reconstructwriter

[reconstructwriter]

so my brother was telling me about this human resources certification he attended a while ago. in a panel, the panelist asked a bunch of people in attendance, “who here knows if an applicant for a job is right for it in under 60 seconds?”

hands shot up around the room, people smug about their ability to “weed out the riff-raff” when it came to hiring for their fortune 500.

“you should all be fired and probably in jail,” they said, waiting for the whole room to get uncomfortable, then continued, “because the only things you can really learn about a human being in under 60 seconds are all things that are fueled by prejudices and biases covered by american law. so now, i will teach you how to stop being racist, sexist, judgmental assholes and hire people that will better your company of employ.”

[reconstructwriter]

One thing that has deeply annoyed me about the response from Americans/Westerners about this week's events in Korea is that a lot of them, including people I like and respect, are like, "The protesting civilians and lawmakers who barged into the National Assembly would've been shot if this were the U.S./this would've never happened in the U.S. because people are too afraid of being shot." There's some truth to that, at least with regard to state violence, but I'm fed up because it doesn't account for how frightening this could have turned out to be had it not been for how much of an inept flop dunce Yoon Sukyeol is. It minimizes the courage of those who showed up.

Sure, it was likely that the military and riot police wouldn't have done much (again, YSY's self-coup wasn't thought out well, and there's more evidence of that as military officials and soldiers are speaking up about the lack of information they received, but I'll refrain from talking about that to avoid making this even longer than it inevitably will be, knowing myself), but let's not pretend there haven't been issues with them in recent years. They pepper sprayed and used water cannons during an anniversary rally for the Sewol ferry victims (x) (x) (if you don't understand how unbelievably cruel that is, look into the horrific Sewol ferry sinking). They tear gassed crowds (Korea has a gruesome history of this) and sprayed water cannons, and citizens have been injured and killed during the 2015 protests and 2016-17 Park Geunhye impeachment protests, notably Baek Namgi, an elderly activist whose death caused global outrage (x) (x). Park Geunhye was going to enforce martial law during those protests according to a leaked document, with hundreds of tanks, thousands of soldiers and special force troops! (x)

Not to mention, there are decades of extreme state violence that have scarred an entire country and are still super fresh for a huge percentage of the population. Again, check out that tear gas history piece. Look up the April Revolution, Gwangju massacre, and June uprising and see just how bloody they were. Thousands of civilians were tortured and killed. Look at how many protests were going on year after year during the 1980s. That isn't that long ago! All those older people who ran to the National Assembly to stop the coup? You bet a lot of them were college students who protested during that time or knew people who did. All the younger people? They may not have experienced what it was like living under martial law, but as I said, state violence still occurs, however much it's dwindled over the years, and you have to account for generational trauma. I don't think I'll ever forget the way I felt when I saw the breaking news alert about the martial law declaration on December 3. I've never experienced that, at least to that degree.

Instead of viewing the response from civilians and elected officials through the framework of police brutality in the U.S., it should be contextualized using Korea's own history. Thankfully most of the serious discussions are doing this, but like I said, even people who are smart about reading up on things have reflected on how this wouldn't fly in the U.S., not because of the difference in protest history, civil movements, and public engagement with both in the two countries but because of the military/police response. There's an insinuation there that Koreans would be more reluctant to do what they did if they knew what it's like to live in fear of violence instead of living in such a safe country like Korea...and I want to yell.

It was monumentally brave of everyone to do what they did to stop the coup. We're all laughing at how stupid the coup was and there's a reason why people were more furious than scared because of the political history of Korea and the laws set in place to protect the democracy and neutralize coup attempts, but this could have easily become a disaster. It's not alarmist of me to say so because there was no way for anyone to be 100% sure of how the military would react—especially when no one knew what the hell was going on.

[reconstructwriter]

the concept and idea of “you can always start trying to be a better person” is extremely important to me both in media and irl and i continue to be deeply deeply disturbed by the trend on this site pushing that these ideas in media are bad writing or even morally reprehensible

because theyd rather someone stay terrible or just straight up die than become a better person 

from a compassionate point of view it’s deeply distressing and from a pragmatic point of view it’s outright frustrating

it’s fucked up. 

[reconstructwriter]

mandatory kit fisto drawing because i love and adore him. muah my beautiful fish friend

[reconstructwriter]

OP: the stall owner I often order spicy 炸串zhachuan(skewers) from whipped out an impromptu Inner Mongolian grassland dance

[reconstructwriter]

Leftist infighting right now is especially not needed

[reconstructwriter]

Shared here today by Matthew Boroson on Facebook.

Tanith Lee was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award for best novel, for the second book of the Flat Earth series. She died in 2015. You can buy Tales From the Flat Earth here in paperback or here on Kindle.

[reconstructwriter]

.......... totally unprecedented, eh?

