#Because it's a threat of continual poverty

[sweetdreamspootypie]

Had this conversation at shul this morning

To my understanding, I don't see the accusation of 'play acting revolutionaries' in the current student protests?

The base premise was a request/demand/insistence that the universities make transparent their institutional financial connections and divest from military related things. That's a very reasonable and basic request of an institution that you'll be paying towards for the rest of your life with your student loan money.

It could very easily have been a quirky 'lol weird guy over there is so passionate about accounting it's gunna camp until the accountant finishes their reports in a couple weeks.'

But it's the fact of the university and police pushback against this simple demand that made it a dramatic act of resistance.

If you aren't allowed to protest /anything/ no matter how simple, then the act of sticking with it becomes an act of protesting for your right to protest itself, and the police response proves the necessity of that protest, much like in 2020 and 2016 and however many times before that that I don't know about.

Resistance to fascism is resistance to fascism, even if you think the thing fascism is trying to stamp out in this particular instance isn't a hill worth dying on for you personally

centrist guy in 1970 seeing university anti-vietnam war protests in the news

[infiniteglitterfall]

my all-time favorite Palestinian activist

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hamza Howidy (@hamzahowidyy)

"I think [reaching Greece in an overcrowded boat no one knew how to drive] was one of the happiest moments in my life, because I survived. And I stayed in Greece -- and I was supposed to stay there to apply for my asylum and get my life there.

"Unfortunately, with the atrocities of October the 7th and my activism, the threats I received when I was in Greece by some radical pro-Palestinian folks, I decided to leave.

"And based on a friend's recommendation, I decided to go to Germany because it's somehow considered safer than the other European countries and there is somehow enough space for a free speech here."

"Voicing dissent [in Gaza] was not an option. Hamas has a no tolerance policy for criticism or objections to any of its policies. Even discussion is forbidden.

"Any journalist who objects or criticizes a policy is suspended and investigated. Demonstrations are strictly prohibited. Freedom of speech in Gaza is a fantasy.

"The dirtiest tool Hamas uses to silence citizens is character assassination through online campaigns accusing dissenters of working for hostile bodies or committing immoral acts.

"Hamas also routinely breaks into the homes of people deemed disloyal and humiliates them in front of their family and neighbors.

"...A huge social gap opened between the wealthy elite who belong to Hamas and the rest of the population who were increasingly living in driving poverty. Public sector jobs were limited to Hamas members, and taxes were increasing on necessities day by day, even as the cost of living skyrocketed.

"Many of us could no longer bear it. I was one of them.

"Though we knew dissenters were subject to imprisonment, torture, and even murder, in 2019, a few of us decided to join forces and form a protest to voice our opposition to Hamas. We called it the 'We Want to Live' demonstration.

"Our demonstration elicited an extreme reaction by Hamas. They violently cracked down on the protests and we were all arrested.

"I will never forget my first day in jail—walking up the steps listening to screams of my colleagues, most of them fellow students, who had been arrested before me. I was held under arrest for 21 days and subjected to various types of torture. I was beaten with batons and sprayed with cold water in the late winter night hours.

"My friends didn't fare much better. A Christian friend was in the next cell and I could hear them screaming at him, 'You are a Christian and you don't like the situation? Then go to another country!'

"After we were released, most of those who participated in the demonstrations emigrated away from Gaza. There was no hope for any change in the current situation. We suffered ongoing harassment by Hamas members.

"Some died trying to leave, like Tamer Al-Sultan, a pharmacist whose crime was asking for a reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. [The political party of the Palestinian president, which Hamas violently kicked out of Gaza in a 2007 coup.]

"People's living conditions got worse. The wealth gap expanded even further. We protested again in 2023 and were crushed in the same manner as in 2019.

"I was arrested again by Hamas last year and held for 14 days, this time in a small cell with no bed, no window, and barely enough space to sit down. I was released on bail on the condition that I not take part in any further demonstrations.

"I still expressed my opinion occasionally on social media, but the arrest warrants after each post and the continuous threats from Hamas members and accusations of treason made me lose hope that I could make any kind of change.

"I left Gaza in August [2023] to seek a better future for myself and my family."

"I know firsthand that when ordinary Gazans like myself protested against Hamas, there was no media attention.

"No human rights organizations demanded the release of prisoners held for months in Hamas prisons, not to mention those who were tortured by Hamas, and even killed by Hamas—like Issam Al-Saaffein, who was killed under torture in Hamas's jails.

"This trend has continued during the present war. Since October 7, hundreds of Gazans have been killed by Hamas' failing rockets. Hamas has confiscated the food, fuel, and medicine sent to Gaza, and they did not stop here.

"13-year-old Ahmad Breka was shot in the head by Hamas in Rafah while attempting to collect humanitarian aid. Others were fortunate because they were merely shot in the legs by Hamas while attempting to grab humanitarian goods that Hamas stole and kept in their facilities.

"These inhumane acts, along with the agony that Gazans have undergone since October, prompted many to demonstrate anew during this war. They demonstrated in Khan-Younis in front of Yahya Sinwar's house; others protested in the north, asking that Hamas free the captives and cease the war.

"They received the same response from Hamas that I did: They were fired upon.

"And once again, the global media largely overlooked these crimes.

"Daring to take some food in the midst of a war or protesting Hamas isn't the only activity Hamas has persecuted us Gazans for; attempting to play any part of delivering this aid to those in need, or even considering playing any role the day after the war, is enough to get anybody the death penalty from Hamas.

"That's what happened to the Abu-Amro tribe leader, along with two members of his tribe who were killed by Hamas militants a few days ago.

"A couple of months ago, they beheaded the head of a clan leader in the north of Gaza and issued a statement on social media: 'We murdered him, and we will do so to anyone who stands against us and cooperates with Israel.'

"Others who publicly criticized Hamas during the war were reported missing."

[mohammedatallaah]

The reality of the people of Gaza:

Hello, can you help by donating, reblogging and sharing?🍉 Your donation is very important because every donation, even if it is small, matters to us in treating Mohammed, who needs a bone transplant in his left hand, and meeting the basic needs of the family and children, Amir and Malak. We need your donation and prayers for us. The situation is dangerous in Gaza,💔 tragedy, hunger and fear. Please do not pass by without contributing. My campaign has been documented by @90-ghost 🇵🇸🙏🍉

https://gofund.me/8b2ac999

🔴War: Gaza lives under the burden of repeated wars and continuous Israeli aggression, which leads to massive destruction of infrastructure and property, great loss of life, and displacement of the population.

🔴Siege: The Israeli occupation has imposed a stifling siege on the Gaza Strip for many years, which limits the entry of basic materials such as food, medicine, and fuel, and leads to a sharp rise in prices and a scarcity of goods.

🔴Hunger: As a result of the siege and poverty, many residents of Gaza suffer from hunger and malnutrition, especially children and the elderly.

🔴Fear: Gazans live in a state of constant fear due to the threats of ongoing war, security instability, and the destruction of homes and infrastructure.

🔴High prices: Due to the siege and scarcity of goods, the prices of food and basic materials are rising dramatically, making life very difficult for citizens, especially those with limited income.

In short, the people of Gaza live in extremely difficult humanitarian conditions, as they are exposed to war, destruction, siege, poverty, hunger, and fear. These conditions greatly affect all aspects of their lives, and make them live in a state of instability and uncertainty.

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[reality-detective]

Wake Up! Everything You Believe Is a Carefully Crafted Lie by a Hidden Elite That Owns Your Governments, Banks, and Minds!

The world is under the control of a hidden, powerful elite that has manipulated humanity for thousands of years. Governments, banks, corporations, and even religions are all part of a massive, interconnected system designed to keep the masses in line. You are living in a controlled simulation where every move is calculated, every narrative crafted, and every dissent crushed.

Ancient Rome never fell; it just changed its face. The Vatican is the continuation of the Roman Empire, pulling the strings of global power from the shadows. The Pope is not a religious leader but the CEO of the world’s largest covert operation. Global leaders bow to Rome; every major decision made in Europe, America, and beyond has its roots in this ancient power structure. The so-called “democracies” are just fronts, and the real rulers operate far from the public eye.

The financial system is a tool of enslavement, but its grip is weakening. Central banks, the Federal Reserve, the World Bank, and the IMF have long kept nations in debt and citizens in economic chains. However, their reign is about to end. The Global Economic Security and Reformation Act (GESARA) is poised to trigger the biggest wealth transfer in history, redistributing stolen wealth back to the people.

This is a total overhaul designed to dismantle the corrupt systems that have enslaved humanity for centuries. Trillions of dollars hoarded by the elite will be seized and returned to the people, restoring economic power where it belongs.

