Yeah, and I do try to mean this in as much of a "no hard feelings" way as possible. I don't like to make people feel like uncomfortable outsiders, nor do I like to feel that way. But if there has to be this much engineering of people's social and romantic lives, it makes you wonder who, if anyone, really benefits. Everything is a power struggle, and the only thing that weirds me out more than that is the absolute shit fit people throw when others try to go off and do their own thing. You are instead supposed to be present and submissive to their needs, and going through this ritualized process of acknowledging your privilege/complicity in oppression. I just honestly don't have time for that, especially after the lockdown. I have my own life to live.

One example I can think of is Michigan Women's Fest. Not my thing, and it doesn't sound like anything I'd enjoy if I had the opportunity to go. There were people who, instead of saying "well, let's do our own thing," made a point of going every year to just camp outside. Why? Why not just create your own event, and see who goes to that? Instead, there was tirade after tirade about, the, uh....evil women who wanted to go sleep in a field and wouldn't let you go along.

By all means, let people do a Themfest or something like it. Regardless of how I feel, there are a lot of people who do seem to identify with it. I just don't think it's appropriate to draw everyone else in with it. I would say there are a lot of unchecked control issues and insecurities within The Acronym, which I fear will prevent this sort of needed change.