When your self is expressed in a single webpage. . .

[Rev. Rye]

I think I figured out the meaning behind that T-shirt:



It's about the futility of bringing about change in a world where the structures of oppression are so entwined in everything.

BORN TO DIE
The vast majority of us will, in the words of Appolonius of Tyana (or at least Charles Beaumont and Ben Hecht), " be buried and forgotten, and that is all. And for all the good or evil, creation or destruction, your living might have accomplished, you might just as well never have lived at all." And then, on top of that, in the meantime, many of us will suffer oppression based on stuff that is either A) trivial in a vacuum, B) an immutable characteristic that cannot be changed, or C) both.

WORLD IS A FUCK
Pretty self-explanatory, really. A statement that the conditions in the first line are unfair.

鬼神 Kill Em All 1989
Well, the 鬼神 means "Ghosts and spirits," as established earlier, but what does that mean. Perhaps it's related to the "Kill Em All." And how you should kill even their spirits. And who is "Em?" Why, the powers that be that keep us down. But, of course, you take down one major source of oppression, new ones will easily rise up and replace them. 1989 is because, well, I was born then, so why not? Or else it might have something to do with Taylor Swift, who was also born the same year (and indeed, the day before I was), and went from being just another barefoot country girl singer to the top pop singer in the world with the album 1989. The shamelessness of "Shake it Off" might have something to do with it.

I am trash man
Why does a person adopt a name like "[insert noun/adjective here]Man?" Because they're trying to be superheroes. And now, people are taking the identities that the larger society tossed aside like so much trash and using it to try and defeat the forces of evil. And what does that mean?

410.757,864,530 DEAD COPS
It's no coincidence that police are one of the major targets of this great uprising; they're the servants of the people in power, and it's incredibly well-documented that they themselves abuse their power. And how many cops need to be destroyed? 410,757,864,530. You may notice that this is an extraordinarily high number. High enough that it's more than the number of people estimated to have even been born at all. And thus, it's clear that our attempts at resistance are futile.

And the dog and cat palling around in the top image? Well, I think this clip explains it all: