#white savior

[writingwithcolor]

Avoiding the white savior of the kingdom

@ceo-of-angst asked:

Okay so I'm writing a fantasy series. There's two main kingdoms though there is a third but that one doesn't have to do anything with this ask. Both of them are likely as big as a continent each so there are different climates everywhere, therefore there's a lot of diversity even within one country. The issues mostly is between the two kingdoms nationality wise, as there's a war. The prince of one of the kingdoms kills his older brother to gain the throne. This is where the issue starts. They have a younger (half)sister who ends up leading a revolution bc of her brother's bad rule (famine, war, dictatorship and incantation or sentence to fight to the death in war to anyone who doesn't obbey the government etc), she's white, she's helped by my main cast who are all poc (one of them also from nobility) from the other kingdom and I don't want to accidently make it a white savior She's not my main character though if anything we only see into her pov bc of a difference between kingdoms in book 2. Most of the pov is on my main cast so I don't know how this could pay out.

Add diversity to the kingdom

There is a simple solution: don’t make one kingdom all-white or all-BIPOC. Add in diversity and mixed race. You seem to already be doing that, and it’s not an issue of race but rather tyranny. White saviorism is when only a white character can solve a problem for BIPOC and they’re seen as the hero. If it’s a team effort, where your protagonist is fallible but well-intentioned, you should be fine. -Jaya

Questions to ask yourself

This critique got levied at Tamora Pierce’s Trickster series, and it’s a pretty valid critique of the books—every time you have a white person as a figurehead of an otherwise-diverse movement, you’re going to start getting into why this white person, and why then?

It’s especially salient if you have the person come into an already-established rebellion movement. Is her involvement the thing that gets the privilege necessary to make the movement valid? What about her makes her the ideal top person in the organization?

Why is she white?

My first question is: why is she white? Is it related to colorism and classism? If yes, then why are you automatically making the leading group white if there’s so much diversity and so many other groups can trend extremely pale?

Why are the kingdoms so big?

My second question is: why are the kingdoms so big? It’s actually frighteningly hard to run a continent-sized country. If you’re attempting to make these single groups so big simply for ease of worldbuilding, and for diversity’s sake, know that a country does not have to be large to contain a multitude of groups. You are allowed to have political rivalry in a small area and still maintain diversity within it.

How much privilege is she willing to give up?

My third question is: how much privilege is she willing to give up? Is she trying to take the throne for herself, or is she trying to destroy all of the structures that gave her status in the first place? Because that question will determine how willing the PoC around her are going to be. Why would they support a ruler if they’ve been subjugated by that family, with no real promise she’s going to be any different once she gets in power?

On the flipside, why would she be willing to give up any of her privilege in the name of removing her brother from the throne, and what stops her from going off the deep end once she has the ability to control others?

It’s likely doable to make this situation read as less of a white saviour, but in order to do that you’ll likely need to wask yourself a lot of hard questions about your motives and the character arc you want to have with her.

People may see a white savior, regardless

And you’ll also have to ask yourself if you’ll be comfortable with never really being able to avoid some people calling this a white saviour plot. Even if you do “everything right” and follow every bit of advice you can, there’s always going to be some people who aren’t too thrilled that the person saving everyone is white.

So examine your motives, really nail down what you’re trying to show with this, and come to terms with not making everyone happy no matter what you do.

~Mod Lesya

#white savior #tropes #Fantasy #power dynamics #asks #writing advice

[alethianightsong]

Atlantis: the Lost Empire subverts the "White Savior" trope so well and here's my Ted talk tangent

Atlantis: the Lost Empire is just Avatar but with a smarter story. Both films feature a young white man discovering a foreign culture, falling for the culture's princess, and saving the natives' way of life. Both films commentate on the exploitation of indigenous people for their resources. The biggest fundamental difference between Avatar and Atlantis is how the white male leads approach their scenarios. Milo Thatch is a wide-eyed scholar who just wants to learn; Jake Sullivan is a soldier infiltrating the culture so he can exploit them. Milo never had any intention of hurting/exploiting the natives but the people around him did; Jake knew the end goal was exploitation and only changed his alliance when he fell in love. Kida comes to Milo for help and he approaches her with respect not condescension; Jake has to learn the planet and its people are worthy of respect. Milo is attracted to Kida but he doesn't save her so he can get the girl; he saves her to save her people (getting the girl was a luxury and even then, it's obvious they'll take things slow cuz there's more important things than romance like reconnecting the Atlanteans with the lost parts of their culture). The Atlanteans are also not harmless, primitive natives. They had super-advanced technology ie the Leviathan that took out a modern submarine in like 2 minutes while the Navi are overtly primitive, their simplicity treated as a virtue. The Atlanteans were so advanced that they sent themselves back to the Stone Age with their war tech. This little detail keeps the Atlanteans from being hippie-dippie natives who need rescuing and make them a cautionary tale; they used to be greedy, hyper-advanced warmongers and that hubris leaves their race and culture on the verge of extinction. Both the Navi and Atlanteans have spiritual, mystical aspects to them, but the Navi are anti-tech while it's only the rediscovery of their tech that allows the Atlanteans to save themselves. The primitive life we see the Atlanteans lead is not presented as ideal; it is the death throes of a culture, a fatal stagnation at the bottom of the world. When Kida and Milo meet, it's not the typical "more advanced culture taking from the weaker culture" that has come to define first contact between societies. It's quid pro quo: we both answer, we both listen, we both come away with more not one party coming away with less. No one is humbled or talked down to. As for the antagonists of both films (Avatar and Atlantis) the antagonists of Avatar are just cardboard cutouts. The antagonists of Atlantis are just disinherited individuals coming together for a treasure hunt. There's a gag where Milo asks what each character seeks and they all say "Money" but that's not it. They each want to pursue goals unique to them and they need money to do it. When the chips are down and it's either money or NOT dooming an entire lost tribe to death, they choose saving the tribe. The main big bads, Rourke and Helga, have just spent a day walking through a ruined city where people live in the remains of their greatness and think, "Yeah, we are so stealing their technology so we can reenact the fall of their civilization on our OWN civilization. Why? Cuz capitalism." Why am I talking so much about Atlantis but not Avatar? Because Avatar lacks depth. I've watched Atlantis a thousand times on my cheap 2000s-era TV and get pulled in each time but Avatar's just a pretty screensaver playing in the background.

#ted talks #tangents #atlantis the lost empire #milo thatch #atlantis #disney atlantis #kidagakash #avatar #avatar way of water #jakesullivan #jake sully #white savior #story analysis #commentary #anti capitalism #capitalism #james cameron #corporate greed #worldbuilding #rant #personal rant #rourke #miles quaritch #helga sinclair #kidada jones #disney animation

[pinkiewitchcraft]

Small Rant on Starseeds:

First things first, starseed and alienkin are two completely different things.

Secondly, since I need to clarify my alienkin identity, because apparently many people aren’t aware of this dangerous ideology, no, I do not believe in that starseed nonsense. I do not believe that there are special blonde-haired and blue-eyed aliens “on a mission”, or whatever. Absolutely not. And as a black being, I’d be a complete fool to do that.

Starseed is just another way of saying white people, once again, believe that they’re special, and need to “civilize” the brown-skinned “savages”. Y’all ain’t foolin nobody. My alienkin identity has nothing to do with that disgusting colonial garbage. It is rotten. It is insulting to have that white supremacist word beside such beautiful, and unique identities.

Starseed is a form of white supremacy. It is white savior nonsense.

Even though I am not white, I just clarify that I am thoroughly against such an idea, since I am an alienkin and fairykin.

Let us get one thing straight. I do not call myself an alien or a fairy because I believe I’m better than the beautiful earthly beings, I call myself alien and fairy because that is how I personally feel, and that is how I describe my life, and the way I experience it. Earthly beings are also different types of aliens. They are not here for nothing. They are just as involved in everything as otherkin. They have their own kin too.

And I promise you, there are many more diverse aliens out there. Humans, who are part of those earthly beings, have a purpose, and are just as important as any other life form. And to believe that humans are inherently inferior is to be foolish.

Humans have so many rich cultures, they bring life and love to everything around them, they have histories and traditions, and beautiful ways of dressing and wearing their hair. They connect with nature, and the non-human animals around them.

Every life has a purpose. Every life has worth simply for existing. You are not superior because you are non-human. Just as you are not superior because you are human. Nobody is superior than anyone. We all have a purpose. We all have worth.

Period.

#otherkin #end white supremacy #starseed is white supremacist nonsense #starseed is a form of white supremacy #starseed and alienkin are NOT AT ALL the same #and it is the biggest insult to even associate that white savior nonsense with otherkin at all #white savior nonsense #white savior #starseeds #starseed

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Adam B. Coleman

Published: Apr 17, 2024

Recently I was driving through an affluent neighborhood outside of Boston and I saw more "Black Lives Matter" flags on one street than I've ever seen in totality in any black majority working-class neighborhood.

If I were to presume that most of the people who live in this area are white, why do they feel the need to brandish this flag more so than black people? It only makes sense if "Black Lives Matter" were using the image of black people as a front for an upper-class religion.

Most people agree with black lives matter as a sentiment, including me, but for many it's a way to signal to other ideological believers where they stand and differentiate themselves from the non-believers.

It's no different than if I wore a cross on my chest to let others know about my faith in Christ: they want to signal to the world their social justice & economic status. Within their class bubble, this is how they measure their righteousness against others within their enclave.

That flag has nothing to do with me as a black person but instead has everything to do with making upper-class suburbanites feel less guilty about their social status and elevate their moral standing amongst their social circle.

They find affirmation about us needing them as our faux saviors through other upper-class blacks, especially the academics who are well-versed in their ideological scripture and reject people like me as being false prophets attempting to lead them astray.

Sometimes when people are void of significant problems, they manufacture their own or adopt other people's problems. I believe a significant reason why this ideology holds so strongly amongst the wealthy is because it gives them purpose and an issue to strive to resolve.

However, regular people who are just trying to make ends meet don't need to create problems that aren't there: they have enough of them already. They don't generally have an ego that accepts the possibility of how they can become the saviors of the world, one flag at a time.

Coincidentally, on that same street, those same houses all had LGBT flags and "hate has no home here" lawn signs: It was like driving through an internet meme mocking the ideological left.

Because they rarely leave their bubble, they can't see the absurdity in their actions. They are distant from the demographics they claim to champion, making their advocacy theoretical and improbable for them to bring a resolution to the problems they claim are abundant.

Personally, I am skeptical about anyone who attempts to state their character unprovoked. When I see a neighborhood like that which is trying to convey that they are good people, I think to myself "If you're moral people, you don't need to tell me this: It will shine through."

I worry that there is a segment of wealthy Americans who are insecure about their morality, which is why they quickly bought into a narrative about them being inherently racist or immoral based on what they look like. Maybe this is their way to repent for their sins?

The reason we are being inundated with racial fallacies, outrageous claims, and ideological bent in our media coverage, entertainment, and legislation is that the people who dominate in these fields have all graduated from the same seminary-esque liberal universities.

What's very clear to me is that the flourishing of radical left-wing ideology is fueled by those who reign at the top of the economic ladder. They are disconnected from the rest of us & can't see the ridiculousness of what they're doing because their bubble only reflects their image.

#Adam B. Coleman #BLM #Black Lives Matter #virtue signal #virtue signalling #virtue signaling #white savior complex #white saviorism #white savior #woke #wokeness #cult of woke #wokeness as religion #wokeism #religion is a mental illness

[chaos-in-one]

Gonna piss the white people off with this one but white people get no say in the validity or morality of people of colors cultures actually. No ifs or buts about it.

Instead of sharing your opinions as a white person on a culture you will never be a part of listen to people in the culture themselves. Listen to women of color from cultures that you consider misogynistic. Listen to lgbtq people of color in cultures you see as homophobic. Listen to the minorities actually from these cultures and lift up our voices on it instead of using your own to talk on an experience you will never have. Your voice does not matter on this subject. The voices of the people actually living in these cultures do.

Minorities in these cultures don't need your white savior shit to "teach" us about how oppressive our culture is. We need to be heard because we are the ones who know better on what parts of our culture harm us.

#white savior #poc #person of color #intersectional feminism #intersectionalism #intersectional activism #intersectionality #bipoc #indigenous #indigenous rights #native american #racism

[chronicallycouchbound]

What’s So Wrong With Having Heroes?

When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a doctor or a veterinarian. I wanted to help heal. And even as a small child, it felt like my calling.

Most kids dream of becoming a hero. The firefighters, the builders, the astronauts. The one’s who get medals and standing ovations. There’s many very monetarily successful movies and comics about all the superheroes we dream of. The people we want to save us. At one point, I thought I could be a hero. I wanted to be.

Being a hero wasn’t an issue for me though. People started to notice acts of kindness in me, and when they held that in high regard, I did too. I did everything I could to help others. It came naturally.

I bandaged my siblings and pets and strangers up. I gave advice like a wise old man, my aunt thanked me for helping her to leave her abusive husband when I was 8. I saved two people from drowning when I was 10. I talked friends out of suicide a dozen times. I became a street medic. I have saved dozens of lives, often under extraordinary circumstances. By definition, I fit the one for ‘hero’.

And I have so many issues with it. This isn’t a humble brag.

I genuinely think that we, as a society, put certain people on pedestals that shouldn’t be. I don’t think anyone should be. The hierarchy of heroes is inequitable and unrealistic. I think we should do the right thing because it’s the right thing, not to win an award or a badge of honor.

I see headlines all the time that are just ‘hero firefighter does their job!’. They’re paid to do this, of course they’re going to do it. As an abolitionist, I see cops hailed as heroes, usually for doing the objectively right thing, and it seems to magically erase the realities of what they do, the systemic harm they perpetuate. It’s the entirety of the ‘there’s some good cops’ narrative. And it causes great detriment to our communities because it makes it seem like the police do more good than bad.

Society particularly loves to paint white, cishet, abled, rich, educated, affluent men as heroes. The ones who can save us. Our hero.

And yet we ignore the people who are saving lives left and right, like people who use drugs who Narcan their friends. Or trans youth who stay up all night with their suicidal friends. Or the street medics who set up civilian ambulances for their under-served and neglected communities.

No one’s giving them medals.

Beyond that, people aren’t checking in on heroes. I’ve heard “you’re incredible!” and “thank you” a million times, but rarely do people genuinely check in on me after I’ve rescued someone.

And I usually need it. I’m at my worst mentally and usually physically after a rescue. It often takes months or years to process those events— they are traumatic for the rescuer too. Especially those of us without formal training or those of us who have attempted to rescue someone and lost them. We’re left to drift among all of these confusing and conflicting emotions, sometimes never understanding why.

The worst thing I hear: “I could NEVER do what you did”. It breaks me apart every time.

I don’t want to be doing this alone. I don’t want to have to save people over and over. I can’t save everyone.

I have to repeat that last one like a mantra sometimes.

I can’t save everyone. And so often, I still try to. I jump in without thinking. I throw myself into danger and worry about myself last, or, never. And it usually ends with me being seriously injured.

When I’d bandage up my siblings and pets it was after our parents hit us. I stepped in front of them as often as I could. I swallowed so much water while trying to save someone from drowning because they kept pulling me under that I puked. My 20-something-year-old boyfriend I dated when I was 16 stabbed me with the knife I had just talked him out of cutting himself with. He went on to keep caving my face in and choking me until I was blue. And of course, I’ve been seriously injured dozens of times during rescues. My body physically hurts so much afterwards, let alone the emotional toll.

I have to wonder: What would happen if I didn’t step in? Would it be so bad?

But of course, my brain always answers with a thousand of the worst case scenarios— or, just with what happened anyways. Sometimes people die no matter how much you try to fight to save them. And that has to just be what it is.

I think sometimes people live, and that just has to be what it is too.

But when we ascribe people as heroes, the message we send is that some people are heroes, some people aren’t. And I feel so strongly that this isn’t true. I believe that everyone has the capacity to help others, and so often, they do so in seemingly insignificant ways, and their deeds are not recognized.

Small acts of kindness are never small.

Life saving happens in everyday, ordinary ways. Sometimes what has saved my life has been something the other person will never remember or know. The Christmas cards from the elementary schoolers sent to the homeless shelter I lived at. The partners and friends who sat with me until I was safe on my own. My friends who held my hand as my heart beat dangerously fast, their presence being all I could feel, replacing the tightness in my chest. My cat cuddling me, purring until she snores. Strangers holding doors, strangers carrying my groceries, strangers checking on me. The dozens of items from my Amazon wishlists that have kept me alive.

I wish I could say how thankful I am to the community that’s kept me alive. How every time they’ve called me a hero, it’s because they made me possible. That they’re a hero just as much as I am.

I read ‘Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And The Next)’ by Dean Spade recently. In it, Dean describes “leader-less and leader-full” movements. It’s exactly what we need in the world. Hero-less and hero-full communities. We don’t need a select few— we need communities and societies structured around giving care. We need it to be standard, not extraordinary.

Personal responsibility can lead to community responsibility. We could have thriving, beautiful communities where we all care for each other so fully that no one single person is a savior, because we are all uplifted equitably.

I urge everyone I know to be more like the heroes they uplift. To think about what values they hold in high regard in others and to apply them to their own actions. To be what they already are, and acknowledge it.

You’re included.

#heroes #chronically couchbound #tw #hero #abolitionist #savior complex #white savior #white saviour complex #personal essay #leftist #anarchist theory #leftist theory #mutual aid #mutual aid networks #community care #feminist theory #inspiration #inspirational #inspiring heroes #everyday heroes #liberationist #equity

[martabak-man]

#racism #white saviour #white savior #tiktok #southeast asia #volunteer trip #voluntour #sri lanka #islamophobia #comedian #funny #tourism

[towritecomicsonherarms]

White Savior #2

#white savior #dark horse #dark horse comics #Eric Nguyen #scott burman #comics

[troythings]

hooooooo boy this propaganda shit did not age well.

you know what did?

american foreign policy in the middle east, summed up in one sentence.

#americentrism #american exceptionalism #propaganda #exploitation #white savior #neocolonialism #american imperialism #israel palestine war #israel palestine conflict #free palestine #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #blacklist steve orlando #anti steve orlando #dc comics #military industrial complex #gaza genocide #troythings gets political

[zennagreenwitch]

So this article is fretting about whether or not Dune 2 will cover the fact that the aftermath of (spoiler?) toppling the empire and launching a holy war is, um, bad.

Um?!?!? Yeah? That’s the whole fucking point?

The white savior never actually makes things better. Prescience, or foreknowledge, doesn’t actually help Paul in the long run. He sees the holy war- Herbert uses the religiously-charged word “jihad” - in some of his earliest visions, before he ever sets foot on Arrakis, and keeps trying to avoid that future.

Nothing works. He is plunged headlong into a bloody conflict that he never wanted, feels forced by fate to take the reins of a religious genocide, and his resistance does nothing. He always sees the Atreides banner raised over the out-of-control conflict. He’s no more able to change the direction than he could stop an ocean.

And that’s the whole point! The entire fucking point of the entire goddamn series! In the long run, the people who saw Paul as a messiah are hurt almost as much as the rest of the known universe. Paul might be a super being, but he’s still a human. People slip through the cracks. His personal guard from the seitches wind up crippled and addicted to drugs. His mentors become puppets of the cult, followers instead of leaders.

#dune #dune spoilers? #the books are like really old so it’s your own fault at this point #white savior #shockingly bad takes

[writingwithcolor]

Writing a Black mermaid struggling with Insecurities and comforted by white Character

@magpie345ab1 asked:

Hello! First of all I want to thank you all for this blog, it’s a great resource and really amazing work.  

My question is about a story idea I have.  It is a side story adjacent to the main story meant to flesh out one of my side characters.  She is a fat black sixteen year old mermaid.  Her personality is very timid, anxious, easily flustered, contemplative, and empathic.  Her backstory is she struggled to find a friend group in school and was picked on (not racially based and bullies were various races), so she’s unsure of herself.  She is also just naturally jumpy.  As time has passed, she’s become friends with the main characters of the main story and the other side characters, so she has a very vast friend group now.  She’s the glue that keeps the group together, as she’s a very good listener and kind soul, and has helped on a few prior adventures.  She just struggles to get out of her own head and see how helpful she truly is.  She gets just as much out of the relationship as well, as they respectfully help her out of her comfort zone and support and love her.  She also loves doing hair (her mother owns a salon), painting, and watching Tiktok. The setting is in a fantasy realm adjacent to the modern world, so while there are modern references and technologies in some places, real-world oppression isn’t really present, and any that is is looked down upon and addressed.  The world is where Imaginations live, and the black mermaid is one of many imaginary friends of the white MC of my main story, so she has a strong but somewhat distant connection with her. 

The story I have so far is there is a villain kidnapping mermaids and mind controlling them to make an army to take over the sea.  The black mermaid is roped in to helping the usually main characters and other side characters into helping, but is reluctant about joining due to her insecurities.  She looks up to the others (ranging in races/ethnicities from white, Iranian American Jewish, Burmese Hawaiian, and biracial white/Puerto Rican) as they have accomplished pretty amazing feats, but especially the white MC, and she struggles feeling inferior.  Throughout the story, she continues to second guess herself, seeing herself as a side character and nothing more, and is comforted by her BFF/crush who is the biracial Puerto Rican.  Before the climax the group except for the mermaid and the white MC are captured, and the mermaid has a breakdown expressing her insecurities.  The white MC consoles her, explaining she is just as much a hero as everyone else in the group even with her more subtle and quiet personality, and that she struggles with fear just as much.  This is meant to be a strong bonding moment between the two, and it motivates the mermaid enough to take on the villain and she defeats him.  In the end she happily reunites with the group, and finally kisses her crush.  The story would end with her and her now boyfriend hanging out together, with him calling her beautiful just the way she is.  

The theme of the story is supposed to be that anyone can be the hero, no matter who they are, and that it is okay to be afraid in a scary situation and still overcome it.  I also struggle with anxiety similar to the one the character experiences and wanted to write based on that, but I am also white.  I wanted to know if I was falling into any stereotypes unknowingly, specifically if I’m falling into the Strong Black Female or the White Savior.  I don’t want it to seem like the other characters are forcing her to suck it up, rather they just genuinely want her help because she’s the only mermaid in the group.  Thank you all again for reading and helping!

I’m not sure if I clearly understand your universe but from what I got, your Black character has a quiet and soft personality which is pretty appreciable. The Strong Black Female cliché generally depicts Black girls/women as tough, emotionless beings, so going for a more calm and anxious personality is a great representation for that demographic. That cliché goes hand in hand with the assumption that Black girls/women who aren’t loud, extroverts and funny can only be mean. Quiet and shy Black girls are often perceived as contemptuous or aggressive (oh, how many times I heard that one when I was just *not talking*). I really appreciate you going deeper into her personality to show how her anxiety shapes her. Moreover, I consider it interesting to have other visions of what heroism means; you don’t need to be a loud fighter kicking ass to be a hero.

