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bonefall · 1 year

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quick question. Rn fire alone feels like the obvious "good" choice ("I want people to be able to choose who they love and I want to be kind. We maybe shouldnt kill kits while we're at it?") and thistle feels like the "bad" choice ("I want apprentices to die bc theyre half clan and and screw moms having rights. Oh those rlly important kits that got killed? Yeah they deserved it lol.")

So what reasons would a cat want to support Thistle's law, and what reasons would a cat not want to support Fire alone?

By our standards they're the obvious good and bad choices... but really, I've met a lot of people who support the 'obvious bad choice' irl too.

Like, this line here you wrote,

"I want people to be able to choose who they love and I want to be kind. We maybe shouldnt kill kits while we're at it?" = Say this verbatim at Thanksgiving to your homophobic, anti-healthcare uncle and you unlock the Bonus Slurs.

Remember that there's not always two 'equal sides' to an argument. That's a trap; not every position is logical. Spite, fear, and anger are GREAT political motivators. Thistle Law is ur-Fascism adapted for Clan society, kept simple so I could tell a story with it.

So lemmie run through everything you wrote, I'm going to write dialogue here as if a Thistle Law supporter is responding (so obvious CW for sexism and control and general garbage!!);

"I want people to be able to choose who they love and I want to be kind. We maybe shouldnt kill kits while we're at it?"

"So you want to destroy our Clans and culture?? This isn't kindness, it's pathetic. You want to let [ThemClan] invade us and kick [UsClan] out of our own home. And don't pretend like I want to kill kits, YOU'RE the one who wants our kits not have four Clans to be part of."

"I want apprentices to die bc theyre half clan and and screw moms having rights. Oh those rlly important kits that got killed? Yeah they deserved it lol."

"What?! The Warrior Code has bound our loyalty for generations and kept us together longer than you've been alive. Wayward warriors need to be punished for disloyalty, and there would be plenty of toms in their own Clans if we hadn't ended kit stealing. If those kits really were so important, StarClan shouldn't have been entrusted to some lying, delusional wench of a mother!"

They deflect a lot. Everything goes back to anger and accusations. Even a character like Hawkfrost, who would be more capable of making 'rational' arguments than this person, is harboring a lot of disgust or fear in them.

The emotions are important. Their arguments aren't convincing, they're charged. You're supposed to get angry and start yelling back at them, it triggers their feelings of persecution, and only makes them dig in even further as they feel like the whole world is delusional and only THEY have the truth.

So it's important to stress; You cannot 'fix' these people. There is no successfully 'won argument'. Do not engage with them. Their minds are only changed when they start seeking different viewpoints, and when there's resources for them to get away on their own.

(It is why a lot of real antifascist work has to do with stabilizing communities in poverty and combating loneliness. Economic anxiety and having no other support system are GREAT ways to prevent radicalized people from leaving the 'cult'.)

So... if Thistle Law doesn't make sense to you? Good. It's not supposed to. I hope that I can help people to understand that, y'know?

#Thistle Law #Fascism #Cw fascism #politics #Bonefall Rewrite

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smokedgastropod · 1 year

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ah'kon lore, ah'kon lore!

hair! it's cut when three-eyed people enter research centres, and based on that guy on the bus, their third eyes are covered with a patch then too. long hair must be then really important to rainah, poor girl. while we're onto aesthetics, quick note: third eyes don't emote, or blink, as far as we've seen. and they don't have eyebrows.

people in the crowd remark that it's "impossible" that an ah'kon escaped from a research centre. magic is very strictly forbidden - when tonny announces sahed's performance, even though he clearly says he's an *illusionist*, not a *magician*, people get scared at the word "magic" anyway. oh, and police absolutely utilize that fear to be way more brutal than needed, but it's not really surprising unfortunately.

