yourlocalpandemic

[yourlocalpandemic]

[yourlocalpandemic]

From Gaza. There are no words for this.

[yourlocalpandemic]

" Even though it's getting worse, even though it's just as devastating as Al Shifa hospital being bombed, fewer people are talking about us. They've forgetten us"

These messages were sent by many Palestinians in different words.

Please don't stop talking about them.

Don't get distracted by the entertainment industry. Much more important things need your attention. Lives depend on it

[yourlocalpandemic]

The painting, is complete :3

[yourlocalpandemic]

the most recurring thing in taylor's songs is that she knows she's self destructive and she's been trying to change but even after everything she always ends up alone like it's fated and hence the song the prophecy, she's accepted this and is begging for something to change somehow for her to not be left alone

[yourlocalpandemic]

everyone needs to reconcile with the fact that taylor actually felt insane and like she should be in an asylum and she actually felt like dying. ofc in hindsight she can see that all of it hyperbolic, but these are not just metaphors. it was true in the moment. she’s also tired of the public image of a good girl because she inflicted that on herself and that hindered her from growing, and public inflicting this image on her is also hindering her, and she hates that. she wants to make mistakes and learn on her own and she has reconciled with the fact that she’ll have to live with herself and live with regret because she chose to do it. she thinks she’s fucked up because she is! and she wants the public to see it! (even though now i think she’s trying to un-fuck herself)

[yourlocalpandemic]

This is my friend Feras. He lives in Rafah. As you probably know, that’s a terrifying situation. We’ve been trying to raise money to help evacuate as much of his family as possible. Please help if you can. Even if it’s just sharing this post. He’s sick and needs transfusions. Resources are running out and we don’t know how long he’ll be able to have access to what little healthcare they’re able to provide. Time is running out. Egypt is closing its boards in lesss than two weeks. If we can just get one person out. At least one. Please.

I’ll link his go fund me: https://gofund.me/0144a383

https://gofund.me/0144a383

[yourlocalpandemic]

“Old habits die screaming…”

File Name: The Black Dog 🖤

Pre-order the final new edition of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT with exclusive bonus track “The Black Dog” on my website now

https://taylor.lnk.to/thetorturedpoetsdepartment

📷: Beth Garrabrant

[yourlocalpandemic]

They are carpet bombing Rafah. The over 1.4 million Palestinians in Rafah are being targeted at what is now 4 in the morning for them. They are posting their goodbyes.

[yourlocalpandemic]

It is no secret that Israel attacks the most vulnerable and will do so by any means. The truth is in everyone's face yet so many people refuse to see this as a genocide.

[yourlocalpandemic]

A surprise Taylor Swift black& white album is THE epitome of swiftiehood

[yourlocalpandemic]

New photo of Taylor Swift!

[yourlocalpandemic]

All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19 🤍

store.taylorswift.com

📷: Beth Garrabrant

[yourlocalpandemic]

[yourlocalpandemic]

one of the most heart-wrenching things about thg universe is that you feel the loss of who each character would be outside the circumstances of their birth almost as acutely as you feel the loss of the characters themselves.

sure, we know what lucy gray and her family would be doing in a different world; she’d be dancing and singing and making music which defines a cultural identity. but what about the others? would haymitch have been a hilarious, loving father with a family had he not been forced to survive 47 other children’s brutal deaths? would finnick have been a charismatic and beloved actor, bringing joy to immeasurable people on his own terms? would beetee and wiress have worked together to develop technology to make it easier to connect loved ones far and wide? what would reaper and annie have given to the world, or thresh, or rue, or even coral or cato or glimmer or clove?

if katniss wasn’t half-starving and forced to spend each day hunting to feed her family, would archery be her true passion? or if she’d been a well-sustained little girl with access to art supplies, would she have spent her time sketching captivating dresses? she picks up ropes and making fish hooks quickly—could her dexterity have lent itself to knitting, sewing, or crocheting with vibrant yarns and fabrics? there’s so much evidence that katniss finds clothing inspiring and empowering, even when she dismisses it as frivolous. she likes being pretty, she just hates the circumstances under which she’s made to look pretty. cinna shows her that beauty has its own power, and there are several moments in her interactions with cinna and his designs that make me wonder who she’d be if she had space for art and creativity in her life.

conversely, peeta has had art in his life since he was a small child, but for him, art has always been entangled with his trauma. he could bake and decorate well because he learned from his mother, a mother who beat him his whole life. but his talent grows, not only as a survival tool in the first games, but when he paints rue on the floor of the training center before the second games. his art becomes not only a symbol of his trauma, but a means of resistance and solidarity. in a world where peeta’s intrinsic kindness and loving heart had been nurtured and welcomed rather than abused, could he have been a painter, helping people find collective meaning in the simple realities of life?

