#and the emotional response to having people *vote* on if your work is *better or worse* than other fic is hard to ignore | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quillyfied · 2 years

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Okay. Making this post mostly for my own benefit but maybe some of y’all need to hear it too:

When there are days like today (or years like the past two to six years at least that we’ve been having) that start to change the fabric of society as we knew it, feeling angry and powerless is the first reaction and it’s a completely natural one. Your first order of business is to slow that emotional spiral, if you can, and if you can’t, reach out to a loved one to ride it out with. Distract yourself. However you need to, get the heart rate down and the anxiety to a manageable point.

Next step is to accept that as basically an average person, your ability to enact change on a massive national or international scale alone is…unlikely. Your sphere of influence is small. That’s okay. There are still things you can do for yourself, and equally importantly for your community.

If you have money you can spare that won’t deprive you of important needs to spend elsewhere (medicine, food, shelter, bills first): there are an overwhelming amount of causes that are always accepting donations. My suggestions based on today would be local abortion funds, food banks, bail funds, and international relief programs. You decide what is most important to you to donate to, and make a donation. Doesn’t have to be a recurring donation, even one-time donations help. Even those occasional grocery store or restaurant promotions where you can round up your meal cost to the nearest dollar and that change will go to a charity is a small way to make a contribution that does make a difference.

If you have time and energy: volunteer work could be for you. Look into your local food banks and homeless shelters and animal shelters and see if any of them are taking volunteers. If that’s a bit much, look at your community, your neighbors, your friends, your families. See if there’s a need you can fill, a chore you can do or an errand you can run or babysitting or pet sitting or just sitting and chatting and spending time with someone who doesn’t get many visitors.

If you have the bravery to contact strangers: start calling local and state representatives. Start causing a ruckus. Look up bills that Congress and state governments are considering and speak up to your representatives. This can feel meaningless, especially if you’re in a right-wing-dominated area. But every little bit helps. Encourage like-minded friends in the area to do the same. I think even ResistBot is still a good option, to my knowledge. And when the polls are open, if you’re able to then GO. That is the most powerful thing a citizen can do to make sure their voice is heard. I live in the Deep South, I know how futile it feels to have opinions contrary to the majority in your area. But you aren’t the only one who thinks the way you do and believes the way you do. Your vote, your voice, matters. It matters because it adds to the voices of people who think the same way you do, and a bunch of voices in unison is still louder than defeated silence, even if those voices are drowned out. Maybe someone heard you and will add their voice next time, make the unison stronger.

Change starts small. Burnout and fatigue and panic and despair are powerful but you aren’t meant to change the world alone. You don’t have that responsibility. Your responsibility is to do what you can to make your corner of the world a little better and a little brighter—however you can. Even if you’re just taking care of yourself because that’s all you have energy for, that’s perfectly okay. Even if it’s helping one person in whatever tangible or intangible ways available to you. Even if all you can do is cry. You’re still here. And if you’re here, you’re winning, and there’s a chance to do more tomorrow.

#in a nutshell: community is how we survive #always have. always will.

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uptoolateart · 10 months

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The Miraculous Child

So, in 'Representation', Felix talks refers to ‘the miraculous boy’ a couple times. He also calls Adrien’s conception ‘a miracle’, meaning Adrien too is ‘miraculous’.

The second I heard this, it hit me that the title of the show has had this extra meaning from day one. If we look right back to the start of the series, it has been a story about children and adults, especially parents, some a little overbearing (like Tom) and some neglectful or downright abusive.

The message I take away is - life, bringing a child into the world, is a miracle. Science tells us how it works, but the fact that it works is almost like magic. Yet, there are people out there who fail to see this and don't value the gift they've been granted.

There will be people reading this and thinking, ‘Yeah? So what about Chloe?’

I hear you.

Audrey is a terrible person, and Andre is no better. When he hauls her off at the end of ‘Revolution’ and says he needs to correct his mistakes, he just sends her away with her mother. He’s washing his hands of ‘a problem’, just like he’s done with everything else, e.g. when he resigned as mayor. He walked away from responsibilities, after creating a mess for the people who voted him into office. Likewise, he walked away from his responsibilities as a father.

Does that excuse Chloe's behaviour towards others, especially Marinette? No. Does it explain it? Yes.

So, let's talk about choice, which has been mentioned several times in the series. Chloe has a choice to become just like one of her parents...or to become something better.

Because, if you think about it, at some point in time, Audrey and Andre and even Gabriel were all children. And children aren't just born nasty. They learn nastiness as they grow up. To become who they are today, they had to have started out in a similar position to Chloe, for example. They represent the potential future for their children.

If we saw them as kids, we'd probably see them being mistreated by the adults in their lives and we'd all sympathise with them and hope for their redemption. But we're seeing them as adults and our instinct is to say oh well, too late, they're just awful people. In fact, they could redeem themselves at any point, as demonstrated by Nathalie's turnaround in Season 5. It's just that, the more awful things you've done, the more you have to atone for. Gabriel would have to do a lot - maybe even have a brain change - to be redeemed. But you see my point.

So, at the end of 'Revolution', we see Chloe at a crossroads. She's on that plane, annihilated by her mother, and hiding by herself in a corner. She browses her contacts and hovers over Sabrina's entry...and her face crumples like her heart is breaking with regrets. Oh, it’s sad.

But she passes over Sabrina and moves onto Marinette. She makes one last attempt to bring her down. It’s an act of desperation – redirecting her own suffering onto another, trying to keep control over things when she’s completely out of control of her own life.

Marinette finally puts her in her place, and we see Chloe fall apart in a real way - for the first time ever. I don't know about you, but I found that very uncomfortable viewing. It was a relief to see Marinette stand up for herself, and it needed to happen...but Chloe's despair was also painful. I think all of those were emotions were intended.

Let’s set Thomas aside here. I don't want to get into debates about what was said on Twitter. He’s not the only writer for the show, anyway. I am just speaking about my personal perception of that scene. Chloe gained heaps of sympathy, after she’d been appalling all season, which was pretty powerful.

The fact is…Chloe needed to be put in her place. But that doesn’t mean she deserved everything she went through. Even so...sometimes these moments are necessary and revelatory. They can be the catalyst for great change.

What I mean is – if you're in denial about your position, redirecting your pain onto others, sometimes you need that wakeup call. You need to hit rock bottom in order to start climbing back up into the light. So, when Chloe fell apart, it was painful...but I also saw it as her potential turning point. As long as she maintained her delusions to escape into at school, it was impossible for her to transform - because she refused to see that there was any change needed. But when you have nothing left…that’s when you might begin rebuilding yourself.

Every episode in Season 5 has had multiple meanings. Looking at 'Revolution', when Chloe was akumatised, she trapped her victims in a maze, going round in endless circles (revolutions). Notably a lot of them were adults.

I think if this had happened early on in Season 4, Adrien would have been trapped morosely in that loop with the others. We saw this kind of thing in 'Guiltrip'. So, it spoke volumes about his growth as a character when he was the first one to seek a way out of Chloe's maze. He immediately used his cataclysm and broke a hole, escaping and letting everyone else out. Metaphorically, what he did was break the cycle. If we think about cycles of abuse, this is what the next generation always has the chance to do - to revolt against the past.

it's interesting, then, that when we got to 'Representation', we saw Cat Noir completely lose it with his father. He needed to let it all out...but he was in danger of going too far...and deep down, he knew it. His worst nightmare was of losing all control, to the point of letting his rage destroy everything he loved. Unconsciously, he's well aware that he runs the risk of becoming like his father. However, his complete breakdown, begging his father to take his miraculous to make it all stop, tells us he won't become like his father - because his conscience is too strong. He wants to break that cycle.

Felix has also done some bad things - but he's begun the journey of redeeming himself and changing. He too is trying to break out of that cycle so he doesn't become like his father.

Kagami is embracing her passionate side, rejecting the coldness and isolation her mother has attempted to breed into her, no doubt due to her own upbringing once upon a time.

