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amphtaminedreams · 3 years

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Why Ethical Fashion Doesn’t Need to be Boring (In the Words of a Shopping Addict): Lookbook no.14

Hi to anyone reading,

Arghhhh.

I never know how to start posts when I literally just uploaded the other week because I tend to follow the very formulaic approach of summarising what I’ve missed due to sporadic posting…I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still posting sporadically, it just so happens I’ve had more content to get up recently-sometimes lightning strikes twice, ya know, and I have a brief, if chemically fuelled, reprieve from the permanent state of exhaustion. It’s not like there isn’t stuff to talk about- the last month has seen a horrific murder and public outcry in response. There are a lot of important conversations going on about women’s safety and misogynistic violence that I really cannot do justice to in a paragraph and feelings that have been brewing for a long time that I can’t articulate yet and will not attempt to offhandedly do so in this post. Right now I just wanna say that I stand in solidarity with all those with histories of experiencing violence at the hands of men, those who aren’t here with us anymore as a result of that violence such as Sarah Everard, and those marginalised women whose stories don’t make national news. It’s very telling the way Sarah’s vigil was responded to by the same police force that have allowed mostly male anti-mask protests to go ahead with protestors unscathed, and solidarity with the women who were treated with such an unjustifiable amount of force at the vigil too.

That being said, women’s rights are something I wanted to talk about in this post, with regards to the way it ties into ethical fashion. None of us are perfect and it’s easy living in a first world country to detach yourself from the issues stemming from fast fashion, especially when you don’t have the time or money yourself to be selective about where you buy from. Don’t get me wrong, I do treat myself to some new clothes from fast fashion companies like ASOS and Urban Outfitters a few times a year so this is NOT coming from a place of preaching, but I have drastically reduced that to buying about 90% of my new clothes either second hand from Depop or charity shops or clothing stores that are upfront about their outsourcing practices. I love putting outfits together and updating my wardrobe and I don’t want to abandon that as a medium of self-expression because it does bring me joy, but to continue to update my wardrobe with the frequency I do by buying from fast fashion retailers on such a regular basis I accepted was going against the things I care about; around 80% of textile workers on poverty wages in developing countries are girls and women (opensocietyfoundations.org), and whilst fast fashion companies in the West continue to outsource manufacturing to said countries to cut costs and there is little regulation enforcing employers to pay women the same amount as men or even adhere to a minimum wage, they will continue to be forced into these roles where they are subjected to horrific working conditions, impossible production targets and frequent abuse (according to an article published in the Guardian in June 2018, 540 incidences of abuse, often of a sexual nature, were reported by women working in factories supplying the retailers GAP and H&M when they were interviewed on the subject). There is no denying that the fast fashion industry depends on and perpetuates the subjugation of women and systematically prevents them from making steps towards gender equality in their countries, be it through greater financial independence or the freedom to pursue higher education; the popular current practice by western fast fashion companies of outsourcing manufacturing to factories unhindered by workers rights and gender equality laws by association condones the sexual and physical violence that occurs as a means of punishment for not meeting targets, the exploitative pay which affords women little independence from husbands and families dominated by patriarchal values, and the long, exhausting hours which women have little choice but to take in order to avoid their contracts being terminated and to put food on the table. No, one individual completely abandoning fast fashion isn’t going to put an end to these unethical practices but if all of us make a conscious effort to reduce our consumption at least a little and make it clear why we’re doing so, we put greater pressure on fast fashion companies to act in a more responsible way. There isn’t going to be any kind of miraculous change of heart, so to force them to change we have to hit the industry and the people at the top who benefit from such practices where it really hurts: their profit.

SO, for this post I thought I would highlight some of my favourite more ethical online clothing companies to buy from; the more popular these more socially responsible brands become, the more apparent it becomes to fast fashion companies relying on an exploitative business model that how they treat their workers is of growing importance to consumers. It’s all very well and good Missguided and PLT talking about empowering women and making “girl boss” slogan tees but we need to make it clear that we’re aware of the hollowness of the gesture, and that we want less hypocritical talk and more action to actually enhance the lives of the women that work for them, not just the ones they show in their flashy offices on TV. I’ve included my favourite Depop shops too, because if you can shop second hand, that’s even better; though I like to treat myself to new clothes now and again, I’m aware that the impact the manufacturing process in general, whether or not the company acts in an ethical way with regards to their employment practices, has on the environment is more often than not detrimental. Depop has really been my saving grace this past year-if you know what you’re looking for and have the time and patience, you can find so many gems, and at this point the balance of my wardrobe is tipped firmly in the favour of the reuse and recycle approach to shopping. In the vein of reusing fashion, I thought I’d also include a mini lookbook for a cardigan I got from one of my favourite online retailers, The Ragged Priest, just as a reminder that 1). The best way to be sustainable is to rewear and 2). That with tweaks, one piece alone can give you multiple completely different outfits. Like honestly, outfit repeating doesn’t have to be a literal repeat. Sometimes it’s worth spending a little bit extra on something that looks good with everything, and making that investment into your ability to fool people that you’ve got your shit together by wearing something cool as fuck.

Quickly before I get into it, I’m aware that some ethical companies are a bit out of the average consumer’s price range, and so I wanted to sort them into price point categories which will work as follows:

£= most of their stock is £40 & under ££= most of their stock is between £40-£100 £££= most of their stock costs upwards of £100

Now, in no particular order (and starting with online retailers before moving onto Depop shops), here’s the list!

1. THE RAGGED PRIEST

PRICE POINT: ££

Using recycled fabric to construct their pieces where possible and releasing clothing in small drops designed to sell out rather than following the typical fast fashion model of outsourcing the production of vast amounts of clothing overseas, the Ragged Priest is my absolute favourite clothing brand out there. It’s *semi* affordable and because they are all about those bold, in your face, your-grandma-will-probs-think-it’s-ugly kinda pieces, just one can do SO much for your wardrobe.

I recently bought this cardigan from their The Simple Life drop and had so many outfit ideas for it that I thought I’d put a few of them together for this post just as an example of how you can take the same piece over and over again and still make it interesting, even when you don’t feel like straying too far from your personal style preferences. While we’re at it, I also wanted to use this mini lookbook to point out how fucking great Depop is! Literally everything in these outfits is from there apart from the shoes and the jewellery, the leather blazer on the right I bought a few years ago and then the top and skirt in the outfit from the far left which are both from Ebay. The shoes with that outfit are from Koi Vegan footwear-I didn’t include them in this list because I wanted to keep it consistent and focus on ethical clothing companies rather than retailers that focus on one specific thing such as shoes or jewellery, but they are my favourite place to buy shoes from and focus closely on ethical production too so definitely recommend.

2. MINGA LONDON

PRICE POINT: ££

Towards the lower end of the ££ price point, Minga is probably the closest you’re gonna get to an ethical version of the Dolls Kill Deliah’s range. Their focus on being a socially responsible business is a huge part of their ethos and their pieces are put together in Portugal, where they're based, by a small in-house team; the majority of their fabric is sourced from local Portuguese businesses and even more amazingly, they recycle the fabric of the pieces they don’t sell in new designs. They are just a generally amazing company and I wish more people knew about them because their pieces are fucking adorable and wouldn’t be out of place (or overpriced) in your local UO.

3. ELSIE & FRED

PRICE POINT: £

A small, black owned business set up by 3 siblings from Coventry, Elsie & Fred have earned themselves a reputation as a staple provider of the festival season wardrobe. Being an independently owned business, they have strict standards that their manufacturers must adhere to and a close working relationship with the owners of the two factories who oversee production in Guangzhou, China, to ensure fair wages and a safe working environment. On the environmental side of things, Elsie and Fred are working to incorporate recycled fabric into their designs as much as possible and have this year introduced compostable mailing bags.