now, to be fair, sahed *is* a magician. we know frustratingly little on magic, and what it can accomplish - it's used to offer contracts and sahed used it to borrow someone's strength for a while, and that's all uses we've seen. what i think is a painfully underrated but really important fact is what tonny says about magic - he doesn't do it, he's someone else's manager. sahed, on the other hand, seems to be able to do it independently (if we count rainah's sewing with soul thread, then she's able to as well). two questions immediately come up:

whose manager is tonny? the most likely answer seems to be the terrifying yellow thing in the attic. but why would it allow tonny to use its power? actually, no, more important question: what the fuck is that!? why does tonny not want people to know about it? has kamille met it? i purposefully avoided the topic before because we genuinely know next to nothing. also, if tonny's able to offer the contract purely because that thing allows him to, then sahed's reasons to usurp him may actually hold water. anthonn is shady, though lovely.

are ah'kon the only ones capable of doing magic? so far it seems that yes, and it explains the persecution they face. can their magic be harnessed by kalgratt and used in military? it's attempted at the research centres, probably. once again, what the fuck allowed tonny to offer contracts, then?

these few discoveries really spice upcoming conflict up ;D

#marionetta #webtoon

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abigail-pent · 3 months

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I have finished the saga of thumb man and his three wives

takeaways:

- it's just cults on cults out there. truly there was a plotline where the cult of MLMs and the cult of this polygamist family were pointing fingers at each other like the spiderman meme. "YOU'RE a cult" "no YOU'RE the cult" sit down you are both cults

- there are a lot of pretty heartbreaking plotlines where things sort of boil down to "intergenerational trauma!! is hard to overcome!!! and you can't just do that by projecting your own issues onto your daughter and shaming her for them!!!" therapists badly needed here

- extremely not sorry about this but just because someone is just past the legal age of consent doesn't make it ok for a man twice their age to enter a sexual relationship with them. like. there's a whole thing where thumb man is like "I'm not like THOSE polygamists, I don't get involved with underage girls" and it's like... thumb man, buddy, you thought your youngest wife was 18 when you first got involved. even if you weren't wrong about that, this is a distinction without a difference. and for someone whose whole thing is "I must disregard the law when it tells me how many wives I can have," he's awfully quick to use the law as a shield against the obvious moral issue of fucking your teenage babysitter and then making her wife #3 in your cult

- there was nothing sympathetic to me about thumb man at any point. I gather the viewer is supposed to be on his side? but mainly he just tries to financially support his extremely large family and try to make polygamy legal. and like. this did make me do self reflection, which is good, because my instinct is always to come down on the side of respect for religious minorities. but the thing is... the theology behind Bill's polygamy, which he would do absolutely anything to defend (including like chop a guy's arm off, run for office, harangue and harass his wives about their birth control choices) is that one ought to have at least 3 wives in order to *checks notes* ascend to godhood in the afterlife and be able to create worlds. which is. uh. extremely culty to me, and I think there's a very good reason the show swerved away from ever discussing that - it's very hard to find Bill's motivation compelling once you know that. and like. he isn't wrong that non-monogamous forms of marriage are treated as inferior by the state in a way that privileges some religious beliefs over others. and I agree that that's wrong, in part because it seems like it violates a church/state separation principle, and in part because it creates problems with respect to like property rights and inheritance law and the like. so in a way I'm with him on that. but the way he bullies a lot of people he claims to love because he feels called to become a god by taking on multiple wives? the persecution complex he has? like that's the thing, divergent family structures are systematically devalued by the law! but he just... absolutely chose to do that, and could absolutely have chosen not to. and so it is hard for me, as a member of an ethnoreligion, to feel sympathy for that particular stand he's taking. it felt like he was appropriating other people's struggles and acting all put-upon when like... the point for you is to become a god in the afterlife. that is why you have >= 3 wives and maximize the number of kids, at all physical and financial costs. this is fundamentally a pretty selfish goal imo. very hard to sympathize with!

- important here to note that the showrunners were a gay couple, and the show aired from 2006-2011. they explicitly invite the viewer to compare Bill's fight to legalize polygamy and the fight to legalize gay marriage. it's literally in the script in an early episode: "we're just like the homosexuals." I don't think any discussion of the show is complete without recognizing that. but also they have a very period-typical "gay man is the cartoonish villain" situation. I think they're trying to be like "he's imprisoned by his own religious shame about this and that's why he does evil things" but it's just. not working for me in 2024.

- I do think the showrunners made a lot of space for all the characters to be variously wrong and flawed etc. like even though thumb man was such an evangelist and had such a true believer/persecution complex thing going on, they made sure that there were always characters around to criticize what was happening. and the protagonists also point out a lot that's flawed in other people's worldviews too.

