Angus Johnston
@angus.bsky.social
CUNY prof. Historian of, and advocate for, student organizing. @studentactivism from Twitter.
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Angus Johnston
@angus.bsky.social
· Oct 27
"This fucking sucks" and "all is lost" are two different sentences.
Don't say the second when you mean the first.
Don't say the second when you mean the first.
Reposted by Angus Johnston
Yep. And as some very smart folks once said, and as I say to my kids pretty regularly, it ain't like we've never seen blood before.
No way out but through.
January 18, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Yep. And as some very smart folks once said, and as I say to my kids pretty regularly, it ain't like we've never seen blood before.
“It ain’t like we’ve never seen blood before” is the energy we all need to be bringing right now.
(Arrested Development, “Revolution.”)
(Arrested Development, “Revolution.”)
December 2, 2025 at 3:56 AM
“It ain’t like we’ve never seen blood before” is the energy we all need to be bringing right now.
(Arrested Development, “Revolution.”)
(Arrested Development, “Revolution.”)
Reposted by Angus Johnston
there’s a scene in the new documentary where Elizabeth Taylor is talking about the stigma of AIDS and how she got involved in the movement and it’s fucking everything
August 10, 2024 at 3:21 PM
there’s a scene in the new documentary where Elizabeth Taylor is talking about the stigma of AIDS and how she got involved in the movement and it’s fucking everything
We could be heroes. Just for one day.
And I shall be crowned Queen.
December 2, 2025 at 12:18 AM
We could be heroes. Just for one day.
As I read this thread, I kept thinking "I am very very ready for the next swing of the pendulum."
The next iteration of the queer revolution that transforms American society every few decades can't come soon enough for me.
The next iteration of the queer revolution that transforms American society every few decades can't come soon enough for me.
on Heated Rivalry Reddit there are fans saying the book “unintentionally” “frames the closet as bad” & “romanticizes” being out & the one thing the show ‘improves’ is using depictions of homophobia to show “the closet isn’t bad” b/c “it primarily exists for the safety” of queer people. 🤯
December 2, 2025 at 12:16 AM
As I read this thread, I kept thinking "I am very very ready for the next swing of the pendulum."
The next iteration of the queer revolution that transforms American society every few decades can't come soon enough for me.
The next iteration of the queer revolution that transforms American society every few decades can't come soon enough for me.
Reposted by Angus Johnston
I got my first Xmas card order of 2025. If'n you want one, get in line now. DMs open.
I’ve had @dynamoe.bsky.social design my Christmas card in the past and it was an absolute classic.
Take her up on this!
Take her up on this!
I just finished designing my parents Xmas card, which is inexplicably in French this year.
Free to design your card now.
Free to design your card now.
December 1, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I got my first Xmas card order of 2025. If'n you want one, get in line now. DMs open.
Reposted by Angus Johnston
the virgin 2025 AI-powered doll vs. the chad 1998 Furby
been thinking for not-directly-related reasons about Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together, specifically the chapter where kindergartners speedrun an animistic cult around the proto-chatbot doll, Furby
December 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
the virgin 2025 AI-powered doll vs. the chad 1998 Furby
“Ahbidohbihday, whatever will be will be. The pizza’s not after the tree. Ahbidohbihday.”
Just 2 days ago, my teenager busted out with "down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, I lost my love, got eaten by a squirrel," one of my bangers from like 8 years ago.
December 1, 2025 at 5:09 PM
“Ahbidohbihday, whatever will be will be. The pizza’s not after the tree. Ahbidohbihday.”
Reposted by Angus Johnston
Just 2 days ago, my teenager busted out with "down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, I lost my love, got eaten by a squirrel," one of my bangers from like 8 years ago.
December 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Just 2 days ago, my teenager busted out with "down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, I lost my love, got eaten by a squirrel," one of my bangers from like 8 years ago.
Reposted by Angus Johnston
This, so much. I truly can't quite comprehend anyone intentionally giving up one of the absolute best (and so wholly, restoratively human) things about parenthood.
December 1, 2025 at 4:30 PM
This, so much. I truly can't quite comprehend anyone intentionally giving up one of the absolute best (and so wholly, restoratively human) things about parenthood.
“My kid finds AI unpleasant, and prefers to interact with the actual world? How do I fix this?”
Remember that dad who was confused why his daughter didn't like playing with the AI-powered talking doll he got her?
December 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
“My kid finds AI unpleasant, and prefers to interact with the actual world? How do I fix this?”
Reposted by Angus Johnston
2028: "Strong rope, no floor"
December 1, 2025 at 3:16 AM
2028: "Strong rope, no floor"
"While I do not support the use of AI as a replacement for creativity, I use generative AI to create pictures and songs to accompany my child's creative play, instead of us creating them together."
I just don't understand people sometimes.
I just don't understand people sometimes.
And as reasonable as this writer seems and as much as he understands that essential skills can be inhibited by AI use, does this sound like someone very concerned about the labor or environmental impacts of AI? The ethics are just to be nodded to.
December 1, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"While I do not support the use of AI as a replacement for creativity, I use generative AI to create pictures and songs to accompany my child's creative play, instead of us creating them together."
I just don't understand people sometimes.
I just don't understand people sometimes.
Reposted by Angus Johnston
I named my fists Common and Sense because I'm about to bring the Paine
I named my fists Blood and Meridian because I’m fixing to Judge your ass.
I named my fists Moby and Dick because I am about to whale on you.
December 1, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I named my fists Common and Sense because I'm about to bring the Paine
I think there are conversations to be had among academics about how to structure rubrics, grading policies, and feedback mechanisms to make them harder for bad actors to exploit in a time of coordinated, vicious rightwing attacks on academia. But that shouldn't be the core takeaway from the OU case.