4. HOUSE OF SUNNY

PRICE POINT: £££

Follow enough British instagram fashion influencers and you are bound to have heard of House of Sunny in 2020-snagging what is probably my all time favourite coat from there in 2019 before all the hype is a humble brag I will allow myself on the basis that I haven’t been able to afford anything since, lol. Along with kooky, one of a kind designs, being decidedly anti-fast fashion is a huge part of their branding; HoS only drop 2 collections of limited stock a year, thoroughly screen suppliers and on their website you can find a tonne of information on how they’re working to offset their environmental impact too. If you can treat yourself to a piece from there at any point, the quality of the garments truly make the price point worth it.

5. JADED LONDON

PRICE POINT: ££

Similarly to The Ragged Priest and House of Sunny, Jaded London go the route of dropping limited collections on a less frequent basis intending to sell out (particularly popular pieces are occasionally restocked) rather than needlessly manufacturing vast quantities of garments to flog for whatever they can get and cutting corners with fair employment practices to offset any losses. By employing independent staff in the manufacturing plants with which they liaise to ensure fair, dignified working conditions and also by working closely with charities such as the Trussel Trust and Stand Up to Racism, Jaded London demonstrates a level of commitment to corporate responsibility that set them apart from a lot of similar online retailers. They are at the top of their game when it comes to daring and experimental yet wearable pieces and so it’s cool that they recognise the need to conduct their business in a considerate way too.

6. THE HIPPIE SHAKE

PRICE POINT: ££

Owned by UK based bohemian queen Naomi Hession, the Hippie Shake is not only a great small independent business to support but is also the definition of slow fashion. With a limited number of opulent 70s style pieces, I have always wanted to purchase something from here. I’ve yet to do so but I’m gonna make it my mission eventually.

7. VINTAGE HEARTS

PRICE POINT: £

An affordable, gorgeous array of quirky handpicked vintage pieces that would probably take you forever to find in a charity shop or that you’d be charged a small fortune for if you found it in a high street second hand store, Vintage Hearts is where you should go if you want a timeless statement piece that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill. The added benefit of vintage clothing is that it is, by its nature, great for the environment, but you can also look fab and groovy as fuck as you do your bit for the planet<3

8. WE ARE COW

PRICE POINT: £

Offering both original vintage pieces and reworked pieces using recycled fabrics, We Are Cow has both basic branded second hand items but also handmade streetwear style original designs all for a fair price. You can tell that it’s all high quality stuff consistent with their modern, functional aesthetic and it’s clear that the team behind the shop has a real vision in mind when they’re designing.

9. OUT OF THE ORDINARY CLOTHING

PRICE POINT: £

In the words of Corrie Davis, founder of OOTO "I start with the belief that fashion will be always be worn differently by the individual that wears it. Every collection from Out of the Ordinary is different to the last but undeniably Out of the Ordinary. I champion flamboyancy and embrace the cultures I've experienced around the world, merging the two and creating popular style trends in exciting textiles, prints and techniques to bring to you something a little Out of the Ordinary." That pretty much sums up the vibrancy, vivacity and bold elegance of the brand’s aesthetic perfectly, which is reflected by Davis’ commitment to ethical manufacturing based on relationships forged between the founders and family artisans and the sourcing of fabrics from textile markets around the world. Everything you need for a boujie summer holiday in the Mediterranean-when leaving the country is finally allowed again, lol, EVERYBODY GET YOUR FUCKING VACCINE-is here.

10. WILD THING

PRICE POINT: ranges from £-£££ depending on the brand

Probs the closest thing you’ll get to an ethical ASOS, Wild Thing brings together a host of sustainable and independent clothing brands and puts them all in one place to present to us all a collection of the sickest festival style fashion out there. Whilst it’s super cool that this already exists and a slice of humble pie for myself to remind me that I am not in fact the revolutionary marketing genius I thought I was, I’m bummed to know that my idea of said ethical ASOS style website is already out there. Fingers crossed for the next grand money making scheme that comes to mind that I can use to distribute some wealth (yeah, there probably won’t be any because very few original thoughts enter my head, clearly, tehe) xoxo

11. SHOPFLUFFY

PRICE POINT: ££

I know it’s 2021 and we all kind hate the idea of girl boss feminism and the connotations of privilege and exploitation that come with it but can we bring it back when we’re talking about women who embody what it was actually all supposed to be about? Because the owner of ShopFluffy, @lulutrixabelle embodies everything good about the term. Somebody who genuinely does (cue Ramona singer voice here) empower other women through her celebration of powerful female friendship and free spirited sense of personal style that should inspire every one of us to wear whatever the fuck we want (clashing patterns and over-accessorising be damned), Lulu handmakes all the designs on her site and very much places an emphasis on slow fashion by releasing only a few collections a year which you can clearly tell a lot of painstaking effort and talent went into. ShopFluffy is on the pricier side but the adorable crocheted coords LuLu specialises in, reminiscent of carefree childhood days and picnics in meadows picturesque enough to be the backdrop of a Jacquemus runway presentation, are a bold and beautiful expression of playful femininity worthy of departing with a bit more than you’d usually spend. After all, if you are gonna spend that money on a piece of clothing, supporting an ethical, independent woman owned business clearly built on carefully honed skill, passion and authenticity is the way to go.

12. SHOPEASYTIGER

PRICE POINT: ££

It feels correct to follow up the ShopFluffy mention with ShopEasyTiger given the friendship between the former’s owner with Tigerlilly Winfield (is that not the most wonderfully storybook character sounding name of all time?), owner of Easy Tiger. Up there with my most revered style icons, Tigerlilly’s designs are as flamboyant and glamorous and daring and dramatic as her own personal style, and again, they are ethically made! If you want to get that psychedelic rock n’roll groupie that’s actually way cooler than the band itself kinda energy too, her shop is the place to start.

13. HOTTTRAMP

PRICE POINT: ££

Founded by the incredibly hot Belle_hott_tramp on Instagram, HottTramp is a collection of both handmade pieces and carefully selected vintage finds that blur the lines between 90s Courtney Love style grunge and 70s summer of love hippy that make me want to start my own all girl rock band and hire a camper van to paint black and road trip through the American desert. Given my complete lack of hand eye coordination, I’ll most likely never have the instrumental skills to do that but I never said it was a realistic fantasy, okay?

14. LAZY OAF

PRICE POINT: ££

Is it just me that always thought Lazy Oaf was within the same kind of price range as The Ragged Priest? Because it’s a lottt more expensive than I thought. That being said, if you’re going for a playful, toned down Molly Goddard kinda look, anything bright and youthful, Lazy Oaf’s clothes 100% fit that brief. You are paying more, but part of that markup is reflected in their transparency when it comes to their ethical code, which includes ensuring that statutory minimum wage laws are adhered to in the supply chain as well as that all workers are of the legal working age for their countries and that their working hours do not exceed the legal limit. They are also steadfastly committed to donating a portion of their profits to charities dedicated to improving mental wellbeing such as Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, and Young Minds, something that is hugely important to me given my own experiences and the line of work I want to go into.

15. NEVER FULLY DRESSED

PRICE POINT: ££

Similar in their aesthetic to Out of the Ordinary, Never Fully Dressed is big on colour, print, and elegance. They have both specially selected second hand pieces on offer and original designs too and the about us section of their website clearly states how passionate they are about their ethical manufacturing process, which takes place both here in the UK and in China.

16. TUNNEL VISION

PRICE POINT: ££

Offering the dreamiest, one of a kind vintage 90s pieces, Tunnel Vision could just as easily be a grunge girl band come the craft themed moodboard as it is an online retailer. If the 90s isn’t for you-I mean, I don’t wanna question anybody’s taste levels but…-they also have the option of shopping by era, which I think is a really cool feature I wish a lot of irl vintage shops would incorporate.