In order not to fall into the White savior trope, she has to be essential to defeat the villain. More generally, your White MC needs a balanced relationship with her : he gives her as much as she gives him. Since you said she glues the group together, it looks like you should be fine with her. Based on that, I think you should succeed in writing it correctly.

- Mod Lydie

Please see Mod Lydie’s great advice above! 

I’d also like to add that you should be mindful of any mammy and sacrificial stereotypes as well. 

Particularly with her being described as:

Helpful

The glue that keeps the group together

The one who steps up to defeat the hero

A helpful hand and motherly presence can easily slide into someone that puts everyone else first and doesn't have her own affairs minded. I’m not too concerned about you stirring into this territory, as you say “She gets just as much out of the relationship as well, as they respectfully help her out of her comfort zone and support and love her” which indicates she has strong mutual love in her relationships. The best friend / future romantic interest helps as well.

All and all, I’d say fully embrace this character! It’s really nice to see soft, quiet depictions of Black girls too.

~Mod Colette

#Black #Black women #Strong Black woman #white savior #Black tropes #Black stereotypes #mammy

[classicalliberalleague]

If I see one more idiot say Dune is the “White Savior” trope I am going to lose it.

The point of the book is he’s not a savior.

#Dune #White Savior

[padawan-historian]

Warning ⚠️ (Dys)functional white savior convientlly forgets that abortion is an ancestral practice of resistance and communal care. Also fails to mention the state-sanctioned sterilization of indigenous, Black, and queer folx throughout the 20th century . . . an inhumane practice perpetuated against undocumented communities and a subject the Pro-Life Movement is curiously quiet about.

#pro life #Pro Birth Trifecta #our world #black lives matter #ecosystem of white supremacy #medical apartheid #white savior #politics

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Consider the psychology of a person who wants someone who doesn't feel like an oppressed victim to feel like an oppressed victim.

Because nobody knows what it's like to be a black woman in America better than a white girl who learned everything she knows about oppression from a Humanities class ending in "Studies" she took at an elite school costing her father the equivalent of a luxury SUV every year, in which she took notes on her MacBook Air with the "Destroy Capitalism" sticker.

Ideologies such as Critical Theory, derived from postmodernism and Marxian power analysis, come from extremely privileged, extremely sheltered, mostly white elite academics in elite academies.

Saying, “I’m not a victim, I’m not oppressed” offends so many people viewing the world where you’re either a victim or an oppressor because you’re erasing what gives meaning to their unimportant lives. Who are they if they don’t have a dragon (even if imaginary) to slay?

-- @EricsElectrons

They need her to feel bad about herself so they can feel good about themselves and sustain their theology.

#white savior #white saviorism #white savior complex #i'm not oppressed #wokesplaining #whitesplaining #antiracism #antiracism as religion #disempowerment #neoracism #paternalism #woke activism #woke racism #cult of woke #woke #wokeness as religion #wokeism #religion is a mental illness

[wormgodking]

Me whenever the horrifically evil shit starts happening in Dune and millions are killed

#dune part two #dune messiah #dune part ii #paul atreides #white savior #space war #dune memes

[lacangri21]

It's behind a paywall so

"

Since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, campus life in the United States has imploded into a daily trial of intimidation and insult for Jewish students. A hostile environment that began with statements from pro-Palestinian student organizations justifying terrorism has now rapidly spiraled into death threats and physical attacks, leaving Jewish students alarmed and vulnerable.

On an online discussion forum last weekend, Jewish students at Cornell were called “excrement on the face of the earth,” threatened with rape and beheading and bombarded with demands like “eliminate Jewish living from Cornell campus.” (A 21-year-old junior at Cornell has been charged with posting violent threats.) This horror must end.

Free speech, open debate and heterodox views lie at the core of academic life. They are fundamental to educating future leaders to think and act morally. The reality on some college campuses today is the opposite: open intimidation of Jewish students. Mob harassment must not be confused with free speech.