And I think there’s definite potential for Chloe to do the same. There’s no reason for anyone to remain caught in these patterns. The trick is to recognise the pattern is there in the first place - because you can’t break free of something if you don’t know you’re imprisoned. At the end of Revolution, I think Chloe finally saw her prison, saw that she was already trapped in her own maze, going round in circles. Now it’s up to her to pull an Adrien and cataclysm the bars that hold her in.

Because like Felix said, over and over – each child is miraculous simply for existing. And miracles should be cherished.

PLEASE NO POST-REPRESENTATION SPOILERS IN COMMENTS :)

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beardedmrbean · 6 months

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After a report implied many voters of color in swing states are souring on President Biden, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, sparked outrage for implying they are only doing so because they are uninformed and blinded by their feelings.

CNN's "State of the Union" host Dana Bash spoke to a panel on her show about a recent report from The New York Times, "Trump Leads in 5 Critical States as Voters Blast Biden, Times/Siena Poll Finds." The report included polling that claimed, "Black voters — long a bulwark for Democrats and for Mr. Biden — are now registering 22 percent support in these states for Mr. Trump, a level unseen in presidential politics for a Republican in modern times."

Bash addressed Crockett and read an excerpt from the report, "In a remarkable sign of a gradual racial realignment between the two parties, the more diverse the swing state, the farther Mr. Biden was behind, and he led only in the Whitest of the six."

"It’s really scary for me," Crockett replied, before going on to explain why she thinks this shift appears to be happening.

"Here’s the deal, perception is reality, and so when you look at the data that was provided in this poll, it talks about how people feel… it is all about how you feel in that moment," she said. "While the facts may not align with their feelings, their feelings are dictating their reality and their reality is that they feel better or they felt better when Trump was in office."

Crockett added that Democrats have been "trying to push back" against this, even as "some very popular African American artists out here saying things like ‘Oh I got checks when Trump was in office. I want those checks again,’ not understanding that really came from Congress."

"So we have got a couple of things, the perception issue and then we also have an issue as it relates to civics in this country and people not understanding exactly how any of this works," she concluded.

As footage of Crockett’s statement shot across the internet, commentators condemned her rhetoric on social media.

"’Voters are too stupid and they don't understand their betters’ is probably not a great campaign message for Democrats," The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway wrote.

"The utter disdain these elitist lawmakers have for their own constituents is really mind-blowing," commentator Joe Concha wrote.

"Where did she get such a sense of superiority?" journalist Miranda Devine wrote.

"Pre Obama the Democrat’s stock response to dropping numbers in a demographic was, ‘we’ll go and listen, and try hard to earn that support,’" columnist David Marcus wrote. "Today it is, ‘they are wrong, and somewhat ignorant, we’ll show them why we are smart and right.’"

"Imagine being this dismissive of your voters? Democrats seem to think the people who they need to elect them are all stupid and incapable of understanding what’s actually happening," radio personality Mike Opelka wrote.

"Oh really," Fox News host Lawrence Jones III wrote.

Many commentators, especially Black conservatives, scorched Crockett for appearing to underestimate Black voters' ability to grasp politics.

"In other words, according to Democrat @RepJasmine Crockett, Blacks are too stupid to understand how much better they are under Biden," conservative commentator and former 2024 presidential hopeful Larry Elder wrote. "Not too bigoted! If Trump said this, Democrats would be drawing up another article of impeachment."

"Once again telling the Black community that we are not intelligent enough to see what’s going on and understand it," former Republican congressional nominee Jeffrey A. Dove wrote.

"Democrats: Blacks are too emotional to think clearly. Smart pitch," HotAir associate editor David Strom wrote sarcastically.

#nunyas news #the 'don't question your betters' attitude #coming from so many members of the political left #is wild

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roo-bastmoon · 1 year

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"so in that kumbaya post u just openly admit ur a fat ugly single abused people pleasing jkker? not suprised. u all r. id kms if i were u."

Hmm.

Okay.

Quite a bit to unpack, there.

To answer your question: Yes, I'm a bit overweight right now--it's part the hormone blockers for the cancer and part my own emotional eating the last few months because, ya know, it's a bit stressful battling cancer. I plan to get back into working out after Yoongi's concert, though! And I'm not hideous, but I'm definitely not gorgeous. You're right, I'm single, have been for years, by choice. I do tend to people please a LOT (working on boundaries with a really sassy wonderful cognitive behavioral therapist--10/10, highly recommend CBT!). And I absolutely love and adore Jikook, for sure, as well as all of BTS.

So... guilty as charged.

But no, my "flaws" aren't a reason to DIE. I still have value, dear throw-away-account-in-my-inbox.

Despite my many shortcomings, I still have purpose. I still get pleasure. I can still do amazing things in the world and create some meaning in this life. All people are works in progress. Me, too. Who told you you had to always be exceptional to ever be worthy?

I'm not perfect. But I can try to be good.

In case you need a reminder, here's what "good" looks like:

I hope you heal from whatever wounds others gave you to make you calloused and aggressive toward total strangers.

I hope when you read this that you unclench your jaw and relax your shoulders, because you are safe and sheltered and you know there's no immediate threat.

I hope you can afford a nourishing meal and a long hot shower with amazing-smelling soap to restore some of your energy, which must be flagging, since you're spending it on Asks like this.

I hope you get a great night's sleep in a comfy bed, and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face whatever challenges are a part of your days. Because I'm certain you have challenges just like everyone else.

I hope you have someone you trust, who you can talk to, who will listen to every word intently, and try to empathize and understand you and give you good counsel.

I hope at the end of your day, when all the work and chores are done, you get to read a really engrossing story, or listen to a thought-provoking podcast, or check out some amazing music that makes you feel alive and excited to be so.

I hope you remember yourself--your true self--the kind of person who can be kind.

Because the universe returns your energy back to you. I promise you, eventually, it does.

So here's some kindness from a random overweight absolutely flawed single Jikook fan on Tumblr, who genuinely wants you to be healthy and whole as soon as possible. We all will be better off when you start to heal.

Now, to get us both back into a place of calm and gratitude, you inspired me to make a donation to NAMI. If you ever need mental health help (and who doesn't?) they have some great free resources that you can check out HERE. Please never seriously consider killing yourself, or even joking about it, for any reason. Every day, every moment, is a new chance to start from scratch and make your life into something you prefer.

And if you're not open to talking to a therapist right now, there's a free app called Insight Timer with tons of great meditations, calming exercises, insightful podcasts, and mood-resetting music.

So, this is as much of my time and energy as I can give to you. I wouldn't have even answered you, except the K-pop community just suffered a loss from suicide this week and I felt it important to address what you said. But now I've got some streaming and voting to do in between my real-life responsibilities. So this is the last we will interact under your sock puppet account. But I hope you see this post, and I hope you know I really mean it. I really mean that you deserve to heal from this toxic anger you're taking out on others. I know you can be better.

"Who says a dream must be something grand?

Just become anybody.

We deserve a life.

Whatever, big or small, you are you after all."

--Paradise, Love Yourself: Tear, BTS

For everyone else, if I keep getting Asks from sock puppets like this, I'll turn off the option to message me unless we follow each other. I already turned off anons ages ago because of these types of messages. I will limit access to me, not as a punishment, but just because it's important to protect my (and my friends') energy against negativity. I am here for BTS, not drama.

This fandom needs to work harder to reflect BTS' values, or else what are we all doing here?? You don't have to agree with anyone about anything, but you do have to at least be civil.

If you're looking for a fight, you won't get it from me. My tongue is ruled by the law of kindness.

With sincerest respect,

Roo

P.S. Jimin and Yoongi are close to record-breaking milestones. Please don't waste any time or energy on this sort of thing--keep streaming!

#Spotify

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azuremist · 6 months

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I don't know about you but like even though alters can integrate, it still isn't a realistic scenario and it's not something that could happen IRL from just voting....it personally irks me that they're just further portraying systemhood in a shitty way. What are your thoughts?