- many really excellent performances. truly blown away by the cast. except for Bill Paxton. rip but I preferred him in Titanic

#thumb man and his three wives

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is-the-snake-video-cute · 2 years

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I have a question that I think you, as a herpetologist, will be able to help me the most with.

The area where I live (southern Ontario) is home to the Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus). But they're threatened in the area due to being killed by humans, losing their habitats to expanding cities and towns, and being killed while basking on roads and the like. All the other local snakes exist in abundance (garters, hognoses, ratsnakes, etc.,), but the massasauga is dwindling to the point we're advised to call in sightings of them to know they're still out there, still alive.

The nature lover in me wishes I could take in a pair or two and breed the population out of eradication in my area, but I'm not an experienced enough keeper to look after a hot, let alone breed them, let alone try to do a conservation breeding project (with wild caught specimens, no less).

What do you suggest I do to help save this population of wonderful little rattlesnakes that's slowly being eradicated from my region ?

Thank you for this blog by the way, I wish I could become a herpetologist ! So its nice getting to hear what you have to say.

Hello hello - first, thank you for your concern about Massasauga rattlesnakes! They're a truly amazing species.

I wish I had a quick-fix answer, but I truly believe one of the best things you can do is educate. Help teach your friends and family about why these awesome rattlesnakes are important, and spread the word about how they need help. Persecution from humans is a huge factor in decreasing populations of rattlesnakes just about everywhere, but I'm confident that, if we can teach enough people about the good these snakes put into the world, we can put a big dent in that. Educating about how they're shy, secretive animals who play important roles in the food web as both predators and prey can help a lot!

You can always write letters to your local newspaper, speaking out about the need to save these snakes.

Also, brake for snakes while driving, and tell others to do the same! If you spot a Massasauga in the road, don't try to move it yourself, but you can call your local fish and wildlife services to help it get to safety.

You might be able to volunteer with a local nature center if there's one near you! Some wildlife centers will even start breeding and release campaigns themselves - see if you can get involved in any way!

I hope at least some of this was helpful - I really do think that the best, most impactful thing we can do to help save endangered snakes is spread the word about why they're so awesome to have around. :)

#not a rating #snake conservation

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gisellelx · 3 years

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I've got to object HEARTILY to Esme being Jewish. Domestic abuse is anathema in Jewish culture (with the exception of *maybe* some very very fundamentalist sects), and it's canonical that her parents knew Charles was physically hurting her. I don't care what time period we're talking about, Esme's parents would have taken her home and she would have recourse to a divorce. That headcanon is not awesome, it's extremely culturally tone-deaf.

Oh you have decided to come into my inbox to talk about someone else's headcanon. Well, strap in, anon, this is going to be a semi-long post because there are four separate things this ask makes me want to talk about. tl;dr--this is interesting and useful, so why not direct this comment in a thoughtful manner at the OP? First, let's talk about headcanons. Headcanons are what in the trade are called backstory. They're the stuff that you, as the author, know about your character which may or may not end up on the page, but which should influence what does end up on the page. When you're talking to the writer of a source, there is a "right" and a "wrong" headcanon because the author actually does know what they had in mind (or at least, they should; I happen to think that is often not the case for Stephenie Meyer). But when it comes to fans reading between the lines, making up their own headcanons to guide their own engagement with characters? There's no such right and wrong. There're some things that are better supported or less supported, either by canon itself or by history/circumstance, of course. We can agree or disagree on them, or argue about why one makes more sense than another, but when it comes to it, we aren't the originators of the canon so unless they're running contradictory to the canon, they're not "wrong" per se. Second. Esme as Jewish. This is a piece of Twi Renaissance fanon with which I happen also to HEARTILY disagree. While I happen not to be Jewish and don't know this particular piece of information you've offered, anon, there are two big reasons why I think her being Jewish is a nonstarter: one, the Jewish population in Ohio was very small in 1911 and mostly in Cincinnati, which was the largest city at the time, not Columbus. It was also very insular--a Jewish family was not particularly likely to horse-and-buggy it to the city to see a doctor. I agree, the way Esme's parents behaved is much more consistent with Protestant, Calvinist Christianity, which would make a ton of sense for the middle of Ohio at the turn of the 20th century. I've never fully fleshed this one out in my head, but I'd be leaning toward Methodist. The second reason I disagree with it is that it strikes me as very unlikely that Carlisle would be open to marrying a Jewish woman. This is a rant suited for another day, but please never mistake my curiosity for Carlisle's character as a blanket condoning of everything he is and stands for. He's quite racist, which we see in canon, he's pretty misogynistic, and he doesn't experience much contrition for the ways his actions harm others. The religion he was raised in would've taught him to be derisive of Jewish people, and the circles he moved in thereafter would not have offered very many opportunities for him to change his mind. So I am starting from a base of assuming that Carlisle is pretty anti-Semitic. I think he probably woke up on this front around the Holocaust. These things are actually why I find him so compelling--he's pretty deeply prejudiced about a lot of things and it means he has great blind spots I can exploit as a writer. Okay, onto thing three. So why would I reblog something and tag it with my "awesome headcanons" tag when I don't agree with every single word? Because it's interesting and fun and sharing fan content makes the world go 'round. And consistent tags make it easier to navigate old content. But shouldn't I be really clear that I don't agree with that one part just be sure that no one mistakes it for my idea? Well, imagine if every headcanon or meta someone shared was followed by a bunch of reblogs of people going, "Well, actually I don't like this part even though I agree with most of these..." this place would stop being fun real quick. I lived through a time in this fandom when fic authors told their readers to go fuck themselves in their author's notes, when people created whole blogs and livejournal communities just to anonymously make fun of anyone whose fic was remotely popular, where it was seen as totally acceptable to drag people's

personal lives out in the open and mock them for whatever personal thing they mentioned having done in service of you know, just being human and talking about their lives.

That sort of constant fighting makes you not want to engage with other people. Most of us just took our balls and went home. So I'm not going to do that to another fan because I enjoy being a fan with other fans. This is also the same reason I don't spend a lot of time going "I know you all love calling Esme Jewish but I disagree because this this and this other this"...like, that's just not fun for anybody, even if I can support my position well. I will quietly hold my own headcanon over here and I'm going to not jump on somebody else about theirs.

But what if the thing somebody said actually could be unintentionally harmful? Am I telling you to just shut up about that? Part four: your very odd decision to anon into my inbox about headcanons from someone else. What you've offered here is really useful information, because as you point out, it suggests something negative about Jewish people (an already marginalized group) that isn't true and therefore is harmful. So here's a much more useful way to address that. Rather than going anon into the asks of a person who reblogged it, which doesn't get you anywhere, you could choose to either thoughtfully engage the OP, or you could reblog it yourself and say, "You know, this particular headcanon is actually problematic. You may not know this, but domestic violence is actually very frowned on in Jewish culture and it's very unlikely her parents would not have taken her back in. That they didn't suggests she's not Jewish. To suggest that she is Jewish would ascribe this untrue awful behavior to Jewish people which, given the extent to which Jewish people were and are still persecuted across the globe, is a thing you don't want to do, even unintentionally in good fun. So I just want to make you aware." The latter is probably the better option, in part because then you'll ascribe your own blog to the comment, and people can know it was your well-supported point. You'll then allow yourself room to let the OP rebut directly about why they followed that particular headcanon in the first place and what they think of your critique of it. But since it's not actually my headcanon, and one I don't actually hold, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. Thanks for the soapbox, though.

#fandom #asks #headcanons #writing #esme cullen #carlisle cullen #saint carlisle my ass #long post

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abassi-okoro · 5 years

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THE ANGRY WHITE WOMEN

by Abassi Okoro Eziokwu

Hate is too strong of an emotion to waste on people who don't deserve it. I hate Meghan McCain. Rather I hate what she represents, angry white femininity. It was an angry white woman who caused the savage annihilation of Emmet Till. It is the knee-jerk reactions of angry white women who call the police on black people for doing nothing more than blinking one too many times. White women are just always angry with something or someone. Have you noticed that? Despite the racial stigma that black women are often awarded, the “ANGRY BLACK FEMALE,” at least black anger is justifiably directed at a specific or definitive idea – RACISM!

Black anger carries a certain rationale, a certain sanity. It's understandable to sympathize with the anger of a people who are systematically and institutionally oppressed, abused, and persecuted – and that's only talking about black MEN! Now add to that persecution the reality of being a black WOMAN and your abuse has just gotten worse. But in 2019, you would think that it is "White Women" who are the benefactors of white male infliction or structured social abuse and oppression. It seems that every time we tune into FOX, CNN, or some feminist round table television talk show - there is no shortage of snarling, beady-eyed, 'trembling in anger' blonde-haired, white women all too eager to tell the whole of America how they're outraged over something or someone or how “women” (which is really code for WHITE women) are discriminated against more than black folk in this country.

These white women remind me of yappy little – big eyed Chihuahuas barking uncontrollably at the slightest insignificant sound or purely imagined discomfort. When white folks profess their anger over something, they call it "Outrage." Black folks call it, "White Tears." They're always stepping out of line, ridiculing and pointing fingers and especially when it comes to American Patriotism. Nothing gets these white women barking louder than the notion that American "Ideals" are being threatened by black people's audacity to call to attention racism or the fear that immigration of Hispanic people is going to colorize and lord forbid, "colonize" lily white neighborhoods like Boise Idaho or Cedar Rapids Iowa (because I'm sure that one of the whitest towns in America is worried to death over some Mexicans coming in and stealing their warehouse associate jobs at the Adam's Lumber Yard). Or the worse case scenario, Colin Kaepernick takes a knee. Tomi Lahren every week on her show damn near had a complete mental and emotional meltdown anytime Colin Kaepernick's name was mentioned. Despite my thoughts of her anger being nothing more than a cover-up for wanting to sleep with him, she didn't fail once at getting her "outrage" out to the American public. Meanwhile, white male executives who control the FOX network had no problem offering her the platform to exploit her little annoying blonde ass.

Megyn Kelly spends a great majority of her airtime interpreting innocent remarks or acts as "sexist." That's why she always has a frog up her ass, she thinks everything is sexual. Meghan McCain's shtick is that everyone and anyone who falls short of worshipping white Jewish people is, "Anti-Semitic." Then there's the rest of American white women in general who have a long history of voting against their own best interests. White women historically have always been proponents of white supremacy and the Feminist movement is an off-shoot of that white supremacy. Black women told you that years ago that white women were going into the black neighborhoods trying to recruit black women for white feminine agendas while suggesting to these black women that they would have to leave their families, give up their black men before they could be part of the “Women's Liberation Movement.”

And so many black women did exactly that. They stopped being mothers, wives, caretakers, they got jobs in corporate America, became “secretaries” in white owned companies, put on a business suit, told their kids, “I ain't cooking shit - I ain't got to take care of you,” traded in their natural hair for a perm, learned how to talk “white” on the phone and if the police came knocking at the door, they had no problem turning in their black boyfriend or black husband and especially if he was not treating her right. The white feminist snatched up many of these black women and said, “We're sisters now” and eventually sisters became partners and partners over time became "lovers." Meanwhile, white men were locking up black men over petty shit like 10 to 20 years for $10 of weed. That's called, “Engineered Racism” folks.

BUT WHY ARE WHITE WOMEN SO ANGRY?

I'm not suggesting that only certain people are allowed to be angry (the oppressed) but it sure does make more sense for oppressed to be angry and non-oppressed to NOT be so angry. Unless of course you're implying that white women are an oppressed marginalized group? I was told that white women are angry over gender inequality and especially in the political arena. Makes sense - if I was ignorant that is. When asked a little under two years ago how Donald Trump got elected, the answer that was told to us was because the people who voted for him were white and angry. They were suffering from financial anxiety and Trump's rhetoric of bringing jobs back to America sounded pretty darn good to Becky and Bob. Now here we are in 2019 and those Trump voters who were white and angry are STILL white and they’re STILL angry but only now they're angry because they STILL haven't landed those good ole' American jobs that they were promised back in 2016 and on top of that, Trump is more concerned with building a wall to keep Mexicans out than opening up a factory in your already dilapidated - one sheriff- rural town. I'm sure it feels awful to white people who just aren't accustomed to being bent over and screwed in the ass. But if you need a shoulder to cry on white people, give people of color a call. We're experienced at being lied to by white assholes. The grief counseling hotline after being lied to by white men is 1-800-YOU-DUMB. Negroes, Mexicans and Native Americans are waiting by the line to accept your calls.

