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dandelion-wings · 3 months

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On thing about Mondstadt’s government that bothers me is that everybody boils it down to just the Knights on one side, and the Church on the other. Which, sure, they’re what we know the most about…

But it completely ignores the ‘Community Representative’. Considering their signature is one of three needed to (legally) make use of the Holy Lyre, alongside the Grandmaster and the Seneschal, they must be pretty damn important. So assuming they have equal power to those positions, which are at the head of the Knights and the Church respectively, what actually is that power? Presumably it’s an elected position (the title is that of a ‘representative’, plus I would be severely disappointed if there wasn’t even a hint of democracy in the Nation of Freedom), but is there a structure under it similar to the Knights and Church? Is there a completely separate civilian, secular government that for some reason just barely comes up? If it is elected, how is that handled? If both Grandmaster Varka and the Seneschal are on expedition, does that mean they hold more authority than Acting Grandmaster Jean and whoever is Acting Seneschal (assuming an acting-title’s authority, though still above everything else below the proper-title, is still considered secondary to that of said proper-title)? But if so, why hasn’t it come up? Or is it just some guy elected to act as a more expedient alternative to something like a full referendum?

God, I have an education in history and political science that is just begging for some damn answers!

I mean, I don't have an education in those things and am not real good at working those things out myself, so I don't know that I can provide you too much useful commentary here. XD;; But while I'd love if Mondstadt did have some democracy, I... am pretty convinced that it's a theocracy, actually. The Knights and the Church (which tbh seems to exist under the overall umbrella of the Ordo, given that Jean says in her voiceline about Barbara that "the order also manages the Church") fulfill pretty much all the governmental functions we actually see happening at all, including the whole thing in Jean's quest where Charles expects tax forms from her.

I'll admit I also lean that way because I read into Mondstadt as a whole (its history but also our introduction to it, where Amber initially nabs us for unauthorized entry and then there's a whole early section about gliding regulations) a theme of humans repeatedly being given freedom, and gradually rebuilding restrictions upon themselves. Which I don't think is entirely a bad thing, in that I do think communities generally function better with organization and administration and such, but, like, Mondstadt has gone all the way into tyranny before and could again. Mondstadt building itself an increasingly restrictive theocracy feeds into the theme I like drawing from it, so of course that's the reading I tend towards! But, still, that's where I'm at about it.

(I draw a lot of my read of this national theme from the line, "Mondstadt is the City of Freedom, but unchecked freedom without any kind of rules only invites chaos and anxiety," in Jean's character details, and I haven't seen anyone else talk about it, ever, so it's entirely possible this is actually character brainrot I'm projecting onto the city as a whole. I'm fine with that.)

Presumably there is a further government apparatus, but I tend to believe it's probably under the higher authority of the Ordo. Maybe with checks and balances, maybe not (exactly how I arrange the setup for fic where it's needed is specific to individual fic, because the openness of canon leaves the kind of room that makes it easiest to go with what works for the plot). "Community Representative" on its own is very vague; looking at the line where it actually appears, it's talking about the Holy Lyre in the context of the Ludi Harpastrum, so it could even be a role specific to the yearly organization of that particular festival! That said, it does sound a bit more like it's a regular thing, and given my presumption of theocracy above, I think this:

Or is it just some guy elected to act as a more expedient alternative to something like a full referendum?

honestly is the most likely possibility. It would make sense given Mondstadt's ethos and history--you have a representative of the community to sign off on certain decisions (hopefully elected, as you said, but who knows exactly how it happens), like that one about the Lyre, to show that the people agree. Possibly it's a triangle with the Grand Master at the top and the Seneschal (given the above "manages the Church" line) and Community Representative as equals who have input but not ultimate power on the next level down, possibly they both exist largely to rubberstamp the Grand Master and Seneshal's decisions, possibly it's an area-of-authority divide. Regardless of the exact divisions, Jean does seem to have some fairly unilateral powers in the areas of domestic defense and peacekeeping, but that's... something you do want the head of your military-and-police order to have, generally, so who knows how broad her powers actually are to act without the Seneschal and Representative's approval in other areas. The game is, as always, frustratingly uninformative.

Anyway, tl;dr: my personal reading of Mondstadt tends to render the Community Representative as relatively unimportant, despite the equal billing in that quest, because over and over again in quests and lore and voicelines we don't see anything but "the Ordo handles things," and Mondstadt honestly makes most sense to me as a theocratic city-state. I think they're more likely a representative "voice" in the government than a significant power, and I don't think they represent any significant "third branch" other than possibly, given Mondstadt's history, a symbolic reminder that its people have toppled tyrants before and can do so again.

#asked and answered #knight meta #(i tbh am not great at worldbuilding government stuff which does not help this answer #i am fairly confident about building out internal stuff for the knights specifically #because i am familiar with law-enforcement structure and procedure from the inside and tend to just transfer it #but we get so little lore that full-system speculation is putting together pieces into shapes i don't have the same personal experience for #so sorry if this answer is disappointing anon. it's not my area of experience)#the shape of teyvat

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argumate · 10 months

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(in response to a response to this post in which I joked about political parties constantly splitting; hopefully this offers some insight rather than inciting)

I am not familiar with the Party for Socialism and Liberation beyond what I read on their Wikipedia page, so I'm happy to hear they engage in worthy causes, but that alone is insufficient to exclude them from what I maintain is a much deserved roasting, along with their fellow travellers in Australia with whom I have more direct experience.

over here, the local communists can be found in front of the state library every Sunday afternoon, offering hot food, warm clothes, and revolutionary inspiration to the homeless population of Melbourne (or anyone else who happens to be passing by and wants to have an argument with them, because as with me that's how they like to make friends with people I think).

and this is a truly wonderful thing that they choose to do! feeding the hungry, clothing the cold, engaging in heated debate with the otherwise ignored, it's beautiful and it makes this corner of the world a little brighter than it would otherwise be.

I don't volunteer any of my time to that particular effort; I could say that I don't have the time to spare or that my skills don't run in that direction but really it's just that everything you do is contingent on who you know and how you know them, we are all firmly embedded in the web of social connections that define our lives and my path took me in other directions; had a few things twisted differently in university then who knows.

I do donate a little money towards housing the homeless as I believe it's a crime that this city compels anyone to sleep rough outdoors; this is a deliberate policy choice that we did not need to make and do not need to continue, it is a problem that we created and could solve at any time, and since I'm quite vocal about this I'm obliged to put up or shut up etc. and hopefully my contribution will offer some shelter to those who would otherwise be denied it.

but while some volunteering here and some donations there is certainly better than nothing, it's not enough, it's nowhere near enough! the gap between what is done and what needs to be done is staggering! it galls me, and I joke about it because things can be very funny even when they make me mad, the serious is often funny and the funny is always very serious.

when right-wing political parties fracture and begin to eat each other alive it's funny because the people involved are usually assholes, their vain attempts to spin the narrative in their favour are hilarious, and pratfalls and petty drama are just a reliable source of humour, and all of these reasons apply just as well to the scenario of left-wing political parties gratuitously shooting themselves in the dick.

however a right-wing party getting fractious is entirely on brand: at least ideologically they're supposed to believe in the virtues of individual self interest and robust competition and a war of all against all and to the winner go the spoils, so why not stab each other in the back for personal glory at the cost of the greater good?

but a left-wing party is notionally founded on the dream of overcoming what ails humanity by way of collective action, the principle that cooperation can achieve what competition cannot, that class interests supersede all other antagonisms, and in that case what the fuck does it mean when that party cannot even cooperate with itself? what is left for us to offer but derision for such monumental failure, not even to fail in a valiant but doomed fight against a powerful adversary but to be torn apart by internal contradictions (!) and the inability to unite as one despite the professed importance of the mission?

Australia never banned the Communist Party, and as a liberal democracy we can be proud of that, but of course we never needed to: it faded into meaningless irrelevancy of its own accord (a tradition continued to this day by the Greens, who if they ever catch a whiff of electoral success and the chance of actually doing something useful will promptly collapse into acrimonious debates about ending capitalism and disappear up their own arse until everybody else loses interest).

so is it funny that organisations predicated on working together for the common good keep splitting? yes of course it's funny, it's fucking hilarious! and tragic, if you believe in the goal, and think that it ever had a chance of being achieved in this way by these people.

in the meantime the rites continue to be dutifully performed but the modern infrastructure of Marxist organisation resembles little more than a pyramid scheme or an evangelical church that exists solely for the purpose of sucking in enough idealistic students to perpetuate the ideology to the next generation, while ensuring that they stay carefully isolated from any ideas that might seriously challenge the status quo (or honestly even ideas that might help to understand the status quo, a prerequisite to doing anything about it); this is also a funny situation but it's getting a little bitter, and I don't enjoy seeing so much potential go to waste.

I've said more on this topic, scattered across the past few years of posts, but I think that probably conveys the gist of it, although of course as always I'm happy to keep talking.

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useless-englandfacts · 1 year

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useless-england-facts : hates the monarchy, the danger it poses to democracy, its absence of basis in anything factual, the unfair and unequal system it feeds, and the people who support it and profit from it.

ALSO useless-england-facts : "this is a pro- Harry & Meghan blog"

🤔

Wow it’s almost like a situation has nuance and people can have opinions that conflict slightly!!

Meghan markle has, for the last few years, been the public victim of disgusting amounts of racism, classism, sexism, and xenophobia.

She has been issued with countless death threats, denied protection from the family she married into, and denounced by media that is owned (wether outright or through back channels) by the royal family.

Her husband has stood by her and removed himself from an insanely toxic and dangerous family to protect her and their children, and has spoken out about the issues they have faced and the danger the royal family has put/left them in.

All while the family refuses to separate itself from a known pedophile, which I personally think is an absolute slap in the face to not only Meghan and Harry but the entire nation.