That’s not how I interpreted it, personally. (Note: I’m saying the following under the assumption that by ‘disappear’, the MILGRAM team means ‘go dormant’.)

It wouldn’t be the voting that would cause one of the ‘koto system’s alters to go dormant; it would be the emotional response to the voting.

We’ve long since established that those voted “guilty” are tortured for it. They’re unable to sleep, they hear every nasty thing that the speculators say about them, and even face situations like being beaten by Kotoko. Obviously, this causes a LOT of emotional distress.

If voted “innocent”, Orekoto will go dormant, because he’ll feel like Mikoto is safe without him. If voted “guilty”, Mikoto will go dormant, due to being unable to handle the torture. Because alters with the protector role are often also trauma-holders, it makes sense that Orekoto would be able to handle this better.

In real life, alters go dormant when they need to. It’s more or less a chosen state, based upon the current state and situation of the system. The ‘koto system’s situation reflects reality. Orekoto would choose to go dormant because he feels like Mikoto can handle himself, and Mikoto will choose to go dormant because he can’t handle his situation.

It’s not as if the ‘koto system are the only characters to face this sort of ultimatum, either. If Fuuta was voted guilty twice in a row, it was implied that he would lose his eyesight. It Mahiru was voted guilty twice, it was implied that she would die.

As such, in a sense, being given this ultimatum is treating the ‘koto system as not only equal to the other prisoners, but also as their own people. They both individually face a consequence, depending on how Mikoto is voted.

Look; if I was doing this project, I wouldn’t have included the “murderous alter” trope. But, since they ARE, I think they’re doing it pretty well. Orekoto, the “murderous alter” in question, actually reflects a real-life system role as the protector, and is humanized. The ‘koto system’s inner workings reflect the ones of a real-life system, as well, and Orekoto is recognized as a different person by Es (by them asking him what he wants to be called). The language that they use is sometimes not the best, but I interpreted that as a writing choice to show that the characters involved are not really being educated on system-related matters.

Of course, of course, of course it goes without saying that others can, will, and should feel differently. But, in my personal opinion, if they’re going to do the “murderous alter” thing, I think this is the best way they could have done it.

#asks #milgram #the milgram project #mikoto kayano #orekoto #mikoto

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alfiely-art · 8 months

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Okay so I think this is how my voting is going to go next Trial? Unless huge stuff is revealed/happens

Haruka - Innocent

Haruka's expressed that he regrets what he did and feels horrible about it- he knows what he did was bad, and he wants to be better. He just needs the proper environment to heal.

Yuno - Innocent

She did nothing wrong. Like unless they suddenly decide she did infanticide instead of abortion, there's absolutely no question about it that she doesn't deserve to be in Milgram?? Sorry Yuno I don't see you as a innocent girl who can't do anything wrong, you just. Did not do anything wrong here.

Fuuta - Innocent

Now that he's realized that, yeah, doxxing people and witch hunting them is wrong and hurts people, I don't think he'd do it again. I mean, in trial 1 I think he was already sorta horrified by what happened, but trying not to claim responsibility- because that's a horrid thing to think about. "My actions killed someone." That's scary. But he's accepted it, and I think he's going to work on himself and be better.

Muu - Innocent

I know she was an asshole and bullied others. However, I'm a firm believer that NOBODY deserves to be bullied. I think everybody in the situation just majory sucked ass. And she's clearly horrified by what she did, she's just putting on different personas to cope with it. Get this girl some therapy.

Shido - Guilty

So, from my understanding, Shido convinced families that their loved ones were beyond saving, and then he killed them and harvested their organs? Very shitty to me. Once the trials are over I really don't think this guy will remain innocent. I know he was very suicidal in the beginning, but it read more to me that he was upset what he was doing didn't work out- that his wife is dead anyways. Idk.

Mahiru - Guilty

100% Guilty. I really can't understand Mahiru Inno Voters- Mahiru is an incredibly selfish and self-centered person, and it killed her lover. In trial 1 she's just singing about her needs in a relationship, about how she knows how to love better than her partner did. In trial 2 there is quite literally a line that goes "my emotions are out of control? I don't care!" Mahiru WILL hurt others and refuse to change herself over and over again. She doesn't even seem remorseful about her dead boyfriend. Like. She lowkey flirts with Es upon meeting them. Mahiru is just looking for someone else to hurt. She doesn't seem to understand that it isn't wrong to want to love and to be loved, but what's wrong is ignoring your partners needs for your own and making every part of the relationship about you. Also, I think she may have forced herself on him based on that scene where she does grabby hands and pounces, making the feathers scatter everywhere (like its what broke her boyfriend).

Kazui - Innocent

Kazui tried, he tried so hard to love his wife the "correct" way. Whether he's gay or alloaro, Kazui DID care about his wife and didn't want to hurt her. He couldn't keep lying to her and himself anymore. But the truth killed her, and Kazui feels so fricken?? Awful over it??? They were work friends before they got together, he clearly liked her. Just not romantically. He's struggling between whether lying eternally is the better choice, or if being truthful to himself and everyone else is the better choice. The truth killed his wife, but the lies were slowly killing him. Idk man, I've been in the same situation (nobody died though) and it's so hard to tell the truth about your identity.

Amane - Guilty(?)

Purge March is gonna help me decide, I think. I don't think Amane should've been voted guilty last trial- it, uh, clearly didn't have the affect we wanted it to have. But also, she's so far gone in her cult's beliefs that... I don't think either vote will shake that. I love Amane, she's a wonderful character, but Milgram won't help her. She would need YEARS of therapy and a safe, stable environment, and patient people, to help her heal. A Guilty vote won't help her. An Innocent vote won't help her. So Purge March is just gonna help me decide what to vote- because I highly doubt we can get EVERYONE in the community to refrain from voting. I'm leaning towards Guilty, though.

Mikoto - Guilty(?)

Okay this depends on who actually committed the crime. I believe that Mikoto himself did it, and his alters are trying to protect him and take the blame for the crime. In that case, my boy is guilty (sorry Mikoto). But if Milgram goes the "killer alter" route, then he's innocent. You can't really control what your alters do, yk? I might vote him innocent depending on the circumstances of his crime, too- it all depends. I'm hoping Double sheds more light on what's going on with my guy. (Btw he's my favorite character I'm so pumped to see what happens)

Kotoko - Guilty

I'm gonna be transparent here, i dont know Kotoko's character very well. So keep that in mind. Anyways. Her first trial song was very cool and its great she stopped a predator. I am not disagreeing with that. I do recognize that she probably felt forced to take on this vigilante role- that the law failed her and many others. However... we don't know who exactly she sees as "guilty". Obviously, she sees the prisoners voted "guilty" as guilty, but what about outside of Milgram? Does she just punish those breaking the law? Those she personally disagrees with? I think it's dangerous for her to do that. I think she's Guilty currently, but I'll have to see how her song goes- it may give me more insight on her thoughts and ideals.

#if you disagree #cool beans #id love to discuss #but would not love to be called slurs #share your opinions respectfully #its not hard #i will respect your opinion #i may disagree but thats okay #milgram #milgram voting #haruka sakurai #yuno aisaka #fuuta kajiyama #muu kusunoki #shidou kirisaki #kazui mukuhara #amane momose #mikoto kayano #kotoko yuzuriha

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best-underrated-anime · 14 days

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Best Underrated Anime Group A Round 4: Do It Yourself!! vs RIN-NE

#A2: Do It Yourself!!

Girls do DIY together, but after a new industrial revolution

#A3: RIN-NE (Kyoukai no Rinne)

Girl who sees ghosts meets poor shinigami. Comedy ensues.

Details and poll under the cut!

#A2: Do it Yourself!!

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Summary:

This series takes place after the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Serufu and her childhood friend Miku/“Purin” both applied to an elite school, where advanced technologies are incorporated into the curriculum. The tech-savvy Purin is accepted into the school, but accident-prone Serufu is rejected and enters a traditional school instead, driving a wedge into their friendship.

