#all the white people who don’t know their origin hate the irish and italian ones because it’s literally their entire personality sometimes

[gnfkitten]

the trauma they were talking about was being italian

the anti-italian sentiment on social media today is really starting to get to me :/

not okay guys not okay

#it’s probably incredibly traumatic #all the white people who don’t know their origin hate the irish and italian ones because it’s literally their entire personality sometimes #it’s like kin wars but instead of dangonropa characters it’s european nations #personally i’m cuban so that’s spanish (based on the tone of the my skin i’m hazarding a guess at i’m a double colonizer) #and there really aren’t enough of us to start being pretentious #but on the bright side at least i’m not italian #so so very sorry italians

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

So an Aussie school implemented critical race theory in a school and I’m watching the first episode so far the white students hate themselves because they are automatically bad because white. Because that’s how you solve racism identifying people by race and making them evil?

There was also a lot of mocking I think of white students “what does it mean to be white?” And they don’t know so the presenter is laughing. Because there’s no nuance because white is one homogenous culture no nuance what so ever. Greek is identical to Irish to Russian to German to Ukrainian.

That's what it does. I've seen it described as a universal solvent. Thinking about everybody around you in terms of race and in terms of neo-Marxian oppressor/oppressed class dynamics is the surest way to disintegrate human connections, stir up resentment and divide.

I'm surprised that this was done at an Australian school. Partly because Australia's ethnic demographics are much different than the USA, where this theology originated. Indeed, much of the early development of the Australian settlements appears to have been done on the back of white people transported there in chains, as convicts often found guilty of petty crimes. Australia has a significant Asian population, and their black population tends to be either their indigenous people, or recent immigrants from African nations. So the presuppositions and of the theology don’t really line up.

Ironically, the implementation of CRT is a demonstration of American missionaries colonizing their theology into other countries.

Here's the thing about culture, though.

Culture is experienced, it's something you participate in. It's what surrounds you. It's not a property of a person's biology. In America, black and white people who were born and grew up there will have more in common culturally than they will have differences. They're black and white Americans. Their culture is American. They know how tipping works, how the football leagues work, how the rivalry between different cultural factions works: east vs west music, which Chris team you're on, Ford vs Chevrolet, etc.

Through my job, there's a white guy I work with online who is from and in South Africa. He even did compulsory national service. He is more "African" (although Africa is an entire continent of many countries) than Oprah Winfrey. He's culturally South African, ethnically Afrikaner, with ancestry to the Netherlands Dutch.

For that matter, Yasmine Mohammed, whose mother is Egyptian, from Egypt, is more culturally "African" than Oprah Winfrey. Yasmine is first-generation Canadian, born to an immigrant from an African nation. Oprah Winfrey is not.

Black Americans, by the way, typically have about 15-20% European ancestry, along with a smaller mixture of Native American and other genetic lines.

This is why "cultural appropriation" is so demented. Often the people scolding others are themselves as removed from the culture as the person they're scolding, and are simply using their skin color to manipulate others.

Culture is not in your DNA or your skin tone. Ethnicity is your family's history or lineage of culture, which in Europe can be as diverse as Irish, Swedish, Spanish, Polish, Croatian and Italian. Ancestry is your genetic heritage. These are all different things.

Anyone who thinks the Irish and the Polish, the Spanish and the Swedish, the British and the Croats, are interchangeable is as stupid as they are ignorant.

Here is a mega-post showing the diversity of traditional European cultures, from Albania to Wales.

https://www.tumbex.com/rachel-angelina.tumblr/post/638380173057818624

"White culture" is therefore an incoherent term. Take a black American, a black Kenyan and even a black Brit and put them in a room together to discuss their culture - traditions, society, values, social expectations and norms, etc. Hell, put a black American and a black Canadian in the same room. Any shared and contrasting aspects of their culture will parallel those of a white American and a white Canadian.

Ideologues like this want to fixate on the white and black, not on the American, or the Australian, the Kenyan, South African, etc.

The presenter is deliberately misusing words to confuse the kids. Because the presenter is a racist. They see the non-white people as a different culture than the white people. e.g. seeing a fourth generation Australian student with Chinese ancestry as being "Chinese" and not "Australian"; that is being outsiders to the local culture. The presenter is looking at such a kid and believes to their core “you are not Australian, your eyes and your skin mean you can never be Australian.” And seeing the white students as having "no culture" means they're actually making "white" the default, without regard for their diverse cultural lineage, as you mentioned.

The presenter is a full-blown white supremacist. And I mean that in the Strom Thurmond sense, not the nonsensical world of milk and hiking being "white supremacy."

The implementation of Critical Race Theory - i.e Critical Race Praxis and Critical Race Pedagogy - and other Woke doctrines reliably and inevitably heralds increased division and racism (and sexism, hetero/homo-angst, etc), not less, because everybody spends all their time fixating on race, gender, sexuality, etc, and not on getting anything done. There is a long history of destruction in its wake, from Evergreen State College to Knitting Instagram.

Because it’s not about solving problems any more than Xianity is about instilling morality. It’s about authoritarianism and securing belief in a specific ideology and worldview. At any cost.

#ask #critical race theory #wokeness #wokeness as religion #woke #woke activism #woke authoritarianism #white culture #critical theory #religion is a mental illness

[honey-harper-official]

This is gonna be a long as post and I am in no way an expert but cultures having aspects of different cultures mixed in / Americanized cultures are not the awful mess thst you all think it is.

Obviously some parts have very racist and problematic roots im not gonna deny that and if there’s a practice in a culture or religion where the people of the background that said practice originally created said it’s a closed practice and not for people outside of them then it should remain a closed practice. But that doesn’t mean it’s all bad especially when you actually look at history.

This will be a very American centric post bc I’ve seen a lot of European people and people from other countries online comment about how white Americans don’t have culture or are ruining and stealing their culture when that’s not really the case.

First of all over time cultures naturally shift and change. Thsts just how it goes.

Second of all some of the changes in cultures now from their original practices in the countries and regions they started in have changed because of influences of other cultures. America is a melting pot! All different cultures and backgrounds are here and we learn from each other! A lot of practices aren’t stolen so much as adapted and meshed together due to learning and respectfully experiencing another persons culture or just people being mixed backgrounds. In the future I guanretee you cultures in America are going to be a lot more mixed because more and more people marry outside their race and culture which is a beautiful thing thst should be celebrated!

There’s also the immigrant experience. Recipes and practices have changed as immigrants came and had access to more or different resources especially before more modern technology came into play. Some things people may have had in their home countries were accessible within America so things got substituted. Or there were new things they had never got to experience that those immigrants enjoyed and intertwined in. Thst doesn’t mean the American version of those practices are bad and frankly it should be celebrated bc a lot of it is thst your ancestors survived and got new experiences. The practices should very much be celebrated as originally done but also more American versions should also be celebrated bc it’s a survival of the culture and the people who brought it here!

I saw some posts on St Patrick’s say discussing how Americans were doing it wrong and while there’s definetly some parts that are disrespectful a lot of it also has to do with Irish immigrants having different resources in America then Ireland and the mix of different cultures and people participating influencing it and that doesn’t mean how we celebrate it is wrong.

Cultural shifts aren’t necessarily bc America is racist and therefore celebrates it wrong so much as America is racist and there’s cultural shifts so the culture could survive. We should very much celebrate thst survival even if it’s different from its roots!

I also see people saying to stop saying you’re Irish American or Italian American you’re just white and while I get the meaning behind that part of thst also has to due a lot to racism. Anyone who has a white background is very much NOT oppressed now but that doesn’t mean they weren’t. I know people make jokes about how people say that they’re Italian American are probably only one percent but a lot of white Americans most definetly have a lot of Irish and Italian and Germanic backgrounds not just French or British and I’d make a bet that those probably aren’t the largest amounts either.

When Irish and Italian and other white immigrants came they very much stuck with their own peers and background bc Americans already here HATED them. It wasn’t until more recently thst the different white background started mixing together. So in all honestly just let people say they’re Irish American or Scottish American bc they very much most likely are ans the way they celebrate it has to due with the American immigrant experience not necessarily the ruination of the root practice.

It’s also very beneficial for people to learn these things bc while no one who’s white is oppressed in America now it doesn’t mean that they’re ancestors didn’t face hardships that should be honored and appreciated. The practices at their roots and the American versions should both be celebrated and embraced bc they represent the original culture as well as how it survived.

It’s also beneficial to learn about bc the reason the different backgrounds started mixing does have to do with racism against other ethnic groups that aren’t white. It very much had to do with power in numbers and us against them and erasing and changing one culture so that way they could oppress and erase another. Again I’m not an expert or a historian by any means but a lot of this can be gathered and figured out by looking at basic American history and sometimes just listening to things grandparents and older people tell you.

This becomes even more important bc it’s starting to happen again. As racist practices have lead to white people stealing ethnic traits and making them the beauty standard and stuff actual people of those backgrounds are now being considered white and white passing and having their culture erased from them and their experiences invalidated. The model minority myth is part of this and I don’t know if you’ve seen it but when checking off your race for certain things Asian and white are being clumped together. It very much has to do with splitting minorities apart so they can’t band together against oppression by white people.

This is a lot of information to take in but I think it’s very important to discuss based on the fact that it’s happening again to more and more minorities as a means to oppress them. If I’m wrong on anything please correct me but a lot of this I just gathered from basic history classes and watching the news. Also people, no matter what race, don’t deserve to have their cultural practices disrespected bc it changed out of survival purely because you don’t understand the history behind it. I understand not wanting to have your culture disrespected but I promise you that you view it that way due to a perception ajd image america has Thsts not 100 percent true to people that actually live there.

If all white people knew this and got to properly celebrate their backgrounds then there wouldn’t be so many people who aren’t oppressed because we’d all have banded together by now and when we’ve seen groups do that we see that the government tries to turn them against each other to save themselves.

A lot of people going I’m Italian American or Welsh American and such like that also has to do with the fact that British and then French people were the first white people here and declared themselves the best and in charge and as we all know both of them basically combined attacked and fucked over every culture and country imaginable and it didn’t stop when America gained independence from Britain. So when white Americans go oh I’m Italian and Scottish American it’s not bc they’re trying to claim something that isn’t there’s. It’s bc at its root it’s about honoring your ancestors and where your family came from and giving a huge fuck you to Britain and France who very much tried to take that away from white immigrant Americans.

Please let white Americans learn their roots I promise you it’s not anyone trying tk be deliberately disrespectful it’s trying to make the culture survive and celebrating our ancestors more then anything as well as helping educate white Americans now on racism. It’s very beneficial to understanding the political climate against people of color now from my personal experience and has more benefits then you think. America IS a melting pot of cultures and we should celebrate it instead of claiming that it’s ruining cultures bc it’s not. It’s about cultures surviving and people of different backgrounds coming together.

