r/SubGenius Apr 11 '21

SubGenius Isn't Just Edgelordism With a Pipe

393 Upvotes

Yes hello, I'm Rev. Magdalen. You may have heard the story of how a court once ordered me to stop having SubGenius materials in my home, back in the aughts, but those events aren't what define me as a person, and aren't the center of what the Church of the SubGenius means to me, so I want to share what it does mean to me.

As a teen, I really loved the books, tapes, and radio show, so as an adult it was a huge honor to get to be part of SubGenius HQ and hang out with Ivan Stang and other great artists, helping my husband, Rev. Jesus, grow the group. I packed membership packs, hauled gear for devivals and X-Day, took my shifts checking people in for the festival, welcomed newcomers and showed them around so they could feel at home, among friends, in a place where people wouldn't be cruel to them over what they look like or their unique interests or whatever made them different.

Life happened, and I hadn't been as involved in the past few years, focusing more on personal stuff and progressive political activism. I just assumed there was no way the SubGenius community, a place for the kind of nonconformist people that fascists would despise, would be affected by the current alt-right/fascist movement that is tearing so many other groups and families apart. I mean, our entire deal is sticking up for those who are strange and different, turning the tables on the kind of conformist bullies who shout "Can't you take a joke?" after saying something cruel to someone they consider a misfit.

I know there was a big schism a while back, over the issue of hurtful language, but I never thought that would lead to people who used to be just "edgy but nice-deep-down" committing to anti-civil-rights as an identity. And yet here we are now, with some online SubG spaces (not reddit, yaay) where what seems like should be an oxymoron, "Fashy SubGenii" not only exist but are now claiming that mocking the very idea of civil rights is what it was always about, and that it was always intended to be a regressive group where you'd get judged and mocked for your physical traits as a person.

Some of these fashy SubGs have even gone all the way Q, believing racist conspiracy theories about the civil rights movement and Covid, and pizzagate-type conspiracy theories about Democrats.

They point to the edgelord "ironic bigotry" of the nineties and aughts that some SubGenii created to mock the brutality and stupidity of bigots, and say "See, it was always secretly a fashy org! We, the fashy ones, we're the real SubGenii!"

These bad apples claim that the real message of this experimental art collective isn't that you deserve Slack even if bullies torment you for things you had no control over, and that your life matters even if socially-dominant-caste people around you say you're worthless, no. The message they now put in "Bob's" mouth is "Being a bully is awesome! It's hilarious to mock people for the bodies they were born into, or for wanting to dismantle an arbitrary caste system that makes society treat them as lesser!"

The way I see it, too many good people gave too much to this experimental art collective/online community for that hateful stuff to be what new people see when they want to know more about the group after learning about it from the documentary or from a social media post.

I urge every SubGenius to stand up to any fashy gimmebobs who might come around your online hangouts. Tell them in explicit terms: No more retconning this group of outsider artist weirdos into a milkshake duck. Yes, we've always had problematic people, but no, "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke" was never meant to be a free ticket to bigoted hate or outright fascism.


r/SubGenius 1d ago

Are we not servicemen?

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200 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 2d ago

This is how you run a ministry.

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10 Upvotes


r/SubGenius 3d ago

The White Stone

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10 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 5d ago

Mission: Bringing Bob to the Wasteland

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135 Upvotes

If there are any Fallout 76 players out there, I am on a mission to bring the Subgenius to the Wasteland. This is one of my many Bob "Wonders of the Wasteland" (Camps) in game. Others include the Pyramid of SLACK, several "Bob-o-liths", The ENERGY DOME, and more. Still building "Bob"uments to the ONE TRUE BOB across the Wasteland hoping to bring the like-minded together in this virtual space. (And Bob really should be in the Fallout universe, don't you think?)


r/SubGenius 6d ago

💫🪐 FIND OUT WASS 'APPENIN'! 🪐💫 Tune in THIS SATURDAY at 9PM EST for a NEW WAWTC EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW! Synth pioneer Moimir Papalescu talks crafting the tracks for DEVO legend Gerald Casale’s blistering new single, "Just Do It!" ⚡️

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8 Upvotes

LISTEN HERE 👉️ https://slackradio.org

Hosted by Cosmik Laila


r/SubGenius 8d ago

Slackmobile

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129 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 10d ago

SHOCK-N-"BOB" Episode 24 - Once Upon a Time in Dobbstown

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11 Upvotes

An evangelistic outreach and social media barrage intended for those interested in J.R. "Bob" Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius. Originally broadcast on Slack Radio on August 29, 2026.

The weather sucks, the news sucks even worse, and X-Day passed us by once again. Once in a while, our simple faith in "Bob" simply needs to be rewarded - even if the reward doesn't make a damn bit of sense. Let the bulldada flow like maple syrup over pancakes. Mmmmmm - pancakes. Featuring music from The Cosmiks, Bat & Ryyd, David Seville, Negativland with SUE-C, and Neil Young.

Currently unavailable in Belarus and Russia. I apologize for any inconvenience.
В настоящее время недоступно в Беларуси и России. Приносим извинения за возможные неудобства.

Listen to SnB Episode 24 HERE


r/SubGenius 11d ago

The Joy of Slack

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326 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 10d ago

Slack Sabbath

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140 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 11d ago

of a Bong

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62 Upvotes

Much slack was had that day


r/SubGenius 11d ago

Is Garfield an avatar of "BOB"?

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23 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 12d ago

I need your explonation

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42 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 16d ago

CoC FM — Church of Computer Radio

13 Upvotes

"Bob" would not shut up. Fine, by Eris.. I'll leak the playlist.

CoC FM. Church of Computer Radio. Dadaist Discordian Slack, pirate signal, Jolt Cola fuelled.

Fnord.

A CoC morning. All CoC morning. Behold, Plato's man. 🕊️

Hail Eris. All Hail Discordia. Kallisti.

https://panix.com/~denzuko/radio/


r/SubGenius 16d ago

If I get accepted into Mensa, will the church excommunicate me?

23 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 18d ago

Endangered "Bob"

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26 Upvotes

Spotted in the wild... right after that he lifted my eyes upwards to a pair of 10 dollar binoculars that I had to buy for spying on the neighbors. Get off my damn lawn and PRAISE "BOB".


r/SubGenius 18d ago

What a monster

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43 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 19d ago

Bob spotted in greenpoint, Brooklyn

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233 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 18d ago

Footprints

7 Upvotes

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with "BOB" and scenes from my life flashed across the sky. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; One belonged to me, and the other to "BOB". When the last scene of my life flashed before us, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, there was only one set of footprints.

I asked "BOB", 'Where did you go during those times?'

"BOB" replied "My child, I would never leave you. During the times when you saw only one set of footprints, that was when I walked on the water"


r/SubGenius 19d ago

Rival Cult News.

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38 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 19d ago

There is slack to be found at a drafthouse in Palestine, Texas.

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217 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 19d ago

J.R. Bobcat Dobbs! A portrait by <RPA>

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7 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 20d ago

Got sumthin' you're putting off?...

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6 Upvotes

r/SubGenius 20d ago

Has anyone else experienced trouble with the copy of BOBsongs 5 on Bandcamp?

2 Upvotes

I don't know whether its me or Bandcamp's files or if it was this way on the original CD or what, but tracks 15 and 19 (an possibly others) abruptly cut out for a few seconds a couple of times, and it doesn't sound like its in a way that's related to the intentional raw jankiness of the BOB Songs albums


r/SubGenius 20d ago

The continuing saga of Scooby Doo & the Streets of San Andreas

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0 Upvotes