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nightingaelic · 3 years

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Fallout 4 companions react to meeting Arcade Gannon?

Ever the curious neighbor, as soon as the sole survivor spotted the blonde, bespectacled man at the bar in the Dugout Inn, they drifted over and struck up a conversation. A drink or two later, the two were swapping tales about wasteland encounters, pointing at various holes in their travel clothes and pairing them up with fantastic backstories. When the sole survivor's companion finally swung open the door, they were given an inviting wave.

"Sit down!" the sole survivor encouraged them. "First round's on me. I'd like you to meet Arcade."

Cait: "Hiya handsome." Cait winked at the man in the lab coat and leaned on the bar. "I'm Cait. Never seen you around before. Where is it you're comin' from?"

"I, uh..." Arcade adjusted his glasses and ran a hand through his wavy hair. "West of here. Nowhere in particular."

"A free spirit, then? Just passin' through?" Cait looked him up and down. "Think the Science! Center might be lookin' for a new egghead, if those clothes aren't just for show."

Arcade tugged on his outfit self-consciously. "I thought it might keep Commonwealth raiders from shooting me on sight, if they thought I was a doctor."

Cait bobbed her head in a noncommittal way. "Or they might see you as an easy target. That is, if they don't spot that plasma pistol you've got in your back pocket."

Codsworth: "Hello to you, sir!" Codsworth exclaimed, bobbing excitedly. "Codsworth, at your service. Might I say, it is a fine occasion to meet someone nowadays who appreciates the importance of good hygience and care for one's appearance."

"Thank you," Arcade said, with a somewhat quizzical glance at the sole survivor. "And you belong to..."

"Well, I belong to him just as much as he belongs to me," the sole survivor jumped in to explain.

Codsworth waved them off. "Not to worry, the conventional assumptions are not unwarranted. I am happy to accompany and assist in wasteland adventures as necessary. When not necessary, I typically clean the house."

Curie: "Monsieur Arcade," Curie purred, with the special enthusiasm she reserved for introductions. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. You can call me Curie. Have you been in Diamond City long?"

"Not long at all," Arcade replied, clearly intrigued by Curie's accent. “Parlez-vous français?"

"Oui, Monsieur!" Curie exclaimed. "Le français est si rare de nos jours. Où avez-vous appris?"

"Oh, um... des... des livres, principalement," Arcade stammered. "Books. It's not as good as my Latin, I'm sorry."

"Latin?" Curie switched gears instantly. "Etiam magis rara."

Arcade laughed. "Well, not where I'm from. Who are you? Linguists are practically unicorns, nowadays."

Curie sighed. "It is a long story. Perhaps we wait until Vadim brings the drinks, and we can compare notes?"

Danse: "Ad victoriam, Arcade." Paladin Danse shook the newcomer's hand with gusto. "Paladin Danse, with the Brotherhood of Steel."

Arcade's eyes narrowed. "Brotherhood of Steel?"

"That's correct, citizen," Danse replied proudly.

"Uh-huh." Arcade looked back to the sole survivor. "I had no idea they were in the area. Are you stationed in Diamond City?"

"Brotherhood operations are a strictly classified matter," Danse answered, furrowing his brow. "But our main base of operations is at the Boston airport, where the Prydwen is docked. You can't miss it."

"Well, that explains it." Arcade examined his drink, avoiding eye contact with the Paladin. "I didn't come in from the north. I'm sure it's a sight to see."

Deacon: "Nice to meet you." Deacon declined the handshake, instead crossing his arms and cocking his head to the side. "Nice tan. Been on the road long?"

"Too long," Arcade replied, retracting his hand and returning the calculated look.

Deacon grinned. "Alright, I won't pry. Welcome to Diamond City. Did Vadim try to poison you yet?"

"You watch it, John Doe!" Vadim shot back from halfway down the bar. "Or I call the guards, see if you actually do work the midnight shift, ya?"

"You can walk down to Danny's sign-up sheet for shifts and check yourself!" Deacon's grin grew wider. "And I'll tend bar. We'll see who can do a better job of it."

Dogmeat: Dogmeat approached the man's open hand, which he gave a good sniff. Soap, hot dust, a whiff of plasma cartridges: Nothing out of the ordinary. Satisfied, the dog opened his mouth to pant, tongue lolling, and accepted the scratch behind the ears.

Hancock: "Arcade, huh?" Hancock gave the man a winning smile and took one of the open stools. "I'm Hancock. First time in Diamond City? You're gonna love it here. Vadim and his brother really know how to knock you on the floor."

As if to demonstrate, Vadim delivered three shots of Bobrov's Best to the little group. "On the house," he offered. "Celebrating Mayor Hancock's newest business deal with yours truly."

Hancock threw his back, and when Arcade hesitated, he threw that shot back too. "Next one, buddy."

"Did he say Mayor Hancock?" Arcade asked. "Mayor of Diamond City?"

"Nah, nah." Hancock laughed. "God, wouldn't that be a riot. Ever hear of a town called Goodneighbor?"

MacCready: "Arcade." MacCready shook the man's hand warily. "Like the pre-war places that have a whole bunch of games inside them?"

"Actually, like the..." Arcade made a face. "You know what, never mind. Like the pre-war arcades, yeah."

"Oh, man." MacCready grinned. "There was this one I found once in the Capital Wasteland, mostly broken down of course, but it had one working machine in it. The Red Menace Whac-a-Commie. Someone took the whackers ages ago, but the little Red Menace guys still popped up and down. Duncan- my son- loved it."

Arcade chuckled. "Yeah, they're... they're fun. I found a Hoop Shot once, but the basketballs were all dried-up and flat."

"Gotta get yourself a Pip-Boy," MacCready replied, nudging the sole survivor's shoulder affectionately. "This one has a collection of mini-games for theirs. Atomic Command, Grognak & the Ruby Ruins, Pipfall... all the greats. Oh, I'm MacCready, by the way."

Valentine: "Nick Valentine. Pleased to meet you." Nick shook the man's extended hand with practiced warmth, giving him time to realize the metal grasp he offered was not a cybernetic, and the scar around his jawline was actually just where his synthetic skin ended.

True to form, the stranger's eyebrows shot up, his grip slackened and his mouth dropped open. "You're a... what are you?"

Nick gave him the standard line. "I'm a detective. But, if you're referring to the plastic and platinum bits, I'm also a synthetic man. All the parts, minus a few red blood cells."

"Whoa." Instead of the typical scramble to put some distance between the two of them, Nick was surprised to find Arcade's handshake tighten again at this explanation. "I've heard of people like you, but never thought I'd actually meet one. Er, well, one that was obviously living as a synth. Though I guess you don't have much of a choice, huh?"

Piper: "Arcade? Piper Wright." The reporter shook the newcomer's hand firmly. "So, what's your story? What brings you to the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth?"

"I uh..." Arcade looked flustered, despite Piper's encouraging smile.

The sole survivor came to his defense. "Leave him be, Piper, he just got into town," they scolded playfully.

"What?" Piper asked innocently. "Can't the town reporter ask questions around here without everyone telling me I'm being too nosy?"

"No."

"Town reporter?" Arcade perked up. "Is that your newspaper, on the way in? Public... something?"

"Publick Occurrences," Piper answered with pride. "Covering anything and everything worth hearing about that happens in the Commonwealth."

Preston: "Welcome to Diamond City, Arcade." Preston shook the man's hand warmly. "I'm Preston Garvey with the Commonwealth Minutemen."

"Minutemen?" Arcade asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

"We're citizen soldiers," Preston explained. "The people of the Commonwealth banding together to protect ourselves and decide our own future."

"So sort of like a free state?" Arcade straightened up. "Or do you have some kind of command structure?"

"Command structure." Preston chuckled and glanced at the sole survivor. "You're looking at it."

Strong: "Strong need to get moving," the super mutant replied, rubbing his big hands together. "Milk of human kindness not here."

Arcade took the mutant in with the air of someone who had dealt with somewhat-friendly specimens before. "I can ask the bartender if they have brahmin milk."

The sole survivor waved him off. "No, that's not what he-"

"Puny humans do not have milk!" Strong cut in.

"Wait, milk of human kindness?" Arcade looked confused. "Is that... Macbeth?"

The sole survivor sighed. "It's a long story."

X6-88: "Good afternoon." Rather than sit down, X6-88 adopted a protective stance of the sole survivor, completely ignoring the hand Arcade was offering. "I hope you know that if harm comes to this individual, your life will come to a swift end."

"Uh-huh." Arcade retracted his hand. "Bodyguard?"

"Of a sort."

Arcade turned to the sole survivor instead. "Is he always this much of a stick in the mud?"

They shrugged. "He's protective and slow to trust. Give him a bit and keep your hands where he can see them, you'll be fine."

X6-88 nodded. "Affirmative."

BONUS!

Ada: "Hello sir." Ada nodded her head in greeting. "I am Ada. I hope you are enjoying your stay in Diamond City. Did you experience any trouble getting to the stadium?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Arcade replied. "Sorry, you're an amalgamation I haven't seen before. Sentry bot and protectron parts for sure, but your head is..."

"An assaultron," Ada filled in helpfully. "I take it your region does not have many of these bots?"

"No, they seem to be more of an East Coast thing."

"Just don't get on her bad side," the sole survivor joked. "You don't want to be on the receiving end of an assaultron laser."

Gage: "Well hi there!" Porter shook Arcade's hand forcefully. "Porter Gage. Talked you into trying some of this swill, did they? Brave soul."

"It's not so bad," Arcade replied with a smirk.

"Oh sure, if you're lucky enough to have Scarlett bring it to you." Porter winked at the waitress, who paused in her service to flip him the bird.

"Mmm, not my type," Arcade admitted.

"Not your ty-" Porter blurted before putting two and two together. "Oh, gotcha. Well, there's always Hawthorne."

The raider waved to the adventurer in the corner, who waved back. Arcade sank as deeply into his stool as he could and blushed.

Longfellow: "Mmm." Old Longfellow rejected Arcade's handshake and took the offered seat, swinging around to face the bar. "Storm's comin' soon. Can smell it."

"Then it's a good thing we're inside," Arcade replied, his tone unsure.

Longfellow grunted his agreement and accepted the drink Vadim slid to him, downing it quickly.

The sole survivor scowled at him. "Guess he's not in a talkative mood today."

Maxson: "Elder Arthur Maxson of the East Coast Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel." Maxson shook Arcade's hand confidently.

Arcade, on the other hand, looked like he was being violently pulled between an instinct to flee and an intense curiosity. Curiosity won out. "Maxson? Of the line of Captain Roger Maxson?"

"High Elder Roger Maxson," the Elder corrected him. "You know of him?"

"Well sure, everybody on the West Co-" Arcade stopped himself. "Never mind. What's an Elder doing in a dive like this?"

Maxson studied him intently, clearly sizing him up. "Shore leave," he finally answered, sliding into the offered seat.

Desdemona: Desdemona smiled coolly. "I know."

The answer took Arcade aback, but the sole survivor just rolled their eyes. "Dispense with the power plays for once, Dez. We're just trying to have a drink."

The Railroad leader raised an eyebrow, but she sat down. "Suit yourself. When did you arrive in town, Mr. Gannon?"

"Oh, for the love of..."

Arcade eyed her suspiciously. "I don't remember telling you my full name."

Desdemona lit up a cigarette. "You didn't. But I'm by far the friendliest person in the Commonwealth who's wondering why a Follower of the Apocalypse is all the way out here, across the continent."

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nevertheless-moving · 3 years

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Suicidal Misunderstanding XXI

Part I - - - - - - - - Part XVIII - - - - Part XIX - - - - Part XX

Star Wars Time Travel AU #27

“This is Master Kit Fisto, requesting permission to land.”

“Hold on one moment please, General Fisto.”

A crackling sound filled the air while Ahsoka bounced her leg anxiously up and down in the copilot’s seat.

“I’ve been told to redirect your shuttlecraft to auxiliary seven. Sending coordinates now.”

“Aux Seven?” Kit frowned at the comm. “Are you certain? That’s a deployment pad.”

“Affirmative, High Council Orders. You and Commander Tano are to land on aux seven. Have you received the coordinates?”

“Yes, yes- I know where I’m going. Thank you. Over.”

“Over.”

Ahsoka shot the Nautolan Master an anxious look.

“Maybe they realized Obi-Wan’s injuries were actually an attack and they’re redeploying me and Skyguy to go after the jerk responsible?” the Padawan asked hopefully.

Master Fisto grimaced. “I would hope they’re not sending you out into the field so soon but I suppose the Ghost Nebula crisis has been escalating. Ahsoka...if they are assigning you a mission and you’d rather stay at the temple-”

“I should be with Master Skywalker and the 501st,” Ahsoka said resolutely. “I shouldn’t have left them in the first place. Skyguy said I could help the war and see Lee Char and I just-” Ahsoka cut herself off with a slight snarl.

Kit sighed. “You’re a remarkable padawan and commander. I simply wanted to let you know I’m happy to support you if you wish to rest.”

The young tortugan bounced her leg a little more. “Thank you Master Fisto, but I’m fine.”

They spent the rest of the short flight in silence. When they finally reached the landing pad, they were met by a small contingent from the 501st, as well as Master Windu himself, who greeted them with a short bow and a placid expression.

“Master Fisto, Padawan Tano, I trust your flight went smoothly?”

“Yes, Master Windu,” Kit and Ahsoka said in unison.

“Padawan Tano- is there any thing I should be aware of that would prevent you from shipping off with the 501st? I regret that you won’t have time at the temple but...situations are escalating rapidly and it’s been agreed that the best place for you is onboard the Dauntless.”

Ahsoka straightened her spine. “I’m ready for my next mission Master Windu.”

“Sir-” Captain Rex interjected, “Does this mean that General Skywalker isn’t stepping down from command anymore? Surely you’re not shipping Ahsoka off alone?”

A muscle throbbed in Master Windu’s forehead. “General Skywalker’s status is classified.”

Captain Rex opened his mouth.

“As is General Kenobi’s. You will simply have to trust in the High Council’s decision. Padawan, follow the Captain to his transport shuttle. Master Fisto, you’re with me.”

Ahsoka started to move in a daze but Kit stopped her with a gentle hand to her shoulder.

“Mace- surely you can tell young Tano more than that before sending her out- she’s already partially informed regarding the situation with Master Kenobi. I realize time is of the essence but a Padawan’s place is with their Master, correct?”

The troops shifted and Captain Rex openly scrutinized General Windu. The Jedi looked calm. Too calm. He was hiding something. Obviously.

“I’m afraid it’s all classified, including what you’ve already been told. All I can tell you right now is... to trust in your General.”

Rex, already close to his breaking point, snapped at Windu. “Are you talking about Krell?! That demagolka is-”

“Watch your language, Captain.”

“Yes, sir.”

Master Fisto frowned heavily “Mace, I’m not comfortable with this. As a fellow council member, I ask we delay sending Ahsoka until we’ve had a chance to discuss things further- I’m happy to fly her to a rendezvous with the 501st if that’s what we decide.”

Windu shook his head firmly. “I’m afraid that time of the essence and the matter isn’t open to discussion. You have your assignments. Padawan Tano will be technically placed under Master Krell’s watch, though I’m explicitly assigning her to focus on her duties with the 501st. Padawan, you’re to focus on your military responsibilities with Captain Rex, not training with Krell; he’s received a copy of my orders in the regard. Everyone needs to trust that the council has- a bigger picture than any one campaign, or any one person.”

A hint of frustration crept in Master WIndu’s tone and Ahsoka swallowed down her bitter thoughts.

“Yes, Sir,” she said, saluting the Master of the Order with military precision. Rex snapped off a salute as well, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before guiding her away.

“Mace, what the-”

“Not here.”

“I’m not-”

“Not. Here.”

Master Fisto cast one last look at the retreating 501st before chasing after the Human Jedi Master, the force too turbulent to tell him if it was the right decision.

To Kit’s continuing dismay, he was led not inside the temple, but to a nearby speeder. Mace was dead silent for the short walk, gesturing silently to enter. Kit’s lips tightened but he climbed in, a temple guard starting to fly the moment the doors shut.

“Mace-”

“Read this,” Master Windu said brusquely, pushing a datapad into the Nautolan Master’s hands.

Master Fisto scanned the screen, large eyes growing wider the longer he read.