17. LOVE TOO TRUE

PRICE POINT: £

Everything on Love Too True is fucking gorgeousss and it is no surprise that they manufacture their garments here in London because I feel their brand totally encompasses that stereotypical 90s East End punk vibe perfectly with a shit tonne of chunky boots and show stopping plaid pieces that makes my heart ache for a riot grrrl renaissance. Yes, when it comes to feminism’s place in mainstream culture, making sure the political goals and structural changes we’re aiming for are visible to all is by far the most important, but let’s have a resurgence of the grunge girl’s armour along with that and PLEASE let’s leave athleisure in the 2010s. No more Kardashian nude leggings, I beg (I AM being lighthearted, wear whatever you want! We’re not policing women’s clothes in this neck of the woods).

18. NINE LIVES BAZAAR

PRICE POINT: £££

Eurgh. Nine Lives Bazaar. I want it ALL. Their clothes give me all the Etro, Zimmerman, Torey Burch, modernised Stevie Nicks vibes on a slightly more realistic budget, though unfortunately for me said budget just isn’t realistic enough. You would think pieces being ethically produced is just a given when it comes to clothes within this price range but that’s not necessarily the case and Nine Lives Bazaar is one of the ones you can trust to actually be considerate of their employees needs when it comes to their approach to business. To anybody who can afford to shop here, I am insanely jealous. The rest of us, for now, can just browse the website n feel the fantasy, channel a Valentina level of delusion and pretend it’s just the import taxes from Australia that’s holding us back from making a purchase.

-DEPOP SHOPS-

1. @HOUSE_OF_EROTIQUE

PRICE POINT: ££

Everything handmade and latex and form fitting to make you the baddest bitch in the room, I’ve got myself a few pieces from this shop over the past couple of years. Customer service is a bit hit or miss and there’s been times when I’ve had to wait a while for my purchases to get to me but because they’re all one of a kind and custom made to fit, it’s worth it, and when they have messed up they were kind enough to add something to my order for free.

2. @SACREDHAWK

PRICE POINT: ££

If you picture raiding the wardrobe of a biker gang, snatching the Coachella bound suitcases of the Revolve ambassadors at Palm Springs airport, and then jumbling all those clothes together, that’s probably your best bet at getting an idea of Sacred Hawk’s aesthetic. Formerly an ASOS concession, the brand is now available on Depop and is a collection of the most lavish glam grunge pieces, all vintage or reworked vintage. Some things are a bit on the pricey side but I would say they are all priced fairly considering how unique and ornate a lot of the pieces are, and I reeeeally wanna be able to say I own something from there one day.

3. @IDENTITYPARTY

PRICE POINT: £££

I struggled with how to categorise this Depop shop in terms of price point because although there are some fairly low-priced pieces, the standouts are the vintage coats which are understandably a lot more expensive-if you want to fully immerse yourself in the Almost Famous Penny Lane fantasy, you’re gonna have to fork out a little bit.

4. @RETRO_RAIL

PRICE POINT: £££

Retro_rail is of a similar vein to IdentityParty, in that the standout pieces are the vintage coats which are usually upwards of £100-if you’re looking for one-of-a-kind statement outerwear to invest in, I can’t recommend this shop enough. If you’re like me and you’re looking for something more within the £ to ££ price range, Retro Rail is still worth a browse as inspiration for the kind of styles you might wanna try and find elsewhere on Depop.

5. @5THSEASON

PRICE POINT: £

Most of the quirky vintage pieces you’ll find on offer on this Depop shop are within the £25 to £40 price range and though you’ve got coats similar to those you’ll find on Identity Party and Retro Rail and they are sill slightly more than the tops and trousers and dresses on sale etc., they are more modestly priced than the other 2 listed.

6. @DREAMERSREBELS

PRICE POINT: £££

Another v pricey one, dreamersrebels specialises in the daintiest, most whimsical 60s style co-ords I’ve ever seen. Handmade upon purchase, which in turn guarantees little textile waste, you can find the kind of pieces you’d expect to see on a 21st century incarnation of Audrey Hepburn, all the soft pastels and timeless, retro silhouettes you could possibly wish for. I mean, wishing is pretty much all I can do rn but anyone with a near minimum wage retail job knows you need something to aspire to, lol. I managed to budget enough to treat myself to a Selkie dress so I’m manifesting that same level of self-discipline to get me a dreamersrebels piece next.

7. @AWKWARDPHASE

PRICE POINT: £

Very affordable vintage pieces that range from cutesy mid-century style dresses and coats to grungy 90s jackets, perfectly styled and presented too in a way that will have you wanting to order something for yourself to replicate that modern spin on old staples and give them a second life.

8. @EVIEHALLOWS

PRICE POINT: £

Another Depop shop where the clothes are styled so well, it’ll have you thinking you can make anything from a floral 1950s housewife style cardigan to a lycra jumpsuit look very intentionally on trend.

9. @JAHOOLI

PRICE POINT: £

There’s also Jahooli, which I will just say ticks all the same boxes as the other two aforementioned stores to avoid repeating myself.

10. @LOVELYANDLOVELESS

PRICE POINT: £

In terms of price, I would put Lovely and Loveless into the same category as Jahooli, Awkward Phase and Evie Hallows, the difference being that the clothes available are more on the dainty, classically feminine side. People who have a Pinterest board dedicated to the cottagecore or light academia aesthetic (whew, the gen Z is showing), this one’s for you.

11. @CHLOESTJOHN

PRICE POINT: £

Finally, we have the ChloeStJohn Depop shop and it’s definitely a good one to end on; picture the wardrobe of Carrie Bradshaw if she’d lived in Camden instead of New York in the 90s and hung out with a slightly edgier crew than Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha and there you have it, the vibe of the pieces on offer. Does it belong to a girl who probs lives near Primrose Hill and has access to all the boujiest second hand clothes shops available which she most likely routinely raids to resell on Depop? Potentially, but hopefully not because I am very here for this whole red wine in one hand and a cigarette in another back when people were allowed to smoke inside bars aesthetic. I’m sorry that the gen Z part of me once again jumped out in such an aggressive fashion with that last sentence, but I know you know what I mean.

And that’s everything!

I did wanna close off the post with a reminder of how nuanced a discussion this is-having the time and money to be more conscious about your ethical footprint when you’re buying clothes is in itself a privilege; fashion shouldn’t be an interest reserved for only those who have the means to pay extra or spend time scouring the internet. It’s also important to be aware of the lack of size inclusivity-a lot of the “trendy” sustainable fashion brands tend to not stock anything larger than a size 14 and attempt to deflect attention away from this by categorising clothes as either XS, S, M, or L, which is in itself a bit of a pisstake considering that 12-14 is the average clothing size here for women in the UK, and so in no way large. Shopping from Depop and Ebay is hard too when so many brands fail to understand how to fit a non-straight size body which in turn necessitates trying stuff on before you buy it, something that isn’t possible when you’re shopping second hand. A lot of Depop shops fail to offer returns and even with those who do, chasing up that return can be a time-consuming and generally all round frustrating process.