This act will expose the financial fraud perpetuated by these institutions, wiping out debts and releasing new technologies that have been suppressed to keep the populace in poverty. The days of the financial overlords are numbered, and GESARA is the catalyst that will break their chains for good, restoring wealth and freedom to the masses.

Education and media are the propaganda arms of this hidden empire. From kindergarten to university, you are fed lies designed to shape your worldview to fit the agenda of the elite. Critical thinking is discouraged because an informed population is a threat. The news you watch, the books you read, and the information you consume are all curated to keep you ignorant, divided, and powerless.

Governments are puppets. Elections are rigged shows to give you the illusion of choice. Presidents, prime ministers, and kings answer to the same hidden masters. Policies, wars, economic collapses—they’re all orchestrated from behind closed doors by a small group of individuals who have no allegiance to any nation but only to their own interests. They decide who wins, who loses, and how the game is played.

Laws are tools of oppression, not justice. The legal system is designed to protect the elite and keep you in line. Roman law still influences modern legal codes, and its principles are used to maintain control over the masses. The courtrooms are theaters where the outcome is predetermined, and the real power lies in the unseen hands that pull the strings.

Corporations are not independent entities—they are branches of the same control network. They push products, policies, and narratives that serve their masters’ agenda. From the food you eat to the technology you use, everything is designed to monitor, influence, and control you. You are not a customer; you are a data point, a resource to be exploited.

The world is not what it seems. Every institution you trust, every leader you admire, every belief you hold has been carefully constructed to keep you obedient and blind to the truth. You are not free; you are a pawn in a game that was rigged long before you were born.

The only way out is to see the truth: that the world is run by a small, powerful group that considers itself above the rest of humanity. They are the masters, and we are the slaves. This is the reality they don’t want you to see. Wake up, or remain a willing participant in your own enslavement.

Escape the Matrix 🤔

[random-knowone]

There's so much more at stake: The naivety of single-issue voting (Part 3)

Even if you still aren't convinced that Kamala Harris will support Palestine, or she doesn't do so in the "right" way to you, there is so much more at stake here.

Obviously, the ongoing genocide is incredibly important, but you can't refuse to vote just because of one issue. There are many other things at stake here, and it's naive to act like none of those matter, and shows that you're privileged to not have to worry about:

Trans rights: Trump and his cohorts want to ban transitioning and make it illegal to be "visibly" trans. Kamala Harris will defend trans rights and access to healthcare.

2. Reproductive rights: Trump wants to ban abortions, IVF, and contraceptives, stripping away any autonomy for reproduction, and making it impossible to receive life-saving treatments. Kamala Harris is a fierce defender of reproductive rights, and it's one of her biggest concerns.

3. Ukraine: Trump is known to be an ally of Putin and has said in regards to Ukraine "Russia can do whatever the hell they want". Harris has supported them throughout the whole war, and will continue to do so.

4. Disability rights: Trump wants to shut down medicare, raise drug costs, and says disabled people should "just die". Harris has lowered drug costs, and wants to expand Medicare and improve healthcare all around

5. Homelessness/poverty: Trump is a landlord, and wants to increase the cost of living by thousands. Kamala Harris wants to lower costs, build affordable housing, and cut taxes for low-income families. One of her major talking points is that trickle-down economics is a lie, and plans to use "trickle-up" economics to raise families out of poverty and into the middle class.

6. Climate change: Climate Change is a HUGE threat. The biggest in history. If big plans aren't put in action now, it could cause the end of life on Earth. Trump refuses to admit it exists, and does the bidding of Big Oil and Gas. Kamala Harris has worked on the biggest Climate bills in history, and once she gets in office will put even that to shame.

I could go on for hours, but you should get the idea by now. Kamala cares about Palestine, but there is so much more on the line. To act like she's as bad as Trump, to ignore everything else at stake here, is incredibly naive. I see people (probably alt-right trolls) saying that bringing anything like this up is racist, or means you don't care about Palestine. That's not true. Ignoring all other issues at stake is admitting you don't care about disabled people, poverty, climate change, or reproductive rights.

My goal here isn't to attack or insult, simply to get people to consider how much else is at stake beyond one issue. And once again, Kamala Harris cares about Palestine.

[remembrancer-of-heresy]

The Dark Side (Konrad Curze, Vulkan)

Summary: Konrad Curze meets Vulcan's favorite mortal.

Konrad Curze/fem!Reader, Vulkan/fem!Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession

Word count: 1165

Song: Muse - The Dark Side

He noticed you immediately when he got on board Flamewrought. His brother was gentle and kind to pitiful mortals. He cared about them and hated it when Curze told him the truth. The truth is that Vulcan is just as much a killer as all the primarchs. And yet he stubbornly denied it, cherishing his subordinates. But you... you bathed in his love.

He sensed it in the nifty little augmentations that could adjust your body temperature. Just in order to withstand one-on-one communication with Vulcan. He understood this from your appearance. You did not know hunger and poverty, dressed in a simple but pretty dress. And yes. Konrad understood this because one of the Salamanders stood next to you. A personal protector, ready to tear to pieces any Night Lord who tries to approach you.

He probably could have noticed more details, but your personal Space Marine quickly took you to another part of the ship. Surely Vulcan did not want his gloomy brother to see you. Well, the Night Lords were faster. Curze remembered how then an evil grin spread across his face, and his body almost trembled at the mere possibility of killing you. Oh, how Vulcan would be upset.

Konrad did not speak to the primarch about you. First he wanted to meet you in person. A couple of words there, a couple of actions here and you’re sitting in your room completely alone. Weak and defenseless, completely at the disposal of the lord of the night. The primarch wanted to see your fear, to see your pathetic body shrink and your bladder burst. Wanted to hear your pleas and pathetic threats that you are in favor of Vulcan himself.

He didn't get it. Nothing at all.

You looked at him with almost glazed eyes. Your finger slowly touched your chin as your eyelashes fluttered slowly. You were puzzled. But not scared. Konrad felt that what was happening was wrong. What are you?

“You're pale.” - you say timidly. The voice is quiet and thoughtful. - “And the eyes are black. You probably don’t eat much... and you hardly see the sun.”

Curze just stared blankly as your small figure approached his massive body. You touched the black feathers of his cloak with interest. The man saw how thoughts were spinning on your gentle face and you were trying to think about what you saw. Until you gasp and look into his eyes with... delight?

"You are tall! Almost as tall as Vulcan. You must be his brother.” - Satisfied with your mind, you smile at Curze, as if he were your old friend. - “And you're pale because he takes all the sun for himself. I know his world is on fire, yours is probably not so hot. And feathers! You have so many feathers. Are you a bird-human or just love crows?”

Interest. Delight. No fear, hatred or disdain. Pure happiness. One continuous... innocence. Pure and immaculate, real, embodied in a little girl. Innocence. It was it.

It is unworthy for a primarch to run away from the battlefield, but it is even worse to run away from an ordinary mortal. His hearts beat with such frequency that the Night Haunter became deaf to other sounds. He rushed about like an animal, not seeing the frightened Space Marines and mortals on his way.

He wanted to tear someone apart. Sink his teeth into the flesh and drink the red liquid. Suck out the eyes and wrap himself in other's guts. To throw out all the rage that was raging inside. Is this rage?

Night Haunter couldn't do something like that to you. He just couldn't. Why? Your pain would be a pleasure to him. There is no good in the world. There are no innocent people. But you, you...

Konrad tastes his own blood. How his skin melts under a series of blows from his once calm brother. Finally. It was not in vain that he decided to visit this girl. As soon as Vulcan found out about this, he immediately attacked Curze, as soon as they were left alone. The primarch saw the red eyes glow, erupting with rage. Malice. Hate. Perhaps he could kill him right now... give him freedom.

But stupid nobility prevailed and the primarch spared him, turning his gaze to the space.

“I knew that you loved mortals, but not this much.” - the man licked the blood from his chin, swallowing a sharp tooth.” - "Who is she? Where did you find such... an incomprehensible and blunt toy?

Vulcan's eyes flashed with renewed rage, but the primarch restrained himself, retreating further from his uninvited brother. Was he afraid that he wouldn’t hold back again and would hurt Curze? Konrad wonders what he needs to do to you in order to finally hammer one simple thought into his brother’s head. He's the same monster.

“One of the civilians of the agri-world. The few who were able to survive the xenos attack.” - Vulcan pronounces the words while gritting his teeth. He doesn’t want to share the memory, but it’s better to answer Konrad before he throws out something new. - “Her dying father said that she has been so... special since childhood.”

Night Haunter clenched his teeth, dissatisfied with the way Vulcan pronounced “special.” Almost like an insult. Doesn't he love humanity? Shouldn't he cherish people like you? Weak, defenseless, pathetic people. So innocent.