I do not support the royal family, or Prince Harry’s past actions and behaviours (I’m not delusional, he was fucked up), but the treatment Harry and Meghan continue to endure to this day is disgusting, and I support them in their desire to separate themselves from this country and the RF.

Also, every single criticism I have ever seen of Harry and Meghan is based in racism, xenophobia, sexism, and ridiculous q-anon conspiracy theories.

This is not an invitation to prove me wrong.

I am not a figurehead for this nation, I am a person running a blog. My opinions are my own, and in no way infringe on dominiques opinions on this topic or any other, but I will not support royalists or Meghan and Harry haters on this blog at all, since both, I have found, are just thinly veiled excuses for racism.

#asks #anonymous #meghan markle #prince harry #the royal family #admin roe

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feminismisstillahatemovement · 1 year

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Disturbing stuff, with some very dark implications for the future of what little Democracy we have left.

It's always been obvious that whatever parameters some biased human feeds into an AI at the very beginning is going to massively skew its behaviour and "perceptions" of the world way down the line.

Which actually takes away what is, for me, one of its most useful applications; the calm, objective, unemotional calculation of potential solutions for all kinds of heated and long-insoluble human disagreements. The above AI would clearly be less than useless for any of that.

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ivan-fyodorovich-k · 4 months

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If you had to capture Silicon Valley’s dominant ideology in a single anecdote, you might look first to Mark Zuckerberg, sitting in the blue glow of his computer some 20 years ago, chatting with a friend about how his new website, TheFacebook, had given him access to reams of personal information about his fellow students:

Zuckerberg: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard Zuckerberg: Just ask. Zuckerberg: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS Friend: What? How’d you manage that one? Zuckerberg: People just submitted it. Zuckerberg: I don’t know why. Zuckerberg: They “trust me” Zuckerberg: Dumb fucks.

That conversation—later revealed through leaked chat records—was soon followed by another that was just as telling, if better mannered. At a now-famous Christmas party in 2007, Zuckerberg first met Sheryl Sandberg, his eventual chief operating officer, who with Zuckerberg would transform the platform into a digital imperialist superpower. There, Zuckerberg, who in Facebook’s early days had adopted the mantra “Company over country,” explained to Sandberg that he wanted every American with an internet connection to have a Facebook account. For Sandberg, who once told a colleague that she’d been “put on this planet to scale organizations,” that turned out to be the perfect mission.

Facebook (now Meta) has become an avatar of all that is wrong with Silicon Valley. Its self-interested role in spreading global disinformation is an ongoing crisis. Recall, too, the company’s secret mood-manipulation experiment in 2012, which deliberately tinkered with what users saw in their News Feed in order to measure how Facebook could influence people’s emotional states without their knowledge. Or its participation in inciting genocide in Myanmar in 2017. Or its use as a clubhouse for planning and executing the January 6, 2021, insurrection. (In Facebook’s early days, Zuckerberg listed “revolutions” among his interests. This was around the time that he had a business card printed with I’M CEO, BITCH.)

And yet, to a remarkable degree, Facebook’s way of doing business remains the norm for the tech industry as a whole, even as other social platforms (TikTok) and technological developments (artificial intelligence) eclipse Facebook in cultural relevance.

To worship at the altar of mega-scale and to convince yourself that you should be the one making world-historic decisions on behalf of a global citizenry that did not elect you and may not share your values or lack thereof, you have to dispense with numerous inconveniences—humility and nuance among them. Many titans of Silicon Valley have made these trade-offs repeatedly. YouTube (owned by Google), Instagram (owned by Meta), and Twitter (which Elon Musk insists on calling X) have been as damaging to individual rights, civil society, and global democracy as Facebook was and is. Considering the way that generative AI is now being developed throughout Silicon Valley, we should brace for that damage to be multiplied many times over in the years ahead.

The behavior of these companies and the people who run them is often hypocritical, greedy, and status-obsessed. But underlying these venalities is something more dangerous, a clear and coherent ideology that is seldom called out for what it is: authoritarian technocracy. As the most powerful companies in Silicon Valley have matured, this ideology has only grown stronger, more self-righteous, more delusional, and—in the face of rising criticism—more aggrieved.

The new technocrats are ostentatious in their use of language that appeals to Enlightenment values—reason, progress, freedom—but in fact they are leading an antidemocratic, illiberal movement. Many of them profess unconditional support for free speech, but are vindictive toward those who say things that do not flatter them. They tend to hold eccentric beliefs: that technological progress of any kind is unreservedly and inherently good; that you should always build it, simply because you can; that frictionless information flow is the highest value regardless of the information’s quality; that privacy is an archaic concept; that we should welcome the day when machine intelligence surpasses our own. And above all, that their power should be unconstrained. The systems they’ve built or are building—to rewire communications, remake human social networks, insinuate artificial intelligence into daily life, and more—impose these beliefs on the population, which is neither consulted nor, usually, meaningfully informed. All this, and they still attempt to perpetuate the absurd myth that they are the swashbuckling underdogs.

Comparisons between Silicon Valley and Wall Street or Washington, D.C., are commonplace, and you can see why—all are power centers, and all are magnets for people whose ambition too often outstrips their humanity. But Silicon Valley’s influence easily exceeds that of Wall Street and Washington. It is reengineering society more profoundly than any other power center in any other era since perhaps the days of the New Deal. Many Americans fret—rightfully—about the rising authoritarianism among MAGA Republicans, but they risk ignoring another ascendant force for illiberalism: the tantrum-prone and immensely powerful kings of tech.

The Shakespearean drama that unfolded late last year at OpenAI underscores the extent to which the worst of Facebook’s “move fast and break things” mentality has been internalized and celebrated in Silicon Valley. OpenAI was founded, in 2015, as a nonprofit dedicated to bringing artificial general intelligence into the world in a way that would serve the public good. Underlying its formation was the belief that the technology was too powerful and too dangerous to be developed with commercial motives alone.

But in 2019, as the technology began to startle even the people who were working on it with the speed at which it was advancing, the company added a for-profit arm to raise more capital. Microsoft invested $1 billion at first, then many billions of dollars more. Then, this past fall, the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, was fired then quickly rehired, in a whiplash spectacle that signaled a demolition of OpenAI’s previously established safeguards against putting company over country. Those who wanted Altman out reportedly believed that he was too heavily prioritizing the pace of development over safety. But Microsoft’s response—an offer to bring on Altman and anyone else from OpenAI to re-create his team there—started a game of chicken that led to Altman’s reinstatement. The whole incident was messy, and Altman may well be the right person for the job, but the message was clear: The pursuit of scale and profit won decisively over safety concerns and public accountability.

Silicon Valley still attracts many immensely talented people who strive to do good, and who are working to realize the best possible version of a more connected, data-rich global society. Even the most deleterious companies have built some wonderful tools. But these tools, at scale, are also systems of manipulation and control. They promise community but sow division; claim to champion truth but spread lies; wrap themselves in concepts such as empowerment and liberty but surveil us relentlessly. The values that win out tend to be the ones that rob us of agency and keep us addicted to our feeds.

The theoretical promise of AI is as hopeful as the promise of social media once was, and as dazzling as its most partisan architects project. AI really could cure numerous diseases. It really could transform scholarship and unearth lost knowledge. Except that Silicon Valley, under the sway of its worst technocratic impulses, is following the playbook established in the mass scaling and monopolization of the social web. OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and other corporations leading the way in AI development are not focusing on the areas of greatest public or epistemological need, and they are certainly not operating with any degree of transparency or caution. Instead they are engaged in a race to build faster and maximize profit.

None of this happens without the underlying technocratic philosophy of inevitability—that is, the idea that if you can build something new, you must. “In a properly functioning world, I think this should be a project of governments,” Altman told my colleague Ross Andersen last year, referring to OpenAI’s attempts to develop artificial general intelligence. But Altman was going to keep building it himself anyway. Or, as Zuckerberg put it to The New Yorker many years ago: “Isn’t it, like, inevitable that there would be a huge social network of people? … If we didn’t do this someone else would have done it.”

Technocracy first blossomed as a political ideology after World War I, among a small group of scientists and engineers in New York City who wanted a new social structure to replace representative democracy, putting the technological elite in charge. Though their movement floundered politically—people ended up liking President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal better—it had more success intellectually, entering the zeitgeist alongside modernism in art and literature, which shared some of its values. The American poet Ezra Pound’s modernist slogan “Make it new” easily could have doubled as a mantra for the technocrats. A parallel movement was that of the Italian futurists, led by figures such as the poet F. T. Marinetti, who used maxims like “March, don’t molder” and “Creation, not contemplation.”

The ethos for technocrats and futurists alike was action for its own sake. “We are not satisfied to roam in a garden closed in by dark cypresses, bending over ruins and mossy antiques,” Marinetti said in a 1929 speech. “We believe that Italy’s only worthy tradition is never to have had a tradition.” Prominent futurists took their zeal for technology, action, and speed and eventually transformed it into fascism. Marinetti followed his Manifesto of Futurism (1909) with his Fascist Manifesto (1919). His friend Pound was infatuated with Benito Mussolini and collaborated with his regime to host a radio show in which the poet promoted fascism, gushed over Mein Kampf, and praised both Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. The evolution of futurism into fascism wasn’t inevitable—many of Pound’s friends grew to fear him, or thought he had lost his mind—but it does show how, during a time of social unrest, a cultural movement based on the radical rejection of tradition and history, and tinged with aggrievement, can become a political ideology.

In October, the venture capitalist and technocrat Marc Andreessen published on his firm’s website a stream-of-consciousness document he called “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” a 5,000-word ideological cocktail that eerily recalls, and specifically credits, Italian futurists such as Marinetti. Andreessen is, in addition to being one of Silicon Valley’s most influential billionaire investors, notorious for being thin-skinned and obstreperous, and despite the invocation of optimism in the title, the essay seems driven in part by his sense of resentment that the technologies he and his predecessors have advanced are no longer “properly glorified.” It is a revealing document, representative of the worldview that he and his fellow technocrats are advancing.

