A guy on Reddit reminded me I should share things with y'all
I need to update the tiers, honestly.
I just tend to think, whenever I feel the impulse to do one of these, "wouldn't they rather I just throw some more time into insert current nightmare project here ?" That's obviously not a fair assumption to make, the tiers are dishonest. Not out of malice, I assure you, but out of tunnel-vision.
Regardless, here's the situation. It's top-secret.
My Political Manifesto:
This entire project is something I started because I thought it'd be easy lol. I just learned in school that guns+germs made the difference! Nobody told me that ~250 Spanish investors destroyed the world's sixth-most-populous city in less than 2 years! WHAT THE FUCK?
I've seen some comments in the territory of, "you don't need to try this hard with research." That would, normally, be absolutely correct, but this isn't normal. I stumbled dick-first into the most contentious fucking event in human history. I know that's probably not true. Give me this, alright? It's up there, at least. Sweet fucking Christ, no one agrees with each other.
I need to be right. I cannot just say, "ok that's good enough" when every fucking expert is saying something totally different. You have no idea the depths of this shit. I ran out of red yarn. For the first time with one of these, I can't just point at an expert's claim and walk away. On the back cover of "Fifth Sun" by Camilla Townsend, which is a history of the Conquest from the Aztec perspective (or as close as she could get), is a GLOWING endorsement by Mathew Restall (you can't fucking escape him with this subject) and YET in Restall's book on the same subject, published the fucking year before?
He doesn't agree with her. They wrote totally conflicting accounts of the same event within a year of each other, and yet he supported hers with an endorsement like that.
And I don't mean that in a "he calls her out"-kinda way, their interpretation of the events are just VERY different, and yet he still said her work which explicitly disagreed with vast portions of his own book (which he published the fucking year before, once again, come the fuck on) was: "This is the best book on the Aztecs yet written, full stop..."
So...what's the fucking deal?
The fact is: no one knows what happened. It's one of the most important events in human history, a defining moment in the direction of the human species, and it will always be tainted with the lies of men trying to protect their investment. The fact that Cortes lied is obvious, and after spending 150+ pages arguing in support of that case, I can't find the patience to continue the endeavor here. It's a depressing story, with these brief and brilliant flashes of humanity interspersed in there. That's what keeps you going. From Diaz's orange trees to the Florentine Codex record of the Aztec watching a Spanish catapult fail as the Spaniards yelled and pointed fingers at each other.
I'm sorry I've been disengaged from here. I've still been dicking around on my subreddit, which is basically just what my twitter used to be: https://www.reddit.com/r/DJ_Peach_Cobbler/
After this project, I plan to actually play Starfield. I think I'm going to hate it, I'm actively dreading it. I've already written 8 pages, months ago, on how I know I'll hate it and why it's one big mistake lol. I'll attach the file of that script here (bear in mind I haven't looked at it in forever, it's most-likely a bunch of incoherent ideas and slurs). It's rough, but I assume many portions will make it into whatever the "Starfield Video" will be, if one materializes. I'm really working almost all the time, as I love reading/playing games/writing about games and what I read. As such, even if I'm not present here, I assure you that work is being done diligently. The only concern for me, and I think this is fair, is that I follow my heart in these matters and my heart tends to lead me to places that are considered subversive and seemingly random. I know most of you didn't subscribe for the Aztec, but I hope I've convinced you to care about the subject as much as I do!
I am sorry I've been disengaged from here. Your support, as always, means everything, and I've seen even more support come in since I made the stupid, stupid decision to make a video on the Fall of the Aztec because, "I mean...it was mostly germs and guns, right? Shouldn't be too bad!"
Thanks for patronizing my madness,
DJ PC
Comments (11)
I understand your Starfield hesitation. The game seemingly has okay Bethesda bones with a hideous, morbidly obese, Childhood Psychology with a minor in Ethnic Studies, xir person dropped onto it.
I feel like you need to relax.. like maybe go hangout at a kareoke bar.