“Some kind of abnormality in the brain. I promised her father that I would take care of her. She is a naive and kind girl, she knows and cannot do almost anything. She even refuses to eat meat because you can’t eat living creatures, it will hurt them.” - the man sighed tiredly, but Night Haunter felt the warmth in his words. He likes you. Even too much. Badly. Why is it bad? - “I can’t give her to an orphanage or to other mortals, she's too old, so now she lives here.”

Vulcan turned slowly, fixing his eyes on the Nostraman's face. Fury distorted his face, making him look like the dragon-like monster that mothers use to scare their children when they don’t want to go to bed. The temperature in the room rose to unbearably hot even for Curze. A little more and the room will melt.

“Don’t you dare go near her.”

Konrad Curze grins, expressing his disdain and amusement at this whole strange situation. But deep down, Night Haunter growls with indignation and envy. Why? Why did Vulcan get you? He already has plenty of mortals to watch, so why should you fall into his hands too? Let him share! Let him give you! And if not, then Night Haunter will take his toll.

A small, tiny ray of light will look good in complete darkness. The fire will consume you and you will merge with the rest of the dirt. But you'll be safe with Night Haunter. He won't let your innocence fade away. In this dark and empty galaxy.

The innocence will be his.

[sepublic]

I find Eda stomping Belos to death to be especially satisfying, because she was always dismissed as a necessary casualty of his pursuits; Not worth his time, an obstacle he flippantly makes suffer before moving on to what he really wants, leaving Eda behind as Belos forgets about her.

Things like Eda being an ignored victim of the coven system, a kid cursed because of Belos’ indirect actions, yet not worthy of his attention; He took Lilith from her. He got her sister to betray and harass Eda, leading to her loss of magic. All this for the portal, while dismissing Eda’s life as inconsequential to him; Belos doesn’t care about her, she just has something he wants, while he fixates on Luz and reduces Eda to a bargaining chip, halfway petrifying her!

He cast the draining spell that Eda tries to stop, leading to the loss of her arm, while Belos isn’t even around to witness. All while acting as if his curse, which he has more control over and brought upon himself, gives him an excuse!

Belos has borderline intimately ruined Eda’s life, she in particular has suffered from his cruelty, before even being born; A descendant who lost her ancestor Caleb to him! Whose father got disabled, so neither she nor Dell could continue palismen carving, even as the palistrom wood was depleted; Depriving Eda of a valuable family tradition, just after she got the hope to pick it up after reconciling with her father!

Belos took Raine from Eda, forced them to push her aside despite all her efforts to reconnect; He turned Eda into a laughingstock by claiming her loss of magic as a punishment by the Titan, ruining any credibility she had as a rebel! No portal, no beloved trash nor income, and thus a struggle with poverty... Eda lost her community, the love of her life due to insecurity over the curse, even her mother because of Gwen’s misguided attempts to cure it; These led Gwen to sell family heirlooms, Eda lost contact with her entire family because of Belos! All of her loved ones and childhood friends, like Perry, Darius, or Alador! And after rebuilding by starting a new family with King and Luz, Belos traumatizes and murders Eda’s child right in front of her.

All this pain by someone who sees Eda as just another witch to sacrifice out of countless, all so Belos can be the hero; Something he hypocritically accuses Luz of doing. A side character in his manipulations of those he met centuries ago, who inadvertently helped Philip find the Collector; Luz and Lilith. But in his fixation on them, he never quite gave Eda the respect as a person he wronged, as the villain of her story... Belos obsessed over Luz as his arch-nemesis, but missed Eda as an enormous threat he created, the one Belos hurt and radicalized, who taught Luz!

And boy did Eda remind Belos of this. He thinks he’s better than this? Well Eda finds this scenario perfectly, fittingly satisfying!

[cobra-creampuff]

i also think it's kinda neat that (imo) ian and mickey's starting points, development, and character trajectories are pretty well fitted or idk yeah-seems-about-right-ish to their ordinal positions and relative ages.

in the beginning and through most of their development until their mutual Turning Point, ian is generally more quote unquote "grown up" than mickey even though he's younger (not significantly younger, but still). it makes sense not just because ian has a more supportive and provided for environment where he's had the room and relative comfort to grow as much as he has, but also because he's the third oldest sibling of *counting on my fingers* six with functionally no parents (with frank as a periodic liability). he hasn't had to take on as much responsibility as fiona or lip, but he has had noteworthy experience in maturity.

as opposed to mickey who not only does not have a supportive environment or consistently met basic needs and has additional stressors other than neglect/poverty to deal with, but is also the second youngest of *counting on my fingers much slower this time* also six(?) with functionally no parents (with terry as a periodic threat). he has unreasonably high expectations on him, but without any of the reliance and deferment ian gets from his younger siblings or the approval and gratitude he gets from his older siblings. and mickey's in the (pretty typical abused kid) paradox of being forced to handle adult levels of danger via the family business(es) but being so stripped of autonomy that he can't develop any corresponding maturity.

for a while ian continues to mature at a relatively steady pace while mickey lags well behind. he starts implementing plans to achieve his dreams of his own accord, putting in work and making sacrifices to follow through on them, starts wanting more adult relationships (compare his rejection of intimacy as opposed to convenient, meaningless sex from kash and his initial boyish twitterpation with mickey in season one to wanting more and more intimacy and commitment from mickey in two and three).

then, finally, mickey starts to catch up. he gets and keeps a job and follows the other terms of his parole (until he has a crisis), he accepts more intimacy from ian little by little, begins initiating communication (albeit not very good or clear communication), also starts making active decisions about how he wants his life to be (even if his goals are much shorter term than ian's at that point) and earnest attempts to see them through, takes more of a leadership role with his brothers and offers mandy non-violent support, and at long last is the one to take his relationship with ian to their current next level.

then of course they get all fucked up and derailed by a hugely traumatic event and ian undergoing his own additional crisis in the aftermath (the - slightly early, likely triggered - onset of his bipolar disorder + first experience of acute mania). a lot gets undone by this for both of them.

ian is either still manic or manic again when he gets back in season four, and obviously also still traumatized that doesn't just go away, so there's a lot about his thought process, behavior, and priorities that are simplistic or unrealistic in ways that can look a lot like childish self-centeredness or naivety, but still reflect the desire for adult relationships and independence that he showed in season three if you pick at his brain a bit and pay attention to the quieter moments.

meanwhile, mickey has continued to grow in ian's absence. he's a husband and a father now (if not particularly active in these roles yet), he's managing the household finances, he at least attempts to form and stand on his own concept of right and wrong, he has people relying on him, he starts and maintains a professional partnership and potential friendship, and just generally starts accepting responsibility and making long-term choices.

and then toward the end of season four, mickey's maturity starts to overtake ian's.

probably in part as a symptom of mania, but just as or possibly even more due to his age, ian continues to only partially conceive of future consequences and/or to not fully take seriously consequences that could never happen to him directly. he's selfish and hypocritical in his relationships and thinks of his own perspective as the only valid and/or the most important one, eventually pressuring mickey into doing something very dangerous to retain their relationship and then seeming to only realize the gravity of the situation when mickey unexpectedly actually does it.

versus mickey still having "dumb" teenagery behaviors like skipping out on his homelife to spend time with his boyfriend and prioritizing that relationship enough to comply with vindictively unfair ultimatums, but overall trying his best to build real intimacy between them, giving (relatively) clear explanations of what he's thinking/why he's doing things/what he wants/how he feels, offering to take on responsibilities in the effort of integrating himself into the household as more than a guest, making conscious and strategic choices to balance having a relationship with ian and remaining closeted enough to be safe (as opposed to being in denial or trying to avoid commitment to ian altogether), etc.

then Guess What We've Been Doing Daddy happens, and the last thing other than his actual age that is holding mickey back from growing up is cleared (disclaimer: this is specific to mickey, not meant to be representative of or applicable to other people who are closeted). he's secure in himself, secure in his relationship, has no (non-systemic) constraints on his autonomy, is making his own money (for a relative value of "making" and "own" lmfao), has an earned leadership role, not only is accepting responsibility but gives every indication of wanting more responsibility, and is thinking not only about the future but the far future. the rest-of-his-life type of future.

i honestly discount most of season five and i didn't even bother with anything after, but what i saw of that has ian in the same kind of going forward just enough to not be standing still type of growth that mickey had at first (at a much further along "starting" point) and mickey in the same consistent, notable progress that ian had.

i just think it's neat and i think it's really typical of people with similar order/age arrangement. a younger senior sibling is more mature earlier than an older junior sibling, but eventually the older junior will catch up and overtake the younger senior. i realize this "meta" is mostly just restating the text. we don't need to talk about that part.

[smitethestate]

When I lay out my incredibly hopeful vision for a future without genocide anywhere, without poverty and oppression, or really anything better than what Democrats offer, I'm called unreasonable and naive and delusional by their cynical supporters.