[kingofthewilderwest]

"#just because you have a bias about certain socioeconomic groups which tend to listen to country doesn't mean" // Yup. I tend to side-eye folks who are like "I like all kinds of music except country and [Insert a genre of music usually associated with Black creators like rap and hip hop]" You're not slick, ppl. I know what you're saying.

^^^^^^^^^ You hit the nail on the head.

It’s racial bias. It’s socioeconomic bias. It’s bias against people groups who have less respect and say in society.

From my tags on this post:

#don’t get me started on a long rant of the progressive side of country music and what’s been progressive FOR DECADES#from times near its BEGINNInGS#through the modern age#just because you have a bias about certain socioeconomic groups which tend to listen to country doesn’t mean#that that’s actually what the genre is or who the artists are#I could go for a LONNNNG time about this#a LONG time#some of the best protest songs I know of today’s current political situation#are country#or have like ya’ll forgotten about the folk revival#of the 1960s#or…#gahghfnfddhgnghfngh#I AM GAY AND I LISTEN TO COUNTRY#NYEH!!!!

Now. I understand disinterest in a genre because it’s not your aesthetic, but when people express their feelings for country, R&B, hip-hop, etc. …the dialogue isn’t casual “It’s not my thing.” The dialogue is a hateful, passionate retaliation.

Other genres aren’t treated like this. It’s normalized and encouraged to hate on country and rap. These genres are systematically treated with less respect and that disrespect culturally arose because these genres are associated with less-respected demographics. 

(Country music is associated with people of low socioeconomic status, for people who aren’t explicitly aware.)

Anecdotally: I’ve caught something interesting about anti-country music sentiment. Many people tell me they can’t stand the “twang.” Half the time, I’ve noticed that their internalized definition of “twang” isn’t the vocal technique; it’s that they can’t stand the presence of a Southern accent. And hooboy does that have TONS of sociocultural bias issues. As a linguist, I’ve read endless sociolinguistic studies about how Southern dialects are treated as “lesser,” and how speakers of the dialect are automatically judged to be less intelligent, etc. It’s not good, folks.

Sometimes, to help friends get out of their anti-country mindset, I’ve “tricked” them into liking country. See, genres like bluegrass grew closely out of Scots-Irish folk music. Often, we’re playing the same tunes on both sides of the Atlantic. So I play a few instrumentals, my friend goes, “Oh! I love Celtic music

The biases against those demographics color how people view the music. There’s endless things that can be said about hip-hop bias, holy shit. I won’t focus on that today because I don’t believe I am qualified to be a spokesman. Someone who understands that genre better, and other genres associated with the African-American community, and is African-American, would be a better human to listen to than me. I defer to their knowledge and experience. It’s hella important to understand what bias has been reflected against those genres.

But there’s just as much bias against country music, against another demographic. And I’ve found it wild how it gets treated on places like tumblr, which wants to stand up for underprivileged groups, but somewhat inaccurately associates country music as “anti-gay conservative evil white person music” rather than music of people historically of lower socioeconomic status.

Yes, some of the demographic that listens to country music or plays country music are bad apples. But like… thinking the music is JUST THAT is a huge disservice to what country actually is and who the music artists actually are.

The history of country music is one giant collaborative melting pot of people from many different cultural backgrounds. Broad West African influence. Mexican influence. Italian influence. German influence. Scots-Irish influence. Cherokee influence. More. Early record labels like OKEH foolishly separated “hillbilly music” (presumably white folk music) from “rhythm and blues” (presumably Black folk music) without understanding the constant racial, demographic, regional, and cultural cross-pollination that occurred between the musicians from country music’s origins. And while there ARE certain issues in country music’s past and present, and we can’t let those issues go forgotten, that’s far from the whole story. We shouldn’t romanticize issues, but we should acknowledge that this music genre has given us major strides too.

Country music is the banjo, brought from Africa, combined with the mandolin, brought from Italy, combined with the fiddle, brought from Ireland, combined with the guitar and the dobro and the accordion and the upright bass and the electric guitar and the electric bass and whatever instruments you want to put in there.

Country music is African-American musicians like DeFord Bailey, the first radio star ever introduced on the Grand Ole Opry (THE most revered country music hub out there), blues harmonica performer, playing to crowds decades before segregation was de-legalized. He toured with white Opry musicians who treated him as one of their own. It’s soul music genre pioneer Ray Charles producing a studio album entirely dedicated to country music hits like “Hey Good Lookin’” from Hank Williams. It’s country star Charley Pride, who despite the racism against him in the 1960s rose to fame and made audiences fall in love with his beautiful voice. It’s the African-American musicians who inspired many commercial country stars, like Arnold Shultz influencing Bill Monroe and the railroad workers inspiring Jimmie Rodgers.

Country music is stars like Johnny Rodriguez and Rick Treviño, singing country music in Spanish, and using obvious Latin flavors in the genre.

Country music is filled with badass women like the ladies who STARTED THE GENRE ROLLING IN THE FIRST PLACE, Sara Carter and Mother Maybelle Carter (whose guitar style is hugely influential to this day) and Maybelle’s daughters Helen, June, and Anita; the first female music manager in the music industry, Louise Scruggs; songwriters like Felice Bryant and Loretta Lynn; the most awarded female artist in Grammy history Alison Krauss; and powerhouses like Dolly Parton who stepped out of an over-controlling entertainer’s shadow to become a badass in all things like supporting the LGBTQ community, contributing to pro-transgender films ahead of their time, and starring in sex worker positive productions like “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”

Country music is filled with activism. Johnny Cash showed a heart for those forgotten by society. He toured many times in prisons. Cash especially was an activist for Native American rights. He toured with Native American songwriters so audiences could hear their own words (I’ve been trying to find names but I’m having difficulties re-finding that information, so my apologies for not giving names of those who deserve to be mentioned). Cash released albums dedicated to exposing past and present injustices against the Native American people. He went on tours specifically to Native American reservations. 

And it’s not just Johnny Cash!

Country music is many stars from the Grand Ole Opry banding together to release AIDS benefit albums - big names like Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, aurgh I’m too lazy to write them all, PEOPLE.

Country music is Earl Scruggs and his sons playing at the Vietnam War Protests.

Country music is tied in with the fucking folk revival of the 1960s, which was deep in left-wing activism and the Civil Rights Movement. Folk singers sang traditional Appalachian and English ballads alongside their own compositions, topical pieces protesting the current political situation. You can call one artist “folk” or “Americana” and another one “country,” but the influences were intermingling, and it’s why we have Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez and John Denver and Pete Seeger owning a banjo that says, “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.”

Dammit, I have a full BOOK that discusses country music and political ties. 

There’s another book out there, which I haven’t read, that discusses the relationship between country music and the queer community, and how bias against country music is NOT as reflective of the listening demographic as we stereotype. I’ll take the word of one reviewer who said:

[Nadine Hubbs] explores country music lyrics, presenting a great deal of evidence suggesting that working class America is not inherently homophobic, but that as middle class cultural taste has changed to include formal acceptance of homosexuality, this process has included pinning homophobic ideas on the working class.

Country music is lyrics like this 1975 controversial song “The Pill”:

You wined me and dined meWhen I was your girlPromised if I’d be your wifeYou’d show me the worldBut all I’ve seen of this old worldIs a bed and a doctor billI’m tearing down your brooder house‘Cause now I’ve got the pillAll these years I’ve stayed at homeWhile you had all your funAnd every year that’s gone byAnother baby’s comeThere’s a-gonna be some changes madeRight here on nursery hillYou’ve set this chicken your last time‘Cause now I’ve got the pill

Country music is lyrics like this 2013 song that feels as relevant than ever:

If crooks are in charge, should we let them pick our pockets?If we don’t want trouble, should we not try to stop it?We could just sink into the quicksand slavery we’re born inBut fighting endless wars for greedy liars is getting pretty boringThey think they got us trained, so we’ll think we’re living freeIf we got time and money for junk food and TVBut it’s plain honest people never stand a chance of winning electionsThey just let us pick which liars take our rights away for our own protectionThe corporate propaganda paralyzes us with fearDestroying our ability to trustFear keeps us fighting with each other over scrapsStarving to death in the dustOrganized religion really helps you submitBut the meek are inheriting the short end of the stickFear surrounds compassion like a layer of moldAnd weakens our defenses so we’re too weak to be boldLife could be heaven, but this corrupted systemTakes away our rights, expects us not to miss themThe middle class is shrinking while the lower class growsIf we don’t wake up soon, we’ll have no class left to lose

Country music is Christians themselves criticizing the hypocritical Evangelical culture in the USA for the bullshit hatefulness stewing inside it:

Every house has got a Bible and a loaded gunWe got preachers and politicians‘Round here it’s kinda hard to tell which oneIs gonna do more talkin’ with a crooked tongue

And as that one post I just reblogged shows, there’s MANY queer country musicians out there producing explicitly pro-LGBTQ+ music.

I’m brushing over so much. I’m sorry for the simplification that goes with me doing such a pass-by overview. I’m sorry I’m focusing more on history than the present (I know more about the 1920s-1960s eras, so I’m talking from my strong suit). I hope the information is at least strong enough to get my point across.

There are definitely listeners and artists in country music who are uber-conservative white hateful Christians. Yes. I know why country music gets associated with that. But.

Country music is not ABOUT this uber-conservative white hateful Christian side. The genre is not “polluted”. It is a thousand voices from a thousand perspectives of people from many backgrounds and beliefs. And many of those thousand voices are old traditional songs that came from Black communities, or were composed by Mexican-Americans, or were performed by folk artists as part of a protest for equal rights. 

(Note: I’m *NOT* saying all Christians are bad or that different political angles don’t have merits. I’m Christian myself! And you don’t know my political party. I’m just trying to get the point across that country music isn’t ENTRENCHED in one questionable demographic.)

You don’t have to like country music. It doesn’t have to be your aesthetic. But if you find it fun to get in on society’s popular country hate roasting… please rethink this. The reason country music has been hated from its roots is because it’s associated with the socioeconomically disadvantaged.

I’m with you 100%, Ashley. When someone says they like all genres “except country music and rap,” I get a little leery. I used to be one of those people when I was younger. I had to learn to grow past those biases. But once I did, I realized there was so much I was hating on that I didn’t understand. Now, I hope I can help people overcome their own biases, such as ones they don’t realize they’ve had - for things like music.

Hi ya’lls. I’m queer and I love country.

P.S. If anyone has anything to add or correct, please feel free to add on! I’m doing my best but I do not know everything and would be happy to learn more, too!

#ashleybenlove #long post #music #non-dragons #that banjo business #analysis #my analysis #music analysis #note that there's a version of this post where it's been reblogged and added on and I chat about Elvis and stuff #but the starting text is from an earlier version of this post #where I had a number of typos #XD I know they're there but I can't change those hahahahaha #I changed them here #reblog whichever version you desire though of course! #but just so you know there's a few minor factual typos in the non-edited version #I was hahaha so excited that I typed fast when I wrote it XD

[internaljiujitsu]

Negrito: Race In The Latino Community

I had lots of nicknames growing up. Bolita (little ball) when I was a toddler because I was round. Jun (short for Junior), because I share a name with my dad. But the monikers I heard most from my mom and extended family were Negro (black), Negrito (little black) or Negrolo (black something or other). Notice a pattern?