[reconstructwriter]

the animorphs characters as ice cream truly made me LOL but also your answers were so spot-on?? anyway, animorphs as sushi rolls?

Jake: California roll. Some nice avocado, some nice fake crab, some nice white rice, some nice nori. Y'all knew this one was coming: it's white, it's bland, it's basic as fuck. Just like our boy. It gets points for using local ingredients, and it's unlikely to offend anyone.

Ax: Saba roll. It's unpopular in the U.S. for its strong fishy taste/smell and occasional bones, but Ax is a big proponent of strong flavors and novel textures. Mackerel has unique textures and tastes that you're unlikely to get anywhere else in American food, just like Ax himself.

Marco: Wasabi bomb. As in, an avocado roll where one of the slices has had its avocado replaced with wasabi, and you won't know which until you bite in. Technically a joke roll and not real sushi, but fits Marco's "mean-yet-funny" MO perfectly (#5). It's silly, it's tension-inducing, and it's a great way to turn food into a game.

Cassie: Cucumber roll. Again it's nontraditional and American, but it's known for being highly sustainable compared to most forms of sushi. Plus, if there was ever an empathetic roll it'd be this one; it's known for its ability to absorb other tastes — soy sauce, ginger, spicy mayo — while retaining its refreshing texture.

Tobias: Iwashi roll. For the meat-hungry predator in your life. It has to be made with freshly-killed sardines or else it'll go off, it's unpopular in the U.S. for including whole fish, and it's delicious if you're a fan of swallowing a freshly-killed fish bones and all.

Rachel: Dragon roll. They're known to be substantive, spicy, flavorful, cross-cultural... and pretty as hell. No two are alike, since the term doesn't have a standard definition, and usually the chef gets to go nuts with putting tempura veg and roe and anything else available all over the top. But they're functional as well as beautiful, since each roll is also usually huge and filled with a variety of fish and veg.

[reconstructwriter]

Fantasy AU Elzar for @verdika !

[reconstructwriter]

everyday i see clueless westerners (especially white people) reblog thinly veiled hindutva propaganda which they wouldn't know cause they know absolutely nothing about what goes on in india. so here are some signs that that the tumblr user you're interacting with is a hindu nationalist:

they either do not acknowledge casteism or claim that caste is a western construct. my personal favourite however is dismissing anyone bringing up caste discrimination by saying that the indian constitution outlaws untouchability. they may also bring up the fact that the prime minister belongs to an other backwards class (obc) so clearly india has moved on from caste and hindutva isn't only for the upper castes. they possess a shallow understanding of caste

harping on about "islamic colonisation" : no, the mughals did not colonise india. when you point this out, they will immediately assume that you think muslim invaders were innocent beings who did nothing wrong, which is very much not what anyone is claiming here

while we're on the topic of "islamic colonisation" they will also refer to the demolishing of muslim sites of heritage and worship and then building hindu temples over them as "decolonisation" (cough cough ram mandir) the hindu right also goes around pretending that they're indigenous to india. this is false

along a similar vein, they will dismiss islamophobia by bringing up instances of hindu oppression in countries like pakistan and bangladesh. it is true that hindus are persecuted in these two countries, however they are used to fuel their oppression complex, that their upper caste hindu self is under attack in india of all places (think a white christian in the united states). you should be in solidarity with minorities everywhere. it is neither transactional or conditional (note: they will never bring up sri lanka. persecution of hindus exists only when the oppressors are muslim)

claiming that hindu nationalism and hindutva are not the same because hindutva means "hindu-ness". that is only the literal translation of the term. like it or not, they're the same thing

they support the indian military occupation of kashmir. they will call it an integral part of kashmir, one reason which will be "hinduism is indigenous to kashmir." they will also bring up the last maharaja of kashmir signing the instrument of accession as further proof, as if the consent of the people was taken

they're zionists. do i even need to explain this. hindutva is just zionism for hindus

they refer to buddhism and jainism (sikhism too sometimes) as branches of hinduism rather than separate, distinct religions

they condemn any resistance to the indian govt as a burden or terrorism) (like calling the farmers who are currently protesting a hindrance or terrorists. funny how sikhs are the same as hindus when they support hindu causes but terrorists when they resist oppression...)

they call you a pseudo liberal or a fake leftist. i'm telling you, they don't know jackshit. they can't even tell the difference between a liberal and a leftist and call US unread lmao. bonus points if they call you a liberandu or a sickularist 💀

they call india "bharat" when they talk in english. there are in fact multiple indian languages that call india bharat or bharatam, but if they say bharat while talking in english, that is absolutely a hindu nationalist no questions asked

please do your due diligence. read up on hindutva. hindu nationalists have already started making gains in the united states, thanks to rich upper caste nris. do not fall for propaganda

[reconstructwriter]

One thing I never liked is that Vader's/Anakin's sacrifice is so often framed as "redemption". It's great that he helped kill Sidious and made peace with his son and all, but even if he had survived that last battle, I fucking HOPE he would've been sent straight to Space Nuremberg afterwards. Am I really supposed to buy that Vader and Anakin are two entities so separate that Obi-Wan and Yoda are so chill with him after two decades of terror. That Anakin "well, if it works" Skywalker is standing there in the same ghostly light as his old masters who never once committed genocide. Idk. I love redemptions but there's some stuff you just can't come back from, ever.