Basically, when we’re having these kinds of discussions it’s important to consider everyone’s situations and avoid sitting on some kind of high horse. I feel like things have become even more complicated lately- with the recent closure of once popular high street stores such as Topshop and Miss Selfridge, it has got me thinking a lot about just how many people’s income here in the UK is dependent on fast fashion retailers too and their popularity. The job scarcity resulting from these kind of closures, which are often all that is available to a lot of people with the demands of the job market seemingly becoming more and more impossible each day even for those who have been in higher education, is clearly an issue when the kind of support you can expect from the government as someone out of work is so woefully inadequate and likely to become even more so as the conservatives push for further cuts to UC and PIP. The past year has really shown us just how shaky the ground that an intensely capitalist society stands on is and how quickly everything can go tits up when we don’t invest in a safety net for those who are struggling. People seem to have realised more than ever the extent to which those whose jobs we deem “low-skilled” are actually the backbone of society, and yet even here, whilst the situation may not be quite as desperate as it is elsewhere, we still haven’t seen pay rises that reflect that. Turns out all the clapping WAS an empty gesture, who’d have thought it (for fuck’s sake)? Fair wages really are a global issue that starts with paying people enough for them to comfortably live on and in time should lead to a shift in consciousness away from the concept of profit before everything else and towards an equal playing field for everyone, something we should take every opportunity to speak up about and demand from our “leaders”, however shit a job so many of those leaders do. It’s frustrating how the focus on making ethical purchasing choices is so often on the overconsumption of things that women historically are more actively interested in such as clothes and accessories and make up when the reality is that the wealth of every industry titan on this planet, NOT just the ones who dominate the fast fashion sphere, depends on them continuing to get away with exploiting people-we should be looking at how we can show our dissatisfaction in all areas. Maybe I’m perpetuating that with this post, since a lot of the online retailers I mentioned only sell women’s clothing, but that being said, I’m not about to do men’s work for them, lol-they should make the effort, if possible, to research into sustainable clothing alternatives too.

Anyway, that’s the end of this post! If you read to the end, thank you so much! If I’ve made any errors in my research or there are more sustainable clothing brands that I could’ve mentioned, feel free to inbox me them too, and I can add them to this post if Tumblr allows. It’s usually a little bitch when it comes to editing long posts but I’ll try my best:) Again, thanks for reading! And if you are, I hope you are safe and well!

Lauren x

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whocalledhimannux · 5 years

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hi I wanna like...... yell about the whole Godekker sequence and the poetry of Kamet relying on Costis for 99% of the journey and feeling like an idiot, but then having this mini-episode where he is the one totally in charge, he is the one in charge of executing his own plan, and it involves him 1) making good use of the skills he developed as a slave, not in dealing with free men, but in dealing with OTHER SLAVES, and 2) being forced to confront the way that he thinks about slavery and society.

this is going to be long and rambling because I’m tired and should be sleeping. but I feel like, throughout the book, Kamet’s views of free and enslaved people are both very convoluted and very black and white. he can be simultaneously arrogant about his own importance compared to [all] Attolians, and put himself so low in the social hierarchy that he doesn’t deserve a bed or a full meal. and to some extent, this kind of thinking is both logical and necessary! that’s reality for him! if he blurs any of those lines, he would be forced to deal with the fundamental inequality and trauma of slavery, and he can’t do that.

(he also puts himself above other slaves pretty much throughout the book--which, again, makes sense given his actual position as the future emperor’s secretary, and given his mode of thinking. “those other slaves may be abused, but I’m special. I’m smart and important, and if I’m mistreated, it’s not because I’m stuck in a fundamentally oppressive system, it’s because I made a mistake. I have control over whether it happens again.”)

and for most of the journey, he doesn’t need to challenge those subliminal beliefs. he either pretends to be a perfect humble slave surrounded by free men, or he pretends to be a free man himself (although he does struggle with that). but that falls apart a little bit when he’s around other slaves, because they understand each other in a way that the free men around Kamet don’t understand him. think of Kodester, when his first use of his authority as a “free man” is to help out a slave--and that slave almost instantly realizes Kamet must be an escaped slave himself.

and then, when Kamet is threatened by Godekker, he thinks back to being in Nahuseresh’s household and how he dealt with slaves there, and this is what he says: “Gentle with them, I explained my authority, always making them see that we were on the same side, both slaves, both capable of treating the other with the respect we were denied by free men.” (emphasis mine)

I know this is a reflection on how Kamet used to feel, so it’s not new to him, but it’s new to the reader. it’s Kamet simultaneously feeling true humility (in solidarity with other slaves) and acknowledging his fundamental worth that his enslaved state has denied him. this feels like a natural progression, too, from when he and Costis were talking about Kamet’s time in Attolia and Costis said “you were lonely” and Kamet replied “I was underappreciated.” I think that frank attempt to explain his feelings/the power dynamic to Costis paved the way for him to talk about this to the reader later. so this is my point #1--by taking on that role again, a slave talking to another slave, Kamet is able to relate to people in an honest way, which he struggles with elsewhere in the book. For him, self-respect and mutual respect are very thoroughly entangled. he can’t respect others unless he admits that he is as powerless as they are, but by putting himself at their level, he can acknowledge that they both deserve respect.

(this comes back to the whole “slaves don’t do favors” thing--slaves can’t give away any of the little power they have. free men can be gracious. and one of the first conversations Kamet has a free man is along the same lines; Relius tells him not to drive a hard bargain, but to trust Eugenides. essentially saying “you aren’t a cheap person, so don’t act cheaply. treat others with respect, because you are worthy of respect.”)(any other Jewish QT fans out there? I’m basically struggling to describe the concept of b’tselem elohim here in a secular context.)

moving on to #2, Godekker is really the PERFECT foil for Kamet, because he is that uneducated, powerless slave that Kamet tries so desperately to distance himself from. yet he has so much power over Kamet and very bluntly tells him the things that Kamet has been subconsciously saying to himself for years. Godekker tells him that he’ll never stop being afraid, that he can’t have friends, that he’ll always be a slave to some master, that he shouldn’t do favors for people. ALL things that Kamet has said elsewhere in the narrative. (honestly, in another genre Godekker would be a spirit sent to Kamet in his dreams or some shit.) and some of these things he agrees with even as Godekker says them. some of them he doesn’t.

sometimes (most interestingly) his actions and his words conflict. he says that slaves don’t do favors, while at the same time doing this massive favor for Costis--like really, if anyone ever believed that Kamet would leave Costis at any point in this novel, I am 100% certain this section of the book killed that idea. I also find it so interesting that Kamet says “he’s taking me to his employer, who will free me,” which is the official plan, which Kamet DOES NOT INTEND TO HAPPEN, instead of just like... saying “he helped me out and I want to make sure he survives, but I’m bailing on him soon, don’t worry.” this is also the first time Kamet admits that he doesn’t actually like being Nahuseresh’s slave, despite all the prestige he’s been bragging about for two hundred pages--that he might smash Nahuseresh’s head in with a rock if given the chance!

and then, when Costis wakes, Kamet keeps trying to interrupt him with reassurance, and Costis doesn’t need them. Costis trusts him and tells him that he’s strong enough to be a free man--again, Costis has thought of Kamet as a free man for THE ENTIRE BOOK and Kamet has never once believed him, until this scene. Costis’s faith in him, combined with his... individual authority and agency in this scene, that’s what pushes his character development.

I’m almost done, I swear. but like... I think Kamet might honestly be my favorite character in the series, and one reason for that is that MWT shows his development so well but almost never tells it. Which is so fitting given that he’s a slave and given that we’re reading his own narrative. Kamet loses a lot and gains a lot throughout this novel, and irl that’s hard. we don’t always recognize when change is for the good. it’s natural to regret what we had, or what might have been, and what looks like a positive change to other people doesn’t always feel positive in the moment.

we, as readers, know that Kamet has been treated terribly, know that he and Costis are friends, know that Eugenides is a good person and will be a good friend to him, [think we] know that he will ultimately be better off, know that he has the strength and skill and moral character to live life as a free man. and we see so many of these seeds in this section of the book. but Kamet doesn’t see them as clearly as we do. and that is some DAMN good writing.

in conclusion, Thick as Thieves is incredibly written and I love it very much, good night and I’m sorry for the inevitable typos/repetition.

#thick as thieves #kamet #queen's thief #qtmeta

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clothestop · 7 years

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amarilloo: rgfellows: rgfellows: kanyewestboro: calanoida: Su...

Susanna and the Elders, Restored (Left)

Susanna and the Elders, Restored with X-ray (Right)

Kathleen Gilje, 1998

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freecityradio · 4 years

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Shanice Nicole on narratives of activism, resilience and finding your voice in a time of pandemic

A conversation with community activist, educator and poet Shanice Nicole, who offers reflections on resilience at a time of pandemic and the importance of sustaining solidarity at this time. Shanice also speaks on this moment as being a point of opening in terms of self expression and critique, while reflecting personally on being a part of a diaspora.

Stefan Christoff : Allô, yes, so how are you doing with everything ?

Shanice Nicole : Everyday is a new day.

Stefan : Yes, right on to that. First, this moment has brought forward a lot of discussion about community action, solidarity, discussions on the ways that people can support each other. At the same time the government is playing a huge role in regards to income and people's health also, so given that, as a community activist, what are some reflections you have had about this moment in relation to people supporting each other, but also the complicated relationship with the state and big institutions, acknowledging that they are important, but also being critical. Do you have any reflections in this area ?

Shanice : Yes. Well right now things are all wrapped up and complicated and layered, but these are all really important points to reflect on and question and critique.

What does it mean to critique the state, but also realize that people need the resources and support that the state holds ? Some of us can access certain resources, which allow us to support each other, so it is complicated.

I think that witnessing the ways that people have come together to support each other in direct and tangible ways, has been really powerful. It has been really interesting to witness all that has been happening virtually as well, also it is interesting because many of us already spent a lot of time together, connected together, in the virtual space, but then for many of us, there were opportunities to come back and re-connect together in person.

So right now there are so many layers to the ways we are connecting and everyone is trying to figure it out and it is really hard. So I am just really trying to tap into that compassion, for self and for others, cause it is a wild time and it is really easy to get caught up in everything and to sorta forget what is happening to us and to the world and also in many communities around us. The entire situation is pretty massive and so it is quite important that we don’t underestimate the gravity of the situation.

However I also understand that for a lot of people, who are in pure survival mode right now because they don’t have access to the resources that they need, it is some ways a luxury right now to kinda sit back and reflect, to sit back and be like ‘oh, wow, this is really intense,’ you know, because those questions come up more easily if you are not in the middle of that survival mode.

Stefan : I guess also this is a time that people feel more connected to their families. Are you thinking about your family a lot these days ?

Shanice : I feel really grateful that my family is doing well, both here locally, but also I have some in Ontario and lots of family in England and the Caribbean, so I feel really lucky that everyone is doing well. My partner's brother plays hockey in France, so he was stuck there for a little bit, but got back safely, so I was really happy to receive him and have him home.

Stefan : I feel like in some ways, there is this idea that the actions the government is taking to address this crisis are taken in this sorta benevolent way. There is this idea within Canada that shows the government as compassionate, this idea that says the government is taking action to look out for the interests of the people of Canada first, that the government is working simply with the goal of supporting people who have lost their jobs.

Or the fact that people feel that the public healthcare system has fared relatively well as compared to the United States, makes the Canadian state look good, cause of the public elements of the healthcare system. I was wondering if you could reflect on any points that are maybe missing from this narrative, all the community activist history and work that happened over generations to push for the creation of Employment Insurance, for the creation of a public healthcare system. Thinking on the fact that these things weren’t just given, that there is a community narrative of activism that is important, but is maybe lost in the mainstream narratives.

Shanice : Totally, totally always, thanks for framing that. I mean I think that right now because we are in this virtual space and that all the information that gets to us in a particular way, I do think that the media narrative really puts forward this idea that the government is simply saving people, that all these public institutions are kinda gifts to the people and again even within this framework, it is not all the people who access, its just important to highlight all the community and grassroots activism that forced changes to be made, which allowed the group of people with access to these types of services and institutions, to access them. It is important to highlight how activism helped create these institutions and services.

I think it is really important to think about who the government figures to be a person worthy of support, because this definition doesn’t include everyone. So even seeing the ways that more and more people have gotten access to these resources, these institutions, through struggle often times, through many people pushing. So I think that it is important to fight against this being lost, because these institutions aren’t just free, there is a history, also most importantly not everyone is being supported by these programs, this is dangerous because a lot of people are being ignored and erased. How are we going to deal with the complicatedness of all of these points of being true.

Stefan : Also internationally, I was thinking about how the virus, the pandemic has impacted different parts of the world, the Caribbean, the UK, here, so wondering how you think this pandemic is impacting different communities, was thinking about the Caribbean community specifically, in Toronto, in the UK. In the last couple of years there has been that attempt by the Conservative government in the UK to revoke the citizenship rights of the Windrush generation, while medical workers from the Caribbean, or with roots in the Caribbean, have played such an important role in public health care systems, in both the UK and in Canada.

Shanice : This resonates, given that my grandparents migrated, from the Caribbean to England, so my family is really connected to that living history in terms of what has been happening over the last years in the UK, around who is considered by the government to be a full person, who is considered to be worthy, this is an ongoing question that unfortunately returns and actually returns no matter where you are.

So this question of borders comes up, in that it doesn’t matter where you are, there are similar trends happening and people are being affected in similar ways everywhere, which shows how scary this global reality is, but also it shows that we are all connected in particular ways.

Also it makes me think about the fact that it is very rare that things are new, so none of these trends are actually new. So what does it mean to remember that? In a sense it means you can look and say, well if I can remember that this type of policy, these types of things have happened before. It means there are answers, there are resources, there are tools, that exist that can help us respond to such situations, the history of movements. So that side of it is important to respond to, this can be empowering and grounding in a way, but then there is also the other side, which is like, your saying, makes you think : ‘Holy shit, how are we here again?’ ‘How has this not changed?’ ‘How are we still having the same conversation?’

It is nuanced, it is complicated, I think that you really need to have a lot of compassion as we unravel all of this and try to figure it out.

Stefan : One thing that you have done really seriously in the last years is articulate your voice through the arts, through activism. Today I see a lot of people reflecting on how to share their voice, questions around how to best express the urgency of this moment. People reflecting on what is going on, of course some people have a lot more space to reflect, others not so much, like factory workers who are still at it.

I am bringing this up because that process of articulating your voice, artistically, politically. I am wondering if you have any thoughts about the importance of figuring out that process, because I am seeing a lot of people sharing you know, for example, what politicians are saying, what celebrities are saying, not as much seeing what many different people, living different experiences, are thinking themselves, on what they are going through.

So I am wondering if you had any thoughts about the importance of that process of articulating artistically, politically, your voice, given that’s something that you have been doing these past years.

Shanice : I always say that it is always a good time to speak your truth. So it is always powerful to witness people moving into that, speaking that truth, from the different places that they are coming from.

Also sometimes there is push back toward people who decide to speak up, I reject that and reject people giving that attitude that says, ‘oh well your late to the party’ because I think that we need more people, not less and if this situation has inspired someone to think about something differently, to question something differently, then that is good. If it allows people to see an inequity really clearly then that is a good thing. So it is great whenever people decided to speak out, to speak up.

I am always really grateful to see that and also to see it in different ways, so I am thinking of friends, who have been creating so much art and sharing that with the world, challenging what we think of as political content, or whatever, and of course art is political. So I see this in terms of the power of sharing what we create, which can be transformative you know. It can shift the way that we live.

One of the really cool things I think about social media is that (although we are intensely saturated with it right now because of the entire quarantine situation) we, as in we the people, we can create the media that we want to see and engage with. I think that is really cool and awesome that this opportunity is becoming more and more accessible to different types of people and social media has kinda allowed that, given that possibility and opening for a lot of people, opened that door a little more widely. Now we can kinda start to imagine different ways and media is so important for that. Important for the stories that we hear, stories do come from that media, so social media has created different platforms, which has been pretty incredible, so see people using that space to talk about and share politics.