I don’t think you need to worry too much about what to post, we’ll delight in pretty much whatever deranged concoctions of words you conjure. We are your patrons after all! Keep up the awesome work!
I started watching you for the video game videos, but after you started dipping your toes into history your combo of military/internet humor and attention to detail made you my fav video essayist. Keep up the great work, regardless of what it's about.
I'm also in the camp of patrons that supports regardless of rewards. This was an interesting read though, thanks! You make it look easy in the finished videos, distilling a bunch of sources into funny, informative, compelling stories...but clearly it's no small task. If I may naively offer input on the Fifth Sun situation, it seems that Restalls wrote a more detailed review that you might have already read but if not: "*[...] the value of Fifth Sun lies in how it rescues Aztecs and Nahuas from centuries of colonialist caricature and renders them human again – fully human, with flaws, people capable of brutal violence but also of deep love, who also savoured ‘a good laugh, just as we do’. We are so ‘accustomed to being afraid of the Aztecs, even to being repulsed by them’, that it has never occurred to us that we might simply identify with them. With this book, that can change.*" - https://www.historytoday.com/reviews/humans-behind-sacrifice I believe that from Restalls point of view, his 2018 book that focuses on debunking the entrenched euro narrative failed to give people enough of a reason to care about the Aztec themselves and thus a reason to care about correcting the history. The fifth sun is, according to reviews, more approachable and popular and it's evident how getting this story into more people's hand has value in Restalls eyes. As for the differences between the 2 accounts, is it not simply that the both authors used different sources as well as interpret the facts differently? Townsend has a quote that bears relevance here: "*Of course, scholars must be scrupulous and thorough. But I think young historians should also learn some lessons from the greatest fiction writers and most talented detectives. Close your eyes from time to time. Let your mind roam among all the evidence you have. Make the leap — Try to imagine the world as it was then. It will be worth the effort.*" - Camilla Townsend on winning the Cundill History Prize". 22 September 2022. We will never have all the facts and no 2 people will fill in the gaps in the same way. Let your mind roam cobbler...You're a talented writer, you got this. -Philia *P.s. Also fuck you for making me pay you to end up doing homework, how dare you further enrich my live with a deeper understanding of the events that shaped our world! You even made me stop lurking and... post my first patron comment...eww! You have any idea how many fucking tomato baths I'm gonna have to take to wash this putrid groupie stench off of me?*
"The fifth sun is, according to reviews, more approachable and popular and it's evident how getting this story into more people's hand has value in Restalls eyes. As for the differences between the 2 accounts, is it not simply that the both authors used different sources as well as interpret the facts differently?" I agree completely, and yes their books are not directly opposed, but they do differ in significant ways that can't be reconciled. I brought it up not to criticize anyone involved, their work has been incredibly insightful and also approachable. Rather, I wanted to illustrate exactly THAT they used different sources and reached different conclusions. Modern historians argue about WHERE the Rubicon was, but I've yet to see them argue about whether he did it at all. The sources are simultaneously few and contradictory. Regardless, thanks for the kind words. It's always like this near the ends of projects, I have faith y'all will enjoy the final product.
You rock!
Broski, this research will last forever, it was worth the labor. I appreciate it deeply
I love seeing the unfiltered cobbler that twitter and YouTube can't handle. That's admittedly a reason I signed up but I understand your process way more than I did before which is more than worth 8$!
Personally, I don’t support you for access to a Discord or Minecraft server or whatever. I find your content entertaining and engaging and want to to support just to see more of it. You have a hilarious sense of humor and a manic obsession with whatever history subject crosses your mind that is absolutely fascinating to hear you talk about. I’d love more updates whenever you have the time, but it won’t affect my patronage of your content one way or another as long as I can watch you rant about whatever has crossed your ire this time.
Hey thanks man. I'm not really here for the schizo femboy stuff, I just think you write and interpret greatly. I like it. Im not super interested in the Aztec stuff but I'm glad you are and can put a wacky spin on interesting pieces of history and culture. I want to go down as having supported a modern auteur. I might put that on my resume. Thanks for engaging here.