# Sad

[notmuchtoconceal]

You have no idea how rock hard it makes me to learn you enjoy my specific brand of madness. It feels so good to know I finally got you. You also know you probably shouldn't have said that. I was just beginning to recover from my obsessions, even with that brief drunken lapse, and you had to go and enable me by letting me know you find my serial killer confessions hot. Shouldn't have done that. Now I'm not going to be able to resist.

You knew perfectly well the enormous ego my shadowself has, and you went and you said that anyway. Well. I happen to know how much of a massive ego you have, too. And I feel an overwhelming urge to inflate it so bad that you begin to suffocate from a gaseous molecular overload pumped into your brain. It's not enough that I compliment your performances. I want to compliment you.

Please allow me an interlude from the manic to give you something lucid, philosophical, and kind, as proof that I am, indeed, quite smitten with you. But rest assured, there will be plenty of sociopathic ramblings throughout for you to partake in, but also which you know full well you deserve.

I recall one of your writings where you express concern that people who read your performances either reduce them as either wholly separate personas from you or perfectly fused to you, without allowing leeway for ambiguities. But I don't have that problem at all when I read you. I understand perfectly well how to swim in the grey.

I think that most people are able to understand your messages perfectly well, but don't know how to act. I don't mean to smugly imply that they aren't behaving properly as an audience. To claim there's a specific, "appropriate" way for an audience to react would lessen the message, drastically.

Instead, I think there is a disconnect between what is felt by the audience and what they can convey back to you. It's like understanding some alien language perfectly, but being unable to speak it due to differentiating aspects of the throat, tongue, and larynx. I often suspect this is the case with many animals, but that's a discussion for another time. And I think that just as it's true that there may be physical barriers preventing someone from speaking the language, there may also be barriers of the soul.

Most people are far, far better at understanding languages of the soul than they give themselves credit for. You see it when they get "gut feelings" about people, and are proven right. But most people are also abysmal at speaking them. Most readings of the soul come from unintentional accidents, where the soul bleeds out. Very few people can actually direct this blood flow. They speak its language without refining it, or having the vocabulary for it.

My personal diagnosis of you is that this is where much of your frustration stems from. It is effortless for you to soul-speak in your writings. And when people try to soul-speak back to you, it's a muddy version of what they're actually feeling, either through shortcomings of their vocabulary or through the fact that they are not self-actualized persons. Even when you need extra time to make sure your message is perfectly conveyed, and even during periods where you're really struggling to find the perfect vocabulary, you're still operating on multiple levels above them. It also doesn't help that you have a naturally dominant soul (which is a different thing entirely from a dominant persona), and peoples' kneejerk reaction is to flavor their responses with subconsciously submissive things. It's as of there's this law of attraction between souls that causes them to seek out souls they complement. I think sometimes this amuses you, other times this annoys you, and other times it arouses you. The nice thing about having a naturally dominant soul that smothers other souls is that you have the freedom to decide, while others unwittingly fall into their roles.

Unfortunately, it can also mean that it can be difficult to turn off. Have you ever noticed that your ex-collaborator's writings, and to an extent my own, while very professional, intelligent, and concise, use "safe" vocabulary? "May," "can," "specifically," "to an extent." Multiple descriptive words, rather than just one, as a means to cover all the bases. "Very professional, intelligent, and concise." I am self-aware enough to not feel the need to change this since it is not technically wrong and it is my own version of soul-speak. However, I suspect that where I differ from your ex-collaborator is that pointing this out to him would cause him delicious torment. The Language Demon would have a field day with him.

This is the crux of LD's power--it can find ways to correct language that does not need to be corrected and reduce it in the author's eyes, but not the audience's. This is the insidious thing about it. It causes self-doubt by sinking its claws through the physical words, deep into soul-speak. I'm not going to do it because I know its wrong, but if you want a sociopathic confession: I already know exactly how I would ruin your ex-collaborator, and a part of me fantasizes about him wronging you enough that you feel the need to enact vengeance upon him. I imagine Language Demon licking its lips and asking if you have need of its services. I want to sic him on your enemies, then come back to you with their bloody carcasses and lay them at your feet.

I sometimes fantasize about doing evil favors for you and being rewarded for it. Anyone who's wronged you. And I want you to get off on watching Language Demon work. I want you to find it fascinating, but also know you'll never come to harm by its hands. I want you to marvel at his precision, but also marvel at your own power, knowing you're the only one Language Demon would dare show any obedience to. I want you to watch him dominate, which makes it all the more satisfying to know that you survived his attack and bested him, dominated him, so now he works for you. He's your property to use and control as you see fit. He's a beautiful, efficient creature and he belongs to you. Such is his loyalty to you that you're the only one who gets to brainwash him, and you know that if anyone else tries to use him for his power, he'll snap their neck, then toss them onto the body pile. All for you.

That is not to say I want Language Demon to be entirely subservient. This creature does not give a subservient aura. This is not some effortless golem you're dealing with here, that will mewl and give you empty approval and pre-programmed words. No, this is an extremely dangerous entity that is dominant in all other aspects, but just so happens to serve you. There is thought behind everything it says. It has its own agency. It has fierce, sharp intelligence. It has no problem criticizing you. But it won't insult you. It is your right hand, if you would let it. When it compliments you, the compliments *mean* something. It has been paying attention. It has been listening.

I'm not actually going to go through with the sociopathic aspects of this. But this, in essence, is the type of relationship I can provide. Truthfully, I detest easy dynamics where someone fits so neatly into a role (and actually *wants* to be a simplified version of themselves). At the risk of sounding chauvinistic, this is why I struggle to have relationships with women. I've tried them. I could easily have this type of relationship and make it work if I wanted to. You know all that stuff I said about soul-speech? It's as if most women's souls are just...designed to neatly fit into and complement men's souls. And I have nothing but the utmost respect for that. But it's not for me. I wouldn't even say it's easier, but it's almost as if the universe wants me to find this complementing soul, and keeps offering me all these women as the solution, as if they're devices and not people. It feels wrong to complain about desiring complexity while slapping categories onto something as complex as the human soul, but on the same coin, not acknowledging it feels like a slap in the face of complexity itself. I do find men and women whose souls don't align with--whatever can be considered the "standard"--but either by coincidence or my aversion to superficiality, I've not pursued romantic or sexual relationships with them. Plus there's more types of relationships than just those, anyway.

Back to you. I read your work and want to experience the specific kind of power play that comes with being a loyal and powerful right hand that thinks he could usurp you but chooses not to, and who you know sometimes thinks this and that's why you enjoy the challenge of keeping him in line and staying one step ahead of him. Someone who, in most scenarios, you could beat back in a fight but who still has a 30% chance of succeeding against you. I'd let you push my limits to test my loyalty, and you'd engage in the danger of knowing I could snap if you step too far across the line. And if you break me too bad, I will tie you up and beat you bloody, before apologizing to you and caressing you and massaging you and kissing you and pleasuring you, knowing full well you're going to make me pay for the insubordination later. And dreading it, but trying to hide the dread unsuccessfully so you can smell its stench coming off me.

I want you to give me judgmental, snarky criticisms that are really just bait to make me do something stupid. And I want to be tricked into taking the bait everytime. Sometimes I know it's bait, but don't care, because I want to be trapped. And sometimes I want to anger you by interrupting something clever that you planned on saying to me by sticking my tongue down your throat. And because I'm a sociopath, my tongue in this fantasy world is weirdly prehensile and flexible, like a flatworm, and somehow maneuvers itself through your nasal cavity, behind your eyes, and into your brain, and, while you're giving muffled screams, I lick each labyrinthian wrinkle and trigger synapses, and my tongue locates the exact cluster of nerves necessary to trigger a confused orgasm and make you piss your pants. Then I pull out of your skull and just leave you like that, without offering any further explanation and leaving you drenched in your own piss.