On her way to class one day, Serufu encounters Rei, who has a passion for old-fashioned crafts and is the head of the school’s Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Club—which is in danger of closing due to a lack of members. Realizing that this may be her chance to repair her relationship with Purin, Serufu joins the club in hopes of creating projects that could bring them together once more.

Propaganda:

It’s just a really feel-good series with some great characters. I adore all of them and their dynamics with each other, especially the main dynamic between Serufu and Purin as it develops. I’m a really big fan of the show’s angle on stuff such as do-it-yourself crafts following another industrial revolution, just because it does frequently bring up the question of “What’s the point of DIY if in a year or two/maybe even now a robot could recreate the exact same result?” through characters like Purin (who is the major character with the lowest opinion on these kinds of crafts at the start, since she’s in the technologically advanced school and has beliefs more in line with the efficacy of technology rather than the joy of human creation), with the short answer largely being because it’s just fun!

I first watched this show before I saw a lot of AI stuff intruding upon art and rewatching it after sure was fun, because I love its ideas on the worth of doing stuff that machinery could do much faster. It’s not super complex or emotional, but that largely goes in its favor, because it really doesn’t need to be those. It’s just a fun little anime about a bunch of girls having fun together through one shared hobby that some of them had from the start and some of them adopted. I also love the opening, and the ending is a massive comfort song for me. The series can also be very funny at points, and is usually super heartwarming.

Trigger Warnings: None.

#A3: RIN-NE (Kyoukai no Rinne)

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Summary:

Rinne Rokudou has bigger problems than going to school—namely, helping spirits pass over to the next life. Because of this responsibility, he often finds himself short on money and struggles to buy his necessities: food, clothes, and exorcism tools.

Sakura Mamiya has been able to see ghosts since she was little. She hoped she would outgrow it, but even after starting high school, nothing has changed. To make matters worse, the first time her ever-absent classmate, Rinne, shows up for school, only Sakura can see him. She assumes, as anyone would, that he is a ghost. However, to Sakura's surprise, Rinne proceeds to attend school like normal the next day.

Propaganda:

This is one of Rumiko Takahashi’s underrated works (mostly getting overshadowed by Inuyasha due to her releasing this series after the fact), and I don’t see a lot of people talk about it often. While it’s not my favorite of her works, it’s one that I still like because of the way she portrays the characters. Plus, it still has that classic Rumic comedy and feel to it and I really love the animation with her artstyle. Anyways, if you like supernatural comedies (with a hint of romance) then vote for Rin-ne!

Trigger Warnings: None.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form with your revisions, and I’ll consider adapting those changes.

New: Starting round 5, screenshots will be included in the poll post. You can submit screenshots through the form linked above, or through here, via ask or dm.

Guidelines in submitting screenshots:

No NSFW or spoilery images.

Pick some good images please. Don’t send any blurry or pixelated ones.

You may send up to 9 screenshots, but not all may be used.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 4 #tournament polls #group a #do it yourself anime #do it yourself #do it yourself!!#rin ne #rin-ne #rinne #rin ne anime #kyoukai no rinne

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agameforgoodchristians · 2 months

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“God Planning Your Pain to Make a Point” (John 9:1-3) [A Guest Card Talk]

“God Planning Your Pain to Make a Point” (John 9:1-3)

A Guest Card Talk by Matthew E. Henry*

It’s What You See

As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. … When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”…Then he went and washed and came back able to see. (From The Gospel According to John 9:1-7, NRSV)

As a poet and educator, a quote from Henry David Thoreau is often on my mind: it’s not what you look at that matters, but what you see. There’s a lot in John chapter 9 to be seen, and it would be easy to focus on all of the blindness, the lack of sight in this story:

The man at the center of the story is literally blind. (vs 1)

The disciples’ lack of understanding and metaphoric blindness before the healing takes place. (vs 2-7)

How, after sight is granted to the formerly blind man, the Pharisees and the crowd display a lack of belief (spiritual blindness) by questioning if the man was even really blind to begin with, and then driving his whole family out of their religious community for their dealings with Jesus. (vs 8-41)

All of these elements are fair game, clearly build upon each other, and are a part of the central point of the passage. It’s also what I was taught as a kid in Sunday School. But this was never the first thing I saw. I was always deeply bothered by this flannel graph favorite, but it took me years to understand what was staring me right in the face: the blindness of Jesus.

maybe Jesus needed more time to think the disciples asked Him whose sin blinded this man from birth: his, his parents? appalled, Martha cannot believe in this Jesus whose deaf answer trembles her Bible closed. so that you could see the power of God? she remembers the eyes which accused her of lapses in prenatal care. questioned her fidelity. found lawful cause for his tiny body’s chronic rebellion against its own good. as the pastor reads His response, she finds their false blame better— more acceptable—than sons suffering for parlor tricks, divine object lessons.

~ MEH

What Do We Deserve?

From the outset, this story is a theological and emotional rollercoaster. Jesus sees a man who is blind, and since this is Jesus, we assume a healing is forthcoming. But before He can open His mouth, His disciples ask a provocative question:

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (vs2)

The disciples see someone in pain and ask a question accusing the man and his family of being so sinful that he deserves his aliment. The implication is plain: natural pain, illness, or sickness is the result of sin. We get what we deserve, which may include bearing the burden of our parents’ sin.

Look, I’m a high school teacher. I have no problem with basic “cause and effect” logic when it comes to consequences. You didn’t do your homework or study, so you failed the test. You tipped back in your chair, so you fell over. You said something racist/sexist/homophobic to the wrong person on the right day, so now you walk with a limp. Speeding can cause an accident. Unprotected sex can result in an STD. Uncritical voting practices can, ironically, lead to the downfall of democracy. These are outcomes easy to understand. But most of us will balk at the idea that we “deserve” an effect that is not a direct result of something we ourselves caused.

To some degree we can begrudgingly accept the reality that the decisions that others make, especially our parents, can have a negative impact on us. Ask the family, significant other, coworker, or employee of abusers, alcoholics, emotional manipulators, gamblers, or any other shitty people. We can all be hurt by the actions of others, but to say we “deserve” that hurt is unhealthy. [Pause: if you don’t think this is true, you are probably in an abusive situation, as your friends have been telling you for years. Listen to them. Get out.]

The beginnings of Jesus’ responses bears out the truth of this:

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned… (vs 3a)

YES, Jesus! Smack down their highly problematic theological assertion—their backward hamartiology imputing sin on the innocent. This is where the story should: Jesus drops this knowledge, heals the man who is blind, and they all go out to throw loan sharks out of the Temple. But the problem is that Jesus keeps (f**king) talking…

“…he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” (vs 3b)

Seriously Jesus: WTF?

Let’s really stop and unpack this.

In answering thier question, Jesus says that this man’s decades of blindness was preordained by God—presumably before the foundations of the earth were lain—as a “parlor trick” or “divine object lesson” for the benefit of the disciples (and presumably everyone else who would come in contact with the healed man, whether in person, or reading his story in the Christian New Testament). Yes. The number of people impacted by this miraculous event is an amazing witness. And no doubt the formerly blind man was very grateful for his healing (you know, save for the whole having his life of pain questioned and his family run out of town thing, which undoubtedly sucked). But, again, let’s really look at what this means.

Let’s propose a new scenario: a mother has a child with a serious physical or cognitive limitation which significantly harms the child’s quality of life. She hears this story being preached by her pastor/priest from the pulpit one Sunday morning. What would she take away from this tale?

It’s one thing to believe an almighty God is doing the Divine’s Best to redeem all our free will actions—that “all things working together for good” (Romans 8:28) means that God is exerting effort in the face of the causes and effects that lead to our pain. Call it “natural evil,” or “a result of The Fall,” or “nature red in tooth an claw,” or “shit happens,” this mother, like many of us, can begrudgingly accept this idea when it comes to “why bad things happen.”