“No!” Kit gasped, floundering in the force for reassurance, but Mace’s shields were like durasteel. Kit softened slightly.

“Master Kenobi...you really don’t know where he is?”

Mace stared out the window.

“Keep reading,” he said hollowly.

“...You think he might attempt to assassinate Dooku? AND the Chancellor? By himself?”

“He was...disconnected from reality at points,” Mace said carefully. “He was aware of that fact, but seemed to blame the Sith and the Politicians for the war. His...trust in the Order is severely shaken.”

Kit continued to scroll through the pad, pausing and reeling in horror. “He stabbed Skywalker?!”

Mace nodded tersely. “And now Skywalker’s AWOL as well. He handled Obi-Wan’s initial...breakdown as well as can be expected, given the circumstances, but his continued shocking behavior after waking up...Skywalker was already severely shaken before Kenobi got to the worst of his ramblings.”

“Force,” Kit said heavily, rubbing his forehead.

“I know I wasn’t fair to Padawan Tano, but the council felt the need to get her off planet and away from specifically dangerous elements.”

Master Fisto groaned, leaning back. “I can’t believe the expansion region is considered a safer option than the temple.”

Kit looked out the window. “Mace...why are we heading to the Senate Rotunda?”

Windu seemed, impossibly, to tense up even further. “I need you to brief the Chancellor on Kenobi.”

Kit’s head whipped around, tentacles flailing behind. “I just landed on planet,” he responded in disbelief. “Wouldn’t it be better for someone was actually there to do that?”

“I can’t,” Mace said, a hint of anguish breaking through his shields and voice, before his jaw clenched shut.

Kit drew back, alarmed by the falter in stoicism.

Master Windu’s collected himself with a shaky breath. “I have to ready the 187th; with Kenobi and Skywalker out of the picture we need every General on the front lines now. I’m sure the Chancellor will agree, once you brief him on how dire the situation is.”

There was a short pause as the two collected their thoughts.

“...The last few days have been hell, haven’t they?” Kit asked quietly.

The Harrun Kal Jedi chuckled darkly at that. “They’re nothing compared to the shit-show that’s about to unfold.”

Master Fisto bent over, dropping his face to his hands.

Windu steeled himself before continuing on. “I need you to organize the Chancellor’s defense. Try to stress to him that he should be guarded by a Jedi at all times- tell him- tell him whatever you have to about Kenobi, so far he only knows that he was ill, but you’re authorized to give more details than I previously disclosed- his medical file is attached. Tell him our worst suspicions if need be. The fact that you’ve been off-world...makes you...above suspicion in some respects. I’m...sorry Kit. I know I’m throwing you in without proper support but...it’s the best I can do. You’re going to have to explain to the Chancellor how stretched thin we are.”

The Nautolan smiled weakly. “You don’t have to apologize, Mace, you’re the one heading to the front.”

Mace didn’t reply.

The speeder arrived at the Senate Entrance.

Kit steadied himself, grabbing the datapad and holding it like a shield as he marched inside. The speeder peeled away, heading back to the temple. Master Gallia pulled off the temple guard mask, frowning even as she navigated back the way they came.

“I don’t like this plan,” she protested again.

“Neither do I,” Mace agreed. “Do you have a better one?”

“We don’t know that Sidious’s mental abilities are that strong,” she said desperately.

“We don’t,” Mace agreed again. “All we know is that he’s subtle enough to conceal himself from us for over a decade while gradually steering us towards destruction, and also powerful enough to defeat us all in combat.”

Adi Gallia took a long meditative breath, desperately seeking calm as the force roiled, massive waves of upheaval rippling across the galaxy.

XXII

#star wars #star wars au #time travel #star wars fanfiction #angst with a happy ending #suicidal misunderstanding au #my au #star wars au no 27

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niqhtlord01 · 3 years

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Humans are weird: Insurgency Part 1

Planet: Sepher III Status: Conquered Industrial Capacity: Limited - Reconstruction in progress Agriculture Capacity: Limited - Reconstruction in progress Orbital Capacity: 5 orbital platforms - 2 require minor repair, 1 requires extensive repair and overhaul Population: 753,682 Humans 35,321 Mentas 125,873 Menta Colonists enroute. Military: 0 Human 175,946 Menta Soldiers 2,653 Naval Personnel 3 Moltak Destroyers Leadership: Military Governor Galvin Zecks Sub Commander Cobal Oft ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 2743 Formal Occupation +1 To: High Council of Menta From: Military Governor Galvin Zecks To my honored leaders I bid you well, I wish to once more thank you for your confirmation of my stewardship of our latest conquest from the humans. Already I have put to work the remaining population of humans that did not flee at rebuilding this planet and preparing it for the coming colonists. Within a few months of their arrival I will have turned this war torn world into the lynch pin for our future conquests in neighboring sectors.

I have just seen off the remaining military forces which left to continue the campaign. I have no doubt their victories will resound through the hallowed halls of the seven suns for ages to come.

May the eyes of the seven watchers gaze upon your deeds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 2743 Formal Occupation +1 To: Military Governor Galvin Zecks From: Cobal Oft

Per your instructions the remaining humans in the surrounding area have been put to work rebuilding the capital and space port.

Our initial strikes on both locations was deep and the damage is extensive. It will be some time before they are operational again.

In the mean time I have had our ground forces establish their base around the capital building. They have begun work on fortifications along with several barracks and depot buildings have already been constructed.

From here we have been able to launch extensive patrols around the surrounding area.

I have also dispatched several dozen garrison forces to occupy other cities and smaller towns. Once the capital is secure we can go about setting up additional garrisons. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 2743 Formal Occupation +66 To: Cobal Oft From: Military Governor Galvin Zecks The first batch of colonists should be arriving within the next few days.

Finally we can get this dirt ball feeling like a proper Menta world. It will be refreshing to see the streets filled with our people instead of these dirty human rabbles.

To that end I want you to establish exclusion zones around the start port and capital. Expel all humans within and remove them to the outer quarters of the city. The use of lethal force is prohibited at this time for such implementation, much to my displeasure. We can not have our new colonists thinking this world is savage and unhospitable and if word gets out of executions or deaths among the human work force it could reflect badly and dissuade others from coming.

If such methods are required in certain cases make sure that they are properly contained.

After the humans have been relocated establish checkpoints at each of the entrances to the star port and capital. No human is to be allowed in unless with proper authorization. papers. It's time to remind the humans of their new place on Sepher III. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year 2743 Formal Occupation +153 To: Military Governor Galvin Zecks From: Cobal Oft

Security of capital has been officially handed over to the Sepher police force. They're a bunch of green jackribs if you ask me but at this point there's no need for military units to be acting like this is a live combat theater.

In the mean time I am dispersing the remaining forces to the regional capitals now that they're finished. All twelve should have substantial reinforcements to support local enforcement which has become a problem since humans fled major cities to minor towns.

Speaking of troop deployments, I heard a rumor that we are about to lose a majority of our standing occupation forces. Can you confirm? If this is true then it might shake up our redeployment considerably. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 2743 Formal Occupation +153 To: Cobal Oft From: Military Governor Galvin Zecks You heard correctly, but in the future I would encourage you to dissuade yourself from gossip. The war with the humans is taking a larger toll than first projected. Reinforcements are being called up from all of Menta space and shipped to Vergo Prime and since Sepher III has been classified as pacified the military leadership has decided such a large force is no longer required.

We can expect transport ships to be in system within the next few days to collect roughly a third of our ground forces. Have the finest soldiers ready on the landing pad before then. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 2743 Formal Occupation +247 To: Cobal Oft From: Military Governor Galvin Zecks I am hearing disturbing reports from one of our mining camps at Golden Peaks. Some sort of violence against one of our guards by a human prisoner.

This came at a rather embarrassing time as I was meeting with several industrialists from the home world about their expansion to our world.

I was able to downplay the event as nothing serious but I want it under control now.

Dispatch several squads and make some examples of the human laborers there. Then go have a word with the mines foreman and express my displeasure with his lack of control.

Be enthusiastic when it comes to telling him how disappointed I am. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 2743 Formal Occupation +262 To: Cobal Oft From: Military Governor Galvin Zecks I feel my previous message may have been unclear in what I wanted done with the mining base at Golden Peaks.

To be clear, I wanted the soldiers to publicly execute one or two human agitators and then beat several dozen more including the foreman.

What I did not want to happen was the destruction of the entire mining operation!

My office is still getting reports of damages and loss of life after the explosives went off.

Consider yourself fortunate that the industrialists had already left or I would have your head on a platter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 2743 Formal Occupation +263 To: Military Governor Galvin Zecks From: Cobal Oft

I have had my men combing the area and we believe we have pieced together what happened.

Several squads arrived just as you requested two days prior and began the process of making examples.

The day before the explosion one of the soldiers executed a human female from the camp and displayed her body at the main mine entrance as a warning.

Later that night a series of explosives went off destroying not only the mining facility but the stationed squads as well.

We believe the humans were able to get their hands on some of the mining charges and wired them to detonate.

Officially I have been stating that the incident was a result of human negligence with improper storage of explosives and the cover story is working. The only problem is the final body count does not add up. It's true because of the blast several more bodies may be buried in the mines, but security footage shows several dozen human workers fleeing the mine before the explosion went off.

I have three teams combing through the surrounding area searching for them.

They will be recaptured and made an example of.

#HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #scifi #story

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kemetic-dreams · 3 years

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In my research I learned that the word comes from tribus in Latin. Its earliest usage was in the time of the Roman empire where there were three original tribes, but more were added to organize the voting system. At first, tribe may have been related to ethnicity, but as more were added, it became about geographical location, rather than kinship. Tribe was a territorial voting unit in the Roman state. I've seen the word used to talk about Celtic and Germanic histories. It also became associated with the Hebrew people of the Torah and Bible. You must have heard of the 12 Tribes of Israel. The connotations evolved, and the problems with it began when it got into the hands of anthropologists. (Ironically, I have a degree in anthropology and I think it's a fascinating discipline; Good thing my favorite anthro professor back in my university days wisely recommended that we understand the controversies around the term.)

Truth be told, it offends many people. Here's why:

#1 For European missionaries and explorers who went out to conquer people, the word "tribal" was synonymous to "savage" and "primitive." It's mainstream connotation is rooted in colonial-era racist ideology. The word immediately conjures stereotypical imagery of brown people with bones in their noses or naked warriors running around in a rainforest

That “tribal” word

Chika Oduah

I cringe whenever I see that word in a news article. And I see it so often in journalese. Stories about developing countries often feature phrases like tribal healer, tribal land, tribal conflict, tribesmen, tribal chief, tribal wear, tribal name, tribal rhythm. The word is so problematic, I don't even know where to begin. I will suggest this - get some education on its history.

The Myth of the Noble Savage

The word plays into a historic imagination that classifies indigenous people outside of Europe into two categories of savages: the noble savage and the brutal savage. That leads me to number two.

The bottom-line problem with the idea of tribe is that it is intellectually lazy.

#2 Societies are constantly changing. No matter where you go, you're bound to see it. Technology, the spread of ideas, education, globalization, all of these elements contribute to sociocultural changes. But the word "tribal" freezes societies in a primordial past (real or imagined) where people wore animal skins and ran with wolves. I think it's hard for many people in the Western world to accept that societies in Africa (in other developing regions around the world) are dynamic. It's hard for some to grasp concepts of modernity in such places. Even the most remote, far flung communities are not the same today as they were just 20 years ago.

The tribe, a long respected category of analysis in anthropology, has recently been the object of some scrutiny by anthropologists ... Doubts about the utility of the tribe as an analytical category have almost certainly arisen out of the rapid involvement of peoples, even in the remotest parts of the globe, in political, economic and sometimes direct social relationship with industrial nations. The doubts, however, are based ultimately on the definition and meaning which different scholars give to the term 'tribe', its adjective 'tribal', and its abstract form 'tribalism' ~ Dr. James Clyde Mitchell

Westerners have romanticized certain ethnic groups, like the Maasai in eastern Africa, because they have this romantic idea that the Maasai people are living the exact same way as their ancestors did. Untouched by modernity. But that's simply not true. And where does this desperate need to have ethnic groups permanently living in primordial or precolonial states come from? Is the "primitive," noble savage look more marketable for tourism? That leads me to number three.

#3 The relentless attempt to cast Africans are primitive, unchanging people relates to another popular notion that the past, when there was no internet, airplanes or sliced bread, was more peaceful, more pure and less complicated than modern times. The problem with that is that it pushes an identity (based on a misconstrued premise) on other people. It's someone from the West saying I want the kind of African who lives in a thatch-roofed hut in a village in Niamey, not the African who lives in a brick home in a Harare suburb. Africans are constantly being defined by the Western world, submitting to the names and descriptions put upon them. In my favorite work by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun, the character Odenigbo says, "But my point is that the only authentic identity for the African is the tribe...I am Nigerian because a white man created Nigeria and gave me that identity. I am black because the white man constructed black to be as different as possible from his white. But I was Igbo before the white man came.” (I'll talk about Africans using the word tribe further down!).

In the Americas, Africa, Australia, and elsewhere, colonial administrators applied these terms [tribe and band] to specific groups almost immediately upon contact. ~Encyclopedia Brittanica

#4 The word "tribal" distorts reality because it leads to misguided ideas of what is authentic and what is not. This is when a Westerner, looking at a picture of expensive cars parked at a chic hotel in Accra, says "this is not the real Africa." I hear the comment very often because there's this prevailing perception that the real Africa is "tribal." Its stick, bones, dirt and chiefs draped in leopard print. Anything outside of that, according to that line of thought, has been touched (contaminated, even) by the Western world, therefore is inauthentic. Again, it's that insistence on denying dynamism, that change happens. And that prerequisite applies to people, too. The African woman who graduated from Harvard Business School, works as a bank executive and wears Chanel suits is not a real African. The woman chopping firewood with a naked baby on her back is and gets bonus points for authenticity if the child has flies swarming around the face.

Over to You, Is the Word 'Tribe' Offensive? - BBC World Service

#4 For peoples who experienced oppression, suppression or marginalization from European colonizers or their descendants, the word "tribe" triggers memories of a traumatic past. This is especially true of Native Americans, also called the First Nations. (I remember learning about the Trail of Tears in elementary school and feeling quite sad about it.) Thousands of Native Americans were brutally uprooted from their ancestral lands when Europeans and their descendants decided to forcibly expand their presence in the Americas. Today, the U.S. government still officially uses the word "tribes" to refer to Native Americans, but I have read that they prefer to be called "nations" or "people."

#5 There's also this thing with numbers. British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, originator of the Dunbar's number theory, said that 500 - 1,500 people (who follow their ancestral culture, beliefs of unity, laws, and rights; are self-sufficient and have strong emotion towards their lands) can be classified as a one tribe. Those are pretty much the same numbers that other nineteenth century anthropologists used, defining a tribe as a human society made up of several bands. A band was a small, egalitarian, kin-based group of perhaps 10–50 people. So when you're looking at the large ethnic groups in Africa today, some numbering millions, they can't be described as tribes.

Tribe has no coherent meaning. What is a tribe? The Zulu in South Africa, whose name and common identity was forged by the creation of a powerful state less than two centuries ago, and who are a bigger group than French Canadians, are called a tribe. So are the !Kung hunter-gatherers of Botswana and Namibia, who number in the hundreds. The term is applied to Kenya's Maasai herders and Kikuyu farmers, and to members of these groups in cities and towns when they go there to live and work.

Tribe is used for millions of Yoruba in Nigeria and Benin, who share a language but have an eight-hundred year history of multiple and sometimes warring city-states, and of religious diversity even within the same extended families. Tribe is used for Hutu and Tutsi in the central African countries of Rwanda and Burundi. Yet the two societies (and regions within them) have different histories. And in each one, Hutu and Tutsi lived interspersed in the same territory. They spoke the same language, married each other, and shared virtually all aspects of culture. At no point in history could the distinction be defined by distinct territories, one of the key assumptions built into "tribe." ~Pambazuka News

Zambia is slightly larger than Texas. The country has approximately 10 million inhabitants and a rich cultural diversity. English is the official language, but Zambia also boasts 73 different indigenous languages. While there are many indigenous Zambian words that translate into "nation," "people," "clan," "language," "foreigner," "village" or "community," there are none that easily translate into "tribe." Sorting Zambians into a fixed number of "tribes" was a byproduct of British colonial rule over Northern Rhodesia (as Zambia was known prior to independence in 1964).