#poetry #shanicenicole #blacklivesmatter #montreal #pandemic #freecityradio #windrush generation #carribbean #CKUT

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afearing · 5 years

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since apparently theres no consequences for delivering unto this website extremely long and good takes i will present to you my hot take on the ace d'escourse, with no sources because I Dont Feel Like It. its more words than is reasonable bc i have been stewing in this for like 4 years and if i dont type it out at some point im going to fucking lose it. no, literally, it’s 3 pages long in word about shit no one cares about anymore. please remember to like and subscribe.

some background on me, i id’d as ace for something like 8 years, from the first time i read the wikipedia page on it back in maybe 2009 or thereabouts. i also id’d as aro for about a year in 2016. that is to say, i have a lot of compassion and understanding for asexual individuals and feel i understand the inclusionist side of the argument pretty well, as i never questioned inclusionism until maybe 2014 or so, when the discourse blew up. i took some time off tumblr because i was so fucking distraught to think that, as i id’d as aroace at the time, that i had to come to terms with not being lgbt. lol i was a little too attached to being ‘gay’ because... fun fact, past dumbass self... you are gay. anyway, i really dont want anyone to feel that i hate them, but after i cooled off a little bit i realized that the exclusionist take on asexuality just makes more sense. hopefully i can explain why clearly enough.

i really believe that what is understood as aphobia is 100% of the time simply a manifestation of our culture’s expectations surrounding sexuality. while “expectations surrounding sexuality” as a very broad topic does indeed cover both the lgbt community and people on the ace spectrum, facing these issues does NOT make a person lgbt. i subscribe to the idea that lgbt is for people targeted directly by homophobia and transphobia. ace issues ARE super important to talk about and the whole inclus/exclus nonsense is entirely because this discourse has been put under the wrong category. im aware that probably most people will not care that much about my opinion on the correct framing of asexual activism as i no longer id as ace but i think this is important for everyone. sexual expectations also weigh on straight individuals, especially women, and i’m going to describe a few examples to try to demonstrate why i believe both that it doesn’t make sense to consider asexuality lgbt as well as why it does make sense to frame it as an issue based mainly in misogyny.

call out post for myself, i use reddit, and i think the r/childfree community is a good example of what i think the framing should be like. although it’s acknowledged that not wanting children has larger social consequences for women, both men and women talk about their issues in the forum, including horrific accounts of reproductive coercion and rape, the intersections with race/being lgbt/ageism (although they could do a LOT better with intersectionality, many posters do touch upon it), profoundly cruel comments made by those who have/want children, difficulty finding an understanding relationship partner, discrimination at work, misunderstandings and even hatred from family and acquaintances, discrimination in healthcare, etc.

i think you can tell where i’m going with this. even though being childfree cuts against the expectations for sexuality in most societies, even though it leads to unfair judgment from others, and even though they face discrimination on the basis of the way they express their sexuality, childfree people do NOT frame parenthood/childfreedom as an axis of oppression, nor do they claim that their lack of desire for children makes them lgbt. it’s not even a question if straight childfree people are straight, because duh? nor if the presence of lgbt childfree people makes the whole community fall under the lgbt umbrella, because it obviously doesn’t.

to drive the point home, the reason why this is NOT an axis of oppression is because parents face a ton of issues as well! they also face reproductive coercion as well as judgment over the number of kids they have, constant scrutiny and moralization over every aspect of their parenthood style, judgment based on parents’ age/wealth/sexuality/marital or dating status/race, housing and employment discrimination, especially for mothers, the government hating poor parents and cutting their benefits, and more i’m sure i’m not thinking of. again, this is due to societal expectations of sexuality. to complete the analogy, people who aren’t ace face their own set of challenges and discrimination. part of homophobia/biphobia is tinged with hatred of our sexual attraction; no one except for straight white men is allowed to really express their sexuality without backlash, and even then there is this shame leading to a lack of proper sex ed and horribly unhealthy understandings of sexual attraction in a large portion of the populace. so calling aphobia an axis of oppression is just not right. and in addition, the large proportion of lgbt aces doesn’t make asexuality lgbt, that’s not how groups work.

some more on what i mean by ‘expectations around sexuality’... in terms of my experience in the US, there is some blueprint in many people’s minds of what a person should be like in terms of sexuality, and that is something like “cishet, abled man, who is neither ace nor aro, who gets laid regularly (but not to excess) starting no later than 18 and ending no later than 28 when he settles down with one cishet abled wife, also neither ace nor aro, who has only had sex with up to three committed boyfriends, and they have precisely two children, approximately two years apart in age, whom the parents can financially and emotionally support to the utmost, because they are also moderately to very well off, and the parents work under traditional gender roles to raise their children as conventionally as possible.” and if you deviate from this script in ANY way that’s viewed with moral panic and scrutiny by someone. and the connection to misogyny is that women are seen as sort of the bastions of sexual morality. we are punished especially harshly for nonconformity.

if you’re poor you’re fucked because either you don’t have kids or you can’t send them off to private schools and feed them fancy organic shit. if you’re lgbt or polyamorous or aro or ace? fucked! if you dare to reproduce as a disabled person, and if your disability impacts your parenthood, especially for women, you’re practically crucified even in liberal circles. if you have too few kids or too many (don’t you know only kids turn out weird? / how can you possibly raise 5 children properly?), if you have too much sex or too little, if you split up the work in your relationship not along gender lines, if you do unconventional things in your parenthood, like accept your trans kids or move a lot or any number of other things, the social judgment rains down like the fires of fucking hell. meaning practically no one can escape it!! huge bonus to the screaming crowd with pitchforks if you’re a person of color or a woman, mega ultra bonus to women of color.

but does that make everyone i just talked about lgbt? no! although every single one of the groups i mentioned is tangentially related through this issue, even though all of them face a lot of horrible problems and discrimination, that does not make those issues inherently lgbt. again, they are tangentially related and i could see a good case for solidarity among many of the groups mentioned; all of them are fighting for greater acceptance of different kinds of relationships, greater acceptance of seeking happiness and being who you are rather than pressuring everyone to conform as much as possible to the LifeScript. but all of those groups are equally related to the lgbt community - that is, tangentially only. just as you can be childfree and straight, a stay-at-home dad and straight, a straight woman of color, so too can you be polyamorous and straight, ace and straight, or aro and straight.

that’s it for my main point. ace and aro people? your lives are hard. i’m not going to downplay it in any way because i know there are a lot of people who actually hate your guts. fuck, i’ve seen people full-on shittalk asexuality, in the internet and real life, in the most blatant of ways, so it’s not just something you can necessarily escape by logging off. not as much so for aro people tbh but i predict as much once the Public gets more wind of your existence. i fully believe that you face a higher risk of sexual assault; discrimination in relationships, housing, and the workplace; horrible comments from everyone who thinks their shitty opinion on your sexuality and love life matters; and I believe you that that hurts and is terrible and that you deserve a place to discuss and provide support.

but. those issues are not exclusive to you. they’re not exclusive to lgbt people, or oppressed people, and so those issues don’t and cannot make you lgbt, nor do they make ace/aro vs. allo an axis of oppression. our communities intersect, yes, considerably, but you are not a subset of lgbt. perhaps our rhetoric can help you, but because straight ace and aro people exist you cannot and should not consider yourselves lgb+. i think you understand that the issues you face are a form of oppression, but they are the result of the toxic and misogynistic sex culture in this society, which, yes, targets lgbt people but also, practically everyone, including groups which are definitively absolutely not inherently lgbt, such as parents, gnc straight people, poc, disabled people, the list goes on.

to conclude, what really converted me to being an ace exclusionist was the example of a straight grey or demi ace. how could you possibly argue that someone who falls in love with the opposite gender only, but with more conditions or less frequently than someone not aspec, is lgb+, can call themselves queer, etc.? exactly what material reality does that person share with a gay or bi person? i think that their issues fall in line with aspec community issues but extremely clearly not at all with lgbt ones.