But it is another thing entirely to ask this woman if she is comfortable serving a God who believes that the ends justify the means. Asking her to accept a utilitarian model of theodicy—achieving “the most good for the most people” means that some people have to suffer by divine design. What could she take away other than false hope or anger at the prospect that maybe, hopefully, there is “some good reason” that God has for directly causing her child pain?

That might be a shit-filled pill too large to swallow.

It Gets Worse

I am not the only person who thinks this. Other characters in the Bible do as well. If we continue reading The Gospel According to John, a couple of chapters later we come to a story about Lazarus—a close friend of Jesus—whose situation is placed in relation to this story about the man who was formerly blind.

In John chapter 11, when Lazarus get very very ill, his sisters—Mary and Martha—send word to Jesus that His beloved friend is close to death. Upon hearing this news, Jesus responds, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (vs 4b) [sound familiar?]. He then hangs out for another two days until he receives word that Lazarus has died. Eventually, Jesus makes the trip to see Lazarus’ body, which has now been in the tomb for four whole days. But, just like with the blind man, Jesus is unfazed because He had a plan, knew what He was doing all along. Yes, healings are great, but by now you should see the pattern and the problem.

If Jesus could heal him, why should Lazarus have to suffer like this—his body wracked with pain, alternating between fever and chills, gasping for each labored breath? And what about the people who love Lazarus and must watch him suffer? They attempted to cool his body, relieve his pain, force him to eat something, tell him everything is going to be alright when they didn’t believe it themselves. Being so concerned for the welfare of their brother, for the first and only time recorded, Mary and Martha try to cash in on their long-standing friendship with Jesus, desperately believing that He had the power to save him (See 21-27; 32).

But it’s not only Lazarus’ family who feels this way, but the friends gathered around who knew the power of Jesus. So much so they reference his previous encounter with the formerly blind man:

Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (vs 35-37)

Again, yes, to exist on this planet means we will suffer in various ways, including our bodies rebelling against us and those we love. Ugly and painful deaths are also built into the system. Thus, the fact that Jesus heals anyone in the Bible is wonderful. But don’t miss the rationale given for the illness, for the death. Don’t be blind to the Bible’s own words. Jesus said Lazarus was sick “…for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (vs 4b). God becomes the cause of this effect and it forces one, or at least me to, respectfully, call theological bullshit.

An Uncomfortable Way of Seeing

As I’ve grown older, my Sunday school discomfort has been tempered by my life as a writer and educator. It’s led me to wonder if these self-referential stories have fallen prey to a common literary issue: the narrative plot hole.

Sometimes an author is so wrapped up in the point that they are trying to make that they don’t think through the implications of all the details; They are so focused on the big picture, the major theme and motifs running through a work, the finer point get lost. It’s the same reason why medical shows are eviscerated by doctors, sci-fi movies by physicists, and police procedurals by civil rights lawyers. Some would call this a blasphemous thought. I recommend those people to not read any of the other posts on this website. But I think this way of seeing is better than the alternative.

I won’t dive into the depth of what this way of seeing requires in terms of “the inerrancy of Scripture,” “divine inspiration of Scripture,” and the variety of other hermeneutical concerns some would raise. I am aware of them, but if you’re bothered by this, you’ll probably hate my answers for those. But I will provide one for the Bible nerds: this view of Jesus/God in the Gospels is singular to John. What do I mean? This idea that physical ailments are a result of sin or God’s divine plans in this particular way, only shows up in The Gospel According to John. It is not present in in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, or Luke).

Neither the Lazarus story in chapter 11 or our principle story in chapter 9 are found in the other gospels. In Mark 8:22-26 there is a blind man being healed story that is similar to the John narrative, but among the many differences there is no mention of sinfulness or the idea that God plans such pain for people. Going for the trifecta, John provides a third story that suggests that disability is tied to sin.

In John 5:1-18, Jesus comes across a man who is paraplegic. Jesus heals the man before going on His merry way, but it’s the aftermath that we see this uniquely Johannine theology of suffering:

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” (vs 13-14)

Again, this story is not contained in the other three gospels. Make of that what you will, but it seems pretty clear the writer(s) of John had a way of looking at things that was not shared by the other gospel writers. Maybe three out of four gospels agree that the idea that physical suffering being a part of the divine plan is simply a wrongheaded idea. I guess you get to decide who you agree with.

But, to paraphrase this game’s creators, what do I know? I’m just a poet and you probably think I’m going to Hell.

* Dr. Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is the Boston-born educator, editor, and author of six books of poetry, including The Third Renunciation (New York Quarterly Books, 2023). The Third Renunciation is a collection of theological sonnets, wherein the poem featured above is published.

He was also the editor of A Game for Good Christian’s This Present Former Glory: An Anthology of Honest Spiritual Literature

Dr. Henry received his MFA in poetry from Seattle Pacific University, yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing a MA in theology (Andover Newton Theological School) and a PhD in education (Lesley University). But he should not be confused with the long dead, white, theologian. His work can be found at www.MEHPoeting.com and on Twitter (he will never call it X) at @MEHPoeting.

#John 9:1-3 #Pain #Faith or Bullshit #Sight #Blindness #Miracles #John 11

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whyrubuyingclothesatthesoupstore · 2 years

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my friend asked me to write an essay about the midori head spin and then I did

@rock-doodles-shit this is all your fault

I am sure you know of this scene, and I am sure you can remember how you reacted when you first got to it in the game. We all know that it’s funny as balls and incredibly memorable, but I feel as though we don’t appreciate it quite as much as we should. So today I will be telling you why Midori spinning his head in the middle of the banquet was a necessary addition to the story, not because I actually think so, but because it would be really funny.

(These are all things that nankidai probably had in mind while writing the scene, it’s just that he most likely didn’t spend an hour and a half writing them out in great detail)

First of all, this scene reveals that Midori isn’t human, and that he gave away parts of his body to a lot of other people, which not only helps the plot move forward but sets up some things that will hopefully be fully explained in 3-2. It’s also necessary for Midori to demonstrate that he’s not human, considering that the others might not have believed him otherwise because of how much he’s messed with them before.

It’s also what fits Midori’s personality most, because it’s probably the most dramatic thing he could have possibly done here. Just disconnecting his head for his body would have also worked, but spinning it better shows how he treats the whole thing as a game and just does whatever he finds the most entertaining, or whatever will get the funniest reactions out of people.

This scene also gives us what I think are the best lines Hiyori has in the whole game - “I gave up my humanity!” and “In this way, the body can also be a majority vote!” I have a post on the second line already, so let’s just stop on the first one. The line gives us a really good look into Hiyori’s worldview (which I wish the game would’ve done more but I digress). To him no longer being human is something worth celebrating, something to casually mention in conversation, something to flaunt by doing stupid tricks with the doll parts of his body. He could have a lot of reasons to think that way - no longer being human means he basically cheated death, it means he can claim he’s incapable of feeling fear since it’s a human emotion, it makes him “stronger” than some emotional fragile human, and mentioning it casually also creeps people out which we all know he is a fan of doing. I want to make a separate post on tumblr dot com about this line so for now this is all that I’m gonna say.

Fourth of all, it’s just really funny okay. Having your main antagonist randomly start spinning his head around during an intense scene to show off his cool cyborg powers is really really funny. I’m pretty sure the participants shouldn’t even be able to see inside the coffins but I am willing to suspend my disbelief because it’s just hilarious and definitely worth the small logical error.

And lastly, everyone’s reactions to Midori spinning his head give us small but needed bits of characterization.

The first to react are Shin and Kanna, they just scream. Sara just says what she’s seeing and Q-Taro goes “Stop! That’s creepy!” which is possibly the funniest response anyone could have to a situation like this, and afterwards says “You’re clearly not human!”, which is either him stating the obvious or talking about humanity as a moral quality because he’s just that baffled that Midori could treat turning himself into a doll this lightly (I sure do wonder why he could have possibly reacted this way). Sara quickly collects herself and tries to focus on moving the discussion forward, Kanna seems too terrified/disturbed to say anything else, and Shin says “What the hell?! What are you thinking...?!”

