#racism still exists

[b0bthebuilder35]

This man gives more class than these racists deserve.

#DEI #DEI mayor #baltimore #mayor brandon scott #baltimore maryland #Baltimore md #Bmore #racism #racists #diversity equity and inclusion #duly elected incumbent #mayor of Baltimore #class #classy #embarassing #life #reality #America #amerikkka #united states #united states of america #USA #racism still exists #political climate #ideology #race relations #election #elections #election process #proud

[bumblingbabooshka]

B'Elanna, Neelix, Tuvok and Chakotay needed to star in an episode where they just talked about their different beliefs and approaches to spirituality/religion. Paired off and all together. I need to gain more insight. I need characterization and I need it to be messy.

#B'Elanna's difficulty with Klingon myths and religion (especially due to her internalized racism) #Chakotay's current strong belief in his own spirituality despite his initial complete rejection of it (and how B'Elanna seems to admire #and have talked with Chakotay about it extensively in the past given how many specifics she's aware of) #Neelix's belief in an afterlife being the only thing that comforted him after his entire family was killed - the knowledge that he would be #able to reunite with them again and that knowledge being ripped away from him #Does he still believe? Are there other aspects of his previous spiritual beliefs that are thrown into question? #Just because it isn't 'real' does it make it unimportant? How do we even know whether or not it's 'real'? #He died and doesn't remember reaching that tree and seeing his family - does that mean it didn't happen? #Tuvok's line in 'Innocence' about how he's begun to have doubts about whether or not a katra exists and what happens after someone dies #and his firm ties to Vulcan spirituality and ritual #ALL SO INTERESTING!!!!!!!! #star trek voyager #I don't think it'd be a calm or healthy conversation either - they're not therapists and I don't think anyone but Chakotay #would be particularly careful with his words #and before you say Tuvok's a Vulcan so he would be let me remind you that Tuvok told B'Elanna to her face that he thought Klingons #were basically savages - he is INDELICATE to say the least #Neelix is careful with his words bc he's a people pleaser for survival but also he has a tendency to bother people and be overly pushy #and I think he'd do a lot of research and be the one leading the conversation/the reason they get on the topic and continue on it #B'Elanna wouldn't want to talk about it. She wants to talk about it the least. But she must!!!! Bc the episode demands it!! #st voy

[icyheart-and-friends]

Please, for the love of gods, allow yourself to consume content/media uncritically

You can be aware of issues a show/game/movie/etc has but you don't need to be aware of it *all* the time, you shouldn't have to justify yourself liking it every time you go to talk about it.

You shouldn't have to feel like you're the worst person in the world just because you like something that happens to have problematic stuff in it.

And you're setting yourself up for failure if you go into something immediately looking for all of the bad in it, you're setting yourself up to be unable to enjoy it! And if you do manage to enjoy it it'll likely just feel wrong because of that!

I'm begging y'all not to consume *everything* critically and to sometimes enjoy things uncritically.

#its so fucking easy to end up demonizing yourself just because you like media thst isnt deemed “good” #i only just recently realized how fucking guilty id feel admitting i like watching helluva boss to other people outside of my circle. or #feeling thr need to warn people about the heavy racism in baldur's gate 3 for the fear of being seen as an awful person for praising the #game despite thst in it. fuck i even feel bad admitting i like watching law and order special victims unit bc of its content and how often #it just goes- *wrong* but like- i realized a lot of that is bc my brain and my ocd are constantly trying to take content in critically. #trying to always shame it bc its “bad” either bc of its content or its creators and thus my ocd has a field day of turning thst around to #meam that *im* bad because i enjoy it. which isnt fucking true. i enjoy iy #which isnt true. i can know stuff is not good/great for various reasons but i can still enjoy it without that inherently make me bad #anyway bc this is tumblr im already expecting people to try to twist my words and intents to make this seem like s horrible thing #idc atm bc my head hurts from trying to just exist and relearn how to enjoy stuff without fucking purity culture and my ocd shame watching #me lile a fuckin hawk #cant wait to see how freeing it feels tho once i stop giving as much of a fuck/worry

[uncanny-tranny]

The idea that Black people are predisposed to hating queer people is Anti-Black rascism. The people most hurt by these assertions are not only Black people but queer Black people as well. You are not saving queer people by throwing Black people under the bus, and you'll never save queers by doing that, so just stop.

