#non-muslims feel free to reblog too ^^

[sjoongki]

ramadan mubarak to all those who are observing. may this holy month soothe all of the aches lingering in your heart, wash away whatever burdens that may be weighing you down, reward you for all of the sacrifices that you have had to make in order to survive, shine light through whatever darkness that has made you doubt your place in this world, and grant you the inner peace, genuine happiness, and relief that you have been praying so patiently for.

#tbd #ramadan #ramadan mubarak #ramadan kareem #رمضان #muslim tag #may all of your fasts and prayers be accepted insha'Allah <3 #non-muslims feel free to reblog too ^^

[edenfenixblogs]

I don’t think most non-Jews understand how disappointed we are in the left right now. How completely abandoned we’ve become. How our contributions to progress for other groups have been erased or disavowed or hidden. How the actual tangible things that Jews have contributed to black rights and civil rights are being ignored. How we’re being told we contribute and have contributed nothing.

How we are being told that the world has been kind to us when it never has. As if my mom didn’t grow up getting called a Kike and getting beat up for being Jewish. How I thought I had friends until I caught them saying “xyz was beautiful until Jews showed up.” How people told me I was pretty “for a Jew.” How I grew up hearing stories about bombs being set off in Israel in buses and markets. How I couldn’t even go two weeks without hearing that and how nobody cared and somehow, every time that happened, the whole world became more hostile to me for some reason.

I just don’t understand. I don’t understand what leftists are doing. Or why. I hate that I have to say—of course, I support a free and self determined Palestine (which I truly do)—in order for you to decide I’m worthy of care and support.

We showed up for you. All of you. And the entire movement is abandoning us at best or targeting us at worst. Celebrating our deaths. Saying we deserved it. How are we supposed to trust you ever again? How are we supposed to feel safe ever again?

A very few select people who are in my life have taken the chance to actually learn about and dismantle their own unconscious antisemitism during this time. And I’m eternally grateful for them. But most people haven’t reached out at all. Most people are still sharing hateful things that could get me hurt and they don’t care. Most people Reblogging my posts are still Jews. Because we are alone. And it sucks. You need to be as loud about antisemitism as you are about Palestine or you’re an antisemite (unless you’re Arab/Muslim/Palestinian—I totally get that these groups are also doing damage control in their own communities just like Jews are).

But we are all in tremendous pain right now.

This moment will pass. And when it does, I will remember how many people let me down. I will remember that when I needed support more than I’ve ever needed it in my life, people fucking vanished. They pretended violence against my people wasn’t happening. They ignored and rewrote the history of Israel to suit their own narratives.

You don’t know what it feels like to be hated this much for opposite things. PoC hate us for being too white. White supremacists hate us for not being white enough. Europeans hate us for being middle eastern. Middle easterners hate us for being western/European. Everyone hates us for being settlers but continually kicks us out of their countries so that we have to settle somewhere else.

I saw a post going around from a Black person who said that the reason he and his fellow black activists go protest for Palestinians instead of fighting antisemitism (as if it’s a binary, which it’s not) is that Jews don’t show up. Muslims and Palestinians do. And honestly? Fuck that guy. Heather Heyer died standing shoulder to shoulder against racism in 2017. [CORRECTION: When I first wrote this post I was under the impression that Heather Heyer was Jewish. I want to correct to avoid spreading misinfo. She was just the first (and incorrect) Jewish civil rights activist I thought of. However there are plenty of other actual Jewish civil rights activists to choose from. If you have reblogged this post from me, please feel free to add a link to the permalink version of this post with my correction to your reblog.]I have devoted substantial time and effort and money that I don’t even get paid a lot of because I don’t get paid a living wage. I have continually reached out to PoC people in my life of all religions to ask how they are doing and what I could be doing to help more—both for them personally and how they would best like me to help their community. I have elevated their voices at every opportunity. And not one person I checked in with has done the same for me or for my community.

And it’s bone chilling. It’s awful. And it’s even worse knowing that when it’s over, people will want to go back to normal. They won’t apologize. They won’t self reflect. They’ll just live their lives, maybe a little more aware of how much they hate us and completely indifferent to the harm they’ve caused us. How disposable they made us feel. And the thing is…it’s not hard for you to know. You just have to ask.

Too many people are cowards. Too many people care about looking good than actually learning something or making the world better. And to those people: you should be ashamed of yourself.

I don’t have any hate in my heart. Truly. Not a drop for any group of people. But I have a tremendous lack of trust that anyone would actually lift a finger to keep me safe.

#antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #anti zionisim #I dare a goy to republic this challenge #goyim ID yourself in the tags if you reblog this #cuz i straight up don’t believe goyisch activists give a shit unless they straight up say they do #i’m not okay #honestly #this is the Nazi stuff I am most scared of #sure the Nazis rounded us up #but you fuckers were the ones who watched and did nothing #you’re the ones who voted the Nazis in #you’re the ones who didn’t stop them #fuck all y’all for real #i/p #israel #palestine #correction issued

[queer-muslim-culture-is]

Welcome to queer-muslim-culture-is !

[PT: Welcome to queer-muslim-culture-is !]

My goal here is to foster a sense of community and to share queer muslim experiences, struggles, and joy. This blog is largely run on your asks, so dont be shy sending them in. I'll also routinely reblog art, resources, and general positivity

While the blog is run mainly in english, I'm fluent in arabic and will translate some posts I really like or for anons if necessary :]

MOD INFO

[PT: Mod Info]

Hiya ! You can call me Mod Amber (Anbar / 3anbar / عنبر) or Mod Ilyas (إلياس), it all works. My pronouns are he/she, ze/hir, and it/its. I'm a queer (mithliya), trans (3abir), and polyamorous north african

WHO'S WELCOME ON THIS BLOG ?

[PT: Who's welcome on this blog ?]

You don't have to be a queer muslim to follow, interact, ask questions, etc as long as you're respectful

I am a radical inclusionist (supportive of all good faith queer identities including the "contradictory" ones) and do not tolerate queerphobia, racism, ableism, pluralphobia or bigotry against any religions. I'm liberal with the block button and won't engage with blatant hatred

Blank blogs (no rbs, default pfp, etc) and fully nsfw blogs will be blocked. This is to try and reduce bot spam

*** Under the cut is accessibility info and the tagging system

[PT: Under the cut is accessibility info and the tagging system]

ACCESSIBILITY

[PT: Accessibility]

I greatly value accessibility, so on this blog I'll be :

Ensuring images and videos have descriptions (they might not always be perfect, but I'll try to have *some* kind of description for everything)

Adding plain text for colorful and non standard sized text

Adding appropriate trigger warnings to posts (including flashing lights if it ever comes up)

If you have suggestions on how to make this blog a more accessible place, please feel free to send me an ask or dm :]

TAGGING SYSTEM -- will be updated as necessary

[PT: Tagging System -- will be updated as necessary]

Main tags :

#queer muslim culture -- the regular asks

#not queer muslim culture -- everything else

#arabic -- anything that contains arabic writing, all posts include translations

Trigger tags :

#[trigger] -- e.g. #homophobia

#tw [trigger] -- e.g. #tw homophobia

"Queer muslim culture" includes :

#qmc pos -- for more positive asks

#qmc neg -- for more negative asks

*** Note : Not every ask will be sorted into one of these two tags. This tagging system is purely for filtering purposes and not meant to shame anyone. Im fully ok with asks about the painful parts of being a queer muslim, we're all in this together :]

"Not queer muslim culture" includes :

#blog update -- announcements, blog upkeep, etc

#art -- visual, written, etc

#media -- movies, shows, books, etc

#queer muslim experiences -- public personalities, pictures from events and protests, life stories, etc

#resources

#blog appreciation -- y'all sending me really sweet messages :']

#activism -- currently mostly palestine related, but possibly other stuff too

#positivity

#will add links to the tags hopefully soon #not queer muslim culture #blog update #queer muslim #trans muslim #muslim #queer #lgbt muslim #lgbtq muslim #queer islam

[wathanism]

I've heard a lot of people in the ex muslim community say that islamophobia isn't real, and I wanted to throw in my 2 cents as someone who's lived both in swana and the west.

also some quick notes before I start:

1. I pretty exclusively refer to the middle east as swana (southwest asia and north africa) bc I find the term "middle east" to be too europe-centric.

2. I'm open to hearing other people's thoughts so feel free to reblog and add your commentary, but I don't really do debates so don't come expecting me to argue with you.

3. terfs are not welcome here and will be blocked on sight. anyone just looking to start shit will also be blocked.

first off western liberalism has never known how to talk about Islam with any level of complexity and tends to make an absolute mockery of the nuances of the lived experiences of swana people, so please don't assume I'm coming at this from the perspective of a white lady who's never stepped foot in the middle east just regurgitating whatever sounds politically correct. fr, hearing americans (both muslim and otherwise) talk about this subject gives me a headache too so let's just get it out of the way that the entire way the discussion is handled by liberals is unproductive at best and just straight dogshit at worst.

with that out of the way, I guess I'll address the first criticism of the concept of islamophobia which is that it's just racism/xenophobia. which, yeah, it absolutely is, but there's nothing wrong with having a word to explain this very specific brand of racism. our experiences as swana people are unique, and they can't be compared to the experiences of say african americans or aboriginal folk, and their experiences can't be compared to ours. I don't particularly like the term islamophobia, since it impacts all swana people regardless of religion, but it's what we got for now and until a more accurate term comes along, we gotta deal. also you can't really separate islam out of the development of this particular brand of racism.

if I understand correctly, I'd say the rejection of islamophobia in the ex muslim community comes from the simple fact that western liberals cry islamophobia as an excuse to shut down all criticism of islam, regardless of their validity. and frankly, agreed, there's truly nothing more infuriating than when someone pulls that shit, but I invite you bear with me for a second and to look at it from a different angle. because the fact of the matter is that there ARE very valid criticisms of islam and we're not going to make any progress towards human rights in swana countries until we address that.

but no amount of western liberals being really fucking annoying and misguided will change the fact that islamophobia is a real geopolitical entity used so western forces can invade and destabilize swana countries. the US has a long and documented history of backing muslim extremist groups and leaders, only to then turn around and convince their own populace that, "wow look at those evil savage barbaric muslims." this was only exacerbated by the 9/11 attack, and frankly talk to literally any human being alive in the US during that time. the shift was immediate and drastic and pretty damn disturbing. children in schools were forced to watch gruesome videos of terrorist attacks just to be told, "this is what they're like," and news outlets were very intentionally fearmongering for the sole purpose of recruiting soldiers. they weren't discussing any of the nuances or intricacies of the politics in swana; they wanted to convince people all people of this caricature of evil and they painted all swana people as being that. this is why you see even sikhs be victims of islamophobia—it was never about religion. they just needed an excuse to be xenophobic. these people do not care about the rights and freedoms of non-muslim people in swana countries. they won't fight for our women, our queer folk, our ethnic minorities. they are not our friends. if they recognize our existence at all, which they rarely do, it's just to bolster their own agenda and to ultimately justify hurting our own nations and countries even more.

it's important to recognize that this whole complicated shitshow looks very different for muslims in the west and for everyone living in swana. ALL people in swana countries feel the large scale effects of western imperialism which is justified by islamophobia. muslims in the west feel the small scale effects of islamophobia through things like hate crimes, bullying, discrimination, etc. regurgitated by non-muslims who fell for western propaganda. muslims in swana are the religious majority and they hold political power, so they don't experience the kind of 1:1 discrimination that you might see a muslim experience in the west. similarly, white christians are the majority and hold political power in the west, so muslims living there will experience that. both of these perspectives and experience deserve to be seen and represented.

this is where I think a huge part of the disconnect and miscommunication between ex-muslims and western liberals is. they don't know how to separate the nuances and the valid criticisms of islam as a political force in swana from the very aggressive warmongering rhetoric they're trying to unlearn from the propaganda that was shoved down their throats. and we as non-muslims who suffered at the hands of islamic forces barely have a say in the matter, because those of us who faced it first-hand have a target on our back if we ever try to speak out. this, combined with the fact that the experiences of western muslims are so incomparably different from those of swana people living under islamic regimes, makes it really difficult to have this conversation without stepping on any toes.

and honestly the most confusing and frustrating part of this is that, not only is islamophobia a geopolitical force used to enforce violence in swana, but islam itself is ALSO a major geopolitical force used to enforce violence in swana. and somehow, counterintuitively, they feed into each other! the west benefits from instability in swana countries, and islamic regimes benefit from western support. and at the end of the day, everyone gets fucked over (to varying degrees) except for non-muslim westerners and the violent dictators they support.

honestly, I don't know how progress can be made from here. we're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place. the situation in Iran, tragic as it is, is a good jumping off point to maybe FINALLY talk about this matter with some nuance. I can only hope the sacrifices of the brave women of Iran will not go to waste. call me an optimist, but I want to believe for my own sanity that good will come from this and we can finally make some tangible steps towards meaningful progress in our nations.

EDIT: I also feel the need to super quickly clarify my intention with making this post: I'm not saying ex-muslims shouldn't criticize islam. it takes like 2 seconds on my blog to see that I'm all about calling out the negative impacts of islam on the lives of all swana people. my intention was just to point out that we're all screwed over by the same forces and to encourage a sense of solidarity wherever there may be space for it. it's probably a long shot, but it sure would be nice if we could facilitate a productive conversation with muslims and ex-muslims alike that goes beyond arguing in circles.

#rambles #ex muslim

[z-mizcellaneous-z]

i've been putting off an intro post for the longest time so here i am lol

Name(s): Zay, Z, Miz (I prefer Zay, but any of these will do &lt;3) Pronouns: she/they Age: 18 Fandoms: My Hero Academia, Miraculous Ladybug, Spy x Family, Buddy Daddies, SK8 The Infinity, Assassination Classroom, Ouran High School Host Club (subject to change)

Other Socials: > Online Shop -- mizcellaneous > AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) -- panpanicatmha > Tumblr > @panpanicatmha (writing blog--sneak peaks, polls to help with fics, and updates will go here) > @bakutitty-appreciation-club (a sideblog solely consisting of fanart/comics/fanfics/pro-propaganda for bakutitties.) > @bakugocorpsenametournament (poll tournament blog for current canon bakugo's corpse) > Wattpad -- panpanicatmha > YouTube -- Mizcellaneous

My Top Ships In Fandoms (romantic): <MHA> MULTISHIPPER. However, it will mainly consist of BakuDeku/DekuBaku <MLB> Marichat, Adrigaminette, Lukadrien, Julrose, Lukagami <SK8> Renga, MatchaBlossom <Spy X Family> Twiyor, Damianya <Buddy Daddies> Kazurei

What Do I Post/Reblog?: I will mainly post/reblog My Hero Academia related content (mostly bkdk, but I will post other ships too). I do occasionally post other ships and non-ship related content. I will also post/reblog ship and non-ship content for other fandoms. Expect graphic art, writing, shitposts, and a healthy assortment of memes. I will also make posts where I link videos from my YouTube channel. These will mainly consist of edit audios and fan edits.