Andreessen writes that there is “no material problem,” including those caused by technology, that “cannot be solved with more technology.” He writes that technology should not merely be always advancing, but always accelerating in its advancement “to ensure the techno-capital upward spiral continues forever.” And he excoriates what he calls campaigns against technology, under names such as “tech ethics” and “existential risk.”

Or take what might be considered the Apostles’ Creed of his emerging political movement:

We believe we should place intelligence and energy in a positive feedback loop, and drive them both to infinity … We believe in adventure. Undertaking the Hero’s Journey, rebelling against the status quo, mapping uncharted territory, conquering dragons, and bringing home the spoils for our community … We believe in nature, but we also believe in overcoming nature. We are not primitives, cowering in fear of the lightning bolt. We are the apex predator; the lightning works for us.

Andreessen identifies several “patron saints” of his movement, Marinetti among them. He quotes from the Manifesto of Futurism, swapping out Marinetti’s “poetry” for “technology”:

Beauty exists only in struggle. There is no masterpiece that has not an aggressive character. Technology must be a violent assault on the forces of the unknown, to force them to bow before man.

To be clear, the Andreessen manifesto is not a fascist document, but it is an extremist one. He takes a reasonable position—that technology, on the whole, has dramatically improved human life—and warps it to reach the absurd conclusion that any attempt to restrain technological development under any circumstances is despicable. This position, if viewed uncynically, makes sense only as a religious conviction, and in practice it serves only to absolve him and the other Silicon Valley giants of any moral or civic duty to do anything but make new things that will enrich them, without consideration of the social costs, or of history. Andreessen also identifies a list of enemies and “zombie ideas” that he calls upon his followers to defeat, among them “institutions” and “tradition.”

“Our enemy,” Andreessen writes, is “the know-it-all credentialed expert worldview, indulging in abstract theories, luxury beliefs, social engineering, disconnected from the real world, delusional, unelected, and unaccountable—playing God with everyone else’s lives, with total insulation from the consequences.”

The irony is that this description very closely fits Andreessen and other Silicon Valley elites. The world that they have brought into being over the past two decades is unquestionably a world of reckless social engineering, without consequence for its architects, who foist their own abstract theories and luxury beliefs on all of us.

Some of the individual principles Andreessen advances in his manifesto are anodyne. But its overarching radicalism, given his standing and power, should make you sit up straight. Key figures in Silicon Valley, including Musk, have clearly warmed to illiberal ideas in recent years. In 2020, Donald Trump’s vote share in Silicon Valley was 23 percent—small, but higher than the 20 percent he received in 2016.

The main dangers of authoritarian technocracy are not at this point political, at least not in the traditional sense. Still, a select few already have authoritarian control, more or less, to establish the digital world’s rules and cultural norms, which can be as potent as political power.

In 1961, in his farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned the nation about the dangers of a coming technocracy. “In holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should,” he said, “we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite. It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system—ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.”

Eight years later, the country’s first computers were connected to ARPANET, a precursor to the World Wide Web, which became broadly available in 1993. Back then, Silicon Valley was regarded as a utopia for ambitious capitalists and optimistic inventors with original ideas who wanted to change the world, unencumbered by bureaucracy or tradition, working at the speed of the internet (14.4 kilobits per second in those days). This culture had its flaws even at the start, but it was also imaginative in a distinctly American way, and it led to the creation of transformative, sometimes even dumbfoundingly beautiful hardware and software.

For a long time, I tended to be more on Andreessen’s end of the spectrum regarding tech regulation. I believed that the social web could still be a net good and that, given enough time, the values that best served the public interest would naturally win out. I resisted the notion that regulating the social web was necessary at all, in part because I was not (and am still not) convinced that the government can do so without itself causing harm (the European model of regulation, including laws such as the so-called right to be forgotten, is deeply inconsistent with free-press protections in America, and poses dangers to the public’s right to know). I’d much prefer to see market competition as a force for technological improvement and the betterment of society.

But in recent years, it has become clear that regulation is needed, not least because the rise of technocracy proves that Silicon Valley’s leaders simply will not act in the public’s best interest. Much should be done to protect children from the hazards of social media, and to break up monopolies and oligopolies that damage society, and more. At the same time, I believe that regulation alone will not be enough to meaningfully address the cultural rot that the new technocrats are spreading.

Universities should reclaim their proper standing as leaders in developing world-changing technologies for the good of humankind. (Harvard, Stanford, and MIT could invest in creating a consortium for such an effort—their endowments are worth roughly $110 billion combined.)

Individuals will have to lead the way, too. You may not be able to entirely give up social media, or reject your workplace’s surveillance software—you may not even want to opt out of these things. But there is extraordinary power in defining ideals, and we can all begin to do that—for ourselves; for our networks of actual, real-life friends; for our schools; for our places of worship. We would be wise to develop more sophisticated shared norms for debating and deciding how we use invasive technology interpersonally and within our communities. That should include challenging existing norms about the use of apps and YouTube in classrooms, the ubiquity of smartphones in adolescent hands, and widespread disregard for individual privacy. People who believe that we all deserve better will need to step up to lead such efforts.

Our children are not data sets waiting to be quantified, tracked, and sold. Our intellectual output is not a mere training manual for the AI that will be used to mimic and plagiarize us. Our lives are meant not to be optimized through a screen, but to be lived—in all of our messy, tree-climbing, night-swimming, adventuresome glory. We are all better versions of ourselves when we are not tweeting or clicking “Like” or scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.

Technocrats are right that technology is a key to making the world better. But first we must describe the world as we wish it to be—the problems we wish to solve in the public interest, and in accordance with the values and rights that advance human dignity, equality, freedom, privacy, health, and happiness. And we must insist that the leaders of institutions that represent us—large and small—use technology in ways that reflect what is good for individuals and society, and not just what enriches technocrats.

We do not have to live in the world the new technocrats are designing for us. We do not have to acquiesce to their growing project of dehumanization and data mining. Each of us has agency.

No more “build it because we can.” No more algorithmic feedbags. No more infrastructure designed to make the people less powerful and the powerful more controlling. Every day we vote with our attention; it is precious, and desperately wanted by those who will use it against us for their own profit and political goals. Don’t let them.

#artificial intelligence

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jedi-enthusiast · 10 months

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Debunking the "The Jedi are Evil" Theory Made by The Film Theorists PT 9

Point 9 - The Final Part of That Godforsaken Video

Matthew quote:

"We all grew up watching these movies thinking the Jedi were the heroes, the movies outright frame them to be the heroes, but if you look at how the Jedi become Jedi in the first place--their legacy isn't one of freedom and doing the right thing. It's about putting toddlers into slavery, deceiving their parents, and then brainwashing those little kids so they become unquestioning members of their little cult."

I'm not going to go into detail all over again because I've already responded to all of this in the other parts, but let's do a quick recap:

1. The Jedi are free to leave at any time, nothing about the Jedi Order matches up with the actual definition of slavery.

2. Shmi is the one who wanted Anakin to go to the Order and the Order only inducts children into the Order with the permission of their parents, except in very select situations where they don't have parents and/or their lives are in danger.

3. The Jedi Order isn't a cult, it doesn't even come close to fitting the definition of a cult.

and 4. We're literally shown time and time again that Jedi leave, disagree with each other, have different opinions and ideas on their philosophies, they're encouraged to ask questions, etc--"unquestioning" my ass.

And, believe it or not, the Jedi's legacy is one of freedom and doing the right thing.

They stretch themselves thin and literally lay down their lives to fight for democracy, to protect the people of the galaxy from people like the Separatists and the Empire (who are literally meant to be allegories for Nazis btw), and to just plain help people. Throughout all of Star Wars, that is what we're shown the Jedi do. We're shown and told consistently that they're empathetic and care about others and, at their very core, just want to help people. That the best way to hurt the Jedi is to harm the innocent.

So forgive me if I'm not willing to buy into the bullshit take that "actually the empaths that care so much about the people of the galaxy that they're willing to fight and die, while receiving nothing in return and even being ridiculed for doing so, just to protect them are the evil bad guys."

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Matthew finishes off his theory by saying that the people of the galaxy, and us as the audience, should be glad that the Jedi got genocided and are all but extinct by the end of the Sequels. And then he talks about how the Jedi are to blame for their own genocide and the fall of the Republic.

Which, again, sounds like fascist rhetoric.

He says that "the Jedi are the heroes if you turn off your brains," but to me it seems like you have to ignore 90% of SW media and refuse to contextualize the other 10% and read it in bad-faith in order to think that the Jedi are the bad guys.

Which is what he did to prove himself right, because his video wasn't about looking at the Jedi "objectively" at all.

---

Now, obvious disclaimer: don't go being jackasses and doxxing this guy or anything. That's not what any of this was about. This was just about me defending my comfort characters and going back to the thing that had me feeding into the anti-Jedi bullshit to take it apart and, in doing so, make myself feel better.

For everyone that made it all the way to this part, thanks for reading!

I hope this was as therapeutic for you as it was for me.

#star wars #sw prequels #pro jedi #pro jedi order #in defense of the jedi

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ospreyeamon · 6 months

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revan as the ghost

I had the odd experience of playing KOTOR 1 and having my Revan, then playing KOTOR 2 and discovering that I liked its Revan more than mine. Revan as Narrative Ghost/Controversial Historical Figure is far more interesting to me than Revan as main character.

Part of it is that 2 fleshes out Dark-Side pre-amnesia Revan into a more compelling character. All of the juicy hints about the deeper plan and purpose behind the Jedi Civil War, the past relationship with Kreia who is as preoccupied with her former student’s legacy as with her own, the probable betrayal of Revan’s own forces led by the Exile at Malachor V.

The motivation of preparing for the future great war against the True Sith is great because it doesn’t preclude the other motivations of vengeance, power-lust, and the love of warfare. Revan might have despised the atrocities of the Jedi Civil Wars as evils necessary to save the galaxy. Revan might have subconsciously latched onto the True Sith as an excuse to solve the problems with the Republic and Jedi Order using outright warfare because everything looked like a nail after the Mandalorian Wars. Revan might have just been acting with an eye to the long-term logistics of forcibly holding power in the Republic post-conquest and was never planning on fighting the True Sith Empire because Revan thought it was a real threat, but because another war would be politically convenient. Revan might have slid from one to another over time.

Maybe Revan always considered himself to be loyal to the Republic, even if the Republic didn’t always appreciate the form that loyalty took. Maybe Revan decided that democracy doesn’t work and the Republic would be better off under a competent autocrat. Maybe Revan decided that the structure of the Republic’s constituent governments – mostly monarchies, aristocracies, and corporate plutocracy – meant that it wasn’t a real democracy and believed a benevolent dictatorship could be used to build a foundation of true democracy. Maybe the future long-term structure of the Republic’s government wasn’t a major consideration, with Revan taking the pragmatic view that the best government for the Republic would be the one that enabled it to survive.

Supplying that backstory as a jigsaw of character dialogue was an excellent choice, especially since it also works well for the events of the first game. Brianna the Handmaiden believes Revan showed the desire of his heart when he killed Malak during the Battle of Rakata Prime; Kreia thinks she’s completely wrong about that.

All the characters have at least heard of Revan; the Exile, Kreia, T4-M4, Mandalore, HK-47, and the Jedi Masters knew Revan personally. And, beyond being a mere person, Revan represents things to people.

Kreia is invested in the idea that Revan was always driven by some vision of a greater good, that she never became primarily ruled by hatred or power-lust. Kreia has a low opinion of those she views as dominated by emotion and is unwilling to believe her prize student ever fell into that trap. She really wants every choice her old Padawan made to have been well-informed and well-considered, always feeding towards Revan’s larger goals rather than undermining them. (Yet, there are a couple of Revan’s actions, like killing Malak, that I feel Kreia would have preferred to blame on the Force, on the unfairness of the universe, rather than on Revan.)

It’s a major blind-spot in Kreia’s assessment of Revan. Cutting Malak’s jaw off but keeping him as her second-in-command – seemingly not expecting any negative effect on Malak’s loyalty – is unlikely to have been anything but a short-sighted emotional outburst on Revan’s part.

In contrast to Kreia’s narrative, I think that Revan’s disappearance in unknown space between the games was unplanned and unwilling. Revan apparently spent years attempting to build a massive logistical staging ground for a war with the True Sith; locating the Star Forge, invading to capture Republic infrastructure, brutally converting captured Jedi. Why, after previously engaging in such large-scale preparation, would Revan leave to fight the True Sith alone, without telling anyone but T3-M4? Why would Revan leave without warning Admiral Carth of the Republic Navy and battle-meditation master Bastila Shan about the threat?

More likely, I think, that Revan’s memories were returning in tatters and scraps. Revan became increasingly sure that there was something important she couldn’t remember; some vital secret that would explain so much, and spell disaster if not uncovered. Revan’s journey to unknown space began as a temporary trip retracing a past journey, searching for prompts to resurface those memories. Something went wrong.

Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Revan despaired of the state the Jedi, Revanchist Sith, and Galactic Republic were in after the Battle of Rakata Prime and the “end” of the Jedi Civil War; despaired of the mess she had apparently made trying to manipulate the Republic and Jedi into forms capable of standing up to the True Sith. Maybe Revan came to doubt his previous assessment that the True Sith Empire were planning to invade the Galactic Republic, since it had been more than a decade since the beginning of the Mandalorian Wars with still no sign of them, and left to do some quiet scouting without raising what might be a false alarm that triggered an avoidable conflict.

Another judicious choice of character trait with KOTOR 2’s Revan was – and even post-amnesia still continued to be – secretive. Revan kept the grand strategy for the Mandalorian Wars close to her chest; good for operation security, but also good for hiding your plan to purge your own forces. Even HK-47 and Kreia, who were close to the Revanchist Sith’s upper command structure, aren’t certain what Revan was trying to achieve because Revan didn’t tell them. When Revan vanishes between the games, it is seemingly without having told any of her companions save T3-M4 where or that it was to investigate the True Sith Empire. That repeated failure to share information provides another justification for the ambiguity.

That bled through when I replayed 1 and imagined a new Revan, a stranger even to himself.

How did you change so much? Could you change again?

You remember your mother’s face, remember her voice as she read to you from the histories she loved so much, but the records in the Jedi archives imply that’s impossible, that you were given to the Order too young. You remember racing your swoop bike across the fields of Dantooine as a teenager; as a teenager you were a Padawan studying in the Enclave there. How many of your memories are real? How much of you is real?

Is there a monster slumbering under your skin that might awake, unravelling the person you are now to take your place? Did the young Revan have all the Jedi Masters fooled, rotten from the very beginning? Might you eventually live your life haunted by nightmares of committing another person’s atrocities?

More frightening than the idea that you and the Revan lost to amnesia are different is the idea that you are the same; that your past choices won’t be beyond comprehension or justification. If you remember, will you understand why you started the war? If you remember, will you understand why you bombed Telos? If you remember, will you discover that you have been the person who could make those choices all along?

#Meanwhile in a Galaxy Far Far Away #kotor meta #Revan #knights of the old republic 2 #knights of the old republic

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indelibleevidence · 2 years

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People not from the UK are making posts congratulating us on our good fortune that Johnson has resigned, and lamenting that their democracy doesn't work as well as ours. I need you guys to understand some things:

He's got about three months left in government before he goes. He only resigned because people weren't going to stop walking out until he did, not because he admits he was wrong and deserves to go. He might use those three months to fuck up as much as possible before he leaves, because he resents that he has to go. Sure, he SAYS no new policies before he fucks off, but he also said he didn't know Chris Pincher was a serial groper, and that he didn't flout the rules during lockdown, and a million other things he's lied about to Parliament's face.

During these three months, he gets to have a big wedding party at the Prime Minister's estate, to make up for the one he supposedly didn't get to have during lockdown. Is this being paid for with public money? It really wouldn't surprise me if the answer was yes.

A lot of the people in his party want him out right now, but there's literally no system in place to force him out, because he narrowly won a confidence vote last month, and the rules of his party say he can't be challenged again until next June. He only said he'd go in three months because the party was planning to vote for new executives who'd then be able to change that rule, in theory. (Also, because he thinks he's the new Winston Churchill, and being remembered as the Prime Minister whose entire party walked out on him doesn't fit with his internal narrative. He's already broken the record for most resignations in a 24-hour period, by quite a lot.)

Whoever takes over is guaranteed to be just as evil, only they'll look more professional while doing it, and most of the UK media is unapologetically right-wing, so they'll help spoon-feed the 'government back in honest and competent hands' narrative to the whole electorate. They'll make out that Johnson was the reason everything is broken, when their party has been systematically defunding the health service, social services, the justice system, the welfare system, etc. for the past twelve years. The political party isn't changing, just the Douchebag-in-Chief.

Slight shred of optimism: there are two camps within the Conservative Party, and the more moderate one is anti-Johnson. So hopefully there'll be an easing off of insane policies like 'lets deport asylum seekers to Rwanda' and 'let's have a trade war with the EU because we don't like extra paperwork at the Irish border', assuming the people responsible for those policies are sacked (please, god).

But some very damaging laws have already passed, and I doubt any of them will be repealed. And a moderate Tory is still a Tory.

#uk politics #it's still broken here you guys #the late-stage capitalism apocalypse continues

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just-late-roman-republic-things · 20 days

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Wrapping Up the Republic with Harriet Flower

Alright! I posted my review of the book overall yesterday, but let's dig into the final chapters of Harriet Flower's Roman Republics anyway, because her arguments here are interesting even apart from the rest of the book. Plus, this is where we get to Marius, Sulla, and other familiar faces for late republic nerds like me.

According to Flower, Julius Caesar wasn't the man who broke the republic. Nor Pompey, or Cato, or anyone in their generation. She doesn't minimize their mistakes, but she believes they grew up in an an already-broken system, thanks to Lucius Cornelius Sulla.

Rewind a bit to the Social War, 91-88 BCE. Flower argues that this was the republic's first true civil war, and that it broke out due to Rome failing to extend citizenship to the Italian allies in peacetime. I think she overstates our certainty for the war's cause - it's not actually clear if most Italians sought citizenship or independence. However, I agree with her that the Social War left deep and lasting wounds at all levels of Roman and Italian society, and the republic never really re-stabilized afterward.

The Social War in turn feeds into the conflict between Sulla and Marius. She also argues that the simultaneous crises of the Jugurthine, Cimbric, and Second Servile Wars lent credence to the idea that one strong leader was more competent and dependable than the unpopular Senate. In this case, said leader was Gaius Marius. His achievements in these wars gave him the base of support needed to make a highly irregular bid for the Mithridatic command - deposing Sulla, who in turn marched on Rome.

Flower portrays Sulla very negatively. And I understand why, but it's odd that she doesn't mention he was Rome's duly elected consul at the time, and that the referendum deposing him was unprecedented, and possibly forced through by violence. He did, in fact, have a legal argument for why he refused to step down, and this was probably one of the reasons his soldiers followed him to Rome. Flower attributes the soldiers' motives to merely wanting the booty of war for themselves - another example of her assuming that poor or working-class men had few political opinions of their own, little love for democracy, and merely acted as extensions of their generals.