#queer #lgbt #lgbtq #racism tw #racism mention tw #antiblackness tw #antiblackness mention tw #queerphobia tw #also evaluate what underlying prejudices led to that strong sense that that idea was not only *right* but something to verbalize #saw some uhhhh... words of choice from somebody who said something i've heard for years #like... y'all do know Black queer people exist and can see/hear/read what you're saying right. and that that doesn't make them feel safe. #but i digress. this is not my post to add onto anymore. Black people feel free to take this and add onto/expand/whatever... #...you feel comfortable and/or safe sharing 🫡 #and even IF somehow Black queer people didn't exist... it still isn't appropriate or right or just to be anti-Black. because it never is. #even IF somehow you didn't share community with Black people they still deserve not to face anti-Blackness. #okay. NOW i digress apparently.

[pseudophan]

honestly they were disrespectful to themselves. they let it get completely out of hand for a MONTH. the palace did this to themselves

yeah... look nobody will get me to agree with people being like 'conspiracy theorists have gone too far' 'you've all been disrespectful towards catherine' 'there was never a reason for any of this' 'you should be ashamed for what you said' etc etc etc. because like... first of all, again, i hold zero respect for these people. why the fuck should i. but even if i did... it's their own fucking fault???? the fuck?????? lmao?????????? literally only a handful of people gave a fuck until that doctored photo. and then they just kept making it worse. and i'm sorry but i actually don't think they're entitled to their privacy when their entire job is pr and they're blatantly lying in all their pr shit like ? what else are you good for lol. but then that also makes me angry because as much as i don't like kate for several reasons i'm still a bit genuinely offended at her behalf for how they've handled all this shit.. like making her take the blame for the photoshop (i hope for her sake it was her own idea, because otherwise........), having her appear alone in the video announcing her cancer (why tf isn't william there when she's talking about how he's by her side lmao), the general just lack of giving a fuck about anything whilst the world went wild theorising about her.... i can't tell whether she's taking the fall to cover for something else or if they're just all absolute assholes ?? again like. i don't like kate middleton. for many reasons. but i like william and charles a whole lot less and it's infuriating that they're making me feel like she's been wronged lmao

#im not even SUPER anti royalty #i mean i think its fucking stupid and serves no purpose #but a lot of countries have royals who really are Just figureheads #and if that was all the british royal family was then whatever #i mean theyre still a horrible symbol of colonialism and general racism #but like it doesn't really matter that they're there #EXCEPT it kinda does because they still have way too much social power #like idgaf about the norwegian royal family but at least they're like. normal. hell they even fly commercial #which im sure is a pr thing but i do appreciate it #like nobody cares about them in norway but i don't think anyone dislikes them either? #because they just do Nothing #theres a speech at christmas/new years and a wave at constitution day and thats literally it #they show up to events but its so casual #i feel like the british royal family could do this so easily but they insist on doing things like a coronation that costs millions of pound #like????????? #oh my god #again. dont give a fuck about royals in any country. but come on. #if youre gonna exist at least just be like. a figurehead. and stop being fucking weird. #answered

[vulpinesaint]

i need everybody ever to watch this video actually. the issue is not difficult but if you’re somehow still feeling uncertain in any way about hogwarts legacy watch the video. they say it well and they say it with confidence and i love them actually

#hogwarts legacy #all of their videos on the topic are extremely good. downloaded the tiktok app so i could save this one on my phone #fr though it is really Not That Complicated. and none of your arguments to the contrary are good #if you still interact with harry potter i don’t like you and i don’t want you in my spaces. #if you’re going to play hogwarts legacy i hate you actually. and i am going to respectfully posit that you fuck off #nd i don’t care if you’re trans or queer or whatever. wearing a pronouns pin while you send money to legislate trans people out of existence #is not a cute look nor does it excuse you from moral culpability. #if ppl wanna start a fight in the comments i’m happy to tell you to go fuck yourself and die though it’ll help me blow off some steam <3 #valentine notes #harry potter #jk rowling #anti harry potter #anti jkr #anti hogwarts legacy #not even to MENTION the racism and antisemitism. dear fucking god

