A California woman recently shared a history deep dive on Instagram and TikTok, which has already earned her 271K views and 50K views, respectively. Tuxedo Seal Studios, who is working on a novel inspired by Rome, found herself in an unexpected debate when one person wasn’t happy with her take on ancient sanitation and claimed that Italy has more in common with ancient Rome today than China has in common with ancient China.
As the creator explained in her video, she began reading a 600-page book titled The Romans: An 8,000-year history by Edward J. Watts. She admitted, “While I was reading the 600-page book on Rome’s history, I completely forgot about why I started reading that book. And then my neurodivergent brain just started shipping Agrippa and Augustus again.”
As she descended into this historical rabbit hole, she started drawing parallels between the fall of the Roman Empire, the current struggles in the United States, and the rise of China. She specifically pointed to the Goths and Alaric, who sacked Rome in 410 AD, with the help of “ex-Roman civilians who got sick and tired of the high taxes, the low living standards, the cost of living crisis, the bad housing.” She noted that they got fed up and turned against the Roman Empire.
Interestingly, she characterized it as the male gaze vs. the female gaze on city development
The creator contrasted the figures of Cato and Cicero, whom she characterized as slumlords, with Agrippa. She noted that, “Agrippa was the one who spent his own money to build aqueducts for the public. Agrippa spent his own money to extend the sewers. Agrippa got into a rowboat and went into the sewers to help scrape the poo-poo off of the sewers.” She highlighted that when Emperor Augustus fell ill, he entrusted Agrippa with his signet ring and as an heir.
“That is a difference between the male gaze, which is based off of vibes, and the female gaze, which is based off of do we have proper infrastructure?” she argued. She contrasted this with China’s economic rise, suggesting that modern Western leaders are stuck in a Rome Syndrome. “Why go and maintain the sewers, do this invisible work, when you can build a brand new Colosseum, when you can build a brand new bathhouse named after you?”
She then pointed out why China is different. “China was able to have an economic miracle in the last 50 years because in the 80s, Deng Xiaoping went like, we need to do the very smart thing of doing something else.”
The online community was impressed. On Instagram, Arserinyos commented, “I have loved it all: the rabbit hole maxxing, the Augustus-Agrippa ship, the male Vs female gaze dichotomy. Chef’s kiss.” Similarly, Voenyx remarked, “The female gaze, which is based off of ‘do we have proper infrastructure?’ Genius level observation.”
When a user named Toogodli challenged her to explain how she would actually fix the US, Tuxedo Seal Studios came back with math. She proposed a one-time wealth tax of 40% on the top 0.1% to raise $25 trillion, which would then get distributed into infrastructure projects.
Her detailed plan includes $3 trillion for free universal public healthcare, $4 trillion for a 10-year jobs guarantee program, and $1 trillion to buy out all pharmaceutical drug patents. She also wants to allocate funds for a national high-speed rail system and poverty alleviation. As she put it, “The $10T raised is the Top 0.1% wealth of $25.1T x 40% (one-time).”
Her observations on China align with the World Economic Forum’s breakdown of how the nation achieved its transformation. Beginning with Deng Xiaoping’s Reform and Opening in 1978, China moved away from the ideological excesses of the Mao era. By avoiding the shock therapy seen in other post-socialist states and instead using a dual-track approach, China allowed for gradual market integration.
This included massive investments in infrastructure, such as the world’s largest expressway and high-speed rail networks, which were pivotal in reducing logistical costs. China also prioritized human capital, moving from 8% of the college-age population in higher education in 1995 to over 50% by 2015.
On TikTok, the community applauded her choice to learn for spite, but some users like mchelly05 wrote, “Biden admin key legislation was the build better act. Trumps is another tax cut for the wealthy. We’re doomed.”
Recently, a New York father shared his healthcare disaster when United Healthcare decided to send a letter to his newborn to deny services rather than contact him, which seems to parallel this argument. Another could be the Triumphal Arch that was announced for Washington.
Published: Jun 12, 2026 06:15 pm