Hello!

[calvex]

Hi! I know I'm pretty late to this kind of space, and I know that many communities like this have chilled out in recent years, but I'd love to be part of a community where political affiliation is not the end-all-be-all and yet we could all still talk and have fun discussing politicians in ways we'd prefer they couldn't see

Comments

[calvex]

Thanks for responding!

I wonder that maybe looking at politicians in terms of good-guys/bad-guys has made it harder to enjoy them to this degree, though obv I do categorise them in those terms, I guess when it comes to lolitics my main focus is purely aesthetic or personality driven. Many of the figures I'd like to talk about aren't ppl I support or even call one of the 'Good guys', but they fascinate and entertain me regardless.

I guess politics has been so morbid lately yet so constantly on my mind, that a good escape for me is to remove the discourse and just think about the fascinating figures.
I've always been partial to the naughty tory trope, and there are some good-looking MPs lately on all sides of the house, and beyond all of that, figures who fascinate, surprise, entertain, and delight me when the nastiness of political discourse is removed from the context.

None of my interests in lolitics would at all correlate or translate to my genuine beliefs, but they're a fun escape from all this sadness currently.

As an example: I very much agree about Burnham and his looks, utterly handsome, very kind eyes and just a sweet guy overall. Also on the labour side I've always liked Dan Jarvis' tv detective vibes, and I find Starmer very adorable/handsome, if not in a slightly doddery way. But on the flipside I rather like the tiggery/partridge silliness of Hancock. He's a pure sitcom character, so I'm drawn to him. Sunak is precious, he's tiny in stature yet has insane levels of narcissism, which is somewhat endearing. The fact Gavin Williamson takes himself so seriously yet is gaffe-prone and often mocked as "frank spencer" or once called "private pike" by Philip Hammond (which resulted in Gavin throwing a hissy) is just very entertaining, and I find him kind of cute.
I could keep going but I don't want to ramble too long! I guess I'm trying to say that it's nice not to think too much about... well.. politics, when considering some of these figures in this way. Like you said, things are dire right now so finding ways to detatch every now and again is so nice.

And I'm glad you've found something that makes you feel good in Shakespeare! I'm an appreciator too! (though don't quiz me, my knowledge is surface level at best... that and The Hollow Crown series!)

[grondfic]

Whoah! You're a proper lolitician! I think you should maybe try for a bit of fic and see how the characters work. I'd love to see what you make of - say - Sunak (rather a man of mystery working in the background IMHO).

Sorry if I came over negative; but a lot of people Jacob Rees Mogg who were - as you say - fascinating eccentrics under the Coalition, are now serious, and rather the worse for it (and for any lolitical interest).

The Hollow Crown series was definitely realpolitik wasn't it? Fabulous cast too!

[turk_diddler]

It's Grant Shapps for me, I find it fascinating that he's Secretary of State for Transport when he looks like he should be trying to sell you a dodgy second-hand car, and then bragging about where he goes on holidays in the pub. Also his background in shifty internet marketting schemes that apparently made him a millionaire, oh and his perma-sneer. His curious progress in life is worthy of Trollope. I'm glued everytime I see him on breakfast telly. What's do you suppose he's like with waiters?

Agree with you on Burnham, although he also captures the slight ineffectiveness of the middle class, middle-aged, white British male, in that he can sort of keep his own patch in good order but anything he tries to say to convince his neighbours to behave gets drowned out by the all noisy, messy, destructive fun they're having. I see him on a campsite being ignored by drunk people keeping everyone awake all night. I really like the man but he shows that one prerequisite for being a good guy these days is that you've got to be fairly ineffective too.

[moon_child06]

Hello friend!
Ahh the Coalition days, a simpler time wasn't it?

Coincidentally, i used to be a member of this Comm back during the Coalition hey day and I was recently introduced to a very recent Peter Mandelson interview and podcast (thank you Youtube recommendations) and I have fallen back down the rabbit hole of lolitics. As has been said by others better than me, none of my lolitical interests necessarily "match" my RL political ones, but i've missed these characters SO much and watching the debate on Afghanistan made me miss having this comm more active (i found myself thinking, what would a liveblog of this debate look like??)

All that is to say, welcome! I'd love to get back into the fandom (recognizing of course the depressing state of politics these days) but glad to see a recent post!