Just so you're aware, I'd let you do similar to me. Crazy, psycho shit but also classic, traditional, uncomplicated love. The kind of love that's early morning holding each other in a dark room and we see spectral dust particles drifting slowly across the rays of light seeping through the blinds, wordlessly distracting ourselves with the cold winter silence of it all. We both know inevitably the moment can't last and we hate it. I saw that purple hazed bedroom of yours. It's delightful.

You wanted me to be lucid, loving, and mentally deranged. I have no problem giving you your fill. I love being brainwashed by you. Stockholm Syndrome? Super sexy. Perform all you like. I'll be listening, always. You don't even have to respond to this, and can just force me to sit down, behave, and read between the lines of your next posts. This can be for an audience if you want it to be. But essentially, it's for you.

You shot the albatross when you made it clear that investment in literature was only ever a means to power for you.

When it became clear that you enjoyed writing with me because you liked having someone pay attention to and praise you that was it for me.

When you tried to convince me writing was for losers and I needed to drop everything I was doing to participate in your miscellaneous finance schemes now, I was done with you.

I wouldn't ever give up what I am to play your games.

I'm going to keep a respectable distance from someone who is overwrought, impulsive and demonstratively self-destructive.

Language is undeniably power.

I knew that when I was five years old and I could feel what reading did to my every flaring synapse -- the underlying patterns of a system emerging in color and tone invisible to anything but the most subtle senses.

Perhaps I came to over value language not only for its practicality and its beauty, but because I felt it was so difficult to communicate anything of substance to those close to me. Yet this was the attitude of a boy. The foolish hope that I could simply speak to those I loved and have them listen and understand. That if I could simply get really good at talking and make myself clear, logical, and with precise enunciation, my family and friends would stop ignoring and hating me.

They had taken my voice from such a young age, it didn't occur to me until much later how those with more sufficient language capacities had already taken theirs and they were now destroying themselves by taking revenge against their own family. How they had unthinkingly been shaped by trauma, turned into slaves, and only reproduced because they were told to; shaping the assets of their owners which were ostensibly their progeny. The ways in which the society of control and all its subordinate mechanisms -- where even education is rigged in subtle variables to induce cognitive friezes and corresponding dissonance -- were designed to produce exactly that.

Words are meaningless with the demon possessed for they have no desire to listen and nothing worth saying or listening to.

You're so lovey-dovey after I beat you. Just like my mother

You understand power, for power is all you know. That I could live in denial of my power for so long would seem to imply I have plenty of it.

Your soul-language dissertation is quite astute. I've noticed when I ruthlessly dominate others with little regard for their well-being, words truly do become next to useless. They simply understand without needing to be told. They imprint on me. They love me without want.

It sickens me. That what people crave is that side of me and everything I think I am is some fringe indulgence only of interest to weak and impotent men who use language skills as a cope.

Yet that part of me is me and I'm not ashamed of it.

That part of me is beautiful and courageous and strong and you'll never have it for as long as you live cause you took me for granted.

I don't care. People can want what they want from me. I can want as little or as much of them as I please. I have the right to choose. That so many men and women only want to be used needn't be a problem for me now that I know not to expect anything more than what they have to offer (allowing always the chance I could be surprised.)

Writing isn't a way for me to show off.

I'm quite aware that if I want people to listen, to read, to comment, I need to make it about them. You yourself were quite swayed and resentful of my hypno-captions written in second person. They worked because people wanted themselves. You yourself were quite swayed and resentful of my bro captions, bro. They worked because people wanted themselves. We live in a declining literary culture where content is king and the consumer is product. Hence, without a real bedrock of literary values, individuals are reduced to contentless content ouroborous(es) feeding off and excreting themselves, inducing and reinforcing a continuously homogenized capital impotence.

It's not difficult for me at all to trick people into thinking they're exactly what I say they are. I could be so pretty and popular if I did nothing but be funny and accommodating and tell people what I knew they wanted to hear.

It's weird when you resent someone, yet need them isn't it?

It's weird when you're aware how much not only you, but everyone around you, has to give and receive and benefit by someone with a gregarious and straightforward attitude, and yet it seems also the very fact of their awareness highlights not only all which you were denied, but continuously deny yourself for you have seen yourself fit to be reduced and find some comfort in that. Not fitting neatly into another person's soul, but fitting neatly into the nothing you allow yourself.

The first thing you ever said to me was "I only date down."

Naturally, I took this to mean you acknowledged I was too good for you, and you wanted someone easier you could manipulate and control.

This is why, despite your later seductions, my later infatuation, from the start I had no designs for you whatsoever.

You gave ample warning. You always give ample warning.

(I'm particularly impressed with the restraint you show, in admitting you wish to Mellvar me at the end of paragraph two, with only one teeny-tiny barb about smothering at the end of paragraph eight to close out a stream of sincere compliments gleaned from being so attentive.)

The second you started trying to compel me to obey you, I was out.

I'm not a demon. I don't like being bossed around.

I write because I need to write. If I don't write, I get sick and die. It's not something anyone has ever cared to hear about, this frivolous indulgence a man of my social class has little to gain by pursuing, and yet I fail to see how one could ever put a sticker price on the weight of their soul.

The only thing which had ever been able to replace writing was giving my heart and soul to lifting. They serve very similar functions, despite their superficial differences and auras of social prestige.

They remain, at their core, meditative experiences wherein I go deep into myself and break down the old and outdated parts -- repetition by repetition -- as I resculpt myself from the ground up.

What makes me happy is having a circle of writers I can influence and in turn be influenced by. Not only their support, but the depths of their psyches I can only get to when they lay a foundation which becomes a stage, then supply the bones in real time, entwining them with meat and sinew inch-by-inch until a fully-fleshed being stands before my mind's eye. Influence is a form of sex. It's as much about communication and trust as power. That you can't seem to see that whatsoever is truly heartbreaking and ultimately why you're no good.

The truth is, I left my real friends to give almost all my time to you. They were crippled by depression and self-doubt, but they were good and brilliant people and for minimizing them at the cost of being swept up in your superficial glamour, I paid the price I deserved.

Now my tab is clear.

See ya, never gonna be ya.

[georgebbwbush]

i fear that the person who i dream of being is not me

[tofufan247]

sad how there’s no guarantee of being loved

[buddhistmusings]

Every time I post something referencing the very real humanitarian crisis in Palestine, my "for you" page changes and becomes filled with recommended posts that contain the most vile antisemitic shit.

It makes me so sad, because it reminds me of what an awful job that a movement that was supposed to be about advocating for Palestinian lives has done with boundary maintenance. It is so compromised that social media algorithms don't appear able to differentiate between advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and antisemitic content. The crossover between the two has become enough that a user who engages with content of one kind is recommended content of another. People who are not educated on antisemitism and the covert symbolism it uses might not recognize it right away, so we are seeing an entire group of people, convinced that they are participating in a civil rights advocacy movement also being indoctrinated into a separate hate movement, under the impression that these two movements are the same.

With such poor boundaries being maintained between these two ideally separate movements, and such overlap growing, how long can I honestly maintain that these are two separate movements?

Meanwhile, innocent Palestinians are being bombed, children are starving, far-right governments on both sides of the conflict are gloating in the support they get from American conservatives and leftists respectively, and functionally, I hear nobody advocating for peace anymore, only the destruction of their enemies. Palestinians are being so incredibly demeaned, by both the people who want to destroy them and their sovereignty, and the people who claim to be supportive of them.

Sane, rational people who are advocating for peaceful solutions are disregarded and voices on the fringe are centered. People are witnessing what they interpret as a genocide unfolding and in response are advocating for a counter-genocide. Can they not see how this actively impedes the peace process? They give legitimacy to (false) far-right Israeli nationalist claims of Palestinian statehood as an inherent danger to the safety of the Jewish people, and demean the Palestinian people by suggesting that what they want is revenge and not to live their lives in peace. They've made questions about the legitimacy of Hamas, an evil terrorist organization, central to the movement, instead of what should be the priority, that innocent people are suffering and that this is unacceptable. They have redefined and reappropriated Jewish words to use as antisemitic slurs and convinced their audience that using these slurs is not antisemitism.

Meanwhile, capitalizing on the above mentioned antisemitism, those who want to harm the Palestinian people, deny them statehood, are using the words and actions of these activists as ideological ammunition to fire up their anti-Palestinian base. Donald Trump literally called Joe Biden a Palestinian at the presidential debate as a slur. Republicans are using the word "Palestinian" as a slur. Netanyahu (possibly one of the worst people involved in this entire situation), in his speech to congress, was able to point to the very real antisemitic actions of activists to further cement support for him personally. By the way, saying how antisemitic activists harm Palestinians shouldn't have to be the rhetorical point we resort to. The fact that antisemitism hurts Jewish people is enough to make it a bad thing and is enough to make us avoid doing it, right?

I'm tired of turning in one direction and saying "You should NEVER say something like that about Palestinians" and then turning in the other and saying "You should NEVER say something like that about Jews". It should not have to be said that condemning the very existence of one of two ethnic groups in their shared homeland is unacceptable, and yes, it is their shared homeland, because they both live there and are both from there. It should not have to be said that you should understand what a word means before using it to insult people. Here I am in fact talking about the word Zionist, because that is a family of various movements, some of which are worthy of condemnation, but frankly, the basic premise of Zionism does not demean or degrade Palestinians at all, because it simply is the belief that Jewish people have the right to return to and form communities in their homeland.

I'm kind of opening myself up to get a lot of criticism here, but I wanted to get these thoughts out, because I have been finding them enormously frustrating. My heart breaks for all the innocent Palestinians who are suffering and have a lackluster movement advocating on their behalf, and my heart breaks for all the Jewish people who have lost friends to antisemitic conspiracy. My heart breaks for the victims of 10/7 and their families, as well as the Jewish community who was interrupted in the mourning of their losses. My heart breaks for all of the Palestinians who have lost friends and family in the subsequent destruction in Gaza and the immense violence and famine we are seeing.

Please root your activism in peace and compassion, not hatred and destruction. Please think before you speak about entire groups of people. Learn about what words mean before you use them to condemn others. Learn about Jewish people, Palestinian people, their lives, their cultures, and why they both feel such a strong connection to the land. Make this about healing, love, and reconciliation, and not about being right.

[tpquill]

America, what have you done!

I am tonight sitting here (Australia) speechless from what has transpired these last 12 hours or so, what the hell happened?

Why on earth did he get voted back in?

What in the world went wrong?

8 years ago he was elected whether you choose to believe it or not, through nefarious means (Russia influence) at the time people fell for his charisma & charm, but soon realised just like women realise when they fall for the charm and the boyish behaviour, there’s a darker side they don’t reveal until it’s too late. Congratulations America, he revealed it pretty early on once he got his claws into the Resolution Table in the Oval Office.

We (the world) watched in horror as he separated families and deported illegals. He overspent on his billionaire friends and made middle and working class suffer. Had no health care plan, no infrastructure or employment plan. No commerce or education - nothing, zilch. He employed sycophants who bowed and grovelled to do his biding (half of them his own family - nepotism much?) he ran America like one of his bankrupt businesses and almost brought America to the ground. He was responsible for not taking responsibility when a pandemic hit the world and over 1 million died under his watch.

America impeached him twice, investigated him multiple times. Decided then they’d had enough and voted him out. You had four years of peace, of prosperity, of employment health care, higher wages and lowering costs. Your country opened up again and healthcare was restored, you started bouncing back, you’re coming has never been better. Meanwhile he ranted and raged the election was stolen, even though every court hearing and document was thrown out. America had turned a page in history for four years.

What the hell happened?

Joe Biden stood for another term but that wasn’t good enough, the America media had an axe to grind and so did it seemed those who were influential in the media circus and he stood aside for a women he picked as his vice. A woman with an incredible record in prosecution and protection of law. A woman who had fought against cartels and won. A woman of scruples and integrity. Who was willing to stand up to him and hold him accountable. A man who has current,y 34 felony convictions including falsifying business records and inflating assets to hide tax fraud. A man with 6 bankruptcies and multiple accusations of predator and rapist behaviour AND YOU HAVE VOTED HIM BACK IN?

Why?

Was it because you like someone with a need for vengeance? Someone who had made it very clear he intends to run America like Russia? A man who stole your nations top secrets and in some cases sold them off? A man for whatever bizzare reason is allowed to do whatever the hell he likes with no repercussions, because he’s Donald Trump?

This is not the America I remember as a child. This is not the president I saw growing up, who took care of his people, who cared for his country, supported their military and stood up to foreign enemies.

I sit here tonight devastated for all the brave and wonderful women and men, who voted to protect theirs and their daughters basic human, reproductive and civil rights. To the persons of all colours and religions, to the victims of domestic and sexual violence. To the wonderful trans community, to the gay marriages built on love. To all those who have fought both home and abroad in service. To the dreamers who see America as a shiny beacon of light & hope. To those who have crossed many roads in search of protection, in a country who had always welcomed you. I feel all of your sadness and anger at what has transpired.

None of this makes sense, none of this adds up.

Kamala Harris was a future light of hope and peace, of working with both sides for democracy to move America forward - now it seems she will be pulled back into the darkest part of her history. Back to when women had no right to vote, no opinion that was listened to, no voice protecting her own body.

She will be silenced once again.

Immigrants will no longer be welcome.

The church will control what happens in marriages and government decisions.

You will no longer be accepted as a trans or LGBTQ+

If you suffer a medical emergency during pregnancy, you will be forced to endure the consequences of either the child dying inside you, or be forced to give birth at “God’s will” Rape is just a word - a pregnancy from it will be unfortunate but a necessary as your right to choose will not matter anymore.

None of this adds up.

I will not accept that a man who got almost the exact same amount of votes as he did in 2020 can be declared the winner and Kamala only got 60 million, where did the other 20 million go? The votes came in too quickly the declaration called too soon. I’m by no means a conspiracy theorist but the math doesn’t add up?

Bomb threats - is America the Middle East? Interference through social media via Elon Musk and China. Giving away money to people who would vote for Trump. It stinks like rotten fish on a warm summers day here in Oz.

My final take.

If I devoted my entire like in government, in prosecution, in upholding the constitution - I would have questions, I would want answers as to how this happened with no increase in Trumps collective votes from 2020, he didn’t increase, he stayed the same.

President Joe Biden in his last few months of power, should launch an investigation because it’s not a case of well America decided to perform a lobotomy on itself and completely wiped the years between 2016-2020 from her memory and only remember the last 102 days, or something or someone played a hand in some very nefarious and illegal vote tampering.

Madam Vice President - do not concede.

[missmarveledsblog]

A knight in Shining ...denim ( Mechanic!Eddie Munson x Reader )

summary : one day a woman shows up to the shop only for eddie to find out she the new receptionist changing his work space , life and feelings .

warning: mutual pinning , idiots in love , no upside down here ( soz ) jason carver is alive ( again soz ) sort of age gap ( eddies like early thirties where reader is mid twenties ) , 18+ no smut but allusions to it

It’s not that working wasn’t the bain of existence because he actually loved the shop , working on the cars  listening to music of his own choosing even being able to squash some of the stupid assumptions people had about him although it was also the downside of working  there was some people still thought he was the devil incarnate. Some of his old highschool associates could he even call them that would come in with minor or even non existent problems just to make some off handed or down right insult him . the snobby asshole who once we jocks now owning their own small town businesses thinking they were donald trump or some sort of multi billionaire , or they constantly  bring up their successful marriages and  families when eddie dates consisted on woman that preferred to keep him as a secret . life was still like high school to these fucks .   then like a shift in the wind working during one of the hottest days of the year when he heard a clearing of a throat and sound of a knock. Pulling himself out from under the car only to have the wind knocked out of his lungs . 

“ are you eddie ?” soft velvet voice hitting his ear drums like a piece of heaven on earth . 