[lanayrutower]

ALSO does no one find it even a little weird how the old Zelda games firmly state that it's Hylia who built/was the first ruler of Hyrule (the king is just. sort of there), and then totk comes in and is like ahaaa no it's actually rauru who's so special and godlike actually. yeah, his wife was actually his priestess who once served him and then died stupidly because she wasn't paying attention. mmhm, she was also the reason ganon was able to take over hyrule and be super duper evil btw. uwu.

#THIS FUCKING GAME. THIS FUCKING GAME!!!!!!!!!! stepping away from the imperialism and racism to talk about the misogyny for a bit because #haHAAAAaaa this game fucking has it all apparently!!!!!!!! #totk critical #if you're gonna be like oh but sonia very much isnt shown to be subservient to him and is actually depicted to tease him and shit #then that's good for you that you can see it that way but all i see is them realising what they did & desperately trying to course correct #while still refusing to change the power dynamic THEY created. they could have made her hylia's priestess! they chose not to! #and if youre gonna be like oh but it's the same with hylia and her chosen hero. there's a power imbalance there too. #yeah? there is?? i dont care??? i do have double standards but also please refer to systemic misogyny and women continually being placed in #positions lesser to men for my justification. but also no one is asking you to read this or agree with me and i dont feel the need to #justify myself #okay im done. sorry sometimes i remember this game exists and get filled with wrath #freya talks loz

[lightdancer1]

Also while I'm at it:

Can people please remember that Death is her own person and the only Endless to have two miniseries, a short film, and a manga? She is not simply a satellite whose every waking thought and word and deed is built on the needs of her little brother. She is perfectly capable of making decisions and interacting with him without it being a 'Dream of the Endless is Poochie' factor.

At most any motivation she had with Hob and Dream was maybe that Dream might find a friend, but given Dream is Dream she probably didn't have a lot of faith in that and nor should she. I tend to think that it was about Hob's attitude to life and that she did this for her own reasons and about Hob himself, Dream given the chance sto sink or swim on his own because she's his sister, not his mommy.

Their sibling relationship definitely has its toxic moments. He puts her on a pedestal her actions and her own POV show is unwarranted and never tries to look for or to connect to the actual person or to consider there is one, preferring a goddess on a narrow and tall pedestal to his actual sibling. She is much more feckless than he is about communication and their major interactions show it, which is a further proof that the pedestal is not the actual person because the person he believes Death to be could not repeatedly fail to connect to her sibling like that.

This is true regardless, but at the the end of the day, Death is not Dream's fairy godmother, she is a deeply flawed and complex character in her own right, and her biggest flaws and her worst failures aren't directly related to Dream at all. And yes, I'm going to go for the nuclear option, if they cast Death as the 'hot' 17 year old with the bone pale look, would people still try to make her a mother archetype like they did the 35 year old Black woman or would they just treat her as fetish fuel and none of the deeper problems or characterization matter?

#death of the endless #sandman meta #this actually gets extremely annoying after a while #dream of the endless #hob gadling #I still cannot decide if casting Death for the age Gaiman gives the comics character in appearance would have worked or not #looking at everything with Jenna Ortega's Wednesday does not indicate it would #but you'll be hard pressed to tell me there isn't some deep seated racism in treating a character played by a Black woman #as the servile motherly archetype of a character played by a white man #though I really don't think that 17 year old teenage!looking Death would fare that much better #more perving is not an improvement over more 'muh mom sibling who has no existence but to get Dream laid and to kiss his boo boos'

[aphverse-confessions]

Something that's always bothered me about Mystreet (and especially the later seasons once we start focusing on werewolves and their lore and stuff) was how the racism aspect was handled.