#6 In anthropological theories of social evolution, "tribe" is lower than "civilization." After studying early cultures in Central and South America, American neo-evolutionary cultural anthropologist Elman Rogers Service devised an influential categorization scheme for the political character of human social structures: band, tribe, chiefdom and state.

A band is the smallest unit of political organization, consisting of only a few families and no formal leadership positions. Tribes have larger populations but are organized around family ties and have fluid or shifting systems of temporary leadership. Chiefdoms are large political units in which the chief, who usually is determined by heredity, holds a formal position of power. States are the most complex form of political organization and are characterized by a central government that has a monopoly over legitimate uses of physical force, a sizeable bureaucracy, a system of formal laws, and a standing military force.

With this understanding, again, many of the large ethnic groups in Africa's modern nation states cannot be called tribes.

But... a lot of Africans use "tribe" to describe themselves. The word is taught in schools across African countries, because the secular educational system was largely created by Westerners. That's the basis of the ongoing "decolonize education" campaign in South Africa. Check this out: When Africans learn English, they are often taught that "tribe" is the term that English-speakers will recognize. But what underlying meaning in their own languages are Africans translating when they say "tribe"? In English, writers often refer to the Zulu tribe, whereas in Zulu the word for the Zulu as a group is isizwe. Zulu linguists translate isizwe as "nation" or "people." Isizwe refers both to the multi-ethnic South African nation and to ethno-national peoples that form a part of the multi-ethnic nation. When Africans use the word "tribe" in general conversation, they do not draw on the negative connotations of primitivism the word has in Western countries.

But there has been a decades-long push by many African scholars and media professionals to get media outlets, textbooks and academia to stop using "tribe" and "tribal." Some have addressed their concerns to The New York Times, among other news publications. Here's how Bill Keller, New York Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning executive editor from 2003 to 2011 responded:

"I get it. Anyone who uses the word "tribe" is a racist. [. . .] It's a tediously familiar mantra in the Western community of Africa scholars. In my experience, most Africans who live outside the comforts of academia (and who use the word "tribe" with shameless disregard for the political sensitivities of American academics) have more important concerns."

The logic here is, since the real Africans are using the word themselves, then what's the big deal? Well, for all the reasons I just presented and more. And recently we're seeing a wave of companies and organizations come out to announce that they will not longer use "tribe" and "tribal." The New York Times is now using "ethnic group" and "ethnic." (I have issues with ethnic. At a Walmart, I noticed that the aisle for hair products tailored to people of African descent was the "ethnic hair" aisle; that's literally what the sign said). These entities may have been motivated by political correctness or could be trying to save face. I don't know. I know that, what to do about the tribe/tribal word is a conversation that matters.

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dreamer213 · 3 years

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Broken Machines: Lights the Dark

Chapter 3 Evening in Atlas Part 2

Penny was stunned, of all the things she thought he was going to say she never would have guessed it would be THAT. A party? Their mission was at a party? One that requires formal attire and an luxurious vehicle. Just how? Why? What reason could there possibly be for her to go with General Ironwood to a formal party? This just didn’t make any sense at all! Penny tried and tried to comprise some sort of answer but every time she does she just circles back to where she started. Why in Remnant was this happening to her!

Penny: Um I’m sorry General but could you please explain to me why we are going to a evening party.

Ironwood: In all fairness we aren’t going to a normal evening party. We are going to an Altas evening party at the largest estate in the region.

Penny: I see, that still doesn’t answer my question.

Ironwood: The reason we are going is to gather some info before we begin our formal investigation or in this case your investigation.

Penny: I’m sorry what?

Ironwood: I’m rearranging your schedule and assigning you to an undercover investigation.

Penny: A-and what exactly am I going to investigate?

Ironwood: A week or two ago you witnessed one of the supply truck carrying materials for “the project” get hijacked, correct?

Penny: Yes. I tried to go after them but I had to rescue the security detail they injured during their escape.

Ironwood: Well, there’s been several more incidents since and it’s put everything behind schedule and we can’t afford any delays. Not right now. So we been investigating and have some clear suspects but we still haven’t been able to apprehend them. Every time we get close they spring a trap or find an some sort escape route and get away. We’ve done everything we can to tighten up security but they’re always one step ahead. Is as though they have information on the shipping schedule, the security detail, the layouts of the facilities, and facilities security systems. I believe that there’s a spy who’s been feeding the thieves this information.

Penny: I understand that but what does that have to with me attending an Atlas evening party?

Ironwood: You see, we’ve already done a thorough swipe of all the military personnel involved with “the project” and every single one was cleared of all suspicion so the spy isn’t from our end. Which means it has to be someone from factories or shipping companies and due to the classified nature of most of this intell it has to someone in a very high position in one or both companies. The only ones with that type of authority in either would have to be an Alas elite. The listed of possible suspects is still too large to focus in on any one specific and a public investigation will just raise more suspicion and give the spy a chance to flee hence the need to do this incognito.

Penny: But why me? Out of the numerous soldiers you have at your disposal why did you pick me?

Ironwood: I would do it myself but given my status as both a general and a member of the council showing any interest of any kind towards someone in high society will just raise more questions. As for the soldiers I could send most would be so obvious either in appearance or behavioral that they could never maintain their cover. And anyone who could maintain it already has some sort of of connection with Atlas that would just further complicate things. So that leaves you, Penny Polendina, with your innocence appearance and skill set you’re the perfect person to go undercover without raising any alarms.

Penny: I understand what you’re saying Sir but there’s still a large flaw in this plan. While it’s true I appear the most non threatening there’s still the matter of my mechanical nature. I just cannot believe people wouldn’t be suspicious of an android with more firepower then several military grade tanks attending formal events.

Ironwood: Your right they would be very suspicious of you if they knew.

Penny: If? They don’t……..How? How is this possible? All of Vytal saw me get ripped to pieces! The tournament was live! It was viewed around the world! How could anyone not know?

Ironwood: Tell me Penny, has anyone asked you about the tournament since you’ve been Mantle?

Penny paused for a moment, looking back no one had said anything about the Vytal Festival for as long as she’d been in Mantle. In fact she had explained her capabilities to several people after they witnessed her heroics the first month she was stationed there. Even then many had a hard time believing it was true. Was this really not public knowledge? Was this really not as well known as she thought? Had her terrifying near death experience really gone unnoticed?

Penny: How? Please just tell me how?

Ironwood: While your tragedy was televised across the globe it occurred so close to the fall of Beacon that it was quickly forgotten amongst the chaos Beacon’s tragedy caused. That and after global communications were lost all footage of the tournament was lost to.

Penny: But there were still witnesses. People still watched it happen.

Ironwood: Not in Alas.

Penny: Huh!

Ironwood: Atlas has always been a sort of world of its own especially amongst the elites. To them if doesn’t effect their cash flow it isn’t worth talking about or remembering. Your destruction may have been a hit to the military but to the city of Atlas it was non existent.

Penny: So from the perspective of the people at this party I’ll just be-

Ironwood: A girl from Mantle with a military background. A perfectly nobody, that’s your cover.

Penny: I see.

Ironwood: As to why we’re going tonight, this event is a very special one. Every politician, business mogul, and wealthy family in Atlas will be in attendance so is the perfect opportunity to make your induction into high society. I was hoping to brief you on the case and get you some etiquette lessons before you go in but this chance was to good to waste. We’ll go over everything properly in the morning but for tonight all you need to do is introduce yourself and try and make some connections.

Penny: …Yes Sir.

Ironwood: Remember Penny this isn’t for the sake of a military project. It’s for the sake of Altas as a whole.

Penny: Yes Sir.

With that everything was out in the open, all they could do now was finish the ride in silence. After a while the limo arrives at flying ferry, the only way to get passenger filled cars from Mantle to Atlas safely, once the limo is loaded on they’re into the air and soon they are greeted by the beauty that is the Atlas skyline.

Welcome to the city in the sky

The party’s going well, after the initial greeting and welcomes Jacques makes the announcement everyone’s been waiting for. In a long winded speech Jacques expressed how “sad” he was that his daughter had lost herself to the thralls of war to the point that he had to throw her out of the house for everyone’s safety and so now. He ends his “heartbroken” speech by announcing that his youngest child and only son Whitley was to be the new heir of the Schnee Dust Company. With that said he hands Whitley the microphone, prompting him to make his speech.

Whitley: Thank you Father, ladies and gentlemen I would first like to say I am so sorry about the circumstances that has brought us here tonight but never the less I’m grateful to all of you for gifting us with your presents. I never expected to be given this title especially not this way but I’m grateful to both my father and to all of you for believing in me capable of holding this new position. I promise I will do everything in my power to become the best heir I can possibly be. And one day I will take charge of our family business, continue our great and glorious legacy, and insure that it will carry on for many generations to come.

Whitley hands the mic back to Jacques whose now holding a glass of champagne. Jacques raises his glass, the guests follow. He points the glass towards his son and makes a toast.

Jacques: A toast to the new heir. May he grow to be strong man capable of doing what’s best for the Schnee Dust Empire and for the great city of Atlas! To Whitley!

“To Whitley” the crowd shouts back. Once everyone’s downed a bit of their drink Jacques and Whitley return to the ballroom floor and back into the awaiting crowd. Soon Whitley was mobbed by a sea of people all wanting to make conversation. Scores “ Congratulations” and “I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful heir!” and of course many “ It’s pity about your sister.”. Every word out of their mouths is like sugar drenched poison. Alluring on the surface but bite into it and the toxicity of their true intentions are strong enough to kill eight full grown men. This was not group happy guests but a flock of vultures looking to pick at the fresh meat that is a young elite’s pride.

Whitley: This is going to be a very VERY long night.

As the limousine gets closer to their destination Penny grows anxious, she had handled many missions before but those were all Grimm related she’d never had to socialize outside of saying hello to Mantle citizens or issuing warns to known criminals. Her anxiety only grows worse as she spots their destination out the window. They’re heading towards a ginormous mansion, longer then most of the government building, it’s pearlescent, grand, and overall screamed “High Class”. Penny was feeling completely out of her depth in this situation and very unsure of how to handle it. She looks over to Ironwood and asks for a little guidance.

Penny: Sir, May I ask what exactly am I supposed to say to these “Altas elites”?

Ironwood: That easy. Just give them you’re name, that you’re here with me and you’re one my highest ranked soldiers. That should be enough to get them talking.

Penny: Alright, I’ll do my best.

The limo finally come to a stop in the manor driveway behind several other more expensive looking limousines. The driver opens the car door, Ironwood get out first he extends his right arm her to grab. She tries reaching for his hand but he corrects her and places it on his bicep instead. He lifts her out of her seat and onto the sidewalk. Once Penny’s out of the car she gets a full view of the manor, and it’s almost overwhelming with how regal it looks. A castle like structure with high towers, ornate windows, and beautiful woodwork, a true masterpiece of a building. They head inside and by the gods it’s as though they step into a fairytale! The marble floors, the gorgeous walls, there’s even statues and big chandeliers! Things only get more dazzling as they enter the ballroom, it’s just as amazing as the entrance and there’s a sea of well dressed people socializing inside. Once again Penny looks to Ironwood but before she can say anything someone rushes up to greet him and soon people start gathering around him!

“There’s the man we’ve been looking for! General Ironwood get over here this instant! “

One man shouts bringing even more attention to Ironwood as the now mob of people get closer and closer. Most look to be business men and wealthy middle women and they’re all thanking for saving them at the charity gala and asking to get him a drink. They’re almost surrounded when Ironwood finally speaks up.

Ironwood: Penny, Why don’t you go take a look around. I have some people I need to talk to.

Penny: But General-

Ironwood puts his hand up to ask the crowd for some space then gets down to Penny’s level and whispers to her.

Ironwood:(whisper) I can handle things here, you go and cover more ground.

Penny: Yes Sir!

Penny unlinks her arm from his and heads off while Ironwood starts chatting up the crowd. Penny looks around hoping to find someone to converse with but everyone seems to be engrossed in their own conversations. As she goes deep and deeper into the ballroom she picks up a really nice smell, not like the perfume or cologne of the people around but more like the smells of the food stands and restaurants in Mantle only nicer! Penny knows she shouldn’t get distracted but temptation is just too great and there was still time to figure out how to complete her mission so would it really be wrong to take one quick little break? Penny follows the smell to a line of tables and it’s glorious! It’s a buffet! Full of fresh seafood, a carving station, an assortment of vegetable dishes, and some many food she’s never even know existed! There’s even a fancy dessert station! Penny’s beside herself trying to figure out how she should to go about this.

Penny: It all looks so good I want to try everything! But I can’t just eat all I want my stomach has a capacity. And I know Dad must have a plate saved for me at home. So I’ll just get one plate and fill it with a little bit of everything that stands out to me so I don’t overeat. Yeah that should work.

Penny grabs a plate and goes down the buffet line. She picks up a small lobster tail and a couple shrimp, a small piece of wagyu beef, a bit of garden salad, some truffle pasta, and a tiny chocolate soufflé for dessert. Once she’s got her plate filled she can’t wait another second and takes a bite from the first thing she can stick her fork in. It was the lobster and it’s delicious. It’s so savory and sweet and buttery. It’s so soft it’s practically melting in her mouth. So good.~

She keeps eating for bit until she notices a shadow looming over her. She looks up from her plate to see a group of upper class women in beautiful dresses each in different colors. This is great Penny could finally start on her mission! She was about to greet them but a woman in a red dress spoke first.

Woman in red: Oh my look at that plate! It looks you’re really enjoy yourself. The food must absolutely delicious.

Penny: Yes, it is. Good evening my name is Penny Pole-

Woman in red: I mean it must be, why else would you be stuffing your face so eagerly.

Penny: What.

Woman in blue: Uh Young lady I think you might want to slow down a bit. Surely you wouldn’t want to fill out that dress of yours, though you do have plenty of room in the hip area. Maybe you should try hit the gym or look for a good surgeon.

Woman in yellow: Oh don’t forget about the color! I’d never be so bold to wear lime green to an evening party. And with those freckles and such pale skin Dear you look a little spotty glow stick.

Penny:(quietly) I thought it looked nice.

Woman in indigo: Now girls don’t be so cruel, she’s just a little girl isn’t she? Poor thing can’t be more then 12 with that silly hair and those fat cheeks. Come on where’s your mommy and daddy? Do you need help finding them?

That’s it! Penny couldn’t take anymore! This wasn’t the first time she had been insulted. Be it by drunks, criminals, or generally rude people Penny had been insulted, screamed, and even cursed at while on patrol. But none of that had ever made her feel like this! Nothing had ever made her feel like this! These women may have said things that were far less graphic than what Penny was use to hearing but the way they said was just so awful it made her feel so tiny and pathetic. She couldn’t listen to anymore and walked away as fast she can as they laugh behind her. She kept going until she found an uninhabited section of tables next to a balcony. She sits at the table closest to balcony and starts eating her food again. It’s gotten cold and don’t taste as good for some reason. What was she going to do? If this was how the elites treat what they believe to be a helpless teenage girl how could she possibly investigate and find the spy! What was she going to do?.

Whitley had been on his feet all night. His father had left to go rub elbows with some politicians in his cigar room leaving Whitley to do the lion’s share of hosting the party. He’s spent hours spitting out fake compliments, making small talk, and apologizing on behalf of his sister to the point he feels like a broken record. After finishing yet another pointless conversation Whitley excuse himself to get something. Once he’s gotten out of view of the guests he heads towards a secluded balcony in the quietest part of ballroom passing by a woman picking at her plate.

He steps on to the balcony, he takes a moment to take in the cool night air, he walks forward to the railing turns around and leans backwards on it looking towards the ballroom floor. This was the only way he could try to relax at events like these. Go to a quiet place a little far from the guests but still close enough that he could run back in if his father came looking for him. Ugh Father.

Whitley: I’ve been doing his job all night while he runs off to smoke with some famed narcissists. Though that is what they say about birds of the same feathers, still hosting an event to apologize for your child’s behavior then leaving the actual task of hosting up to your other child can’t possibly reflect well on you. But it’s not like I’m only doing his job. How many times have I apologize for Weiss tonight? How many excuses have I made for Mother while she’s off drinking? How times have I had to redirect a conversation when someone asks about what Winter’s been doing? I do all that and more for what? Why is this how I live? Why am I stuck constantly cleaning up after people who don’t seem to give a damn about me just to survive? I mean I keep hanging on trying to keep things calm until I obtain the power I need to finally put an end to this nightmare but honestly what am I even trying to save? A mother who’s spent the last decade a drunken mess, an older sister who seen hell but still throws tantrums like a child, an even older sister who acts like her precious perfect baby sister is her only family regardless of who else cared about her, and manor full of people who would only see me as a way to maintain their incomes! Gods Am I really that alone?