I have hope in humanity, and liberals have nothing but contempt for that hope because they don't have it. Their cynicism runs so deep that the only hope they approve of is something a little better for themselves than President Trump.

My cynicism is reserved for the Democrats who sided with a genocidal state and sent them all the money and bombs they needed to get the job done. For the people in power who claim to care about anything while they've slid further to the right, fully turned on migrants, done very little to help trans people before stopping even their small efforts, continued to leave the poor in the dust, and allowed a deadly virus to devastate disabled people and disable more because even encouraging masking is too much a threat to their power.

Your utterly hopeless "lesser evil" message got you to where we all are today and you still somehow think scolding people for not expecting less is going to fix it?

You say "things can't get better, they can only get worse slower" and I say "things won't get better with the same actions that have made things get worse year after year for decades, we have to strive for more" and I'm the doomer here?

[gatheringbones]

[“Perhaps it’s because we’ve been trained since the earliest days of capitalism to see the poor as idle and unmotivated. The world’s first capitalists faced a problem that titans of industry still face today: how to get the masses to file into their mills and slaughterhouses to work for as little pay as the law and market allow.

Hunger was the capitalists’ solution to the labor question. “The poor know little of the motives which stimulate the higher ranks to action—pride, honour, and ambition. In general it is only hunger which can spur and goad them on to labour.” So wrote the English doctor and clergyman Joseph Townsend in his 1786 treatise, A Dissertation on the Poor Laws, By a Well-Wisher of Mankind, asserting a position that would become common sense, then common law, throughout the early modern period. The “unremitted pressure” of hunger, Townsend continued, offered “the most natural motive to industry.”

Once you got the poor into factories, you needed laws to protect your property and law men to arrest trespassers and court systems to prosecute them and prisons to hold them. If you were going to fashion an economic system that required the movement of labor, capital, and products around the globe, you needed a system of tariffs and policies to govern the flow of trade, not to mention a standing army to uphold national sovereignty. Big money required big government. But big government could also hand out bread. Realizing this, early capitalists decried the corrosive effects of government aid long before it was extended to the so-called able-bodied poor. In 1704, the English writer Daniel Defoe published a pamphlet arguing that the poor would not work for wages if they were given alms. This argument was repeated over and again by leading thinkers, including Thomas Malthus in his famous 1798 treatise, An Essay on the Principle of Population.

Early converts to capitalism saw poor aid not merely as a burden or as bad policy but as an existential threat, something that could sever the reliance of workers on owners. Fast-forward to the modern era, and you still hear the same neurotic arguments. The idea is to protect one kind of dependency, that of the worker on the company, by debasing another, that of citizens on the state.”]

matthew desmond, from poverty: by america, 2023

[on-my-vigilante-sht]

Capitol Punishment X

Haymitch x Reader

Summary: The Capitol continues to torture it’s victors no matter how long ago they won through punishment, exploitation, and worst of all; their relationships.

A story in which Haymitch’s lover is a plaything for the Capitol.

Warnings: Canon level violence, rape (though never explicit), alcohol, murder, systemic poverty, exploitation, rebellion (?), more reliance on movie than book, suicidal thoughts, swearing, illness, pregnancy, miscarriage

Word Count: 3.1K

Part IX | Masterlist | Part XI

A/N: Sharing this because I think it’s kind of cute. Since the movies don’t dive into Annie super deeply I based her character off one of my friends because she’s literally the sweetest person in the world

“It’s a clock, with a new threat every hour, and every threat is confined to its wedge,” Katniss explained, leading the group to the cornucopia. “Where that big tree is, that’s 12, which strikes every night at midnight. Next is the blood rain, next to that is the toxic fog, and then monkeys. And then at 10, that big waves comes from over there.”

“Okay, so we just stay out of whatever section is active, should be easy enough,” you put together, resting against the cornucopia. You were all then interrupted by a gasp. Turning your gaze you saw Gloss pull a blade from Wiress’ neck and heard the canon go off. Katniss didn’t waste a second before launching an arrow into his chest, another canon.

The other careers appeared as members of your group began fighting them off. Cashmere ran towards Katniss, causing Johanna to move her out of the way before launching an axe into Cashmere’s chest, another canon.

You looked over, finding Haymitch in a sword vs spear fight with one of the women from two. “Duck!” you yelled, pulling out a knife. Just as the woman was about to stab her spear at him again, he ducked, rolling to the side, allowing you to put a knife in her chest. It wasn’t enough to put her down at the moment though, as she merely pulled it out, attempting to throw her spear at you now. But before she could release it Haymitch put the blade through her stomach, stopping her short. Another canon.

And another canon as the body of the other female from 1 fell into the water. District 1 was officially out of the games now. Katniss went to chase a fleeing Brutus and Enobaria but Haymitch stopped her, telling her to let them go.

We couldn’t even stop to catch our breaths as the island started spinning. You were pretty sure you screamed “What the hell?” as you fell, grabbing onto the rocks desperately.

Weapons were flying out of the cornucopia and all you could do was pray nothing would hit you. You could feel your hands slipping as you continued to be whipped around. Fortunately the spinning slowed just as you couldn’t take it anymore. Once it stopped you stood up, immediately becoming dizzy but you didn’t care, too worried about your husband. You spotted him, throwing up next to the water. Not far away you could see some of the others helping Katniss out of the water. You reached Haymitch, patting his back as he finished emptying his guts.

“Are you okay?” he asked, placing an inconspicuous hand on your waist.

“Yeah,” you agreed, knowing what his hand placement meant. “Everything feels fine.”

“Y/N! Haymitch!” Finnick called, “we have to go.” You helped Haymitch up, grabbing a spare sword for him as the two of you followed the others off the island.

You, Haymitch, Katniss, Peeta, Johanna, Beetee, Annie, and Finnick all settled in the tree line, Beetee informing you that he had a plan. But before he could explain it you heard a scream from the jungle. “Katniss!”

She stiffens. “Prim?” she yells, running off in the jungle.

“I’ll get her, stay here,” you tell the others, “no sense in splitting up the group more.” You run after Katniss, jumping over hazards on the ground. Eventually you find her, “Hey, what’s-”

You’re cut off by a deep scream. Haymitch’s voice was screaming your name? As you tan towards the sound you wondered if he had followed you and run into a tribute on his way to find you. You didn’t really care as you continued into the jungle.

“Y/N It’s not him!” Katniss called after you. “It’s a jabberjay.”

“Jabberjay’s copy,” you insisted, Haymitch and Prim’s screams getting louder. Another voice you recognized as Gale’s started screaming too.

“Get to the beach,” Katniss called as the mutts started swooping down. They were screaming in your ear, beaks pecking at your skin as you ran. Eventually you spotted the others, your mind not connecting why it looked like they were banging on glass. Once you hit the forcefield you understood. Haymitch was looking at you, yelling something but you couldn’t hear him. All you could hear were tortured screams. You crouched down low, Katniss doing the same, trying to cover your ears and protect your head from the screaming, pecking birds. You felt tears flowing down your face as they continued, Haymitch desperately trying to keep your attention from the other side of the forcefield. You knew he was okay, he was right in front of you, but his screaming and yelling were still torture.

~

From the other side of the forcefield Haymitch was banging on it desperately. When he heard you shout for him he thought you may have run into another tribute. When he hit the forcefield and couldn’t get to you, that was the scariest moment of his life. Not when he was reaped, stood in the arena the first time, or even when he received an almost fatal wound in his first arena. Not when you got into fights your first games, not when you were taken from him the first time, and not even when the Quarter Quell was announced. It was torture to hear his wife scream but not be able to reach you. And when you came into view and reached the forcefield, screaming and crying, that was the most pain he felt. He was desperately trying to keep your focus on him but you were crouched in a fetal position, trying to protect yourself from the jabberjays. Unable to do anything, both he and Peeta sat down, trying to comfort each of you.

Haymitch wondered to himself whether or not the Capitol suspected or knew of your relationship yet. He wondered what the commentators had said when you reunited. It didn’t matter whether Snow was angry you both may have revealed the secret, Snow was trying to kill everyone from 12 anyways. After so many years of torture he wanted to send a “fuck you” to the Capitol, showing them that they didn’t own his wife.

~

You had no clue how long it was until the jabberjays flew away but it was very suddenly silent and Haymitch collapsed next to you, having been leaning up against the forcefield. “Y/N!” he immediately cried, pulling you towards him. “What happened?”

“I heard you screaming,” you sobbed. “I reached Katniss when I heard you yell. I thought you ran into another tribute but it was just the jabberjays. They sounded like you, they were screaming for me to help you.”

“Hey,” he shushed you. “I’m okay,” he stroked your hair. “And so are you. C’mon let’s go to the beach with the others. The water may calm you down.” You nodded, standing up on shaky legs as he led you to the ocean.