I think on paper the werewolf racism wasn't necessarily a,, bad idea to include this since it's a very real topic and this could have been a good instance of explaining this kind of thing through metaphor/allegory (although whether its inclusion was a good thing is also up for interpretation imo. Personally I think you could include it but you would need to be extremely conscientious and knowledgeable through research about how to tackle this in a realistic and respectful manner). I just feel it's so weird that werewolves are the only ones who seem to get hit with the racism button and no one else does?? Meif'wa don't, witches don't, demons don't (at least in Mystreet) so why is it only the werewolves? (oh hey Jess' not so blatant werewolf fetish what are you doing here?)

And what constitutes actual racism in this universe? Are there slurs? It seems to be implied a few times when werewolves get upset being called 'dogs' or anything similar. And I think 'furry' could be read as one too? And it seems like 'cat' could also be one for meif'wa (although that was mostly a thing from a Halloween special mini series that was a zombie movie parody with magic cats so idk how canon it is). But meif'wa aren't considered as much of an issue as werewolves in-universe which,, okay??? Why?? Surely there's a stereotype about them scratching stuff up all the time?? If there are stereotypes about werewolves shouldn't there be some for meif'wa? And Zianna, when meeting KC, says that she's heard meif'wa are "so easy going". Couldn't that be considered a micro-aggression in some contexts? But no one says anything about it? It was so weird. Also I'm pretty sure Zane called KC "kitty" once or twice which again,, wouldn't that also be considered a micro-aggression??? I feel like I'm going insane

Like there's so many instances of Aphmau using terms or doing things which other werewolves find offensive (like calling Aaron alpha which,, I'm not touching that with a 39 1/2 ft pole) but meif'wa being called kitty or other variants are fine?? This also isn't helped by the fact that the meif'wa literally have no culture or lore development whatsoever.

Also the fact that race fetishes exist in Mystreet is,, a very fucked up choice. Why was this decidedly a thing for Sylvanna?? It's so weird and uncomfortable and she does this IN FRONT OF HER HUMAN BOYFRIEND ERIC. It felt so distasteful and just should've been excluded entirely.

Also none of this is helped by the ACTUAL racism present in Jess writing (especially with KC bc holy shit she was a hot mess) and other stuff which I honestly can't name off the top of my head but it sure exists :/

TLDR: why was racism included in this Minecraft roleplay YouTube series to begin with it's weird as fuck

.

#aphmau #aphblr #aphverse #aphmau confessions #aphmau mystreet #mystreet #I think making werewolves an allegory for an oppressed group of people was always a mistake #werewolves are horror concepts about losing control of your humanity and becoming a literaly monster #even if u strip away the horror of it and just leave it as Jess does #just regular people with heightened aggression (usually) and omegaverse lives or whatever #she's still creating a /reason/ for people to be genuinely afraid of the werewolves (as seen with Katelyn) #and as such it falls flat as fantasy-racism-stand-in because REAL racism and oppression exists #because real racism doesn't have a justification it's people hating things that are different #if that makes sense

[proudfreakmetarusonniku]

you guys do realise how fucking dangerous cops showing up at your doorstep as a poc in America is right like. complain about how Quackity’s handling things all you like but he was legit in danger. you can dislike and even despise someone without putting them at risk of hate crimes.

#like. racism does in fact still exist. #quackity could literally be the worst person in the world and still he shouldn’t be put at risk of hate crimes #like. doxxing is fucked. remember when people were spreading dreams thirteen year old sisters doxx like it doesn’t stop at the people u hat

[shunukitrash]

Unpopular opinion: Stephanie Meyer is just as bad as JK Rowling

#personal? idk #they both fucking suck #but like people keep trying to hang on to twilight too as if its not racist as shit #and bella and edwards relationship isnt disgusting and awful #its so weird how peoplw keep trying to bring back a twilight renaissance #people hated it back when the movies were still beinf relased for all the wrong reasons: misogony and agesim #towards its moatly female fanbase #instead of looking deeper into the fucked up way meyer twisted an existing Native tribes history #her racism against black people #and excusing edwards staliking and shitty behavior and teying to romeo and juliet this shit