the end but post script since i brought up orientation modifiers: perhaps it isn’t my place to say, but i don’t think that microlabels are very healthy and that it would make more sense for the ace community to work on expanding the idea of what sexuality is than to try to create a label to describe every single person’s experience of their sexuality. not that i think you should necessarily kick grey ace people out of the aspec community or that they’re not valid or whatever, but that perhaps it makes more sense to say that some people experience sexual attraction less frequently, and that’s alright. i don’t know. i spent sophomore year of high school poring over those mogai blogs looking for some new orientation label that would make me go like, oh my god that’s me! and believing that if those labels helped people feel that way they weren’t doing any harm. but what actually finally made me feel like that was expanding my understanding of what attraction is and a better conception of lesbian issues and why i might feel so disconnected from my sexuality and why i might be obsessing over every interaction with a guy looking for signs i was attracted to him but feel super disgusted whenever they exhibited interest in me. i spent so long trying to go like maybe im cupioromantic lithsexual and feeling terrified that that i had such a weird and esoteric sexuality that no one could ever possibly understand enough to be in a relationship with me... like, ok dyke! i know a lot of people have had similar experiences and i don’t think i know a whole ton of people now in college who are still doing that, which makes me think those labels are more harmful than not.

i guess that’s anecdotal but it’s easier for me to believe that a person could cling to those labels due to internalized homophobia than actually have a new form of sexuality heretofore undiscovered throughout all human history, but that’s just me. and so many of them just sound so unhealthy, like dreadsexual. i really wish people would work on expanding what not being asexual can mean and look like and i dont think there would be this drive to create these labels anymore. even demisexual which i think is probably the most mainstream conditional orientation, i think many people who have never heard of it and are perfectly content not to would describe the way they experience sexuality a similar way and just consider it normal. sexual attraction isn’t necessarily having your nethers set aflame upon first making eye contact with someone, it looks different for every person and it’s alright to just be how you are without making it part of your whole identity.

The End II. this is 2,200 words. if you read this far you’re a fucking mad l- *the academy cuts my mic line while looking directly at the camera like in the office*

#text post

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apsbicepstraining · 7 years

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7 Events You Need To Have If You Crave To Live Your Life Harmonizing To Batman

After experiencing “Batman v Superman: Sunup of Justice, ” I can’t stop thinking about whether or not someone could actually be Batman.

I think we all assume that we at least have a chance. I mean, that’s what becomes Batman so relatable. He’s human. As in he isn’t an alien, meta-human or monstrosity. Nor does he have superpowers. He’s precisely a regular guy.

Of course, there are other human heroes without powers of any kind. TakeTony Starkfor example. But Tony is still a billionaire inventor who generated an item in his cellar and built his own Iron Man suit.Bruce Wayneis just rich. He’s not an inventor and truly doesn’t have any kind of background that they are able to give him an advantage over anybody else( other than a deep, deep appetite to retaliate his parents’ death ). Every skill Bruce Wayne has, he learned. I’m not sure exactly how rich he even is, thoughForbes thought his Net Worth at $6.9 Billion.

Quick note on the movie itself: Proceed see it. I thought it was great( the Batman part, that is ), which I’ve covered.

So, you want to be a disguised vigilante? Here’s what you’ll need.

1. The skills.

First, Batman is a master investigator. He’s likewise a original in hand-to-hand engagement and skilled in the use of handguns, explosives and all things tactical. He’s also one of best available snoops in the world. All skills and properties that can be learned.

Bruce Wayne is too a very spiritual gentleman, extensively trained in Far-East philosophies and rules. In information, I’d say this is one of Batman’s greatest fortitudes and the reason why he is able to remain a beacon of hope for the person or persons of Gotham. He has the study and willpower to never make the influence get to his head. In information, he almost always abides loyal to his significances as a gentleman. While this isn’t something that merely anyone can memorize, it can be sharpened. I would call this attribute constituent genetic and partlearned.

Here’s the thing, while Bruce Wayne wasn’t forced to learn these sciences, he was certainly nudged in the right direction by its own experience with his parents’ fatality. He then used it to clear himself stronger and better. Depending on what storyline you’re construe, Bruce Wayne was either scared of the darkness or flourished in it. Either path, it molded him into the man he became.

Now look, when talking about the Dark Knight, you can’t overlook the benefits that his property has provided him. You just can’t. And without a Kevlar suit and ultra-high-tech gizmoes, there’s no way in hell a 5-foot, 7-inch, 160 -pound guy like myself could ever be the Caped Crusader. I necessitate truly, I wouldn’t stand a chance against Bane or Superman.

But, and this is a big but, that doesn’t means that any billionaire can achieve what Bruce was able to accomplish. You still have to be driven. You must be singularly focused on a life of anonymity and felony battle. You can’t have a wife, you can’t have teenagers, you can’t even have hobbies.

Most beings couldn’t do that. It takes a special person to throw in the work required to be a professional contestant or successful entrepreneur. Batman is a hybrid of the two. Let’s be real, most of can’t leave our phone off the counter during dinner, let alone live a life of solidarity for Gotham’s greater good.

Ben Affleck expertly draws this in “Dawn of Justice.” Affleck’s character is Batman through and through. His nature prospect is frightful. He’s hardened by years of villainy. He’s older, wiser and meaner. He understands the threats against our way of life and would do anything to destroy those menaces even kill.

Christian Bale’s Batman was conflicted. He didn’t fully understand his lieu in Gotham, let alone the world. And his indecision almost went him killed. In “Dawn of Justice, ” Batman is a professional. He knows EXACTLY what he is.

2. The time.

Sure, they are able to discover anything if you put your thinker to it. But here’s the thing, if you want to retain that skill, or better yet, employer that science, you have to practice like a lord. You must discover, apprentice and live and breath the skill. Bruce Wayne didn’t become “the mens” he is just by showing up.

Some comics have claimed that Batman is an expert in every known martial art. That’s f* cking illogical. But here’s what is possible: Perhaps Bruce Wayne contacted the best MMA coach in the world and winged him to Gotham. Perhaps he dedicated hours, every day for months, to pay a pitch-black region. He likely rolls around with Anthony Bourdain and Joe Rogan on the weekends. He sits ringside at UCF and talks shop with Connor McGregor after the fights.

Maybe you can do the same. Find best available tutor in your region and get to work. Wayne likely replicated this plan for his yoga and reflection practice. And certainly he contracted the best strength coach-and-four in America, perhaps “the worlds”, to program his training.

But that’s where concepts get involved. Appreciate, as a mortal with an anonymous alter-ego, Bruce Wayne can’t tell anyone get too close, as he ranges of risk of them putting two and two together.

The problem’s that basically every time person memorizes about Batman’s true-life identity, they end up dead. So it’s more about protecting them than it is about the risk of being exposed. Batman knows and accepts the possibility of his own demise. In a course, he already died once when his mothers were killed. But what Wayne could never consent is telling another man die for him.

3. Alfred Pennyworth.

One of the things I freaking cherished about “Batman v Superman: Sunup of Justice” is that they lastly get Alfred right. Don’t get me wrong; Michael Caine was great as Alfred in the Christopher Nolan trilogy. But Batman still needed an inside man in Lucious Fox.But ideally, the fewer people who get close, the better. This leaves a tremendous burden on Alfred.

But his chore get deeper. Appreciate, in order to stay up on the goings on in the world, the newest trends in health, fitness and combat, and to organize what would be one of “the worlds largest” grueling planneds imaginable, what Batman genuinely involves is a manager. Enter Alfred.

He’s in charge of constructing sure Bruce is up at 5 am every morning to do cardio, study and/ or tradition yoga. After, maybe he’d prep thecryo-chamber so Bruce can get some cryotherapy or maybe a sauna session.

In words of training, in“Dawn of Justice , ” Wayne is shown doing chin-ups and squattings, pushing and rowing a Prowler weight sled, and crushing a tractor tire with a mallet. I think this is pretty much exactly the type of training Batman would need. But to stay honest, he still needs a tutor, someone to platform his training.Batman’s best bet is for Alfred to serve in this role too.