As the darkest person in my Puerto Rican family, that’s how my loved ones would address me. It’s a common practice in Latino cultures. Identifying someone by their color, frowned upon in politically correct, modern society, has morphed into a term of endearment among racially diverse Latinos. Or so it seems.

Despite the wide range of hues within Latino culture that would suggest an evolved view of skin color, these societies are just as racist as any dusty mid western town full of red cap wearing “Americans.”

When a black South African, Zonzibini Tunzi, beat out Ms. Puerto Rico for the ridiculous Ms. Universe crown, the supervisor for the Island’s Education Department called the winner, “La prima de Shaka Zulu.” It means Shaka Zulu’s cousin. You know, the legendary African military leader.

In case you were wondering, there is no relation.

In 1937, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo had forty thousand Hatitian migrants massacred to “whiten” the population of the Caribbean nation. Sixty years later, every Dominican in the world hailed the dark skinned Sammy Sosa as one of their own when he chased Babe Ruth’s legendary home run record.

And now — twenty years after that — Sammy Sosa is white.

In the eighties, my friends and family referred to African American people as “Morenos” (Dark Skinned) or “Cocolos” (a term originating with a dark skin group of people in The Dominican Republic.) We were all living in the same impoverished, dilapidated neighborhood together, but never felt the same. There was always an us against them attitude. We often felt as if we needed to fight for respect within our own neighborhood while buying into media perceptions of what it meant to be black and brown. And what we saw around us everyday did little to give us faith in ourselves or our darker brethren.

But I could blend in anywhere — while feeling comfortable nowhere. I belonged to a light skinned (except for me and my dad) Puerto Rican family growing up in a black neighborhood but I found myself relating more to white culture. While the Cosby Show was number one, I watched Family Ties. While kids were listening to Chuck D or KRS 1, I was head banging to Guns and Roses. I hated baggy clothes, preferring tight jeans and t-shirts. But I didn’t feel like I was rebelling - I just liked what I liked, and got plenty of shit for it.

To me, the Cosby show was bullshit. That’s not how it was for the black and brown people I knew. It was fantasy. Family Ties I had seen play out before my own eyes at white friends’ homes with cookie cutter lives that seemed perfect (spoiler alert: they weren’t). I wanted what they had so badly — peace of mind and enthusiasm for the future — and I wasn’t finding it where I lived.

I also hated my brother at the time (who I love to death) and wanted to be the opposite of him. He was a thug who always gave my parents headaches. He set a terrible example for his little brother while constantly asserting the fact that he was six years older and wiser. Once I stopped idolizing him, I detested everything he stood for. He has long since proven me and the old neighborhood wrong.

It took me years to become as secure as I am, but even now I get shit from people in my life. I’ve embraced my heritage and have ensured that my five year old daughter does the same. But when my parents hear my daughter speak proper Spanish without a Puerto Rican accent, they make fun of us. She’s been attending a Spanish speaking school since she was two. Her mother and I have attempted to be consistent with the dialect we use with her. That means she actually rolls her r’s and doesn’t sound like she’s gonna hock a loogie when she says “carro” or “perro.” My family thinks it’s fucking hilarious.

But it’s not just family. In a recent conversion with an old friend who had just retired from the police department, he called me an “Oreo.” Black on the outside and white on the inside. This guy is in his fifties. I chuckled when he said it, but haven’t returned his calls since.

The thing is, I know he was just fucking around. He himself is of mixed race and sounds like an Irish American with a Brooklyn accent, but looks Japanese. But there is something about police perception of dark skin people, how we are supposed to sound, that bugged me about what he said.

There’s too much chuckling that goes on. Too much nodding. A former close friend of mine, who is half Puerto Rican and married to a dark skinned Dominican woman, once complained that a guy he knew had “niggered up” his car ( because he added shiny rims, window tint and other bells and whistles). It wasn’t the first time I heard him use the word. Each time it turned my stomach. I didn’t get it — I was his friend. Both me and his wife would have been denied access to white bathrooms and water fountains. Just because we did not identify with black culture didn’t mean we wouldn’t be exposed to the same bigotry and hatred. What the fuck? It was too much for me to overlook. We haven’t spoken in years.

There was an ugly song I remember from the old neighborhood back in the day. There were two versions:

“A fight, a fight, a nigger and a white, the black don’t win, we all jump in.”

Or,

“A fight, a fight, a nigger and a white, the white don’t win, we all jump in.”

Which one you sang depended on who you were with. Which “us” against which “them?”

I remember, as a teenager, going to the Sunset Park pool in Brooklyn with a bunch of Latino boys. On the way home, there was a group of black kids walking ahead of us. The group I was with, only one of whom was my close friend, started taunting them. They hurled racial epitaphs and threats at the black kids for being in their neighborhood. I was silent and utterly confused.

As a kid, it was actually my one close white friend, Jesse, who was the least racist kid I knew. He might have been the most genuine friend I ever had. I stopped returning his calls because I didn’t trust his friendship. Not because of anything he did — My negative view of myself kept me from believing that he really wanted to be my friend. Why would he? He was from a great family that lived in a beautiful house and valued the things that mattered to me but weren’t for me.

When I hung out with Jesse’s friends, the chip on my shoulder was always ready to bash someone over the head. At a party in some kid’s basement, someone spilled a drink. The host, an Italian kid that I didn’t know, asked me to help clean it up. I told him to go fuck himself. Then he asked me, “What are you?”

The party ended when I dragged him down a staircase and started beating him down before being pulled off and barely escaping the awaiting mob. I am my brother’s brother, after all.

So even though I felt like a Martian in my own neighborhood and knew I wanted better, I didn’t think I belonged on the other side either. I was stuck in this bizarre place where the only role models I had were Roberto Clemente, Eric Estrada and Slater. I never knew anyone else successful that looked like me. At the same time it seemed everyone around me was determined to make sure I never forgot where I belonged.

When I was twelve years old, I refused to attend my zone school because it had a reputation for being the worst in the city. It wasn’t my parents that refused, it was me. I told my mom and dad I would not go to junior high unless they transferred me. What if I hadn’t done that?

As it turns out, the school I ended up going to (because my dad used a friend’s address) was in a good part of town and was the best public education I ever experienced. The work was so advanced that I went from being one of the smartest kids in class to struggling. I actually had to study — something I never had to do much of and found excruciatingly boring. At that new school, I felt like the bad boy. The outcast. The kid that didn’t quite belong and couldn’t keep up.

My grades suffered that year, and when I transferred to a another school, I wasn’t placed in the gifted program for the first time in my scholastic career. I petitioned the principal and pleaded my case, explaining the difficult circumstances of the previous year and promising that I would shine in his “7SP“ class, which got to skip the eight grade and go straight to “9SP” in the fall. Like when I refused to go to that war zone of a school, I once again stood up for my own education. I was thirteen years old.

The work that year was far easier than what I had learned at the other school. I breezed through. The kind of disparity that existed between the two public middle schools I attended is indicative of the subpar education that children of color receive within what is supposed to be one school system. Kids in bad schools aren’t exposed to the same world that their crosstown rivals are and are ill prepared for the reality that awaits — be it a college admissions exam or the job market. Those who do not take it upon themselves to find opportunities for advancement can’t rely on working parents with little time or education to advocate for them. They are left with shitty choices and no one to champion their cause.

The scourge of poverty and racism is further sullied by the structural hierarchy of “shade” in communities of color. In the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass, the trailblazing abolitionist and former slave writes of the preferential treatment lighter slaves received, even among the others in bondage. Proximity to whiteness, then and now, is proximity to power and privilege.

In the late 1700’s, Spain instituted the process of gracias al sacar. Mixed race people could purchase a decree that converted them to white. One such royal decree granted to Cuban Manuel Baez in 1760 says that it erased “the defect that you suffer from birth and leave you able and capable as if you did not have it.” Ain’t that some shit.

Alice Walker coined the term “colorism” in her book, “In Search of Our Mother’s Garden”. She describes “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on color.” Research has shown that skin tone affects the outcome of job interviews, court cases and elections. This is not a secret among people of color. They grow up believing that the whiter they look, the easier they’ll have it.

How does that make a kid feel who wants so badly to get ahead in life but has the mirror, the media and the world outside his window saying he doesn’t stand a chance? As if even after you do all the work and get to the finish line, the tape will be pulled back another few feet each time you stretch to get across. The life you want will be just out of reach, no matter how long or how fast you run.

There has been a delusion among some that because we’ve had a black president, hip hope rules the world and the Rock is the world’s biggest movie star, racism doesn’t exist anymore. There are people of color in positions of power and prestige, but they are few and far between. There just hasn’t been enough time for all the seeds of opportunity that were only planted a generation or two or three ago to compete with those who have seemingly inherited an eternity of racial privilege. Just because so many people fought for and finally earned some basic human rights doesn’t mean the playing field has been leveled.

The destruction of the long standing racial hierarchy is a challenging ongoing project that the world must decide to address together. The perpetuation of negative stereotypes of black and brown people is not only meant to strike fear in every suburban household, but to reinforce in the mind of the oppressed their role in society. Centuries of subjugation have purposefully convinced young men and women of color that they are born with an inherent disadvantage. Then, once their will to fight was clear, the oppressors barked that those they once lorded over should be grateful to simply be out of their chains.

It is up to people of color, whether African American, Latino, West Indian, or any other subdivision of “black” that may exist, to burn down the old models. The carefully calculated lie that “whiteness” is more attractive, desirable or indicative of ability must be deleted from our main frame. We must believe we are just as capable, because we obviously are. We must know that we have the opportunities, even if we have to work harder for them. And we cannot fight among ourselves, to the delight of those that would sooner see us dead, in jail or all together erased from the annals of history.

With dog whistles long having been discarded in favor of bull horns, the paper thin veil has been lifted from our union. In a country already in pieces, further division because of infighting is not something people of color, no matter their shade, can afford.

#race #racism #latino #self esteem #stereotypes #mindset

[crochetawayhpff]

Why are you happy with danish culture being erased? Why is it when a minority of people are light skinned they don’t matter when it comes to representation? (Red heads and their mutated genes make 2-6% of global population). Finally, why are you settling for a reskin and not demanding an african tale be told, hm? . I know you guys are gonna hate the movie when it comes out. Black woman loses voice and needs white man to save her. Yeee you guys are gonna freak.

