If you’ve never heard of former pop singer Anita Bryant, she was an anti-gay activist who was famously pied (haha) on live television in 1977. This is, on a small scale, how you fight fascism. Before you roll your eyes at me, listen…
The Joker character from the Batman franchise was once my least favorite villain until I read an interesting article that mentioned him. I had always viewed him as a maniac who gets his thrills from murdering Gothamites, but that’s wrong. What the character enjoys is upending the status quo in Gotham City, where capitalists (like Bruce Wayne, of course) have free rein to exploit its citizens and bend the city to their will. But in his battle against the oligarchy, The Joker didn’t waltz into a bank or extravagant gala with masked men in fatigues; he brought a circus.
Had it been The Joker smashing a pie into anyone’s face, the cream on top would have been laced with a corrosive agent. Every weapon in Joker’s arsenal resembled a harmless object, but was, in fact, lethal.
The Joker has no qualms when it comes to taking a life, but it was never necessary for him to do so, not even against Batman, since killing wasn’t his MO. But The Joker needed to create chaos, so he killed, which is why his men dressed the way they did and why he made each of his deadly sprees a darkly humorous performance. These costumed performances made their crimes more terrifying than if they had entered a bank with a group of masked men, all dressed in black. Gothamites sitting at home watching the replay of a typical robbery or shooting on television would be concerned or frightened. But a group of clowns slaughtering innocents and wreaking havoc terrified people. Gotham City wasn’t just dangerous; it was less predictable and insane. His crimes, though heinous, were so bizarre that they reached the upper echelons of society, which was his goal. He made the powerful feel vulnerable in their gilded fortresses. No longer would they feel comfort as they squatted upon their gilded thrones.
Having not read a superhero comic in ages, I can’t say for certain, but I believe Joker may be the most brilliant and effective terrorist in all comics. Had he been a real-life individual (sans the killings), he might have been hailed a hero. Anyone who disrupts the capitalist machine and turns the status quo upside down has to be a hero. Right?
Baja Blast image by Highyena background photo by Photo by Steven Erixon
art by skyblack81
Since the beginning of 2025, we’ve seen U.S. citizens taking to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s criminal agenda (aided and abetted by Elon Musk) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ brutal, illegal, and unconstitutional tactics. Lately it has been the latter that has been most protested against. People have attacked these agents with unusual objects such as sandwiches, banana peels, eggs, and (I think) used tampons. Protestors have worn inflatable frog costumes, played loud music in front of hotels where agents slept. In areas of the country experiencing frigid weather, some citizens have taken to spraying water onto the streets to cause ICE vehicles to slide and the agents to slip and fall. These tactics are mild compared to incidents where ICE agents have beaten citizens, arrested them without just cause, and even murdered two (that we’re aware of). The President of the United States is waging a war against the citizens of this country, and is aided and abetted by Republicans and the Supreme Court. The people have the right to fight back, and they will. Without a doubt, it’s going to get to the point where people are going to take drastic measures against Kristi Noem’s Gestapo. There are already armed groups of Americans patrolling their neighborhoods to prevent ICE raids. To my surprise, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (not to be confused with the “New” Black Panthers, whom I wouldn’t have mentioned had it not been necessary) has been making the rounds to ensure that their communities are safe.
Contrary to what we’ve seen from President Trump's first term to now, there are still many smart Americans today. I expect the kind of Joker tactics I mentioned above from our fellow citizens for two reasons: 1. We’re not talking about lethal weapons, and 2. Unconventional “weapons” can be equally effective. Right-wingers are probably the most armed citizens in the country, not so much liberals or the left. Innovative weapons will be the only option for many of us, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We’re trying to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities from the terror our government has unleashed upon us, not kill anyone. That doesn’t mean that people won’t be killed. Even using Home Alone contraptions could be crippling or fatal.
We’ve already seen that ICE agents have no compunction when it comes to murdering Americans. If the president’s reign of terror continues to escalate, things will undoubtedly get ugly. In every city and town across the country, we outnumber law enforcement, and we sure as hell outnumber the ICE Gestapo.
Anyway, all this talk of guns and killing is making me thirsty. The only reason I mentioned any of this is that I need you to know that Neuerotica is that pie in the face to the capitalist machine, and I’m referring to our subject’s creations, not just our editorial content. Neuerotica is our pie. The music, the art, and the style are all delicious pie facsimiles hot and ready to be smooshed into the faces of capitalism. We’re a subversive pop culture e-magazine, which means the subversive comes from the artists we interview; Neuerotica just puts it all on display and spreads it around like whipped cream, and our editorials are the cherry on top.
I am in no way religious, but in Psalm 100:1 it reads: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord”. Instead, how about we raise such a cacaphony that it shakes the pillars of Capitalist Olympus? It should go without saying that I have no intention of killing anyone, nor inciting anyone to do so. Mayhem, however? That’s definitely on the table. It’s legal. It’s constitutional. It’s fun. Besides, who doesn’t like pie?
background photograph by Photo by Clem Onojeghuo