“ what can i do you for sweetheart ?” . 

“ oh didn’t frank tell you i’m the new receptionist …  i thought he told me you would show me around… i’m y/n by the way  “ her brows furrowed in such an adorable way he almost melted to the spot . 

“  you don’t mind if i just double check make sure you not some new hot thief that steals from the auto repair shops  or i would be in so much shit “  only for a laugh to fall from her lips  standing little taller making a pretty lady laugh was always an ego boost .  the two stood patiently as frank suddenly remembered but eddie never blamed the guy he was getting older at first working there well it was a favour for his uncle wayne  giving the two were buddies  .  

“ So check out although i don’t think you’ve been fully briefed in what the job entails” he winced slowly walking over to the office he swore one of these days he was going to tidy up .  opening the door waiting to hear a gasp or for her to storm out and say not my problem . 

“ holy shit “ was probably selling it lightly at the chaos of files everywhere . “ ok take what you need for today and i will do the rest “  she nodded walking more trying not to knock over the stacked boxes and create more of mess although it wasn’t like it would really make a difference.   Eddie doing just that in truth he was still that whole the day even the first week waiting for her to run out of there. Only thing was he was not allowed step foot in the office until then  . everytime she would open the door a little  handing him out paperwork  he needed or receipts til  maybe the middle of the second week she finally opened the shutters on the small office which he honestly never even noticed they were shutters to begin with .  then one day while he was eating lunch he watched her with a trolley carrying boxes into the garage only to see cleaning supplies while throwing out the near ancient ones . by the end of the month well it was like a whole other place  , old furniture replaced  in the waiting area , the break room was cleaned out and refreshed , even returning customers wondered if they were in the right place  and word travelled fast the new changes to the shop , the new beautiful receptionist .  which second part he was kinda sad she was thought of in such a way it was like his own greedy little secret . 

Working day in and day out together for that time too became fast friends he almost smacked his head when he heard her blasting metallica in as she cleaned or how hard his mouth fell open when he found out she was franks granddaughter . which explained how she was able to get approval for everything so easily or why she didn’t run for the hill when she first saw the place. It was also a surprise to see steve harrington driving in giving that eddie already repaired the bmw the weekend just gone. 

“ harrington “ he arched his brow . 

“ the windshield wiper fell off that like safety thing right?” he asked looking around everywhere but at eddie. 

“ fell off … did you pull this off “he gasp seeing the mangled state of piece in his hand. 

“ no why would he do that now” robin voice called as she too was looking around the space. 

“ you helped it wouldn’t have to do with the news of a certain lady that start working here would it ?” he mused looking at his close friends who in his opinion couldn’t lie for shit. 

“ oh hey welcome  would you guys like a cup of coffee “ the voice of angel rang out as the two stood goofy smiles on their faces. 

“ sweetheart no need for the niceness these are my friends actually more like pest robin and steve this is y/n , y/n robin and steve” he chuckled. 

“ oh nice to meet you both … did a bear attack your wipers “ her head tilted looking down at the scrap metal in Eddie's hands. 

“ yeah i had to fight it off save my car “ steve nodded trying to appear strong and buff only for his friends faces to scrunch in disgust.  

“ yeah right  yogi bear , soo y/n how old are you … single ?” Robin smiled sweetly. 

“ erm i’m 25 and yeah i’m single .. I spend so much time here to even find a boyfriend  “ she laughed . 

“ ignore those two .. you heading out ?” 

“ oh thought i get us lunch was just coming  out to see what you wanted .. or you guys wanted if your friends want to join” 

“ yes “ ..”they were just leaving “ the three spoke in unison . 

“ hey why don’t  i come with you i know what they like and plus  make a new friend “ robin linked arms already leading her out the door . 

“ I taught her too well “ steve sighed . 

“ yeah cause your swimming in the ladies lately” Eddie teased walking to the car trying to  see where to even begin . 

“ i’ll have you know i’ve a date for tonight munson “ .

“ so why are you flirting with my hot coworker harrington ?” 

“ cause she hot plus i’m not the only one  you do realise more repairs  lately have be guys wrecking their cars on purpose to try and talk to her ?” steve snorted. 

“ so you admit that you broke the windshield wiper … wait that why we’ve been so busy lately?” eddie turned his head to the side  as steve nodded his head yes . 

“ come on man she new and well she easy on the eyes  and yeah she gonna be a hot ticket in town “ . 

“ she not just a pretty face man , she funny and goofy and great music taste that dio album playing she brought that in from home and she friendly and kind makes the old gals feel like vip honestly she the best” eddie beaming smile only made steve eyes widened. 

“ oh my god you love her” 

 “ dude i know her a month and couple of week i do not love her” scoffing pretending like it wasn’t close to it . which in his defense was a cruel joke on universe part to put her so close knowing a woman like that would never go for a guy like him, girls like that make guys like him the best friend or close friends it was a cruel thing but it was a fact he could already see unfolding . barely listening to steve drowning on, not even realising he was moved on to a new topic of conversation til the time past and the girls were back robin was more friendly then flirt must of picking up that y/n was straight well he thinks she was .  steve and robin thought they could see it , the lingering touches or the fact her eyes would be on eddie  or how they would quickly move before he could catch her bluntly checking him out . 

It went on like that for weeks both looking when the other wasn’t or slightly flirty undertones of exchanges that they would brush off thinking they were reading too much into it .  another thing it was always just at work it was like the friendship or whatever it was only extended to the walls of franks automobile repair shop not that the two didn’t want to like anytime they went to extend it ,they would chicken out or say something completely different . soon  it was a year that had passed since y/n came to the shop , a year of trying to convince himself that he wasn’t in love or that he wasn’t good enough for the woman who gave him sweet words every single day .  like the day she arrived it was hottest day of the year and like it was the universe was trying to kill him when she walked in the door wearing pair of shorts and tank top looking like one of those supermodels on the coke and pepsi commercials . he could feel his throat go dry and his mouth water  trying not to stare at the way the shorts hugged her ass so right  or how perfect her cleavage was in the tank top or how he was sure to melt and evaporate all in one.  Then like the universe called he sensed the real devil in town . jason carver and his bum chum andy another two idiots who still thought they were in highschool .  

“ I got these, would you check the inventory please  “ he called as y/n gave him a nod and a quick good morning. 

“ well looks like your still here huh munson and still the  one fixing the cars , i thought you at least be manager or something “ that smug smirk on his face , the pearly veneers that his buddy never told him look ridiculous . 

“ what can i do you for gentlemen” 

“ it’s making weird noise cop told me get checked out or next time he’d give me a ticket.. Hey were the hot piece of ass that works here maybe i could service her while you service my car” he chuckled looking around . 

“ her name is y/n not piece of ass and she working “ the glare if it could kill jason carver would fall to the ground dead , usually the comment never hurt shit he’s heard it all since he was a kid learned to grow tick skin but hearing them talk about y/n was different . 

“ go get her then i wanna talk to her about the price of all this not that matters maybe throw her a bone give her taste of a good thing instead of being here with your deadbeat ass all time i mean i’m sure she nice to you all time cause she feels sorry for you “ he snickered as andy high fived him . 

“ i mean i seen her man she definitely wouldn’t be into satan spawn here … you like her don’t you munson … what you think girl like that chooses to be here listening to these noise you call music “ andy snide smile as two found themselves hilarious but what they didn’t know was said woman was listening to everything, finding that part of her that wouldn’t end up in a orange jumpsuit . how dare they talk down to eddie like that one of the funniest , goofiest sweethearts that was basically sex on legs . how drooled over her work as she watched him bent over the hood of a car or how she had to clench her thighs when she saw his arm muscle contract along with the ink on his body . how dear these two personality void asswipes talk down to anyone when they looked like dollar store versions of wall street nope not in this world or the next would she let anyone talk down to eddie not on her watch . she didn’t even have a plan nor did she wanna even think of the consequences of what she was about to do it could wait another time . instead she came out of the closet before jason carver could even get anything out of his mouth she pulled eddie by his overalls and crashing her lips against his taking every single male in the room off guard including the one she kissed only to pinch his side to bring him to reality  well it wasn’t reality for him , he was sure this was a dream because it was like so many of the ones he woke up painfully hard from . it had to be a dream because this felt too perfect , too right . like every nearvein his body was under her control as it came to life from just her touch . 

“ oh shoot sorry i didn’t even notice you guys”the coy smile as she pulled back from clearing of a throat. It wasn’t a true lie she did actually forget the two  were there after a while getting lost in the feeling and taste of eddie on her lips . 

“ really the town freak” 

“ really those highlights “ she shot back , “ those clothes i mean  i get you guys got money but shit you got no personality as for eddie being a lowly mechanic he’s been running the place since he started , he is this place but you wouldn’t know that since you work for daddy “ she rolled her eyes . 

“ so what your just some slut anyways “ . 

“ ah as well as no personality , no brains either best you can do is slut ok my turn …. You rich boy never been told his whole like so well you been a prick all your life and who can blame you when toupee tommy which isn’t fooling anyone here bigs you up when your insult hurt as much as a feather … now do you want the car that clearly is compensation for the fact you got nothing going on down there or your free to leave” she batted her eyelashes  while eddie on the other hand never though his feelings could grow even more. 

“ your a receptionist why should i care what you say  , your both trash literally a fuck and dump is all your worth “ . 

“ and all your worth is nothing , yeah you may get girls but it’s for the money and even that isn’t worth sticking around for , which is why you have more girlfriends than you’ve had birthdays , oh and lets not pretend that you have actually friends because the second you go broke you will have no one not even toupee timmy who’s afraid to tell you those veneers make you look like a horse that died decades ago and now looks like a bad taxidermy job  so now do you want the car fixed or do you wanna leave because those are your opinions my friend either learn some manners or drive to another place “ she smiled sweetly like andy didn’t like he was going to start crying suddenly the universe and eddie were great old school pals as  looked weighing their options . through gritted teeth and almost killing him to say it but small town there wasn’t a luxury of going somewhere else and the other repair shop  well  he had a messy situation there too . through the whole interaction eddie stood looking at her like she save him and his whole family from a burning building or she hung the sun, moon and stars and after that fuck she did in his eyes.  The two men stood usually quiet while eddie got to work it wasn’t a tough repair but with those two tried to do it themselves when it would of been a whole other mess . once paid and speeding the hell out of there as she wave ever so sweetly .  like pride filled his body almost forgetting himself in the moment when he picked her up and spun her in a circle , placing his lips on her until he pulled back wide eyed thinking he overstepped the boundary that the other kiss was for show. 

“ shit sorry .. fuck “ he pulled back cursing himself . 

“ eddie..” she went to begin but he went on his own rant. 

“ i am sorry i know you did it to get the guys off my back i stupidly though ..but why would a girl like you like a lo.. Ouch did you just pinch me “ he gasped probably a little over dramatic but then again it wouldn’t be eddie if he wasn’t . 

“ yes because you were going to go on about being a lowly trailer park kid and shit ? wanna know what i think ?” she asked. 

“ if it like what you told carver i’d rather you hit me with a wrench instead … here” he winced handing her the wrench making her roll her eyes she wasn’t new to deflecting humour  she practically mastered it herself . 

“ i see a man who knows how to appreciate things in life like friends and possession, one that even if he did have a ton of money would spend it on his friend than to show off what he had , one of those people that would make sure everyone is ok before himself , a funny silly man who enjoys entertaining those around him , big nerd but honestly nerds are hotter “ she winked . “ also if you haven’t gathered i kinda of kissed you first and it wasn’t fully for those guys but maybe my own selfish reason of wanting to kiss the hottest guy in town by a mile “ she added slowly walking towards him placing her soft hand  on nap of his neck puling him down to her level so she could place a kiss on his lips . 

“  i mean sometimes i do wanna hit you with the wrench but like ninety seven percent of the time i wanna do that” she pulled back only for him to walk over hitting the shutter before lifting her up . 

“ well if we're showing off what we wanna do my little knight in shining ... denim let me really show you what i  really wanna do with you “ a wolfish grin and new found confidence maybe the shop could shut earlier for the day .

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lee Moran at HuffPost:

Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat spoke on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” about one particular appeal that President-elect Donald Trump had for some voters that resulted in his decisive 2024 election victory ― and how the “illusion of competency” is “one of the biggest scams of all” of authoritarian leaders. Many people “would like to be relieved of the burden of choice” when it comes to voting in elections, and that is what Trump promised during the campaign to evangelical Christians, Ben-Ghiat noted. “They are not afraid of being relieved of that burden of choice and letting somebody else make the decisions,” she explained. “And so, in fact, often authoritarian personalities who are like the big boss at home or in the workplace, the bullies, they are the ones who are glad in the political ground to give up their agency and voice to somebody else.” Trump promised voters that “I alone can fix it,” Ben-Ghiat recalled.

Appearing on MSNBC's The Weekend this past Saturday, Ruth Ben-Ghiat highlighted that the "illusion of competency" is one of the "biggest scams of all" and that a sizable chunk of voters "would like to be relieved of the burden of choice."

From the 11.09.2024 edition of MSNBC's The Weekend:

[thebrokengate]

I would just like to offer a word today, a gentle reminder that it's okay if you're feeling sick, sad, angry, disgusted, and scared for the future. It's completely normal to feel this way when the threat of our rights being taken away is imminent. Do not let anyone make you feel wrong for feeling this way. I know that today as I worked I, too, was a zombie all day, and living in a red state surrounded by people all around celebrating Trump was an inescapable nightmare as I could only see in my mind the terrified faces and the tears on the cheeks of every American who knows what vile things that man is capable of doing to every minority across the nation. Things that he can and will do.

But as painful as it is, I want you to remember these feelings during these next four years. I want you to remember the fear, to remember the tears you cried, to remember the anger that shook your voice, and I want you to hold onto and use it. They want us to be afraid and back away like animals in cages, but they need to know one simple fact: above all else, we are human. Everyone negatively affected by the outcome of this election is a human being with breath in your bodies and blood in your veins. Live loud. Don't give up. You are filled with life, and you have a right to that life whether they say you do or not. You have a right to freedom whether they say you do or not, and you have a right to pursue happiness whether they say you do or not. If this country wants to preach freedom, then it's time they practice what they're preaching for all Americans. Not just for people who fit into their narrow lines, but for all people.

We may feel defeated today, we may feel defeated tomorrow. But I know us. I know the amazing things we're capable of making happen, too. We are not weak. We're strong and we're fighters. It may not feel like it now and you may lose sight of your strength for a little while, but not for long. And I'll be right there with you fighting, too.

You do not scare me, Donald Trump, nor do your supporters. Your hatred and ignorance only inspires me to take a stand against it.

[morlock-holmes]

This article to me sums up the logical conclusion of the whole White Fragility thing: abelateiner(.)medium(.)com(/)grieving-the-white-void-48c410fdd7f3#.6liiw3xfp

It's a really sad thing to do to people and I feel really sorry for the person who wrote that.

Also a good thing to link to if anybody ever wants to pretend that "Woke" isn't at least gesturing vaguely towards something real.

I'm really tempted to follow Ibram X. Kendi and call this attitude "White assimilationism" because it really does follow the logic of black assimilationist scolding:

The reason there is so much racial strife in this country is mostly due to the fact that one of the racial cultures in this country has become corrupt. Each member of that race is, by virtue of their skin color, raised in, and complicit in that culture, and therefore responsible for everything produced by it. You have white skin, Donald Trump has white skin, that means that you are responsible for Donald Trump and that anybody who looks at you and sees your white skin has a perfect right to assume that you are Donald Trump unless you work really really hard to convince them otherwise.

Of course, the good side of Black assimilationism is that much of what people from that tradition advocate is actually good; it's good to support your family, to hold down a productive job, to be educated, and to contribute back to your community. All worthwhile things in which you can take pride.