Oh man, do I feel so privileged! My first Tumblr hate! Thanks, anon!  In reference to your questions. Frankly, the underrepresentation of POC in any sort of mainstream media matters WAY the fuck more than what some white people think. Question: Are you Danish? Because I’m guessing not. I’m guessing the Danish people don’t give a fuck that “one of their stories” is going to be retold with a black actress. “One of their stories” is in quotes because come on, ya’ll. It’s a fucking fairytale. And honestly, the Disney version isn’t even that close to the original anyway. It’s so far away, that it’s basically not the same story at all. In which case, Disney can do whatever the fuck they want with their IP.  Also, let’s talk about how “whiteness” and “white culture” isn’t a thing. I do appreciate you’ve couched this in terms of Danish culture, at least you are trying to hide your racism, but let’s be honest. In America, Irish and Italian people weren’t considered “white” just a hundred years ago. Persian people were considered “white” a hundred years ago and now we consider them East Asian. Whiteness has always been a dumb made-up thing by a bunch of old white men who have sought to disenfranchise others. As for your point on African stories, I agree. There should be more African stories told. But, if Disney and Hollywood want to remake movie after movie because that’s what sells, then why not make the remake with POC? Why not make the world more inclusive rather than less inclusive? That’s what I don’t understand. If you want to push for more African stories told, write a screenplay! Don’t be a desktop warrior.  Anyway, hope you have a great day anon!

[supersekritninjela]

Nawihla

Nawihla By Angela Bouvier-Wood

It took a long time For me to learn what diaspora meant Less time, in fact, than for me to know what it felt like I’m one-sixteenth Abenaki, I’d share Sometimes proudly, sometimes shyly--don’t want them thinking I claim native status, with my Pasty pale skin and Utterly white upbringing One-sixteenth, from my great-grandfather, who Took his stepfather’s name to Protect himself and his children and his children’s children (To protect me) From white man’s derision and scorn and Hate And Murder

One-sixteenth, but I never was Told the stories or Joined in the dances or Heard the language My heritage, a distant, inaccessible legacy One-sixteenth, all I dared claim.

In college I traveled to the other side of the world And the people of that place introduce themselves by saying from whom they come, their tribe We went around a circle introducing ourselves “I am Amanda, and I am Italian” “I am Joe, and I’m Irish and German”

“I am Angela. I’m Irish, English, French, Italian, German, and Native American.”

(Just a regular American mutt, I am, though I never worry what people will think when I call myself Irish or English Or French Italian German)

I spoke with them after. This experience you have described, of your people Facing a flood of whiteness, daring to resist Being erased It is familiar to me It is my great-grandfather’s story and it is Important to me Though I don’t feel I can claim to be Native American I am such a small fraction

They cut me off. It does not matter how much blood you carry. That you carry it is enough. If that is whence your family has come It is a part of you.

My soul wept at the truth of those words.

Still four years passed and I believed it Mattered That I was Native American But I kept it to myself My mother, brother, sister began to learn Basket weaving I was too far from home; I could not join them. I watched from afar as they learned the craft and With it, the stories The lessons They learned to be Abenaki

I was too far from home; I could not join them.

But no one told them that. With every visit, Mother would show me her baskets Tell me the stories she learned over making them Share with me her journey toward understanding that Being Abenaki is not about How distant her relation to the tribe, but How strong her commitment in Heart and soul and spirit and mind To living the traditions and joining in the community Not a relic of history, erased by time A living and breathing culture taking on New shape To suit this modern age, but still Carrying forth the spirit, the memories Of our ancestors

I am Abenaki, she said. Not part Abenaki. Abenaki. And through me, my husband and my children And my children’s children

You are Abenaki, she said To me.

Diaspora Is the dispersion of a people from their land of origin. It feels like not knowing the songs or symbols of your ancestors. It feels like fearing you will be disbelieved Or judged For declaring the truth of your ancestry. It feels like being Too far From home To join them.

I am Abenaki.

N’nawihla. I am going home.

[kamiyu910]

"everything not black or tan as demonic" have you...have you ever watched American TV, movies, or ads? Have you not seen the white actors playing at least 75% of roles? Have you not seen decades of PoC being cast as thugs or magically wise non-characters? Have you not seen reality TV capitalizing on the most stereotypical "black behavior" they can find, editing it to look more extreme when necessary? What reality do you live in

I’m not really sure what post you’re referencing, but…

“at least 75% of roles”

Well looks like they’re under represented then, since white people, including white Hispanics, make up around 79% of the population in the US. (it’s more if you go by Tumblr definitions of white…). If you go by actual stats, black people are over represented based on percentage by population, but Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans are very under represented. If you go by the UK, I believe their white population is over 80%.

Have you noticed that Germans are portrayed as evil villains? Irish are typically low lifes in the mob scene along with the Italians. Don’t get me started on Russians or Greeks. What about people who have really curly hair, freckles, wear glasses? Typically portrayed as the geeky nerd who is good at homework and is forced to change their appearance (like straighten their hair, get contacts, wear makeup). 

Over 90% of the population looks nothing like that Hollywood look, and Hollywood bases everything on stereotypes. Hot blond chick is usually a stupid spoiled brat type, jocks are constantly stereotyped, everything is a stereotype in the majority of things put out. Most things put out are trash.

Back around the 1980′s, I believe it was, this strange idea started infiltrating the black community that doing anything that could be considered white was bad. These days, we hear “education is for white people” all the time being told to these intelligent kids who want to learn. They get picked on for wanting to be taught, or for liking music that isn’t “black” enough. It’s considered bad to be well spoken, even. I watched my friend get ridiculed by his own sister for not speaking “ghetto.” She said he sounded too “white.” He also got picked on for liking poetry.

That is a mindset that yeah, Hollywood kinda has, and it’s hard to say whether or not it’s a product of Hollywood, or that Hollywood is just reacting to it (I think we can make a case for the hip hop, gangster rap culture being a big part of it). There used to be great shows, like Fresh Prince, Family Matters, Big Al, stuff like that, things that encouraged kids to learn and grow and avoid the street life. I don’t know what happened. 

I try very hard to avoid TV these days. I went to college and studied the entertainment industry. I wanted a job in it… but it’s trash. Reality TV is utter tripe. Most of those shows are scripted, even if they pretend not to be. There isn’t anything good and wholesome on. It’s just drama and the more drama the better ratings, it seems. Every show I liked was canceled so I just watch the old stuff like Star Trek, Stargate, Beauty and the Beast (1987), etc. Where people were treated like people, like individuals with their own personalities and not just copy pasted pandering bullshit. Where they had faults and didn’t have to be perfect to be loved.

Movies are recycled garbage. Hollywood has lost its originality. Shape of Water is just Splash. They even brought out Ben Hur again, and it flopped. I hope Hollywood dies. I frankly hate it. It’s full of nepotism, corruption, and greed, with some good people still trying to do right, but that’s hard. Everything is pandering to a very specific crowd, which happens to be a minority, a very privileged minority no less, and they sit in their fancy mansions patting themselves on the back for pretending they’re putting “representation” out there when all their doing is shitting on people.

It’s also very in vogue to shit on white people. I haven’t seen so much racist bullshit in years, and it’s being called “progressive” and shit, like No, my parents fought against this shit, and now y’all are bringing it back like it’s perfectly fine? People are supporting segregation again, so long as it’s white people being excluded. I have a folder that’s full of anti-white headlines where if you change out “white” or “male” for something like Jew, it sounds like nazi propaganda. They’re changing real historical people’s races just to fill a quota, as if that’s somehow cool, instead of showcasing real non-white people who fought against the odds and made something of themselves in history. There are tons of people they could be focusing on, but instead they’d rather erase white people.

They claim they fight for non-white people, but they don’t. They claim to try to make all their precious characters perfect (because if someone ain’t perfect, there’s a shit storm that follows! Oh no, a Valkyrie was portrayed as a raging alcoholic? Heaven forbid!). There is so much hypocrisy, I’m just fucking sick of all of it. I’m sick of people claiming bad stereotypes are good so long as the people are a certain skin color/race. I’m tired of people claiming it’s ok to demonize a certain race, while you can’t even criticize others without a blacklash, I’m tired of the inequality. 

People should treat everyone the same. That’s the world I grew up being told I’d get to live in, and seeing it on TV with everyone treating everyone else like just one of the family, not caring about skin color. I watched shows and read books that had great strong female characters, though the only people who were really ever like me weren’t like me in looks, just the way they acted, their personality… (like Data from Star Trek… sigh). The one show I really related to, the main character was a white male, and they utterly ripped my heart out and stomped on it with how they ended it, and with Michael Clarke Duncan dying shortly after… (the Finder). 

I hate TV. I hate Hollywood. I hate the media and the news. I hope it all burns to the ground and gets replaced by something actually worthwhile. All those privileged untalented fucks shitting out garbage need to go to make room for people who have great story ideas and actually well written characters. Get rid of the shitheads who think they can just dump out some poorly written character and get kudos because oh noes, the character is some sort of minority! Like the fucking Ghostbusters 2016 that they tried to shove down my throat as if it wasn’t a horrible disgrace to all the strong female characters of the past. They can fuck right off. 

#anonynous #anon #I have a fever #I'm tired #I don't give a shit #Hollywood #Hollywood is a dung hill #pile of shit #fuck off right to hell #diversity is a scam these days #it's just cheaply shat out bullshit

[lynfantasy]

Tag game!

Tagged by @honestlyprettychill

Nicknames: Laina, Awesome (from a different username I use sometimes), Lynx, Ness/Nessie (yeah like the monster)

Star Sign: Leo

Last Thing I Googled: ...um... I actually use Bing... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I searched up the location of the nearest post office... yay

Height: 5′ 9″

Time: 6:47pm (when I reached this question... it’s now 7:20pm!)

Favorite Artists: (I’m assuming this means song artists?) Imagine Dragons, OneRepublic, Panic! At the Disco

Birthday: July 25th

Song Stuck in My Head: Twin Skeletons by Fall Out Boy because I just listened to it half an hour ago

Favorite Song Right Now: Believer by Imagine Dragons has been a favorite since the day it came out, but I almost obsessively listen to Girls/Girls/Boys by Panic! At the Disco, so... one of those two

Last Film I Watched: Wolverine: Origins because it happened to be on TV

Last Show I Watched: Voltron

When Did You Create Your Blog: April of 2016, though I only really started interacting with other people in October 2017

What Do You Post: fandom theories, fanfics, meta, usually-fandom-related random thoughts

Do You Have Any Other Blogs: @actually-klancelot because I really, really wanted a healthy Klancelot (Keith x Lance x Lotor) blog to follow, and since nobody else was doing it, I figured I had to do it myself. I also reblog Keitor, Lancelot, and some Klance content there as well as the occasional Lotor art just because

Do You Get Asks: Nnnooo? Very, very rarely, at least. I only remember one or two for this blog, and I’m pretty sure I’ve only had two on the Klancelot one. I’d love to get more, though!

Why Did You Choose Your URL: When I was a little kiddo, I loved making up stories, and my self-insert character was usually (not always, but usually) named Laina or some variation on that. My first online account was LainaFairyGirl, which I adapted over time into LainaFantasyGirl and then, after I started questioning gender-nonbinary, I changed it to LainaFantasy

Favorite Color: When I was little, it was honest-to-goodness pink and purple, then I later switched over to blue, and then I found out that pink, purple, and blue are the colors of the bi flag, so I proudly (hehe) love all three!