[pendraegon]

why is pete wentz important to me?? like him, i was a non white kid who grew up in a very white neighborhood in the chicagoland area and it was exhausting and isolating and so so so lonely it could make your teeth hurt. like him, i’m bipolar and no one has ever quite gotten close to describing what my highs and lows are like, but he’s the only one who has gotten close. (do you know what it's like being so so so manic and you know you're not okay and everything rushes around you and you feel like you're on top of the world but you know it's all a lie? an illusion? do you know what it feels like to plummet down so so so so deep and dark and there's nothing but you and that gaping ache inside of you, reminding you just how hollow and fake you are?) like him, i grew up enthralled and obsessed with rock, punk, the hardcore scene of chicago, and there was nothing and no one there for people like me and people who looked like me in a place and sound that i loved more than anything on earth. i saw him reflected in me and in the most non creepy parasocial way possible, he has been one of the most incredible influences of my life. maybe even one of the possible sunshines of my lifetime for all he is still a stranger to me, and i to him.

#for legal reasons as a joke — we’re also both bi. #but he means the WORLD to me. forever and always. #do NOT try to come at me with pete wentz slander i will kill you. sorry for not shutting up about this. im just incredibly annoyed. #he's not infallible. he's made so many mistakes in his life. and im not excusing any of them but you know #i wonder why pete gets SO much virulent hate and always has. might be the racism and ableism. but who knows. not me! #anyways stream mania by american rock band fall out boy (2018). legit life changing fucking album. also stream #their newest album so much (for) stardust. actually stream all their albums they're all so so so so good. i don't know who i'd be or where #i'd be without em. fall out boy forever and ever<3 fall out boy is for lovers<3 #also one last thing: you don't need to like him! you don't need to like fob either! it's just so so so wild the way misinfo about pete #specifically still exists. in fucking 2023. like get a fucking grip babes i was deep in those fucking forums in 2008 i know what's up. #okay. i hope you guys are ready im going to spam patrick images i think. what can i say. i miss them without a concert to look forward to.

[jesncin]

Your m'gann design is so cute!! 🥺😭 I wanna know more abt her! Do you have any comic recc for her?

Thank you so much!! M'gann is so fun to draw! As for comics, I actually struggle with recommending some because sadly Miss Martian doesn't have a solo run. She first appears in Geoff Johns' Teen Titans (2003, issue #39 goes into her character more, but she appeared before that) run, but I'm told she's at her most prominent in the Young Justice animated show even if they take some liberties. Here's a great video on her history and creation!

My version of M'gann is very different from canon, in that I'm giving her a more fleshed out familial relationship with J'onn and Martian fam and distancing her from her "we have Supergirl at home" roots with a different story. Leaning less into the contrived Martian racism and more into the social struggles with human social cues and, of course, migrant angst.

#askjesncin #m'gann is such a mess as a character because her existence relies on the worst parts of martian lore (the fantasy racism) #so I'm taking a lot of liberties for my au but I think you can see how it still pays homage to stuff she goes through in the comics

[randomnameless]

The impression I got from his Byleth support was that Claude was angry at Fodlan for not living up to his expectations. He came to Fodlan seeking to learn something he could use to change Almyra's mindset, believing Fodlan would be more accepting of "outsiders" and when he found Fodlan had a negative view of Almyra he got upset and blamed the Church. Part of his story in Wind is him realizing he jumped to conclusions and blamed the Church without getting to know what they really stood for, being confronted with his own prejudice.

Part of his story in Wind is him realizing he jumped to conclusions and blamed the Church without getting to know what they really stood for, being confronted with his own prejudice.

Imo, he still doesn't totally get over those conclusions and prejudice especially in the Billy S-support :

And I...I want a ruler who can lay down a new set of values for the people. Values that don't exclude anyone for being different.

But yes, in this support, he also mentions having to go to Almyra to change his homeland for the better.

I see which support you're talking about, iirc it's the A support, right?

He confesses he came to Fodlan wanting to prove Almyra that Fodlan people weren't cowards, but ultimately found out people in Fodlan were as biased and prejudiced as the Almyrans are.

So his plan is to bring a "new set of values" to Fodlan and expand them to the rest of the world - so first start to bring his "new set of values" in Fodlan, and then bring them to Almyra to... destroy prejudice existing in Almyra.