Whitley internally sighs, he throws his head up to the stars bathing in the heaven’s light. The stars were one of the only things that could ground him when he starts feeling this way. Looking up at them always made him feel like he was floating in heavens, far away from all his problems free and safe. He leans back further to get a better view, spacing out as his mind begin to calm. Until he moves back a little too much and loses his balance. He tries to catch himself but he ends up flailing and slips. Time seems to slow down as his about tip over into a two story drop he screams.

Whitley: AAAAHHHHH! Crap! This is bad! Father’s going to throw an absolute fit when he see the mess this makes.

He closes his eyes hoping it’ll be quick but before he goes into free fall he stops. He opens them and sees a freckled hand wrapped around his forearm.

Penny: Hang on, I’ve got you!

He looks up and makes eye contact with his savior. It’s a girl who’s face he’d never seen before. She no older then him, wearing a bright green dress with fiery red hair in soft ring like curls and big beautiful green eyes.

Penny was still pondering what to next when she heard a scream and commotion coming from balcony. Knowing a cry for help better then anyone Penny dashes towards the sound. She’ll almost too late when she gets out the door and she see half the person’s body is already over the railing but she manages to close the distance just in time to grab they’re arm. She yells to get they’re attention and let’s them know she’s got ahold on them, in this moment they made eye contact and she finally gets a real look at the person she just saved. It’s a teenage boy and he’s…just…beautiful. That’s the only way Penny could describe it. His skin was so pale if she hadn’t felt the heat coming off him she would’ve sworn he was made of porcelain, his hair was so white it looked like snow and it looked so soft and shiny it could’ve been mistaken for silk. And his eyes gods his eyes, they were this deep blue that somehow looked like the sky right before twilight, a endlessly deep sea, and bright like a brilliant shining jewel. Now Penny had seen plenty of handsome men before, she knew nature could make many gorgeous creatures but this, this was the first time anything had made her this awestruck. She couldn’t move she couldn’t think all she could do was take in the beauty of the young man before her.

Whitley: Ummm Excuse me miss? Could you please pull me up?

#penny polendina #whitley schnee #broken machines #james ironwood #jacques schnee #rwby fanfiction #fanfic #it is here

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madamhatter · 3 years

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act 0. observer’s notes your name is….. finding place in exile, the ramifications of war, and the scars it makes (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder)

Discussion on PTSD and its play in writing Sophie in the Topaxi verse. A general (mental) profile of the Sorceress in this setting would be included. Includes connecting recurring imagery and rifts spotted in-character writing in the Topaxi verse. (Kind of spoilers!)

READ AT YOUR OWN CAUTION.

The story of displacement is a common tale for many of the Roles in Topaxi. Be it if you’re of those surviving past the war, having escaped the clutches of social prejudice of your home country, or even in rift from self-persecution, the belongingness that was once felt is adrift and lost to the ever-revolving and never-stopping world we live in. As of the latest conquest conducted by the Topaxi Advancement Forces (TAF), the continent of Gaea has had several of its countries turned territories or effaced within the past seven to eight years. It has been over two years since the invasion and TAF is on standby as the last emperor had suddenly and mysteriously passed away.

One of the last countries to be taken by the Empire was a smaller region towards the north of the continent with one coast belonging to the open sea. Such a place, which was incredibly small and considered nameless by then, was the home of the Sorceress.

In the wake of post-war life, most have found their living in making a living, while a rare few live to make a change. So ends up Sophie Hatter, the confirmed one of eight survivors from her hometown, to Topaxi with no remnants of family with her as they are located elsewhere in the Topaxi empire. (A complicated situation. It is connected to Sophie’s mother and it is the reason why Sophie is the last Hatter to leave her home country). She is holding herself together with only the clothes on her body and whatever items survived the destruction in a small messenger bag she found in the debris of her late childhood home. So, where does Sophie find herself...? What is she like now?

Similar to discussed cases in Topaxi with certain roles being exposed to and/or participating in the war, Sophie Hatter is one of those cases. She developed Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that is comorbid with general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and major depressive disorder. NOTE: Major depressive disorder would be a differential diagnosis. However, the symptoms exhibited by Sophie by the time she is 19, and after the course for acute stress disorder to be diagnosed (~3 days to a month), does reflects does include symptoms for “PTSD Criterion B or C symptoms” and “PTSD Criterion D or E” (p 279, DSM-5). Meaning that comorbidity is possible diagnosis or this disorder soon developed because of the traumatic event in place.

Sophie struggles with creating herself as she was before; there is an intrusion that exists within her and she is acutely aware of it and believes that she must do something about it. This nuisance she classifies, however, cannot be as easily undone as she realizes and her understanding of it is very limited, given the fact that the world of Topaxi has limited resources and research committed to psychology.

While the city-state of Topaxi can be considered modern and ahead of its time with the presence of UCAT, their progression and developments are not concurrent (yet) with the going-ons of today. While its history may not have been dedicated to vulnerable populations and certain experiences they might have faced, changes are being made with new projects, but there is still a way’s to go.

Sophie Hatter, externally, is a persistently active figure, working with the newly made community in her apartment and living day-to-day with newly found relationships. However, she remains within arms’ distance with others while providing help, working to her best to keep stability around her as much as she can. Her schedule, during the day, is extremely limited and refined by her to avoid as many external variables that may affect her and she does not want to even imagine or experience how she’ll respond.

Internally, however, Sophie Hatter is still a young woman who is grasping with the reality of what has happened to her during the invasion. Preceding the conquest, she already exhibited behaviors of a childhood that left her perception of the world altered and her self-perception low (to the point of being uncaring to her own safety). However, the inclusion of adversity from events during the war and the continuous exposure from her curse to her escape has heightened and created characteristics, responses, and coping mechanisms to handle what the mind is still attempting to fully comprehend/accept has happened.

Be note, that there are two events in the war that affected her: (1) discovering her decimated town/facing the its destruction and (2) her time before her “escape.”

Following DSM-5 and the Diagnostic Criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (figure 43.10), Sophie has the following symptoms and tendencies underneath these particular categories: (Numbers denote which event is tied to what.)

A “Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation in one (or more) of the following ways” [EVENT]

Directly experiencing the traumatic event - (1) The travel through the desolated country and seeing first-hand accounts of dead bodies, murder, and other atrocities ; (2) Detainment and what happened during then.

Witnessing, in person, the event(s) as it occurred to others - (1) The final bombings and scourge that swept over the valley ; (2) Was forced to watch mutilation and unethical experiments

B “Presence of one (or more) of the following intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning after the traumatic event(s) occurred” [INTRUSION]

Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event(s) - (1) & (2) happens a lot but does not come out through direct and perfect images of what has happened. Usually plays out that she sees the dead bodies and imagines fire around her if moving too quickly or in areas that she avoids because of stimuli that can trigger her.

Intense or prolonged psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event(s) - Will enter a state of intrusive thoughts that will repeatedly tell her to leave and push her to go away. Would end up apologizing repeatedly and would begin her move as soon as possible.

Marked physiological reactions to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event(s) - Turns blank in the face and stares out whenever stimuli (or a combination) is in contact with her ; memories will begin resurfacing mainly through smell, but she has routinely removed herself ASAP. Flight or fight response will be immensely present and it DOES depend on her hypervigilance and whether she is moonlighting as Simeon as not. if moonlighting, the “fight” reaction WILL be used and will devolve into violence. If not, Sophie’s immediate response will be to leave and leave as soon as possible, no matter what it is she is doing. Would end up shallowly breathing like there’s smoke in the air, holding herself, and bowing her head as if avoiding seeing something before her.

C “Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning after the traumatic event(s) occurred, as evidenced by one or both of the following” [AVOIDANCE]

Avoidance of or efforts to avoid distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic event(s) - (1) Continued rejection and avoidance of topics relating to latest conquests and usually avoids districts that are heavy with TAF occupation (bases, ports, air fields, etc.) ;

Avoidance of or efforts to avoid external reminders (people, places, conversations, activities, objects, situations) that arouse distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic event(s) - (2) Adamant refusal to enter or get close to medical facilities and certain smells like ammonia will make her hostile and intense (first mentioned in Headcanon Dump #1)

D “Negative alterations in cognitions and mood associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning or worsening after the traumatic event(s) occurred, as evidenced by two (or more) of the following” [NEGATIVE ALTERNATIONS IN COGNITIONS AND MOOD ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVENT]

Inability to remember an important aspect of the traumatic event(s) (typically due to dissociative amnesia and not to other factors such as head injury, alcohol, or drugs) - Confirmed for dissociative amnesia where the events of (1) and (2) meld together and the timeline is mixed together ; there are very specific images that do not reflect the real scene or are reduced from the original signifier (I.E., the specific image of draping/pouring red)

Persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about oneself, others, or the world (e.g., “I am bad,” “No one can be trusted,” “The world is completely dangerous,” “My whole nervous system is permanently ruined”) - Consistent and returning thoughts of worthlessness for self (’Why am I still here versus....?” ; others are seen to be temporary in her life and cannot be held onto for long ( “they need something from me, that’s why they’re here..”)

Persistent, distorted cognitions about the cause or consequences of the traumatic event(s) that lead the individual to blame himself/herself or others - Consistent blame on herself for (2) but (1) is vehemently targeted towards both herself when it comes to the deaths of her community -AND- people she distinguishes as responsible for the outcome (Topaxi officials and, at times, associates of TAF ) and authority figures from her country

Persistent negative emotional state (e.g., fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame) - Amplified when Simeon and the persona is seen as an outlet to let out these emotions she believe she needs to keep in line ; usually guilt, anger, and shame meshed together, which leads to fueling reckless behavior and decisions that may hurt herself (which she dubs as necessary)

E “Marked alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning or worsening after the traumatic event(s) occurred, as evidenced by two (or more) of the following” [MARKED ALTERNATION IN AROUSAL AND REACTIVITY]

Irritable behavior (with little to no provocation) towards objects and people - Most visible when moonlighting as Simeon.

Reckless or self-destructive behavior - Refer to purpose of Simeon persona and her views on her livelihood and how she actively “punishes” herself.

Hypervigilance. - Already present in Sophie, worsened from war. Contributing to this would be her consistency to keep her and her night persona separated; add on need to keep herself on a low-profile and not recognizable in certain locations with medical personnel and researchers.

Sleep disturbance (e.g., difficulty falling or staying asleep or restless sleep) - Already present in Sophie, worsened from war.

F “Duration of the disturbance (Criteria B, C, D, and E) is more than 1 month.”

Has been persistent throughout the ~2 years she has been living in Topaxi.

G “The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.”

Confirmed.

H “The disturbance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., medication, alcohol) or another medical condition.”

Not able to be found in context of the comorbidity exhibited by Sophie. Many new symptoms took form after the experiences she had in war. To note, she has been showing signs of a new comorbidity (substance reliance, alcohol).

SPECIFICATION: Depersonalization with delayed expression (taken a year for these symptoms to begin).

- - -

Sophie Hatter, as previously described, is someone who is coping with trauma through the best way she knows and has done before with her other trauma: ignoring it and shunning herself. However, she has particular outlets that may come of casual consumption of alcohol which happens concerningly frequent throughout certain days if stimuli are present.

Additionally, while Simeon is throughout the criteria, they were not originally made as a result of what occurred. The original creation of Simeon was meant to be a persona she could use to live a “double life” as she needed to make more money and dangerous work paid well. Having them as separate lives, in her eyes, keeps her safe from anyone targeting or her family (but, it is clear that her sisters and stepmother are not on the island).

Instead, they have became a violent outlet for her internalized dread, anguish, and anger. Having the “informant” as an extension of herself, excusing bad decisions and feeling out of her body while the world around her happens, has proven detrimental to the process of the awareness, acknowledgement, assistance, and acceptance of her condition.

Here are several examples of Sophie’s PTSD appearing:

Self-harm/demanding herself to be hurt/trying to mark herself and punish herself

Haggardly, Simeon grimaces while their vest was shed off and resting on the tower hanger, alongside their binder beside it. Their dress shirt was half-way unbuttoned. Over their exposed shoulders and underneath their breasts were imprints.

Scarred fingertip digs into their collarbone. A sharp jab into their clavicle, feeling a minor ache as they push further. Bruise, damn it. Make some mark. Make color, be red.

-- EXCERPT FROM THIS DRABBLE (SOPHIE’S DISPOSITION).

Association with red and the bleeding of traumatic events (1) and (2) joining together, causing her to respond blankly to the situation before being distracted by Yunuen speaking

Red skies, red sparks, red flow, red blossoms in the sky, red stained on metal, red dyeing gowns, red fringes framing a scratched off face that hovers over your pinned body, red hot pain searing into your body, red, red, red red-

-- EXCEPT FROM THIS THREAD (FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH YUNUEN).

Survivor’s guilt and persistent negativity directed at herself because of her survival (The marks are related to (2) and the thought is related to (1)):

On her right hip, roughly the same size as the other, but longer as it had dragged along said hip, the scar was horizontal and deeper than its neighbor, visible from its crinkled appearance. Reminders of life’s misplaced luck, she concludes, not used wisely by Fate this time around. How silly of them to pick me.

-- EXCERPT FROM SILVER STIGMATA (PHYSICAL SURVEY)

Hypervigilance and abundance of stimuli that make her extremely uncomfortable/distrusting of situation:

A heaviness swells in their chest, an unshakable pressure tightening their rib cage, and yet, this was only normal symptoms of living a life like this. Industrial foulness mixed with fresh market fragrances from the decadent and wealthy market by the mouth of the alley; all the more gag-inducing for the young informant.

However, they clutch onto the empty box in their hands, making out the plastic ridges against the faintest callouses on the tip of their fingers They weren’t ignorant to the truth; how these sounds that place them on edge, instead soothed others. After all, this was home for many. But, for Simeon – rather, the one beneath the mask, it was not. And it never would be.

-- EXCERPT FROM THREAD (discontinued as person is inactive in verse)

One of the first instances of Sophie’s PTSD affecting her and being active in a thread would be her firstt, but short-lived, interaction with Tatyana. The avoidance nature and immediate removal from the situation happens in this case when Tatyana revs up the engine on her motorcycle, shouting from a stranger from the apartments joins in, and the heavy and direct smell and vision of smog.

Here’s the break down:

Physiological numbness in the moment; mind is still active, but taking a backseat and removing herself from situation (recognizing self as powerless in moment):

The shouting began as Sophie turns her face away, feeling her skin crawl to a coldness. The words that left his mouth were no less understandable but the ferocity and indignation in his tone was far too recognizable. If she considered it, she could’ve spoken back and defused the situation. The gift of tongues came with the ability to grant passage for others who can’t be brought together by difference of languages.

Physiological response and addition of stimuli that directly relate back to the image of hometown [INTRUSION]:

Sophie Hatter’s eyes are now but a distant gaze over towards the taller blonde, only wishing like she did when she was younger. To disappear, to toil and fade away, to crawl back to whence she came from. Roaring engines, the smell of smoke, it was sickening. It was inespacable in the floating island, but it smelled too much like what remained of home. Add onto the shouting and it was already enough to make her head ache.

(Unknowingly) reenacting particular body language used during trauma; feeling of helplessness in situation that is out of her control:

Some of her body was already numbing at the fingertips and she was pulling the black collar of her turtleneck over her mouth and nose. It wouldn’t work to cushion and black the sounds, their volume growing louder and louder like the pain in her head.

Active avoidance, mind begins flight-or-fight situation with altered perceptive of reality:

“I need somewhere quiet.” She feebly comments, glancing back to the apartment buildings, and believing that there were more people creeping by the windows. The silver-haired woman promptly steps aside. Now, she was ready to shuffle away and avoid the incoming shouts on the block if it continued.

She wasn’t a fan of the memories it brought.

Sudden and abrupt removal from situation, signal of struggling to keep body language together as she wants to avoid an episode:

“Good luck,” she waves a hand, glancing back to the stranger, before balling her hands into the pockets of her sweater. She began her quiet leave.

