Because Someone Is On The Ball, Turner Classic Is Playing (among Other WWII Films) The Great Dictator

Because someone is on the ball, Turner Classic is playing (among other WWII films) The Great Dictator today.

If you haven't seen it, please do. It was produced by Charlie Chaplin in the late 1930s, when it became clear that the war was going to happen, and came out in 1940 after it had started. Essentially, Chaplin realized that his famous mustache was about to be usurped forever by a fascist, and that fascist was going to kill a lot more people in the future than he had already.

It's a parody, made before the worst horrors of the Nazi regime were known to the general public, so there is discomfort here (if you've seen Disney's Der Fuhrer's Face, you'll get the idea), but the movie ends with Chaplin essentially saying "fuck it, no one else seems to be speaking out about this and I'm going to use my platform to do that."

For context, this character is a Jew who has been mistaken for the dictator (for obvious mustache-related reasons), and has been sent onstage at a rally to give a speech. Instead of trying to impersonate Hitler, he says what he really thinks. And keep in mind, Chaplin was coming out of semi-retirement for this. It was the first time most people had ever heard him speak, and this is what he said:

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dangerous-button

2 months ago

I found a hand sanitizer bottle that came with a built-in loop and a carabiner. Emptied out the hand sanitizer and refilled with liquid soap, and just keep it clipped to my belt-loop. Easy to use, don't even have to unclip it, no need to set the container anywhere, and I've been using and refilling the same little bottle since 2020. Since I'm pretty much universally allergic to soap in public dispensers, it's made hygeine much easier. As a bonus, with the liquid soap and a water bottle, hand washing doesn't require a bathroom or sink at all.

I've noticed more and more in public bathrooms that people skip the handwash and just take a squirt of hand sanitizer from wall dispensers on the way out. hand sanitizer is NOT effective against most things that come out of your ass. i cannot stress this enough. i'm begging y'all. please. please please please please please use the soap.

i'm out here immunosupressed fighting for my life to not get naturally selected while people around me touch a public toilet handles and walk back to their tables to immediately eat a burger

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important wash your hands

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dangerous-button

2 months ago

https://twitter.com/coff33detective/status/1271463582312673281

“make yourselves impossible to ignore. 10,000 signatures on twitter is a lot but 10 unique personal emails is enough to derail an entire council session.”

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important activism

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dangerous-button

2 months ago