FEMINIST RAGE 101

White women in particular are encouraging each other to let out their anger in the face of the current administration. Yet, white women have failed miserably in dismantling racism. It appears that white women's rage only became a thing when white men became indifferent to white female sexuality. In other words, white men simply are not that into you (just like the movie suggested). When white men were abusing women of color, sexually exploiting black women, committing sexual violence against black women with impunity, and we didn't hear a single outcry from white women. Instead, white women actually downplayed and silenced the anger of women of color - hoping that it would gain favor in the eyes of white men. You held out for nothing, he didn't care that you had his back. White men don't need your help with being a racist or a rapist. But in recent years, white women switched and played the role of “Social Activist” and despite all the protests and public outcries and unpaid emotional labor by women of color, what did these "socially aware" white women do? White women turned around and sold black women out. They threw black women under the bus and went out to the polls and voted for the party of toxic white supremacy. It's safe to say that white women are more likely to betray their gender for their race, a proverbial gut-punch to black women who have been victims of white masculinity for generations. White women should be more ashamed than angry.

Bu let me tell you how angry white women really are. White women are so angry that 53% of them put their white privilege above their 2nd class gender status to vote for Donald Trump. Despite their "anger," white women believe they benefit from white male patriarchy by trading on their whiteness to monopolize resources for mutual gain. In return, they’re placed on a pedestal to be “cherished and revered,” by white men who in reality will not only be quick to deny them their basic human rights but will, "Grab them by the pussy" while denying them. Look, let's cut through the bullshit and just go ahead and be brutally honest: White women, your white man will NEVER love you the way he should (to full capacity.) Maybe because he spends most of his time fantasizing over black, Latin and Asian women. He'll never tell you that, but I will! Hurts doesn't it? Maybe that's why you're angry because despite supporting the system of White Supremacy, you know deep down inside your soul that the whole premise of white supremacy is predicated on white male sexual inadequacy (white genetic survival, penis envy and trying to get back into the womb of the black woman in order to recreate himself without the genetic deficiencies). Isn't that why many of your fellow white women leave their white men to be with black men to begin with? Because even white women know who the real KINGS are (Royal blood). Now pick your jaw up off the floor.

Isn't this the real reason for white female fragility? The answer is yes! There exist a lot of truths about ourselves that most of us aren't willing to explore. For white people, some of those truths paint them in a very pathetic light. I'm sorry, but as a white woman in America - you're simply not a victim of anything structural. You may be a victim to some personal and isolated incident but there is no systemic or institutionalized "ism" in place to destroy you and NO, Sexism isn't your collective oppression. You can't claim that because sexism isn't exclusive to just the female gender and white men have always treated you like shit and so don't start acting like now all of a sudden you have a problem with being his bitch and especially after 53% of you voted in a "Pussy Grabber" as your President. GROW UP white women. Pull yourself together ladies. It's not a good look to be angry for no goddamn reason.

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96thdayofrage · 5 years

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According to a survey released last year 52 percent of white Americans said they believe discrimination against them is on par with discrimination faced by black people and other minorities. In Canada, a poll taken in 2014 showed that most Canadians don't think they're racist—84 percent claim they have friends of different racial backgrounds—but 32 percent make occasional racist comments, and 27 percent agree with racial stereotypes. Those ideas are at odds with each other, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the basic concept of racism.

Last week, news broke that Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef was born in Iran, not Afghanistan, as she'd been led to believe her whole life. The Globe and Mail revealed the truth about Monsef's birthplace, prompting Monsef's mom to admit she'd lied to her daughter about where she was actually born. Consequently, some accused Monsef of being deliberately deceitful to the public and even suggested that her citizenship should be revoked and that she should step down from her job. While many journalists were quick to back up the story as legitimate—and aspects of it might be—there seemed to be a resistance to even entertaining the possibility that a white politician who'd been born outside of Canada would not have faced the same level of scrutiny. For suggesting as much, in a story VICE published, I once again found myself being accused of racism against white people.