- - -

More is to be written about Sophie in how she is greatly affected by this. Some drabbles have been scrapped and were planned to express how deep the trauma works. Though, it can be already seen in how Sophie views death, treats her body, a persistently negative view on certain parties and the outcome of life, etc.

Drabbles that were scrapped but would be considered “canon” that relay back to Sophie’s trauma would include:

As Simeon at Lunazul, she ends up getting to a brawl with someone after the table next to hers is repeatedly mentioning the conquests and graphic detail of what has happened to unnamed people (unnamed nationalistic person). Ends up intensely cold, getting up from her seat, and nearly beating the man unconscious with far too much wrath in her body; she rushes out of the bar and has a sobbing breakdown several blocks away.

A confrontation of “Red” that she remembers time and time again; a consistent night terror that follows her nd makes her unable to sleep some nights; actively ‘speaks’ to it while in sleep paralysis and it acknowledges her well. Scene usually ends up with “Red” above her, face reveals to be face heavily mutilated and gouged, screaming loudly and repeatedly at Sophie.

A shutdown in public when there are large amounts of traffic near her because a detour led her to the highway; leading her to hide somewhere and refusing to come out until “they drive away,” which makes her miss the day she’s meant to be working at Miya’s detective office.

A short meeting with one of her neighbor’s children, a young 26-year-old working at a hospital in Central and professor at UCAT, still wearing their scrubs and the heavy smell of ammonia on them. The image itself leaves Sophie cutting conversation short and retreating to her apartment.

- - -

Sophie Hatter is a 20-year-old facing the aftermath of exile from her own country and self and the trauma coming with displacement and surviving the horrors of the world. She is by no means a hopeless case or a lost cause.

But, she is someone who is going to go through development as someone who struggles constantly: as someone who is unsure of what to do with her life, as much as she wants to live normally, her stability and infrastructure has been destroyed her very eyes. She attempts to reconstruct herself but fails to realize how that’d harm her because she is actively avoiding what has happened to her and denies herself that all of this happened.

She believes she can “make up” for something she calls an inadequacy and blames herself for. She “makes up” for it by being a community figure in a place that she would never feel right in or safe in; she "makes up” for it by being a reputable person who would never turn down anyone and offers help whenever she can; she “makes up” by continuously lying to herself and hurting herself.

Part of her screams, another part weeps; one part wants to take vengeance, tear apart everything, and the other wants to curl up and lose herself to the numbness. But, she persists in her hurt with a solution that even worsens these parts that want comfort and healing.

It is a difficult reality she must navigate, which is difficult because she is alone.

No matter how anyone looks at it, the path of exile is a lonesome one when you do not recognize there are someone else’s footprints on the dirt road. Her feet are long tired, dirtied, and bloodied by how far she dragged herself across this time to figure herself out.... But, with each passing day, it seems she’s getting further and further out from anyone’s reach, and before she knows it, she’ll be going down a path of destruction that’d engulf those around her in ash, fire, and death.

#( in which we learn about the eldest ; headcanons )#( verse: ¿cual tu vas a ser? dentro del espejo ves; ¿algiuen más en ese cuerpo? | yni )#trauma tw #ptsd tw #war tw #death tw

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kingofthenorth49 · 3 years

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Made in China

I don’t know about you, but it sure feels like we are living through the start of World War III.

Now before you scroll past and think my tin foil hat is on too tight this morning, hear me out. It’s not like this doesn’t make sense or anything, if you connect the dots it would appear that the next global conflict will look much different than the previous two.

Think about it. China has been posturing for years to become the next world superpower, and if you can see through the medias bullshit you can read the overtures that are being made in the Asia region along with the saber rattling in the Middle East, you can see that it didn’t take long for Biden to unravel almost 50 years of progress towards peace.

War is inevitable and necessary to the state, and if you ever read Sun Tzu “Art of War”, a Chinese war treatise from the 6th dynasty you would understand the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. He also said that the outcome of war is pre-decided and gave solid advice on the best way to conduct campaigns to conquer foreign powers.

Now before you get your panties in a bunch, I’m not accusing China of deliberately inducing a world-wide pandemic through the use of a genetically modified pathogen after spending years devaluating the US dollar using printed money (not like we have room to talk, but we also haven’t been on a buying spree like the Chinese have in say, Canada for example.), but if I were President Xi Jinping that’s what I’d do. The best war is one where you risk no resources.

Again, not saying the Chinese are attempting to destabilize the United States, not at all. Just saying if I were going to take over the world that’s how I’d do it, from a far, using disinformation and creating confusion and chaos in the streets of my enemy. Not like it hasn’t been done before.

See many of you see people like me as conspiracy theorists, people who are to be dismissed because we believe in things others’ think are foolish, things that seem farfetched and impossible to be going on in a frame of present reference. I just see myself as a guy who likes history and reads a lot of books that were written before Google came along and dumbed down our nations. Anyone who has ever read a book on the rise of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party in 1920’s Germany would understand completely. If you were to pick up a couple other books on how Hilter rose to power on the back of that party, you’d understand also how quickly people can be manipulated, and how the media and ideology can quickly create a firestorm of hate that makes it easy for societies to crumble. Read even further on how the German army used deceptive tactics to invade Austria and Poland so quickly they didn’t have a chance to prepare.

That’s not a conspiracy theory, that’s history and we all know those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

I guess watering down history is a good thing, right? Taking down statues, changing historical accounts in the name of political correctness, and not encouraging people to critically examine all aspects of history to learn from them helps us become a better society.

Let me give you the Cole’s notes version of how quickly things can go off the rails when the wrong ideology gains traction in a society where people intend to do evil. Again, not saying our current situation is remotely commensurate with our current situation, but it’s a good example of how quickly things can go from good to evil.

Here we go.

1933 - The Nazi Party takes power in Germany. Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor (or Prime Minister) of Germany. Nazis temporarily suspend civil liberties.

1934 - Hitler combines the positions of chancellor and president to become “Fuhrer” or leader of Germany. Jewish newspapers are no longer allowed to be sold in the streets of Germany.

1935 - The Nazis intensify the persecution of people that do not agree with their political philosophy. Jews are deprived of their citizenship and other basic rights.

1936 – Nazi's boycott Jewish owned businesses. The Olympic Games are held in Germany; Signs barring Jews are removed until the event is over. Jews no longer have the right to vote.

1938 - German troops annexed Austria. On Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass,” Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria and 30,000 Jews are arrested. Jews must carry ID cards (papers!) and Jewish passports are marked with a “J”. Jews no longer had businesses, attend plays, concerts etc. (maybe they were unvaccinated??) All Jewish children are move to Jewish schools. Jewish businesses are shut down; They must sell businesses and hand over securities and jewels. Jews must hand over drivers licenses and car registrations. Jews must be in certain places at certain times.

1939- Germany takes over Czechoslovakia and invades Poland. World War Two begins as Britain in France declared war on Germany. Hitler orders that Jews must follow curfews; Jews must turn in radios to the police; Jews must wear yellow stars of David.

Now I’ll stop there.

Those are all non-debatable historical facts, no subjectivity in my interpretation, just the facts m’am. Look how quickly one ideology took hold in a country ripe for change. At the time of the 1930’s German’s were desperate for change as they had just came out of world war 1 and were suffering from paying reparations for their conduct during that conflict and when Hilter came along he lit a fire under the German people by blaming the Jews for the loss of WW1.

Five years. Five years from the time a tyrant took power until he was able to start killing 6 million people.

Now if you are one of those types that believe “it can’t happen again” look no further to all the other genocides over the past 100 years, up to and including the Uighur crisis currently going on in China where they have over 1 million Uighur Muslims in concentration camps and they are mass sterilizing these people to the point it’s actually consider a genocide, as it’s reducing the Muslim population in the western provinces of China though declining birthrates. If these women don’t submit to forced intra-uterine devices or monthly pregnancy tests, they are put in prisons.

Put in prision because they needed to take a test, shot, or device and wouldn’t?

Say it ain’t so Joe, say it ain’t so.

Folks, some people are evil. Rotten to the core. They have no soul and are in the most desperate need of getting laid of any person on the planet. That’s reality. You can choose to stick you head in the sand and pretend the boogeyman doesn’t exist, but in truth the boogey man will always exist because humans are nasty evil creatures capable of the most horrendous conduct, and if you think ignoring them or passing laws to prevent them from doing things are going to stop them, well you are just stupid. Sorry, I can’t soften that up any because I owe it to you to be blunt in these times.

Now if you’ve made it this far I think you would agree that something is amiss these days, there’s too many conspiracy theories of the past few years that are now seeming to be true, yet no one wants to talk about where the end game is. I’m not sure what it is, but I have some theories, most involved China or George Soros, but the data indicates more towards the former versus the latter.

Trudeau loves China, he’s said so on many occasions to the point of gushing over their communist form of government. His father was a Marxist, and his mother loved communists. Literally. **bow chica bow wow**

Hunter Biden and the Big Guy are in bed with the Chinese in a different way that Margret and Fidel. We’ve seen the emails, the testimony, and the allegations. For them, it’s about money. Last week the Big Guy shut down the investigation that Trump started into the Wuhan lab. That’s now created a firestorm that will likely make 9/11 look like a traffic accident. Coincidence? I think not.

We recently had two Chinese scientists with ties to the Chinese People’s Army kicked out of our highest security epidemiology lab here in Canada after CSIS had concerns they were passing information back to the Wuhan lab (a lab so highly classified Canadian scientists have a hard time getting security clearances to access it), and Trudeau drew the ire of senior Canadian military personnel when he bullied them into allowing the Chinese to hold winter war games at CFB Petawawa. Why is Trudeau so moonstruck with China?

Dot, Dot, Dot.

Once again, I hope I’m wrong. I really, really do, but go back and walk that timeline again and ask yourself if you now understand why Netanyahu hit Hamas as hard as he did.

Never again.

Can you blame him Comrades?

Now as you sit here in North America today, especially in Canada, does it not seem eerily similar to what has happened before in history? Keep in mind that Jews were loaded onto boxcars under the premise to take them to safety from the angry German peoples.

I really do hope my tinfoil hat is too tight and it’s cutting off the circulation to my frontal lobe, I want the Canada back I grew up in, and the America I fell in love with. I just hope this really is just a bad bug that’s part of a cyclical pattern of virology and this isn’t the start of a global war to reorganize the planet power structure and de-populate the globe.

The dots just tell a different story.

Jim Out.

#ww3 trudeaumustgo wearesoscrewed enough

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Thursday, March 4, 2021

The ‘free world’ keeps shrinking (NYT) Three-quarters of the people on earth live in countries where freedom is declining. That’s one of the grim takeaways in an annual report produced by Freedom House, the Washington-based pro-democracy think tank and watchdog. This year’s survey, published Wednesday, marked the 15th consecutive year of global democratic backsliding—“a long democratic recession,” in the organization’s words, that is “deepening.” Freedom House grades individual countries on 25 indicators that evaluate the health of a given nation’s democracy (or lack thereof). The cumulative score then enables the organization, which has been in operation since 1941, to rank a given country as “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free.” Of the 195 independent countries evaluated, 73 saw aggregate score declines and only 28 saw growth. That margin is the widest of its kind in the past decade and a half. Moreover, 54 countries are now labeled “Not Free,” or about 38 percent of the world’s population, the highest share since 2005. Less than 20 percent of the world’s population lives in countries now classified as “Free.”

Vaccine Passports, Covid’s Next Political Flash Point (NYT) The next major flash point over coronavirus response has already provoked cries of tyranny and discrimination in Britain, protests in Denmark, digital disinformation in the United States and geopolitical skirmishing within the European Union. The subject of debate: vaccine passports—government-issued cards or smartphone badges stating that the bearer has been inoculated against the coronavirus. The idea is to allow families to reunite, economies to restart and hundreds of millions of people who have received a shot to return to a degree of normalcy, all without spreading the virus. Some versions of the documentation might permit bearers to travel internationally. Others would allow entry to vaccinated-only spaces like gyms, concert venues and restaurants. While such passports are still hypothetical in most places, Israel became the first to roll out its own last week, capitalizing on its high vaccination rate. Several European countries are considering following. President Biden has asked federal agencies to explore options. And some airlines and tourism-reliant industries and destinations expect to require them.

US infrastructure gets C- from engineers as roads stagnate (AP) America’s infrastructure has scored near-failing grades for its deteriorating roads, public transit and storm water systems due to years of inaction from the federal government, the American Society of Civil Engineers reports. Its overall grade: a mediocre C-. In its “Infrastructure Report Card” released Wednesday, the group called for “big and bold” relief, estimating it would cost $5.9 trillion over the next decade to bring roads, bridges and airports to a safe and sustainable level. That’s about $2.6 trillion more than what government and the private sector already spend. “America’s infrastructure is not functioning as it should, and families are losing thousands of dollars a year in disposable income as a result of cities having to fix potholes, people getting stuck in traffic or due to repairs when a water line breaks or the energy grid goes down,” said Greg DiLoreto, one of the group’s past presidents.

Pandemic puts 1 in 3 nonprofits in financial jeopardy (AP) More than one-third of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the viral pandemic, according to a study being released Wednesday by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. The study’s findings underscore the perils for nonprofits and charities whose financial needs have escalated over the past year, well in excess of the donations that most have received from individuals and foundations. The researchers analyzed how roughly 300,000 nonprofits would fare under 20 scenarios of varying severity. The worst-case scenario led to the closings of 38% of the nonprofits. Even the scenarios seen as more realistic resulted in closures well into double digit percentages. “If you are a donor who cares about an organization that is rooted in place and relies on revenue from in-person services, now is the time probably to give more,” said Jacob Harold, Candid’s executive vice president.

Biden Sanctions Russia Over Navalny Poisoning (Foreign Policy) The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on a number of Russian individuals and entities linked to the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The move was made in concert with the European Union, which issued separate asset freezes and travel bans on four Russians. The Russian Foreign Ministry has brushed off the impact of the moves, while threatening a reciprocal response. “Irrespective of America’s ‘sanctions addiction,’ we will continue to consistently and decisively defend our national interests, rebuffing any aggression. We urge our colleagues not to play with fire,” Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said on Wednesday. According to White House officials, more U.S. sanctions targeting Russians involved in the SolarWinds hack, the alleged bounty program on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and Russian interference in the 2020 election are expected soon.

Biden’s Afghan dilemma (The New Yorker) Afghanistan presents Joe Biden with one of the most immediate and vexing problems of his Presidency. If he completes the military withdrawal, he will end a seemingly interminable intervention and bring home thousands of troops. But, if he wants the war to be considered anything short of an abject failure, the Afghan state will have to be able to stand on its own.

Greece: Thousands spend night outdoors after powerful quake (AP) Fearful of returning to their homes, thousands of people in central Greece were spending the night outdoors late Wednesday after a powerful earthquake, felt across the region, damaged homes and public buildings. The shallow, magnitude-6.0 quake struck near the central city of Larissa. One man was hurt by falling debris but no serious injuries were reported. Officials reported structural damage, mainly to old houses and buildings that saw walls collapse or crack. One of them was a primary school, stone-built in 1938, in the quake-hit village of Damasi where 63 students were attending classes. “The teachers kept their cool and the pupils stuck to the emergency drill, and everyone got out okay,” headmaster Grigoris Letsios said while on a video call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The army set up tents and meal counters at a nearby soccer field as local officials urged people to remain outside their homes until they could be inspected. A series of powerful aftershocks of up to 5.2 magnitude kept many residents on edge.

Indian Government Regulation Squeezes Christian Charities (CT) For Christians trying to care for the poor in India, there is always a need for more prayer, more hands, and more money. Much of that money comes from donors in other countries. Recently, though, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has tightened regulations on foreign funding to nonprofits, including Christian groups that feed orphans, run hospitals, and educate children. Since Modi took office in 2014, the Indian government has revoked permission for more than 16,000 nongovernmental organizations to receive foreign funding, using the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). “It is deliberately an assault against the nonprofit sector,” said Vijayesh Lal, the general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, “and that includes the churches.” While the FCRA is not designed specifically to target Christian groups, experts say its cumbersome regulations have been used by the ruling parties in India to stifle political and religious dissidents since the law’s adoption in 1976.

Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah (AP) In Iraq’s holiest city, a pontiff will meet a revered ayatollah and make history with a message of coexistence in a place plagued by bitter divisions. One is the chief pastor of the world-wide Catholic Church, the other a pre-eminent figure in Shiite Islam whose opinion holds powerful sway on the Iraqi street and beyond. Their encounter will resonate across Iraq, even crossing borders into neighboring, mainly Shiite Iran. Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani are to meet on Saturday for at most 40 minutes, part of the time alone except for interpreters, in the Shiite cleric’s modest home in the city of Najaf. Every detail was scrutinized ahead of time in painstaking, behind-the-scenes preparations that touched on everything from shoes to seating arrangements. For Iraq’s dwindling Christian minority, a show of solidarity from al-Sistani could help secure their place in Iraq after years of displacement—and, they hope, ease intimidation from Shiite militiamen against their community. Iraqi officials in government, too, see the meeting’s symbolic power—as does Tehran. The 90-year-old al-Sistani has been a consistent counterweight to Iran’s influence. With the meeting, Francis is implicitly recognizing him as the chief interlocutor of Shiite Islam over his rival, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Pentagon: US contractor dies in rocket attack at Iraq base (AP) A U.S. contractor died Wednesday when at least 10 rockets slammed into an air base housing U.S. and other coalition troops in western Iraq, the Pentagon said. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the contractor “suffered a cardiac episode while sheltering” and died shortly afterward. He said there were no service members injured and all are accounted for. British and Danish troops also are among those stationed at the base. The rocket attack was the first since the U.S. struck Iran-aligned militia targets along the Iraq-Syria border last week, killing one militiaman and stoking fears of another cycle of tit-for-tat attacks as happened more than a year ago. Those attacks included the U.S. drone strike in January 2020 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani in Baghdad and set off months of increased troops levels in the region. Wednesday’s death of the contractor heightens worries that the U.S. could be drawn into another period of escalating attacks.

Reports: Myanmar security forces kill at least 33 protesters (AP) Myanmar security forces dramatically escalated their crackdown on protests against last month’s coup, killing at least 33 protesters Wednesday in several cities, according to accounts on social media and local news reports compiled by a data analyst. That is highest daily death toll since the Feb. 1 takeover, exceeding the 18 that the U.N. Human Rights Office said were killed on Sunday, and could galvanize the international community, which has responded fitfully thus far to the violence. Videos from Wednesday also showed security forces firing slingshots at demonstrators, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew. Demonstrators have regularly flooded the streets of cities across the country since the military seized power and ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Their numbers have remained high even as security forces have repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse the crowds, and arrested protesters en masse.

China’s vaccine diplomacy campaign (AP) The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago’s airport in late January, and Chile’s president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. “Today,” he said, “is a day of joy, emotion and hope.” The source of that hope: China—a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccines to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press. With just four of China’s many vaccine makers claiming they are able to produce at least 2.6 billion doses this year, a large part of the world’s population will end up inoculated not with the fancy Western vaccines boasting headline-grabbing efficacy rates, but with China’s humble, traditionally made shots. Inoculations with Chinese vaccines already have begun in more than 25 countries, and the Chinese shots have been delivered to another 11, according to the AP tally.

Taiwanese urged to eat ‘freedom pineapples’ after China import ban (The Guardian) Taiwanese pineapples have become the latest victim of deteriorating cross-strait relations, after Chinese authorities suddenly banned imports of the fruit. The ban, which began on Monday and is indefinite, was announced by the Chinese customs office on Friday. The customs office said harmful pests had been detected in recent shipments. Taiwan’s government rejected the claim, accusing Beijing of making an “unacceptable” unilateral decision, and urging citizens and international allies to eat “freedom pineapples” in support of the domestic industry, echoing the campaign to support Australia’s wine producers after Beijing imposed tariffs last year. Beijing has a history of enacting trade sanctions during international disputes, most recently with Australian wine, coal and barley, action that can cause significant economic damage to industry and put pressure on rival governments. Relations with Taiwan are at the lowest in decades. Despite the Communist party never ruling Taiwan, Beijing considers it to be a province of China, and has vowed to unite it with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Lebanese anger at economy grows as political deadlock persists (Reuters) Protesters blocked some roadways in Lebanon for a second day on Wednesday after the currency’s fall to a new low further enraged a population long horrified by the country’s financial meltdown. In the past year, Lebanon has been through a popular uprising against its political leaders, the bankruptcy of the state and banking system, a COVID-19 pandemic and, in August, a huge blast that killed 200 people and destroyed parts of Beirut. The financial crisis has wiped out jobs, raised warnings of growing hunger and locked people out of their bank deposits. The collapse of the Lebanese pound, which fell to 10,000 to the dollar on Tuesday, slashed about 85% of its value in a country relying heavily on imports. It was the last straw for many who have seen prices of consumer goods such as diapers or cereals nearly triple since the crisis erupted. Demonstrators burnt tyres and rubbish containers across many parts of Lebanon to block roads on Tuesday night.

#headlines #news

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good-times-with-theo · 4 years

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Black Gold (CH Fanfic)

(Hey guys, gals, nonbinary pals! So, I’ve been working on a fanfiction book called “Black Gold.” This is just Chapter One. I hope you enjoy!) Chapter One November 5th, 2019; 11:37 A.M .“Come on, Dad! Blowing up coal deposits has always been our tradition!” Wyoming said to America. “You literally let me blow up my first coal deposits when I was 100 years old!” She then said, her arms now crossed as she looked up at America. “I know, but now it’s far too dangerous Wy. Your people have been using C4 for crying out loud!” America replied firmly, looking back at his daughter. “Yeah, I know, but it’s really fun!” Wyoming retorted. “Besides, it’s not like I can get hurt from the explosions,” she then added. America was still uncertain. His daughter-- one of many he had, along with sons-- was very risk-taking because she could always lose her life. “Hey, Wy! I think we found a new deposit!” Colorado suddenly called out from one of the towers, which loomed over a giant hole on the side of a mountain. “Awesome! Bring a sample to me!” Wyoming called back. “You do seem to have a lot of coal deposits around here,” America noted. “Obviously. I’m known for coal, dad! Especially around these parts!” Wyoming said proudly. “Here’s the sample, sis!” Colorado said. “Uhm, Colo? That’s not coal.” “Well, then what is it? It can’t be anything else.”America studied it and realized what it was. “Why, this is oil!” he said proudly. “Oil?! What? But I’m known for coal! Not oil!” Wyoming said. “Texas and Alaska cover the oil, don’t they? I can’t take their places! They’re the biggest states for crying out loud!” She sounded freaked out because of the whole situation. “Hey, don’t worry, Wy. you won’t take their places. You’ll be joining them in their ranks,” America replied. “Besides, only we know about it. Well, your grandfather as well since he’s currently visiting to see how you’ve all been,” America muttered, giving the sample back to Colorado. “Now, come along. We have to get you approved to be a member of OPEC.” Wyoming stopped in her tracks. “What’s OPEC?” She asked. “I mean, I’ve heard of it mainly because of Venezuela speaking about it with you, but what does it even stand for?”“Well, it’s simple really: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.” “So, where does the oil part come in?” “Petroleum is oil, Wyoming. It’s the scientific term for it. I thought you knew that already.” “Well, I never knew I had petroleum in the first place, so there.” America just let out a soft chuckle. “Come along, champ. We have to get you into OPEC now,” he said, leading Wyoming out to their car. “Oh, can I drive?” “If you’re British and drive on the passenger side, sure.” “Dad!” OPEC Headquarters: Vienna, Austria, 5:35 P.M. “Hey, Russia! Get in here! You’re going to love this!” Iran called out of the Meeting Room. Russia sighed. “What is it now? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Russia asked as he walked in. He looked up from the ground to see Iran balancing on a thin wire that looked nearly invisible. “Iran. I’m trying to work. I don’t need your preposterous distractions,” Russia said firmly, his arms crossed as he held a giant folder of paperwork from the OPEC leaders in his arms. “Oh, come on, mi amigo! Live a little! Life just isn’t about working!” Venezuela commented with a smile on his face. “Russia’s right, you two. We can’t just get so easily distracted from work. America will be very disappointed in us if he finds us fooling around,” Saudi Arabia said formally. Iran hopped down from the wire with an annoyed sigh. “Fine,” he said reluctantly. “We’ll get back to work. That was really impressive though, Corrí,” Venezuela said. Corrí was Iran’s name in Venezuela’s native language: Spanish. “Ah, thank you,” Iran said with a smile. “Oh, hey, Austria,” Iran said quietly when Austria entered the room. “Were these two getting easily distracted again?” Austria asked Russia, looking up at him. “Yes, unfortunately,” Russia replied. “Well, their penalties will have to wait. For now, we have to focus on Wyoming; the new, secret member of OPEC that America nor the UK want anyone else to know about, not even us,” Austria said, having everyone sit down as he explained. “As you may know, America and the UK both are the reasons why oil is referred to as ‘black gold’ in the economical world. They’re also the reasons why Alaska, Texas, and Wyoming are a part of the organization, but secretly,” Austria said. “Recently, this morning no less, Wyoming and America struck an oil deposit in Wyoming’s mountainous region.” Austria then pulled down a diagram of a map of the United States, showing the land formations, all fifty small and large states, and many other qualities the United States shared with many other countries on the face of the planet. He then grabbed a stick that looked as though he was conducting an orchestra, pointing to where Wyoming’s land was. “I’m sure you all remember that Wyoming is located on the Western side of the United States. Oil is very uncommon here, but not impossible,” Austria explained. “There are currently 18,000 estimated oil rigs taking the oil from her land. Now, if we want oil ourselves, then we must put or own oil rigs within the region.” this whole idea provoked a comment from Libya, one of the African countries in the OPEC organization. “Yeah, sure!” Libya said with a laugh. “That’ll definitely work! We won’t get arrested or classified as war criminals because of this whole preposterous plan!” Austria glared at Libya. “Quiet. Do you want oil or not? We can cut off the trade routes to your own country for oil, you know.” “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Dr. Austria.” “I’m not a doctor! I’m a psychologist!” “That’s still a doctor, Austrian wanker!” “That’s enough you two!” Indonesia said from his side of the table. “If we want this oil, why not just ask America to sell it to us? It’s the only reasonable option. Stop trying to break and enter into a government site!” Iraq looked at the group. “He’s right,” he said. “Breaking and entering could get us killed, especially if you have someone like me or Venezuela, who are war criminals.” “Fine. Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Russia: you’re all going to Salt Creek Field in Wyoming. That’s where the oil is supposedly located based on our sources,” Ecuador said firmly. “The rest of us will stay behind and make sure neither America nor the United Kingdom gets here to hear of our plans to steal oil.” The six chosen all nodded. They were all sent to the warehouse for tactical gear and weapons just in case things went south or if someone found them in the act. After getting everyone ready (and finding Russia the right tactical gear), they were all being loaded into a bulletproof truck. Of course, the truck had to be bulletproof. Paranoia could reach anyone at any time. “Saudi, you seem out of it. You okay?” Russia asked his ally. Saudi Arabia looked at Russia from his side of the truck. “Oh, yeah... Yeah, I’m alright,” Saudi Arabia said hastily, fiddling with a small string he always brought with him. “Are you sure? You’re never this quiet.” “I’m sure. Thank you for asking, though.” After that, everyone was silent. A couple of the ones who were sent out began falling asleep. Russia was one of them. The only person who stayed awake was Saudi Arabia. He was never a sleeper; never could be in a million years. As he waited for someone to arise from their slumber, he watched the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea. It wouldn’t be the last time, right? Hopefully not. Saudi Arabia hoped it wasn’t the last time he saw the sun. He hoped his paranoia was wrong. He hoped. And hoped. And hoped. Salt Lake Creek, Wyoming, 12:30 A.M. All five of the members reached the location with no troubles, thankfully. “Alright. We have to be as quiet as possible. Remember that,” Algeria said to the others in a hushed voice. “Be careful, too. America always has guards around the oil rigs. Take them out if needed.” The others nodded and split up. Saudi Arabia took the Northern Area of the Creek with Russia next to him. The two were heavily skilled fighters, so if they were caught, they had little to worry about. “Russia. Take out those guards on the East. I’ll take them out on the West,” Saudi Arabia said quietly. Russia nodded. Saudi Arabia snuck towards what he assumed were guards until he got closer and he heard America talking to someone. “Oh, come on, Dad!” The voice said. They had a very Southern accent Saudi Arabia only heard from America when he was in one of his multiple phases. “What’s with all of that paranoia? I reckon you’re hidin’ something, but I know you wouldn’t hide anythin’ from me!” America chuckled at the voice. “Well, you know me, Texas. Your dad’s gotta keep secrets from you and your siblings just in case something goes wrong. I can’t have you all in grave danger that could’ve been prevented,” he replied, clapping Texas on the back. Texas! That one cowboy kid! Saudi Arabia knew it! He kept listening to their conversation until Russia came up next to him. “What’s taking you so--” Saudi Arabia covered Russia’s mouth immediately. “What was that?” Texas asked, turning in the direction of Saudi Arabia and Russia. “What was what?” America asked. “Did you hear something?” “Well, more or less of someone,” Texas replied. The clicking of his boots got closer and closer as he steadily went to the sound. He found both Russia and Saudi Arabia. “Ah. Two old enemies of my old man, huh?” Texas said, a smirk on his face as he tilted his cowboy hat up. “Let me get a good look at y’all,” he then said, studying the two. “Texas, who are you..” America trailed off when he saw Saudi Arabia and Russia. “You two. What in God’s name do you want now, you heathens?!” America said angrily, glaring at his old enemies. “W-We didn’t want anything--” Saudi Arabia started. He was cut off by America. “Security! We have a breach!” He said to the guards. Three guards came and arrested both of them. “Let go of us!” Russia said angrily. “We did nothing wrong!” America scoffed. “Say that to your little buddies, Russian spy,” he said bitterly. The guards brought in Austria, Algeria, Iran, and Nigeria. “No! You don’t understand!” Saudi Arabia said, struggling to get out of the handcuffs. “Sure I don’t,” America retorted. There seemed to be nothing but arguing until a gun was fired and Texas was on his knees, holding his blood-stained leg tightly. “Texas!” America said, kneeling next to his son. “Who did this?!” He suddenly screamed at the six. Nobody answered. “Fess up, or you’re all getting executed!” America shouted. “It was me!” Saudi Arabia suddenly said. “I shot him!” Russia looked at his friend in shock. “Saudi, what are you doing?! This is suicide!” Austria said desperately, looking at him. “It was me,” Saudi Arabia said. America smirked. “Finally. Some truth out of all of you. Guards! Let the other five go. Keep Saudi Arabia in a cell until further notice,” America then commanded. Russia caught Saudi Arabia’s eye one last time. Saudi Arabia just simply waved goodbye, knowing all hope he had of seeing the sun again was lost forever. It was all over for him. European Union Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium, 8:30 A.M. “Good morning, UK!” Germany said with a smile to his ally. The United Kingdom looked up from his paperwork. “Good morning, Germany,” he replied calmly, sitting next to Germany as he quickly put his paperwork away. “Another meeting… Fun,” Germany said sarcastically. The UK chuckled. “Yeah, well at least we don’t have to sit next to Spain,” he replied jokingly. “If we did, this would be a bloody--” The UK was cut off by his lover and best ally: France. “Bonjour, Royaume-Uni and Allemagne!” She said happily, sitting next to the UK. “Good morning, dear,” the UK replied with a smile. “Good Morning, Frankreich,” Germany replied, fixing his glasses. Everything seemed perfectly normal until Germany noticed his brother, Austria, wasn’t next to him like he was supposed to be. “Polen, have you seen Austria anywhere?” Germany asked, turning to look at Poland. Poland looked up from his paperwork. “No. Why? Is he late?” the Polish asked. Germany nodded. “He could be running errands, Niemcy.” “Most likely. Or he got in trouble again. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vater held him back for getting in trouble.” “The Weimar Republic? Being strict? Thought I’d never see the day!”Germany chuckled, but immediately stopped when the European Union leaders walked into the room with the European Union. The man himself. “We have unfortunate news to bring upon all of you this morning,” the EU announced. “As you may or may not know, Salt Creek Lake in the mountainous state of Wyoming was broken into last night. Six suspects were found, five of them were freed. If you have not yet noticed, Austria was one of those suspects.” The UK, France, and Germany all tensed. People they cared about were in danger. In grave, grave danger. “The one suspect that was not freed is a war criminal you may know of: Saudi Arabia,” the EU continued, looking mainly at the three. “There will be more information given to us of the matter as this meeting continues. If there is an important detail or one that is just important to you, please come to my office immediately after this meeting. We will speak of the situation from there and figure out what you need to know.” Shortly after the meeting, the UK, France, and Germany were all walking-- well, running in Germany’s terms-- to the EU’s office. They had to know. Was everyone okay? Were there guns involved? Will there be anyone held responsible? (I hope you guys like it so far! Let me know what you think!)