Average Hours of Sleep: ...5? I’m bad at sleep schedules, whoops...

Lucky Number: I have a love-hate relationship with the number 7, and my mom’s favorite number is 11, so I usually answer one of those two for this kind of question, but I honestly don’t actually believe in lucky numbers

What Are You Wearing: A blue sweater, a blue fuzzy hat, a Doctor Who TARDIS hoodie, black jeans, and white socks... and yeah, this kind of is my definition of “comfy clothes”. I really don’t have a middle-ground between “at least somewhat presentable” and “pajamas”.

How Many Blankets Do You Sleep With: Thin/fuzzy blankets? At least 2. But I now sleep with a pretty thick comforter that does the job on its own ^-^

Dream Job: I mean, if I could just be a writer, that would be awesome. I don’t know what I’m actually aiming for, though

Dream Trip: Europe, especially Italy and Greece to see all of the ancient stuff there!

Favorite Food: Steak, especially if it’s rare

Nationality: Ummmm, I’m basically everything white, but I know I’m some-percent Irish, some-percent Italian, some-percent Scandinavian, some-percent German??, and a tiny, tiny bit Native American ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It’s easier just to say “American melting pot”

I’ll tag @mang0tree and @zero-eye for this! Anyone else who sees this and is interested is also welcome to join in the fun!

#about me #mod speaks #tag game #not fandom

[narcissusanasui]

all of an 😎

*em. all of em. jesus christ.

god katie, fInE (but thanks, cherie, love yo

1. if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?

Read Les Mis, watch Game of Thrones and Voltron, listen to folk rock (especially Phillip Phillips and Mumford & Sons)

2. have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?

Never really thought about that, but the writing styles of Dickens, Doyle, and Austin always stick in my head so i guess them???

3. list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with.

katie NO, that’s TOO MUCH. so i guess i’ll just give examples of the ones that i have actually thought about relating to:

Katara from A:tla was like THE strong female character of my childhood. Guarantee that she made me a feminist

Lance from Voltron because i spent way too much time like 4th grade through 11th worrying that i was that “seventh wheel” and thinking that i didn’t have a lot of skill and i wanna support my friends so yeah

Yuuri Katsuki from Yuri on Ice. look what the world did to this guy - he’s got anxiety

Ennoshita Chikara from Haikyuu because BOI I ALWAYS GET SHOVED INTO HAVING TO LEAD PEOPLE BUT IT TOOK ME YEARS TO UNDERSTAND IT

Sugawara Koushi from Haikyuu. i am the Mom Friend and i will fight you

4. do you like your name?  is there another name you think would fit you better?

i do like my name. my parents almost named me Colleen - which i don’t think fits, but then again i believe that we all grow to fit our names. i hated my last name as a little kid because no one would say it right (an issue that exists today too) and like when i started elementary school i straight up kept the spelling of it on a piece of paper in my pocket so i wouldnt mess up. now i love it and i think my name flows really well and if i get married i might not change it.

5. do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do?

well i call myself a human being. and while my actions are important to me, thinking too much about what i do and what i couldve done gets me freaked out so instead i sit and just be. i’ll think calmly and exist

6. are you religious/spiritual?

im agnostic - raised Roman Catholic (but even then we werent strict about following it but i did do ccd and my sacraments so yeah). i want to believe that there is something but there just isnt enough solid evidence for me to be comfortable and if there is some god or force or something, i am a minuscule piece of the massive universe and that god wouldnt give a shit so why should they influence my decisions? i love religions tho. they have fascinating history and i love seeing all the similarites because it just shows how so many humans are all so similarly spiritual and through seeing those similarites it makes me feel more spiritual because i know my catholic upbringing shaped me as a person and i know that there has to be a deeper meaning behind the world’s religions being so connected

7. do you care about your ethnicity?

yes. im fifty shades of white, but the larger pieces of my background are the cultures that my family celebrate still today and they are what i identify as. im italian-irish-american with a polish last name and i will eat my cuisine and wear the Callahan family crest and hopefully make it to Avelino someday

8. what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?

i was raised on billy joel and elton john so their music is built into me with such a powerful level of nostalgia that i will feel like im back in my house before we repainted it and replaced the furniture and im dancing like an idiot to crocodile rock at age 4 again. PP and M&S hit my emotions hard since i first heard them, but M&S’s Sigh No More album will forever equal driving to chicago because we played that album and only that album the. whole. time. except at night because thats when billy joel comes out

9. are you an artist?

at the most basic definition yes. i make art for fun and relaxation through music and writing and doodling and crafts

10. do you have a creed?

i just want to be content with my life when i die. i want to know that i loved and supported people the best i could. so i guess always put the family first (family being whoever i deem to be in that category). and don’t be an asshole.

11. describe your ideal day.

not too hot or cold, like the temperature fall shouldve been. hiking a trail or mountain with changing leaves, watch some of my favorite shows, go to one of my favorite small restaurants.

12. dog person or cat person?

cat.

13. inside or outdoors?

inside

14. are you a musician?

yes

15. five most influential books over your lifetime.

stoppppppp. Tale of Two Cities, Catch-22, Pride & Prejudice, Night, To Kill a Mockingbird

16. if you’d grown up in a different environment, do you think you’d have turned out the same?

nope. i grew up 30-60 minutes from some of the most important locations in american history. went to them way too many times as a kid so then when i was a teen i just snapped like “wait some people only come here once in their lives and thats why we have so many annoying tourists! because this kind of stuff ISNT NORMAL?!” and now im a history major so yeah

17. would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”?

almost. i cant really be fully myself because that involves way too much of my personal life and im scared of accidentally pissing people off on the internet so there is a little bit more filter here

18. what’s your patronus?

i actually dont know because i lost my pottermore login forever ago so i never actually did that quiz

19. which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle?

im ravenclaw with hufflepuff as my secondary, so im a ravenpuff, but ravenclaw is totally my main

20. would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else?

Hogwarts or the world of Avatar (not the blue people one) - like after war when everything is chill and magical

21. do you love easily?

when i get attached to someone, good luck getting rid of me, im here for the long haul, so yes

22. list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.

listening to music, thinking about fictional stories i want to write, reading, watching videos, actually writing (whether that be my journal or my fiction or hw)

23. how often would you want to see your family every year?

as much as possible

24. have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld” with someone?

as when i felt perfectly in sync talking to someone? yes with my history prof and with my father

25. could you live as a hermit?

im an introvert but id miss my loved ones too much

26. how would you describe your gender/sexuality?

im cis female and im asexual (somewhere on the spectrum), my romantic attraction is something im still figuring out

27. do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”?

katie considering you figured me out basically on sight, yes

28. on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it for someone to get under your skin?

5 or 6?

29. three songs that you connect with right now.

“Africa” by Toto because it’s still in my head. “Float On” by Modest Mouse. “Sound of Change” by Dirty Head.

30. pick one of your favorite quotes.

“I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable. I am an original.” - said by Aaron Burr in Hamilton

katie i shouldve been finishing my essay

I would say send me a number but this is done now lol so go reblog it and join the fun

#bimikes. asks #katie #bimikes

[clothestop]

Women In History

I grew up believing that women had contributed nothing to the world until the 1960′s. So once I became a feminist I started collecting information on women in history, and here’s my collection so far, in no particular order. 

Lepa Svetozara Radić (1925–1943) was a partisan executed at the age of 17 for shooting at German soldiers during WW2. As her captors tied the noose around her neck, they offered her a way out of the gallows by revealing her comrades and leaders identities. She responded that she was not a traitor to her people and they would reveal themselves when they avenged her death. She was the youngest winner of the Order of the People’s Hero of Yugoslavia, awarded in 1951

23 year old Phyllis Latour Doyle was British spy who parachuted into occupied Normandy in 1944 on a reconnaissance mission in preparation for D-day. She relayed 135 secret messages before France was finally liberated. 

Catherine Leroy, War Photographer starting with the Vietnam war. She was taken a prisoner of war. When released she continued to be a war photographer until her death in 2006.

Lieutenant Pavlichenko was a Ukrainian sniper in WWII, with a total of 309 kills, including 36 enemy snipers. After being wounded, she toured the US to promote friendship between the two countries, and was called ‘fat’ by one of her interviewers, which she found rather amusing. 

Johanna Hannie “Jannetje” Schaft was born in Haarlem. She studied in Amsterdam had many Jewish friends. During WWII she aided many people who were hiding from the Germans and began working in resistance movements. She helped to assassinate two nazis. She was later captured and executed. Her last words were “I shoot better than you.”. 

Nancy wake was a resistance spy in WWII, and was so hated by the Germans that at one point she was their most wanted person with a price of 5 million francs on her head. During one of her missions, while parachuting into occupied France, her parachute became tangled in a tree. A french agent commented that he wished that all trees would bear such beautiful fruit, to which she replied “Don’t give me any of that French shit!”, and later that evening she killed a German sentry with her bare hands. 

After her husband was killed in WWII, Violette Szabo began working for the resistance. In her work, she helped to sabotage a railroad and passed along secret information. She was captured and executed at a concentration camp at age 23. 

Grace Hopper was a computer scientist who invented the first ever compiler. Her invention makes every single computer program you use possible. 

Mona Louise Parsons was a member of an informal resistance group in the Netherlands during WWII. After her resistance network was infiltrated, she was captured and was the first Canadian woman to be imprisoned by the Nazis. She was originally sentenced to death by firing squad, but the sentence was lowered to hard lard labor in a prison camp. She escaped. 

Simone Segouin was a Parisian rebel who killed an unknown number of Germans and captured 25 with the aid of her submachine gun. She was present at the liberation of Paris and was later awarded the ‘croix de guerre’. 

Mary Edwards Walker is the only woman to have ever won an American Medal of Honor. She earned it for her work as a surgeon during the Civil War. It was revoked in 1917, but she wore it until hear death two years later. It was restored posthumously. 

Italian neuroscientist won a Nobel Prize for her discovery of nerve growth factor. She died aged 103. 

EDIT

jinxedinks added: Her name was Rita Levi-Montalcini. She was jewish, and so from 1938 until the end of the fascist regime in Italy she was forbidden from working at university. She set up a makeshift lab in her bedroom and continued with her research throughout the war.  

A snapshot of the women of color in the woman’s army corps on Staten Island

This is an ongoing project of mine, and I’ll update this as much as I can (It’s not all WWII stuff, I’ve got separate folders for separate achievements). 

File this under: The History I Wish I’d Been Taught As A Little Girl

[blackhistoryday]

Hate it or Love it: 50 quotes from MLK that white people can use besides ‘hate cannot drive out hate’

Every year around Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone likes to drop an inspirational quote from Dr. King. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a multifaceted philosopher and an amazing orator with a plethora of accessible speeches, sermons and books; yet, somewhere along the way it seems as if a rule was created, restricting white people to one quote in particular:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

I don’t know the reason behind the restriction; perhaps because this is one of the better quotes to try to push the “I don’t see color; we’re one race – the human race” agenda. Or perhaps the darkness and the light can be used to represent black and white and thus play into the white savior movement. Whatever the reason may be! BlackHistoryDay.tumblr.com is here today to give you 50 quotes from Dr. King that I encourage you to keep in mind for your future references:

1. “No movement of essentially revolutionary quality can be neat and tidy.”

2. “The only answer that one can give to those who would question the readiness of the Negro for integration is that the standards of the Negro lag behind at times not because of an inherent inferiority, but because of the fact that segregation and discrimination do exist.” 

3. “There is no more torturous logic than to use the tragic effects of segregation as an argument for its continuation.”

4. “It is one of the ironies of history that in a nation founded on the principle that all men are created equal, we’re still arguing over whether the color of a man’s skin determines the content of his character.”

5. “There comes a time, my friends, when people get tired of being plunged across the abyss of humiliation, where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair. There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November.”

6. “There are some things that we’ve got to learn to sacrifice for. And we’ve got to come to the point that we are determined not to accept a lot of things that we have been accepting in the past.” 

7. “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality…”

8. “We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are all tied together… you can’t really get rid of one without getting rid of the others… the whole structure of American life must be changed. America is a hypocritical nation and [we] must put [our] own house in order.”

9. “What good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter if you can’t afford to buy a hamburger?” 

10. “Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments.”

11. “If we will but make the right choice, we will be able to speed up the day, all over America and all over the world, when justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

12. “That the poor white has been put into this position, where through blindness and prejudice, he is forced to support his oppressors. And the only thing he has going for him is the false feeling that he’s superior because his skin is white—and can't hardly eat and make his ends meet week in and week out.” 

13. “Through our scientific and technological developments we have lifted our heads to the skies, and yet our feet are still firmly planted in the muck of barbarism and racial hatred. Indeed this is America's chief moral dilemma.”

14. “To keep a group of people confined to nasty slums and dirty hovels is not a State Right, but a State Wrong.”

15. “It may be true that morals cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated.”

16. “It may be true that laws and federal action cannot change bad internal attitudes, but they can control the external effects of those internal attitudes.”

17. “The law may not be able to make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me.”

18. “Even this nation came into being with a massive act of law breaking; for what implied more civil disobedience than the Boston tea party…there’s nothing new about law breaking.”

19. “God has brought us here for this hour to tell us to save America because our white brothers is carrying it more and more to destruction and damnation.”

20. “We’re called to do it so that means we can’t stop. This should make us more determined than ever before.”

21. “Now they always tell us to cool off and I know that when you get people cooling off too much they will end up in a deep freeze. They tell us to slow up and some of them even say that the Negros in Albany out to go home and be quiet because there’s a political campaign going on and you may help elect some particular candidate that shouldn’t be in office. Well I don’t know if you have an answer for them and I don‘t know if I have an absolute answer but I want to say to those who are telling us to stop merely because a political campaign is going on that this is a moral issue for us. We’re moving on towards freedom’s land. We cannot stop our legitimate aspirations for freedom merely because some immoral person will use this for his own political aggrandizements…”

22. “We worked in this very nation 2 centuries without wages. We made cotton king; we built our homes and the homes of our masters in the midst of injustice and exploitation. Yet out of a bottomless vitality we continue to grow and to live and if the inexpressible cruelties of slavery didn’t stop us, the opposition that we now face cannot stop us.”

23. “The absence of brutality and unregenerate evil is not the presence of justice.”

24. “As the nation passes from opposing extremist behavior to the deeper and more pervasive elements of equality, white america reaffirms its bonds to the status quo.”

25. “Whites, it must frankly be said, are not putting in a similar mass effort to reeducate themselves out of their racial ignorance.”

26. “It is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe they have so little to learn.”

27. “To find the origins of the Negro problem we must turn to the white man’s problem.”

28. “It seems to be a fact of life that human beings cannot continue to do wrong without eventually reaching out for some rationalization to clothe their acts in the garments of righteousness.”

29. “The greatest blasphemy of the whole ugly process was that the white man ended up making God his partner in the exploitation of the Negro.”

30. “Just as the ambivalence of white Americans grows out of their oppressor status, the predicament of Negro Americans grows out of their oppressed status.”

31. “Negroes have grown accustomed now to hearing unfeeling and insensitive whites say: ‘other immigrant groups such as the Irish, the Jews and the Italians started out with similar handicaps, and yet they made it. Why haven’t the Negroes done the same?’ These questioners refuse to see that the situation of other immigrant groups a hundred years ago and the situation of the Negro today cannot be usefully compared.”

32. “The Negro was crushed, battered and brutalized, but he never gave up. He proves again that life is stronger than death.”

33. “A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard. It is the desperate, suicidal cry of one who is so fed up with the powerlessness of his cave existence that he asserts that he would rather be dead than ignored.”

34. “What is needed today on the part of white America is a committed altruism which recognizes this truth.”

35. “True altruism is more than the capacity to pity; it is the capacity to empathize. Pity is feeling sorry for someone; empathy is feeling sorry with someone. Empathy is fellow feeling for the person in need— his pain, agony and burdens.” 

36. “I can never be who I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made.”

37. “True education helps us on the one hand to know truth, but more than that it helps us to love truth and sacrifice for it. It gives us not only knowledge, which is power, but wisdom, which is control.”

38. “If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.”

39. “We will move out of these mountains that have so often impeded our progress, the mountain of moral and ethical relativism, the mountain of practical materialism, the mountain of corroding hatred, bitterness and violence, and the mountain of racial segregation.”

40. “…Always have faith in the possibility of getting over to the Promised Land. Don’t become a pessimist and feel that we cannot get there; it is difficult sometimes, it is hard sometimes, but always have faith that the Promised Land can be achieved and that we can possess this land of brotherhood and peace and understanding.”

41. “An individual who is not concerned about his selfhood and his freedom is at that moment committing moral and spiritual suicide…”

42. “But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

43. “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

44. “Many people fear nothing more terribly than to take a position which stands out sharply and clearly from the prevailing opinion.”

45. “Many sincere white people in the south privately oppose segregation and discrimination, but they are apprehensive lest they be publicly condemned.”

46. “’Do not conform’ is difficult advice in a generation when crowd pressures have unconsciously conditioned our minds and feet to move to the rhythmic drum beat of the status quo.”

47. “This tragic attempt to give moral sanction to an economically profitable system gave birth to the doctrine of white supremacy.”

48. “Unlike physical blindness that is usually inflicted upon individuals as a result of natural forces beyond their control, intellectual and moral blindness is a dilemma which man inflicts upon himself by his tragic misuse of freedom and his failure to use his mind to its fullest capacity.”

49. “Only through the bringing together of head and heart-intelligence and goodness shall man rise to a fulfillment of his true nature.”

50. “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

Enjoy.

#BlackHistoryDay

[luckycharmer]

Well I guess I'm answering all of them! @yaoi-hime @thefantastickatinator

sorry for taking so long with this, it was a lot of facts to gather ;v ;

Purple: 10 facts about my room

it's kinda small

it was originally painted pink, we painted it white when we moved in

I don't like the plain white walls, so I covered them in posters and mementos

I get a great view of the moon at night

I have those glow-in-the-dark star stickers on my ceiling

it's one of the most brightly lit rooms in the house (with just sunlight)

my closet is about half stuffed animals, half clothes

it's been my bedroom for about 17 years

the wall between mine and my brother's is very thin, and he talks in his sleep, so I hear him mumbling all the time

the only tv I've ever had in my room is an old portable tv/vhs player that we would bring on car trips. it's only set up to play vhs movies, but it's a great setup for watching Disney movies!

Blue: 9 facts about my family

my brother is 3 years younger than me, but people always assume we're twins

a few years ago my dad remarried so now I also have a step mom, brother, and sister

I have a great-uncle Mike, an uncle Mike, a cousin Mike (who married into the family), and my brother is also Mike

I'm still trying to memorize the names of my extended family (there's a lot...)

my paternal grandfather fought in WWII (he got married/had kids after he came home)

there's a gene on my mom's side that gives the women 2 webbed toes. my mom, aunt, grandma, and cousin (only male to get it) all have it on one foot, I have it on both!

my brother got a tattoo before I did and I'm still envious

apparently there's an old german beer company that goes by my surname??? I've yet to find more info on it

my mom always mixes up mine and my aunts names when we're all together

Green: 8 facts about my appearance

my eyes are officially brown, but they are actually hazel (there are little touches of green if you look closely)

my skin tone is really fair, and I don't tan easily

I have a few select freckles I consider my favorites

I love my brown hair, but I wish it were easier to dye it light colors without bleaching

I'm not exactly short, but I'm only about chest-height to my bro (he gives the best hugs!)

a few haircuts I've gotten were inspired by favorite characters

when it hits, the thing that I get most dysphonic about is my hip/waist ratio (wider hips are nice for dresses, but the rest of the time is uughh)

I want to get tattoos as soon as I can afford it

Yellow: 7 facts about my childhood

until a few years ago, my dad and I rode his motorcycle to an orchard every fall to get fresh apple cider

when I was really little, I would watch The Aristocats over and over all the time

the first pet I remember was a big black lab/newfoundland mix named Nikki. I would use him like a pillow when I was a baby

I wanted to be a marine biologist or zoologist when I grew up

I never got the "where babies come from" talk because I liked to check out anatomy books from the library

my mom made me learn to sew by making me help her mend socks

my favorite sandwich for lunch was (and still is) salami on bread and folded in half

Orange: 6 facts about my hometown

it's called "Middletown" because it's halfway between Washington DC and Philadelphia

it used to have dozens of peach orchards, so every summer we have the Peach Festival (and I hate peaches ;v ; )

The Dead Poets Society was shot at our historic Everett Theater and St. Andrew's School (along with other cities in Delaware)

the first winner of Ink Masters has his home-shop on Main St

it's quickly becoming more suburban and less rural :(

it's got some great fishing and hunting spots, or so I've been told

Red: 5 facts about my best friend

I actually have 2 best friends, 3 if I count my brother  

my first best friend and I met when I moved into my current home (when I was about 5). we've known each other for so long and are so close I consider her a sister

my second bestie and I met in our freshman year of high school

she introduced me to the world of conventions and cosplay

all 3 of our birthdays are in October

Pink: 4 facts about my parents

my dad is half Irish, half German. my mom is ~3/4 Italian, with some German and Dutch

my dad used to play in a coverband, I remember hearing him practice playing the guitar for hours

my mom was super excited when I turned 21 because she couldn't wait to take me to wine-tastings, like she did with her mom and sister

my step-mom has a pontoon. before I met her I didn't know what a pontoon was

White: 3 facts about my personality

I'm afraid of confrontation

whenever anything bad happens to me/someone else I always try to point out the positives

I put on a show of confidence in public but I'm actually incredibly shy

Grey: 2 facts about my favorite things

if there is a soft thing there is a 95% chance I will buy it, bonus points if I can wear or cuddle it

I will always point out if something is a pretty/interesting color before anything else

Black: 1 fact about the person I like

we haven't gotten to talk much since we returned from our study abroad classes, even though we share a class this semester TTv TT

#ask meme #reply #anon reply

[newagesispage]

                                                                        JULY              2020

PAGE RIB

Tammy Duckworth or Stacey Abrams for VP PLEASE!!!!! Thus is one of the most important Vice Presidential picks ever. Since Biden was not the first choice for a lot of people, I think many want to see if at least he will make good choices for the slots he must fill around him.** Shut up Klobuchar, nobody was going to make you VP, why do U need more spotlight?