My default reaction to claims like this is to roll my eyes. But seeing as it's no longer just Twitter trolls who believe in reverse racism—white fragility probably accounts for a large part of Donald Trump's popularity—I decided to reach out to some social justice advocates to ask why they think a certain segment of white people get so defensive when minorities vocalize their oppression. And why groups like BLMTO are being painted as divisive and race baiting when really all they're doing is fighting for equality.

"When you're so deeply invested in your privilege, and in this case white privilege, racial equality feels like oppression," said Anthony Morgan, a Toronto-based civil and human rights lawyer.

Simply put, Morgan said reverse racism doesn't exist and a person who claims otherwise is "outing themselves as someone who has little to no experience or knowledge of what racism is."

Read More: White People Explain Why They Feel Oppressed

Racism is based on a couple of things—historical, systemic oppression and power, Morgan explained. And as far as history goes, white people have never been persecuted for the colour of their skin—so there's no point comparing their experiences to those of black, brown, and Indigenous folks.

"It's slavery, colonialism, theft all kinds of violations on systemic proportions... versus feelings being hurt."

There's a difference, he noted, when white people who are in a position of power espouse a hatred of minorities than when it's done the other way around.

In April, BLMTO co-founder Yusra Khogali was highly criticized when a tweet of hers that said "Plz Allah give me strength not to cuss/kill these men and white folks out here today" was discovered.

But Morgan said even if all people of colour straight up said they hate white people, it wouldn't affect a white person's ability to get a job, an education, or increase the odds that they'd get carded or charged for a crime. "If all white people had that view [of black people], that would have a very dramatic life impact on the material reality of all those people."

The exclusion of white people in spaces created for minorities is another controversy that sometimes comes up in the media.

Last fall, flyers for a white students union popped up on a handful of Canadian university campuses. On its website, the group behind the campaign, Students for Western Civilization, claims schools are bombarded with the message that "only white people can be racist, because white people are the sole beneficiaries of this white supremecist (sic) system." To balance things out, a white students' union "would serve as a platform to promote and advance the political interests of Western peoples."

Meanwhile Ryerson University's Racialised Students' Collective received backlash for kicking two white journalism students out of a meeting because they weren't marginalized or racialized. Ditto when BLMTO refused to sell white Toronto musician Sima Xyn one of its protest T-shirts during this year's Pride Parade.

"Denying me service due to my race when I'm showing my support to the Toronto #blacklivematter movement is ironic and killing my human rights," Xyn tweeted at the time.

Debbie Douglas, executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, broke down why none of the above can be considered racism but is instead, again, about hurt feelings.

"It's interesting that as soon as you de-centre whiteness, it becomes about people being anti-white," she said, noting that at a panel for queer black people she attended, some white people were asked to move to the back to make space for black people. A few were offended.

"Why is it that in a place created for black people to have a conversation amongst themselves... to talk about what it means to be black and queer, that white folks felt they had to be at the centre?"

Morgan added that creating something like a white students union or having White History Month would be redundant.

"If you look at pretty much every profession in which folks have gainful employment or relative social prestige, it's overwhelmingly white."

As for the rise of the white victim narrative, both said issues like economic downturn—particularly in the US, where working class Americans are finding themselves struggling financially—play a role. Immigration and anti-Muslim sentiments that stem from falsely equating Islam with radicalization is another factor. But it's also just a response to more people calling out racism.

Douglas said the only reason we're talking about race more right now is because of blatant incidents that can't be ignored—the police beating death of Ottawa man Abdirahman Abdi, or the fatal shooting of Colten Boushie, an Indigenous man from Saskatchewan are two recent examples.

"As soon as we begin to interrogate issues of racism people get uncomfortable with it and hence the pushback we're seeing," she said.

If your default reaction to these discussions is to see white people as victims of reverse racism, Morgan has some advice: educate yourself.

"Anybody who would want to use or identify something as reverse racist, I would strongly encourage them to stop for a moment... and really think seriously about the last time they really have taken the time to study or get a deep understanding of what racism is and how it impacts different communities."

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