Not “what is wrong with you”, “what are you thinking.” I feel like he’s trying to understand why Hiyori seems so willing to reveal this, since it supposedly puts him at a disadvantage. And he’s right to be suspicious because Hiyori’s next turn could’ve killed Gin if Sara didn’t remember the consent form. He only revealed he’s a doll because he was convinced he was going to win anyway, and it makes sense Shin would be the one to notice that since he knows Hiyori better than anyone.

The Yabusames don’t react at all in emotion route, either they’re supposed to be frozen in shock or nankidai straight up forgot about them.

(Side note, what do you think Keiji was thinking here while he was listening over the transceiver?)

And these five arguments conclude my weird little essay, thank you for reading please grade my paper well.

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eaglesnick · 5 months

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“Modern Slavery Is Closer Than You Think” – UK government 2014

Our unelected Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the fifth Tory PM in 7 years, has no popular mandate. He was nominated for the leadership by 193 Tory MP’s, and since he was the last candidate standing after both Boris Johnson and Penny Mordant dropped out of the contest, he became Prime Minister by default. As the Metro so succinctly put it:

“Absolutely nobody voted for Rishi Sunak to become Prime Minister." (24/10/22)

This statement is not entirely accurate as the Metro later acknowledged:

“To put that into a national perspective, there are 46,560,452 registered voters in the UK and 0.0004% of them got a say on who became PM.”

So much for Britain being the world’s greatest democracy!

What this means in practice is that Sunak has no power base either in or outside of parliament. He is weak. By nature a right-wing leaning politician he has become the tool of the far right both within his party and those outside it, a right wing who are slowly undermining our democratic traditions and values.

One of these democratic rights, also a human right, is the lawful entitlement to withdraw your labour if in dispute with an employer.

“…the right to strike is a fundamental one enshrined in international human rights and labour law, and that its protection is necessary in ensuring just, stable and democratic societies.” (United Nations Human Rights: UN rights expert: “Fundamental right to strike must be preserved.” (09/03/17)

Strikes are an emotive subject. They inconvenience us. They sometimes cost us money. They can make life difficult. But if we do not have the right to strike then we become little better than slaves, forced to accept worsening working conditions and low pay, pay so low some people do not have enough to live on. Even with the right to strike, workers do not always get what they ask for. The nurse’s strike, which had majority public support, is a case in point.

But the nurses strike was not just about money, they were also concerned that the NHS was being deliberately under funded and run down by successive Tory governments to the point they could no longer guarantee patient safety.

“Nurses’ strike: it’s not just about money, it’s about safety to.” (Nursing Standard: 10/11/22)

That particular strike was conducted in the full glare of publicity and left the government highly embarrassed as the nurses retained public support throughout the strike period.

“Just 1 in 10 people blame nurses for NHS strikes as pressure mounts on government.” (Independent: 20/12/22)

Determined that this embarrassing situation would ever happen again Sunak has brought forward anti-strike legislation, essentially denying workers the right to withdraw their labour. In short, it is a form of modern day slavery dressed up as a public good, but it is a right-wing attack against our democratic rights and is probably in breach of international law.

“UK anti-strike rules may breach international law, MPs and peers warn. Joint committee on human rights says some public sector workers may be completely prevented from striking.” (Guardian: 28/11/23)

This legislation would be bad enough if the government were honest and transparent in their dealings with striking workers, but that isn’t the case. The RESPONSIBILITY for enforcing this anti-democratic legislation is being dumped on third parties.

Let us take education as an example.

The government’s anti-strike legislation has been dressed up as “minimal service level” (MSL) provision. The public is to be “protected” from strikers by the government dictating a certain level of staffing during industrial disputes in the public sector.

It is the government who will determine the MSL in education but it will be the management personnel of the schools who have the legal responsibility to determine the number of staff who MUST work in order to meet the governments predetermined requirement. In the event of a strike, each schools management team will issue “work notices” to the unions, who must then “ensure compliance.”

So, although the government will set MSL’s it will be up to senior teachers to decide who can and who cannot legally go on strike. This will almost certainly sour relations between senior management and the classroom teacher.

The advantage of this legislation from the Tory point of view is that it will be senior management in individual schools who will get the blame from both the public (not enough teachers forced to work) and the teachers themselves (too many teachers forced to work.).

At the moment it is public sector workers who will be denied the right to strike, but how long will we have to wait before other groups of “essential” workers are drawn into the net?

Ironically, the government has a series of official posters entitled “Modern Slavery: duty to notify”. You cant help but chuckle.

#uk politics #rishi sunak #slavery #workers rights #strike action #anti-strike legislation

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mack3030 · 2 years

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I'd like to take a moment to extend an apology.

First, I will 100% admit that I have not handled this well so far. And I will make no excuses for that. My replies to the criticism against me have been callous, insensitive, and even dismissive. That was not my intention, but that does not matter. Because regardless of my intention, that is how it turned out. And that is not the person I desire to be. I fully regret my decision to vote for Donald Trump. The damage he has caused to marginalized groups of people, including people of color and those on the LGBTQ+ spectrum cannot be defended. Since I have voted two years ago, my politics has vastly changed. I cannot claim any longer to be okay with the choice I made, especially seeing how it has affected and terrified my friends.

I would like to believe that we all can change and do better. And I understand that what I did, and how I reacted was hurtful. And that is not my heart, or my nature, to be that way towards others. It is my intention to be more careful in the future about who I choose to support with my right to vote. And to make sure that I do not support Donald Trump, or anyone like him with my voice again. I am sorry that when it came down to it I was not able to be apologetic and honest. It is not who I am, but that is how it appeared because of the choices I made. And I have been making an effort to be better at listening to those around me who are from the marginalized communities that my actions hurt, so I can know how to be better. I did not intend for this to detract from the important conversation the community has been having about safety, especially since a member of the Asian-American community has had their mental health and sense of safety threatened by this issue. So to Bucky (victimofcowbuild), in particular, I am very sorry. Your story is important, and needs to be heard. As for the issue with Pescado, I do not moderate/admin for Dollhouse Mafia anymore, and I do not plan to work with him any further. I do not approve or support any of his statements that he has made against the Asian community, and I apologize that I ever allowed such an arrangement to go forward. The only other comment I have been made aware of that is problematic is me laughing at a nickname that was given to Harrie-CC by another simmer. In this instance, I will say I was ignorant. At the time that I laughed at the joke I did not understand the meaning of the phrase. I have been told by a close friend that it implies cheapness and has a connotation pertaining to being ghetto. But if my understanding of that phrase is wrong please do correct me, and I will admit that looking now at it, it was not appropriate and was harmful. I apologize for laughing at something I did not understand that could hurt the feelings of another. I understand and fully take responsibility for the hurt, anger, and distraction my actions and words have caused. And if those who have been wronged have the emotional margin to be able to forgive me, I would appreciate it. But I also understand that you may not have that margin due to all of the things that you have been through. I am planning to take a break in general from posting, and focus mainly on reblogging and uplifting the voices of others who have been hurt by those who have been part of the doxxing incident. I have been planning to pull back anyway after the information about Cowbuild came out, and I think it is important because I do not devote my time to this game as much as others.

To those who feel the conversation about doxxing has been stalled because of this, I apologize for not fixing things sooner and handling it better from the get-go. For those who looked up to and had respect for me, I am sorry for letting you down. I hope this can allow the community to move forward together and focus on the important safety issues that still need to be focused on.

Thanks for reading.

-Sunny

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rotationalsymmetry · 2 years

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One Discourse to Rule Them All: Blood Libel, Pedophilia Accusations, and Abortion, or How To Take Advantage of People’s Hot Buttons For Fun and Profit.

