anything out of their mouth. its like a veil that drapes over your eyes. i dunno. i still dont understand for the most part, and this probably isnt what youre talking about, but my comments wont get engagement anyway. i dont really feel an obligation to make this make sense anymore.

I've never considered the idea that acknowledging and working to change the problems in society can be a form of love. It's really hard for me to say I love my country sometimes, but this struck a chord with me.

My parents follow the Fox News pipeline and have since a bit before 2016. It has destroyed any possibility of a meaningful conversation with them and has virtually destroyed our bond because they refuse to question their propaganda and in general have a lack of any respect for other viewpoints, to the point of degrading me for having leftist views / opinions / mindset. I'm terrible and an idiot for wanting to increase our social safety net for others... yet my parents live on SSI and are on government funded healthcare - as one example. I can't stand the hypocrisy!!

I love all the casual literature references in your videos 🤌🏽

sending this to my uncle

Regarding the horrifying maternal death rates affecting African Americans, I have seen data that identified the majority of the effect of this inhumanity with the worst 2 state healthcare systems in the United States, Louisiana and Mississippi, which both have an apartheid split between the urban areas and rural counties.

7 minutes in and Shan is already bringing up that vid put out by Kidology. This one is gonna be a good one

I saw a post calling Fox News "Cocomelon for racists" and like ....yeah

Great set, Shan. Giggled at the Ford neon and liberal warning

"Even BS agrees that there will always be inequality and discrimination within society, that the promise of Utopia is an empty one. And in that vein, *conservatives feel justified in denying change* " I think I'm going to get that tattooed

Men are a lot easier to "suggest" into anger even when they weren't feeling it initially, because anger under the masculinity of at least the generation before mine (and at least my portion of the Millennial generation) is one of the only negative emotions boys and men aren't punished for expressing. Men are taught to be ashamed of their fear, and ashamed of their shame. So offering "why not just get angry?" is an easy way out. I don't necessarily believe that every instance of anger is just hidden fear or shame, but it's a lot easier to manipulate someone to cover up anything with anger if they're ashamed of all other negative feelings. And they push all the other negative emotions on to conservatives, too, and then convert it into anger.

I aspire to have the same level of confidence and eloquence as shanspeare always has

THE FINGER ON THE SPRAY BOTTLE IS GONNA SEND ME TO AN EARLY GRAVE LMAOOOOOO great vid as always, Shan!

Excited to finish the vid, but your beat up, post noted copy of Twilight SENT me. I too once had a ragged, thoroughly sticky tabbed copy, the one passed around my friend group in middle school... Ahh memories, a simpler time LOL

I am fascinated with the study of epistemic justice, as well as corpus linguistics, which has inspired my own investigation into the childhood indoctrination of the various popular Christian denominations of the United States that have distorted the definitions of various words such as "know", "love", "belief", "understand", "live". My hypothesis is this childhood indoctrination trains nearly ½ of Americans to hold cynical solipsistic epistemologies that care only about what's convenient, not what's true.

The bit about love really made me think about and look at life a little differently. So thanks for that

Shutout to your for your attention to your Production Design and Costume design in EVERY VIDEO. As a film student I understand how long it takes and the amount of thought that goes into it. APPRECIATE YOU❤️

Even in the small clips of fox you include, it's interesting how its almost entirely meaningless verbal diarrhea. It's so jargon heavy that I don't even know what it's talking about. Thanks for explaining why that is.

another amazing video 💖 I love the effort you put into your set designs and costumes. I’d listen to you regardless but they’re fun and I look forward to seeing them.

Wouldn't be a Shanspear video essay without being moved to tears 💓

That spraybottle zoom-in with spongebob reaction really got me for some reason 😂😂 Good balance of heavy topics and eduction with fun emotional release! Well done. Awesome Channel & Great Video.

The most accurate part of the Far Right Podcaster set is that the flag is hanging the wrong way.

Ik this is a small change and I'm only just watching from the beginning of this video but thank you Shan for including a visual outline of your arguments! It's nice to have more assistance other than just captions. Thank you! - someone who struggles with audible processing

i was driving while listening to the end of this video, and the closing bit about the transformative power of love was so impactful to me that i spent the 45 minutes driving aimlessly to think, to process. what a beautiful sentiment, what a wonderful way to approach change. i believed it before, but here it was put in such a deeply touching way that i felt myself change too, fundamentally. i mean this from the bottom of my heart: i will never be the same after watching this. thank you so much.

First timer. You were suggested to me by FDS. Really well done video. Informational, entertaining and valuable. Thank you kindly. You definitely earned the sub! (My socks are another story!)😊

This was incredible. I'm not sure how I missed this channel, but I'm glad to have found it.

Girlie! I always love how much work and effort you put into your videos! I just want to say thank you!❤️

I turned 16 on January 19th 2023 and I just want to say that I love your videos!

Nope it’s not just Fox News. It fact it’s all social media platforms and all media sources. I follow both sides just to monitor what’s said. I’m convinced that we are being radicalized by both sides. I won’t deny that we have societal issues that need to be addressed, I just think we are going about it the wrong way.

you're so eloquent and easy to listen too, especially on such a rough topic. Thank you for helping people understand such nuances in American politics

When you pulled up the baseball equality and equity diagrams i laughed so hard cause ive been seeing those since middle school. So funny that shapiro talks nonsensical lies about concepts i could grasp at 13

Conservatives aren’t a companionate community for young men but they front as one that’s our problem

loved this so much, from the crowder set to the spraying. i’ve been doing a lot of reading on baldwin, mlk, and just in general how white supremacy is so reliant on silence and denial and this is was fun to listen to while i made dinner. the radical king is a book that gives a great framework of mlk’s idea of radical love

A violent title, but the message itself is so gentle and inspiring. Great video!

i loved this so much. the end was extremely profound

I was taught A Dream Deferred in high-school, by an old white man with a mustache, who said its about how you'll become anxious if you give up on your dreams. He didn't mention civil rights once.

This was such a great video. The only Bell Hooks book I've read was "The Will to Change" and it was life changing for me. I really need to read "All About Love." Bell Hooks was such an exceptional scholar and she will forever be missed.

Love is an act of courage. Thank you for doing this.

Love your videos, Shan! It's also exciting to hear Michael Kimmel mentioned, because I'm a sociology major and when I was getting my degree I read a couple of Michael Kimmel's books. At the time I was a right-leaning centrist, and while I didn't fully embrace my transition into leftist radicalism until a couple of years after I had graduated works like Michael Kimmel's (along with other content in my classes) absolutely opened my mind and made me a more conscientious, aware person. I'm literally a poster child for "kid raised in a conservative background becomes a leftist after going to college," lol.

I feel heard and seen truly. It is disheartening most of the discourse surrounding actual human beings. We are treating each other so poorly and nothing/no one can grow like that. I cannot stand JayZ but that man was onto something when he said “Nobody wins when the family feuds” ( forget the other parts of the song rn) that is so true, men, women, young, old, black, white. We all on this Earth together y’all and we will burn up together if the Earth decides to kill us to save herself. We need each other and I so agree 🫶🏽🙌🏽 LOVE is the only way y’all. We can do this 🤗

Great video and love the bit about love! I can also relate about the infatuation with conflict and assuming the worse with some people. I like to think I'm good at sniffing out dog whistles, but I forget to check my ego a lot of the times. Gotta work on that. I would also add something my fav history teacher would say: there is a difference between ignorance & stupidity, ignorance can be changed, stupidity is everlasting.

Honestly the power of love in community is far stronger than you give it credit for.

I think, this really harkened me back to when I moved left, it was out of want to love over everything else. To appreciate people as they are, a need to change and not change others

It’s the twilight books amidst all the other accoutrement for me

Just to add on the well thing: powerful & wealthy white & white minded people having been doing this way before the book was published. It goes back to reconstruction, where former rich plantation owners would manipulate the poor whites against the newly freed black people.

though unfortunately i doubt it will, i truly believe this video series needs more reach as it is so important. i haven't seen someone tackle the flaws of the far-right ideologies on such a deep level as you have. it's truly so dangerous that information like this stays hidden while more and more people start to subscribe to that way of thinking.

This was great. Not sure why I've never seen this channel before. It makes me angry, but I have no scapegoat except for the youtube algorithm. My rage is impotent and directionless and therefore easily exploitable.

Love the way you described how powerful language is when it comes to political motivation

babe wake up, the new shanspeare video is out

Shanspeares work is just gold. the nuance and empathy i get from the points of view, the sources, the sets and cosplay… just.. such good work omg

Ooooooof!!! You went to love as political and I am INNNNNN

I'm saving this for the morning for when i have the brainpower to focus on what you say. I love your content so much! Have a lovely year!

The video editing here is awesome. It's amazing she is able to make content this good this consistently. I'm stoked if I can get a few spellchecked emails off a week and she is out here making great content constantly and presenting it so beautifully.

a possible answer to this question is the play *a raisin in the sun* written by a black woman using the line from Hughes' poem - its amazing would recommend!

YESSSSS this video is finally out!! I've been waiting with bated breath since part 1, I love your videos so much. You have a way of speaking that's very fun and pleasant when discussing hard and complex topics

that introduction was absolutely beautifully done. loving this series, thank you for working so hard on it!

i love your videos. i agree with so many things you say and i envy how well you can articulate and explain things😭 it's so hard for me to organize/ explain my thoughts so watching your videos is like breath of fresh air and you're so funny! this is my fav channel ever. never stop making videos, you're spreading extremely important and useful information