Sure, why not, but bar the inherent "sus-ness" of bringing new "set of values" to a place - never once in those supports Claude reveals that the equivalent of Almyran calling Fodlaneses "cowards" is Fodlanese people calling Almyrans "brutes/barbarians" - sure, when he was a kid younger in Almyra, he used his mom as an example of why everyone in Fodlan wasn't a coward - but obviously we don't have in VW any situation where he'd try to tell Hilda and whoever in the Alliance that Almyrans aren't "savages/brutes/barbarians" to fight against their own prejudiced views...

The only sort of situation I can see this happening is apparently, off-screen, when Judith reveals that Holst and Nader got drunk together and became BFFs.

All Almyrans aren't brutes and barbarians - and yet, when we see some acting like the racist stereotypes the Gonerils depict them as, Claude doesn't pop up to say a thing. The best we can have is, iirc, him saying something like "we can let past grudges influence our decisions now" when Lorenz and Hilda are kind of arguing with the intensity of a wet paper against the inclusion of Almyrans in the army - completely oblivious to the fact (or maybe it was an oversight from the devs?) that Hilda's paralogue could be unlocked/played 3 minutes earlier, so we're not talking about past events and a long history of raids that have stopped, but about very present events : those raids exist.

In a nutshell, I agree with anon about the WTF of Claude's plan and general arc in VW - even if he shows progress and lets go, as much as the game allows anyone to do so - his hatred of the CoS - he's basically asking Fodlan, the victim, to stop being so prejudiced against people raiding for funsies and open their borders to the same people raiding them for funsies, and only after this, he will ask the people raiding for funsies to stop raiding for funsies because the people the raiders call "cowards" don't fucking want to die in what is generally seen as a dick measuring context.

Even post VW, Claude is still prejudiced, not as much as he was in the pre TS and ultimately Nopes lol, against Fodlan, expecting to change and have a new set of values "first" before bringing the values of not excluding people because they are different to Almyra.

And IMO, this is even more bonkers when you realise this S-support happens after Rhea's infodump, aka after the infodump where she reveals that the people opposing the war mongering ones with nukes were genocided - you don't ask the randoms/victims to play nice with their abusers, and expect said abusers to play nice too because you ask them.

Maybe it's a bad faith reading, but the ending illustration has Claude try to mediate or sign a treaty between, on one side, people with spears, and on the other side, people with armors (who look resigned, but maybe it's just the artstyle) and no weapons that are heavily implied to be from Fodlan.

And fun fact, now that i'm looking at them - we see Billy - aka the Church - in AM and SS, but we don't see them in CF and VW... We only see Alliance Lords - but no King/Queen Billy of Fodlan in sight.

Did he really change his POV about the Church, or not?

#fantasyinvader #at least compared to Nopes Claude he tries to reconsider #even if it doesn't amount to a lot #bcs in the end he still thinks Billy can bring the don't be racist values to Fodlan #suggesting 'be racist" values existed even if he is supposed to have realised the contrary #and the lack of the CoS in the end is striking like wtf #seriously #still i can get his story is part him realising he was wrong and yet FE16 can't really let go the Rhea BaD Church BaD red herring #so claude realising the CoS wasn't the reason why people hated foreigners while still sort of thinking they are is fitting enough #of course a sensible story would be to try to understand why fodlan doesn't like foreigners #and that means tackling the constant raids #but we can't have that #Claude can make roundabout claims about the doctrine of the church and racism and what not #but cannot face Almyrans raiding for fun #so his entire arc and resolution feels very empty and imo artificial #where's the growth if you close your eyes to one of the sources of the issue you're trying to solve? #FE16

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

POV: The writers made you the perfect racist character on accident

#rwde #like #move out the way Cardin cuz Coco has everything you don't! #has a real personality; check #the only characters aware of her racism are the ones personally affected; check #has a subtle reference to a real world racist organization; check #she's still completely gross even when you remove the racism; check #that is what racism looks like #microaggressions disguised as compliments #extreme and random hatred towards poc you come across #every bad thing said poc does is their entire personality #every good thing they do either dosen't exist or is a fluke #im not even mad I find it interesting #the writers ability to do that even on accident should be studied or something #coco adel #coco adel bashing