*****

Hooray for the LBGTQ community! The Supreme Court has ruled that a human can’t be fired because of sexual orientation or gender identity.** On the down side, the Trump administration overturned protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care. It now defines gender as a person’s biological sex.**Also, Single sex homeless shelters can turn away our trans friends. ** The Supreme Court also ruled that Trump is blocked from ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival.** Another court ruling struck down the Louisiana law that had never really went into effect.  The rule was to make Dr.’s register with hospitals. Next up: The Court is taking on the issue of Trump’s tax returns.

*****

You have to check out Kubrick.life. It is fab!!

*****

The reason there’s never been a Rolling Stones musical is that it’s so hard to find a casting director without sin. –Gary Delaney

*****

Native Americans are set to protest Trump’s visit to Mt. Rushmore for the 4th.

*****

AP Bio is moving to Peacock.

*****

Great to see Search Party back for season 3 now on HBO max.

*****

The Brockmire jacket is on display now at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

*****

Hooray for Pete Davidson and his basement living. Times have changed and families are living together again, often because financially, they have no choice. ** Pete and Colin Jost will star in worst man.** Jost also has a memoir, A very Punchable Face, on the way. He will also star in a live action/animated Tom and Jerry.

*****

Days alert: I think Brady is beyond redemption. ** I am always so glad when Lucas or Wilhelm come back!!!!!** Jack and Jen need a story! **I hope Sarah gets over her shit and runs to Xander before he starts acting like a thug again.** Marci Miller is on the way back. ** The Daytime Emmy’s were held on June 26. There were wins for Ellen, The View, Heather Tom and Sesame Street.  Days did not fare too well this year but did honor Olivia Rose Keegan. ** So glad to some returns for Eli’s wedding!!!

*****

Can’t wait for the film, Never too late. The Michael Lembeck directed project stars Ellen Burstyn, James Caan, Ann-Margret, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, Christopher Lloyd and French Stewart.

*****

Other Countries are starting to ban us from travel in theirs because of our rampant covid-19.** The WH wants to end Federal funding for testing and research in parts of the country.** 1.4 billion in taxpayer $ went to aid dead people since the Government did not check death records.** Kid Rock’s bar had their liquor license revoked for covid-19 violations.** There are so many spoiled rotten Americans who seem to care nothing for the safety of others and only their own “rights.” People are dying, how long do we ignore the crazy people?? Can we stop harassing law abiding minorities and protestors and start arresting those that refuse to wear a mask? Thank you to the Governors, like JB Pritzker who have been level headed and kept us safe

*****

I am so looking forward to I’ll be gone in the dark. We miss you Michelle McNamara..

*****

Ozark will come back for a 4th and final season!!!!!

*****

“Shaming doesn’t lead to learning.” –Willow Smith

*****

I wanna see a buddy movie with Amy Sedaris and Amber Ruffin!!! Wouldn’t that be delightful?? They could be besties running a shop or estranged sisters or long lost cousins. I just think they would have great chemistry.** At least we can look forward to the Amber Ruffin show which has been in the works for a year, coming to Peacock!

*****

The RNC had not updated its platform since 2016. Their site said “the current administration has abandoned American friends and rewarded its enemies.”** The much touted Oklahoma rally was a complete dud. Word is that campaign manager Brad Parscale and Jared are getting most of the blame. They and the secret service are reportedly in quarantine now. Next, Mr. Brilliant was off to the equally intelligent Dream City Church in Arizona. The mega church said that they had installed an air filtration system that kills 99,9 % of the Corona virus in 10 minutes.  Their FB page soon took that statement down. **  “Still the most believable thing that’s ever been said in a mega church.” –Stephen Colbert. The administration uses the lag time between exposure and test results. By the time these crowds of people may start to test positive, Trump will have moved on and take no blame. ** It seems all that has been accomplished since Scary Clown 45 took office is angst. From reporters to Doctors to politicians to the public there have been disagreements and turmoil. Behind the scenes, however, the agendas being pushed thru are trampling all over our rights.

*****

The Government has purged 174 thousand fake accounts that originated in China.

*****

Studies show that cop shows make us believe that police are mostly good and mostly break the rules only for really bad perps. 21% of the public interact with police on a regular basis. Can we not separate fact from fiction?

*****

Paul McCartney is pretty pissed at the Italian government after they gave no refunds to fans for a cancelled concert. ** A story that turned out to be a non-story is Penny Lane. Someone wrote ‘racist’ above the famous Penny Lane sign because they thought the street was named for slave trader James Penny. It turns out that this had been researched before and this is not a true story .  The street was originally Pennies street and had no connection.

*****

Jimmy Kimmel is taking a couple of months off.  Guest hosts will pop up in July. He has had some backlash from old blackface controversy and some questionable interviews.

*****

What we’ve seen now is how fragile a democracy is. –Sherilyn Ifill

*****

70% of companies have cancelled internships. The rich have gotten a lot richer.

*****

Hooray for the young! Many are volunteering for the Corona virus trials in which they will have to be given the virus.** What a wonderful world it would be if we could all get along and play fair and help each other. Why do some so hate that idea?

*****

Army for Trump.com???? Did he get this idea from Gene Simmons????** People are starving, there is unrest in the streets, protesters beaten, racial inequality, over 110thousand dead to a virus and Trump wants a military parade for the 4th of July??? WTF?? The people of Washington are not too happy as they ponder the weight of tanks ruining their streets.

*****

Why does Trump talk of his love of Police and yet in Dallas he did not have the Police Chief, the Sheriff or the DA at his event?

*****

The Senate armed services committee has adopted an amendment to remove the names of confederate General from military assets within 3 years. ** Traitors statues are being removed. Will the faces of slave owners on currency be next???** Princeton is taking Woodrow Wilson’s name off of the school. ** Why do we even have to take flags, statues and imagery from Naval ships and the halls of our Government buildings?? They should have been removed long ago.** We do not live in a country to which Braxton Bragg, Henry L. Benning or Robert E. Lee can serve as an inspiration. –Gen. David Patraeus**Perhaps Scary Clown could just be President of the Confederacy since they seem to want it miss it. Is it time to secede and this time, just let them go??** Free speech is very important in this country and those who want confederate flags on personal property should be able to. It is good to know who the traitors are. Things do not change, from parading the possible communists to Japanese internment to Native Americans to the Irish, the Jewish, to Black lives matter. The uninformed, the bully’s and the haters just seem to need someone to blame for their problems.

*****

Dolly Parton and Nina West will sell products which declare, “Kindness is Queen.”  The sales will fund Imagination Library and Nina West foundation.

*****

This month in “alleged” creep news : Actor Danny Masterson has been charged with 3 counts of rape.** Chris D’Elia is accused of sexual harassment and grooming under aged women. **Justin Beiber is accused of sexual assault from 2014.** Ron Jeremy has been charged with the rape of 3 women and sexually assaulting another. His bail is 6.6 mil.** Mythbuster’s host Adam Savage has had a lawsuit filed against him by his sister, Miranda Pacchiana for sexual abuse.** The Weinstein global settlement is 46.7 mil.

*****

There is word that they may replace Tennessee’s statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest with Dolly Parton. That is pretty good thinking!!

*****

Don’t worry about those confederate statues being torn down. They’re getting what they always wanted: Out of America.** I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down.  They are a form of white supremacy. –Shaun King

*****

Slavery is still legal by way of the industrial prison complex and privatized prison systems. –Wolfe the Chef

*****

Trump has a half billion in loans coming due. –Mother Jones

*****

Perhaps Trump thinks between, the protests, the Covid and the cop killings, many of those against him will just die off. Moscow Mitch and the boys are right there with him. Bill Maher would call it the red wall of silence. Next up to kill us off: the draft?

*****

The Senate armed services committee has adopted an amendment to remove the names of Confederate Generals from military assets within 3 years.

*****

Trump signs executive order renaming the Pearl Harbor memorial, ‘Fort Yamamto.’ –Danny Zuker

*****

Asst. Secretary of State for legislative affairs, Mary Elizabeth Taylor is out.

*****

Let us never forget the name Darnella Frasier, the 17 year old girl who took video of George Floyd’s murder.

*****

Hollywood never told us that 1 in 3 cowboys back in the day were black. Legend has it that the Lone Ranger was based on one of those very cowboys by the name of Bass Reeves.

*****

Nascar has banned the confederate flag from events thanks to Bubba Wallace, the first black driver in 50 years to win one of the top 3 National touring series.  He has introduced his new #43 Chevy which  states Black Lives Matter with  black and white fists clasped with the caption, “Compassion, love and understanding.” Fans were asked in 2015 to stop with the flag but many ignored the request. Driver Ray Ciccarelli says that he will leave at the end of the season.  Kyle Larson was suspended from Nascar and fired by his team for a racial slur during a streaming event. Kyle Weatherman unveiled a blue lives matter flag car with the slogan “Back the Blue.”** Why was taking a knee so bad? The NFL says they made a mistake. This country is so slow to change which is why we must keep the pressure on.  To focus on punishment after and not prevention of these crimes is a huge mistake.** The June 21 race was delayed for rain but it will be remembered for the plane that flew overhead with a confederate flag that declared ‘Defund Nascar’ and a noose that was found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace. The next day at the postponed race, the other drivers walked Wallace to the front. It was something to see.  Mike Skinner’s son, Dustin wrote, “My hat is off to who put the noose at his car. I wish they would of tied it to him and drug him around the pits.” **The next day the FBI declared that the noose was just a garage pull that had been there for months. WTF???? The right has gone crazy with clever turns of phrase like, ‘fake noose.’ Was it an honest mistake?  I suppose these things can happen when everybody gets jumpy . The crew member that found it asked others what they thought so it wasn’t lie they jumped to conclusions. It was Talladega that should have known. Mike Skinner’s son,

*****

Trump began his term promising to build a wall to protect America from the world. He ends it building a wall to protect himself from Americans. – Nick Confessore

*****

The Dems are happy to let Biden stay safe at home. Journalist Jonathon Lemore mentioned that with all the polls, mishandlings and faux pas from Trump, he may want to change the nickname he has given from sleepy Joe to President –elect Joe. Not so fast, we know the die-hards will not give up even in this ‘Trump fatigue’ slide, but voting is happening in record numbers.