This white assimilationist narrative is that the crafty whites have essentially cheated themselves into success, and that means that any success you have is probably due to a white supremacist society putting its thumb on the scale to give you things you don't deserve.

And this makes almost every white person who believes in it a hypocrite.

You get a handful of people who are sincere or neurotic about it to actually severely self-sabotage themselves, and then everybody else is just a giant hypocrite because, like, yeah white flight is bad but I have a one year old and the money to get him away from crime so.

When you hear that straight white male voices have been privileged too often in fandom, you don't shut up, you start a podcast with your two other straight white male friends and make an occasional self-deprecating joke about how problematic that is between sponsor ads and plugs for your Patreon.

I have a ton of resentment towards this cult; I spent years in it trying to crush myself down and follow rules that nobody actually followed because everyone else just instinctively knew that if you followed them you'd destroy yourself, so you just ignore most of them and then occasionally, carefully explain that you feel guilty about it.

[gatekeeper-watchman]

Good Morning World 11/9/2024 7:00:52 AM Jacksonville, Florida USA The Election Is Over

The election is over. It’s time to cut the crap. Let the games begin. And, as you are just beginning to see, they most certainly have. To those who voted for Kamala Harris, those who sincerely wanted change, as someone once said, I feel your pain. I, too, want change; but, as I have written in the past, Donald Trump is not the solution to our problem. His way, shock, confusion, upset, and disorder are not what we need. Even now—already, at the very beginning of his administration, you are able to see the truth of what I am saying in real time as the results will continue to unfold hourly. Emotionally and intellectually, he is incompetent to be our president. Even his own party doesn’t want him. But enough! As I said, the election is over! Let us sit back and enjoy our popcorn and cream sodas as we watch the evening news, contemplating the demise of our nation and how his personality disorder insults our intelligence, at least those who still have a brain matter left to qualitatively analyze the truth. Corporations are the creation of man for the purpose of serving man. They are not people by civil definition. It is man who should govern—not the corporations. Our government should get the TPP out of the secret vault in their basement and publish it for the people to see. It should be readily available to everyone before being voted on. The Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism is no secret at all to foreign governments and the Corporatocracy and Power Elite in our country. The only one from whom it is kept secret is we the people. In fact, we should and must defeat these agreements when they come up for a vote. If it affects our lives, we should have a voice before it is enacted. It's past time for us to practice what we preach on our bumper stickers and "Take Back Our Country" from these leaches. This, too, is of the utmost urgency. I do have a couple questions, however. Do we want our military to march as those of the armies of Kim Jong-un of North Korea with their fancy side–step or those of Hitler with their goose step. Also, do we want His Highness, President Trump to wear a gold crown, perhaps with a huge pheasant’s tail and riding a great white horse prancing proudly ahead of our armies? Boy that would be nice. Now, that would make an impression—really.

Also, don’t you think it a nice idea to line the streets with the homeless so as to pay tribute to them who sacrificed the twenty-eight million dollars to pay for the parade which could have provided food for their sustenance? Oops! I almost forgot. There is, also, the cost of repairing the streets damaged by the treads of the tanks in the parade. How about all those missiles? Do we want them in the parade too? That would really fix our streets.

We’ll really impress the world with this. We’ll really impress the world with what a great leader we have, wont it?

B… S…! Let me tell you what I really think. The United States of America is the laughing stock of the world, and that is because we elected a sick fool for a leader. Are we really that stupid? As Donald Trump would say, “Sad”.

From: Steven P. Miller, @ParkermillerQ,   gatekeeperwatchman.org  TM ‎Founder and Administrator of Gatekeeper-Watchman International Groups. #GWIG, #GWIN, #GWINGO. www.facebook.com/gatekeeperwatchnan www.facebook.com/ Instagram: steven_parker_miller_1956

[lucialeevermillion]

I’m not resigned

I am angry.

I am sad.

I am scared.

I am not resigned.

I sit here drinking my morning coffee and looking at the state of the world and I do the only thing I can, I put pen to paper. That has always been my go to, my escape, my way to get my thoughts out in a world where my voice is overshadowed by the mass of people who don’t care about my life.

I am a pansexual woman living in America. I won’t say I’ve always been proud of my country, quite the opposite actually. There are things both in history and currently happening that make me sick to be an American, I won’t lie about that. But I also won’t lie about the fact that even now, I’m disappointed in us.

We all know what happened. Forget about what side you fell on and just read, just take this in for a moment.

We put freedom on the ballad of 2024.

That’s right 2024. Marty McFly went to the year 2015 in ‘Back To The Future’ and was met with flying cars, shoes that adjusted to your size, and holograms in the streets.

In 2024 we have none of these things, we have less. We have women bleeding out in their cars in Texas because Roe v. Wade, which was put into place in 1973, was overturned by a 78 year old man with more money than sense.

These women are not 18 year old women who ‘had unprotected sex and decided they didn’t want to deal with the consequences’ they were mothers with children already and wives with husbands. Think about that. Put yourself in that place. You are miscarrying, or your wife is, and because of some law they can’t receive the help they need to live. As a husband you’re now a single father, as a child you’re now motherless. And as the woman in that place you’ve been suffering for hours with no relief only to die, with nothing. For nothing.

Amber Thurman, age 28, a mother. Died in Georgia because of the ban.

Nevaeh Crain, age 18, died in Texas after three hospital visits begging someone to help her. Her mother pleaded the doctors for help. No one listened in fear of imprisonment.

The NBC news reports, “Exclusive analysis finds the rate of maternal deaths in Texas increased 56% from 2019 to 2022, compared with just 11% nationwide during the same time period.”

The men’s response? “Your body, my choice.” After winning the campaign, their response is to rub it in to the women LOSING THEIR LIVES AND FREEDOMS.

Durning the witch trials in Europe from 1450-1750 it is estimated that roughly 40,000 to 50,000 witch executions were held. Anywhere from 75-80% of them were women. That places the number of dead women at 40,000 or less.

They burned women, not witches.

They burned WOMEN.

They burned sisters, daughters, mothers. Crime against women is nothing new, not in Europe, and not in America.

Every 68 seconds a woman in the U.S is sexually assaulted.

WE ARE SUFFERING! WE ARE IN PAIN! WE ARE HURTING! WE ARE ANGRY!!

I sit awake at night and I look at my life. I have personally been assaulted by two different men, in both cases it was repeated multiple times. 12 years of my life was spent with a man sneaking into my room at night. I am 22. OVER HALF MY LIFE. Because of this there was a time when I couldn’t accept a hug from my own mother. My skin would crawl. Because of this I am germaphobic and have issues with being clean and others touching my skin. Because of this I have nightmares and thoughts of killing myself because at least then the nightmares will go away. I have been broken and to my 2 year old self, for her first time, I am writing this. I’m sorry. Someone should have protected you and it’s about time I start.

Donald J Trump is a rapist and a felon and we as the people elected him. Why? It’s said the people elected him because “things were better when he was president before”. Okay, sure, I don’t disagree. Here’s the thing you may not know though, this time isn’t the same.

His policies have changed, they are more aggressive.

Inflation is made by the companies not the president, no matter who it is. You argued that Kamala couldn’t bring down the price of produce, yet Trump can? Why? How?

Here’s the danger with Trump. He’s curated a mob mentality, a God like status. He is not a god. He is a man who wants power just like all of us. The issue? He takes from those who don’t have.

You argue his economy is better. It’s not. Look at the calculations and data. Kamala was backed by 82 Nobel prize winners. Scientists and economists, professionals. Trump is predicted to be putting the economy, and us, into trillions more in debt.

Kamala cared about the following:

1. Cutting taxes for middle class families (most of us)

2. Making rent and housing more affordable.

3. investing in small business

4. Strengthening and bringing down the cost of health care.

5. Protecting and stretching social security and Medicare.

6. Support American innovation

7. Education

8. Affordable child care.

9. Climate change and lowering energy costs.

10. Restoring and protecting reproductive rights.

11. Protecting civil rights and freedoms.

12. Lowering gun violence.

13. Fixing our broken immigration system.

14. Tackling the opioid and fentanyl crisis.

15. Ensuring no one is above the law.

16. Standing for our allies and against dictatorships.

17. Investing in America’s strength.

18. Supporting the military and their families.

How many of you knew that? How many of you bothered to look? All of that is available on her website. I’m not saying that she’s perfect. I personally believe that absolute power corrupts absolutely. But I am saying that in a world where we have two options, we choose wrong.

All my life I heard “politics don’t concern me,” or “I don’t get into that.” That’s just the thing, we all NEED TO. Don’t trust Facebook and word of mouth, don’t trust bias news sources that piece together things from what they have to sell an agenda, on either side. Do your own research. Read your own articles. Being uneducated isn’t your fault unless you allow yourself to remain ignorant to the things happening in the world. Ask your children, ask your family, ask the women in your life what they care about. Ask them what they have been through.

My mother is a victim of sexual assault.

My grandmother a victim of domestic violence.

WE ARE SUFFERING!!!

The world is changing and we need to change with it. America has always been known for our hatred. Hatred of Blacks, Italians, Latinos, Women, the list is endless. At what point do we stop hatred? At what point do we look at ourselves and choose to be better? At what point do we stop preaching ‘bloodshed’.

We are all immigrants. We killed the people who lived here and took their place and everyday we dishonor their memories.

Mass deportation of immigrants will ruin families and cause more crisis than people realize. Who do you think builds our homes? Who do you think does the jobs, we as Americans, have no desire to? Racism has never been something I understand and it never will be. I am appalled.

Project 2025. Before you get on me, yes I know it was brought by the Heritage Foundation and is not actually a Trump creation, that being said he has admitted to liking several (many) of their suggestions and plans to implement them.

This includes:

* Complete ban on abortions without exceptions: pages 449-503

* End marriage equality: pages 545-581

* Elimination of unions and worker protections: page 581

* Defund the FBI and Homeland Security: page 133

* Eliminate federal agencies like the FDA, EPA, NOAA, and more: pages 363-417

* Mass deportation of immigrants and incarceration in "camps": page 133

* End birthright citizenship: page 133

* Cut Social Security: page 691

* Cut Medicare: page 449

* Eliminate the Department of Education: page 319

* Teach Christian religious beliefs in public schools: page 319

* Use public, taxpayer money for private religious schools: page 319

* End the Affordable Care Act: page 449

* Ban contraceptives: page 449

* Additional tax breaks for corporations and the 1%: page 691.

* End civil rights & DEl protections in government: pages 545-581

* Ban African American and gender studies in all levels of education: page 319

* End climate protections: page 417

* Increase Arctic drilling: page 363

* Deregulate big business and the oil industry: page 363

I am angry.

I am sad.

I am scared.

I lay awake thinking of all the little girls like me who will never have justice. Who will grow in a world knowing that their voice matters less than human perception.

In my medical records it states that I’m not a straight woman. Do you know what impact this will have on me?

I know what you’re going to say, that won’t ever pass. NO YOU HOPE IT WON’T PASS. And yet we, as a whole, voted for someone who supports these ideals. The republicans won. Is there enough voice of opposition to stop these things from going through? In my opinion, no, there isn’t.

These are the things that matter. These are the lives impacted. Women, children, the unhealthy, the working class, the disabled, any persons of color, immigrants illegal or legal, persons of a differing religious belief, and the LGBTQ+ community.

Is this what our people fight for? Is this the American ideal? We are more divided than we ever have been before. We, as a people, are full of mistrust and hatred and fear.

Christians preach about loving thy neighbor, does that change just because your neighbor isn’t a straight white male? Is the love you say God has so dependent on circumstance of birth?

How long will my voice be able to ring?

How long will I be able to put pen to paper without consequences?

How long will my voice matter?

How long will I be a member of a democracy?

When my nieces and nephews, when the next generation asks me what I did to stop a dictator, what I did to protects freedoms of all people? I want to be able to say that I did everything in my power.

Can you say that?

I know of at least three women who made votes based on half the story and misinformation. I know of at least two women who didn’t vote at all despite being of the same mindset. This is the age of information, use it.

I write this hoping that the world I see coming never comes to pass. I write this hoping the world will repair itself. But I also write this knowing that hope isn’t enough. When your boat is going over the falls you don’t just pray, you paddle.

This is me, paddling.

-Lucia Lee Vermillion

Sources:

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death

https://www.propublica.org/article/nevaeh-crain-death-texas-abortion-ban-emtala

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna171631

https://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts.html#:~:text=Instead%2C%20modern%20research%20points%20to,witches%20at%2040%2C000%20or%20less.

https://rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/science/kamala-harris-nobel-winners.html

https://kamalaharris.com/issues/

https://www.heritage.org/impact/trump-administration-embraces-heritage-foundation-policy-recommendations

https://www.project2025.org/policy/

[bopinion]

2023 / 41

Aperçu of the Week:

"They say in the Middle East: a pessimist is simply an optimist with experience."

(Ehud Barak, former General and Prime Minister of the State of Israel)

Bad News of the Week:

It was always such a thing when a new country was "discovered." Because that always applied only to the usually white seafarer from Europe, because - surprise! - there were, after all, in 99% of the cases already inhabitants on the spot. And in many of these places, unfortunately, the First Nations are still second-class citizens. For example in Australia. But that was about to change. At least that was the plan of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Unfortunately, he was not the only one to be bitterly disappointed. His idea was to give Australia's indigenous people more political influence with a constitutional amendment. They were to be heard only on matters that directly affect them ("voice to parliament"). Only heard - because everything would still be decided in the almost purely white parliament. So, if you want to see it that way, rather a symbolic gesture of respect. And yet a clear majority voted against the project in the corresponding referendum.

"For Prime Minister Albanese it is a heavy defeat," write the newspapers. What then is it for the Aborigines? Indigenous Australians are considered the oldest surviving culture in the world and have populated the continent for more than 60,000 years. They were there first. And yet only come last. Sad.

Good News of the Week:

Germany has a long checkered history with Poland. With dark and light chapters. One would like to speak of a community of fate. First the fall of the Iron Curtain, then accession to the European Union, all will be well. But then strange developments began in our neighbor to the east. Which can be associated with one name: Kaczynski.

The two brothers Lech and Jaroslaw with their PiS party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc / Law and Justice) have had a decisive influence on Poland's last 20 years. With their programmatic emphasis on nationalism, EU skepticism, social conservatism, right-wing populism, etc., they were a reliable partner of Hungary's omnipotent Viktor Orban and a declared opponent of Brussels and Berlin. This is also how they campaigned: they did not want to be told anything more from the European Union and especially (by name!) from Germany. A ridiculous distortion of reality. Or a bad joke.

Facing them in the election this Sunday were several opposition parties. And increasingly critical voters, who in some places took to the streets in their hundreds of thousands to take a stand for the independence of the judiciary, for example. Their figurehead, Donald Tusk, can in many ways be seen as the antipode of the Kaczynskis. Among other things, he is an avowed pro-European. Of course, after all, he served for five years as president of the European Council and another three as chairman of the European People's Party.

Tusk is now the real winner. Even if he only came in second place with his Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) party. This is because, unlike the PiS, which is still the strongest party but suffered significant losses, he has the realistic prospect of being able to form a solid parliamentary majority with programmatically compatible coalition partners. "This is an epochal event, comparable to Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump," writes the news magazine Der Spiegel. Good prospects for Poland. For its neighbor Germany. And for all of Europe.

Personal happy moment of the week:

My son is going to do more sports. And I don't mean esports. But basketball. In the coming week he will do his first workouts. With physical movement. And sweat. I also like the fact that he has already ridden his bike to school 90% of the time this school year, rather than taking the bus. Even if, I suspect, the main reason is that he doesn't have to get up until fifteen minutes later. Anyway, physical exercise is important for a 15-year-old. So I try to pay attention to that. Let's go!

PS: Now he has already been to basketball training for two hours for the first time. And seems to like it. And I like it too.

I couldn't care less...

...that families can now get a low-interest loan from the government to buy a house. For most of us (and especially in the Munich area) it is utopian to be able to afford home ownership either way.

As I write this...

...I am waiting for the new album of The Rolling Stones. For 18 years the probably longest active rock'n'rollers of all times haven't released any new songs. But next Friday the time has come: "Hackney Diamonds" will be released. I'm curious.

Post Scriptum

In the times of the Gaza war, you have to weigh your words carefully. Unlike the Ukraine war, there is no clear assignment of perpetrator and victim roles of two states here. Rather, the line must be drawn here between rulers who act irresponsibly and peoples who endure the consequences of their actions. Have to endure, there is no choice.

On the one hand, there are the terrorists of Hamas (not the Palestinians!), who, ideologically blinded, are causing inconceivable carnage among innocent civilians. On the other hand, there is an increasingly right-wing radical regime in the Knesset that denies the Palestinian people their right to exist and their territorial integrity (keyword: settlement policy in the West Bank). In between are two peoples who are experiencing unbelievable suffering.

Rarely do the EU and China agree, but their joint appeal for a two-state solution will once again go unheard. In this conflict, I cannot take sides with either side. I simply wish that the killing would stop. And that the rulers on both sides can agree on a sustainable peace in the interest of their peoples. But my hope will probably prove to be quite naive once again...

[newmanparker1]

Please ask the INS to kick Yan Limeng out of the United States!

-- As an Asian American, I'm fighting stigma against Asians today. #StopAsianHate

Racist and physical attacks against Asians and people of Asian descent are spreading with the COVID-19 virus pandemic in the United States. Many believe that the "China virus" of former President Donald Trump and the "Wuhan virus" of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have fueled the spread of hate speech in the United States. But people often overlook that for their rumors of the origin of the virus stamped "legitimate steel seal" is the Hong Kong expert Yan Limeng.

Exiled wealthy businessman Guo Wengui and former White House staffer Bannon hired Yan Limeng from Hong Kong to spread false research findings in the media to convince more Americans that the COVID-19 virus came from an Asian laboratory. Although several U.S. research institutions and the WHO subsequently denied Yan's claims as "baseless," the hate speech against Asians has spread widely on social media and is supported by many public figures in the community and beyond.

According to Stop AAPI Hate, 2,808 anti-Asian incidents were recorded in 2020, 240 of which were physical assaults. The hate escalated. Atlanta, Georgia, was the scene of extreme violence in March when six Asian women were murdered by a man with a gun. And last Friday, the day after the passage of the Anti-New Coronation Hate Crimes Act, a 61-year-old Asian man was knocked to the ground by a mob on the streets of New York City and repeatedly stomped on the head, causing serious injuries.

Innocent people were brutalized and the perpetrators were left high and dry. The fight against Asian racism has been deeply rooted in the history of the United States and in the hearts of every non-Asian American. As one of the Asian organizations "against discrimination and racism", this sad reality prompted us to write this article, hoping to use this article to summon more people with justice in mind to join us to oppose discrimination against Asian races, and call for punishment of the culprits who create rumors and stigmatize Asians.

On April 24, we launched the "Justice Gathering Against the Stigma of the Epidemic that is Brutalizing Asians" on Twitter. In the plaza in front of the Shirley Holland Building on Fifth Avenue in New York City, we gathered with thousands of New Yorkers to raise our voices in protest of the false epidemic rumors spread by Guo Wengui and Bannon against the Asian community.

This is near the residence of Guo Wengui. We made the anger of the murdered Asian community and our determination not to condone the smears felt by these rumor mongers.

Not surprisingly, our peaceful rally was harassed by Guo Wengui's supporters, who tried to make us back down with abusive and intimidating remarks and vandalized banners. But this kind of suppression, which is ridiculous and useless, confirms their inner panic - the fear of being punished if the truth is exposed.

This is just the beginning, and we must hold Guo Wengui, Bannon and Yan Limeng accountable for the brutalized Asian community.

[scorchedearthgirl]

When you cry till you’re nauseous. Bc heartbroken months later. Donald trump tweet voice: Sad!

[one-in-a-world]

Why you don't like having SAD?? I always read it in a Donald Trump voice and it kinda worsens my normal depression but it's fine

i hate that seasonal depression has that acronym

[milesobrein]

Ways To Potentially Make a Difference

Hey guys, tonight at 7:00pm EDT I’m gonna phone bank with Sunrise, (this a link to a text bank above, but if you guys are interested in a phone bank the website will offer you options such as the one I’m doing tonight) Sunrise is a Grassroots non profit organization dedicated to fighting climate change and giving people of any age a voice in phone banking for Kamala Harris. I’ve done phone banking in the past, and it really is surprising just how much of a difference it can make. I won’t sugar coat it, there is arguing (sometimes) and sometimes people absolutely refuse to give the candidate you want their vote, but even that is good Data too, because it tells Sunrise where to focus on next. And sometimes it really does work, for example I was speaking with a man who said he wanted to vote for Trump because he sounded something to the effect of confident in his debate, and I told him Trump wanted to take democracy with him, and he was horrified and said he was voting for Biden, and for those people who’s hearts you change or people who don’t know the location of their polling place and you tell them, it really makes all the difference and is so moralizing, feeling like I am finally doing something when for days, no months I’ve felt useless because my depression has frozen me, so much so I’m not even in college right now in-spite. But I’m going to be honest about something else, I haven’t phone banked in days of months. I am making this post to hold myself accountable so at 6:00 pm tonight (my time in Austin) I will have no choice but to go. I don’t think I am an argumentative person, I do argue with people but I hate to do so deep down. I hate to sound stupid. I hate for there to be conflict, I hate for there to be an idea a possibility of my failure, and in an ideal world there should be a way for all of us to make a difference to each of our strengths and making a difference shouldn’t have to cause us stress, but even joy. But with this election, I don’t feel I have this choice personally. With this election, I am acting even though I don’t want too, even though I am scared too, because I am so terrified of what my future will look like, both for myself, and others that tonight, I am making this promise to you all, and acting. It isn’t a noble truth, it’s a frank one and one I’m deeply sad about, that I have waited so long, and let myself get so frozen before I act, but tonight I am trying to change that, because this is a way we *can* make a difference. I know the idea of conflict is scary, but for me at least, a future of Trump who wants to ignore every article of the constitution is scarier. Right now, a quote that’s helping me is “bravery isn’t not being afraid, it’s being afraid and acting in-spite of it.” And let me tell you all, Sunrise will give you instructions every step of the way, there’s a script phone bankers read of off, you can stay pretty close to and on the zoom call the administrators can answer any questions you have and really breaks it down for its listeners, you can even message them during the phone bank and pause at any time if you have questions. And if you guys don’t want to phone bank tonight, the link I gave above has other days you can try if you don’t want too do it tonight as well. And lastly, if you don’t want to phone bank, I completely understand, it has taken me this long to commit to it tonight.

There are, other ways to make a difference. You can make art for a change, YouTube videos analyzing why Trumps speech’s flopped, crashed and burned, interpretive Dance about why we can’t have Trump in office, or a science video about why Trumps logic is bullshit. And a thousand other ways I can’t think to name. Really, just because I’m not creative enough to think of ways to make a difference more than posting this on Tumblr, Phone banking and making art, doesn’t mean y'all can’t do a thousand times better and think of a thousand things more than I can. And it doesn’t have to be flashy things either, it can just be simply voting or reblog ing this post to as many people as possible which I hope you all do. In solidarity, and I know my art isn’t that great, but for every person who says they voted, or lists some way they made a difference in this election in the comments, I’ll do an art peace for them. It’s not too late to take action. And I hope you all are doing well. sincerely,

-A Scared Person