(You may have noticed I am not a fan of that assumption.)

I do appreciate that Flower draws a throughline from the violence associated with the Gracchi, to the death of Saturninus, to the Social War, and then to Sulla's first march on Rome, because it helped me see how violence in the city, and shows of force from the Senate, had been escalating since before Sulla had even joined the Senate. This does not excuse his actions, but does help explain why he may have thought it legally justified, along with his own self-preservation. (Flower does not mention that a few weeks before, Sulla had nearly gotten killed by a riot in Rome instigated by the same tribune who then tried to depose Sulla and give the Mithridatic command to Marius!)

So, Sulla marches on Rome, outlaws twelve enemies; Sulla leaves Rome; Marius and Cinna besiege and take over Rome; Marius dies of too many consulships and Cinna, undeterred, proceeds to keep giving himself consulships. Flower doesn't hesitate to criticize the Marians, either. She plausibly argues that Rome was a dictatorship in all but name during Cinna's tenure.

However, she reserves the greatest part of these final chapters for critiquing the new laws Sulla imposed after he retook the city and became dictator. Flower believes that, rather than being a "return to tradition," that "strengthened the Senate," Sulla's constitution was a radical departure in several ways, and this unwelcome novelty undermined the Sullan Senate's credibility.

She makes good points in support of this argument:

That enfeebling the plebeian tribunes was radical, unpopular with the people, and greatly damaged the government's legitimacy in the eyes of the people.

That doubling the size of the Senate while purging the opposition leaders, on top of all those who'd died in the Social War, created a horrific brain drain effect and paralysis.

That few people could take the rule of law seriously after Sulla had imposed it by force of arms, not through voting.

That political discourse in and out of the curia was greatly damaged by the above points. Particularly because the tribunes could not propose and discuss legislation in contios for some time. (I have to wonder if strangling these open-air, traditional forms of discourse may have caused people to turn to violent collegia, and uprisings like Lepidus Senior's and the Catilinarians, as extreme alternatives for people who felt oppressed. But that's just speculation.)

She doesn't talk much about the proscriptions, but I would also add those as a major force of destruction for both public debate and government credibility.

I'm not sure I agree with all her points, though. For instance, she claims that Sulla attempted to assert a government ruled by laws instead of custom, with a greater focus on the court system to enforce these laws on senators. I want to see more evidence to back this up.

Much of Sulla's constitution was dismantled in the decade after his death. Flower calls this the era of Sulla's republic, up till 49, and she sees it as a fundamentally unstable time because of what had happened before. She's rather harsh toward all of Cicero's generation and how they handled the situation, but she especially thinks the first triumvirate shut down republican politics from 59 onward.

I really think she overstated the first triumvirate's power. Robert Morstein-Marx and Erich Gruen have comprehensively demonstrated that Caesar, Pompey and Crassus' alliance only operated intermittently, lost as many elections, plebiscites, and trials as they won, and doesn't seem to have functioned very differently from alliances like Catulus-Piso-Cato. I also think she is flat out wrong in attributing the breakup of Caesar and Pompey's alliance to the deaths of Crassus and Julia in 54 - we don't actually see Caesar and Pompey break apart until four years later. For details, see my liveblogs of Morstein-Marx's Julius Caesar and the Roman People and Gruen's The Last Generation of the Roman Republic.

I am hesitant to use words like "irreversible" when discussing history. My own view of the republic's decline is more probabilistic, such that it became more or less likely that the republic would break as new events happen, before the inertia of Augustus' regime became too powerful to overthrow. However, I do think Flower has made a good case that Sulla's constitution could be seen as a new government in its own right, one that never really stabilized or regained the credibility of the pre-Marius Senate, which made it very difficult for Cicero and Caesar's generation to collaborate and govern the city.

So, those are my mixed thoughts on the final chapters. Some parts I like, some I don't, but I am glad I read it.

#jlrrt reads #harriet flower #roman republics #lucius cornelius sulla #gaius marius #the social war

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thegreatwhinger · 2 months

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The Death of Democracy

Contrary to what Democrats say, the death of Democracy won't be the (likely) reelection of Donald Trump but instead the reelection of Joe Biden.

Let me explain.

Trump is obviously a terrible candidate. He's full of himself (which might explain his bloated appearance) and his outside likely reflects his inside like some sort of twisted ouroboros.

But Biden's another animal entirely.

He seems to weigh heavier on the mental degradation scale – admittedly a fairly subjective measure – though what isn't is that Biden is inflexible, even when financing a genocide in plain sight.

Trump likes to pretend he's the smartest person in the room, Joe Biden seems to think that people are stupid, otherwise he wouldn't talk about building quays to feed Palestinians when he's also paying to have them reduced to rubble at the same time.

A lot of people will treat Biden as if he were better by default and when you hear anyone do so ask them why because I'm not at all sure they'll answer the question to your satisfaction.

Because they can't.

Though worse of all Biden is essentially paying Israel to kill Palestinians.

He shows that no matter how many Americans are against what he's doing, he's going to do what he wants and damn the American people.

If that isn't the end of Democracy in the United States, I don't know what is.

#Democrats #Donald Trump #Joe Biden #genocide

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dnbcoded · 5 months

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HELLO FELLOW DNB SHIPPER MAY I SUGGEST AN IDEA?

King Technoblade and Anarchist revolutionist Dream, are you picking up what i am putting down??

- 🧋🛼

ANON I SEE YOU... I was thinking a lot about this prompt, hence, little drabble. I actually think cTechnoblade would be the most anti-monarchy/autocracy king to ever exist, and it would amuse/confuse cDream, so this has a lot of potential to be fun.

Dream was starting to discover he was less of a prisoner and more of a… undomesticated pet, for the castle staff.

He was followed by the guards, sure, and any attempt of escaping was stopped before it even began. Technoblade’s staff was not only well trained, but truly cared about him, so he wasn’t allowed to get close to him nor leave the castle.

However, aside from general disruption of peace —such as attempting to get rid of Technoblade, again— he was pretty much allowed anywhere and to do anything. If he wanted to eat, he could help himself in the kitchen or get a full meal by simply requesting. He was allowed to train with the guards, and talk to them freely, even though most of them just ignored any plea of being let go, and aside from that he wasn’t quite interested in them. He was let in the library to spend the afternoons he had to waste reading and writing letters. Hell, he was even allowed to send the letters. It’s like everyone had forgotten he was an actual leader of the anarchist movement in the country, that stood against everything the castle had built.

It surprised him. But, mostly, it irked him to not be taken seriously. The wonders of being treated like a pest, at best, lasted for a week, and after that he took to hiding himself in his ‘room’ (a cell filled with pillows and carpets, more like), and wait out his sentence until he was liberated by his allies of Technoblade himself deemed him useless and tried to cull him.

Anyway.

—

“I want you to explain your ideas to me,” Technoblade said, sitting in front of him with paper and a quill ready to write, a pair of thin glasses on the edge of his nose. “The ones about community management.”

“Excuse me?” Dream blinked, shocked into politeness.

“In your speech, you mentioned ‘the people should get a hold of not only the means of production but also the distribution of punishment, thus, the power should belong to the people’. I am interested in how you arrived at this conclusion.”

There is a silence where Dream doesn’t even know where to start.

“... Karl Marx?” He whispers at last. “I mean, I dunno, I think.”

Technoblde raises his eyebrows. “Are you insulting my intelligence? Of course I’ve read him, they’re fine authors with even more enticing theories. But that’s all they are: theories. I want to know how you plan to introduce them into practice.”

Dream considers this opportunity. In all of his life, he’s been told by others that at best he’s an idealist, at worst he’s a child without real purpose. And here’s the king of their country, holding him prisoner with no regard for his own safety —while Dream doesn’t think he’s stupid enough to confront him without a weapon, Technoblade is armorless—, and a genuine intent to learn. From Dream. He suddenly feels misplaced warmth. The only question left is—

“Why?” Technoblade as a ruler has no need to listen to his people. Historically, no ruler has had to worry outside of keeping a general sense of stability so that the people don’t starve and, thus, revolt. But Technoblade’s kingdom wasn’t gearing towards a violent takeover feed by starvation; the reason Dream was gathering both scholars and farmers alike was because he knew the aristocracy wouldn’t listen, and he wanted to step ahead from all their neighboring countries into establishing a democracy. Technoblade’s support could mean everything.

“I haven’t been born into this kingdom as much as I was entrusted with it,” Technoblade says, a little sheepishly, to Dream’s surprise. “I don’t enjoy the autocracy, the lack of counsel. From where I come from, all decisions are given to a certain group of people that, while still privileged, have the town’s best interest in consideration. I would like to establish something similar in this country, but given the sheer amount of people to consider, not even mentioning the nobility that I’m sure wouldn’t be as kind to your folks as I am, I wanted to transition into what the people would like, rather than completely changing the rules overnight and risking an occupation. Am I clear?”

Dream is still a prisoner, and despite Technoblade’s words, he’s distrusting of anyone that was brought up in a golden crate. However, this might just be his chance to do a less-murderous coup, if it ends up working up. Besides, he doubts his team is getting through the guards soon. He has time to kill.

“Well.” Dream stars, tasting hubris in his lips and he licks them. He feels Technoblade’s vacant glare turn pointed, precise. “Since I was a kid, my father taught me that chores are better done in pairs.”

#🧋🛼anon #warrior.writes #warrior.asks #c!dreamnoblade #cdnb

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dindjarindiaries · 11 months

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Security - Chapter 62: The Droid Problem

summary: Din, Astra, and Bo-Katan seek out other Mandalorians and end up stumbling across a new mission instead.

warnings: references to trauma, angst, fluff

rating: T

word count: 4.770k

previous ⟸ masterlist ⟹ next

chapter 62: the droid problem

Din stands from his chair in the Gauntlet’s cockpit and walks over to Astra’s. She looks up at him from where she’s been feeding Zora her share of a ration pack. Her brow knits together as he lifts his gloved hand to her chin and tilts it up, inspecting the fading cuts on her face. Astra’s brow relaxes and a smile overtakes her lips.