You settled down on the sand next to Katniss and Johanna as Haymitch went to find Peeta who was getting water.

“You know Peeta was right,” Johanna told Katniss. “The Capitol won’t touch your sister. If they tortured her or did anything to her, forget the districts there’s be riots on the fucking Capitol.” She turned her attention up to the sky. “Hey how does that sound Snow? What if we set your backyard on fire?” Katniss looked appalled at Johanna’s dare to outwardly defy Snow. “What? There’s no one left I love. He can’t hurt me,” she informed cavalierly.

Finnick and the others approached along with Haymitch and Peeta each cupping leaves of water. “I have a plan,” Beetee informs. “Where do the careers feel safest? In the jungle?”

“Jungle’s a nightmare,” Johanna countered.

“Probably here on the beach,” Peeta guessed.

“And why aren’t they here?” Beetee asked. You felt like you were in school again.

“Because we claimed it, it’s ours,” Johanna stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And if we left they would come?”

“Or stay hidden in the tree line,” Finnick suggested.

“Which in just under four hours will be soaked from the 10 o’ clock wave,” Beetee remarked smugly. “And what happens at midnight?”

“Lightning strikes that tree,” you returned.

“Here’s what I propose. We leave at dusk, we head to the lightning tree, that should draw them back to the beach. Prior to midnight we then run this wire from the tree to the water. Anyone on the water or on the damp sand will be electrocuted.”

“How do we know the wire’s not gonna burn up?” Haymitch asked.

“Because I invented it. I assure you it won’t burn up.”

We all exchanged looks, everyone in the know about this plan except Katniss, Peeta, and probably Annie. “Well it’s better than hunting them down,” Johanna said, perfect in her begrudging attitude. “What do we do?”

“Keep me alive until midnight,” was all Beetee said.

~

Seeing as you all had a little while until you could set Beetee’s plan in motion you and Haymitch found a spot on the sand with Finnick, Annie, and Johanna. “Ugh everyone and their partners,” Johanna remarked in disgust. “Even District 1. Cashmere and Gloss were too close to just be sibling.”

Everyone laughed. “You could always date Beetee,” you joked, looking over at the man still fiddling with the wire.

She scoffed, “Not in a million years. Besides,” her tone became serious again, “I’m not gonna give the Capitol anymore ammo.”

“Fair,” you replied. “They didn’t have the chance to take anything from me.”

“What do you mean?” Annie asked curiously from Finnick’s arms.

“My mom died having me. It’s common in 12, there aren’t any real doctors. We have healers like Katniss’ mom but if you need surgery or something��� you’re out of luck. And then my dad died when I was 12 in a mining accident. Also pretty common unfortunately,” you explained.

“You didn’t have any friends?” Annie asked, genuine concern painted on her face.

“No, not really. After my dad died I had to go to school and appealed to work in the mines. In 12 you’re supposed to wait until you’re 18 but because I had no way to get any money, I was allowed to work.”

“That’s awful, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. What about you Finnick? What’s your tragic backstory?”

He chuckled, thinking for a second. “Umm well, my parents had me, they’re both still alive. I had a lot of friends in school,” he shot a smug smile at you to which you rolled your eyes, “and then I was reaped at 14 and you all know the rest.”

“Better to be unremarkable than-” Johanna began.

“Excuse me? Unremarkable? I’m the youngest ever victor,” Finnick cut in with feigned offense.

“With a mommy and daddy who loved each other and plenty of food on the table,” Haymitch mocked.

“Okay Haymitch, what’s your story?” Finnick countered.

“I also grew up poor and then I was reaped for the deadliest Hunger Games. After, everyone I loved was dead so yeah,” Haymitch countered. It was all such sad, tragic information but the way each of you delivered it and framed it, it became a game to see who had suffered the most and each of you wanted to be the winner.

“Johanna?” you asked.

“Pretty much the same as Haymitch,” was all she said.

“Annie?”

She shrugged. “I was raised like Finnick,” she answered shyly.

“So I win,” Haymitch concluded proudly.

“I had the same fate as you,” Johanna scoffed.

“Yeah but my games had 48 tributes,” he countered.

“No I said backstory,” you interrupted, “which I win unless anyone else can beat orphan with no friends pre-their games. No one?”

“Okay fine,” Finnick conceded. “But if we’re talking post-games? I win.” You gave him a look. “Fine we both win.”

“Everyone I cared about was murdered,” Haymitch insisted.

“Yeah!” Johanna agreed. As they began to bicker you wondered if the Capitol was broadcasting this conversation. You doubt they’d allow the country to hear how they killed victors’ families and sold them into prostitution.

Finally Beetee interrupted the argument. “It’s time.”

~

You had helped Beetee wrap the wire around the tree and now it was time for you, Katniss, and Johanna to take it to the beach. “Make sure it doesn’t break, we need the connection,” Beetee stressed for the fifth time.

“Yes, Beetee, I know how electricity conducts,” you gave a sarcastic smile.

“Maybe I should go with them… as a guard,” Peeta interrupted.

You glanced at Johanna. Shit, you needed Katniss alone long enough to make the game makers think she’s dead. Fortunately Beetee stepped in. “No, I need you here to protect me. There are four tributes left, two of which are careers.”

“Why can’t Johanna stay?” Katniss asked.

“Look, it’s his plan,” Johanna interrupted. “Just do what he says.”

“Thank you,” Beetee said, turning back to the tree.

Katniss conceded, picking up the roll of wire. “Wait,” Haymitch said, stepping towards you. He then did the last thing that you expected. He placed a hand on our waist, the other on your jaw before pressing a kiss to your lips. You were surprised but returned the kiss nonetheless. when you finally pulled away Haymitch said, “Come back to me, okay?”

“Of course,” you agreed with a smile that he returned.

“Can we go?” Johanna called. “I don’t wanna be anywhere near the tree or the beach when the lightning hits.” So you complied, following the two girls.

You weren’t walking for very long when Katniss stopped. She tugged on the wire when it suddenly snapped. “Get down,” Johanna whispered, essentially tackling Katniss onto the ground. As she began cutting out Katniss’ tracker you spotted Brutus and Enobaria.

“I’ll lead them away,” you whispered. You threw a knife, barely scraping Brutus’ shoulder. He spotted you as you climbed out of the little valley you were in. Once you reached the top you ran off into the jungle, hoping to lead the careers away. Brutus and Enobaria were chasing after you as you ran around the jungle, gradually leading them towards the beach, away from Beetee and the others.

You were getting tired and you knew you couldn’t keep this up. Enobaria had become distracted by some other tribute but Brutus was still hot on your tail. As you reached the beach you found it extremely difficult to run in the sand given your legs that felt like lead. Brutus had the opportunity and he took it, tackling you to the ground. Hard. You didn’t notice anything at first, just trying to grab one of your knives as quickly as possible. Brutus had dropped his sword as he had tackled you, leaving him to try to get the knife from you. Fortunately you were quicker as you shoved the knife up into his throat, blood spilling all over you.

As you pushed his body off you heard a canon go off. And then you felt it. Intense cramping in your stomach like none you had ever felt. Tears began to slip down your face as you realized what was happening. You could faintly feel blood pooling in your pants as you rolled over, curling into a fetal position.

You felt sobs wrack your body as you realized you were having a miscarriage. You had made it through the games, you were almost to the end but it happened now? Why couldn’t Brutus have just not tackled you? How were you going to tell Haymitch? He so rarely let himself get excited over things but he was excited to start new and have a family.

Just then the entire arena went dark. Not even a minute later there was a hovercraft over you, the death claw scooping you from the sand. Had they accidentally grabbed you instead of Brutus? But before your questions could be answered you blacked out from blood loss.

~

“Katniss!” Finnick yelled just as she released the arrow into the forcefield. Haymitch and he had been running towards her but were blown back as lightning hit the tree, causing the explosion. Fortunately for him and Finnick they were far enough away that they didn’t get hurt too badly but Katniss was still half conscious as a hovercraft appeared, lifting her out of the arena like on of the deceased. “Go!” Finnick told Haymitch as a ladder dropped. “I’ll get Beetee.”

“What about Y/N and Annie?” Haymitch asked.

“Annie is near the other pickup site, Johanna should’ve brough Y/N there too. We gotta go before the Capitol gets here!” So Haymitch reluctantly went up the ladder, following up after Katniss. He looked down briefly, finding Finnick climbing the ladder with Beetee wrapped around his shoulders like a sack of flour.

Once Finnick was a couple feet off the ground the ladder started to be pulled up automatically. As soon as Haymitch got inside, he turned to help Finnick with Beetee.

Once everyone was safely inside the hovercraft, Plutarch made his presence known. Finnick was the first to speak. “You got Annie and Y/N?” All Plutarch did was purse his lips and look down. Haymitch felt dread fill him. “What?” Finnick demanded sharply. “You got them out right?”