Other Information About Me And This Blog: > This is a Muslim/Islam friendly blog (hello fellow Muslims!). > This is an LGBTQ+ friendly blog. > Racism, sexism, ableism, or any kind of discrimination will NOT be welcomed or tolerated. > If you send me anon hate or post rude comments on my post, I will not hesitate to drag you like a fucking dog <33. > On the other hand, my ask box is always open! Feel free to send in writing/incorrect quote prompts, talk about fandoms, and more! > This is a pro-Palestine blog. > !!!NOT SPOILER FREE!!! > Cursing, violence, and mental health triggers are mentioned. Tread with caution. > Do NOT repost any designs that I post here. If I see my designs being reposted/misused without my permission, I will start adding watermarks. > If you draw/write something that is heavily inspired by one of my incorrect quote posts, please credit and @ me! I love seeing other people's work <33

#intro post #introducing myself #introduction #zay #mizcellaneous #panpanicatmha #bakutitty appreciation club #mizismiz

[juvellianovo]

I think everyone who reblogs this post has the perfect right to vent as much as possible without the other judging.

Have you ever...just realized that everyone needs to apologize to you...?

Have you ever had the courage to think something like that.

I finally do and I think each one of you should deserve the apology/ies too.

Because of what they did, what they ruined and what they made me. Now because of them I can't see a future to my life much less an end. I have become the worst in the things that I was the best at. I am failing my grades. I...liked studying. But you made me hate it.

You had me under strict violence and suddenly let me free. I had the taste of freedom and I am lost between the cage and the freedom. They don't understand me. Cause I wasn't able to communicate much and now I lack the skill I wish I had the most. I don't know how express myself. I end up saying something that even I find confusing and pathetic. I do want to go back in time but I don't want to go through the situations of that time again.

There was time until I was 6 I didn't know what dad meant. He was there far away and he wasn't there. The word itself says two different views.

Just because she raised me, saved me from that harsh place I can't even blame her for using violence if I defied. If she had calmly...just once I would have listened to her. I lived a childhood even worse than what sad backstory charactet would have.

I want to be loved. To feel loved. Genuine. Not because I am someones daughter, someones relative or someone who sees me as love partner. If they do see me as a partner I still want them to feel or make me feel genuine platonic love. The one that makes my throat to my heart ache and strangely warm.

There are so many things I have been through and want to tell someone to just get that ripping pain away. But, I can't because I can not.

I can't eat fish. I vomit everytime but why are still saying I am faking it?

Sometimes I feel sick about these people laughing and making jokes about parents being like. The same hand that made you hurt and gave you food. I feel like throwing up that happens.

No she doesn't use violence often anymore. But she still uses it sometimes. And what about the past?

Is it so unfair that I envy that gets to vent her emotions as she pleases.

That I also want to fall in love when older? Rather just have an arranged marriage? Just because I am muslim doesn't mean I always go around wearing hijabs. Not all muslims wear hijabs.

Is it so wrong that I don't care who my love is and just want "them" to love me back "unconventionaly"? So I could just wash all the paints off of my body by just hugging them?

I don't care if it's platonic or non-platonic I...just want my life to change and be confident in thinking of my future like that.

#reblog #vent #pouring emotions #muslim #talk about personal life #everyone who reblogs will not be judged #I want people to reblog and vent to until they're satistfied

[corritea]

Hello, I’m Ameera a 23 years old Muslim lesbian who is trying to come out, I’ve been in the closet with my girlfriend for way too long, because of how dangerous and hard it is to come out as a lesbian to a religious Muslim family, but me and my girlfriend have decided to do whatever it takes and risk it all to come out, do you mind supporting and encouraging us?, we have the plan to go away which is why I have my donation campaign pinned on my profile, if I raise at least that goal I can start the process with my savings, I can’t come out until I’d gotten my apartment and I’m away from family, so please support by donating if you can and help reblog though I know we all have what we dealing with, so I’m not imposing we just need all the support and encouragement we can get, check my pinned post for more information on how you can support, if you are a Muslim queer and you are out, please help with tips on how to make it less complicated, any word of advice is also really needed, we really wanna come out but we need y’all 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ pride please come through for us, I believe pride is for all

Hello Ameera! @deepeagletimetravel Though I'm currently unable to donate (I'm living in good condition but I don't have access to the money--that much i will say), I would be glad to donate when I can later on!

I'm not Muslim but I do live in a country with a majority Muslim population (though multiple other religions are present in society too). I'm not really that experienced with coming out to parents or family either (though I have dropped hints here and there). I'm obviously no expert on Islam, but I'll try my best with this.

I would say, with the different interpretations of the Quran and other religious texts, the mainstream and such translations being more homophobic than not, it gets a bit tricky. But if, for example, you take the original, non-translated texts, you might find that it's not as people make it out to be.

I believe there was an interpretation where it was, and I paraphrase, "it says homosexual acts can be lustful, not that all homosexual acts are lustful". Basically, if you have an accepting interpretation, then you would likelier have an accepting community. But I do not believe you have to be morally 100% 'good' or 'pure' to be accepted or supported, regardless.

(Side note that I feel relevant: I also recall there having been an Indonesian Muslim school for trans people (though aimed more towards trans women, I think), where they teach to read the Quran in Arab (original language without the changes lost in translation) to interpret it in a trans-friendly way, and that Islam and being trans is not mutually exclusive. So, indeed.)

As for coming out, yes it would be safer to do so after moving, but I can't be sure of your exact circumstances. If you reach out to them but they do not listen, you do not owe them the education. But if they're willing to learn, then that would be great! For the style of coming out, it depends on your preferences! Maybe you'd like to do the 'sit down and have a talk' coming out, or over text/call, right as you move out, or only after you move out for a while.

If you have other questions you'd like my thoughts on, feel free! I can't guarantee that I know how to answer, but I'll try :)

Have a good day :D

#asksss

[septembriseur]

I want to come back to this article, which I reblogged a post from (after seeing it reblogged by loads of people on my dash). I recommend reading the article if you haven’t done so. Its central argument revolves around the idea that “modern liberal democracy presents itself as non-ideological beyond ideology,” and that ideology itself is always presented in literature/media as unacceptably violent— villainous. (I would argue that, in fact, any sort of cultural “accretion,” in the sense that culture is perceived as "on top of” and obscuring universalized western ideology,  is tolerated only insofar as it is not really taken specifically or seriously. That’s why even characters who are presented as deeply religious (think of Matt Murdock or Rogue One’s Baze and Chirrut) are portrayed as religious in a way that is broad, universal, flexible, and vague. 

One issue that the article doesn’t really delve into is that supposedly “ideologue” villains are actually profoundly anideological, except insofar as their ideology is, like, anti- modern liberal democracy’s lack of ideology. A really interesting example of this is in Iron Man: Tony Stark gets held hostage by a group of extremists whose extreme belief is... well... even the MCU wiki seems unable to provide any detail on this beyond “destroying world peace.” The film employs a weird move where it obviously relies on the Afghan setting of the villainous Ten Rings to suggest associations with radical Islamism, yet also provides evidence that the Ten Rings are not Islamists. On the one hand, it provides a sort of generic Western specter of radical Islamists— brown men speaking foreign languages and living in Afghan caves— and on the other hand it coyly removes all potential religious, political, or cultural motivation for their actions. These guys aren’t impoverished tribesmen who’ve been subject to tumultuous centuries of imperial warfare, and they’re not religious extremists living out masculine power fantasies. They’re just a group of dudes who kind of look vaguely Middle Eastern and kind of sound vaguely Middle Eastern (since Arabic and Persian are the languages we hear the most). 

Of course, there’s a real-world explanation for this: Marvel wants to be able to tap into that specter of radical Islamism without offending Muslim consumers. But the textual effect is to create a picture of the world in which terrorism in Afghanistan is evacuated of all meaning. Don’t get me wrong: terrorism in Afghanistan is unbelievably destructive and to a large extent nihilistic, in that it benefits no one and spreads only despair and suffering. But at the same time, it arises out of a historical, political, economic, and religious-cultural context, and if you refuse to understand this context, then you will fail to understand why people make the choice to become terrorists (or how to stop them).

That’s the real problem here: the creation of a world in which the only rational choice is modern liberal democracy, and all other choices are nonsensical. 

Marvel is a great site at which to explore this, simply because there’s so much of it. (You could also easily look at Star Wars, as MacQuarrie does in that article— why does the First Order want power? New extended universe writers have fleshed this out more in their web of liminally canonical texts, but on screen the answer seems to be, in the words of the also-manifestly-guilty-of-this-and-guilty-in-other-ways Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible: “the world is a mess, and I just need to rule it.”) 

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a wildly characteristic example of this. It has the thankless task of trying to engage with the effects of the canonically almost effect-free (cf Spider-man: Far From Home) blip, and pieces together a weirdly nonsensical storyline in which the blip enable border-free mass migration, which was revoked when the other half of the world’s population reappeared. The plot revolves around a group of super soldier refugees/displaced persons who want to stop borders from being reimposed on the world. Sam Wilson refers to the refugees as “people who have been welcomed into countries that previously kept them out with barb wire,” and indeed it's hard to imagine any version of this narrative in which the “migration” we’re talking about is the migration of Global South nationals to the Global North. There’s a really plausible specter here: the Global North does source its manual and domestic labor from the Global South while, whenever possible, keeping Global South nationals out with barbed wire. It does make sense that the Global North would import laborers and then attempt to deport them when their presence was no longer convenient. That is, in fact, literally what has happened/is happening in the UK to foreign healthcare workers during the pandemic.

However, as in Iron Man, Marvel wants to mobilize a specter while also evacuating it of all meaning. None of the displaced people we see in TFATWS bear any resemblance to real-world displaced persons. In spite of their United Colors of Benetton racial diversity, they display no marks of culture, religion, nationality, or indeed poverty. They even have British and American accents. They are completely neutral in every way.

This matters for several reasons. First of all, it allows the viewer to differentiate between the migrants on-screen— Western-looking, English-speaking, non-religious— with migrants off-screen: [perceived to be] too religious, non-English-speaking, culturally and racially “other.” Secondly (again as with Iron Man), it removes all context from the act of migration. Why did these people become migrants? Uh... because of the blip, I guess? Beyond some vague references to suffering, it’s never addressed. This allows the viewer to completely detach the question of migrants/displacement from any of its structural context. Why do people migrate in the real world? Because their countries have been completely devastated by warfare, often proxy warfare carried out by imperial states. Because climate change has completely devastated the regions where they live, with or without triggering devastating warfare. Because they belong to ethnic, political, and/or religious groups that are being systematically destroyed by state governments. Because colonialism and neoliberal capitalism have completely devastated the economies of the regions where they live. This is why the stakes of migration are high. 

If, as the show suggests, people just migrate for various personal reasons that really aren’t that important, then the stakes are not high, and we don’t have to feel bad about the behavior of our governments. This is a huge problem at a time when Denmark is shipping Syrian asylum-seekers back to Syria because it’s apparently fine now, Joe Biden is failing to make good on campaign promises about increasing refugee quotas, the UK is housing asylum seekers in situations that violate human rights law, migrant drownings in the Mediterranean Sea have become a regular feature, and the United States has systematically resisted fulfilling its promises to Iraqis and Afghans who risked their lives working for US forces in exchange for visas.

But, like, above and beyond the specific political issue of migration: what is the Flag Smasher ideology? “One world, one people.” I accept that there might be some viewers (mostly those with no knowledge or experience of immigration) who oppose this on principle, but it seems pretty obviously... good. So the bad part is... that they’re fighting for it? (According to people in my notes, this is Bad.) It’s possible to read this as another example of what the MacQuarrie article discusses: personal violence good, ideological violence bad. However, once again we have an example of an ideology that is not ideological, an ideology that is a specter cleaned out of any possible substance. The nonsensical choice here (the one beside which modern liberal democratic norms are obvious) is the choice to commit violence when there is no urgency that justifies this— none of the urgency that, in fact, exists in the real world, and explains why people regularly sacrifice their lives in desperate attempts to escape their homes. 

This is a really good example of how capitalism— a force with no real agency or subject, no evil committee planning its deeds— ends up enacting a project that systematically enforces its ideology. Attempts to render narratives apolitical are themselves profoundly political, even when justified in terms of appeal to the consumer. This is one of the most dangerous aspects of media, IMHO. 

#just me sayin stuff honestly #tv: tfatws

[ariendiel]

Since we're getting close to December, how do you think the Islanders celebrate the holidays? Which one is their favorite? What kind of gifts would they give and like to receive? Go wild!🎄✨

Ohhh, I love this, thank you Debby! 🎅 I'm doing the Islanders I feel most "familiar" with, so feel free to reblog with additions or the Islanders I missed (like Carl, Lottie, and Jakub etc.)

How the Islanders celebrate the holidays

Bobby

Loves Christmas with all the food (always with a Jamaican twist) and gifts. Loves to receive toys in particular, as it's for some reason more socially acceptable around Christmas smh. He now also bakes for his family, and takes great pride in having perfected as many traditional recipes as possible.

Preferred gift: Video games or cool toys

Chelsea

I think Chelsea is the kind who'd make each holiday uniquely her (think pink Christmas tree and galentines day being near sacred). Chelsea adores giving away presents more than receiving them though, and goes on a whole little journey around the UK to deliver presents in person while dressed as Santa's little helper.

Preferred gift: Anything rose gold and quirky

Elisa

I mean, Elisa must love her own birthday above any other holiday, right? And yes, Elisa would consider her own birthday as being a worthy national holiday. She goes all out, gets so many gifts – including from herself – and basically her whole birthday week ends up being very Gatsby-esque in terms of glamourous parties that never end.