“I’m feeling much better,” Astra assures him. She taps the right side of her cuirass. “Even here.”

Din tilts his helmet at her. “Promise?”

Astra offers him a firm nod. “Promise.” She takes his gloved hand from her chin and presses a kiss into his gloved palm. “Thank you for checking up on me.”

Din keeps his hand pressed against her cheek and runs his thumb over it. He’s about to respond when Bo-Katan speaks up from her place in the pilot’s chair. “There they are.”

Din and Astra both look over at Bo and the viewport. The planet they’re flying through is lush, with green fields and ponds that spread into an endless horizon. There’s a few scattered glass domes in the distance and amongst them rests the Mandalorian fleet they’re looking for. Grogu coos with wonder at the console, where he stands alongside Bo’s controls. Din steps away from Astra to return to his seat for landing. “That’s quite a fleet,” he comments.

“It took me a long time to assemble it,” Bo responds. “Most of it was captured from the Empire.”

“Rightfully so,” Astra scoffs.

“I knew they looked familiar,” Din says, his visor looking towards Bo. “Could come in real handy taking back Mandalore.”

Bo’s voice lowers. “Axe Woves is their leader now.” She pauses and Din steals a look at Astra. She’s returning his gaze with a cautious raise of her brow. “It’s going to take some convincing to get them to join us.”

Din returns his attention to his own console. “I wonder what they’re here for.”

“This planet isn’t on the New Republic Registry,” Bo explains. “So I’d guess it’s an independent world that hired them for protection.”

Din gives his helmet a quick tilt. “Can’t imagine Woves will be happy to see you.”

“Or any of us,” Astra adds in a bitter murmur. Din turns his helmet to look at her, but she’s since faced back towards her console.

“Yeah.” Bo-Katan sighs and waits a beat before continuing. “I’ll land outside the fleet’s perimeter. It’s probably best if we go in on foot.”

Din jumps in his seat when a fanfare tune suddenly plays over the intercom, his helmet snapping towards Bo’s console as a voice starts to speak to them. “Welcome to Plazir-15, the Outer Rim’s only remaining direct democracy.”

Bo looks back at Din and Astra and his visor meets her bewildered gaze for a quick moment. When he catches Astra’s expression, he’s surprised to see a hint of recognition in the way she furrows her brow and continues to listen.

“You’ve been assigned a docking slip,” the voice continues. “You will be guided on the assigned path.” Din raises an eyebrow at that. “Engaging automated guidance.”

Everyone’s jolted as the Gauntlet’s torn away from its current flight path and instead heads towards the large glass dome. Din watches Bo mess with the controls on her console. “What happened?”

Bo sits back in shock. “They’ve taken control of the ship.” She turns her head to look at Grogu. “I guess we’re going for a ride.”

Grogu coos and tilts his head at her. Din turns his attention to Astra, who’s since taken a concerned Zora into her arms. “This planet’s name is familiar,” Astra shares. “I’m not sure what diplomatic relations we might’ve had with them, but…” she nods at both Bo and Din, “maybe I can use it to our advantage.”

Din’s visor doesn’t leave Astra for a long moment. They’ve had enough late night conversations for him to know how difficult it is for her to dig back into her past. That doesn’t even include the danger of revealing her true identity, even if Astra’s more than capable of holding her own. He forces himself to swallow back his worries as the ship lands and the group begins to rise from their seats. Din helps Astra to set both Zora and Grogu back in the pod before they follow Bo-Katan off the ship.

The Gauntlet’s been guided to a state-of-the-art landing zone, with two droids ready to greet them. Din tenses and glances over at Astra and Bo. “This is interesting,” he states.

Astra returns his gaze and moves herself even closer to his side, a silent reassurance. Din will take whatever he can get. Their journeys as of late have been more tumultuous than either one of them could have ever anticipated, and the last thing Din wants is to add another to the list, especially with Astra still healing from their most recent one.

The group approaches the two droids, a protocol droid and an astromech. “Welcome to Plazir-15,” the protocol droid greets them. “Please proceed to your hyperloop pod.”

The group never stops their stride, though the two droids still step aside to let them through. Din tightens his hands into fists and hopes his wife doesn’t notice. “Why do they have Imperial droids on an independent world?” he asks, unable to keep the question to himself. Despite his efforts, the burn of Astra’s concerned gaze is evident even through his beskar.

“It’s the Outer Rim,” Bo offers an answer. She lets out an amused huff and raises her brow at him. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Use what you’ve got, I suppose,” Astra adds. Din doesn’t miss the way she looks at him as she goes on. “At least they’re harmless.”

Din sets his hand over Astra’s back to guide her into the hyperloop pod before he follows her and Bo inside. “Don’t speak too soon,” he mutters, though his words don’t go unnoticed. Once Din sits beside Astra, she sets her gloved hand over his, keeping it on his cuisse even as the doors close and Bo-Katan begins to speak.

“Bring us to the bay closest to the Mandalorian fleet,” Bo commands.

A feminine voice responds on the intercom. “As per Article Nine of the Coruscant Accords,” she begins, “permission must be granted from High Senate for access to self-defense forces in the peacekeeping zone.” Bo looks between Din and Astra, who offer a tilt of their helmet and a raise of their brow respectively. She rolls her eyes as the voice continues. “Do you grant permission to scan your chain code?”

Bo-Katan leans forward and lifts her vambrace, casting her chain code in orange light for scanning. A trilling sound confirms the scan, and Din takes the initiative of reaching out before Astra to scan his. She follows suit and looks surprised to see her chain code embedded within her vambrace.

“Din and Astra Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze,” the voice confirms. Din shares a look with his wife and smiles at the way she beams when they’re introduced together. “Your presence has been requested by the leadership of the planetary democracy—.”

“I’m afraid we have more pressing matters,” Bo interrupts. She keeps her gaze lifted towards the intercom. “Perhaps at a later time.”

“Please do not attempt to leave the vehicle.” Astra’s hand tightens over Din’s as Bo furrows her brow at them. “This is not a request.”

The pod takes off without warning, forcing Bo back against her seat and Astra almost straight out of her own. Din presses his hand upon her cuirass for stability until she’s recovered from the sudden movement. She thanks him quietly and keeps his gloved hand in her grasp. Din’s more than happy to have her constant touch grounding him to the galaxy. The uncertainty of their surroundings has started to cloud his mind, especially given the trials of their most recent adventures.

As the pod continues to steer them towards the heart of the city, the three of them observe their surroundings through the transparisteel. Bo-Katan becomes the one to speak up after a long silence. “I’ve never been here before,” she informs the group. Her gaze looks between Din and Astra. “Have you?”

“Not that I can remember,” Astra answers.

“I haven’t even heard of it,” Din states. He gives Astra’s hand a gentle squeeze even as he faces Bo, his worries getting the best of him. “Do you think we’re gonna have to blast our way out of here?”

Bo’s lips pull tight as she tilts her head. “We’ll find out.”

“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Astra adds. The statement seems just as much for her own reassurance as it is for theirs. Din’s grateful for the optimism. One outing without having to use their blasters would be the sweetest luxury.

But they’re instead rewarded with a different kind of sweet gift. “Mama,” comes a soft call of Astra’s name from the children’s pod.

Din lets go of Astra’s hand only to let her tend to their daughter, who stares up at her mother with her brown eyes pleading for something. Astra picks up Zora and holds her on her lap, pulling her close enough for a kiss on her curly head. “What is it, Zo?”

Zora points at Din and then taps her chin. “Papa,” she insists. Din leans closer to the two of them as soon as Zora utters his name, his elbows resting upon his cuisses. His heart does a somersault in his chest at the way her small voice calls for him. “See Papa.”

Din stiffens at their daughter’s words, his heart now shattering into a million sharp fragments. Astra’s gaze is quick to meet his visor and Din wonders if she heard the breath get caught in his throat. “Papa can’t right now,” Astra informs Zora in a soft whisper.

Zora’s lip starts to wobble as she points at Din again. “Papa?”

Din’s visor falls to his gloved hands that have since started to wring together. He can hear Astra steady herself with a quick breath as she continues to speak for him. “I know you want to see him.” Din’s surprised when Astra frees a hand from Zora to take a hold of the opposite side of his helmet. “But we love his helmet, too. It keeps him safe.” Astra uses her hand to pull Din’s beskar cheek towards her, planting a soft kiss upon the metal. Din stares at his wife in awe as she faces Zora again with a wide smile. “See?”

Zora’s furrowed brow loosens as her expression starts to mirror her mother’s. “Helm!” Zora cheers. She reaches two hands out towards Din’s helmet. His heart begins to piece itself back together when Astra lifts Zora to help her to reach his beskar. Din lets her grab his helmet between her tiny hands as she kisses the vertical part of his visor. “Muah!”

Din, still too stunned for words, lifts a gloved hand to Zora’s cheek and rubs it with his thumb even as she gives his visor another “Muah!” After Bo-Katan’s long silence, Din hears her chime in with a lighthearted tone to her voice. “This is the Way.”

Din lifts his visor from Zora to meet Astra’s adoring gaze. “This is the Way.”

Before Din can repeat the words along with them, the hyperloop pod comes to an abrupt stop. The doors open, a silent invitation to proceed to wherever this planet’s guiding them. Bo shares a cautious look with Din while Astra puts Zora back in the pod alongside Grogu.

“No, Mama!” Zora protests with a soft cry, a sound that threatens to break Din’s fragile heart once again. “Papa helm!” She continues to babble with despair, likely cursing out Astra the best she can in her baby language.