*****

A judge has ruled that children must be released from the detention centers after 20 days.

*****

It has been reported that Scary Clown found out in March that Russia offered Afgan militants bounties to kill US troops. Once a traitor, always a traitor. Of course he supports confederate traitors.

*****

The Georgia Secretary of State spent $400thousand on a commercial. He wanted to pat himself on the back for buying new voting machines.**The Republican party is reportedly spending $20 million to hire people to intimidate voters that they call ‘pollwatchers.’

*****

Blue Apron will close facilities on Election day and give employees a paid day off. Anybody else wanna step up?

*****

Raven Symone married Miranda Maday.

*****

Michelle Williams and hubby Thomas Kail had a baby.

*****

There are no good cops as long as there are bad cops.** With all the insanity, Marianne Williamson sounds pretty good right now.

*****

If you have not seen this Trump coloring book that sells for $20, it is something to see. He looks like a super hero which seems like just one more step to dictator.

*****

AG Barr told the US attorney for the Southern District of NY, Richard Berman that he was stepping down but he refused.  Barr then said that Trump was removing him. Trump says he has nothing to do with it. Have we ever heard of a bigger coward?

*****

I suppose it is too much to ask but I hope the people who still don’t get what is going on in this country will pay attention and at least try to understand. There are such intelligent points being made and we need to listen. I will share many of those with you. U may have seen a lot of these for yourself but I wanted to highlight some wonderful words.  Slavery, minimum wage, payday loans, can you blame the few looters? Some may be protesters but most are profiteers . Corporate America does not keep a lot of their promises so many feel they have no deal with these people. Most of the protests are peaceful so leave them alone. When the police go after innocent people who assemble, they prove the point that the force is out of control.  It is time to demilitarize and defund the police. Changing policy is nice and all but there are still many cases and those officers remain on the job. ** The protests are about a lot more than George Floyd.** Is this true that some police are covering their badge numbers and names?? Why wouldn’t a person want to serve and protect instead of being so covert? They are proving the point of the protests.

*****

It’s Boogaloo, not Antifa.

*****

James Bodenstedt, CEO of Muy who has stake in many Wendy’s, Taco Bell and Pizza Huts has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Trump campaign. ** Defund Tucker Carlson, let’s keep an eye on all who advertise on FOX and boycott those. Disney and T mobile have pulled out. I cannot believe Disney was showing ads on there anyway but they claim that it was some 3rd party ad buyer and they did not know. In return, Tucker is telling his listeners about the nasty companies that support Black Lives Matter. ** Why have so many of the Fox employees and their frequent guests been arrested?** I suppose many republicans are quite happy that the Federal government is doing next to nothing to help its citizens. They often scream that they do not want the government involved and we should all be on our own.

*****

Oh Joy, to wake up and see that The Politician S2 was up! Woo Hoo!! I saw a review in the Reporter that stated , ”Nor does it have anything vaguely insightful to say.”  Well I enjoyed it , mostly due to the wonderful Bette Midler, Judith Light, Joe Morton and the fashion!! Not everything needs a message. There is some outright preaching and a few clever lessons here though.  The last episode could have been better but the line about the older generation and game theory really hit home. Not only do older generations think different, we were taught different. Computers can confound them, gaming can confuse them. Of course, this does not include everyone. But it does seem that the logic we use is just different.  As far as season 2 though, sometimes you just want to watch something delicious and ornery FUN!!

*****

Givers beware: Many have been finding out that when they donate to the Black Lives Matter Foundation, it is not the Black Lives Matter movement. Do your research!

*****

I saw a point from a talking head that answered the question of why do blacks keep killing each other? She wondered if people have seen the ID channel which is whites killing each other every day. There seems much plotting and hiding on these shows and somehow they get away with it for so long. I myself have seen much violence in my own family.

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North Carolina would not let the RNC hold its big night there because of restrictions. West Virginia Gov. Justice welcomed Trump to have it the convention there and in fact invited any President there but not Obama. Scary Clown went with Florida.** A white hate group opened a FB page to pose as ANTIFA.

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Scary clown 45 can’t legally employ army against citizens. He declared a dictatorship. –John Cusack** Never forget: Posse Camatatis: The President can’t use the military as his own posse. The insurrection act is the exception if there is an ongoing problem and the Governor has to invite them in.** It is confusing in D.C. for there are secret service, local and Federal all vying for jurisdiction. There is also the ‘correctional police force.’ The AG is combining multiple forces like the DEA, military police, prison and National Guard. Huh? It is time to make D.C. a state. ** After his big show of force for his Bible day, he sent most military leaders back to their home bases.** General Milley has apologized for being a part of the photo op.

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Intel reports show that Russia is so happy with their plan to destroy us from within. It has worked like a charm!** Many in China are saying that Trump is a godsend because he is ruining the rep of the U.S.** It is quite sad to hear leaders and journalists from around the world reporting that America’s time has passed and is no longer a super power.

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He desecrates the Bible. He desecrates a Christian church and he desecrates the Presidency. Shame. –James J. Zogby** The Episcopal Bishop of DC who oversees the DC church that the President stopped at to hold up his book, was outraged. Neither she nor the rector was asked or told that they would be clearing peaceful protesters with force and smoke bombs or that one of their churches would be used as a prop. ** A truly sacrilegious use of the Bible to bless a brutal stunt. –Michael Gerson, GW Bush speechwriter

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Trump has asked CNN to apologize for a poll that claimed that Biden was winning. Fox had a similar poll so WTF?

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Oh no, I see that Loews gave 25 mil to help minority owned business’s while Home Depot gave 7 mil to Trump. I have my own issues with service at Loews in the past and good things to say about the Depot. Thus does make one think.

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White supremacists and racist terrorists pose a greater risk of violence. –FBI

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Judge Jed S. Rakoff has declared ICE’s policy of courthouse arrests to be illegal.

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He who is reluctant to recognize me opposes me. –Frantz Fanon

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ABC senior executive Barbara Fedida is on administrative leave after allegations of racial remarks and insensitive comments.

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Kristen Wiig and Ari Rothman had twins.

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The Hollywood walk of fame is adding Kelly Clarkson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dom McLean, Zac Efron, Shia LaBeouf, Missy Elliott, Luciano Pavarotti and August Wilson.

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Holland Taylor and PBS have brought us Ann. The Tony nominated play is about Governor Ann Richards.

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North Korea has recently added enough material for 20 more nukes. While we are distracted, Kim Yo-Jung, Un’s sister had come front and center. She has said, it’s time “to break ties with South Korea.”

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Employees had told me that Costco samples were a thing of the past but it looks like they are coming back.

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A new book about Melania, which she calls fiction is here. There are many stories inside like how Ivanka calls her step mother, The portrait because she never smiles. ** A Trump niece, Mary L. Trump has also written a tell all. The courts have it held up at the moment. ** A judge denied an injunction to block Bolton’s book. Did he think he would be a savior because he says he is telling the truth NOW?

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A judge had to order Mnuchin to give $679 mil in emergency covid-19 relief funds to Native tribes.** Be aware- Covid tests are free but they sometimes test for flus first and they are not always covered. This happened to Katie Porter.

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“There isn’t a coronavirus second wave.”- Mike Pence. This is also a man who once wrote ,”smoking doesn’t kill.”

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Save the Merit System Protection Bureau!!  The backlog gets bigger and bigger and will cost the taxpayers more and more.

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The U.S. now faces allegations of human rights abuse because of treatment of protesters.** Private jet companies got $300 million in bailout $. What about small business?** Bullfighters in Spain have asked for Government help since they can’t kill their bulls.

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It is such a shame that George P. Bush (who I once thought could steer the Republican Party back) is solidly in the Trump camp. Yikes!!

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Doug Mills won the WH correspondents Association photo of the year for the Pelosi clap pic from the State of the Union.

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The ACLU has filed suit against Minnesota police for ‘targeting’ journalists.

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How can the black community dismantle a problem they did not create? – James Corden

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Mississippi voted to remove the confederate emblem from the state flag.

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I swear if I ever hear Stephen Colbert talk about his hair again, I will scream!! The rest of us need haircuts too.  I wish he would stop whining about it before he turns to the “dark times” of the day. But hugs for Colbert though for his Bolton interview. It is pretty sad when a comic minded talk show host digs deeper in an interview than the news pundits. The jack ass needs to be called out cuz his arguments are ridiculous.  ** Oh no, Since I wrote this, Seth Meyers has now bitched twice about his hair.** They are teaching the thoughts of Trevor Noah in classes now. And BTW when will we have more diverse late night hosts?

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Hooray for John Cusack, Elizabeth Warren, Madonna, Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin,  J.B. Pritzker and Mitt Romney for coming out to march. More of that!!

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There is word that an old sketch from David Cross and Bob Odenkirk is being pulled. I am not sure that what they were doing was understood. There are many shows taking out the blackface scenes such as Scrubs and 30 Rock.

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I just keep seeing the scene in my head from The Wall: “UP against the wall.”** It is simple, I always think, half of this country just has a completely different idea of what America is or should be than the other half.** And what kind of number did Trump’s parents and Roy Cohn do on him? He really has this thing about weakness.** Why was Trump allowed to visit a swab production plant without a mask? They had to throw away the days production. President does not mean ruler.** Trumpism is that state of having insane racist moron candidates running for offices that they’re completely unqualified for is alive and well. – Molly Jong-Fast

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Hurry up Fall so we can see The Trial of the Chicago 7 with Eddie Redmayne, Sasha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon- Levitt, Frank Langella, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Yahya Abdul- Mateen II, Mark Rylance and Michael Keaton.

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HBO Max has pulled Gone with the Wind and sales skyrocketed. Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar but was seated separately at the event. It is now back with a discussion.

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How many broken or new machines or outlets that don’t work do we have to put up with before we strictly go to PAPER ballots?? I get so tired of writing this. I am all for states running their elections but this is ridiculous. In the elections that I have worked, the only real problems were with machines!!!!!!!!!!

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Planet of the Humans was banned for a time it now it is back. Don’t they get that it only makes people want to see it more?

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The DOJ filed a civil action against Bolton to stop his book but it did not work,  It is chock full of info that would have come in handy months ago.** This whole administration is one big reality show, move in, move on and make $ out of it. They have no shame!

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No one is ever a victim, although your conquerors would have you believe in your own victimhood. How else could they conquer you? –Barbara Marciniak

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R.I.P. more Covid victims, Bonnie Pointer, Christo, Joanne Lara, Robert Fuller, Michael Daly, Rayshard Brooks, Victoria Sims, Oluwatoyin Salau, Sirlan Holm, Jean Kennedy Smith, Dame Vera Lynn,  Keith Blocker, Mary J. Wilson, Joel Schumacher, Steve Bing, Mexico city earthquake victims,  covid victims, Stuart Cornfeld, Lucius J. Barker and Carl Reiner.