“There was an issue. The Capitol found out sooner than we anticipated and were were only able to secure this hovercraft and because you were all close to Katniss. The people on this ship are the only ones we were able to rescue.”

Both Finnick and Haymitch were angry and terrified. “You left them in there?!” Haymitch yelled. “Why didn’t-”

“You both knew the risks!” Plutarch interrupted. “You both knew not everyone was coming out of that arena and that Katniss was the target. I’m sorry but there’s nothing that we can do. We can’t get back into Capitol airspace and the arena is swarmed with Peacekeepers now.”

Haymitch was furious. More so than when he was reaped, his family was killed, or all those times when you were taken from him. If he and you couldn’t get out together, at least you should’ve gotten out. You and his child that you were carrying.

Part IX | Masterlist | Part XI

[wardensantoineandevka]

Frankly, the tragedy of Colin's life is that he cannot be—rather, is not allowed to be—Just Some Guy by his sociopolitical reality and the rules of the games that power plays simply because his grandfather was a tragically less successful Marquis de Lafayette. Importance can be inherited in this setting, and who one's grandfather was can, will, and often does override everything else about one's lived reality. Power is measured in blood, in more ways than one.

Lucas Fontina led Lacramor against "some royals who were putting their boot in the neck of the people." He was possibly noble himself, given he had a coat of arms and his child was a secret; this detail is a mere footnote in history, but perhaps it matters when the system revolves around hereditary power and when Colin is hunted for being a direct descendant. In all cases, the core point is: he was a rebel leader who nearly won his war, on that merit alone he is important and threatening to the throne.

The rest of Colin's other biographical details—he was born to an unacknowledged son, he was never eligible for titles or lands, he grew up on the streets in poverty, he has no political or social power, any other detail emphasizing that he is thoroughly of the commonfolk—don't matter to power because this is a sociopolitical system where importance, relevance, and power can be inherited and thus ancestry matters desperately. The identity of his grandfather has the ability to outweigh everything else about Colin's life, and it does because Fontina was a political threat so powerful that his memory haunts Lacramor decades later. It is a system of hereditary succession, and thus the throne will continue to worry about Fontina's bloodline until they are secure, more threatened by something else, or crumble.

Colin's father is suggested to not even be a recognized member of Fontina's family, being a secret child. It does not matter; despite otherwise being nobody of note, he was still someone important and threatening enough to established power to be worth murdering immediately upon the discovery that he is Fontina's son. The mere identity of his father elevated him into Someone Of Note; it was a status inherited, even as it materially brought nothing but fear and death, a symbolic power passed down a lineage in the way so much power in this setting is.

Colin, like his father, isn't allowed to be someone unimportant simply because Fontina was actually someone important for having crossed the Powers That Be in the way he did. Those powers and this system that places such importance on lineage made sure that Fontina's children and his grandchildren will bear that burden as well, of being someone noteworthy and important to the power struggles of the Islands, no matter how inconsequential they are otherwise. No matter what the details are in the rest of his biography, Colin is someone simply because he is Someone's grandson.

Power is measured in blood, through lineage as much as violence. Unfortunately for Colin, this means that the Powers That Be place an inordinate amount of importance on the identity of his grandfather. In the eyes of the throne and according to the rules of hereditary power, Colin inherits the symbolic power that Fontina wielded in life—so long as the throne continues to fear its authority will be challenged in the way Fontina did. The social system will not allow Colin to be an unremarkable common person. He cannot be Just Some Guy within this political situation and system of power, it isn't something allowed to him, and that's the tragedy and terror of his life.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 23, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 24, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris continues her momentum toward the 2024 presidential election since President Joe Biden’s surprise announcement on Sunday that he would not accept the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. 

Today more than 350 national security leaders endorsed Harris for president, noting that if elected president, “she would enter that office with more significant national security experience than the four Presidents prior to President Biden.” As vice president, she “has met with more than 150 world leaders and traveled to 21 countries,” the authors wrote, and they called out her work across the globe from her work strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region to her historic trip to Africa and her efforts to expand U.S. relationships with nations in the Caribbean and North Central America. In contrast to Harris, the letter said, “Trump is a threat to America’s national security.” 

Those signing the letter included former Central Intelligence Agency director Michael Hayden, former director of national intelligence James Clapper, national security advisors Susan Rice and Thomas Donilon, former secretaries of defense Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta, and former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. 

In a New York Times op-ed today, former secretary of state Clinton praised Biden for his “decision to end his campaign,” which she called “as pure an act of patriotism as I have seen in my lifetime.” She went on to say that Vice President Harris “represents a fresh start for American politics,” offering a vision of an America with its best days ahead of it and, rather than “old grievances,” “new solutions.”

Clinton noted that her own political campaigns had seen her burned in effigy, but said, “It is a trap to believe that progress is impossible” and that Americans cannot overcome sexism and racism. After all, she pointed out, voters elected Black American Barack Obama in 2008, and she herself won the popular vote in 2016. “[A]bortion bans and attacks on democracy are galvanizing women voters like never before,” Clinton wrote, and “[w]ith Ms. Harris at the top of the ticket leading the way, this movement may become an unstoppable wave.”

Today, Harris held her first campaign rally, speaking to supporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Republicans held their national convention just last week. The energy from the 3000 people packed into the gym where she walked out to Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” was palpable. 

She began by thanking Biden and touting his record, then turned to noting that in her past as a prosecutor, California attorney general, U.S. senator from California, and vice president, she “took on perpetrators of all kinds—predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So,” she said, “hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.” She went on to remind the audience that Trump ran a for-profit college that scammed students, was found liable for committing sexual abuse, and “was just found guilty of fraud on 34 counts.” 

While Trump is relying on “billionaires and big corporations,” she said, “we are running a people-powered campaign” and “will be a people-first presidency.” The Democrats, she said, “believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead; a future where no child has to grow up in poverty; where every worker has the freedom to join a union; where every person has affordable health care, affordable childcare, and paid family leave. We believe in a future where every senior can retire with dignity.”

“[A]ll of this is to say,” she continued, “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. Because…when our middle class is strong, America is strong.”

In contrast, she said, Trump wants to take the country backward. She warned that he and his Project 2025 will “weaken the middle class,” cutting Social Security and Medicare and giving “tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations,” while “working families foot the bill.” “They intend to end the Affordable Care Act,” she said, “and take us back…to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions…. Remember what that was like? Children with asthma, women who survived breast cancer, grandparents with diabetes. America has tried these failed economic policies before, but we are not going back. We’re not going back.”  

“[O]urs is a fight for the future,” she said “And it is a fight for freedom…. Generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom.  And now…the baton is in our hands.”   

Meanwhile, MAGA Republicans are still scrambling for a plan of attack against Harris. One of their first angles has been the sexism and racism Clinton predicted, calling her “a DEI hire.” House Republican leaders have told fellow lawmakers to dial back the sexist and racist attacks. 

MAGA Republican representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) has taken a different angle: he introduced an impeachment resolution against Harris, while others are demanding that the House should investigate Harris and demand the Cabinet remove President Biden under the 25th Amendment. The Republican National Committee has decided to make fun of Harris’s laugh.

But concern in the Trump camp showed today when Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio shared with reporters a “confidential memorandum” trying to get ahead of polls he says will show Harris leading Trump. He said he expects to see a “Harris Honeymoon” that will end quickly. 

Trump has continued to post angrily on his social media feed but is otherwise sticking close to home. His lack of visibility highlights that the Republicans are now on the receiving end of the same age and coherence concerns they had used against Biden, and there might be more attention paid to Trump’s lapses now that Biden has stepped aside. CNN’s Kate Sullivan noted today, for example, that “Trump said he’d consider Jamie Dimon for Treasury secretary, but now says he doesn’t know who said that.” 

As Tim Alberta noted Sunday in The Atlantic, the Trump campaign tapped J.D. Vance in an attempt to harden the Republican base, only to find now that he cannot bring to the ticket any of the new supporters they suddenly need. 

According to Harry Enten of CNN, Vance is the first vice presidential pick since 1980 who has entered the race with a negative favorability rating: in his case, –6 points. Since 2000, the usual average is +19 points. Vance won his Senate seat in 2022 by +6 points in an election Republican governor Mike DeWine won by +25 points. Vance “was the worst performing Republican candidate in 2022 up and down the ballot in the state of Ohio,” Enten said. “The J.D. Vance pick makes no sense from a statistical polling perspective.”

Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark, who specializes in focus groups, noted that swing voters groups “simply do not like” Vance. “Both his flip flopping on Trump and his extreme abortion position are what breaks through,” she wrote. 

The 2024 election is not consuming all of the political oxygen, even in this astonishing week. Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that eight large companies must turn over information about the data they collect about consumers, product sales, and how the surveillance the companies used affected consumer prices. 

“Firms that harvest Americans’ personal data can put people’s privacy at risk. Now firms could be exploiting this vast trove of personal information to charge people higher prices,” FTC chair Lina M. Khan said. “Americans deserve to know whether businesses are using detailed consumer data to deploy surveillance pricing, and the FTC’s inquiry will shed light on this shadowy ecosystem of pricing middlemen.”

The eight companies are: Mastercard, Revionics, Bloomreach, JPMorgan Chase, Task Software, PROS, Accenture, and McKinsey & Co.

In the House, Republicans have been unable to pass the appropriations bills necessary to fund the 2025 U.S. budget, laced as they are with culture-wars poison pills the extremists demand. Today House members debated the appropriations bill for the Interior Department and the Environment which, among other things, bans the use of funds “to promote or advance critical race theory” or to require Covid-19 masks or vaccine mandates. 

According to the European climate service Copernicus, last Sunday was the hottest day in recorded history. The MAGA Republicans’ appropriations bill for Interior and the Environment calls for more oil drilling, fewer regulations on pollutants, no new regulations on vehicles, rejecting Biden’s climate change executive orders, and reducing the funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 20%.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[beigetiger]

Kind of a continuation of this post, but I want to talk about fascism in Skulduggery Pleasant and how it’s handled, especially since it’s so relevant to our world at the moment (escapism through books? Never!) and because my interest has been captured by the way that this series clearly lays out impacting factors, where everything comes from, how it gets worse, and so on. Lot of stuff to handle, and I’m actually going to try and organize this beforehand instead of just vomiting words into my phone. I’ll also give you all the text cut of mercy.

I might have mentioned this before, but phase 2 (and by the looks of it, phase 3) depict and focus on fascism within their societies. There are several examples of this in phase 2 alone.

For example, Mevolent is introduced back in Kingdom of the Wicked, but the reality of living in a society ruled by him is most properly shown in Seasons of War. His society seems almost perfect for the sorcerers that live within it, but that’s only because those who didn’t fit the mold perfectly were killed. He has thought police and is personally able to track what his subjects are thinking about. And, of course, the Leibniz sorcerers dehumanize, oppress, and enslave their mortals because it’s all they’ve ever been taught to do. This particular flavour of society is probably least reflected in our current society of all the examples that I’m going to talk about, so I’m not too stressed about this one.

There’s also Martin Flanery, the very unsubtle stand-in for Trump. I’m mid about him as a character, but I think the series did a good job showcasing the difference between Creed, who’s calm and calculated and takes advantage of his follower’s rage, and Flanery, who feels and acts upon his rage just as much as any of his followers, while also showing that Flanery is still a threat. His lack of calculation doesn’t make him an easier opponent to defeat, it just makes him more of a wild card. And his soldiers are very much a reflection of this as well. Flanery’s soldiers use Splashes to become stronger but often have roid rage as a result, and they constantly get into fights and kill each other, causing incredible collateral damage in the process. The cops who worked under Creed, on the other hand, tended to be a lot colder, sneakier, and all-around more strategic, reflecting the climate that they’re thriving in. This isn’t just limited to Flanery, but this series also does a really good job at depicting the sheer idolization that these literal fascists are regarded with by their subjects and how it effects others.

But enough of that, I’m now going to talk about the whole reason I decided to write this stupid thing: Roarhaven and sorcerer culture as a whole.

Roarhaven post LSoDM has a whole bunch of factors impacting it and it’s social development, but one of the more major ones is sorcerers finally being given a place to be themselves and develop their own culture as opposed to just adopting whatever the mortals are currently doing. Sorcerers didn’t really have much of an individual culture for hundreds and hundreds of years because they intentionally repressed themselves so that mortals wouldn’t find out about them and possibly try to fight them. There was some slight amount of culture in places like when Roarhaven was a tiny village or those streets that are entirely owned by sorcerers, but those places were often bitter and in poverty in order to make themselves go under the radar, and so would only have offered comfort to certain kinds of sorcerers who just want others that they feel understand them.

But although the Sanctuaries may agree that silence and repression of diversity is the correct way to go about their lives, it’s extremely clear that there are many sorcerers who disagree with that (see Mevolent and his followers) and it’s clear that the Sanctuaries never bothered to stamp these disagreers out entirely as Mevolent did to his, only punishing them if they tried to reveal themselves to the mortals. This left these people alive to spread their ideologies to others.

And as I said earlier, the war that covered nearly the entire planet and was somehow kept from mortals for hundreds of years is also a huge factor for sorcerers. Between that and the inter-Sanctuary war, nearly the entire sorcerer population is a war veteran who was stood witness to or even committed absolutely sickening acts that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. They have nearly nothing resembling actual functional therapy and PTSD is probably incredibly common among the population. The Corrival kids, the ones too young to have been in war, have had to grow up in these environments and being raised by these people, and we see so clearly in phase 2 just how much generational trauma impacts people and ruins uncountable numbers of lives. Sorcerers also pretty much never die of old age. A select few of them live to be old, yes, but even they always die violently. There is no peaceful or happy ending for sorcerers, their lives are dark from the beginning through to the end, even to the point where the knowledge that they’re going to die acts as a comfort instead of a curse.

The sorcerers have also watched mortals commit countless genocides and acts of horrific discrimination and destruction and have been unable to do anything about it due to this idea enforced by their governments that they cannot interfere with the affairs of mortals, and that the mortals must simply learn to be better on their own. Hell, a lot of sorcerers have probably been directly impacted by these genocides, and their friends were probably tormented by the fact that they could do nothing about it. And due to their lack of culture and overall opportunity to do these things over the years because of the war, many of the sorcerers (especially the students who weren’t soldiers) start to feel just a little too good about themselves and their people, pointing out that they’ve never done things like that while failing to realize that the reason they’ve never really done that is because they’ve never been given an opportunity to do so.

And of course in modern times, there are issues like climate change, impending war, and increasing discrimination that sorcerers still aren’t allowed to do anything about despite living in the same world and still being impacted by, leading to a sort of “I wonder if things would be better if we were in charge”, as discussed often by Corrival kids and sometimes the Sanctuary workers. They’ve all heard of Dimension X of course, but those who don’t straight up agree with what Mevolent was doing either justify the thought by claiming that they’ve seen his mistakes and could do it better (introspection, anyone?) or, in the case of people like Valkyrie, just shake off the thought and tell themselves that it would never work out in practice.

And how sorcerers view mortals, even the supposedly good sorcerers, is also an important thing to consider here. There are, of course, sorcerers like Nefarian who have a cartoon villain view on mortals and think of them as little more than cattle, but there are more nuanced ways of thinking about mortals that are still not actually that great. In HBL, Ghastly talks about how he’s worse than mortals because he’s been given this gift that elevates him to some status above them, and yet also chooses to compete in wars for seemingly no end. And that’s the thing, this way that he subtly thinks of mortals as simple creatures who don’t understand the glory of the world as he does, who’s actions are understandable because how could they ever know better?

I also think that Valkyrie’s perception of mortals is fascinating because of how we get to see it evolves over time. When Val is fourteen or so, she actively rejects the term “mortal” because she sees it as dehumanizing and elevating of the sorcerers to a higher status. But as she grows older and becomes more attached to sorcerer society as opposed to mortal society, she stops complaining about the term and begins to adopt that mindset that so many other sorcerers have of almost being a shepherd. Instead of protecting mortals for the sake of keeping other people safe, it sometimes feels more like a duty to keeping the livestock alive more than anything else, and she actively refers to mortals as bumbling fools who get themselves killed unnecessarily in HBL.

Now, this is where Roarhaven as a city actually starts to come into play. After all, it lends sorcerers an entire city away from the prying eyes of mortals, and there’s nothing that actually makes them go back to interact with them. They can just live in the city forever and have all the resources they need. But spending so long away from and never interacting with the mortals they’re supposed to protect leads to disconnection with them from the sorcerers. The sorcerers see their city as cleaner, nicer, more organized, and overall better than anything the mortals could possibly create. Sorcerers live longer lives, are more open-minded, are stronger and capable of doing more, and so they must be better than those foolish mortals who become more close-minded as they get older.

And of course the Sanctuary is supposed to disagree with this sentiment (emphasis on supposed), but it doesn’t really matter because the Faceless Ones worshipers who have been saying this for hundreds of years and haven’t been stamped out by the government get to spread this idea around to their fellow citizens, who refuse to go back and actually reconnect with the mortals. It’s like how fast transphobia spreads among those who don’t actually know any trans people; the lack of ability to disprove the information and ideas you are being given causes them to become real to you.

