#Abortion Caravan

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

In 2022, Republicans in Michigan made a major mistake: They spent more money on anti-transgender ads than on reinforcing economic messaging. As a result, Democrats won a trifecta in the state for the first time in 40 years. Now, there are signs Republicans may be repeating the same error. A new set of polls in the crucial "blue wall" swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania shows that Harris is matching Trump on the economy. This is happening as Trump spends more money on anti-trans advertising than immigration, housing, and the economy combined. According to the well-respected Marist poll, Harris is nearly tying Trump on the economy in Pennsylvania and Michigan and has come within five points in Wisconsin. She leads Trump in all three states, polling at plus two in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and plus three in Michigan. The numbers were highlighted by James Singer, rapid response advisor to the Harris campaign, who noted that she had closed the gap on the economy, and shifted independent voters by 19 points in the state of Pennsylvania.

“This has been the long story of the Harris paid media campaign — just grinding on this economic message (anti-price gouging, Medicare covering home care, etc) for months as different shiny objects hit the news cycle,” said political analyst David Weigel on Twitter. Harris's late-campaign surge comes as Trump has flooded the airwaves with anti-trans advertisements during major sporting events. Meanwhile, Republican Senate candidates have also received tens of millions of dollars in support from groups like the Senate Leadership Fund, which has blanketed these swing states with ads about transgender bathroom usage, sports, and health care. Spending on transgender issues dwarfs all others; according to national political reporter Marc Caputo, the Trump campaign has spent more money on anti-trans advertisements than on any other issue, surpassing topics like the economy and immigration.

“I will never understand the Trump strategy of spending the entire month of october ignoring the economy and instead running ads exclusively on trans people existing and immigrant caravans,” posted Andrew Lawrence, deputy director of rapid response for Media Matters.

Lawrence has good reason to be stumped; Republicans have attempted this same playbook in Michigan and many other states before. In 2022, Republicans spent $50 million on anti-trans advertising. One of the primary focuses of that spending was Michigan, where they used the ads to target Democrats as well as Issue 3, an abortion rights amendment. This is similar to how Republicans are targeting abortion rights amendments today by saying reproductive freedom will codify "transgender healthcare" into law. These ads failed; Issue 3 passed, and Democrats took the trifecta in the state for the first time in 40 years. They faced similar losses in every other swing state where similar ads were deployed.

[...] The movement towards Harris on the economy is notable and not limited to the recently released Marist poll. A Time Magazine analysis of polls found similar results, and a Fox News poll released on Wednesday found Harris “nearly even” on the economy, down only two points in Michigan, whereas Trump was up 11 earlier in the year.

As Donald Trump continues to push inflammatory anti-trans attacks in his ads, Kamala Harris has been chipping away at Trump’s advantage on the economy in polls, thus putting her roughly neck-and-neck with him on the topic.

[sixhours]

Chapter 2 - The Ghosts of Babylon

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut and violence Series tags: Joel Miller x You, Joel Miller x Reader, Joel & Ellie, mostly follows canon, LGBTQ+ characters, y/n is bi/pan, y/n is ~45, violence, pregnancy, abortion, medical trauma, emotional trauma, panic attacks, sex work, suicide, smut, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, romance, no use of y/n, reader has longish hair, Joel can lift you, smallish age gap (~11 years), I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

~*~

Boston QZ March 2024

You were one of the lucky ones.

After the initial outbreak and the chaos that followed, you were protected, ushered into a covered military caravan and housed in relative safety. You were only a resident, but your medical experience made you valuable. Most doctors had been infected in the early hours.

Most of them hadn’t run.

If you had been anyone else, you think you would have been shot. Instead, the military sent you to the quarantine zone in Boston, and you were drafted into FEDRA without ever having signed your name on the line.

Your cowardice in the face of danger was your saving grace, and you will never let yourself forget it.

You’re six years into the pandemic when you’re summoned to the colonel’s office for a special request. FEDRA wants you to travel to a sparsely populated territory outside the QZ and embed yourself there, do threat assessments, and send the intel back to your higher-ups. They frame it as an outreach program for recruitment and a means to get ahead of terrorist threats, but you understand the unspoken implications.

They want you to be a spy.

You protest, but it’s a half-hearted attempt. You know they aren’t offering you a choice.

You train for combat and survival. You learn how to shoot, how to run, how to fight, and how to hide. And then FEDRA packs you up and sends you off into the wilderness of what used to be Pennsylvania, joining a small outpost east of Pittsburgh. There are no terrorist threats to be found, only starving, freezing civilians, hordes of infected, and so much desperation.

You return, six months older and with only a few bruises, so they send you out again. And again. And again.

As it turns out, you make a good soldier. You don’t ask what FEDRA does with the information you find, and they don’t tell you.

On your fourth mission, you come back with more than bruises. The burgh of Everglade, forty miles north of a ruined Jacksonville, Florida, wasn’t as welcoming as you would have hoped. You’d been savagely beaten and sent back to Boston, less weapons and supplies, a walking warning.

Don’t fuck with us, FEDRA.

But there’s a hard seed of grit in you that felt fair was fair, that you deserved whatever punishment you got. You sutured your gashes, reset your broken nose, and took your next assignment.

~*~

By the time Joel Miller and Ellie Williams are staggering across the Jackson threshold for the second time, in the spring of 2024, you’re opening the door of your Boston QZ apartment to a man in weathered FEDRA fatigues.

“Hey,” he says, barely meeting your eyes. “Waller wants to see you.”

“When?”

“0800 hours.”

“Fine,” you say. He doesn’t respond, lingering in the doorway until you’re forced to ask, “Anything else?”

He ducks his head. “Got any plans tonight?”

“I do if you have the money.”

Unsurprisingly, FEDRA doesn’t pay well–doctor, spy, or shit-shoveler. But you’ve found other ways to get by.

The man– a boy, really , you think–reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled stack of ration cards. You take your time counting them before pocketing the payment and stepping aside to let him enter.

His hands are on you before you can finish closing the door, greedy and wanting. You let him push you up against the wall, tipping your head to give him access to your neck, already tuning out his gasps and moans and clumsy thrusts.

~*~

Afterward, he’s panting on your mattress, and you’re fumbling on the nightstand for a lighter.

“You know those things’ll kill you,” he mumbles.

“Fascinating,” you respond dryly, finding the lighter and putting the cigarette to your lips. You allow yourself one long, slow inhale. You hold the smoky air in your lungs as long as you can, savoring that first and only hit, before tamping the cigarette out and rolling it up in a piece of foil for later. “You can go.”

You feel his hand slide over your ass and you flinch away, standing and gathering your clothes from the floor.

“C’mon, baby. I gave you extra.”

“Yeah, and you shorted me five last time. Go.”

He growls. “Fuckin’ bitch.”

You ignore this, slipping a clean-enough tank top over your head, pulling on your jeans, and heading for the kitchen. You’re putting a kettle of water on the hot plate when you hear the metallic snick of a blade behind you.

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.

You tense, listening, waiting, until you feel the hint of a blade at the side of your throat.

“How about you suck me off next time and we’ll call it even,” he whispers, breath hot in your ear.

You dive to one side, wrapping the man’s arm with your own, knocking the knife away. It skitters across the floor, lost under the radiator. Your left hand grips the man’s wrist and pulls it back as you slam your right hand into his shoulder, forcing him down against the counter. You twist his arm until you imagine you can hear the tendons creaking.

The man screams in pain and surprise. “Whoa no shit I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m fucking sorry don’t–”

You slam your full body weight against him and twist his arm back and up with a sharp snap , his wrist giving under your practiced hands. Another scream, this one feral, as you release the man’s arm.

“You broke my fucking wrist you fucking cunt!”

“Fuck off or I’ll break the other one,” you pant, shoving him toward the door.

“You’ll fucking hang for this!”

“Yeah?” you spit. “You say one word and I’ll make sure your dick never touches another girl in this QZ because it’ll be sitting in a jar on my fucking desk.”

He sneers, but there’s no threat in it. He slouches backward with an angry sob, cradling his broken hand and fumbling with the door, all the while trying to keep his eyes trained on you.

You lock the door behind him and slide the deadbolt home with unnecessary force. 

Fuck.

~*~

Colonel Waller doesn’t look up at you when you enter his office, his greeting just a single word.

“Wyoming.”

You frown. You’ve never been west of Ohio.

“We lost an asset in Utah. Fireflies.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. ‘Shit’ is about the shape of it,” he sighs, finally looking up from his paperwork. “We had someone in KC but they’ve gone radio silent. We assume the worst.”

“So…I take it the target’s in Wyoming?”

He nods. “We suspect several Fireflies are holed up in a town called Jackson. It’s big,” he continues, sliding you a sheaf of folded maps across the desk. “Our scouts…haven’t made out so well.”

“How many came back?”

He looks at you blankly.

None.

“We need to know how many warm bodies, how much firepower, do they have patrols and when, are they collaborating with anyone else in the area. We need–”

“I got it,” you say, pocketing the map, an aching exhaustion deep in your gut. “When?”

“There’s a supply run headed west tomorrow. You’ll camp with them until KC, then make your way in on foot. We expect radio contact every six weeks; if we don’t hear anything by then–”

“You’ll assume I’m dead,” you finish.

He interlocks his fingers. “Any questions?”

You shake your head.

He nods and goes back to his work. “Dismissed.”

[chthonicgodling]

okay it’s a half second after midnight so I can post this

HAPPYYYYYYYY BEGINNING OF THE BIRTHDAY CARAVAN OF (NOT)TRIPLETS, from June 1st through June 3rd! Beginning with Pyralis today, then Enodia “N” tomorrow on the 2nd, and Celos after that on the 3rd - these three TODDLERS TURN THREE YEARS OLD!!

(CCrumbles into dust and drags you all with me) I know I literally can’t believe that EITHER,

seen here with pile o’ parents and in birthday order: Tory with Py! Chal and N! Maci and (IN HIS DAEMON FORM ) Celos!

ffffffor the uninformed a quick recap on the deal with these three , why tf I keep saying NOTtriplets, for thhhhose of you who didn’t watch this whole debacle unfold threee years agooooo:

Tory was just a few weeks pregnant with his and Maci’s surprise baby Celos when Elysium Drama Update Crisis Mode activated upon Chal and Bel conceiving a VERY surprise baby, leaving Chal pregnant and in utter complete meltdown panic mode. Tory & Maci had newly adopted Chal as their own daughter, Chal had newly switched genders permanently, and Chal had also newly been reckoning with healing from the nightmare situations of her birth parents. Chal’s a mess! Having a baby all of a sudden???? THE MOST HORRIFYING SUDDEN SITUATION FOR HER AND BEL. But Chal didn’t want to abort it completely and when Tory volunteered to adopt this baby too as his and Maci’s own instead, Chal and Bel thought this was the perfect solution.