Universities need to get back to first principles and understand that they have the rules on hand to end intimidation of Jewish students. We need to hold professors and students to a higher standard.

The targeting of Jewish students didn’t stop at Cornell: Jewish students at Cooper Union huddled in the library to escape an angry crowd pounding on the doors; a protester at a rally near New York University carried a sign calling for the world to be kept “clean” of Jews; messages like “glory to our martyrs” were projected onto a George Washington University building.

This most recent wave of hate began with prejudiced comments obscured by seemingly righteous language. Following the Oct. 7 attacks, more than 30 student groups at Harvard signed on to a statement that read, “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” There was no mention of Hamas. The university issued such a tepid response, it almost felt like an invitation.

Days later, at a pro-Palestinian rally, the Cornell associate professor Russell Rickford said he was “exhilarated” by Hamas’s terrorist attack. (He later apologized and was granted a leave of absence.) In an article, a Columbia professor, Joseph Massad, seemed to relish the “awesome” scenes of “Palestinian resistance fighters” storming into Israel. Most recently, over 100 Columbia and Barnard professors signed a letter defending students who blamed Israel for Hamas’s attacks. To the best of our knowledge, none of these professors have received meaningful discipline, much less dismissal. Another green light.

Over these last few weeks, dozens of anti-Israel protests have been hosted on or near college campuses. Many of these demonstrations had threatening features: Masked students have chanted slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which many view as a call for the destruction of Israel. Others have shouted, “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.” The word “intifada” has a gruesome history: During the Aqsa intifada of the early 2000s, hundreds of Israeli civilians were killed in attacks.

On at least one occasion, these student protests have even interrupted candlelight vigils for the victims of Oct. 7. And they haven’t been condemned by the leadership at enough universities. In recent days, some universities, including Cornell, have released statements denouncing antisemitism on campus. Harvard also announced the creation of an advisory group to combat antisemitism.

The terms “Zionist” and “colonizer” have evolved into epithets used against Jewish students like us. These labels have been spit at some of us and our friends in dining halls, dorm common rooms, outside classes and at parties.

Failure by any university to affirm that taunts and intimidation have no place on campus legitimizes more violent behaviors. We are seeing it play out before our eyes.

At Columbia, an Israeli student was physically assaulted on campus. Near Tulane, a Jewish student’s head was bashed with the pole of a Palestinian flag after he attempted to stop protesters from burning an Israeli flag. And students at Cornell live in fear that their peers will actualize antisemitic threats.

All students have sacred rights to hold events, teach-ins and protests. And university faculty members must present arguments that make students uncomfortable. University campuses are unique hubs of intellectual discovery and debate, designed to teach students how to act within a free society. But free inquiry is not possible in an environment of intimidation. Harassment and intimidation fly in the face of the purpose of a university.

The codes of ethics of universities across the country condemn intimidation and hold students and faculty to standards of dignity and respect for others. Campuses are at a crossroads: The leadership can either enforce these ethics or these places of learning will succumb to mob rule by their most radical voices, risking the continuation of actual violence.

Simply affirming that taunts and intimidation have no place on campus isn’t enough. Professors violating these rules should be disciplined or dismissed. Student groups that incite or justify violence should not be given university funds to conduct activity on campus.

Furthermore, in line with anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies, established university initiatives that protect minority groups must also include Jews. Universities should adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, as a mechanism for properly identifying and eliminating anti-Jewish hate.

No students should be subject to discrimination, let alone outright threats and hostility, on the basis of their identity. This standard must be applied to Jewish students, too.

Finally, it is vital that individual campus community members — students, professors, alumni, staff members and parents — act against intimidation and incivility. Stand with your Jewish friends at peaceful assemblies. Call on universities via letters and petitions to restore civility on campus.

Although one may think antisemitism has an impact only on Jews, history shows it poisons society at large. Universities have a moral responsibility to counter hateful violence in all its forms. When they fail to do so, they fail us all."

#Israel #left-wing pendejismo #racism #white savior #antisemitic terrorism