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thehaemanthus · 4 years

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Its more a failure of the author that she didn't flesh out everything properly. She never actually fleshed out the Illyrians as poc (irl Illyrians were living in today's Croatia) and whether Nesta becomes queen or not will be chucked up as either bad or good depending on whether a reader considers them poc or not. Some fashion elements don't exactly connect, it's more for aesthetics than actual, well thought world-building. And we only get some mentions of brown skin in ACOWAR, for Azriel. Thing is, it can be debated all day, explained and over-explained, but it's just that the author did a poor job and should do better. If Illyrians are poc, which I would really like, she needs to add more care into the world-building and the people, not just pretty aesthetics.

oh wow that was a quick response, lol

When I wrote in the tags, I was mostly thinking about how modern governments work with autonomous regions today-- usually the arrangements come out of some contentious past. It’s a shaky peace, though it can work very well!

I would not want a monarchy in an autonomous region, because a monarch or royal is then a figurehead that the population can get behind. Tbh I don’t know where the idea of Nesta becoming a queen of the Illyrians came from, I’m a little ignorant of fandom conversations, but um. Imma just say it. It doesn’t make sense to me. Either through character motivations or Night Court politics. Does Nesta want to be queen? Does she want to be a ruler? For that matter, did Feyre? Or did she originally just want the power and respect, and latter come to love the people and the work that goes into governing? AND what even is governing in the Night Court, I could go on and on---

Anyway.

But yeah, I think it’s well-acknowledged in fandom that SJM’s worldbuilding is uh...not the best? I don’t think Illyrians being POC is up for argument, though exactly...where they are from? I guess? What type of POC? Pfft how do you say this You get what I mean. I’m pretty sure many people on the eastern Adriatic coast could be classified as POC, but I suspect that’s because of the Ottoman Empire. So ancient Illyria in our world might be more Greek-ish? Which is still not going to be a Western European culture.

Of course, none of this actually matters because I think SJM just took the name.

Since Illyrians live in an incredibly cold climate, my brain has sort of transplanted them to a more far-Eastern European, Georgian or Armenian, setting. Still have that Ottoman influence, but uh. It’s colder? Which affects culture and how people live and dress and work--

That is what my brain did, a sort of personal headcanon, and it is really not supported in canon. I’ve studied both regions (albeit in the national security and foreign policy lense) and Illyrians don’t feel like a match for either. Because we don’t know anything about them. Because apparently they live in war camps and tents and don’t all have permanent settlements and I have no idea how their economy works.

SJM likes the aesthetics of ~the east~. The clothes Feyre first wears in the Night Court are meant to invoke that, but they are very quickly switched out for surprisingly modern, western-style garb. I think there’s mentions of rugs and colored lamps and the Night Court smells of jasmine-- but Velaris is pretty European. Feyre makes a big deal about the food, but like one of the meals is chicken and green beans, right? Come on. And Mor is supposed to be Rhys’s cousin, from a branch of the Night Court ruling family, but I’m pretty sure she’s white? So the Illyrians are POC, but not necessarily the rest of the Night Court, except that their decor and clothing (that Mor wears!!) is supposed to evoke...an Eastern aesthetic that I don’t actually think exists. And it disappears quickly. Except for Amren. Who is our Token East Asian.

Worldbuilding doesn’t have to be taking a culture, picking it up, and transplanting it to your world by changing some names. But I do hope that SJM puts some more effort into writing how the peoples of each Court and each region differ. Though they may not in the way we might expect! Prythian may be a post-racial society as we conceive it, in that something like skin color does not matter because other physical identifiers, that of being Higher and Lesser fae, are there. They discriminate differently.

BUT I wonder what that implies about the movement between Courts, which seem fairly isolated...and I should shut up now.

tl:dr The basic point that I think everyone can agree on is that worldbuilding has been sloppy. SJM has to put real thought and effort into future works to clarify.

#acotar #a rant?#i welcome any engagement on this #i saw rhys as south asian but that's ALWAYS what i do when there's a hint of evidence in favor #i just sometimes project lol #Anonymous

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tw3101 · 4 years

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The Price of American Exceptionalism

The New York Times reported on July 9th that the newly installed head of Voice of America, a critical soft power organ for US foreign policy for nearly 80 years, was strongly considering not extending visas for foreign journalists working at the agency. This decision followed on the heels of ICE’s announcement that foreign students not able to take in-person courses for the upcoming Fall semester would be forced to leave the country.

These decisions taken by themselves are certainly bad, but it is their place in the broader context of four years of self-defeating American policies that make them especially hard to swallow. At a time when the world desperately needs unity and answers, when democracy and freedom are on the backslide around the world, the United States continues to embrace a specious concept of American exceptionalism. It is an impoverished one that confuses weakness and fear for strength. And one that ultimately will do more harm to the country’s standing in the world at a time when it is most needed.

From its earliest days, this administration has repeatedly turned its back on immigrants and traditional allies. Our collective ability to stay focused on one issue has been disoriented by the endless stream of shit that the White House and propaganda machine spews into the ecosystem, but these are just a few that come to mind.

A travel ban from majority-Muslim nations in the first week of the administration; constant undermining of longstanding alliances and partnerships, including those with NATO, South Korea, Japan, and the Kurds; repeatedly cozying up to despotic regimes who actively or have in the past harmed America’s national interest, including Russia, Turkey, China, and North Korea; a family separation policy that caged children and kept them apart from their parents, in the name of ‘deterrence’; scaling down the refugee cap more and more each year, bringing it to its lowest point in several decades; and a temporary suspension of the H1-B visa program.

(A Detention Center at the Southern Border, Key for ‘Deterrence’)

There are probably too many to recount here, too many for me to even recall. But time and again the one defining through line of the Trump Administration has been a rejection of American values and an embrace of things inimical to the American tradition. This has been said many times during this administration and to those steeped in the minutiae of day-to-day policy shifts, it is all too obvious and probably even cliché. But most Americans are not those people, nor are global citizens who look to the United States for guidance. And we shouldn’t lose sight of the incredible damage these four years of Trump governance have done to this country and its place in the world. We are less trusted by allies, less feared by our enemies, and less able to make meaningful change in the world. We cannot accept this new normal; we cannot grow numb.

I am not naïve. I know the United States has not lived up to its ideals in the past, I know that it probably hasn’t even lived up to its ideals for the majority of its existence. But it – and the leaders its people have chosen through the years – at least pretended to care. We have reached the point now, however, where the people in charge do not even pretend.

Unsurprisingly, the administration’s willful negligence has affected the way Americans and the world view the country. A recent Gallup poll conducted in June, for example, found that American pride has fallen to a nearly two decade low, among both Republicans and Democrats. For all the rhetoric about restoring American greatness, it is clear that these past few years of scorched earth governing that tears down rather than builds up has exhausted the American public. Beyond that, though, the rejection of patently American ideals like diversity and inclusion, this time in both word and deed, has likely soured the public on its government and country.

After all, it’s hard to be proud of a country in which the president praises Neo-Nazis, in which George Floyd and so many other Black Americans can be indiscriminately harassed and murdered by police, and in which inequality has become an even more important fact of life.

This dynamic can also be seen on the world stage, where trust and respect for the United States have fallen under the current president. Pew conducted a poll in January of this year and found that while confidence in the US has dipped somewhat, faith in its leader is dramatically lower, a product of both the president’s rhetoric and policies as well as democratic erosion here at home.

These drops are most pronounced among some of the country’s traditional allies, especially European allies, according to the same poll.

Notably, the current president enjoys similar levels of international support to another Republican president this century who used the power of his office to bully allies abroad and citizens at home into adopting a worldview hostile to their own values in the service of American “exceptionalism.” But who has the time for such pettiness?

Leaving aside such comparisons, what is clear is that the United States, the supposed leader of the free world and a global beacon for freedom, has seen itself steadily lose its claim to that mantle over the last four years. And I can hardly imagine a worse time for our credibility as a purveyor of democracy and freedom, however imperfectly we live up to those ideals, than now. Freedom is under assault everywhere.

In Europe, far-right parties continue to make inroads in countries, some we classify as fledgling democracies and others who are democracies. Far right leaders and parties in Hungary and Poland, for example, continue to threaten their status as democracies and wage rhetorical war on minorities like Muslim refugees and Jews, while the AfD in Germany grows more powerful by the year. Part and parcel of this trend, opposition to migration continues to gain strength throughout Europe and empowers these right-wing parties. The US government, needless to say, does little to oppose these trends. Its rhetoric alone I would argue gives tacit support to movements like these that seek to fall back on the crutch of religious or ethnic nationalism. Additionally, it hardly needs mentioning here what the United States’ current policy towards Russia, the greatest threat to democracy in Europe today, is under this administration.

(George Soros, a Popular Target of Anti-Semitic Smears in Hungary)

In the Middle East, a region in which we have waged war for decades and spent trillions of dollars in the name of freedom, we continue to bankroll oil rich Gulf nations who have repeatedly harmed American interests and American citizens, whether through funding extremist activities, waging merciless war against a Yemeni population unable to defend or feed itself, or hampering our foreign policy objectives in the region. Rather than push back against these nations and use the leverage it has, the administration (admittedly, like those before it) allows Saudi Arabia and its partners to dictate the terms of our relationship.

This is to say nothing of Israel, a country with whom we have always had close ties and nevertheless have pushed to make itself a better, more democratic place. Republican and Democratic administrations alike, to varying degrees, have held that a two-state solution is the only way to ensure Israel’s continued existence as both a democratic and Jewish state. More importantly, they have agreed it was the only way to recognize the agency and humanity of the Palestinian population, who exist primarily as second-class citizens. The Trump Administration by contrast gave explicit sanction of the Israeli occupation by agreeing to move its embassy to Jerusalem, a slap in the face to 5 million Palestinians. Rather than be punished for annexation and settlement building, however, the current right-wing Israeli regime was rewarded by the supposed leader of the free world with a gift it has coveted for decades, explicit recognition of its occupation, its settlements, and control over what some consider a semi-apartheid state.

(Israeli Settlements in the West Bank, Illegal but American-Sanctioned)

And in Asia, despite hard-edged rhetoric purporting to represent strength, the US has ceded ground to its number one geopolitical foe and given tacit recognition to North Korea’s nuclear program. Bending over backwards to secure a trade deal he believed would help his reelection efforts, the president has turned a blind eye as China becomes one of the greatest threats to democracy and free expression anywhere in the world.

Getting tough on China apparently looks like giving explicit support to China’s program of “reeducation” of its Uyghur population, or as I call it sending ethnic minorities to work camps in order to practice eugenics upon women and indoctrinate children while depriving them of food and freedom. Getting tough on China also looks like allowing it to eliminate any semblance of freedom in Hong Kong, a global hub of commerce and free expression, with scant repudiation of a dead-of-night passing of a law that punishes any Hong Kong citizen or international traveler who speaks ill of China with threat of imprisonment. Getting tough on China also looks like allowing it to bully and harass its neighbors in the South China Sea with armed piracy and threats of economic or military retaliation, or infringe upon Indian sovereignty with threats of armed conflict.

(An Uyghur Re-Education Camp in Xinjiang, China -- in the 21st Century)

With North Korea the president gave in, as he always does, to flattery and cajoling and turned his back on the longstanding American position regarding North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. In a flashy summit with Kim Jong Un, the president committed the United States to formally ending the Korean War and issued weak demands that North Korea suspend its nuclear program, all while kissing the ass of a man who starves and murders his people and gaining little in return. Today, North Korea possesses a nuclear arsenal capable of striking the United States, has shown it has little appetite for joining the fold of developing nations, and was granted legitimacy by the most powerful person on Earth for what amounts to basically nothing. The summit gained the US and our allies in the Asia Pacific precious little while giving North Korea nearly everything it desired. Another diplomatic coup for our president. Thank you, sir.

A well-functioning administration would perhaps realize that they have been gifted a world in which a rhetorical and foreign policy approach that prioritizes freedom and democracy would allow it to press the advantage against the bevy of undemocratic regimes it considers its enemies. An appeal to Hong Kong that attempts to market it as a Berlin Wall, a symbol of oppression and freedom denied, could help turn the pressure up on China. So too would a forceful denunciation of fucking ethnic minority labor camps.

Or perhaps a policy that tries to use its authority over the Gulf nations to force positive change. Or maybe a commitment to European democracy and the values of free expression and inclusion. Or an attempt to leverage our strong military and diplomatic relationship with Israel to force it to make difficult concessions on the Palestinian cause, rather than roll over for a regime that has proven itself stubbornly unwilling to compromise despite our generosity.

Even in our own backyard there are things we could be doing to enhance the cause of freedom and inclusion. We could tell refugees fleeing oppression that they can come to the United States. We can peel away the best and brightest from other countries around the world so that the brilliant scientist from Iran or the entrepreneur from China is a student that we deprive those hostile regimes of profiting from. We could tell immigrants, some undocumented, who are here laboring on the frontlines against a once-in-a-lifetime human catastrophe that they deserve to be fast tracked for citizenship or legal status.

We could do so much that would help this country’s cause in a time of ceaseless threats to democracy. But we don’t. The rot at the heart of our government that makes Americans bristle with shame at their country, that makes the world look askance at us as it does our enemies, prevents us from doing any of this. Our leaders have forgotten the values we are supposed to uphold and represent. In the process we have grown far weaker while our foes and enemies of human rights and freedom around the world have grown far stronger.

Freedom is no longer something those in power, and even some Americans, understand. That loss of understanding has eroded our confidence in ourselves and has eroded the faith the world places in us. Freedom has become, to quote Jimmy Carter, “a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the Fourth of July.” A thing we claim to have but don’t truly understand anymore. This cannot be blamed all on the current administration, but its acceleration can be. And the losers from this immoral four years of American failure are not just Americans and our future dreams; they are the freedom seekers around the world who need a beacon more than ever. They are the ones who may pay more than anybody. That will be the price of four years of hate and division, of nativism and immorality.

That will be the price of Trump’s American Exceptionalism.

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southeastasianists · 5 years

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In the early 21st century, we see that a good part of the world is turning its back on diversity – and this goes beyond Southeast Asia. We see this in Europe, in India, and in the Americas. This trend manifests as a poisonous concoction of intolerance, ethno-nationalism, anti-immigrant sentiments, and populism. Globalization has contributed to this trend, as well as long-running religious enmities. One very good example of this trend is the ongoing Rohingya crisis.

The triumph of democracy following the end of the Cold War was expected by many across the world to usher in a free and golden age, but unfortunately it was not to be. A new genre of ‘democratic’ leaders came to the fore. To them, democracy was about elections, and that meant getting as many votes as you could, through any means. The two currents of democracy and intolerance intermingled and fed on each other, and far-right parties and governments came to power. Diversity is downgraded or denied outright.

The illiberal turn in a number of Southeast Asian countries, while being aimed at maintaining and expanding a party’s grip on state power, has been accompanied by intolerance, discrimination, repression and outright violence against what is essentially pluralism. The ruling National League for Democracy party in Myanmar has only token ethnic minority representation and none of its lawmakers are Muslim. Opposition parties, dissenting media and civil society are facing severe threats from incumbent establishments. Institutions of the dominant religion are taking on a bigger role in politics—sometimes in tandem or in collusion with the state. The primacy of the vote over that of the gun was regained at great cost. But now it means that political leaders are pandering more to interests of race and religion to get votes.

The Dual State

I have been describing the dual state in Myanmar for quite some time. Taking a deeper look, I would further elaborate by calling it ‘twin authoritarianisms’ or ‘authoritarianisms-in-tandem’: the civil as well as the military. It may sound unlikely, given that any authoritarian state is usually a monist entity. This shows that neither of the twin blocs are strong enough to obviate the other. But both sides come down hard on anything else they deem to be standing in their way – the media, minorities, civil society, activists and protesters.