could katniss and peeta have still found each other in another world, a world without the horrors they were raised with, and bonded over their love of art? could they have been each other’s muses?

maybe they find their way to share art, after the events of mockingjay, as part of their process of healing and falling in love with each other. when they’re finally safe and have been for a long time, maybe katniss fashions peeta an easel for him to paint in their living room. after months of watching him gaze out the window and paint the changing leaves, katniss takes to knitting on a rocking chair in the other corner of the living room to steady her restless hands. they work silently as the days go by, quietly exchanging the things they’ve made to give each other the reassurance and love neither could ever fully convey with words.

and maybe one day, when they learn there’s a baby on the way due in midwinter, katniss takes a page from peeta’s sketchpad and starts to plan a series of sweaters and hats and socks she can knit for the baby. and peeta goes to the little nursery upstairs and starts working on a mural, so the baby will have something beautiful to look at every day. they work together to design the perfect baby blanket for their child, to ensure they will always be wrapped in a layer of protection and love by their parents.

but even if they find creativity and beauty in their lives after the end of mockingjay, the art they make will simply never be what that art could have been had they not faced what they faced. art comes from suffering, yes, but the human condition has so much suffering as is, and we’d never know what kind of art they’d make if they hadn’t experienced trauma of a distinctly sadistic and inhuman nature. but maybe their children, raised in a better world with love and protection and safety and joy and creativity and expression, will be the ones to create the art peeta and katniss never could.

[yourlocalpandemic]

There are many reports going around detailing the rise in anti-semitism throughout the US, and there is absolutely no denying that, along with the general rise in xenophobia since Trump’s inauguration.

What people SHOULD pay attention to, however, is that many orgs that track anti-semitism alone frequently lump genuine anti-semitism with acts against Israel and actions against Zionism.

For example, as part of their 2013 audit, the ADL [Anti-Defamation League] included Palestinian-led protests & blogs in their list of “anti-semitic incidents”, in one case citing that a banner that read “my heroes have always killed colonizers” [a banner presented by an Indigenous American group referring to their genocide] as an example of “violent anti-semitism”. They have also included Israeli Apartheid Week demonstrations and articles critical of Israel in their audit.

If the Anti-Defamation League were truly only interested in incidents of anti-semitism, then why would they have a list on their site featuring “Top 10 Organizations Critical of Israel”?

The reason is simple - despite what they claim, they want to conflate criticism of Israel with anti-semitism to both drive up their numbers & demonize those who advocate against Israel in ways they don’t personally approve of.

The ADL President has smeared Black Lives Matter for their joint work with Palestinians, claiming that accusing Israel of genocide was “baseless” and considering it to be anti-semitism.

The ADL frequently works against BDS activists, claiming that BDS is a “source of anti-semitism”, despite being an entirely non-violent movement dedicated to the boycotting of Israeli goods until Palestinians are free and the occupation is ended.

The ADL regularly advocates on behalf of hardline pro-Israel policies in the US & work with pro-Israel groups that have a history of demonized and attacking pro-Palestinian organizers.

ADL President views any exclusion of pro-Israelis from an event or space as an act of anti-semitism, rather than an act to ostracize those who would seek to do Palestinians harm.

 The ADL president is a defender of Israeli settlements, blaming their expansion on the Palestinians who “refuse” to accept peace with Israel.

Consider that for a moment - the President of the Anti-Defamation League seems to be justifying the expansion of hardline Jewish-only settlements built on actively stolen Palestinian land and entirely off-limit to Palestinians and illegal under international law on the refusal of Palestinians to accept “peace” with the same state that continues to expand those same settlements…and he claims to be running an organization dedicated to documenting hatred against the Jewish people.

Which is entirely, and thoroughly false. 

The ADL is a bogus organization that mixes lies amidst truth. If you visit their site and read their audit on anti-semitism by state, you’ll find that they have “selected incidents” for anyone to view, all of which are blatant anti-semitism featuring hate-speech, swastikas, and assaults against Jewish individuals. Note that these are “selected incidents”, while any of the incidents /not/ shown to the public readily are those featuring anti-Israel activity, from anti-Israel protests to BDS events to Palestinians defying Israelis soldiers and politicians on US campuses.

By doing this, they’re able to increase their number of “anti-semitic incidents” while simultaneously continuing Israel’s work of conflating anti-Israel activity with anti-Semitism.

I know that most of you sharing these posts detailing the rise in anti-Semitism as reported by the ADL are doing so from a position of wanting to do good, but the ADL is simple another anti-Palestinian organizations disguised as an “anti-hate” org.

[yourlocalpandemic]

Happy third anniversary to Tumblr's emergency announcement system