Furthermore, the gang discovered that once a fetus was immortal, an immortal infant could be grown… anywhere at all, y’know, the so called ✨Dionysus method✨ With Chal panicking over being pregnant as well, Tory volunteered to carry this baby as a physical twin to Celos once able and throuhh the help of childbirth goddess Iliythia, they moved the baby over and TORY carried her to term. As time went on Chal cautiously warmed up to being semi involved in this baby’s life maybe - she and Bel even named her when Tory suggested they do so, thus Enodia.

Tory was super overdue with these babies and then like a week before he was finally induced, Ilithyia finally noticed that the constantly squirming mass of limbs she’d been clocking as Celos was… ACTUALLY TWO BABIES. Tory had been pregnant from the get go with his and Maci’s TWINS, and chucking N in there had created TRIPLETS. The two of them can each shift into weaselly daemon form and it had been hard to keep track of them! Thus, last minute surprise of all surprises- PYRALIS.

Tory was in labor with the triplets for three days (💀) hence, above, and. Well.,, when Chal and Bel actually met N face to face, Chal fell so completely and unexpectedly in love with her. They spent more time around her…. With her……… finally, after a few months, they sheepishly approached Tory about being involved in N’s life as her parents in some capacity. Tory did them one better, and entrusted her just fully into their care completely 💞

and they all lived happily ever after! almost literally over the next 3 years Chal has barely let go of N ever ever ever haha

this is all significantly less dramatic when you remember they all live in One Big Palace and we’re talking about moving like, one room down the hall. WELL! An extremely convoluted background to arrive just at the same point as if all that hadn’t even happened in the first place. It’s okay we love our weirdo wombmate kids. This all sounds like it could make some kind of great Greek myth some day fgfkkfkg LIKE,,

Tory, best of all time forever, belongs to the hiatused @fenixethekid ; all these other guys are mine! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR BABBYSSSSSS

[nerianasims]

Friendly reminder that Trump's caravan had to turn around in 2016 because he was so afraid of the reception he'd get in the area of Florida in which I live.

I am so fucking sick of the anti-Florida sentiment, acting like we're the most right-wing place in the country when we voted for Obama TWICE! And hi have you seen Alabama? Btw, human beings live there too, and they don't deserve the ignorant prejudice they're subjected to either.

We've got abortion rights on the ballot this November, and they 100% WILL get through. I have no idea what kind of weirdass hellhole you snobs think Florida is. (Okay, alligators, that part's right, but when you visit y'all never pay them the respect that is due either.) This county is the most liberal I've ever lived in. My neighbors are the most diverse I've ever had.

New York City was the place that gave us Trump, and that's not a huge surprise, considering how incredibly segregated it is. Stop sniffing your farts, look at what the country is actually like, and follow Kamala Harris' lead. She's going to run a great campaign throughout the entire country. And with her, we'll silence the rude loudmouth New Yorkers, starting with the orange one.

[fangirltothefullest]

What are the buzz words?

Things like:

Immigration!! (We get it, Republicans are scared of dark skin.)

There's a CARAVAN AT THE BORDER!!! (there's not, shut up, they're not going to take your job unless you want to work in a field. Do people honestly think that with the way work is so hard to get now that they're going to hire immigrants that easily???)

The transgenders/gays/autiatics/diversity of any kind (always used to scare people into thinking they're here to hurt your kids when they're just fucking random people literally just standing there, Karen.)

Abortion (they're avoiding this one right now because they royally fucked up with it already and they're scared of what their voters will do.)

Take away your guns/rights (this one crops up when people ask for gun control to make sure children stop fucking dying and they respond 'wah wah wah but my GUNS!!!' Again... they're scared of dark skin, we get it. Your gun won't make melanin go away, Karen.)

God given rights (spoiler alert not everyone is Christian and they need to fucking stop. Their god would be ashamed of the hate in their hearts).

[penis-flytrap]

@lovely-lady-fox

Sorry for the late response, I thought I'd posted my reply... But it turned out I'd left it in my phone drafts and forgot 😵‍💫 (thank you, adhd!)

So, my friend's Brazillian friend, her parents are originally from Pernambuco! Her husband's parents are also originally from Pernambuco too, near Recife.

They're like you - great taste in music, cultured, intelligent, very introspective. Deep thinkers, curious. Her husband is a baker with his own cake company, very talented. Lovely sweet amazing people.

Her family like to act extra loud, firey, like the party-mad Brazillian stereotype because I am quieter and they know it drives me crazy 🤣 it's great fun, or great craic as they say in Ireland. Craic = fun, gossip, or a good time. Or great banter, if you want the English slang word for fun 😉 they're so funny.

Her house had the largest TV I'd ever seen! In the 2000s, most people had a 20" screen, maybe 30". But her parents bought a new 50" flatscreen TV as soon as it was available in the shops. Complete with Sky and cable packages - and 10 million Brazillian/Portuguese channels 😂

Same in my Portuguese friend's house, as well - they had to buy the biggest sofa in the shop, the biggest TV, fridge, computer, everything 🤣

It took up ALL the space in the room. Her brother used to joke they couldn't leave me alone with the TV... because I might rip it off the wall, climb out through the window and take it back to my gypsy caravan to replace my antique black and white television LOL

Whenever I was invited to her big family house parties, her cousins would point at me and talk REALLY LOUDLY AND OBVIOUSLY about me in Portuguese, ALL DAY 😆

Nobody would explain the jokes until the next morning, when we were having breakfast and her mum and dad translated what they were saying... mostly Irish gypsy jokes, jokes about fighting, being drunk, Guinness, horse racing etc 😉 There were some REALLY clever jokes I'd never heard before as well 🤣

Oh, I'm sorry if I didn't make it clear! - all 3 of us were born and grew up in London in England, UK. All of our parents emigrated to England in the 1980s. I still live here in London.

But yeah there's a huge Brazillian ex pat community in Dublin, you're right. In fact a Brazillian man became a national hero in Ireland last year. He saved some very young children from being killed by a man with a knife who attacked them outside a school in Dublin City.

Incredibly brave, he just jumped in and stopped the attacker. Someone set up a fundraiser for him, and raised €300,000 with donations from people all over Ireland. He's a local hero and celebrity now 🫡

His name is Caio Benicio. He decided to stay in Ireland and ran for election as a council member in Dublin, for the Fianna Fáil party (centerist party, but right of centre on some issues)

Honestly Ireland doesn't treat its South American immigrant population very well, they're usually employed on bad contracts with poor wages and holiday pay and bad housing too. He wants to advocate for better workers conditions. I hope he does well!

I think Brasilians and British people share a similar sense of humour, we also give our politicians loads of diminutive nicknames. Most of them are... err... not so cute LOL

Our former prime minister Boris Johnson was Bozo the Clown too, and that was just us being polite lol:

🤣

Unlike Bolsonaro, MERCIFULLY none of Boris' children are in politics. He's had loads of marriages, mistresses and affairs and blackmailed one pregnant girlfriend until she had an abortion. His oldest daughter has actually disowned him. Not to mention ruining our economy, siphoning billions of tax money away in dodgy contracts and deals and passing some terrible laws...

He and his party are gone for now thankfully, but just like in Brasil, he's still hanging around politics like a turd that won't flush 😞 I know how you feel. There's no optimism left anywhere at the moment, everything seems impossible.

☺️ 😊 💖 I don't think you should worry about your language skills, your English is great! I really mean it, you are 100x better and more fluent than a lot of literal English people! Including me!!!! 😆 🤣 😂 😹

[onix]

Voted... the sticker I got is some cute child's drawing of a howling coyote. Wholesome.

Our ballots are notoriously low-stakes, I feel. Funds for libraries, infrastructure, that sort of thing. As in, we're not pondering whether or not abortion should be allowed or if queers are people. Yknow. Normal. We're mostly normal here. Human rights aren't constantly up for debate. I appreciate that.

Apparently our resident Trump fanboys had their little caravan today, where they drive up and down the central road in their trucks honking non-stop. It's funny that they think anyone cares, because all it does is make everyone dislike them more than we already do. Literally no one is out there cheering for them or whatever, it's not a fun parade, it's just noise! They're just being noise bullies. Their feelings got big hurt last time and I'll enjoy seeing it again.

[non-reader]

Habibi

I was working late one night at my university's library when I found a beautiful book in the return cart. Feeling bad mentally and having to spend a few more hours on shift, I decided to read it. 3 hours later, I have fallen in love.

Habibi, written by Craig Thompson, is a beautiful story. It takes place in an Arabic society and focuses on Dodola and Zam, two runaway slaves, and their lives in a greedy, lustful, and oppressive world. If I could, I would tell you the whole story. But basically Dodola and Zam meet each other as slaves when Zam was 3 and Dodola was roughly 12. She takes Zam and escapes their captures, running away to the desert. There she raises him as a little brother almost. To get food, she sells herself to the caravans passing by, which Zam learns about later on. One night, Dodola is kidnapped by a few men and is taken to the Sultan, leaving Zam to defend himself.

They don't meet up again until Dodola fails to meet the Sultan's request and is about to be killed. As Dodola saved Zam as children, Zam saved her and they escaped to the city. After some time living with a fisherman, they move into what they thought was an abandoned building. It is there that Dodola confesses that she loved Zam and, after some time, he accepts her and his own feelings.

This is the deepest, most beautiful book I have ever read in my life. I cant pull myself to call it a comic but literally its so much more. It dives into Islamic beliefs, mysticism, and history. It shows the clash between progress, corruption, and hypocrisy. The story repeats itself around the halfway mark, showing how we can end up back where we started even if its a little different. This is a 672 page book that is just absolutely amazing.

This book brings an interesting feeling to me that is hard to explain. It inspires my spirituality. It opens my eyes to different aspects of life. It makes me think, it makes me excited, it makes me want to read it over and over again. This is the third time I have read this book. Needless to say this is my favorite out of everything I've read.

This book is absolutely not for everyone. It talks about child marriages, child sex slaves, rape, prostitution, murder, abortion, genital mutilation, slavery, abuse, age gaps, and so much more. My sibling works at another library and this book was in the Juvenile section. Not Young Adult. Juvenile. This book is 100% not for kids. This book is so complex and mature that I wouldn't even let my own kids (if I had any) read it until they were in high school.

If you want a beautiful story that talks about sensitive topics, has in-depth character development, beautiful artwork, a captivating story, with religious (Islamic) overtones, please please please read this.

[dylanmunson]

11 with Eddie - was this your plan the whole time?!

I have two ideas so bare with me lmao, the second idea will be posted soon!

TW: death, suicidal thoughts (hinted at) idk

Prompt fic list

Wattpad | masterlist | request & prompt list

//////////

Eddie had just finished playing master of puppets, myself and Dustin shouting at him to abort mission as the bats start to surround us. "Eds we need to move now" i say as we all make our back into caravan. "That was fucking metal!" "Was great eds but we need to go like now!" I say looking at the boys hearing the bats coming down onto the roof, "now, go!" I say pushing the boys towards the gate.

"Dustin go!" I say as we push him up into the gate back into our Hawkins, "y/n you next sweet" Eddie says "come I'll help" he says getting ready to push me up, i sigh "Eddie, i - i love you" i sigh squeezing his hand "and i love you" he says kissing me softly "now come on" i nod and push myself through the gate.

Eddie looks around "no Eddie don't" i shout "Eddie, come on man" Dustin says, "we need more time" he says "Eddie no!" I shout "Eddie no!" I shout louder as he cuts the rope and moves the mattress, "Eddie!" Dustin shouts, "this mother fucker" i shout smacking my hands down.

Eddie runs off, i look to Dustin and shake my head "stay here Kay!" I say moving a chair to so i can jump up through the gate. "Dustin please, stay here" i say before pushing myself through the gate once more to run after Eddie.

//////

The bats surround Eddies body, "no, no, no" i mumble throwing myself down beside him, "Eddie, Eddie can you hear me?!" "Hi sweetheart" he chuckles dryly, coughing. "Gonna be my year sweetheart" "Eddie don't" i say as tears start to make there way down my face, "DUSTIN?!" "I need you to look after my sheepies okay?" "O, no your gonna do that yourself" "finally gonna graduate Henderson, you look after them for me Kay?" "Okay" he sobs, i hold eddies head in my lap. "No, no, your okay" i sob moving his hair from his face "was his your plan the whole time munson?" I sob, cupping his face, he smiles softly up at me, "was it?!" He smiles closing his eyes softly, almost saying yeah kinda, "i love you sweetheart" i shake my head "no eds please" he smiles softly, "i love you man" he says giving Dustin's hand a squeeze, "i love you too" Dustin sobs, "Eddie please, Dustin we need to.." i say looking around. Eddie just smiles before he stops breathing.

///////

Eddie slowly begins to wake up in the hospital bed, thank god for Steve for helping us drag Eddie back and get him to the hospital. "Eddie" i sob, "hey" he chuckles dryly, "here here" i say handing him some water, "wh-what happened? I thought i?" I shake my head, "i know that was your plan though" i sigh rubbing my face, "it wasn't.. maybe" he says looking at the glass. "Eds its okay, you were wanted for murder and getting shit on for everything" i mumble, he nods "there was no way out" he says "hoppers alive, got your name cleared, you've been out a while" i say bringing his hand to my lips. "I love you sweetheart" i nod "i love you too eds" i mumble against his hand.

——————————————————————

[coochiequeens]

A transwoman who tries to control women, spits on women and shouts at women are misgendering themselves.

A trans activist has reportedly been arrested and charged with assault after a vulgar confrontation at Edinburgh University in December. Robyn Woof, 35, spat on a woman who had been attempting to attend a screening of a documentary critical of gender ideology.

Woof, who was the Trans and Non-Binary Liberation Officer for the Edinburgh University Students Association, went viral in December after he was caught on film blocking a woman who was trying to enter the building to attend a screening of “Adult Human Female.” The documentary is critical of gender ideology’s impact on women, and the showing was hosted by Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom. 

Multiple camera-phone videos of Woof began to circulate on December 14, including one where he explains to the crowd of attendees attempting to enter the building that he was an “adult human female.”

During the clash, Woof was caught on film spitting at a woman.

The event was ultimately cancelled due to safety concerns, and police were called to the scene. No arrests were made at the time, and Woof congratulated protesters on successfully having blocked the showing of the film in a statement on his Instagram page. 

News of Woof’s arrest was announced by Wings Over Scotland on February 8, with the digest sharing an official statement from Police Scotland which read that a “woman” had been charged in connection to the alleged assault which took place at the screening.

In addition to his vocal trans activism, Woof is also a member of the University of Edinburgh’s rifle club. Many on social media speculated that a criminal charge will likely lose him his license to own a firearm. 

Woof has a history of staging aggressive counter protests, particularly against women.

In 2019, he became violent towards a group of elderly women who were staging a silent anti-abortion protest across from a clinic. Mancunian Matters reported the incident, describing Woof as “a six-foot aggressor.”

The seniors, who were members of the groups 40 Days For Life, were targeted by Woof as they were praying. Woof stopped his car to confront the protestors, grabbing their chairs and throwing their posters while screaming “you people fucking disgust me.”

In wake of his new charges, Woof has launched a GoFundMe seeking donations for a new van. Titled “I’ve been targeted by transphobic extremists,” the fundraiser explains that he had complained to his university about the “transphobic film,” but the administration instead recommended that he attend the screening and debate his position. 