[reconstructwriter]

Well congratulations you're getting answers anyway because I have had Thoughts on this.

Warning for word vomit and nerdery

• Coruscant Prices: They have GOT to be stupidly high. Coruscant is the only planet that’s entirely a city so everything a city needs has to be imported. Even if they have manufacturing which I’m sure they do, they still gotta import all the raw materials for manufacturing. There are very few things that can be produced on this planet anymore – at least on an industrial scale. So something like bread that runs 0.14 credits in the outer rim, 1.5 credits on average? That probably costs about 8 credits on Coruscant. o And that’s with food prices subsidized, fees waived, sales taxes exempt – no one is stupid enough to add more prices to food. Even companies are leery of doing so because Coruscant is where all the wealthiest and most powerful politicians live who can choose to make their lives miserable. So food is one of the cheapest things on the planet. o It’s stated in RotS novelization that Jedi grow at least some of their food in-temple. Jude Watson’s agricorps – creepy implications aside – also imply Jedi grow their own food. Given that monks traditionally grew or begged for food and there’s no evidence of the latter, I’d say Jedi are growing the majority of what they eat.  I think if the Jedi were growing enough food for Coruscant as well Palpatine’s Order 66/Operation Knightfall would be considerably more unpopular and thus so would his rule. o While few people have (group) homes large enough to have a greenhouse, I suspect everyone who can grow their own food does (or pays someone else to do it). Everything from greenhouses atop apartment buildings to mushroom farming on the landlord’s old furniture, putting green onions into vases of water, etc. • Coruscant Waste Management: So I read somewhere (?) that Coruscant does capture the carbon and/or CO2 its citizens and industries put out to export as a raw material and makes money off that. They might well do what I think Medieval cities did and also export their waste to farmlands to make that soil richer. If it works, that could also help cut down the price of food by doing a straight trade. • Water: If Coruscant weather is managed – which implies enough water to run the weather – they could probably do some kind of rain-water filtration rather than get it from the ground. Or maybe it depends on if you’re higher (rain water) or lower (ground water). If they don’t do artificial weather than I have no freaking clue what the weather must be like on a CITY PLANET O_O • Ecosystem: what ecosystem can you compare a city planet too? Especially one where they built so high over ground level. Ground level is probably very like a cave or subterranean system. Above that? I wouldn't be surprised if the weather was managed instead of being natural. • Animals: anything that can survive near humans would probably have it’s Space-equivalent running around on Coruscant. So your rats, mice, raccoons, probably coyotes, cockroaches – especially if this planet used to be a jungle planet. Plus a whole lot of people's feral imported pets, so exotics from all over the galaxy. • Jedi temple servants: TWC shows us the Jedi have hired mechanics and similar support staff, whether this is support staff they’ve always had or just because of the clone wars is debatable. They are their own support staff for childcare so it looks like they have both? Plus I think some mouse droids for cleaning up messes. Dunno how the chores are divided. • Other posts: o https://www.tumblr.com/reconstructwriter/764194461387554816/gffa-coruscants-underworld-okay-this-has?source=share o https://www.tumblr.com/panther-os/703764425700753408?source=share o There is one other big post on Coruscant’s layers/levels but For the Life of Me I Can’t Find IT!

I want mundane info about Coruscant please. Where does it store all its water? Does it have enough or does it import it? Is all water equal for all species (same chemical make-up)? How does the plumbing work in all those stupidly high skyscrapers? What about the sewer system? Do they have lots of dianogas? What about pests like rats? That planet must make a lot of excrement. What is the ecosystem? Are there animals living there? What powers everything? Who are the janitors? What day is bin day and how does it work? Do the Jedi hire staff or do they clean and maintain their own bathrooms? Food importation must be insane. Etc...

[reconstructwriter]

me whenever I see posts about how canon is shit and can be discarded

[reconstructwriter]

Oh for fuck’s sake, people calling out racist writing in fanfic isn’t “censorship”. I say this as a fic writer but some of you need to get off your high fucking horse.

[reconstructwriter]

“if no art makes you feel anything, make your own art and feel something” is too raw of a line to have come from a jenna marbles video of her painting a rainbow/polka dot seahorse saying “it’s seahorse time” on a denim jacket

[reconstructwriter]

Star Wars fans that try to compare the Jedi to the Catholic Church because they both "collaborate with the state" have no fucking idea of what the Catholic Church actually does and what the problem with it being in power actually is, and it drives me fucking insane