December 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM
I think there are conversations to be had among academics about how to structure rubrics, grading policies, and feedback mechanisms to make them harder for bad actors to exploit in a time of coordinated, vicious rightwing attacks on academia. But that shouldn't be the core takeaway from the OU case.
Reposted by Angus Johnston
A few folks have pushed back against this—reasonably, I think. I didn't mean to suggest that the left grassroots has been quiescent since Watergate. Obviously that's not the case. But I do think there are three clear ways to distinguish what's emerging right now from the last four decades.
I'm sympathetic to "Dems haven't insisted on accountability for GOP crimes in many decades" arguments. But it's also true that there has never in my adult lifetime been serious grassroots Dem voter pressure for such accountability.
November 30, 2025 at 11:27 PM
A few folks have pushed back against this—reasonably, I think. I didn't mean to suggest that the left grassroots has been quiescent since Watergate. Obviously that's not the case. But I do think there are three clear ways to distinguish what's emerging right now from the last four decades.
Presidential scandals are back on the menu, boys!
Reporter: If there were a second strike that killed wounded people, would that be legal?
Trump: I don’t know that happened and Pete said he did not even know what people were talking about. I wouldn’t have wanted a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine.
Trump: I don’t know that happened and Pete said he did not even know what people were talking about. I wouldn’t have wanted a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine.
November 30, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Presidential scandals are back on the menu, boys!
What is a ceiling? It's the thing that makes your house a house. It's the thing that keeps the rain off you. It's literally the roof over your head.
"Strong floor, no ceiling" is incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't speak finance jargon. It's the Wall Street version of Latinx.
"Strong floor, no ceiling" is incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't speak finance jargon. It's the Wall Street version of Latinx.
November 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM
What is a ceiling? It's the thing that makes your house a house. It's the thing that keeps the rain off you. It's literally the roof over your head.
"Strong floor, no ceiling" is incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't speak finance jargon. It's the Wall Street version of Latinx.
"Strong floor, no ceiling" is incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't speak finance jargon. It's the Wall Street version of Latinx.
I'm sympathetic to "Dems haven't insisted on accountability for GOP crimes in many decades" arguments. But it's also true that there has never in my adult lifetime been serious grassroots Dem voter pressure for such accountability.
November 30, 2025 at 4:02 AM
I'm sympathetic to "Dems haven't insisted on accountability for GOP crimes in many decades" arguments. But it's also true that there has never in my adult lifetime been serious grassroots Dem voter pressure for such accountability.
Gather 'round, younguns, and I'll tell you of a time when will-they-or-won't-they relationship dramas were also totally all about the protagonists fucking.
The year was 1994. The movie? "Four Weddings and a Funeral."
The year was 1994. The movie? "Four Weddings and a Funeral."
but this? shut the fuck up. guess what, my man, gorgeous young 22 year olds like to fuck. And queer people deserve love stories that are sexy and horny. a "chaste kiss" please be for real.
November 29, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Gather 'round, younguns, and I'll tell you of a time when will-they-or-won't-they relationship dramas were also totally all about the protagonists fucking.
The year was 1994. The movie? "Four Weddings and a Funeral."
The year was 1994. The movie? "Four Weddings and a Funeral."
Reposted by Angus Johnston
It's not just that the imagined-intimacy we thought we shared with him proved false
It’s realizing that what we thought were shared intimacies were in fact acts of contempt
[If I'm not mistaken, I'm the one who gave you a dvd of _Shameless_ and insisted you watch it immediately]
It’s realizing that what we thought were shared intimacies were in fact acts of contempt
[If I'm not mistaken, I'm the one who gave you a dvd of _Shameless_ and insisted you watch it immediately]
November 29, 2025 at 10:20 PM
It's not just that the imagined-intimacy we thought we shared with him proved false
It’s realizing that what we thought were shared intimacies were in fact acts of contempt
[If I'm not mistaken, I'm the one who gave you a dvd of _Shameless_ and insisted you watch it immediately]
It’s realizing that what we thought were shared intimacies were in fact acts of contempt
[If I'm not mistaken, I'm the one who gave you a dvd of _Shameless_ and insisted you watch it immediately]
Yeah. Before the fall, CK's act—and his fandom—rested on the premise that his worst self wasn't his true self. Now it's the opposite, and that's just not interesting as comedy.
He is just generally an alt-right, unrepentantly racist and transphobic piece of shit. He is also a genuinely bad comedian, much in the way that thin-skinned assholes often are 🤷♀️
www.gq.com/story/louis-...
www.gq.com/story/louis-...
Louis C.K. Targets Trans People and Parkland Shooting Survivors in a Leaked Set
He's still trying to make his comeback happen.
www.gq.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Yeah. Before the fall, CK's act—and his fandom—rested on the premise that his worst self wasn't his true self. Now it's the opposite, and that's just not interesting as comedy.
Since Louis CK is in the news again, it's worth restating that he never gave an honest accounting of his sexual misconduct—his initial "apology" and his subsequent statements have been contradicted by the testimony of his victims, and contained elisions and gaps intended to exonerate him.
November 29, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Since Louis CK is in the news again, it's worth restating that he never gave an honest accounting of his sexual misconduct—his initial "apology" and his subsequent statements have been contradicted by the testimony of his victims, and contained elisions and gaps intended to exonerate him.
When a student's paper reflecting on a class discussion includes false facts, that's a red flag. When such a paper includes facts I didn't know, that's another.
"Your paper liberally cites Marxist theory, when we haven't discussed it at all in this course. Can you explain this sudden interest you've taken in the reproduction of the relations of production?"
"..."
"..."
November 29, 2025 at 7:37 PM
When a student's paper reflecting on a class discussion includes false facts, that's a red flag. When such a paper includes facts I didn't know, that's another.