Preferred gift: Luxury items or tickets to a Beyoncé concert

Gary

Traditional, and so so very cosy. Christmas with Gary would include all the British classics, and of course Christmas jumpers – maybe matching ones? I think he loves how relaxing it is, and definitely avoids the shops around Christmas. It's all about spending time with his little family.

Preferred gift: Tools or Star Wars lego

Hannah

Classic Christmas with soft cottage core vibes and an instagram full of penguin classics she's reading in front of the fireplace (does she actually read them? Doubt). She also loves to go riding outside on frosty mornings, and of course receiving presents is a big one for her.

Preferred gift: Pretty books

Henrik

He definitely loves to go home to Sweden for Christmas! The snow, the long, dark nights, skiing, the smells... Yeah, he just can't get into the right mood if he's trying to celebrate in the UK.

Preferred gift: Hiking/outdoor gear

Hope

I think she's kind of over Christmas because of her job and how it's always super stressful before Christmas especially, so I think she prefers something more vague like the summer holidays in general (it's warm and she can travel to somewhere exciting).

Preferred gift: Jewellery

Ibrahim

So, I'm not quite sure if Rahim would celebrate Christmas or if he's muslim (or just from a primarily muslim family), but his favourite holiday would probably either be Christmas or Eid al-Fitr depending on that. Let me know what you all think!

Preferred gift: Comic books

Lucas

I think Lucas enjoys Christmas, mostly due to the mood that follows it. However, I think he personally prefers celebrating the Lunar New Year's day, with all the traditions, foods, and games that follow. It just brings him a certain calm, and it's something he doesn't feel depends on having a super close relationship with his parents to celebrate.

Preferred gift: Donations to charities on his behalf

Marisol

I think she enjoys Christmas largely because it gives her a proper break from her work and studies. She definitely enjoys the Spanish traditions she grew up with, and in particular the food. I think she's got her own traditions too though, like going out dancing and drinking with her friends.

Preferred gift: She loves a blazer, but she'll accept a good non-fiction book too

Noah

Noah definitely adores Christmas, mostly because he loves giving thoughtful gifts and spending time with his loved ones. Making people happy with gifts and eating the most delicious home made food (I imagine it's an amazing mix of cultures, and that he helps making it) are both some of his favourite things.

Preferred gift: Books or squiddles

Priya

I have a feeling Priya loves Diwali. The five days is a special time for her to remember her heritage, and then there's the colours, the food, the lights – and she loves preparing her home for it. All it stands for and celebrates just means a lot to her.

Preferred gift: Perfume or luxury clothes

#litg bobby #litg chelsea #litg elisa #litg gary #litg hannah #litg henrik #litg hope #litg ibrahim #litg lucas #litg marisol #litg noah #litg priya #litg s2 #love island the game #ask

[emerald-studies]

How to be an Ally

 Discussions on Race Pt. 2

June 29, 2020

Day 1 of 7

Post with fixed links here!: 

https://emerald-studies.tumblr.com/post/626271345488150528/how-to-be-an-ally

Reblog this one!

[ These are just some thoughts I have in my head about this topic, it isn’t meant to be a purely academic discussion. It’s meant to be a conversation to learn about another perspective. ]     

Also sorry this one took longer than previous posts, I had to do a lot of research.     

-

1.  Check In On Your Black Friends/Acquaintances 

 In my opinion, I believe the best way to be an ally is to reach out to your Black friends and check in on them, consistently. If you can recognize the times we are living in are absolute hell, you should be checking in on the most effected. None of my friends have checked up on me to see how I was doing or just to talk. They didn’t even bring up the protests until I did. It feels very very lonely and scary to not be checked up on by the people who say they support and love you. So, I’m making this the first point because I don’t want anyone else to feel this way, not trying to complain.

2.  Learn More About Black History

It’s important to learn about the Black activists that our history books left out. Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. was, and is, important but we need to reflect on why he was pushed on us so much in our history classes, compared to other Black leaders. Is it because our government would rather us walk down the street holding signs than actually defending ourselves against the cop who’s beating us?

Here’s a master list of activists to start you off.

3.  Go to Rallies and Protests

Find protests and rallies in your area by looking on Twitter and search #yourcityprotest. Or watch your local news channel to see where they are (if they’re being covered on the news). Also search on Facebook. Wear a mask.

4. Donate and Sign Petitions

If you don’t have extra money to donate, that’s fine. If you still want to be an ally then sign all the petitions you can. Take a day to research all the ones you can sign/haven’t signed and sign them!

(Also you don’t need to donate to change.org! Directly donate to non-profit organizations and victims’ families!)

George Floyd - change.org

George Floyd - amnesty.org

George Floyd - colorofchange.org

Get The Officers Charged

Charge All Four Officers

Breonna Taylor - moveon.org

Breonna Taylor - colorofchange.org

Breonna Taylor - justiceforbreonna.org

Breonna Taylor - change.org

Breonna Taylor - thepetitionsite.com

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org 2

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org 3

Justice for Oluwatoyin Salau

Pass The Georgia Hate Crime Bill

Defund MPD

Life Sentence For Police Brutality

Regis Korchinski - change.org

Tete Gulley - change.org

Tony McDade - change.org

Tony McDade - actionnetwork.org

Tony McDade - thepetitionsite.com

Joao Pedro - change.org

Julius Jones - change.org

Belly Mujinga - change.org

Willie Simmons - change.org

Hands Up Act - change.org

National Action Against Police Brutality

Kyjuanzi Harris - change.org

Alejandro Vargas Martinez - change.org

Censorship Of Police Brutality In France

Sean Reed - change.org

Sean Reed - change.org 2

Kendrick Johnson - change.org

Tamir Rice - change.org

Tamir Rice - change.org 2

Fire Racist Criminal From The NYPD

Jamee Johnson - organizefor.org

Darius Stewart - change.org

Darius Stewart - moveon.org

Abolish Prison Labor

Free Siyanda - change.org

Chrystul Kizer - change.org

Chrystul Kizer - change.org 2

Andile Mchunu (Bobo) - change.org

Eric Riddick - change.org

Amiya Braxton - change.org

Emerald Black - change.org

Elijah Nichols - change.org

Zinedine Karabo Gioia - change.org

Angel Bumpass - change.org

Sheku Bayoh - change.org

Angel DeCarlo - change.org

Sandra Bland - change.org

Sherrie Walker - change.org

Darrien Hunt - change.org

Cornelius Fredericks - change.org

Elijah McClain - change.org

James Scurlock - change.org

Darren Rainey- change.org

Visit these sites for more info:

http://www.pb-resources.com/

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

5. Educate yourself and others.

Articles: 

- “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)

- Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists

- ”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)

- The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine

- The Combahee River Collective Statement

- “The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston | Vox (May 28, 2019)

- Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD

- “Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin (June 1, 2020)

- ”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh

- “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)

Movies/TV Shows: 

When They See Us

American Son

Hello Privilege, It’s Me, Chelsea

The 13th

Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story 

What Happened Miss Simone?

The Two Killings of Sam Cooke

Who Killed Malcolm X?

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce (Lighter in tone)

LA 92

Dear White People

Videos:

- Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers (50:48)

- “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” | Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)

- American Oxygen - Rihanna

- Formation - Beyonce 

Podcasts:

- Malcolm X Speeches

- 1619 (New York Times)

- About Race

- Code Switch (NPR)

- Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw

- Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

- Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)

- Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)

- Seeing White

Books:

- The Autobiography of Malcolm X

- Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About RaceBook by Reni Eddo-Lodge

- Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

- Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper

- Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

- How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

- Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold

- Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

- The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs

- The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

- This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga

- When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson

- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD

Follow:

- Shaun King: Instagram | Twitter | Website

- Antiracism Center: Twitter

- Audre Lorde Project: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- Black Women’s Blueprint: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- Color Of Change: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- Colorlines: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- The Conscious Kid: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- Families Belong Together: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- MPowerChange: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- Muslim Girl: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- NAACP: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- National Domestic Workers Alliance: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

- Ziwe | Instagram | (She has discussions about race with White people, kinda grilling them, every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Super thrilling to watch.)

Here’s Some Music Too:

Change Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

Chain Gang - Nina Simone

Missisippi Goddamn - Nina Simone

Fuck Da’ Police - N.W.A.

New Slaves - Kanye

This is America - Childish Gambino

I’m Not Racist - Joyner Lucas

Fight the Power - Public Enemy

Glory - Common, John Legend

Freedom (Live) - Beyonce

I Can’t Breathe - H.E.R.

American Oxygen - Rihanna

Brown Skin Girl - Beyonce 

+

My Playlist With A Few More

Black Artists Matter Playlist

What a large list! It looks so overwhelming! Don’t worry, you don’t have to read/watch/listen to everything. It takes a lot of effort!

  Jk. 

If you don’t want to do some homework and good deeds, then you don’t want to be an ally. And that’s perfectly fine. Just don’t lie to yourself about it.

Tough shit.

-

Discussion time.

Who are your favorite Black activists that you didn’t learn about in school?

(Mine is Huey P. Newton)

Favorite song by a Black artist? 

(Mine is Freedom by Beyonce but the live version)

Let me know what you think here

-Faith

#blm #blacklivesmatter #black lives matter #activists #allyship #petitions #talkingwithfaith #black women matter

[purplepints]

Red Cross & Donations during Emergencies

You’re probably going to see a surge in posts about why you should not support Agencies like the American Red Cross because “they refused our donations” or "they steal donations" etc. so please read this first before posting anti-ARC/Non-Profit/etc groups mostly run by volunteers.

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE REBLOGGING NEGATIVE STUFF ABOUT THOSE GROUPS!!

Okay, let's talk about this. Food stuff first, then clothes, then a list of Things You Can Do.

Pay attention, people, because while our actions during events like Hurricanes or other events can save lives, our half-cocked reblogging of emotional anecdotes can make lives that much harder. I am not going to claim that the Red Cross (or any other similar Organization) are perfect or unproblematic, but I will say that it is better to light a candle than to refuse to provide batteries for a flashlight. Provide the names of groups you are donating to and the PayPal or site where those groups are accepting monetary donations, don't just fill timelines with anti-Whomever stuff without providing alternatives. Moving on to the Big Questions.....

WHY DO THEY REFUSE FOOD?

— Food can be dangerous.

Think about it. Kids have nut allergies, people are lactose intolerant, the dish could have been sitting somewhere for hours growing bacteria....

— Food can be divisive.

Think about it. Who gets the fantastic homemade lasagna and who has to be content with a bag lunch? Who makes that decision? What about areas populated by people with religious dietary restrictions? Are the items kosher or halal or vegetarian? Worse yet, could someone donate items to locations having high numbers of immigrants, people of color, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, LGBTQ, etc. that were made with the intent to harm groups of people?

Do you see how all of this could be a problem?

It is simply too much of a risk to trust that every person who cooks something followed all safety guidelines regarding ingredients, can provide accurate lists of ALL the ingredients (and no, not just "1/2 cup vegetable oil", because there could be differences between brands, someone may use olive oil or canola oil exclusively, or simply not think to mention that while they made the dish with ABC Brand 100% Canola, they sprayed the casserole pan with Pam or greased it with XYZ Brand Margarine) AND would leave their name & contact info in case people get ill from eating their food.

Businesses like restaurants have to follow certain guidelines and accept the risks, but private individuals? Not so much. Too many shelters/distribution locations simply don't have the fridges/freezers needed to store perishable foods for the number of people they are trying to help and are using what space they do have to store things like breast milk, formula, insulin, etc. Some shelters/locations are in places that face loss of electricity, disruption of utilities, you name it. They may or may not have generators. They may or may not have the resources to plate & provide utensils to every person. They may or may not have dishwashers or just several large sinks to clean dishes, and they can't just shove dirty dishes into a corner for people to come retrieve. Even if they do have sinks, they probably don't have the manpower to assign toward labeling dishes, storing them, reheating them, serving them and cleaning dishes/kitchen/etc to avoid contaminating other food.

Hate to bring this up, but it should be mentioned that many of those places also lack the bathroom facilities to handle the influx of victims, so a few dozen people coming down with salmonella (which, fun fact, can be spread by touching items which were touched by an infected person who wasn't as diligent as they could have been while washing their hands) or other common ailments caused by eating undercooked, poorly preserved or cross-contaminated items, especially in situations where clean water could be in short supply ...well. I think you can imagine how that would be an issue.

WHY DO THEY REFUSE CLOTHING?

— Clothing uses a lot of resources.

Think about it and you'll see similar problems to the ones regarding food. Some people are allergic to certain detergents, break into rashes when encountering pet dander or have other sensitivities.

— Like food, safety is a concern.

A lot of the clothing donated to shelters/organizations is nowhere close to new or in the ballpark of used: it skips directly to awful and most of it isn't laundered. Claims that all the items have been laundered doesn't change the fact that it has to be laundered again before it can be given to anyone due to the aforementioned issues. If possible, donate new, packaged unisex things like t-shirts. Leave the fancy stuff, out-of-season stuff and dress clothing at home unless you're told they are looking to collect heels, thick sweaters, ties, etc.

Laundering aside, the condition of items can be unbelievable. Pants with broken zippers or large holes in the crotch/butt, single socks, old promotional shirts covered in stains and holes, tops & bottoms stretched out or with blown seams. Soiled clothing (every kind of thing you can imagine), scuffed up individual high heels, bras with wires poking through other items, old prom dresses spilling sequins everywhere and all of this is shoved in garbage bags or boxes willy-nilly along with other random items....it is astounding what people will drop off with an attitude of "it's better than nothing" while failing to realize that all of those bags and boxes have to be sorted, laundered, grouped (child/adult, then sizes), then distributed. This is all worse than nothing and only eats up resources better spent on getting people help they actually need.

Again, many shelters/locations have a limited amount of resources and storage space. They may or may not have access to laundry machines. They may or may not have rooms to set up for sorting, nor space to keep the items for any amount of time. The volunteer hours spent digging through clothing hardly good enough for a rag bag would be much better spent on other tasks that can improve the lives of people impacted by these disasters.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

If you want to provide food or clothing for people but don't want to donate money to the Red Cross/Other Large Organizations, here are some suggestions :

*** First, ALWAYS make sure to contact locations/groups and LISTEN when they tell you what they need! ***

FOOD:

* See if any restaurants are looking for volunteers to help prepare or deliver meals.

* Ask groups you're already involved with to host a shop-along to supply people returning to their homes with staple groceries. [Even if homes were not flooded or damaged, power outages could cause a total loss of all products in refrigerators and the majority of people who rent apartments do not have any type of insurance policy that pays to replace food.]

* Ask if specific items like bottles, sippy cups or reusable water bottles are needed, or if the location could use a reliable fridge/mini-fridge for storing insulin or breast milk, or offer up a hot plates or electric kettle that can be used to to boil water or prepare small amounts of food for ppl with special diets.

* Get with schools that have teaching kitchens (think Home Ec) and offer to help cook or buy supplies for use: this could provide parents who need a bit of time to check their property or fill out paperwork with that time while providing their child with an activity that results in cookies. Offer to do the same thing with entire families through the schools in the evenings, because a few hours away from a shelter, a hot meal and a bit of privacy can mean so much in times like these.

CLOTHING:

* If a group says they are accepting clothing, please only donate items without damage, without stains and make sure to ask if the location needs clothes hangers, special kind of detergents, mesh laundry bags for distribution, etc. If you have large-load capacity machines, offer use of them if you're close to the shelter or can lend them for a brief time.

* Most groups will ask you to only donate underwear and socks that are new and still in their packaging. Most groups don't receive new underwear and socks in packaging and I don't know of any group that will distribute used underwear or socks, so please think about providing child & adult sizes of those items.

* Consider a group effort to help specific groups of people: gather up gently used business/business casual attire for young adults seeking new jobs or returning to work; maternity clothing for all stages of pregnancy; or look into providing steel-toe boots, work gloves, jackets and safety vests for people involved in cleanup efforts.

* Look into sponsoring a future family event that was delayed by the emergency. Provide a dress and suits for a wedding, pairs of cleats for a soccer team, changes of school uniforms or go the services route by offering your own skills as a photographer, hairdresser, tailor, whatever, for free (or form a group that can provide several interconnected skills to work together over, say, 6 months-1 year post event for free or discounted for X amount of events) or at cost/discount.

* Ask groups if they need fabric or findings for arts & crafts and offer to bring items ready to go: bags of buttons, t-shirts cut into yarn, denim or other fabrics cut into sizes requested, etc. You'll be able to thin out your closet and provide a useful thing that can be used to craft a handy item or teach a new skill. This also applies to other art supplies & school supplies, as children in shelters aren't attending school and/or need an outlet for their feelings.

MISC:

** Masks, shower curtains, hygiene prpdicts: having mass shelter happening during this covid-19 breakout is a triple nightmare, so if you sew masks or have extra masks in any size offer them to the mass shelters.

* Different groups of people have different needs. Groups having more children may need more baby wipes or diapers ; groups having more seniors may need mobility aids ; groups having people with natural hair may need different shampoo ; groups having more autistic or special needs may need sense-friendly items, and so on. Help is “one size fits most” deal in many areas of care (like shelter, food) but there are many individuals who need something specific. Ask, listen, provide.

* Groups are almost always in need of translators, not just for adults & help with paperwork or other concerns, but to watch, entertain or otherwise provide assistance for children. If you are fluent in another language (or have books/movies in different languages) contact agencies and let them know.

* We rely on cellphones & electronic devices for much of our communication, so chargers, charger cords, battery banks, working phones and even laptops could help people find their families. Mobile wi-fi and pre-paid phone cards are things to consider, too. Battery or plug-in speakers with Bluetooth could be used for storytime or dance activities with children or audio books for adults, basically any extra electronics you have that are

fairly modern and can play video/audio would be a godsend. Older phones that have been factory reset while still able to work on modern system could help greatly, so call/check with providers and see if any older models you have will still connect & if they are doing anything with the phones themselves re: redistribution.

* Totes, backpacks, duffels and other reusable, durable bags can come in handy. Ziplocs too, to keep items dry. Often people only stay at a shelter for a few days while they're working on other arrangements so it's nice to have everything packed and secure as well as offer a bit of pride and normality rather than making everyone use hefty bags to carry their stuff.

* If you are a notary public or someone with special knowledge pertaining to documents, mortgages, bank accounts, medical POA, etc call and see if your services could be handy for people. A lot of victims lose their birth certificates and other important documents and will need help reestablishing their identity and proofs of ownership.

Most importantly, please make sure people you know understand that there are ways for everyone to help! There are reasons why certain things are not accepted, and it is frustrating, but keep in mind there are other ways to give. Right now, focus on ways you can help and encourage people you know to join your efforts. Please focus on what we can do to help!!

#hurricane laura #Hurricanes #Emergencies #Ways to help #Red Cross #Donations #Helping

[lilquill]

Are you doing okay what with all the VV stuff that happened? It seemed like you and Mina were close

Hey hey, thanks for the worries anon! Mina of mvcreates/Violet Vineyard and I were properly talking as friends for only a few months quite a long time ago. Emotionally I’m completely fine, but I do have stuff to say and I do want to help document things if any of it is useful in any way. A lot of it will be dry because it’s just documenting, but some of it will be “juicier” I guess, and I’d like to corroborate some of the things my friends are saying. I’ll put this under the cut for people who don’t want to scroll through all this and/or have no idea what I’m talking about and want to keep it that way!

You guys can check @nuwuhorizons‘s blog to see what exactly is going on and I believe they’re also reblogging some things others who were members are saying. The case of people dogpiling a 19-year-old trans person and making fun of their name is on the blog (post here, wayback machined here).

I can corroborate a bunch of what @rrrawrf-writes (post here, wayback machined here) and @gingerly-writing (post here, wayback machined here) have said. I backread through the interaction that Ginger talks about in her post (of course not the DMs, but the interaction itself).

I know some people may be confused about why Ginger only has that one screenshot of what she said and may not see that as full evidence, but Violet Vineyard had a super strict “don’t screenshot and post anything” with lots of scary looking legal stuff attached to it policy and, well, Ginger can’t be sharing stuff without anyone’s permission if it’s just the message she herself sent, but they’d have grounds to take god knows what action with what backing against her if she posted something else. But, well, for what it’s worth, as someone who read through that conversation a little after it happened, it was certainly a case of dogpiling and left a bad taste in my mouth, and it strikes me as really odd that the mods would try to shut someone down like that.

I haven’t really been doing stuff in writeblr lately as you can probably tell from my blog, but yeah, Mina herself and a lot of people in that particular friend group of hers, as Lisa mentions, have just disappeared off Tumblr. I can also attest to the dogpiling tendencies and this Mina Is Always Right tendency, and the fervor with which people would defend her.

I was honestly never close enough to Mina to be in that friend group. She and I were only really talking to each other for a few months over a year ago. I don’t think I was “writeblr-y” enough to fit in with them. I was also not super active in that server. I didn’t post much about my wips because I in general don’t think I really post a lot about them. Therefore I didn’t get like, massive benefits off of the whole “network” thing, but  I’d reblog some stuff when I saw it. I was probably most known for posting pictures of my plants, lol. And I would occasionally hop in to talk briefly about kpop with like, one person? (They went by Kay and their url was like, lvcrezia? lvcrezias? Something like that.) In fact, probably the last thing I ever said in that server was a super quick conversation about Red Velvet’s “Monster” music video around the time it dropped.

In fact, for the sake of being super transparent/establishing credibility, and for documenting purposes, I’ll list all the non-plant-pictures and non-kpop conversations I can remember actually participating in. Some of these will lead off into bigger topics, and I’ll specify those. But first, a word.

TO ANY OF THE FORMER MODS WHO MIGHT COME AFTER ME FOR SAYING THINGS ABOUT THE SERVER, SINCE THIS HAS APPARENTLY HAPPENED TO OTHERS: The server is deleted, and so is the text of the whole “contract” (yes, really) that people had to agree to in order to join VV. I remember that the agreement made sure we didn’t post screenshots publicly, but other than that I genuinely do not remember the text and I have no way of referencing it to keep in line with it since the server is deleted. I do not remember if documenting things like this is against anything I have agreed to, I have no record of the agreement, and I have not been notified of any place to access a record of the agreement before the server was deleted. If my post is some sort of violation, you cannot hold me accountable for rules that I am unable to follow, and I would greatly appreciate not being targeted with empty threats shrouded in scary legal language. If you have any point of contention with what I have said, feel free to take it up either publicly or privately. Please do @ me if it’s specific to me; I’m not really the vagueposting kind. If any of you want me to delete this post, you will need to provide actual proof of the agreement that I made by joining Violet Vineyard, and you will also need to prove that the rules were not edited after I agreed to them. If any of them were follow-up rules not from the beginning of the server, it’s possible that I did not see them and therefore you need to provide proof that I agreed to those, too. In addition, since image editing is what set off this avalanche in the first place hence we’re all aware that there’s software that allows us to edit images and pass them off as an original thing, you’ll need to provide proof that any screenshots/images are undoctored. Furthermore, since the rules have been deleted with the server, as the method I used to agree to follow them, you must prove that my agreement is still valid, since it seems to me it’s been nullified since it’s, well, gone either through deletion or kicking me out alongside everyone else. Tl;dr you don’t scare me lol.

Anyways, back to a list of the non-kpop, non-plant-pics, non-my-wips-promo conversations I can actually remember:

On January 5, 2020, the server had a conversation about Roshani Chokshi’s book The Gilded Wolves. I can give the date because during/in the aftermath of the conversation, which I talked about the book in, Mina DMed me quickly. (This was also the last time Mina ever directly contacted me.) I’ll talk about this later.

In February 2020 I believe I quickly mentioned getting concert tickets.

Either early this year or late last year I think I posted some stuff about landscape photography, with some photos of the beach.

I believe I posted a couple fashion pics at some point?

Back in May 2019 I got some kinda weird asks about Violet Vineyard and I think people were talking about that, and I assume I participated since I was the one who received the asks. At that time VV was like a super new server and didn’t really have much as far as the issues we’ve been talking about go, so I defended it. (I’ll be talking about this later.)

Probably in June/July 2019 people in the server had a discussion about Black Muslim characters and representation, initiated by me for one of my WIPs.

I think we talked about South Asian sweets at some point???

I believe in April/May 2019, there was some stuff in that server reagarding “drama” with Castor who at that time went by the url pilipalea that I honestly don’t remember much of. Castor was never in VV, but I believe they were in a server with Mina at some other point. There was something about grammar and proofreading?? (I’ll be referencing this soon as well.)

I helped someone with their computer science homework at some point.

I asked for r&b music recs at some point either late 2019 or earlier 2020.

I’ve also talked about ethnic clothes I think.

We’ve talked about Hindu nationalism and how awful it is.

I think we’ve talked about tone policing and how woc are often portrayed as “aggressive.”

We’ve talked about health/fitness and exercise.

I recommended Jade City and some other books I’m a fan of in there.

Probably talked about Bollywood movies at some point.

The fact that I can remember probably most of my conversations that lasted more than like, one message in there is, I think, a pretty good testament to a) me having at least a kind of decent memory and b) I wasn’t participating in the server so regularly that the conversations kind of blend together. I know this is all kind of long and dry for anyone who’s here for drama purposes lol, but I did want to establish that I’ve been in that server for quite a while and that I wasn’t monitoring it heavily; in fact, I had it muted very soon after joining it.

I wasn’t super close to anyone that I’d met through VV. People who are friends that I still regularly contact who were in VV with me, I had met through other servers and other interactions on Tumblr. I’ll disclose right now that I have been longtime friends with Ginger, Lisa, and Eff (@time-to-write-and-suffer), who have all come out against VV, and that we are in our own servers with people from writeblr. Ginger and Lisa were both in VV, Eff has never been.

Okay, back to maybe “juicier” stuff.

Mina had always positioned herself almost as this “tumblr mom” type. She’d reference her age a lot, which would contrast a lot with how a significant portion of the members were much younger and, I think, set up the dynamic of people looking up a lot to her and always coming to her defense. After all, we’re talking a bunch of passionate kids who’d found a writeblr network. And the server definitely seemed “legit”; I myself was pretty impressed with just how tightly organized everything was, and like I mentioned, there was fancy legal language to ~protect their rights~ and whatnot. Mina herself seemed so accomplished with so many talents: she’d post her writing and artwork, I believe she’d made a couple pieces of music, she’d work out and keep in shape, she had a seemingly wonderful loving relationship with her husband, she was active in research fields professionally and as an outbreak responder, and she, of course, had a significant online presence as a “big writeblr.” I remember when she’d started blowing up, so soon after her blog had been created, because of her prolific content and friendly persona. People, especially younger ones who had no other writeblr support group, looked up to her and trusted her. And the nature of the server was to shower everyone in praise, so Mina found herself on the receiving end of quite a bit of it. Mina would also actively boost and review other writers’ content, genuinely engaging with it and providing feedback, support, and valuable resources.

Mina also had a tight-knit group of adult friends. Some of them I believe carried over from pre-VV times (incuding CJ of typewriter-jade if I’m remembering correctly, who made fun of the trans person’s name in the reblog chain in the link to nuwuhorizons’s blog), while some were made afterwards. They would act super friendly and familiar with each other, which I think contributed to a lot of people falling into this little “friendship” super fast. They were also authority figures and role models, and tended to agree with each other, so everyone just went along with that.

These factors, I think, heavily influenced the dogpiling tendencies. People were eager to defend their community, where they’d found so much love and support for their work. Minors would go along with adults in conversations. When someone said something, others would enthusiastically support them. And people were just so into each other that I really couldn’t keep up, which is probably why I didn’t participate too much. People became just super fast friends and the server was so large and so seemingly “professional” and structured in how it was made. I think people just kind of assumed everyone in there was great and their friend who could be trusted deeply, when in reality that’s just impossible if there are like, 100+ members. Meaning if something minorly negative happened (like on that literal eleven-year-old’s blog), everyone would come in to say something to demonstrate their emphatic loyalty, even when it became excessive for something as small as an ask game done wrong.

This happened with the Gilded Wolves discussion as well. Someone stepped in to say that the way Gilded Wolves coded its antagonists as this shady secret society of people was antisemitic, and everyone joined in to rip the book apart without having even read it. I joined in the conversation to state that I didn’t see it that way, since that shady antagonist group was very much coded as white Christians (their names are all French Christian names) and were colonizers (meaning making them this shadowy group of powerful and evil people was accurate) and one of the protagonists, who is Jewish, is opposing them and antisemitism is portrayed as horrible, and that the book had had (if I’m remembering correctly) Jewish sensitivity readers and multiple Jewish book reviewers really enjoyed and recommended it. Then Mina stepped in to say that multiple Jewish journals she followed rated the book highly and recommended it meaning the accusation of antisemitism clashed heavily with what a lot of other people thought, and that since me and the other person who was saying the book was antisemitic were the only ones who had read it or were familiar with it in any capacity, it wasn’t fair for everyone to be judging it like that. It was like she’d flipped a switch: people were suddenly much more “reasonable” and “fair” and willing to give the book a chance, just because she’d stepped in. (As a quick note, I don’t remember exactly whether Mina stepped in first or if I stated my opinion first. I also want to mention that Mina DMed me to state that the person who accused the book of antisemitism had expressed some Zionist sentiments in the past and to say that maybe their take on the book could have come from Islamophobia with them maybe assuming obviously ethnic name of the author was a Muslim name. The Zioinist stuff is something I can’t actually speak on since again, I have no access to the server anymore and I don’t remember that person’s url. This was the last time Mina DMed me or I her.)

I wrote all that out because I think it illustrates a few things. Firstly, a good example of the tendencies of people going with the flow of things even when it led to dogpiling/drastic conclusions. When I say they were really trashing that book, I mean it! Secondly, it demonstrates the willingness of everyone to go along with what Mina said. Third, it shows that Mina was capable of stepping in to prevent dogpiling (and, seemingly, she would, at least if her beliefs aligned with the opposite of whatever incited the dogpiling) and that people would listen to her and actually change their minds. 

Whether or not Mina supported something was pretty important. Of course, it was her server, so she was definitely allowed to run it how she saw fit, but she would very swiftly pass judgement on things and everyone would just comply. One time, I think there were more than one different threads of conversation happening in the general channel of the server. Jess suggested making a second general channel to allow for other conversations, as is common in a lot of servers, including ones I’m in and moderate/own/have some power in. I don’t remember if I supported that suggestion or if I only backread that conversation, but I know at least one other person agreed. Mina said that as an older person (she’d very frequently bring up her age) she thought people could just wait for their turn in a conversation and didn’t even consider trying it out. Other mods, I believe, backed her up and said no to the second general conversation channel. I remember being a little confused as to why nobody even considered trying a member’s suggestion to make the server more easy to participate it and help provide additional structure/support how big it was, and why it was shut down because people could just wait for their turn, when clearly the general channel was getting overloaded before our eyes. But Mina didn’t see the need, so therefore nobody else wanted to do anything about it, and nobody ever mentioned it again, I think. I know this is a super minor instance lol, but I do think it illustrates something about the behavior in the server and how it was run. It’s not like other channels weren’t added based on need; one was created for the 2018 elections, one was created for talking about race in June during the height of BLM protests having news coverage, I’m pretty sure one was created for talking about the coronavirus. So, the mods were watching conversations and responding as they saw fit, they just wouldn’t field this request, for some reason. Obviously conversations getting muddled in a general channel isn’t as significant as major political events, antiblack racism, or a pandemic, but these channels were made to improve the server experience and likely to prevent these topics from completely overloading other channels, so, well.

Okay, the Castor/pilipalea stuff and dogpiling. I’ll say this stuff now because Castor has opened up about it (here [wayback machined] and here [archived in a google doc]), so I see that as permission for others to comment on it. If I’m remembering correctly and looking back at the right things, there was something about Mina giving advice on a grammatical error to one of her mutuals, or something asking if her mutuals wanted grammatical advice? Castor vagueblogged, presumably about that, and talked about classism in expecting good grammar from people, which is a valid issue, but seemed misapplied to this instance of someone consenting to receive advice on grammar/syntax/mechanics, if that’s what the vagueblogging was about. I reached out to Mina to let her know that I thought someone was vagueblogging about her, and she told me about past conflicts with Castor. I also reached out to Castor over DMs to ask what the vagueblogging was about, because you genuinely never know; classist prescriptivism is harmful and bad, and so many people on Tumblr are in so many different circles that similar topics may come up coincidentally. Castor wasn’t clear with me either about what the post was targeting and skirted around naming names.  

At this point, looking back, it still seems to be that it was about Mina, especially considering that Castor had previous history with her and others in her circle. Mina was irritated by the vagueblogging (who likes being vagueblogged about?) and also informed me, all the way back in April 2019, about this past server drama that Castor mentioned. It seems to me that it stemmed from a misunderstanding: Mina and I believe other mods noticed another person using Castor’s PSDs without credit. Mina checked with Castor about whether people should be crediting them for PSDs and Castor said that, yes, they wanted credit; you can see this interaction in the screenshot Castor linked on their post. 

This is where the accounts of what happened diverge: Mina expressed to me that she and the other mods weren’t very harsh since they’d seen that Castor’s friend had credited Castor in the past, so they just wanted to remind Castor’s friend to give credit, without knowing that Castor’s friend had permission to use the PSDs without crediting. I was told that Mina and the team of mods were professional in their handling of this; Castor has stated in their post that the group was extremely harsh. Since I don’t have any screenshots or exact records of what they said before I was in contact with Mina, I can’t comment, so I’ll withhold judgement on that. According to Mina, she and the other mods had not been very vocal about this crediting/PSD stuff, and very few people knew about it, so it did seem like Castor had attacked Mina out of nowhere.

What I can say is that the VV members were certainly quick to respond to the grammar vagueblog, and that if I’m remembering correctly, readily jumped to Mina’s defense. I distinctly remember that one VV member specifically asked whether it was about Mina in a reblog. This happened pretty early on in VV’s existence and I believe was the first major “drama” that VV got embroiled in. Looking back, I do think it was fair to be critical of Castor’s post. But this was also the first look at the tendencies people had of getting embroiled in the fervor of any perceived slight against a member (in particular Mina).

I noticed this again when I received anons that were sort of bitter about VV’s existence in May 2019, way before VV had gained the reputation that it has now. People were very quick to respond with hostility and slightly amplify the anger expressed by other members, and little by little things got really out of hand. I can totally understand being upset and irritated, since the asks were kind of unwarranted and the sender did apologize if I remember correctly. But there was a huge outpouring of vicious language from a lot of the members, and this was, I think, the first instance of proper dogpiling in VV, especially since it was an easy antagonist; the sender was out of line, and they were totally anonymous.

These were the only two instances of going to bat for VV that I ever participated in. For the other things, I either only backread or missed them completely. While they don’t really paint VV in a super bad light, not like the dogpiling of an eleven-year-old that Jess mentions in her post, it did give me a pretty good idea of how VV handled controversies.

I’ve mentioned some of my theories of why this dogpiling/toxicity happened. I’d also like to add that Mina would often send concise, decisively-worded statements about things. I think this may have come across as final-word judgments to a lot of people, so they would take that as the last say on a certain matter and escalate in severity of their response from there. And like, you should trust your friends and take what they say in good faith. But you still need to be thinking critically and considering your response, especially when you haven’t known someone for very long. And this, I think, was a big source of toxicity in the server. There were just so many people responding to the same issues and aligning their beliefs, and they’d build off each other and create an environment where these kinds of responses were okay. Plus, VV was always portrayed as a tight-knit family when not everyone knew each other and not everyone was active (as is totally normal for a massive server), so this also contributed to people wanting to defend each other all the time. And I don’t think the mod team did an adequate job of shutting it down, despite the veneer of a structured, sort of more “professional” space.

Okay, now onto the art stuff.

Disclaimer, I don’t draw digital or physical art. I was always aware that Mina was certainly at least using references for her work. In some cases I could even pinpoint which pictures were used, like one where the faceclaim was Ranveer Singh. I also received fanart of one of my characters that, of course, looked very similar to the faceclaim. It certainly was clear some tracing had happened in that picture because of the level of detail in the chikankari embroidery, but like…..it’s free fanart, chikankari isn’t copyrighted, and that embroidery is super difficult to draw anyways. What I was not aware of was Mina apparently tracing images and using them to advertise for commissions, which is something I do not condone. I also know my photography and photo editing tools, so I was aware that there was some filtering/editing going on. I’m not sure if Mina traced and didn’t disclose it for commissioned art.

Okay, now the server shutting down stuff!

I was completely unaware of the dogpiling/transphobia stuff happening in the server because I had it on mute. I only found out about all this two days ago. I received the message where everyone was @’ed about VV’s “migration” off Tumblr and that the server would be shut down. I can confirm that the concern was about mirror sites and that the server did discuss these mirror sites as a big intellectual property issue. I didn’t know people wanted the server shutting down to be kept so secret, and I honestly cannot think of a reason why; I feel like if those mirror site concerns were serious, people would be trying to spread the word on writeblr? So I think that people are right to be a little suspicious of the exact reason for the server’s closing.

I think I should mention also that people were pretty much always friendly with me on VV. I met a bunch of cool people, and Mina was always kind and supportive with me. @radley-writes has echoed similar sentiments here (wayback machined here) and here (wayback machined here) while being critical of the environment in VV.

I know this post is like, wildly long and probably quite dry and rambly at points, but I hope it does provide some specific examples to back up some of the criticisms of VV and document it a bit better.

Thank you for reading! I’ll make sure to edit this to add stuff if I remember things/see the need.

I also want to state that my post is more a critique of the environment than anything. I’m not trying to attack anyone at all, I’m just giving an account of stuff that has happened, my level of involvement, and my own thoughts on all this.

I also want to say that I am completely open to hearing what any of you have to say. Feel free to critique/discuss anything I’ve said in this post with me. If you want to vent about your experiences in/with Violet Vineyard, my inbox and DMs are totally open. If you want to keep things confidential, I won’t break your trust or reveal your identity (unless you start idk, spouting racist stuff at me or something). If you want to anonymously tell people about an experience, feel free to shoot me an anon.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful day! I’m sending you lots of love. Take care! <3

#writeblr drama #mvcreates #violetvineyard #violet vineyard #man i haven't been involved in writeblr drama for so long #feels wild to be back! #answered #ask #anon #anonymous #sakshi speaks

[hanorganaas]

Hey, so as a Palestinian I was wondering what your view on the Palestine/Israel conflict is. I am living in a bit of a bubble and was wondering what someone outside of it might have to say. Thanks, have a nice day!

Hello friend, I would absolutely love to be of help on this matter, and sorry if I go too long with this I like to fully explain my views cause this blue hellsite tends to take things the wrong ways.

I am very gray when it comes to the conflict, and my view of the conflict went from one sided to gray over the years. I try not to say bad things about the IDF on a broad scale cause I had friends that served but almost all of them were not in combat [ Like one trained other female soldiers, another was a medic in a state hospital, and I even had one that worked as a Social Worker reforming Criminals in Israeli Prisons] but I do have some objections.

When it comes to History and Culture, I love Israel. It’s got goregous buildings, ancient lands, and going there on Birthright back in 2011 was such a beautiful and uplifting experience. Like going to the wailing wall was so cool because you got to see happy Jews have religious ceremonies there. I believe that part should be protected. But when I say this or reblog a pretty picture of Israel people are like oh, you support murder, you support death to Palestine its not true.

When it comes to politcs, I do not support the idea of Palestine being treated like some criminal state just because some Hamas Jackasses decided to jump the wall and blow up busses and resturants filled with innocent people when Palestine have right to the Israeli land too. 

In Hebrew School alot of my teachers were actually Israeli so they had a lot of hateful views because of this. However my one American Teacher gave a perfect analogy. She compaired to conflict to the Native Americans being pissed they were stripped of their land by White People [and its shocking she said that cause this was in Post 9/11 America in 2002, and you know what she is right. 

While I understand the reason Israel was founded, it was made as a safety country as a direct reaction to the Shoah because of the area’s importance to the Jews, we basically threw the Palestinians who were living there out of their house and as a person whose people were kicked out from Country....it’s kinda hypercrital. So I completely and 100% understand why The Palestinians are angry. I will support them protesting and objecting having their land taken. Like if a bunch of Palestians stand at the border with FREE PALESTINE Shirts and signs, I will be like look they have the right to, they are not doing any harm let them, we do the same shit in America. The only aspect of Palestine I am not sympathetic to is Hamas, they have done many violent and terrible things not only to Israeli Citizens but their own Citizens too, so I will never in a million years support them.

I believe Hamas should be stopped by all means, I support any condemnation against the group....BUT Israel’s tactic to stop Hamas, IS WRONG. Like bombing a country willy nilly to kill Terrorist assholes? No! Its like how Islamicphobes say every Muslim is a terrorist because of a few fucks that bastardized their religion, they are punishing Palestine because a few Hamas fucks think Murder is the best way to get their country back. The innocent Palestinians who just want peace without violence don’t deserve that.

Now when it comes to the Terroritory. I don’t mind a compromise, HOWEVER, it’s important to understand, Israel is like Mecca to Muslims. A lot of important and Holy events happened on that ground. Our religion was founded. It is the site of the great Temple. The Cemetary where the dead are said to rise first when the Messiah comes is there, and more. So I don’t care what they do to make this compromise. They can give back the Gaza to Palestine, they can trade parts of land like trading cards. They can make it the United States of Gaza where it’s like the US, they have a federal government, Palestine has it’s goverment and Israel their’s, anything to stop the bloodshed, just as long as the Jewish People still have easy access to their lands thats all that matters to me.

TL;DR: I love Israel on a historical and cultral standpoint and support it as a land to my people but I am not a Zionist, I get why Palestinians are pissed, support them protesting but not bombing and killing people nor do I support the IDF killing innocent Palestinians either. Just want peace as long as I can go back with my Children and show them their culture.  

So basically that’s my views of Israel in a nutshell.  Hopefully my view as a Jewish American gets a glimpse about how some of us non Israeli Jews feel. 

Shalom to you my friend and have a lovely day!

#anon #gaza conflict #israel #free palestine #i'm jewish tag #nor talks to followers #nor talks politics #Anonymous

[groundramon]

I associate you with: Cartoons ( SU & Teen Titans ), Anime ( BHA & Digimon), & any positivity that gets reblogged on your blog cause you're waffle awesome 👍😁

THANK YOU!! tbh heck yeah i love cartoons and anime, I’m not going into animation because…well I can’t animate rip but I love analyzing their structures because I really do want to work with cartoons some day, just not animating them (and I’d say I wanna work with anime but I dont know if I’d be good at dubbing/if there’s even room for non-translators in dubbing and I couldn’t learn Spanish over a lifetime of participating in classes for it, let alone Japanese when I’ve never studied it at all LMAO however I really want to analyze certain aspects of anime’s art style that aren’t as commonly found in western cartoons.  I’ve heard a lot of talk about what makes anime’s fighting scenes so great vs why anime-inspired cartoons in America don’t always hit that greatness, and I think that’s a fascinating area that I really need to look into more.  I’m not planning to be an art director either but it would be awesome to have a western cartoon that pays homage to even the finest details of Japanese anime.  I dont necessarily want all my cartoons to be anime-inspired either though; there’s not a huge reason for most of them to be other than the fact that I enjoy a semi-realistic style, but anime isn’t the only one to achieve that kind of style.  If Oneiromon ever got turned into a show tho, that’d be one that I’d like to be inspired directly by anime, since the entire structure of the story is based on anime - specifically Digimon but xD idk though, like I said I’m not really going to work in the art department of my shows, I’ll just let the artists do their job and consult them when something seems off.)

And aaa thank u!! As salty as I am I like to spread positivity where I can; as much as I hate people like aphobes I find much more value in simply spreading ace positivity and awareness and ignoring toxic people.  Obviously I dont always do that but hey, I just have too much free time on my hands (which is why I laugh when people throw insults like that at me/others, like yes, and so do you? I dont understand the issue here) plus I dont send anon hate so there’s that!  I just think that as a society, if we focus more on building up good/innocent people than tearing down bad people, we’ll be much better off.  Bad people do deserve to be thrown off their perch but not at the expense of making innocent people feel bad (ie people calling out the homophobia in the ace community/critiquing MOGAI identities’ helpfulness to kids who are trying to figure out their identity, translating to making ace and a-spec people - gay/trans and not alike - feel unsafe in the community because people are apparently incapable of critiquing something without grouping the entire group together and then making fun of said group just on the basis of being that group).  I want to reflect that in my shows too, actually; I dont want everything to be just fun and games because my writing style simply isn’t like that and I’m tired of bullying PSAs that dont address the root causes of bullying - and you bet your ass that I’m going to tackle common PSA topics like that from a more realistic angle.  Hollywood is so disconnected when it comes to PSAs about important subjects - drug PSAs that try to shame people out of doing them when the reason people take them is because of shame and sadness, bullying PSAs featuring pretty white kids being called petty names instead of targeting bigotry as the root cause of bullying and?? literally even pretty white kids dont get bullied for shit like that??, and anti-suicide PSAs that portray suicide as attention-grabbing and mental health professionals as incapable morons….I HATE how much harmful misinformation circles around in hollywood even in fiction.  BUT that was a side tangent - I mostly just want to showcase minorities in the roles they should’ve been showcased in all along.  Fuck your black sidekicks and gay friends and your psuedo-progressive female characters - give me muslim lesbian co-protagonists kicking ass as superheroes.  Give me a gay trans boy struggling with the everyday events of highschool.  Give me a black kid in a wheelchair who gets transported back in time to a time where knights existed and is declared the chosen one who has to slain a dragon.  People say it’s progressive pandering but no it’s not - it’s making things interesting!  We’ve seen cishet white people (usually men) fill these roles plenty of times; the combinations I mentioned add something new to the table.  Imagine how many new spins you could put on typical highschool plots if you made the character trans and gay.  Imagine how unique your show would be if you could work religious references into the superpowers of your muslim superheroes.  And don’t even get me started on how many new possibilities there would be from a handicapped kid in a typical fantasy plot like that - from maneuvering during fight scenes to the cultural shock of this updated machinery, there’s so much room to make the story unique.  I guess all of these ideas are rich coming from me given that the main protagonist in Oneiromon is white lol but he’s an old character okay- and there are other iterations/series of Oneiromon and I can’t imagine there’ll be many white protagonists joining him in the future.  I have a lot to learn about other cultures and other details first of course, being my able-bodied white Christian self, but my goal is to portray them as respectfully as possible!  There’s a certain underlying bias that I find in a lot of shows that try to portray minority groups - even when they do it well, you can just tell that they would never make that character the main character - but I want to purposely avoid that feeling, and hopefully I can do that!

Oof that was a lot of side-tangents but thanks for the ask!!

#stormy speaks #stormy answers

[itskenickie]

I think it was you on my dash that was speaking about fasting. I was curious about the reasons and the 'rules' of it so to speak. Is it okay if I ask to get some information?

Hiii!!

yeah I think it was me or I probably reblogged one of my mutuals who are fasting as well. 

Well, from what I was taught, the main reason of fasting is to understand those who are starving all over the world. We need to understand their struggles and hardships that they go in life. 

We also fast to build up a better patience tolerance and it is a great way to purify the souls. 

As for the rules:

No eating or drinking ANYTHING from sun rise to sun for a whole month. There are of course loopholes (periods, traveling, being sick, etc).

Some would say that you can’t brush your teeth because of toothpaste having artificial flavor but others would argue that it’s fine so long as you don’t swallow the toothpaste and water or use a non flavored toothpaste.

A lot of people prefer to not listen to music at all. Others would listen to music so long as they arent too NSFW. A few wouldnt listen to music in the day and would only listen at night.

No dating or courting during Ramadan.

No kissing or sex or masturbation.

Some people prefer to not look at food while fasting others dont mind.

If you’re muslim and you’re not fasting, it’s not allowed to eat in front of someone who is.

No swearing.

No looking at sex scenes, kissing scenes or anything that is NSFW.

That’s all that I could think of right now (just got of a final lol) feel free to correct or add anything to the list just be nice and polite about it 

#i hope this helped! #ramadan #fasting #thatsmyg1rl

[aridara]

So back in September I exchanged some messages with a complete imbecile called “lala-slave-labor”; then they made a post where they published the conversation, framing it as “crazy person tried to convert me”. Even though all I did was pointing out that their idea of “free speech” was completely impossible, because...

They initially claimed that limiting the speech of bigots is not “freedom”.

However, I pointed out that, when bigots are left free to spread hate speech, this INEVITABLY results in bigots limiting the speech of their victims.

Therefore, Lala’s solution was that bigots and marginalized people should “compromise”.

...Which is against Lala’s definition of “freedom” (see point 1).

Anyway, Lala deactivated, but SYABM was one of the few people who reblogged it, uncritically siding with Lala (because of COURSE he is). Anyway, post under the cut.

For easier reading, Lala’s messages are bolded, while mine are not.

lala-slave-labor + aridara

lala-slave-labor I have seen your posts. Do you honestly believe everything you post? Do you honestly believe everyone else that is sane is with you on this?

09/03/2020 aridara Be more vague.

09/03/2020 lala-slave-labor The shit you post a lot about

09/03/2020 aridara MORE.

lala-slave-labor Shit you were postin’ yesterday, you dense mother fucker.

aridara M O R E

lala-slave-labor Do you fight for racial justice? since you’re a daft cunt

aridara Yes.

lala-slave-labor ACAB?

aridara The system is completely fucked up, from how management completely fails to make cops take responsibility for pretty much anything, to how cops are trained. So more like “tear down everything and start over”.

lala-slave-labor Everything?

aridara Yep.

lala-slave-labor Even how America does elections?

aridara What does the USA electoral system have to do with the USA police system?

lala-slave-labor the politicians set how the cops do their job

aridara Hold on, you mean the USA presidential elections or… pretty much every other political election in the USA? Given that they use two very different systems?

lala-slave-labor The politicians make the policies.

Are you even American?

aridara No.

lala-slave-labor Yet America is a racist country?

aridara Maybe you should ask non-white people in America.

lala-slave-labor I am not-white

aridara With all due respect, you are one and they are legion.

lala-slave-labor non-whites are a hive mind? A collective? We all believe the same things?

aridara No.

lala-slave-labor “you’re the only one and they are legion” you so sure?

aridara It’s similar to your body: every cell has a different opinion, and yet you aren’t dissolving in a pile of molten flesh just because half your body wants to go in one direction and half in another.

lala-slave-labor Do all or 90+% black people hate cops? Are cops killing blacks because they’re black?

aridara 1) I don’t know. Probably.

2) They are much more harsh towards black people for no reason* other that they’re black. (*: Reasons that are directly contradicted by their actions are ignored.)

lala-slave-labor I haven’t been shot or arrested because I’m not white. None of the other non-whites here haven’t been shot. Where are you getting your information?

aridara ……Are you claiming that non-white Americans do NOT get shot? Because that’s wizardry.

lala-slave-labor Mostly by non-white people… Have you been to American big cities?

aridara Fun fact: most crimes involving white criminals affect white people. And yet, white people have literally never cared about white-on-white crime. To your question: no.

lala-slave-labor Because, at least where I live (a 90+% white state, with a sub-10% crime rate), no one gets shot or arrested. It’s big news when it happens, and that’s because it happens…ohhhh, maybe once a year, if not rarer.

lala-slave-labor Where are you getting your information?

09/03/2020 aridara God.

lala-slave-labor What? Straight up… Gee Oh Dee God?

aridara Also lots of people, for They are Her creation, and They are the Many to Her One.

lala-slave-labor How do you feel about gay people? Trans people?

aridara They face a lot of discrimination and should get the same rights as everyone else. Also, I don’t get why transphobes are literally obsessed with genitals - especially those of children. It’s super creepy.

lala-slave-labor God does not approve. And God is just and good. Soooooo

aridara Different God.

lala-slave-labor There’s only 1 God. But which God is this?

aridara In pretty much all monotheistic religions, the name of the god is literally the word for “god”.

lala-slave-labor “they’re all the same”

aridara No, they are not. Christianity is a lot different than Islam, for instance.

lala-slave-labor Islam always kills the gays based religion

aridara Nope. There’s tons of Islam currents that are pro-LGBT.

lala-slave-labor That’s a vast minority.

aridara Fun fact: there were quite a few major currents in the Middle Ages where forcibily converting other people into Islam was punished with exile at best, death penalty at worst. Also, “vast minority” is pretty inaccurate.

lala-slave-labor Have you spoken to many muslims?

aridara Yes.

lala-slave-labor More than 1000

aridara They treat people like ISIS in the same way I would treat, say, Mussolini. And yes. Have YOU?

lala-slave-labor You won’t believe me.

aridara I believe a lot of things.

lala-slave-labor like Social Justice?

aridara But, admittedly, not EVERYTHING. For example… Do you know someone in real life well enough that you know their tumblr username, and yet you have no idea what their name is?

lala-slave-labor No

aridara Exactly.

lala-slave-labor Nice deflection.

aridara I got someone claiming that ten people do that: they know me in real life well enough to know what’s my Tumblr blog, but not my name.

It’s whack.

lala-slave-labor Do you believe in that social justice?

aridara But enough venting.

Yes, I DO believe in Social Justice.

lala-slave-labor Yikes you have a lot of mental illnesses, don’t you?

aridara No. But I have scoliosis.

aridara …You’re searching “scoliosis” on Wikipedia, aren’t you.

lala-slave-labor Crooked spine no I know a chick with that condition But I digress, do people who don’t believe in social justice have mental illnesses?

aridara No?!? That’s like saying that people who prefer Star Trek to Star Wars have mental illnesses. It’s nonsense.

lala-slave-labor Didn���t you recently post “Trump supporters are racist”?

aridara I’m pretty sure that I did. And I stand by it.

That, or they’re ACCIDENTALLY racist.

And honestly, I don’t know which is worse.

lala-slave-labor I guess I, a non-white, is racist somehow

aridara By supporting a massive racist, which fucks over non-white people in general you included? Yes.

lala-slave-labor And an immigrant

aridara Look, if you voted for a guy so racist that frikkin NIXON told him to cut it off, maybe you should pause and think about what you’re doing.

lala-slave-labor He’s better than Biden, by miles.

aridara In terms of bigotry or in terms of competence?

lala-slave-labor Both

aridara Because we’re talking about the guy who managed to bankrupt a casino. Multiple times. How the FUCK do you manage to bankrupt a casino.

lala-slave-labor That’s retarded, bro

aridara I guess if you get bombed, or if there’s some kind of natural disaster… But neither of these applies to Trumpadilladilladome, house of the Drumpatilladimmsdimmatrumbadillampadome. ™

lala-slave-labor “he ain’t competent, he let a business go bankrupt hurr hurr” My people, my neighbors matter. The rest of world can burn for all I care.

aridara MULTIPLE businesses go bankrupt. Including ones that, if you start up with some capital (like him), they’re pretty much impossible to bankrupt. Hold on, let me Google it.

lala-slave-labor Trump has been good for my community. We also don’t have many dead by cop black people here

aridara Six bankruptcies (is that the plural for “bankruptcy”?) between hotels and casinos.

lala-slave-labor Outta how many?

aridara I don’t know about the hotels, but casinos have a 100% bankruptcy rate.

lala-slave-labor Yet our economy, pre-covid, was amazing.

aridara 5 casinos. Until he decided to intervene personally, instead of changing the directives of Obama and Bush. Trump Steaks evaporated.

lala-slave-labor I support racism, bro. Nothin’ wrong with that.

aridara As for Trump University [pre-registered laughter] Racism is pseudoscience.

lala-slave-labor “we’re all the same”

aridara In big numbers? Yes.

lala-slave-labor If racism is fake pseudoscience, how come we gotta end racism? It ain’t real.

aridara Because a lot of people still believe that it’s not only true, but a valid science.

lala-slave-labor Where are you getting these sources?

aridara “Oh, look, I proved that black people have a much lower IQ than white ones! I compared poor black people that couldn’t finish school because they had to work to support their own families, and white college students that studied how to solve IQ tests for years!” That was from Stormfront, by the way. Not an exact quote - obviously - but the sentiment was there.

lala-slave-labor And yet I put in less work but got better grades than my white peers. It benefit me, so not a problem.

aridara With all the due respect, you have a Spider Georg situation.

lala-slave-labor what?

lala-slave-labor Is it because I’m not white?!

lala-slave-labor But I don’t eat spiders.

lala-slave-labor Why are you commenting in American politics?

aridara Spite. Also, America influences the rest of the world, for better or for worse. For example, Trump’s election significantly increased the amount of right-winf extremists in my country, followed by a sharp increase in the suicide rate of said extremists.

lala-slave-labor Sorry you live in a country that is so weak that other nations can mess with it. I don’t go around saying “hey, guys and gals from (your country), don’t vote for that guy”. You don’t have that PRIVILEGE.

lala-slave-labor Your country affects America, too. But I don’t go around tellin’ your people who to vote for.

lala-slave-labor Why are you so spiteful? What’d Trump (and/or America) do to you?

aridara Do I have to list all the waya Trump messed up with international politics and encouraged the rise of right-wing extremists in pretty much all of Europe? Not to mention the fact that he is Putin’s ally, to the point of repeatedly breaking the law for free just to save hostile Russian agents?

lala-slave-labor Right-wing bad, huh? You’re the good guys, on the right side of history, yeah?

lala-slave-labor Freedom is absolute. Everyone can say what they want, and it’s not a crime. Someone said a slur? So what, they have that damn freedom.

lala-slave-labor From what my aunt and grand mother said, in Germany, Merkle invited them in herself. Did it to themselves.

lala-slave-labor They orchestrated the fall of the EU. No one liked the EU. There was never any good reason to stick with that fascist hell state.

lala-slave-labor humans yearn, nay DEMAND freedom!

aridara Funny, because hate crimes - including murder - significantly increased. By the way: absolute free speech is impossible. You either limit bigotry, or you end up with bigotry’s victims being silenced.

lala-slave-labor And we have a moral mandate to stop discrimination and hate speech?

aridara I mean, if you don’t want people like us advocating in favor of sending people like you + your families + your friends death and rape threats every single day for the rest of your life. Especially the children.

lala-slave-labor What’re you proposing we do to ensure all is safe and welcome? We can’t just let everyone do as they please, right? I mean, words kill, right?

09/04/2020 lala-slave-labor What do you think of…Yuri Besmenov?

09/04/2020 aridara The idea is pretty simple: if you advocate in favor of discriminating against, deporting and/or harming entire groups of people for no reason other that said groups exist, you go fuck yourself, and people have the right to take you at face value. And I never heard of Besmenov.

lala-slave-labor Freedom is absolute. He called this social justice stuff back in the 80’s, to a T but everyone is pissed at him because he made them (rightly) look like inhuman monsters who hate freedom.

lala-slave-labor Do you want to ban freedom or let people be discriminated against?

09/04/2020 aridara Do you want to ban the freedom of bigots, or the freedom of the bigots’ victims?

lala-slave-labor why do we have to ban either?

aridara Because here’s the thing: every single time “advocating in favor of discriminating / deporting / harming an entire groups of people for no reason other that said groups exist” was freely allowed, EVERY single time it got worse to the point that said groups of people were threatened and harmed into silence.

So, we can’t have both. It’s one or the other. So, what do you pick? The bigota? Or their victims?

lala-slave-labor For no good reason, huh? Is it really because racism?

aridara In absence of any other reason*, yes. (*: Claiming that your reason is X doesn’t count if it is demonstrated that your reason is NOT X.)

lala-slave-labor So what the native populace wants isn’t a valid reason? We should just try to accommodate everyone from all cultures in the same neighborhood?

aridara Did you actually read what I wrote?

lala-slave-labor Yes. Different cultures cannot coexist.

aridara They have. Throughout history. I mean, random example: the UNITED States of America.

lala-slave-labor It’s mostly white, Christians

aridara So are Italy, Spain and Germany, and yet they’re very different cultures. Like the USA. The USA are 50 different cultures in a trench coat.

lala-slave-labor Most of America is white people. Most of America is Judeo-Christian.

aridara So are Italy, Spain and Germany. And yet they are extremely different cultures.

lala-slave-labor They don’t have freedom. Freedom or bust

aridara You don’t know that “culture” means more than race and religion, do you?

lala-slave-labor Do you, as an Non-American, know what freedom is?

aridara Do you? Is it “I can do whatever the fuck I want, and fuck everyone else”?

lala-slave-labor I can cause offense without having the government all up on my ass.

lala-slave-labor I can legally own guns.

lala-slave-labor As long as it’s not a threat or you’ve been asked to leave, you can generally do what you want. Wanna spray slurs on the road? GO FOR IT wanna call entire groups of people names? GO FOR IT The government literally can’t stop you unless you start affecting other people. and no, calling say, gays, mean things isn’t “government gonna stop you” worthy. Can you do ANY OF THAT where you come from? without getting arrested or “given a talking to by the local cops”

lala-slave-labor all you’re saying is “I don’t like x, if you do x, you’re a shit person and I’m better” and “You’re X. I don’t care if I’m wrong, you’re X.”

lala-slave-labor That basically shuts down all conversation. It’s proving you’ve got nothing of value to say. It’s why you and others like you with your points pull that.

lala-slave-labor There is a third option to your question. Don’t get the government involved, and let the people themselves solve the issue. Don’t want foreigners around? Kicked out. And they aren’t wrong for it. Foreigners might radically change the neighborhood to something the locals find offensive and obscene.

lala-slave-labor Unless you can grasp that “let people solve their problems” by taking a third option to your query, stay the fuck out of American politics.

lala-slave-labor Last point: the victim can use freedom of speech to get the bigot thrown in jail. They aren’t helpless…usually. Though, that usually is just the mentally ill ones.

aridara Nope. As I said, either you defend bigotry; or you defend the victims of bigotry. Can’t defend both.

For example, in your scenario, bigots are allowed to call for the deportation of gay and “foreign” (read: anyone of the “wrong” race) people, for absolutely no reason besides “those people dare to exist”. This inevitably escalates into harassment, threats and crimes, until gay and foreign people are silenced and kicked out. Voilà: total freedom of speech is lost, because entire groups of people are now unjustly silenced. We saw this happen literally every time bigotry was freely allowed. Every. Single. Time. But it’s clear that you would pick the bigots. “Don’t want foreigners around? Kick them out.”

09/04/2020 lala-slave-labor Fine, you fucking retard. Yes, I’ll defend the bigots. Now fuck off with that “they might silence people” moralistic bullshit. Yes, it is as you say, people will get treated like shit because they aren’t locals. You’re so fuckin’ hung up on it. “b-but the victims they bsbdoifjweoij” “you can’t defend both” why not? Because I HAVE TO PICK A SIDE Is that how this works?

lala-slave-labor I don’t have to pick a side. People are dying daily in America, but guess fucking what, I don’t have to give a fuck, you European cunt. You’re basically saying “we should protect everyone”. You realize what happens when we strip away freedom right?

lala-slave-labor No one in America genuinely likes you Europeans. We all openly mock you.

lala-slave-labor “but they might kill themselves” yeah and? That’s not my problem. They’re free to do that. So long as they aren’t taking other people with them, far be it from me or anyone else to stop them.

lala-slave-labor If you place the safety of the people above all else, you get tyranny. And if I see any tyranny, it’s my duty as a patriotic American to kill it.

lala-slave-labor Freedom is absolute. It allows people to be harmed by assholes, but if it goes away, everyone will have 0 rights, not just those stupid foreigners you so love to “care” for. But hey, I’m not a tyrant-in-the-making, like some people. Because, newsflash, asshole, everyone is equal in America. It’s literally illegal to be treated like shit by government and jobs because of what or who you are, within reason.

lala-slave-labor You are going to have to restrict someone’s rights. Who, then, will be on the receiving end? The bigots? That rapes their rights. The victims? Again, rapes their rights. Not only that, but it kills the rights.

lala-slave-labor You’re being a moral guardian-type busy body. No sane, rational American liked you assholes in the 90’s with that Satanic Panic bullshit, and we sure as shit don’t fucking like it now with this puritan, social justice bullshit. So yes, I’m gonna defend the bigots. But I’m also gonna defend the victims you say you care for. Because it’s my duty to protect the rights of all within my country. Sure, people might kill themselves, but the alternative is a dystopian “utopia”.

lala-slave-labor So, until you, a collectivist prick, gets it through your thick fucking skull that you don’t have to side with either bigots or their victims, that you can defend both, stay the fuck out American politics.

lala-slave-labor I am not taking your shit. Speak plainly, you wanna make a world where all are safe from being emotionally harmed.

09/04/2020 aridara Are you done? The fact is that you cannot defend the speech of both bigots and their victims. Is one or the other.

aridara Literally every single time I asked people to find me ONE place where 1) “Advocating in favor of discriminating/deporting/harming entire groups of people for no reason other that said groups exist” was freely allowed; AND 2) Where that decision did NOT result into the bigotry becoming way wider-spread and worse, and the bigotry’s victims getting silenced,

- nobody answwred. Because it’s utterly impossible. You can’t defend both. You defend bigotry, you give up the rights of the victims of bigotry. You are not American.

aridara You said it yourself: unless you defend EVERYONE’s rights, you aren’t American.

09/04/2020 lala-slave-labor I don’t have to live by people from Syria, Nigeria, Algeria, Greece, Japan, China, Peru, Mexico, let alone anyone else. You won’t be honest about what you’re trying to say. If they immigrate LEGALLY, they won’t get deported. I’ve been here for 28 years. I came in legally. I don’t fear deportation. Comes with citizenship.

lala-slave-labor If you’re a citizen, you won’t be treated like shit by the government.

lala-slave-labor My father’s family has been here for 200 or so years, if not longer. But we have to share HIS LAND with people who weren’t even born here, that no one has ever met?

lala-slave-labor His side of my family has spent the first 200 years I know of booting foreigners. They don’t have a right to our land. They aren’t OUR people.

lala-slave-labor I’m not gonna stop the bigot from calling blacks niggers, calling trans people trannies, and all other manners of slurs. But I’m also not gonna stop the victim from contacting the proper authorities to deal with it. The issues doesn’t involve us. It’s between the two engaged. But hey, I’m debating a retard online what can’t even be honest about what he’s activisting about. I’m not about to rob the victim, as you keep pointing out, of their agency. They don’t NEED any help. But what can I say? I’m not on the right side of history, am I? Out with your intentions. Lying is a sin. You market your beliefs, removing the negative parts. Have you not thought of the consequences to these ideas? Or do you just not care?

aridara Not what you said. You said that, if the people don’t want to stay around “foreigners” (read: people of the wrong race), then they have the right to remove them from the country.

lala-slave-labor It’s not a race thing, you doofus.

aridara Also, again: there is NO space where freely allowing hate speech did NOT end up with the victims of bigotry being silenced. None. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Which means: you either defend hate speech, or you defend the victims of bigotry. Can’t defend both. In either case, according to you, you are against freedom.

Sucks to be you.

lala-slave-labor RIGHT… As if the victim can’t use their freedom of speech to bring the bigot to fucking justice. Or just fucking walk away! You’re assuming everyone is as weak as you! Insulting. That is not “silencing” you are FREE to make your fucking comments YOU ARE NOT ENTILTED FOR PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO THEM OR TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY it’s not SILENCE SILENCE IS TO STRIP YOUR RIGHT TO TALK them not wanting you to talk, is not silence Maybe them not wanting you to talk for a very good fucking reason It’s not silence, you retard. You know naught of freedom!

aridara Nope - they cannot. Again: if it was possible, then there should be at least ONE space where hate speech was freely allowed, but where the victims of bigots were still allowed to speak.

But there is not. No amount of religious fundamentalism will change that.

lala-slave-labor Then I should be dead. I face those bigots daily.

aridara Give it some time.

lala-slave-labor Give it time?

aridara Hate speech becomes harassment, which becomes discrimination, which becomes violence.

lala-slave-labor What, I’m so weak, I’ll kill myself?

aridara No. It means that the bigots escalate until they straight-up kill you. See for example what happened in America in recent years.

lala-slave-labor What do you speak of? The George Floyd thing?

aridara No, that was just one of the last steps. I’m talking about the progressive worsening of police racism, coupled with “law and order” politics that heavily disadvantaged black people and immigrants, coupled with multiple economic crises and an epidemic, coupled with one of the most patethic presidencies in USA history. Coupled with a president who blatantly aligns himself with white supremacists. Good job: you now are on the brink of a civil war. And your Dear Leader is doing PRECISELY what he shouldn’t be doing in this kind of situation - which ensures that the situation WILL escalate. Enjoy your next six years.

lala-slave-labor Then what is Antifa to you? And BLM? hell, what does Brexit mean to you, while we’re at it.

lala-slave-labor How has Trump allied with white supremacist

lala-slave-labor Where are you getting all this information?

lala-slave-labor ‘tis not the illusion of freedom, that which America prospers under. ‘twould appear as so you are jealous, to be frank.

09/05/2020 aridara Antifa and BLM are a decentralized movement without an actual leadership. Brexit is the result of extreme nationalism, which is notoriously short-sighted.

aridara Among other things, Trump repeatedly employs nationalist policies, and heavily prioritizes attacking non-white immigrants over attacking illegal immigrants.

aridara I get my information from various sources. But my knowledge of how the USA is going towards civil war? That comes rfrom FM 3-24.

lala-slave-labor What’s wrong with nationalism? Are borders bad, or something?

lala-slave-labor Plus, like, everyone who is in a place, regardless of if they’ve been allowed in said place, should just be allowed to like, do as they please, with the full rights of people who have lived there their entire lives, right?

lala-slave-labor So, tell me somethin’, will ya? What’s more important? Freedom or feelings? Because you refuse to answer simple questions, I must spell it out for you.

lala-slave-labor Are you just? Are you on the right side of history? I think I know the answer, but it’s best to get it straight from the horses mouth, as they say.

09/05/2020 aridara Extreme nationalism (like white nationalism - which must not be  confused with nationalism in mostly-white nations, they’re different things) is actively harmful, as demonstrated throughout history. No, I don’t think there should be borders. Again: your feelings on the matter are completely irrelevant. You either defend the speech of bigots, or you defend the speech of the victims of bigotry - there is no magic third option. And yes, I do think that I am on the right side of history.

lala-slave-labor Because people get killed, I have to pick a side?! Are you fucking crazy?!

aridara Yep. You either pick the side where bigotry escalates until people get killed; or you pick the side where you limit bigoted speech.

lala-slave-labor ahahahaha no You’re gonna have to kill me.

aridara Again: there’s no third option.

Literally every single time I’ve asked me to bring ONE example where they defended both bigotry and the victims, they failed. Whine all you want, die all you want; these are the facts. If that makes you die, then you are doomed to perish no matter what I or you do.

lala-slave-labor The just thing to do is to strip rights away from assholes you don’t like?

aridara Stripping the rights of others is not a right. Bigotry, unless opposed, inevitably strips others of their rights. Do the math.

aridara Let me put it this way: if someone unjustly attacks you, and the only way out is to kill them, you have the right to kill in self-defense, right?

lala-slave-labor Every psychopath in history thinks they’re in the right. That’s what having twisted principles will do to you.

aridara But if you are the one unjustly attacking someone with deadly force, and they have no other option except to kill you to survive… do you still have the right to kill in self-defense? After all, they ARE attacking you with deadly force…

lala-slave-labor yep You think this is proving your point?

lala-slave-labor We must be intolerant of intolerance, yeah? Even though we’re the tolerant ones, right? what if I think your words are harmful or bigoted? Do I get to just kill you? Why do you get to decide that? What gives you the right? crap, autocorrect I and me, not you and you. what if I think your words are harmful or bigoted? Do I get to just kill you? Why do I get to decide that? What gives me the right? there, better.

aridara So, basically, what you’re saying is that we should allow the victim to kill the murderer AND allow the murderer to kill the victim, right? You don’t see any problem with this?

lala-slave-labor You see a problem with that? Do you hate fascism? Is everyone on Trumps side a fascist by virtue of being on Trumps side?

aridara You have a problem.

lala-slave-labor yes I’m a retard lol

lala-slave-labor Now answer the question.

09/05/2020 aridara Yes and yes.

09/05/2020 lala-slave-labor Thank you for taking the time to out yourself.

lala-slave-labor If you respond, I’ll have to do something drastic.

09/05/2020 aridara You literally had two world wars where you decided that fascism was bad.

09/05/2020 lala-slave-labor You’re a good little idiot. They will kill you if you don’t keep up, if you aren’t useful to them.

lala-slave-labor And don’t go thinkin’ “I won’t be killed over this by my own party”. Hate to see it, but it happens. A lot. You don’t think BTLM? FUCKING FASCIST!

and then you’re getting death threats. Then they’re attacking you in the streets. You never said Black Trans Lives Mattered or not. But you never said they didn’t.

lala-slave-labor You’ll one day become a fascist to them. All because they keep changing the rules. Eventually, it gets to a point where…enough is enough.

lala-slave-labor You cannot accommodate every identity. Some identities want the rest dead. I’m not the judgemental, tyrannical fascist here. YOU ARE.

lala-slave-labor You have become the thing you hate. Because eventually, you will be branded a heretic.

aridara No, I won’t. Antifas haven’t killed anyone in the USA in the last 25 years. Meanwhile, Trumpers alone have killed multiple people. Same goes for BLM and white supremacists.

lala-slave-labor Is antifa not an organization? They have chapters like you would the Free Masons.

aridara You know how I’m 100% sure I won’t get branded as a fascist? Because I’m not a fascist.

And don’t give me any of that “Antifa calls EVERY innocent who disagrees with them 'Nazi’!” bullshit. It didn’t work with the neo-Nazis at the Unite The Right rally, it won’t work now.

lala-slave-labor Where are the neo-nazis?

aridara And yes, we CAN accommodate every identity. What we can’t accommodate is bigots. Can I replace your eyes? Because they clearly aren’t working.

lala-slave-labor So how do we get rid of bigots?

aridara We need to replace your ears, too. In fact, I think this is a “just throw away the whole suitcase” situation. Anyway, step one is to find a wall.

lala-slave-labor If you don’t accommodate bigots, are you really accommodating everyone? Find a wall? And what, pray tell, will happen once we find said wall?

aridara Get closer to it until your nose almost touches it.

lala-slave-labor And then?

aridara Then you stare at it for the next 30 years, without distracting yourself. Every 6 months, make some kind of noise so that we can know that you’re still alive.

It’s very easy. While you are at it, think about ONE single space where bigotry was freely allowed and you could accommodate for both bigots AND their victims.

lala-slave-labor Is that what you’re calling execution?

aridara No.

lala-slave-labor That’s the part where you shoot them in the head for being a bigot. I’ve seen videos of that happening. Hundreds.

aridara Nope.

lala-slave-labor Let me guess: fake news meant to make the good guys look bad.

aridara No, it means that’s not what I am doing. Of course, there’s always The Alternative. But you won’t like that.

lala-slave-labor The Alternative?

aridara Yep, The Alternative.

lala-slave-labor And that is?

aridara Are you sure that you want to know it?

lala-slave-labor I wanna be on the right side of history.

aridara Because it would require to sacrifice a fundamental part of what makes you “you”.

lala-slave-labor And that is?

aridara Your concept of “freedom”. Not freedom itself; just the way you are currently interpreting it.

lala-slave-labor Just toss it? Why? What’s wrong with it? Victims killing themselves?

aridara You can discover it only by taking The Alternative.

lala-slave-labor And do what, make America more like Europe?

aridara No. More like how America was supposed to be.

lala-slave-labor And how was that? A place where everyone is/was supposed to be safe from anything they dislike or were uncomfortable with?

aridara No. But you’ll have to take The Alternative to find out.

Are you sure that you want to know what it is?

lala-slave-labor You keep dancing around it. Just out with it.

aridara It’s pretty simple:

Just admit that you cannot accomodate both bigots and the victims of bigotry.

lala-slave-labor And then what? How do we solve that?

aridara The first step is to accept it. You still haven’t.

lala-slave-labor Why? Because it isn’t allowed where you live?

aridara Your concept of “freedom” requires you to find a way to accommodate them both. Your concept of “freedom” is based on the assumption that such a thing is possible.

lala-slave-labor Yes. It is. It happens here.

aridara This is what I meant by “you must throw away your concept of freedom”.

Because you must accept that it’s impossible.

lala-slave-labor Then what’s the correct definition of freedom then?

aridara You have black people killed for no reason other that they’re black. Gay and trans people tortured until they go insane and kill themselves. People being arrested for no charges. You don’t have freedom.

lala-slave-labor Right, that guy I nearly killed was for no fucking reason.

aridara And you sure as hell you aren’t accommodating both the bigots and their victims at the same time. Only the former.

lala-slave-labor Prick deserves a fate worse than death. Why can’t we be allowed to have bigots?

aridara You must accept that your concept of “freedom” is impossible. Only then you can heal. Until then, you are trapped in your delusions. Why you can’t have bigots?

lala-slave-labor Yeah. Why can’t we?

aridara Because if you have them, then their victims lose their rights. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”. So, you must stop bigots.

lala-slave-labor Why do they lose rights? Because some prick is bein’ mean to them? They can’t fight back?

aridara But if you stop the bigots, then they lise their right to be bigots. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”. So you must allow bigotry. But if you allow bigotry, then the victims of bigotry end up losing their rights. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So, you must stop bigots.

lala-slave-labor Good. As intended.

aridara But if you stop the bigots, then they lose their right to be bigots. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So you must allow bigotry. But if you allow bigotry, then the victims of bigotry end up losing their rights. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So, you must stop bigots. But if you stop the bigots, then they lose their right to be bigots. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So you must allow bigotry. But if you allow bigotry, then the victims of bigotry end up losing their rights. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So, you must stop bigots.

lala-slave-labor No I don’t.

aridara But if you stop the bigots, then they lose their right to be bigots. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So you must allow bigotry. But if you allow bigotry, then the victims of bigotry end up losing their rights. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So, you must stop bigots. But if you stop the bigots, then they lose their right to be bigots. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So you must allow bigotry.

lala-slave-labor I don’t have to stop the bigots, nor do I have to save the victims.

aridara Yes, you do. Your concept of “freedom” requires it.

lala-slave-labor Your concept of freedom is shit. It’s no wonder why both World Wars started in that shithole of a continent.

aridara No, it’s YOUR concept. You want to accommodate everyone’s rights: both those of bigots, and those of their victims So, if you limit bigotry, you are anti-freedom.

lala-slave-labor Why do we have to limit rights?

aridara And if you allow bigots to take away their victims’ rights, you’re also anti-freedom.

lala-slave-labor No.

aridara Yes. You said so. You wanted to accommodate both of them.

lala-slave-labor I don’t have to, nor am I compelled by emotion, save either.

aridara Well, go ahead. Do it. Or perish trying. And if you don’t want to do it…

…why do you hate freedom?

lala-slave-labor Do you even have freedom?

aridara Do you? I’m sure that you don’t.

lala-slave-labor I do.

aridara You either defend bigots, which means that their victims lose their rights, and freedom is lost…

lala-slave-labor I can go around screaming “nigger tranny faggot get the hose” and shit and nothing happens.

aridara …Or you stop bigots, which means that THEY lose their rights, and freedom is lost.

lala-slave-labor I can do that all day.

aridara You are encouraging bigotry to spread. And the more it spreads, the worse it gets. Until bigots kill people.

lala-slave-labor And?!

aridara Which is against freedom.

lala-slave-labor big fuckin’ whoop

aridara Why do you hate freedom?

lala-slave-labor that is what it means to be free.

aridara Hating freedom means being free? Not having freedom means being free? Preserving the freedom of some, but not others, is “protecting freedom”? Is that why they hated you?

lala-slave-labor Right, the victim of bigotry has no rights. The cops will totes just side with the bigot. Is that how this works?

aridara When bigotry spreads enough, yes.

lala-slave-labor Or are you projecting how your not-free hellhole handled shit?

aridara Because then the bigots enter in the police system.

Which is precisely what happened in the USA. It’s not random that 40% of cops are domestic abusers.

lala-slave-labor You’re right, not 40%. It’s not even 10%.

aridara Because they are bigots. And they have spread to the point that they have invaded the police system.

lala-slave-labor And I’m not about to rewrite the system over less than 10% of the cops being shit people.

aridara And nope, it’s 40%. At MINIMUM.

lala-slave-labor No cop where I live is like that. Everyone respects them.

aridara And that’s without going the open white supremacy of many cops. We’re talking “I want an ethnic cleansing” amount of bigotry.

lala-slave-labor It’s only like that in the big cities, which is a small minority of the nation. Good on them. They’re free to do it.

aridara Keep telling yourself that.

lala-slave-labor You can’t save everyone.

aridara Are you feeling this safe because you know that your cops are as bigoted as you?

lala-slave-labor Better the fascist than you subhuman communists!

aridara So it was never about freedom at all, eh? It was only about YOUR freedom - at the expense of everyone else. It was about POWER.

lala-slave-labor Americans first. Foreign scum never.

aridara I find it hilarious that you disbelieved my “40% of cops are domestic abusers, minimum”. You know, considering that you have the exact same mindset as an abuser.

lala-slave-labor Freedom is absolute. If I restrict the rights of one, freedom isn’t absolute. That means bigots get to stick around. But what’s so bad about bigotry?

aridara But by doing so, you are restricting the rights of the victims.

lala-slave-labor You seem hellbent on getting rid of it.

aridara Which means that freedom isn’t absolute. So are you.

lala-slave-labor Oh, it is. I don’t have to pick sides.

aridara Nope. You ARE picking a side, whether you want it or not.

lala-slave-labor “bigot is bein’ mean” okay have fun. “this foreign scum is musclin’ in on my turf” okay have fun.

aridara Letting bigotry spread is one side - one that harms the victims of bigotry and leads towards their rights being denied.

That isn’t “having fun”. That isn’t freedom. That’s AGAINST fredom. So, you must stop bigots.

But if you stop the bigots, then they lose their right to be bigots. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”.

So you must allow bigotry.

But if you allow bigotry, then the victims of bigotry end up losing their rights. And that goes against your concept of “freedom”. An infinite paradox, one that has only two solutions.

lala-slave-labor The victim needs to grow up. Compromise. As does the bigot.

aridara Nope. Compromise is not freedom, according to you.

lala-slave-labor I have no right to interfere in the affairs of others. Not like some godless heathen like you’d know about that.

aridara And letting bigotry spread directly leads to bigotry interfering with the affair of its victims. Not like some godless heathen like you would know about that. You only have two solutions. One is to give up your flawed ideal of “freedom”.

lala-slave-labor So what’s your real answer? Kill the bigots? They won’t stop being bigots. aridara Don’t change the argument.

lala-slave-labor That’d infringe on their right to life.

aridara Don’t change the argument. You only have two solutions. One is to give up your flawed ideal of “freedom”.

lala-slave-labor I don’t bend to the will of a terrorist.

aridara The other is to give up this existence.

lala-slave-labor Every coin has an edge. There’s a third path!

aridara It is not my will, nor the terrorist’s will. It simlpy IS. There is not.

lala-slave-labor If you loved freedom enough to even consider dyin’ for freedom, you’d know that!

aridara And yet, despite the fact that you loved freedom so much that you considered dying for it, not even you managed to find this “third path”. Because it doesn’t exist.

lala-slave-labor Because of a few assholes kill niggers? Or that trannies get bullied to death?

aridara Because letting bigotry spread leads to a LOT of assholes killing black people.

lala-slave-labor Life isn’t perfect. And it shouldn’t ever be.

aridara Then your idea of “freedom” is impossible.

lala-slave-labor The only solution that will please you is to genocide the bigots.

aridara No, it is not.

lala-slave-labor They won’t stop being bigots.

aridara And?

lala-slave-labor Bigots have no place in this world, right? Hell, not even in this universe, no?

aridara That’s what YOU think.

lala-slave-labor It’s the logical conclusion to your extremist ideology.

aridara Nope.

lala-slave-labor Said it so yourself. Bigots must be removed.

aridara Nope again.

lala-slave-labor Putting people into a corner gonna change them?

aridara Who said anything about change?

lala-slave-labor That violates their right to speech, of free expression.

aridara And their bigotry violates their victims’ right to speech. Your point?

lala-slave-labor How?

aridara Just like your ideal of “freedom” cannot exist,

lala-slave-labor Why? Because of a few assholes?

aridara your idea of what MY beliefs are… doesn’t actually exist. You just delude yourself into rejecting reality.

lala-slave-labor What does Karl Marx mean to you?

aridara That is how you manage to claim that you are defending freedom for everyone, while simultaneously admitting that your beliefs cause entire groups of people to lose THEIR freedom.

lala-slave-labor Who says they’ve lost their freedom? Someone with 0?

aridara Because you delude yourself into ignoring reality and how it contradicts your beliefs. See, you aren’t even responding to my words anymore. You just rant about whatever you wanted to rant before.

lala-slave-labor No.

aridara Because you ignore anything that hurts your feelings.

lala-slave-labor I was in middle of something else that required my attention.

aridara This conversation is pointless. Farewell.

lala-slave-labor  could not send It’s pointless? Because you can’t convince a wet paper bag?