For the Myanmar military that enjoyed near-absolute power for half a century, authoritarian and illiberal traits come naturally. One local analyst observes that at least the military is more consistent. But for the National League for Democracy, which spent the past three decades clamouring for all the noble virtues, its recent descent to baser sentiments comes as a rude shock to many (this writer excepted). All the institutions regarded as pillars of, and adjuncts to, liberal democracy are now under threat. If someone were to question the party on this, the blame would be glibly passed on to the obstructionist military. Of late it has become my task to gently disabuse people – both within the country and abroad – that this is not as neat as it sounds. The civilian party government has to shoulder part of the responsibility.

I have used the term ‘post-ideology’ to describe present-day Myanmar. In a country where the Left had been such a potent force, it is now difficult to identify a meaningful political party that can be classified as leftist. The Burma Socialist Programme Party in its later years cannot be seen as left anymore, and the Communist Party of Burma collapsed in 1989. In the absence of a sophisticated leftist politics, the way opened up for a swing to the Right. One sees parallels of this in Eastern Europe.

A further outcome is the rise of majoritarianism and the dawn of an electoral democracy. With an antiquated first-past-the-post electoral system, the politicians and generals know very well that if you have the ethnic and religious majority sewn up, you do not have to bother much about either election outcomes or the minorities.

The consequences of all these trends are many. With the collapse of ideology, the 70-year long civil war is now being waged against ethnic minorities. In other words, it has turned into a straight ethnic war. One sees in Rakhine, and for long in Kachin and Shan states, the accompanying disregard for civilian lives and the depths of brutality.

The Bamar government’s and military’s premise is that “a rising Bamar tide will lift all ethnic boats”, but in reality, that isn’t the case.

Now at the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the NLD government is dutifully carrying on what had been done since the one-party state—rolling out the outward trappings of ethnic diversity and ‘unity’ on certain dates like Union Day. But members of the ethnic minorities have come to realize, painfully in recent years, that these gestures are empty and devoid of meaning. Some of these people are starting to point out that the NLD and military are acting in collusion.

First of all, the powers-that-be have to acknowledge that ethnic diversity is as fundamental to Myanmar as is the Irrawaddy River. And just as useful. Influenced by the ethnic rebellions, the central state, and especially the military, sees ethnic identity as a threat. Their solution is assimilation, as China is attempting to do with the Uighurs. There has to be a sea-change in this perspective. But Naypyidaw is not a place known for its intellectualism, nor, should I add, for its leadership.

Myanmar civil society came to the fore a little before the current ethnic unravelling began. With the paucity of state efforts, civil society may turn out to be the only lifeline. But essentially on the all-important issues of pluralism and diversity, the state and society have to see the error of their ways, and change. The task also needs to be taken up by intellectuals—writers, historians, film-makes and the media. The democracy promotion outfits also need to change tack—less emphasis on elections and more on pluralism and what are called ‘emancipative values’.

Pre- and post-2015: both shades of grey

The expectation since 1988 had been that the NLD government would liberalize Myanmar: this has not happened. Progress towards a more liberal Myanmar has been glacial. The generational divide has quite a bit to do with it—the Union Solidarity and Development Party and NLD leadership are from the same generation, and from the Bamar Buddhist majority. Even if objectives like constitutional amendment are achieved, allowing, for instance, winning ethnic parties to form governments in their own states, it will not be a panacea.

Bamar ethnic dominance, transposed to the political sphere, leads to a simplistic motto: “We are a democracy now, and so votes count. The more voters we have, the better. Diversity isn’t important.” The two major parties are essentially Bamar-dominant, with token minority representation. The large number of non-Bamar parties comprising members of single ethnic groups is testimony to the fact that the non-Bamar nationalities prefer to go their own way instead of teaming up with either of the two major parties. So where does that leave us with regard to building a federal system, a multi-ethnic nation, and a pan-ethnic national identity? These goals appear to be far beyond the horizon.

What Aung San Su Kyi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing have in common is the determination to concentrate power in themselves and to close decision-making. There are strengths and weaknesses to this. It could bring success as well as failure. Myanmar’s present case inclines towards the latter. And fortune isn’t exactly smiling on either of them now. At the same time, both have strong survival and self-perpetuation instincts, and they have the organizational machinery to this end. The NLD for one will use all means at its disposal to win the next elections.

Myanmar’s political leadership is characterized by hierarchy, gerontocracy, and its reactionary nature. Post-2015 this seems to have become even more marked. The two leaders are also in their sunset years, and the best thing they could do now is to acknowledge reality and think about the legacy they shall leave behind.

We are staring at the fact that older generations are failed generations, and I would put the point of demarcation at age 45. (Someone posted a list of current cabinet ministers and their ages and it entirely fits the description of gerontocracy).

As Myanmar moves into the closing years of the NLD’s term of office, the two leaders—ASSK and Min Aung Hlaing—share the unenviable distinction of having together pushed the country further downhill. And more than system decay or state refractoriness, individualistic and personalistic factors—failings, really—have played a big part. There are those who study or push issues like the peace process, civil-military relations, and constitutional reform, but none of these can be treated in isolation without factoring in the leadership debility problem.

Recent developments in the region—particularly in India—merit comparison with Myanmar. Naypyidaw and Delhi have much in common now—the falling back upon authoritarian populism, and religious nationalism to begin with. The corollaries in both countries are a disregard for minorities both ethnic and religious, a mistrust of civil society, and the rolling back of democratic and secular values. And then comes the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the imposition of union territory status, and rule by centrally-appointed governors. All done sadly, in a rather sleight-of-hand manner.

Both Kashmir and Rakhine are the scenes of political failure. For decades, India used to be a democratic ‘model’ for newly-independent countries taking the path of democracy (or returning to it, in the case of Myanmar). In the ongoing contest with China, India was said to have the edge by being a flourishing democracy. I wonder how people would see it now.

Conclusion

But then I would not be doing justice to my country and to friends if I were not to advance breakthrough approaches of my own.

General elections are due next year. Yes, Myanmar is still an electoral democracy, but this is a stage that an electorate lacking in sophistication has to go through on the way to a mature and stable democracy. Most importantly, the present two-party stranglehold has to be broken. The prevailing party system is in its sunset, and calling for new parties in the same mould is more than obtuse. If you can control one-third of the seats in Parliament, the two-party system can be balanced and countered. Authoritarian tendencies can and must be countered. One important lesson to be gleaned from what the Modi government did on Jammu and Kashmir is the ominous risk of a single political party enjoying a big majority in the legislature.

The youth population in Myanmar is tired, exasperated with the political system, and ready for real change. So are many ethnic parties, and youthful aspirations can become cross-cutting. Land is another unifying issue.

The ethnic nationalities should have learned by now the unhappy consequences of voting for the duo of parties. They can make a start by ensuring that chief ministers are no longer centrally-appointed. India’s model of having a governor and chief minister in each state should be widely discussed.

Setting up a monist, ethno-nationalist, non-inclusive and majoritarian political system may allow you to gain enough votes to propel you to power, but it can never be good for a country beyond the short-term.

#Southeast Asia #Burma #Myanmar #Nationalism #Ethnicity #Politics

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alexsmitposts · 4 years

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When the Going Gets Tough, the US Runs to its Criminal Friends Donald Trump’s consistent use of the term “Chinese Virus” when discussing Covid-19 has raised a few eyebrows. Having been locked down and had the foreseeable future taken away, the world has no choice but to defer to his leadership. But rather than leading the world, he leads a chosen part of it against another part of it in every speech, leaving yet more of a legacy of hate and mistrust, as if the US hasn’t done enough of this. Other Great Powers have always had the same problems. Anything associated with former colonial masters is either rejected outright, even when it does not have to have that association, or localised to remove those associations. But this means countries develop by adopting new friends, whoever they may be. Often they are not too discriminating about who those friends are, or what strings are attached to that friendship, as they see it as a “path to independence,” not accepting that it cannot take them there. The former Soviet states provide many examples of this, but so do former colonies of anywhere, who once ran to the Soviet Union to achieve the same ends. So backed into a corner of its own construction, the US is deciding who else should be allowed into that corner. Kim Jong-un was invited, but seems to have been kept out, for now, by exposing that the only global superpower is indeed a helpless prisoner in its corner But there are some states who will always be there, no matter what. Is it because they are also mature democracies which respect freedom, human rights and rule of law? If they were, North Korea would hardly have been invited. Like an addict, the US chooses the friends which justify its crimes. The definition of US values which Washington imposes on the developing world would never be considered acceptable at home. So it seeks friends who play the same game, hoping that will justify this practice – which it would never need to do, if it really believed in the values it claims to have. Double coverage Can you imagine a world in which the US was not a friend of Israel? Many other countries, principally its neighbours, have arguments with the Jewish state, both over how it conducts itself and its very existence. But although there is also a US Arab lobby, based on shared oil interests rather than common political cause, the huge influence of the Israeli lobby in the US is recognised and well-documented. What does Israel actually stand for which other Middle East countries, including democracies such as Lebanon, do not? How is it more consistent with US values to support Israel rather than its neighbours? The usual answers are bound up with “self-determination” and righting historic wrongs, albeit at the expense of others. Why should the suffering Israelites not have their own homeland? Why should all the crimes committed against them over the centuries not be compensated by support for that homeland? Having done all that, should the US not have a reliable ally in this turbulent region? These arguments are of course hypocritical, as they do not apply across the board. Ask, for example, the Kurds, the Serbs, the Catalans, the Native Americans themselves. Israel has another attraction, which is all about the US, not Israel itself. The latest democracy reports by V-Dem and Freedom House, who compete with and do not consult each other, both make sobering reading for Israel watchers V-Dem, run from Sweden, is rather more neutral in its political posturing, whereas Freedom House inclines towards the “socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor” definition of freedom. Yet both reports explode all the claims the US makes about Israel, and about itself. If Belgium were compared to Bolivia as a democratic state, it would be greatly offended. Yet in the V-Dem report, Tunisia, not Israel, is called “the only democracy in the Middle East”. Admittedly this stretches the definition of “Middle East” a little. But who want to be outranked for democracy by a country synonymous with instability, corruption and disregard for human rights? The report paints the following picture: “Tunisia is the star pupil of democratization of the past ten years. Transitioning to democracy in 2012 after mass protests ousted the dictatorial regime of Ben Ali, its score on the LDI rose steeply from 0.11 in 2008 to 0.68 in 2018. However, the data also suggest that the new government is not fully independent from the military and thus potentially vulnerable to interference. Ahead of the election in 2019, political parties are still relatively weak and young people – the driving force of the revolution – infrequently engage in formal political institutions.” Tunisians themselves may feel their country is nowhere near the level of a real democracy, but it is largely being allowed to get there. Democracy exists because sooner or later everybody does it, if left alone to do so. Those who don’t want that are tolerating this expression of freedom, and the US is not vocal in its support of Tunisia and what it is trying to do. Tunisia is 41st on the V-Dem list of liberal democracies, which headed by Norway. Israel is 51st. It is well behind Uruguay and Chile, two countries still struggling to rid themselves of notorious CIA-funded repressive pasts, and just behind Croatia, famous for its discriminatory behaviour towards its Serb population. The Freedom House report includes Israel as one of 25 established democracies where freedom has declined over the past 14 years. The country gets its worst ever overall score of 76, well behind Mongolia and only 6 points ahead of Hungary, which is categorised as only “partly free”. What’s wrong with Israel? This long list provides part of the answer. But the US recognises it as a kindred spirit because the US itself was founded by implanted settlers dispossessing and humiliating the native population. This is what US-Israeli friendship is really about – trying to make two wrongs a right. Other countries have their own sordid histories, but don’t offer the same exculpatory PR opportunity. At a time of global crisis, the US should lead, not try to find excuses for itself. United by the wrong common language US relations with most countries wax and wane, depending on the political direction of the wind vein; the other country it always supports unquestioningly is the UK. Few even want to suspect there is an improper reason for this, but this crisis is indicating that such confidence is misplaced. As the former colonial power, though admittedly long ago, the UK should be seen with much more suspicion by the US. American historiography makes much of the struggle against the British and the principles the American colonies fought for, implying that the UK is not a “land of the free” where “all men are created equal”, so it should be the opposite of what the US wants in a friend. “Special Relationship” However the US and UK have long had a “Special Relationship” – the one which prevented the UK joining the EU and its predecessors for twenty years. Why? For the same reason Australia, which used to describe itself as being the “southern outpost of the British race,” also had a “White Australia” immigration policy for many years? The almost English-speaking White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, WASPs, who founded and have always run the US preserve their privileges by treating the UK as an example, despite deliberately contradicting its political system and developing a very different culture. The British must be racially superior, regardless of their crimes as colonists, or the US would itself be a very different place. This relationship also suited the British, who could regard Americans as the same as them when it suited them. US success was firstly an extension of UK success, then an acceptable alternative to UK decline. But now the “Special Relationship” is coming home to roost in a big way. During the Second World War, despite the tensions and differences in practical impact between the two countries, everyone pulled together. For a generation afterwards, rebuilding was held to require consensus. But for the past forty years both countries have followed a similar trajectory. Regardless of the complexion of government, they have sought to divide people into “good” and “bad” rather than supporter and opponent. The “bad” people – whether they are foreign, Muslim, ideologically unsound or whatever, are responsible for all the ills of their countries, while the “good” are being unfairly disadvantaged by treating those “bad” people the same way as them. These policies have had one inevitable consequence – creating an ever-deepening sense of injustice amongst those who are disadvantaged to begin with, and would be under any sort of policy through no fault of their own. These are the people openly courted by Trump and Boris Johnson to win power. First it was good versus bad, now it is outsiders versus the whole system, because that system, the creation of good versus bad, has failed to deliver what it promised the good. Going down this route will only make things worse, as no one will be satisfied and the sense of injustice will only grow. But having started, both countries are running to each other for help because they can’t stop, or their governments would collapse overnight. The Covid-19 virus was treated by both countries as another dimension of the “liberal elite conspiracy,” something invented to profit the “bad people” who had hurt so many voters. Neither took it seriously, either saying reports were exaggerated or coming up with ridiculous but low cost cures such as Johnson’s “herd immunity.” When forced to realise the extent of the crisis, they have insisted on pursuing racist policies which help no one. Trump reportedly tried to buy up all the cures for the US before nasty foreigners could get their hands on them, and still insists, by classifying his health emergency response meetings, that the virus is about China rather than health. Boris Johnson is refusing to postpone or even delay the Brexit trade deal negotiations because getting away from “foreign control” is considered more important. He refused to either join the EU’s ventilator scheme, a decision later blamed on an error the EU has debunked or boost the UK manufacturers who make them, but then gave the manufacturing contract to a Conservative Party donor, one of the “good people” who can make the problem go away at the cost of the “bad people” who die in the meantime. Johnson also claims to have Covid-19 himself, but gave a post-diagnosis speech at which there was no sign of the uncontrollable cough all sufferers apparently have. It would be entirely in character for this to be another BoJo publicity stunt. Perhaps we will never know, but is this the way to lead his country, or the world, through a crisis to a better future? Rule by the Mob The world’s largest economy and only superpower cannot claim to be the land of the dispossessed, particularly when run by a billionaire. But it has always claimed to be a force for good, which all like-minded nations should want to ally with. The US is not choosing its friends based on how good their values are. It wants ones who will justify its own crimes by being just as bad. When everyone is both a victim and a carrier of a deadly virus, these issues should not matter. But the US is only reinforcing its policy, at the expense of the whole world, because it has left itself with no alternative if it is going to remain the USA. There have been times when gangsters have effectively run cities or whole countries. Democracy is supposed to protect us from this, because at the end of the day, gangsters will serve the interests of their criminal friends rather than the people. This is why career criminals are classified as maladjusted: they cannot survive in a world where people try and act according to biblical precepts, whether aware of doing so or not. The BIGGER the problem, the GREATER the need for both leadership, and some semblance of decency, but we have no choice to trust in our leaders in times of crisis. But the bigger they are, the more they are running to their criminal friends instead of stepping up to resolve the crisis, or stepping down to make way for those who can. This is what a corrupt system throws up, even amongst those who claim to be overthrowing that system. There is an alternative, but it was always going to take a crisis like this to give enough people an incentive to make it real. Human beings are better than those we have set up as examples. This time we should really mean it when we say “never again.”

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