Buckle up. Mostly the title functions as a trigger warning, but we’re also gonna get into transmisogyny (and homophobia, I just realized it’s not going to be obvious to everyone that the second list item up there is about homophobia.) Here goes!

Once upon a time, Europe was synonymous with Christendom, and antisemitic as fuck.

Jews were separated off into their own villages and neighborhoods (often ghettos) and didn’t necessarily interact with Christians that much, and Christians lied through their teeth about what Jews were like, even blatantly false things like what they looked like, in order to justify wholesale slaughtering them.

I say Christians did this, but what I mean is: there were Christians who told the lies and other Christians who believed them, and probably some who didn’t actually believe them but were willing to play along, but the point is it wouldn’t have worked unless there were some innocent dupes being pulled along for the ride, who wouldn’t have committed mob violence if they hadn’t been blatantly lied to.

The lie was “Jews murder your children and drink their blood.” This was based on nothing.

But it was very effective. Because one of people’s strongest, most fundamental drives is to protect their children. So saying “those people, they intend to harm your children, they have harmed children just like yours”, well, it’s very effective. Even when it’s based on absolutely nothing.

(I don’t want to oversell my case and that wasn’t the only lie, “the Jews are responsible for the death of the Savior”, which is I guess an interpretation you could have of the gospels but it’s a pretty odd one, was another, apparently highly motivating, justification for antisemitic violence.)

Once upon a time, a different time, parents didn’t trust the gays around their kids.

You couldn’t legally adopt if you were in a same-sex relationship. If you wanted to be a teacher, better keep in the closet. You want to be invited to family events? Should have thought of that before you became a fag.

This was based on the lie that the queers were more likely to be pedophiles. And of course it worked. What kind of parent would you be if you exposed your precious child to a known sexual deviant?

Once upon a time, someone decided to frame abortion as baby murder.

I don’t want to get into arguments for or against seeing abortion as intentional child death, so I’m just going to make an assertion and if you want to stick an “I’m not sure I agree with this pin in it, go ahead, it’s not like there’s a shortage of arguments about this right now. Let’s just assume, like we’re in a math class and this is an axiom, that abortion is not actually child murder, and see where that takes us.

Where that takes us is this pattern I’ve been pointing out: someone’s got an ulterior motive like “if we kick all the Jews out of the country, we can take their stuff” or “it’s easier to control people if there’s some designated outsiders that we can make them all hate”, or specifically "hey, what will get the Republican voting base to the polls? What enemy can we create this time that will generate maximum rage and disgust (and keep them from seeing how we're screwing our own voters over in terms of money and public services)?" and…they just lie through their teeth. But they don’t lie arbitrarily. They lie about a thing that will get the strongest possible emotional reaction out of people, a thing that packs such a powerful gut punch that they won’t stop and think “wait, do I actually trust this source of information?” and instead will just react.

I’m calling this the one discourse to rule them all because oh my goodness do you see this all over tumblr. Can’t come up with an actual reason why fic that squicks you out is bad? Wildly allege that it supports pedophilia. Can’t come up with an actual reason why you don’t like trans women (and of course this one is emphatically not a tumblr exclusive)? Maybe they’re predators who are trying to get into (“real”) women’s spaces to rape (“real”) women. You don’t need evidence if you can hit people’s stress response button hard enough.

And: “people who identify as bi lesbians contribute to corrective rape” (here let me trauma dump in your inbox) and “but you can’t have kink at Pride think of the children” and “hey here’s this specific person I don’t like, you should not interact with them and maybe harass them because, wait for it, they’re a pedophile.”

And as far as I can tell there’s an inverse correlation to how much someone’s likely to get caught up in BS (never mind how likely someone is to advance the lies knowingly) and how much they do about actual child abuse. The most common motifs I’ve heard in people talking about their actual experiences with child abuse are "I never told anyone" and "I told someone and wasn’t believed". Somehow for all the hate society is capable of leveling against alleged child abusers, society's ability to literally just believe children who say they're being abused, well, they're not actually connected. Outrage at child abusers does not protect children. Child abusers are always, perpetually, the feared and hated other. They're never the friendly neighbor, the coach who get the team to win, the respectable pillars of the community.

And the moral panics about child abuse never come attached to anything useful for fighting real child abuse — never coherent policies for screening for potential abusers, never lists of signs that a child may be experiencing abuse, never discussion about what to do if you suspect abuse but aren’t sure, never discussion about how to support a child who’s been harmed. The focus is 100% on identifying people you can safely hate, 0% on genuinely protecting anyone or helping them recover.

What I'm trying to say here is, there is a pattern, a pattern of people with ulterior motives saying whatever they think will get people reacting with their gut rather than thinking with their brains. This pattern can be disrupted by questioning the validity of the source. Is there really any connection between an identity and rape? Is there really any correlation between disturbing fiction and child molestation? Does framing the story of Jesus as one where the Jews killed him (and therfore it's good to hurt Jews now?) make any sense whatsoever?

Does framing abortion as child murder make any sense whatsoever? Or is it just really effective at punching people in the gut?

And is there a group of people getting away with something unsavory while people are doubled over and preparing to punch back?

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alyjojo · 1 year

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Advice to Work on Yourself ⛸ in December 2022: Aquarius

8 Cups - The Hermit - 5 Wands & 2 Pentacles

Regarding: 7 Pentacles

This feels work related, you could be taking a bit of a break from the usual work routine in December, though your artist card still nod towards constant productivity, and 2 Pentacles is the same energy. There’s a decision you’re needing to make, probably regarding travel, we’ve got three traveling cards here. You’ve put a lot of work into whatever you do, and have in the past, you’ve done the best thing for yourself. Now there’s some dream you’re wanting to chase, some next level or better thing on the horizon. This could require travel or relocation though, and this is where you’re most conflicted. Or, how to move forward generally. Also could be holidays, and not being around for them, if that’s the case. Your ambition is on fire, but to get what you want, you have to release something else. A job, a team of people, a routine, your literal location. And you want this, you’ve worked hard for it.

It’s the moving away part that really gets you, in whatever sense that is. You’re not happy about it, and haven’t yet made your decision because of it. Aquarius isn’t a fan of change, like the rest of the fixed signs, they get comfortable in one place and dig deep roots. You’re conflicted about responsibilities, maybe you have too many as it is, and will this new thing even help? Or make it worse? You could be used to a team of people where now you’re on your own, with this Hermit. Not a fan of that either. The advice though, is that your deliberating and procrastinating is you getting in your own way, holding back your opportunities. You’ve worked for this and Spirit is saying, it’s time to hit the gas and get this show on the road.

Animal Oracle: Spider 🕷

“Trust the creative spark you’re feeling, and express it through writing stories that inspire and enlighten.”

The pulse of creativity is especially strong right now, triggering a not unfamiliar and compelling desire to express yourself through creative writing. Whether or not the tales you weave are true, whether they’re based on actual experience or the imaginings of your fertile mind, each day sit yourself down and pour out the words that come to you. Don’t ponder each sentence or paragraph; just write whatever wants to be written through you.

To inspire and enlighten others, you don’t need a profoundly complex take. Start by describing a personal experience, one where you gained some insight that may also be useful for others. However, don’t focus on how people will respond to your story; instead, just enjoy the process of writing without judging your work or yourself. Write to express - not to impress. In attempting to write, you may find yourself easily distracted, either with others’ needs for your time and attention, or with those negative thoughts and beliefs that are the product of judgements and shame that you were subjected to during childhood. A powerful way to release these habitual and self-limiting thoughts and feelings is to write about them in story form. As you do so, don’t hold back anything. Through such a catharsis, you heal those words that had originally wounded you.

Artist Oracle: HENRI MATISSE

- Unleash the beast within.

- Productivity, even in pajamas.

- Sketch boldly and paint with a big stick.