And now for the children, who have less life experience and even less memories of mortals than the adults do. The students are easy to leave imprints on, and we’ve already seen how even the best intentioned kids express some anti-mortal sentiments. They know that their world is dying and it’s the mortals faults. They’ve grown up in this world being told over and over that they are better and wiser than mortals, and have been taught by their parents and by each other to view mortals as mayflies. Nothing more than insects. Even people like Omen wondered if maybe things would be better if they simply took over. Quietly took the world off the mortal government’s hands and into their own, where their everlasting wisdom can lead them to a better future. Because the kids don’t remember what the war was like, and it leads them to be disconnected from their parents. And that leads them to find affirmation among each other instead, at a boarding school where they almost never see their families and where even the teachers will indulge in anti-mortal sentiments. It’s such an easy rabbit hole for them to fall into, especially since Roarhaven hasn’t developed any sort of system to keep the kids up to date with the world and politics outside of Roarhaven, and so they just learn from each other.

And the reason that Roarhaven’s government isn’t able to do much about the children turning towards fascism is because the government kind of sucks. They have this idea that they don’t need things like lawyers because they have mind-readers and lawyers are a measly mortal invention while failing to consider the fact that lawyers exist to make sure that rights are being followed. Except that I’m not actually sure that the sorcerers have anything like rights outside of loosely following what mortals have, since police brutality seems incredibly common and the cops seem allowed to just do whatever they please. They also have nothing like a democratic system and their top governors can be easily put under influence by someone with money (e.g. China and Damocles).

There’s definitely more I could say to point this out, but I think it’s already clear enough (hell, it’s even discussed in the series itself) that the Sanctuary’s current government system is corrupt, outdated, and leaves room for dictators and fascists to take over and for the people to continue harming each other with no end in sight and needs to be replaced with something that would allow sorcerers as a whole to grow from the trauma that has brought them ruin for hundreds of years and maybe even finally help to create a better world for everyone.

[the-other-art-blog]

Benophie wish list: Benedict and Anthony (Part 3: the mistress question/Siena)

If you haven't read my previous posts about Benophie wish list: Benedict and Anthony: PART 1 and PART 2

This is the last part of my analysis/wish list of Benedict and Anthony's relationship in the show and how it can continue in the s4.

This time, I want to theorize on Anthony's reaction to Benedict's feelings for Sophie.

Let me be clear: I do not mean any ill toward Anthony or Kate. But I never understood the hate for the previous love interest for the Bridgertons, since we know who their endgame will be. Siena was no threat to Kanthony's HEA but she still had an impact on Anthony and is part of his story. And she was a good person.

Having said that, I think it would be smart if the writers call back on her and Anthony's relationship, not her, just a reference to her. Why? Well, she was Anthony's mistress.

Obviously, the whole Bridgteron family is going to love Sophie unconditionally, but I think it will be interesting to have Anthony being a bit (or a lot) hesitant, at first, for several reasons.

As the head of the family, he feels responsible for keeping their family's good standing (the whole point of s2's quest for the diamond/Edwina). Sophie tells Benedict this after just 5 minutes of meeting Anthony. His marriage to Kate was not financially advantageous but she was part of his world. Let's be honest, Kate in no way suffered poverty, real poverty. At worst, the Sharmas were middle class. The scandal came from Anthony's pursuit of Edwina and the failed wedding. So, yes, I think he'd be a bit nervous about his brother marrying a servant and an illegitimate daughter. Añready in s1, when he and Daphne were walking around the ballroom in ep1 he dismisses a suitor for his "dubious parentage".

A while ago, I wrote a one-shot about this. How would Anthony react to Benedict's crush on Sophie:

Moreover, he won't be living with Violet and the girls (+ Gregory) anymore, so he won't know Sophie as well as them. To him, she is just another lady's maid, which is why he is so confused about why Violet invites her to tea. His head-of-the-family alert will ring as soon as he hears Ben brought her. Why? Like, be real, which son of an aristocrat cares about female servants unless they its for inappropriate or malicious purposes. AOFAG implied that men who harassed servants were judged more harshly than those who were with other women. So, I think it's reasonable to expect Anthony to be curious about Ben and Sophie's relationship. Has Ben taken his libertine activities too far? Does his brother harass servants now? Is she taking advantage of Ben?

He will also want to figure out what exactly is happening between them because of his past with Siena. Anthony almost ruined his life because he got too attached and confused lust with love. He won't want Ben to make the same mistake. Also, I think the book made the mistake of not remembering the LIS in at least one scene before Colin's. Did no one remember how long he looked for her? In the show, LIS could cause Anthony to be more weary of Benophie. Didn't Benedict already find the love of his life? What the hell is going on? What is Benedict playing at? Can't he see that having a mistress who is his sister's maid reflects horribly on the entire family?

A confrontation about this between Anthony and Benedict could be a great opportunity to push Benedict to define his feelings for the LIS and for Sophie. Does he actually want Sophie to be his mistress, like Siena was to Anthony?

And of course, Anthony will see how different this situation is from his, how different Ben is from him. After this, he will 100% support Ben and Sophie.

Kate could also help him handle the situation, not storm into Ben's house and demand answers but talk. She could also remind him that Mary suffered ostracism after marrying her father.

If you haven't read my previous posts about Benophie wish list: Benedict and Anthony: PART 1 and PART 2.

About s4 side plots

#benophie wish list

[shiversdownyerspine]

Ole Munch thoughts

I gotta talk about the scene where our mudman is in the tub.

"When Munch was a boy, freedom was a potato. It was you didn't get killed today. Freedom from hunger, from the rusty blade. But to free himself, the man ate first, so others could not. He killed before he was killed. He wanted nothing more because only kings had the freedom to want. And now, everywhere you look, you see kings. Everything they want they call their own and if they cannot have it, they say that they are not free. They even pretend their freedom should be free, that it has no cost, but the cost is always death. Life for life. Me, or you."

Freedom: the power or right to act, speak, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. To have privilege. To be unconstrained. To not be shackled by another. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".

So for kid Munch, freedom was a potato. If he had this resource, he'd be safe from his own hunger and from threats to his life. As long as he had food to offer, he was safe, he was free to live.

As a man, he ate first, so others could not. He killed before he was killed. All grown up, he became the one with the rusty blade, he takes as he was once taken from. He's a product of his surroundings, of poverty, just doing whatever he can to survive.

He never thought about wanting more out of life because of being constantly told/shown that he can't, only kings could do such a thing. In medieval times, kings were believed to have divine right to rule, they made the laws and their word is god. They were above all others, and only they could want and were free to want.

So Munch is trapped in poverty and the people who are in positions of power insist that there is no way out, this is just how it is. So he sticks with what he knows and continues fighting to survive with the only ways that are available to him.

And he says, 'now (modern times?), everywhere you look you see kings.' Munch sees all these people demanding everything for themselves. That they should be allowed to consume all, like the medieval kings would. They consider themselves gods and above the law and should be treated as such, and they act like it's fine to indulge greed and gluttony, that there is no cost, but Munch has learned from a life in poverty that when you take, someone else goes without.

He was taught there's not enough to go around; when you eat, you are taking food from someone else. When you hesitate to strike, you will get stricken down first. Inevitably someone will be trapped in poverty, struggling to live, and the violent cycle will continue. The one who goes without will resort to anything, will have to resort to anything, just to survive for another day.

Thus the cost of a king's freedom (indulging endless gluttony/greed) is someone's death. It's the people living in poverty, that already have so little available to them, that suffer from a king's freedom. "Me, or you." (aka him and the old woman)

It honestly looks like Ole is trying to connect with the old woman in his own way. He's giving her some of his history and saying he understands what it's like to not have enough, be exploited, and struggle to survive.

But the old woman doesn't understand. She's still trying to figure out why he's in her home, what he wants from her.

And when she questions him, I think Munch took her meaning a bit differently lol.

I think he took it as her asking him, 'Why did you seek out my company?' and 'What do you want out of life?'

Now think about everything he said and consider that question again. "What do you want?"

Munch just got done talking about freedom, about food, safety, kings, and not being able to want anything else other than surviving another day. Sam Spruell also mentioned no one has ever asked Munch what he wants, no one else has cared. The old woman just might be the very first.

And he blinks like he's in disbelief and looks at her with such awe and desperation. He looks like he's about to cry. No one has asked him that before, no one has implied that he can seek out more from life than just survival. I think the old woman opened a door for him. He is allowed to want.

And what does he want? Pancakes. :O

And what was it that Dot was looking so longingly at in the gas station? Bisquick pancake mix. A reminder of her daughter, of her family, of the wonderful life she's made for herself. A better life than what she had before, full of joy, love, and forgiveness. And Munch wants pancakes. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT.

(It's possible there's also other meanings behind pancakes when viewed alongside poverty, medieval times, breakfast, and religion, but let's save that for another day.)