According to to his fundraiser, Woof explained that he arrived at the first venue and due to protesters, they were moved to a new location but five protesters arrived first and blocked the door.

“Everyone went to the new venue and when I arrived in the corridor leading to the lecture theatre there were about 5 young protestors blocking a doorway,” Woof recounts in the description. He also denies assaulting anyone, despite the fact his hurling of saliva was caught on film. Women who attended the event have said his description of the incident is flawed.

Woof has stated he will be using the donations to buy a new caravan due to “death threats” he has received due to the allegations online of assault. Woof is allegedly intending to live in the caravan.

Adult Human Female, the documentary Woof and the other trans activists had disrupted, has been highly controversial since its release last year. The film was directed by Deirdre O’Neill, and focuses on the clash between gender ideology and women’s rights. Screenings across the UK have been met with protests and aggression from trans activists. 

On the film’s official Twitter account, the filmmakers announced they have made a formal complaint to GoFundMe regarding Woof’s fundraiser.

By

Shay Woulahan

Shay is a writer and social media content creator for Reduxx. She is a proud lesbian activist and feminist who lives in Northern Ireland with her partner and their four-legged, fluffy friends.

[ncfreespace]

For anyone wondering how to start a women's group or what a radfem space is like irl, here is what we've done during our first couple months of in-person meetups:

-grab lunch together

-attend abortion rallies

-go to an art collective and art museum

-take supplies to a women's shelter

-go to a plant store and thrift store

-discuss chosen feminist articles from the 60's and 70's

-just hang out (aka indirect consciousness raising)

And some things we're planning on doing:

-take a gun safety class together

-caravan to a women's festival

-post informative flyers about a misogynistic public speaker

-more book club meetings

[frognosis]

reading list

current: shake hands with the devil, dallaire a small place, kincaid the abortion caravan, wells samsung rising, cain

[oliverfinalmajorproject]

Final Major Project - Thoughts 16

Protest Songs

Among social movements that have an associated body of songs are the abolition movement, prohibition, women's suffrage, the labour movement, the human rights movement, civil rights, the Native American rights movement, the Jewish rights movement, disability rights, the anti-war movement and 1960s counterculture, art repatriation, opposition towards blood diamonds, abortion rights, the feminist movement, the sexual revolution, the LGBT rights movement, animal rights movement, vegetarianism and veganism, gun rights, legalisation of marijuana and environmentalism.

Martin Luther King Jr. described the freedom songs this way: "They invigorate the movement in a most significant way... these freedom songs serve to give unity to a movement."

EXAMPLE IN EAST-ASIA

China

Chinese-Korean Cui Jian's 1986 song "Nothing to My Name" was popular with protesters in Tiananmen Square.

Chinese singer Li Zhi made references to the Tiananmen Square massacre in his songs and were subsequently banned from China in 2019. Three years later, during the anti-lockdown protests in China, this was used as a protest song across YouTube.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong rock band Beyond's "Boundless Oceans Vast Skies" (1993) and "Glory Days" (光輝歲月) (1990) have been considered as protest anthems in various social movements.

During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Les Misérables' "Do You Hear The People Sing" (1980) and Thomas dgx yhl's "Glory to Hong Kong" (2019) were sung in support of the movement. The latter has been widely adopted as the anthem of these protests, with some even regarding it as the "national anthem of Hong Kong".

Philippines

From the revolutionary songs of the Katipunan to the songs being sung by the New People's Army, Filipino protest music deals with poverty, oppression as well as anti-imperialism and independence. A typical example was during the American era, as Jose Corazon de Jesus created a well-known protest song entitled "Bayan Ko", which calls for redeeming the nation against oppression, mainly colonialism, and also became popular as a song against the Marcos regime.

During the 1960s, Filipino protest music became aligned with the ideas of Communism as well as of revolution. The protest song "Ang Linyang Masa" came from Mao Zedong and his Mass Line and "Papuri sa Pag-aaral" was from Bertolt Brecht. These songs, although Filipinized, rose to become another part of Filipino protest music known as Revolutionary songs that became popular during protests and campaign struggles.

South Korea

See also: Music of South Korea and Korean protest songs

Commonly, protest songs in South Korea are known as Minjung Gayo (Korean: 민중 가요, literally "People's song"), and the genre of protest songs is called "Norae Undong", translating to the literal meaning "song movement". The starting point of Korean protest songs was the music culture of Korean students movements around 1970.[66] It was common in the 1970s~1980s, especially before and after of the June Democracy Movement in 1987, and associated with against the military governments of presidents Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan reflecting the will of crowd and voices of criticism of the day. From the middle of the 1990s, following the democratisation of South Korea, Korean protest songs have lost their popularity.

Taiwan

"Island's Sunrise" (Chinese: 島嶼天光) is the theme song of 2014 Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan. Also, the theme song of Lan Ling Wang TV drama series Into The Array Song (Chinese: 入陣曲), sung by Mayday, expressed all the social and political controversies during Taiwan under the president Ma Ying-jeou administration.

Thailand

See also: Phleng phuea chiwit

In Thailand, protest songs are known as Phleng phuea chiwit  ("songs for life"), a music genre that originated in the '70s, by famous artists such as Caravan, Carabao, Pongthep Kradonchamnan and Pongsit Kamphee.

[sublimeobservationarcade]

Trump Evangelicals Are Not Really Christians

A new study has revealed the fact that many Trump Evangelicals are not really Christians in the sense of church going folk. Their evangelical badge is more a cultural identity as white Christian nationalists than a true faith based calling. It is a very American transition that their Evangelical identity is more of a brand thing in the 21C. Many of these folk do not regularly attend church and their understanding of the gospels in the bible seems scant. How else could they match Trump with Jesus if not by blind ignorance about what is written in the gospels. Similarly how could they justify their guns and threatening behaviours if they were truly Christians? Photo by Luis Quintero on Pexels.com

White Christian Nationalists Not True Evangelicals

Jesus was forever banging on about loving your enemy and turning the other cheek. There was nothing in the gospels about storming the Capital and bringing down the government of the day. Personally, I never found any stuff about arming yourself and desecrating the Senate House. Killing police officers and damaging government property was, also, not in the gospels. Trump Evangelicals are not really Christians in the true sense of that faith calling. These are folk who have twisted the meaning of a religion to fit their own bigoted interpretation. “The evolving evangelical identity is already scrambling how politicians appeal to these voters. Mr. Burge’s research has found that “cultural Christians” care relatively little about bedrock religious-right causes like abortion and pornography. Karen Johnson went to her Lutheran church so regularly as a child that she won a perfect attendance award. As an adult, she taught Sunday school. But these days, Ms. Johnson, a 67-year-old counter attendant at a slot-machine parlor, no longer goes to church. She still identifies as an evangelical Christian, but she doesn’t believe going to church is necessary to commune with God. “I have my own little thing with the Lord,” she says.” - (Ruth Graham, New York Times, 8th Jan 2024) President Trump Postlaunch Remarks (NHQ202005300037) by NASA HQ PHOTO is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 Evangelical Religious Extremists & Trump The danger about all religious belief is this idea that God is speaking to the believer. Taken to extremes this idea can cause a whole lot of problems. If the religious adherent begins to discount secular leaders as lacking in true authority, then the rule of law can become something elective rather than compulsory in their eye. Religious extremism and terrorism are then only hop and a skip away. “Being evangelical once suggested regular church attendance, a focus on salvation and conversion and strongly held views on specific issues such as abortion. Today, it is as often used to describe a cultural and political identity: one in which Christians are considered a persecuted minority, traditional institutions are viewed skeptically and Mr. Trump looms large. Mr. Trump himself has become a model for embracing evangelicalism as an identity, not a religious practice. In 2020, he announced he no longer identified as a Presbyterian but as a “nondenominational Christian,” a tradition closely associated with evangelicalism. He is rarely seen in church, but a poll this fall by HarrisX for The Deseret News found that more than half of Republicans see Mr. Trump as a “person of faith.” That’s more than any other 2024 Republican presidential candidate and substantially more than President Biden, a lifelong Catholic who attends Mass frequently.” - (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/us/politics/donald-trump-evangelicals-iowa.html) Photo by Sharefaith on Pexels.com This courting of the morphing evangelical vote looks like more politics of grievance. Trump has towed his caravan around to pick up the disaffected and created a cult like circus. Former church goers attend his rallies like faith meetings where they call out in response to his promises for their return to an America which has never really existed. MAGA means blaming the usual suspects – the coloured people, the LGBTQIA folk, uppity women, and all those refugees pouring over the border. The irrational nature of this process, their induction into the Trump cult, means that the normal rules of politicking don’t apply anymore. Trump walks on water as long as he keeps rekindling the hopes and fears of the disaffected American. Jesus of Nazareth has been bumped into the background. Trump is the new orange Jesus of Queens. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of Money Matters: Navigating Credit, Debt, and Financial Freedom.   ©MidasWord Read the full article

[sillywolffoxwrites]

17th of Mirtul, 1368 - Day 15, Hour 16

As we gingerly passed the tightly wound gnolls who had decided to let us pass, we found a captive. They wouldn't let her go. Now they're dead and she's free. There was no way Ferrum was going to let them keep her. Neither was I. We had to kill far too many to free her. We won when they broke ranks and fled their base into the wilderness. So much wasted life. The prisoner is a human woman named Dynaheir - from Rashemen! I haven't been there since I was a very small child, but I recall the fierce matriarchs who captivated me so. To have another spellcaster in the group was also invigorating. Someone i could talk shop with. Dynaheir mentioned needing to find her bodyguard Minsc. As soon as she breathed his name I felt a tug of the weave. I knew he had to come, no, I still know, he had to go with us. We had to find Minsc. this of course led to the 6 person limit issue. Before the fortune teller had fled, she warned of exceeding a party of six. Imoen volunteered to go. Aurelia and Imoen hugged, they had begun to grow closer on this journey, it's a shame she wouldn't have a friend her age around. Imoen said she was tired of the road, and wanted to return to safety. The assassin we interrogated did not seem to have enough information to identify anyone but Aurelia, Yuze, and myself. so we took the gold thw now empty gnoll base, and used it to put her up for as long as she needed. It will also buy her passage on the next caravan to the Friendly Arm. I can't help but feeling guilty, Khalid tried to talk to me about it but I wasn't ready. It's my second time on the road, but its different now. I traveled for years on my own, studying magic, saving villages, even crawling into bed once with a prince! - but I had always plunged into those willingly. It was my choice, my risk, and my call to abort. Now it wasn't anyone's choice, we *can't* abort, and we HAVE to be proactive, yet we have so little information! Ferrum won't be able to hold me tight enough tonight. We must protect Aurelia. - Yuze

[autodaemonium]

gbntaɪreðəpʌrtŋærrɪsz

Pronounced: gbntairethuhpurtngarrisz.

Pantheon of: snootiness, naturalness, demeanor, hookup, elegance.

Entities

Bɒrtttaɪnəɪenuhwnsaɪmð

Pronounced: bourtttainuhienuhwnsaimth Naturalness: sincerity. Demeanor: manner. Legends: grand tour. Prophecies: standardization. Relations: rmsɪegaɪəədʒsrtərsfʌdɪ (immunoglobulin a), ʒotʃɪmesinʊoknhɪrleɪɪ (lunar caustic), rŋkzænrlslnəɪnlʌlmmi (appellation), ərlslyrællbwiəzdsɪən (director-stockholder relation).

Mðətʃəodðlunpwdtsdəiŋ

Pronounced: mthuhtshuhodthlunpwdtsduhing Naturalness: simplicity. Demeanor: citizenship. Legends: industrial arts, watering, up-bow, shipwreck. Prophecies: bowdlerization, actual possession, command, call, sanction. Relations: ɪenlmzʃʌɪəzimərtʃgaʊsð (morocco), rmsɪegaɪəədʒsrtərsfʌdɪ (wormwood oil), wdəswnluŋtlɪsʌerznəo (innervation), ʒotʃɪmesinʊoknhɪrleɪɪ (street name).

Pəəɪɪæzdðokðldbezəðl

Pronounced: puhuhiiazdthokthldbezuhthl Naturalness: sincerity. Demeanor: citizenship. Legends: employee-owned enterprise, undercut, clearance, mush, tanning. Prophecies: sidestep, volcanic eruption, hospitalization. Relations: ɪenlmzʃʌɪəzimərtʃgaʊsð (pyrophyllite).

Rmsɪegaɪəədʒsrtərsfʌdɪ

Pronounced: rmsiegaiuhuhjsrtuhrsfudi Naturalness: unaffectedness. Demeanor: manner. Legends: discipline, daily variation, evasion. Prophecies: riffle, ferry. Relations: rŋkzænrlslnəɪnlʌlmmi (thymol), wdəswnluŋtlɪsʌerznəo (dextrose), ɪenlmzʃʌɪəzimərtʃgaʊsð (soda lime).

Rtvɪɛədzkəɪtkzbðæwln

Pronounced: rtviayuhdzkuhitkzbthawln Naturalness: naturalization. Demeanor: impropriety. Legends: sprites, discord. Prophecies: dismemberment, hospice, unearned run, kabbalism, bait and switch. Relations: mðətʃəodðlunpwdtsdəiŋ (free radical), bɒrtttaɪnəɪenuhwnsaɪmð (kapok).

Rŋkzænrlslnəɪnlʌlmmi

Pronounced: rngkzanrlslnuhinlulmmi Naturalness: naturalization. Demeanor: citizenship. Legends: hula, pocket veto, caravan, amplitude. Prophecies: ferry, mintage, social activity. Relations: ərlslyrællbwiəzdsɪən (derivative), rtvɪɛədzkəɪtkzbðæwln (secretion).

Wdəswnluŋtlɪsʌerznəo

Pronounced: wduhswnlungtlisuerznuho Naturalness: naturalization. Demeanor: manner. Legends: knock, show trial, sailing, counterattack. Prophecies: cause celebre, stylization, brush. Relations: rmsɪegaɪəədʒsrtərsfʌdɪ (reflexive verb), rtvɪɛədzkəɪtkzbðæwln (ink).

Ərlslyrællbwiəzdsɪən

Pronounced: uhrlslyrallbwiuhzdsiuhn Naturalness: sincerity. Demeanor: propriety. Legends: crack. Relations: rmsɪegaɪəədʒsrtərsfʌdɪ (sol), rŋkzænrlslnəɪnlʌlmmi (accession), mðətʃəodðlunpwdtsdəiŋ (manganese bronze).

Əsðtnɒɑutðɒnʊɪlusənæ

Pronounced: uhsthtnouahutthounooilusuhna Naturalness: unpretentiousness. Demeanor: manner. Legends: indexing, swimming meet, arithmetic operation, stepping stone, loan approval. Prophecies: mistrial, execution, downshift, blessing, ablation.

Ɪenlmzʃʌɪəzimərtʃgaʊsð

Pronounced: ienlmzshuiuhzimuhrtshgowsth Naturalness: naturalization. Demeanor: propriety. Legends: contretemps, freshet, family therapy. Prophecies: musical. Relations: rŋkzænrlslnəɪnlʌlmmi (acetum), mðətʃəodðlunpwdtsdəiŋ (stripper), əsðtnɒɑutðɒnʊɪlusənæ (trust).

Ʒotʃɪmesinʊoknhɪrleɪɪ

Pronounced: zotshimesinoooknhirleii Naturalness: sincerity. Demeanor: impropriety. Legends: incomplete abortion, accreditation, withdrawal. Prophecies: decapitation, transmogrification, shimmer, dive. Relations: ərlslyrællbwiəzdsɪən (rickey), rŋkzænrlslnəɪnlʌlmmi (grinding).