“Once we know it’s safe, Zora,” Astra insists in a soft yet stern tone.

Zora quiets down and accepts her fate. Din stands and gives Zora’s head an affectionate pat. “Cuy verd’ika,” he reminds her. Zora smiles at his praise, as does Grogu once Din repeats the same gesture he’d used on his daughter.

The group makes their way from the hyperloop pod through the doors that open for them. The building they’re being led through is one of grandeur, with colors of white and accents of silver along with lush flora. Din gives his armored shoulders a careful roll. He’s not used to being within such highly statused places and he starts to fear he’s being watched from every direction.

The second set of doors opens up to a large banquet hall, set with tall glass windows much like those within Bo-Katan’s old palace. At the center of the room is a long dining table full of guests that look upon the approaching group with curious eyes. A man at the far end of the table stands from his place and opens his hands to them.

“Join us!” the man insists with a kind voice. “Come! It’s a party.”

Din, Astra, and Bo-Katan stop where they are, each of them looking upon the sight with skepticism. Din’s especially aware of the guards who surround the table, each of them donning armor that resembles that of stormtroopers’ too much for his liking.

“Come!” the man repeats himself. He turns his attention to those already seated at the table. “Everyone, special guests.” The man waves his hand towards them again. “Mandalorians.”

Din shares a look with Bo before he does the same with Astra. The setting seems pretty harmless from his humble assessment, but he’s not fond of being invited to a gathering that’s already been set in motion. It’s much like a laid trap waiting for its prey to be drawn in.

“I hope you like secretions.” The man’s since sat down, though he still pleads for their presence. “Take a little sip-sip. Come, please.”

Bo-Katan steps forward first, causing Din and Astra to follow. As they make their way to the seats already set out for them, Din murmurs to his wife, who he keeps close at his side. “Are banquets like these always this…” he hesitates, recalling the man’s vocabulary, “odd?”

“No,” Astra responds with a quiet chuckle. She sets a gloved hand on his back. “Usually, they’re boring. This one looks quite exciting.”

“That’s a nice way to put it,” Din huffs. He pulls Astra’s chair out for her before he takes his place beside her, their children’s pod floating between them. Din braces his gloved hands upon his cuisses and directs his attention to their hosts, who gush over each other as if they’re not surrounded by an array of observant guests.

“Honey,” the man asks his wife, his voice changing to a sing-song tone, “do you love me?”

“Oh my goodness,” his wife responds with a glowing smile, her tone now matching his own, “yes, I do.”

Din swings his helmet towards Bo-Katan and gestures between himself and Astra. “If we’re ever like that…”

Astra grabs his wrist and lowers his hand underneath the table once again, her lips stretched in an amused smile. Din fights hard to hold back a chuckle as their host begins to speak once again. “Let’s address the bantha in the room.” The man folds his hands over his lap and faces the Mandalorians that sit alongside him. “I was once a facilities planning officer during the war.”

Din gives Astra a nervous look. She tilts her head at him, a silent plea for him to hear the man out.

“And thanks to the New Republic Amnesty Program,” the man goes on, taking a hold of his wife’s hand, “I was able to help rebuild Plazir-15 as a Captain.”

Din can’t hold his tongue any longer. “You were Imperial?”

The Captain grimaces while his wife sets her hand on his shoulder. “He was,” she answers for him. “Plazir suffered greatly under Imperial rule. My husband came here as part of his rehabilitation.” She exchanges a sweet glance with him. “He oversaw the rebuilding of this planet on which my family served as nobility since it was originally settled, and… we fell in love.”

“We fell in love,” the Captain repeats her words. “We did fall in love.”

The woman gestures between Din and Astra. “It must be a similar story to your own.”

Din’s helmet snaps over at Astra, whose brow remains lifted in confusion. “No,” Astra responds on their behalf. She faces the couple once again. “Not really.”

“Oh, our apologies if we’ve been mistaken,” the Captain says this time. “We knew we were in the presence of a fellow Duchess and Princess,” he gestures to Bo-Katan, “and we thought another Princess was present as well.”

Din sets his gloved hand on Astra’s cuisse even before her chest rises and falls in a calculated breath. “No longer,” she informs them. “Arilia was destroyed long ago, and so my title with it.” Astra meets Din’s gaze, which hasn’t left her since the moment his wife’s former title was first mentioned. “I’m a Mandalorian now.”

The Duchess squeals with utter delight. “Oh, now that’s a story I can’t wait to hear more about!” Din’s helmet starts to feel hot with embarrassment when the Duchess turns to her husband. “How cute are they?”

The Captain hums with thought and lifts the Duchess’ hand towards his lips. “Almost as cute as us.” He kisses her knuckles and Din somehow manages to fight his sigh back.

The Duchess giggles and faces Din and Astra again. “Well, before we get any more stories started,” she pauses and gestures to Grogu, who coos in interest at the whole scene, “could I perhaps hold the baby? Please?”

Din answers before Astra can even take a breath. “He doesn’t take kindly to strangers.”

The Duchess holds up a piece of food from her plate for Grogu to say and pucks her lips as if she’s mimicking the aquatic dish. Grogu leaps up and flips into the Duchess’ arms, earning a gasp of surprise that turns into a laugh from her. “You are so fast!” the Duchess exclaims. “Yes.”

Din sighs, a loud and frustrated sound. Astra looks at him with an amused raise of her brow. “These two are harmless,” she whispers to him.

Din’s visor surveys the area, once again catching sight of the guards in pieces of stormtrooper armor. He squeezes Astra’s cuisse. “I’m not worried about them,” he insists in a gruff whisper of his own.

“You see, it was time for our planet to move into a new age,” the Duchess explains while she feeds Grogu. Din narrows his eyes at his son as if the little guy can somehow see him. Traitor. “We held direct democratic elections for the first time in our history.”

“We are both royals and elected leaders,” her husband adds on.

Yet again, Din can’t stop himself from speaking his mind. “And the Mandalorian privateer warships docked in your fields?”

“Oh,” the Duchess offers a light scoff, “we hire them for protection. Our charter forbids us from having a military because of my husband’s Imperial past.”

The Captain smacks his lips in embarrassment. “But because of this,” he assures them, “all of our resources go to growth and the people.”

“I’d like to speak to these ‘privateers,’” Bo-Katan steps in.

The Captain looks over at the Duchess. “That can be arranged.” His tone of voice changes in a way that makes Din’s skin crawl with uneasiness. “There is just one condition.”

Din’s hand is covered by one of Astra’s as he watches Bo-Katan barely contain a roll of her eyes. “What?”

The Captain considers his words before he speaks them. “You really must see the view.” He gestures behind them with his head. “Right this way.” The Captain stands and waves a dismissive hand at the guests who’ve started to follow suit. “We’ll just be a moment. Enjoy your meal, don’t get up.” He steps around his chair and nods at the three of them. “Let’s show our guests the view.”

Din, Astra, and Bo-Katan all rise from their seats and start to follow the Duchess and her husband. Din checks up on Zora in the pod and notices she’s since fallen asleep, making him smile to himself as he closes the pod to maintain her peace. Astra brings herself closer to his side. “What do you think this ‘condition’ is?” Astra asks him in a hushed voice.

“I’m not sure,” Din responds. “But I don’t have a good feeling about it.”

Once the group gets far enough away from the table, the Duchess begins to speak. “We have a problem,” she informs them.

“Yes?” Bo-Katan inquires.

“A droid problem,” the Captain adds.

Every muscle within Din’s body tenses as he snaps his helmet towards them. “What kind of ‘droid problem?’” he demands. Astra takes another step closer to him.

“Malfunction,” the Duchess answers.

“A coordinated malfunction,” the Captain specifies.

“We think,” says the Duchess.

Din remains tense, his mind buzzing at the possibilities of what this problem could entail. “What makes you think that?”

“The planet’s Imperial droids were reprogrammed for peace,” the Duchess explains.

“I personally oversaw the program,” her husband insists. “I can assure you they were completely rehabilitated for peaceful purposes. Exclusively.”

“We thought,” the Duchess reminds him.

“They were, my love. I personally oversaw the program.”

Din’s gloved hands tighten into fists at his sides. “What kind of malfunction?” He’s aware of Astra’s arm brushing against his own, now.

“I mean, nothing too serious at first,” the Captain begins. “Unexpected power cycles, deleted task stacks…”

“Then it got worse,” the Duchess interjects. They turn around as they approach a balcony that overlooks the entirety of the planet’s core city, letting Din, Astra, and Bo-Katan look upon them. “Traffic accidents. Heavy equipment failures leading to injury. Assault.”

Din goes completely rigid. “‘Assault?’” he repeats.

The Duchess offers only a nod in response. Din can sense Astra’s gaze burning through him as a plea to acknowledge her somehow for comfort, but he can’t bring himself to do anything other than focus on this “droid problem.” It’s either that or evacuate the planet as quickly as possible. Din’s not leaving the fate of his family to dangerous droids again.

“Respectfully,” Bo-Katan says, “what does this have to do with us?”

The Duchess and the Captain share a look before she speaks up. “Our constables are ill-equipped to confront battle droids.”

Din’s breath goes sour in his lungs. “‘Battle droids?’”

“Riduur…” Astra attempts to gain his attention.

“Uh-uh-uh-uh,” the captain tuts. “Former battle droids. They’ve been rehabilitated for civic duty.”

“We thought,” the Duchess mumbles.

“They were,” the Captain assures her.

“Obviously not.”

Din’s armored chest has started to rise in fall in quick breaths. His visor’s set on the view of the city as if he’ll somehow see a battle droid committing an act as heinous as the last ones he’d seen. Din only pulls his eyes from the view when Astra’s hand touches his armored shoulder and a shrill cry comes from the closed pod. Astra offers the sweetest gaze she can before she tends to an upset Zora, something Din’s no doubt at fault for. He forces himself to take a deep breath and calm down for her sake while Astra holds her and rocks her.

“The Mandalorian garrison outside your city walls can make quick work of your battle droids,” Bo-Katan insists while his family regathers themselves.

“That’s just it,” the Duchess says.

“What?”

“Our charter forbids any standing army from entering our city. Our constables aren’t even allowed to carry blasters.”

Din sets a hand on his belt to steady himself. “But you allowed us to be armed.”

The Captain lifts a finger and points it at Din. “Exactly.” The Duchess hums in agreement. “The people have voted that we are a pluralistic society. You are Mandalorians. Weaponry and armor are intrinsic to your culture, are they not?”

Din gives the couple a careful tilt of his helmet. “They are.”

The Captain lifts an eyebrow at them. “You see where we’re going here?”

“You want us to eliminate your droid problem,” Bo-Katan confirms, her arms crossed over her armored chest.

“Exactly,” the Captain says with a wink.

“I knew you would help us,” the Duchess adds.

“Hold on there, Your Majesty,” Bo protests with a raise of her gloved hand. “We didn’t agree to help you.”

“Please, Princess Kryze, Your Grace,” the Captain insists. “This is not intended to be a work of charity.”

“Unlike my brethren outside your city walls, I am not a mercenary,” Bo states.

“Neither are we,” Astra adds. Din looks over at her, the picture of strength—especially with their daughter clutching to the fabric around her neck.

“Apologies if that is the impression I gave,” the Captain says with a hand of his own raised. “What I intended to convey is that I would hope that this ‘excursion’ would be viewed as an act of diplomacy between our two planets.”

Din watches Bo-Katan’s brow lift in interest at that. He also glances at Astra once again, who gives him a reassuring nod. He’s more than happy to leave the politics to the two of them.

“In fact,” the Captain continues, “Plazir-15 would formally recognize Mandalore as a sovereign system and petition the New Republic to recognize it as such.”

Bo-Katan looks over at Din and Astra. He tilts his helmet, leaving the decision to her. He’s certain that Astra’s given her a nod as well.

“The mercenary captain, Axe Woves, indicated that he split from you because you had designs on ruling Mandalore once again,” the Duchess claims.

“Those plans have been abandoned,” Bo says, her voice low.

Din and Astra share a look of confusion. Before they can speak to Bo-Katan about it, the Captain goes on. “The offer stands nonetheless.”

Bo-Katan ponders his words and turns to Din. He returns the glance and lets her speak first. “What do you think?” she asks, her gaze also drifting over to Astra.

Din’s decision was made many minutes ago. “You had me at ‘battle droids,’” he assures her.

“Both of us,” Astra adds.

Din’s helmet turns to her without hesitation. “Rid’ika…” he tries.

“Din,” Astra murmurs, raising her brow in warning, “this isn’t up for debate.”

Din hesitates at their audience and gives them a brief look. He sets his hand over Astra’s back and guides them to a more private corner on the balcony. Din’s voice is low as he speaks to her. “You’re still not fully healed from our last battle.”

“I’m fine. I already told you that.” Astra lifts a hand from Zora and sets it upon his cuirass. “I’m not letting you face those battle droids on your own.”

Din’s visor can’t meet her determined gaze as he shrugs. “I wouldn’t be alone. I’d have Bo-Katan.”

“And does Bo-Katan know why you’re so eager to rough up battle droids?” Din’s shoulders start to deflate at her truthful words. Astra’s gaze is full of genuine care and concern when Din finally meets it. “You nearly gave yourself a panic attack just thinking about them.” Din leans into her, his acceptance of defeat. Astra’s hand rises to his beskar cheek. “The kids can stay here, but I’m going to be right by your side for this.”

Din’s hand wraps around her wrist, securing her touch in place. “What if they hurt you? I couldn’t…” Din’s throat closes up at the thought of it. There’s too many memories trapped there, and should he unlatch them now, he won’t be able to contain them again.

“That’s what the armor’s for.” Astra gives herself a quick once-over. Din chuckles, the sound bringing a light to Astra’s eyes. “So, what do you say? Can we rough up these battle droids together?”

Din takes a deep breath and nods. “It’d be an honor.” He entwines his fingers with hers and gives her hand a tight squeeze.

All these years later, his fears still try to get the best of him, but his better half diminishes them day-by-day. There’s no doubt she’ll do it again, no matter how clouded Din’s mind becomes at the mere thought of seeing the love of his life near the one thing he both hates and fears most in this galaxy.

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palestinegenocide · 2 months

Text

Now everyone hates Israel

This was a huge week in American Jewish political history.

First, the director of a movie about Auschwitz, the English director Jonathan Glazer, accepted an Oscar for the film by stating that his Jewishness should not be used to justify the slaughter of Gazans.

Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza — all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?

In saying “We,” Glazer also spoke for his producer Len Blavatnik, a billionaire who stood silently behind him and who just months ago had joined the Harvard donor revolt for alleged antisemitic — actually pro-Palestinian speech — on campus. A revolt that toppled the Harvard president.

Glazer’s speech was followed four days later by the “momentous speech” by New York Senator Chuck Schumer, speaking as a Jew and calling on Netanyahu to hold new elections because his rightwing policies are hurting Israel. “As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me, the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel,” said Schumer, the most powerful Jewish politician in American history.

Here too the Gaza slaughter figured largely. Schumer fears that the massive civilian death toll in Gaza, which causes him “anguish,” will cause Israel to become a “pariah” nation.

In coalition with far-right extremists like Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, and as a result, [Netanyahu] has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.

The first thing to observe about Schumer’s speech, and Glazer’s too, is that Palestinian lives are finally counting in American politics. The unbelievable onslaught on a captive people that caused Susan Abulhawa to somehow get in there and come back and tell us there’s a holocaust in Gaza that language cannot describe has at last registered for American politicians.

So just as Joe Biden said eight days ago that Netanyahu “cannot have another 30,000 Palestinians dead”– as if the first 30,000 were mere table stakes — those killings, now at least 31,700, are also cracking the conscience of the American Jewish community.

Schumer is at the center of the organized Jewish community. He has long put himself forward as the guardian of Israel– “a bellwether for the Jewish community, who has refrained from sharp criticism of the Israeli government” (as J Street put it)– and his speech has huge significance.

American Zionists are in complete crisis now. They know that Israel is already a pariah state in the eyes of the world. They know that you cannot destroy a territory in the genocidal manner that Israel has — and force the hand of the U.S. president in support of the genocide out of concern for his political donations, and topple Ivy League presidents who allow their students to criticize Israel — you can’t do these things without grave consequences.

Biden may lose Michigan because his hand was forced. American Jews who care about democracy in the U.S. are finally shaking loose. And Jews who see that corrupt Zionist influence is feeding antisemitic ideas about Jews are acting to openly criticize Israel.

Schumer acted out of pure desperation. He sees Biden being hurt politically if the Jewish community cannot pivot and condemn a genocide. He sees Israel becoming a “pariah” state.

There is today no difference between right-wing and left-wing Zionists inside the Democratic Party. They have all now gathered around the Schumer/Biden delusion that if you just get rid of Netanyahu, Israel will be able to curb the slaughter, pursue the two-state solution, and save the Jewish state.

So, we are seeing Zionism in an ongoing public crisis. Because Netanyahu won’t go. Or if he does go, he will be replaced by others who are equally or almost as warmongering and who will be able to do nothing to end the occupation. So Israel will just continue to be a pariah state. And the tsunami of boycotts, long predicted by Israel lovers, will really be upon us. Even Schumer said that the U.S. must restrict aid to Israel if it cannot stop slaughtering civilians.

This is a crisis of Jewish identity. Schumer again and again cited Jewish tradition and conscience as motivators for his speech. “What horrifies so many Jews especially is our sense that Israel is falling short of upholding these distinctly Jewish values that we hold so dear. We must be better than our enemies, lest we become them.”

However cynical you are about Jewish values and conscience — and I’m as cynical as they come — his speech represents a great wake-up call for Jews who care about human rights to take on the genocide-enablers in the U.S. Jewish community. Despite the love he expressed for Israel and the mythologies about its creation and supposed democracy, Schumer’s speech is historic and important on this ground.

Because as more than one critic of Schumer’s said this week, he is giving permission to others. The most powerful Jewish politician in U.S. history is saying, As a Jew I tell America, Israel is doing wrong. Yes, everyone hates Israel now!

So Schumer has opened the doors on the Jewish discussion that I and others in the American Jewish anti-Zionist community have long sought: How can we support a discriminatory, brutal state in our name as Jews over there when we absolutely oppose religious nationalism and persecution of minorities here?

This discussion will see the empowerment of a new generation of anti-Zionists, and their ultimate victory. Because the Jewish state will be unable to transform itself to suit American liberal values. And regardless of the political arrangements in coming years in Israel/Palestine — partition into two states, or one state — Israel’s transformation to pariah status is so well advanced now by its own actions that no Zionist will ultimately be able to save its racist apartheid constitution. And idealistic Jews here will help transform that land.

I’d add that in directing Israelis what to do– go have another election!– Schumer exposed a great secret of Zionism: It is an international Jewish ideology that will always cause confusion about national interest. Schumer could well argue that he was justified in directing Israelis because Israel interferes in our politics all the time, and as Netanyahu did in 2015. “Imagine if, I don’t know, some foreign leader who was ostensibly an ally of the United States, came here and gave an address before Congress that threw the American president under the bus on their key policy item of the times,” as a New York Jewish liberal Zionist put it in praising Schumer’s speech.” Can you imagine it?”

I can imagine just that because Schumer himself said after he voted against the Iran deal, he did so out of Israel’s interest not the American one.

So Zionism has always been a huge asterisk on American Jewish liberal values. This week that asterisk began to fall apart.

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