Advice:

- Make Smiles Contagious

- Learn About Emotional Intelligence

- Vote Someone Off the Island 🏝

Charms:

Star of Fame 🌟 on Henri is an amazing opportunity to be noticed, which is what your advice here is too, along with “unleash the beast”. Show them what you’ve got, and hold nothing back. This kind of attention is very positive, meaning good things are coming, possible promotions or being noticed by the right people in the right way - however that fits for you.

#aquarius tarot reading #advice to work on yourself #advice #december 2022 #Aquarius #tarot

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govmattus · 16 days

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Matt Field For Governor Of Utah

I’m Matt Field and I am running for Governor of the State of Utah because I feel compelled to do so. I’m not special, though I think my mom said I was a couple times, and I think a lot of people could do and do Govmatt.org Morality Over Monarchy, Root Out Corruption Matt Field for Governor of Utah better than what I hope to achieve…I mean that as sincerely as possible and hope others will run for governor, other state positions, and local offices to promote and uphold morality. It isn’t because what I’m going to present is solely my idea and it is so great that you should have a poster of me in your room…no, that’d be terrifying! What I will present are proven solutions to the issues we have in government and throughout our lives. These concepts are essentially natural laws that will help improve our lives in drastic fashion if we can get them implemented. They will seem extreme measures but if you haven’t noticed, morality has almost been completely.

When I was in college, I had the idea to run for governor at some point in my life…I even made a Facebook page not long after I graduated that I left up for a very short time and then promptly took it down. I took it down because I began to realize that at before too long, I’d be married, have kids, and have a life I wouldn’t want disrupted by the chaotic world of politics. You don’t have to believe me but I still want the same thing. I want to live my life without making it more complicated. I truly don’t want public attention and I seriously worry about the safety of my family in the pursuit of such a position. Government has become more and more authoritarian. Government officials have entirely forgotten that they aren’t the boss. They no longer act as servants that actively serve and accommodate the people. They have fully transformed into the monarch of our nightmares that will stop at nothing to take your money and wield power against you to service whatever purpose they deem worthy. I believe this is one of the reasons many of our best won’t run for office and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it makes me nervous.

However, how long should you wait for something to be done right before taking action yourself? I have reached out to politicians to address the ever-pressing matters of our day with no response and if I get a response, they talk about themselves for ten paragraphs before telling me they can’t help me. We may have a vote but does the sanctity of that vote actually make a difference to our elected officials?

I don’t think anyone would disagree with the fact that we have problems throughout our state and political system; the question that is constantly present, is can we actually come to an amicable solution? Is there a way to remove emotion for a moment to review the current conditions of our state and country? Can we attempt not to be offended, in either taking offense ourselves or for others? Are we really so far gone that we can’t listen to what others are saying and then follow it up with an actual discussion toward a solution? Most importantly, are we able to recognize what morality is and persevere to uphold it? I really don’t know but I hope we can. https://govmatt.org/blog/news/matt-field-for-governor-of-utah

Morality has been neglected and grossly manipulated through the years. What is perhaps not realized, is that when the government passes a law to protect or ensure something for someone, thing, or entity, it has endorsed it by making it legal. The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution, or bill of rights, were largely written along moral principles that should be inherent to all. However, many subsequent amendments, laws, and policies reject the overwhelming tone of morality in pursuit of something easier and more politically accommodating. In the State of Utah, we need to change this…we need to realize that morality is worth fighting for and work to uphold it.

It reminds me of a time when I was defending the libertarian view with illegal drugs with a friend of mine in college. I had been taught in one of my econ classes that if drugs were made legal the government would have more purview over it and, thus, be able to regulate it more effectively. Many of these arguments made sense to me but my little friend was on the side of morality. She understood that by making illegal drugs legal that it would create a pseudo and artificial morality which would undermine the truth. She was right, as I researched it further I found many others understood the argument the libertarian view presented, agreeing with it, but recognized it’s potential to erode society and undermining actual morality.

Vote Matt field for Governor of Utah! A visionary leader with a proven commitment to serving the community. Matt field's platform prioritizes each sector education, healthcare, economic prosperity, & etc. With integrity and innovative solutions, he'll ensure a brighter future for all Utahns. Make your voice count, vote Matt field for progress and inclusivity. Visit now @ https://govmatt.org/

#utah governor primary results #matt field utah #matthew field #utah governor #matt field

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annieandro · 3 months

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Because others are doesn't mean you are not The Aquarian with the Ram moon has this to learn: Your way is your way, and if it works for you, fine But someone else may have a way of their own And it may not be the best, but, it is theirs To be suspect of an opinion or a way because it isn't yours Can place you in that never-never land that is neither have, or have not With a bit more faith in others, you can make things come off Better to share the credit than car

An idealist who loves people as well as causes, that's the Water Bearer with the moon in Taurus This also the addition of a fixed air sign to a fixed earth sign And change is not a welcome idea You are a constant one, and are at ease when everything around you keeps going as it has You are not someone in a hurry, and you insist on the luxury of free choice Even though it slows you down

The Aquarian need to know the truth, aided by the Gemini need to express it Is the natural result of the Aquarian moon in the sign of the Twin There may be an inclination towards drifting And outsiders may not be able to find definition in your pattern But it's there You make your own picture puzzle, and the pieces fit Once completed, the picture is a true reflection of what the mind can accomplish When it has the time, and the need

The moon in Cancer increases sensitivity and the love of home in any native But when it is added to the Aquarian sign these two factors become even more evidentYour reactions are more likely to be emotional than intellectual You are also one of the most intuitive natives in the zodiac This the result of the Aquarian feeling for people And the Moonchild's quality of absorption and susceptibility

There is an inner struggle between mind and emotion, when the Aquarian moon is in Leo You can never be sure from one moment to the next which will take the lead Beyond this confusion there are of the positives Imagination, warmth, a belief in people and in dignity, and manner There is also a loving nature and a desire to be seen, and known This combination not only believes in utopia, but often tries to make it a reality

You have the clear eye with a head that's all together, when the Aquarian moon is in Virgo Preciseness is your way, and order is the order of the day Loose ends, unfinished business, unresolved situations can get you uptight You're the one who will stay up all night, waiting for the other shoe to drop You're cautious, critical, and correct

The Aquarian moon in Libra provides the world with another love personYou are one of the imaginative people, who seek the beautiful things and regard the world with a kind, soft eye Wherever you are, whether it be thick forests or concrete jungles There's always space enough for the spirit to live in And a reason for a song to be sung

It's hurrah for me when Aquarius has its moon in Scorpio Your existence will never be a secret And no one will be more aware that you exist than you Positive you are, powerful you are, with a drive that dominates everyone with whom you come in contact There is only one person that you truly bet on And you're it Most people are forced to admit, it's a good bet

When the Aquarian moon is in Sagittarius the Aquarian love of social truth,and the Sagittarian's love of beauty Combine to inspire independence of thought and imagination You're an individual who doesn't bend where principles are concerned There's the element of freedom in everything you do There's also, of course, the Sagittarian impulsiveness, which, needs containment You can blow your cool, and blow a deal, in a matter of moments

Your country, right or wrong, is the Aquarian attitude when the moon is in Capricorn This the sign of the super-patriot, the public servant, and someone born to have a voice in the working of his country Whether by holding office or by making his vote count You are a serious native who doesn't take either yourself or your responsibilities lightly This quality makes you a favourite of your superiors and of the public Both of whom contribute essentially to your success

The Water Bearer with his moon, also an Aquarius, knows how to think This is a brainy combination the natural intellect of Aquarius being compounded You not only think, but you think positively In fact, there is very little about you that is not constructive and positive You are more inclined to live in a small circle than in the world But wherever you live, you live with taste and dignity

The Aquarian with a Piscean moon is a student in his heart And the more you satisfy this natural inclination, the more substantial you becomeIf you try to fly by the seat of your pants, or to play things by ear You can drift into some other kind of reality that has no value But with the foundation of facts and reference Your fancy can scale to heights where few have the ability to venture You will see mysteries revealed, that most will never know

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