[rideroftheoctocorn]

Maybe this is my “I’m from New York so I didn’t choose to live here I was just already here” kicking in but can we actually learn to respect people’s privacy and acknowledge the fact that not everyone who lives in a major city is doing so because they want to be famous or the main character or an influencer or whatnot. I’m so sick of seeing tiktoks go viral that are just plainly stalking or doxxing random people who didn’t ask for attention or fame and are just living their lives. Especially given how many people in NYC are living with a wide variety of mental states, abilities, divergencies, and diversities treating them as a spectacle for your entertainment is deeply dehumanizing. Particularly in the past few years seeing so many content creators move here and gain their fame here it is becoming increasingly frustrating to feel like just existing in my home is not coherent with the burgeoning voyeurism culture that’s growing online. I, nor anyone who lives in a large city, should have to leave their homes every day worrying about the potential of being recorded and ridiculed online for just being a person.

People should be able to live their lives with the right to privacy. This isn’t to say that certain instances of internet activism shouldn’t have happened; for instance the Central Park bird watching incident (google it if you aren’t familiar but a woman was being racist towards a black man bird watching in central Park and his recording on the incident vindicated him). But instances like those are the exception and not the rule and many cases of publishing interpersonal conflicts/interactions is not from good faith activism or even from an activist point at all. Honestly what sparked this for me was that dumb tiktok that blew up of that girl looking for the person who kept writing “monke” on the whiteboard at her gym and the series of videos she made amassed more than 25 million views as she made a very public game out of trying to find the identity of this person. Some of her tactics included staking out at the gym waiting for this person or even asking the employees at the front desk who the person was. Maybe this person didn’t want to be a viral tiktok sensation and just wanted to write something goofy on the whiteboard at their local gym. Instead, this person has millions of strangers online seeking them out using unethical/invasive methods. All over someone who just wanted to write “monke.” Can we not just be a little silly in public without being at risk of it being the next internet sensation? If you live in a busy metropolitan area is it now your responsibility to make yourself as invisible as you can every time you step outside your front door? I genuinely leave for work each day wondering if I’ve maybe picked the wrong outfit, makeup, or maybe there’s an embarrassing stain or issue with my appearance that someone is going to see, record, and share online. I’ve even now seen TikTok’s of people recording through peoples windows commenting on how they’re living in their private lives now as well (the video in question is of a young woman recording a couple dancing through their apartment window). Even the guy who goes around “turning average people into models” initiates these videos by first taking non-consented photos of strangers on the street. Invasion is not flattery as much as people on the internet might like to think it is.

It is deeply unfair to ask human beings to live their lives in an unending panopticon. We should be able to go outside, make a joke, leave a silly note, have a bad day, an embarrassing moment, an emotional outburst, leave the curtains open with the knowledge that these moments belong to ourselves and are not suddenly (and without our consent) just become something for the masses to consume. Small spats that should remain small spats become global debates, a conventionally attractive or unattractive person becomes the internet’s object of desire or disgust. Let people exist. Let them have their dignity.

#I FUCKING HATE TIKTOK CULTURE #This is also hitting a bit close to home for me but I work at a museum and I constantly dress to hide my identity #because of how many cameras are pointed at me all day everyday #and in the year of two thousand and twenty three it’s pretty hard to be a person #so to ask people to be media ready all the time is just impractical and inhumane #we aren’t all public figures but we are now expected to be ready for that level of attention #even certain internet phenomena that came from a good faith place such as recording Karen’s as a way to combat a certain kind of a racism #was co opted by non black people to publicly shame and embarrass any older white woman they don’t like #now the entire concept of a Karen has lost its original meaning while still existing as an open threat to older women who don’t behave #as expected in public #and yes I have seen white teenage boys yelling at women calling them Karen’s for just asking them to stop being rowdy #which is anecdotal evidence so take with a grain of salt #but I am simply EXHAUSTED #apparently I need to live in the mountains if I want to live in peace #also I wrote this in like a 5 minute rage so feel free to DM me or comment if I got something wrong