Alf would then summary him on what’s going on in Gotham and beyond over breakfast. At this quality, to go all in, Bruce couldn’t handle the day to day of Wayne Enterprises, and that’s fine. His nature isn’t in it regardless. He would still be the chairman and have certain obligations as such, but Alfred would have to be razor sharp-witted when it is necessary to business.

4. Money.

Our Batman precisely doesn’t have meter for a daytime position. Money is most certainly going to be a factor.

After a nutritionist-planned breakfast, he would train in MMA, go to the grease-gun range, or maybe attend a business lunch or form. He’d echoing the buzzer on Wall st.. He’d have to regularly, as Batman, meet with the GCPD and might even need to go to Washington to meet with the President and with Homeland Security.

He’d be a privatized artillery of the state. But he’d do it for free. If he got paid, his identity would be general knowledge. Unless he was able to obtain some CI-Alevel clearances. Our median Joe Batman would have some disturb in this district. He would be a lot like Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne: an amateur vigilante.

Wayne would also need a style to roam, in private. Conflict doesn’t simply happen in Gotham, and if Batman is an elite detective, his business would be requested the world over.

I’ve readarticlesthat said here today would expense upwards of $600,000, 000 to be Batman. And while those figures appear well-researched and make sense, the average Joe switched Caped Crusader can’t render that kind of hardware. His basic and most important needs are to stay alive, be able to maintain an athletic advantage, and a few playthings like a grappling handgun, inhaled bombards, grenades and batarangs.

Finally, Batman would need some handguns. Let’s be real here. Would you don a mask and lead full-on vigilante in malevolent Gotham against the likes of the Joker and Bane without firepower? I wouldn’t. Batman would need a military-issue rifle, a shotgun, a few handguns and a high-powered sniper rifle plus some ammo.

Now add in some espionage gear, and I think you could effectively be a minimalist Batman for about$ 1 million. It’s a sizable price tag, but to stay alive and be worth a shit as a cloaked vigilante, it’s a necessary cost.

5. Coaches.

As I mentioned above, in order to stand sharp-worded, Batman needs to train. A pile. If he wants to be best available in the world, he would needto train with best available in the world. And what’s the time of has become a vigilante if you aren’t going to get the best? There is no pointbecause you would get killed.

In the first cinema of the Christopher Nolan Trilogy, “Batman Begins, ” Bruce Wayne trained with the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul. In real life, we would need person a bit more qualified and up with the times of modern counter-terrorism warfare.

I’d recommend that our Batman find an teacher that is well-trained in secrecy, to school him or her the destructive arts. Like most people that help in your quest, they would need to sign an NDA and wouldn’t be able to ask many questions. Guys likeMark Divine, Marcus Luttrell, andJocko Willinkcome to mind; all three gentlemen are SEALs, and all are badass.

6. A Batmobile.

Our Batman likely can’t afford a $18,000, 000 Tumbler, but I’m supposing a Humvee or Tesla would serve our purpose, as long as they are fit with bulletproof spaces and other tactical supplements. TheHumveemakes sense because it’s armed, and we know Wayne Manufacture has its hand in military contracting. But again, we’re talking about an average Joe here , not Bruce Wayne, this is why we don’t have those connections.

I like the relevant recommendations of theTesla because it’s electrical, establishing it the additional benefits of being a non-explosive vehicle with great acceleration. And they seem legit. Let’s not forget that Bruce Wayne has a quite baller social life, and he needs to look the part.

7. A Batcave.

I think it’s time to drop the age-old, lonely Wayne Manor narrative. Our Batman is a motivated follower. Driven , not broken.

In “Dawn of Justice, ” Wayne Manor and Batcave is the best I’ve realise to time. It’s a bachelor-at-arms pad, and a freaking sweet one at that. But again, we’re not all Billionaires and Millionaires. We simply requirement a neat place outside Gotham to prepare our HQ. Then we need to buttress it and build a badass basement.

And hey, our Batman is likely going to get laid, so we should make it seem modern, yet comfy and heated. Again, “Dawn of Justice” nailed it.

At this moment, I’m spent “ve been thinking about” the time, practice, money, and psychological commitment necessary to be the Dark Knight.

So, young grasshopper, is it really possible to be Batman?

Yes. It’s possible.

Is it probable? No course in hell.

It’s true-life that you have the same sum of hours in a period as Beyonc, but aside from a very, very small group of parties, that doesn’t mean it’s feasible to accomplish the work required to become Batman.

In conclusion, leave the misdemeanour engaging to members of the military, police, and three-letter government organizations.

And proceed ensure “Batman v Superman.” # TeamBat

Document: the writer strongly deters anyone from being a masked vigilante .

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apsbicepstraining · 7 years

Text

7 Events You Need To Have If You Crave To Live Your Life Harmonizing To Batman

After experiencing “Batman v Superman: Sunup of Justice, ” I can’t stop thinking about whether or not someone could actually be Batman.

Quick note on the movie itself: Proceed see it. I thought it was great( the Batman part, that is ), which I’ve covered.

So, you want to be a disguised vigilante? Here’s what you’ll need.

1. The skills.

2. The time.

3. Alfred Pennyworth.

4. Money.

Our Batman precisely doesn’t have meter for a daytime position. Money is most certainly going to be a factor.

Wayne would also need a style to roam, in private. Conflict doesn’t simply happen in Gotham, and if Batman is an elite detective, his business would be requested the world over.

5. Coaches.

6. A Batmobile.

7. A Batcave.

I think it’s time to drop the age-old, lonely Wayne Manor narrative. Our Batman is a motivated follower. Driven , not broken.

And hey, our Batman is likely going to get laid, so we should make it seem modern, yet comfy and heated. Again, “Dawn of Justice” nailed it.

At this moment, I’m spent “ve been thinking about” the time, practice, money, and psychological commitment necessary to be the Dark Knight.

So, young grasshopper, is it really possible to be Batman?

Yes. It’s possible.

Is it probable? No course in hell.

In conclusion, leave the misdemeanour engaging to members of the military, police, and three-letter government organizations.

And proceed ensure “Batman v Superman.” # TeamBat

Document: the writer strongly deters anyone from being a masked vigilante .

The post 7 Events You Need To Have If You Crave To Live Your Life Harmonizing To Batman appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

apsbicepstraining · 7 years

Text

7 Events You Need To Have If You Crave To Live Your Life Harmonizing To Batman

After experiencing “Batman v Superman: Sunup of Justice, ” I can’t stop thinking about whether or not someone could actually be Batman.

Quick note on the movie itself: Proceed see it. I thought it was great( the Batman part, that is ), which I’ve covered.

So, you want to be a disguised vigilante? Here’s what you’ll need.

1. The skills.

2. The time.

3. Alfred Pennyworth.

4. Money.

Our Batman precisely doesn’t have meter for a daytime position. Money is most certainly going to be a factor.

Wayne would also need a style to roam, in private. Conflict doesn’t simply happen in Gotham, and if Batman is an elite detective, his business would be requested the world over.

5. Coaches.

6. A Batmobile.

7. A Batcave.

I think it’s time to drop the age-old, lonely Wayne Manor narrative. Our Batman is a motivated follower. Driven , not broken.

And hey, our Batman is likely going to get laid, so we should make it seem modern, yet comfy and heated. Again, “Dawn of Justice” nailed it.

At this moment, I’m spent “ve been thinking about” the time, practice, money, and psychological commitment necessary to be the Dark Knight.

So, young grasshopper, is it really possible to be Batman?

Yes. It’s possible.

Is it probable? No course in hell.

In conclusion, leave the misdemeanour engaging to members of the military, police, and three-letter government organizations.

And proceed ensure “Batman v Superman.” # TeamBat

Document: the writer strongly deters anyone from being a masked vigilante .

The post 7 Events You Need To Have If You Crave To Live Your Life Harmonizing To Batman appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

from WordPress http://ift.tt/2yfnzdI via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes