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menalez · 5 years

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ive been saying that i’ll be posting receipts on the hetfem server, which was also heavily requested by plenty of people on here. this post is going to be pretty long, so i’m putting it under a read more. keep in mind, this isn’t every single wrong thing that has been said on the server, some may disagree with some parts even being wrong to begin with, and this post may have more added to it afterwards in the reblogs. the individuals who have provided me with receipts were all feeling threatened due to knowing how vicious and prone to harassing others the women in this server often are. so ive been sent countless receipts with context, which i have tried to summarise as well. please remember that the point of this post isn’t to call out specific individuals, but rather it is to showcase that the concerns and ‘rumours’ going around about this server were reasonable and true, and to show how lesbophobic and racist this server is (which many have publicly stated before being dogpiled by members of the server).

first is the zionism and racism in that specific regard. “theHettyishere” is black-diaspora, “Autumn” is probablyaterf. both are partaking in the erasure & justification of how israel is treating palestinians, erasing palestinians proven ties to their country, erasing the war crimes israel partook in, and also erasing the racism within israel which prioritises ashkenazim over mizrahim and black jews.

then they got more blatant and started saying that if you’re anti-zionism then you’re .. anti-semitic ?? keep in mind these people aren’t even jewish

then they go onto defending christianity

and falsely claim hitler ‘deeply respected’ islam. interesting considering hitler called muslims ‘half-apes’ and all but oh well!

second set of receipts is the defending of blackface and justification of it. in both these ‘debates’, they literally only present one side and then act like they had a great discussion at the end of it when they’re all just confirming their pre-existing beliefs and using one another to support that. anyways, girlsfrommars had previously come under fire for publicly defending the blackface tradition existing in her country, the netherlands. this is her doing it again after backpedaling on tumblr on this topic, and people in the server standing by her. battleking is bookrebelwordwarrior on tumblr.

the conversation kinda goes on for a bit and girlfrommars does the same thing she did on tumblr not long before this convo, which was give a “oh ok i’ll reconsider!” which may not be her truth anyways.

next is people on the server saying straight women don’t have enough good representation and even talking about being upset over bi women and even lesbians being represented?? again, autumn is probablyaterf. laughing bird will appear in the screenshots a lot, although i’m not sure what her url is.

idk how to tell these het and bi women.... that lesbians have practically no good representation. especially not as much as het women. there’s a lot of parts of this conversation that are highly questionable. tldr its bad if lesbians or bi women headcannon gnc women as bi or lesbians. also its bad if gnc characters aren’t straight.

this next screen is coming from a het woman so keep that in mind. i don’t know how to put into words why i find this iffy so yall can see it and decide for urselves

she justifies it w this when a couple of members make it clear they find her message questionable:

on a different occasion, girlsfrommars, a white woman, decides to randomly ask other white women in the server what they think about reparations. a bunch of racist white women show themselves during this conversation. please keep in mind i was not the one censoring their usernames so i myself have no idea who these women are, but the person censored in white is emanon, who has a tumblr. i dont know what her tumblr is, but she will appear in multiple other receipts after this. keep in mind this entire channel ends up being deleted by probablyaterf to cover up the racism and prevent the collection of receipts, which you’ll see evidence of later on in this post.

then one of the white women dismisses the impact of racism, basically,

then woc start to chime in (white is the white woman, ‘emanon’)

then, after this conversation went on for a while, a mod decides to tone-police and shame the woc for taking issue with what the white woman was saying. this mod is also white.

“my race doesn’t matter, but i’m jewish” sounds convenient. especially since this person admitted to being white and stated thats why she should stay in her lane the previous day:

back to the dispute between LB and the woc:

remember LB’s tone and behaviour in the above screenshots as you’ll see how different it is from how she acted when a white woman was being lesbophobic on the server.

probablyaterf eventually comes in with “both sides were bad :)” basically

girlfrommars makes a non-apology apology about bringing up reparations the way she did

the next set of screenshots is just.. i dont even know what to say about it? yall can see it for yourselves because i think its self-explanatory. battle king = bookrebelwordwarrior, thehettyishere = black-diaspora, autumn = probablyaterf.

then the subtle lesbophobia comes in

this convo was then moved to a channel that was eventually deleted (receipt of that will be shown on this post).

probablyaterf then comes in and says lesbians are All saying the things mentioned above

then radfemkitten talks about how upset she was and probablyaterf goes on about how this conversation should stop or something

PAT then lowkey admits that part of the point of her server is to be able to talk shit about lesbians without being criticised for lesbophobia:

radfemkitten more or less confirms this

PAT basically says “if you think women here are lesbophobic then leave but if you keep criticising what is said then i’ll mute and maybe even kick you!” ok

after this PAT muted that woman for saying that some of the women were being lesbophobic.

someone showed exactly where lesbophobia was present

“straight women should have a space where they can shit talk lesbians without criticism” basically ^. this is the 3rd screenshot where members of the chat, specifically the creator PAT, states that the server exists partially so that non-lesbians can say shit without being criticised for being lesbophobic.

this was then said by emanon (racist reparations lady):

then probablyaterf coddles the women who were upset for being held accountable and kicks out the women who called out lesbophobia

probablyaterf deleted entire channels which involved members being lesbophobic and racist for the bullshit reason she provided here, basically admitting she would remove things to prevent the collection of receipts:

this is why she is so confident on her blog about how people can’t possibly have receipts on her server. because she makes sure to delete the evidence. issue is, she did it too late. she then started twisting the story and lying to save face. she removed the conversations regarding reparations, separatism, the accusations of racism & lesbophobia, them complaining about there not being enough good representation of straight women, etc were all removed. evidence:

then it gets even more blatantly sketchy, where PAT basically tells the members of the group to not repeat the drama or dish the details of it, as any honest and open person not hiding questionable shit would do, apparently.

the details and specifics of this drama were all kept quiet by those involved as well, and those involved agreed to not talk about what has happened in detail.

the bit “one of the members was crying SO MUCH because you called her lesophobic that she almost LEFT HER JOB :(” is funny as y’all can see the situation for yourself up there, she said something and people questioned her on it. this wasn’t a case of a poor defenseless victim being cruelly attacked or whatever.

“a lot of them do tho clearly” keep in mind that there were like what .. 4 lesbians that took issue with the server? and initially there was even less than that.

radfemkitten then goes onto a lesbophobic rant.

then they changed the story within the server and claimed that the accusations of racism were directed at woc... when it was directed at white women exclusively, as shown above. keep in mind the person claiming this and putting racism in quotations is a white woman herself so. hmm.

next incident is some white woman being very blatantly lesbophobic on the server. several people took issue with it, and she received multiple warnings but was not kicked. keep in mind that earlier, someone was kicked simply for questioning a member on the server and saying they were being lesbophobic. yet when someone is blatantly lesbophobic, they receive multiple warnings and then get away with it. “pinkie the feral one” goes by roxxy, i don’t know if she has a tumblr. notice how laughing bird is comparatively very civil and patient with this roxxy person.

bi & het women determining that lesbians talking about thinking of pussy somehow implies ‘homosexuals are sex crazed deviants’, is what’s homophobic, btw.

next are when the hetfem server came under fire after TD spoke against it and drama ensued. i was initially 100% for the hetfem server and said those opposing it were being illogical. however, after a while of that drama, some lesbophobia was starting to come out from the hetfems which is when i said i think both sides are wrong. the hetfems took this very personally and proceeded to make lesbophobic comments about how im just bitter bc i dont have a gf or something (altho i was in a relationship back then so lol) and then they blatantly said they dont think het women have power over lesbians. the convo resulted in them full on arguing that lesbians have it easier than het women.

next coming is the hetfem server arguing that abrahamic religions actually *helped* women and how radfems should be talking about that. keep in mind some of these are the same people that mock people who say islam is a ‘feminist religion’.

next is them arguing on the hetfem server that Nasime Aghdam, the youtube shooter, is male and referencing a meme as a source. they completely ignored the fact that Nasime’s childhood photos make it pretty obvious that that meme was inaccurate anyways. also probablyaterf argued that it’s somehow racist to note that nasime aghdam resembles many other people in the middle east (somewhere im from & where ive lived my entire life). its interesting considering how many things she argued weren’t racist or homophobic, yet noting that someone isn’t a Weird Unusual Looking Alien like she wants to claim is ..racist

the probablyaterf goes on to strawman that i claimed all iranians are clones of each other or smth simply bc i said nasime aghdam’s face is not unusual in countries like iran. also keep in mind the person censored in red is a white woman lol.

henryhetta = foxfur-nadine.

listen.. ive seen women wearing borderline clown makeup in my country. it doesnt make them male. anyways then PAT says ‘maybe im wrong but ill insist im not anyways’, basically.

next is the time black-diaspora posted a pic of my mom taken from my country’s gov facebook page, which provides people with her first & last name. this was brought up on the server. they said i was lying (i was not) and went on about how im crazy and need to get laid. also calling me a ‘nigel’ in one of those screens.

then they just keep justifying it and insulting me. instead of taking issue with what a member of their server did.

so basically “calling out lesbophobia is bad, but posting information that leads to someone’s mom’s full name and facebook is ok, and somehow posting something from a ‘public news article’”

then they said “homosexuality is legal in bahrain” to somehow justify any of this??? as if Bahrain doesn’t have a history of killing, imprisoning, torturing, and exiling Bahrainis that they see criticising the government (which i frequently do) or anything. not like around 200 people have lost their lives for critiquing Bahrain’s government or anything. moreover, plenty of things are ‘legal’ in Bahrain but still lead to punishment. sex outside of marriage is illegal and gay people can’t legally get married, for one. and people have been imprisoned in Bahrain for kissing members of the same sex. but whatever i guess. anyways then radfemkitten argues that i sent a picture doxxing my own fucking mother to black-diaspora. so i endangered my own mother and then begged these people to delete the information they posted, apparently?

sadly, that is the end of the receipts i have on the topic of BD endangering my mom and the hetfem server justifying it and finding ways to blame me for BD’s actions. so i don’t have the bit that confirms how she explained herself to others and justified it, however she did justify and defend it publicly when i called her out on it. BD was not kicked or muted or anything of the sort for what she has done, and as you can see, everyone justified it and took it as an opportunity to insult me. this wouldn’t have been as much of an issue if i wasn’t from a dictatorship and if my blog wasn’t so political. what BD posted is STILL present on another blog and i could not get staff to delete it, so if the information falls into the wrong hands i don’t know what’ll happen to my mother, or even to me.

next is them justifying allying with the right despite their homophobia, racism, etc. keep in mind some of these women reblogged white supremacist propaganda in agreement with it so this isn’t particularly shocking. christmas begins in november = autumn = probablyaterf.

the issue with this, by the way, is associating with a group that is often misogynistic, homophobic, and racist solely to have a slightly larger platform of people who are more or less heavily for gender, gender roles, and more, sends the message that somehow these are ok things to side with as feminists. yall notice how many ‘radfems’ are literally just conservatives who are against some aspects of misogyny or trans people? these are the people you’re roping in a lot of the time. and this makes the voices of radfems easier to dismiss by the left as well. instead of establishing a space in the left, you end up placing yourself closer to the right and effectively putting the success of your movement to a halt.

these coming screenshots are the hetfems arguing het women have it The Hardest in radfem spaces

separate event is just some lesbophobia, again.

“imagine a straight/bihet woman wondering what the purpose of a lesbian is” go outside. there’s plenty of that. one idiotic woman saying that about bisexuality doesn’t somehow override that.

more blatant lesbophobia in a separate event. note the reactions underneath the text (all in agreement)

how often have gay people talked about how the stupid “you have equal rights now uwu” bullshit is simply bullshit? this is exactly what men use to dismiss feminists, why do it to dismiss talk of homophobia?

a bunch of white & het/het-passing women joking about making a straight pride or kkk march

remember the white woman, emanon, who argues against reparations because “what about poor white people? :(” she comes in with more racism, and some intersexism too! this is her calling caster semenya, an intersex black woman, a man and using ‘he’ pronouns for her. girlfrommars, the white woman keen on defending blackface, comes in to express her agreement.

then they argue that semenya was raised as a male.. because she refused to wear feminine clothing including in school & because some people thought she was, and thus treated her as such until they realised shes not, a man??

this is more recent than a lot of the previous receipts. i reblogged one post by radfemkitten a while back, and she was so flattered she felt the need to complain about it on the hetfem server, to which someone replied by likening me to a male hippo from madagascar.

#whitefem racism #long post #liberal lesbophobia #hetfems #hetfem server #probablyaterf #black-diaspora #girlfrommars #radfemkitten

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dreamyblackchild · 5 years

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The Red Sea Diving Resort is trash

First off, the movie is based on real events and centers around Chris Evans’s character Avi Levinson, an Israeli Mossad agent, and his team on a mission to rescue the surviving Jewish Ethiopian refugees living in Sudan. To achieve this goal, they use a deserted holiday retreat as a front to smuggle thousands of refugees to Israel. Like every other Hollywood movie with a similar plot like this, most of the main cast are white and they are the main focus for a movie about Ethiopian refugees escaping persecution. They’re all supposed to be Israeli but nobody tried doing any accents. No spoken lines in Hebrew. Nothing. Just white af Americans playing as Israelis.

Black characters are treated as either uninteresting extras or savage uniform-clad villains. How many movies about historical events where white people save the cowering Africans who can do nothing for themselves are made? Way too many. This brings to my next point.

No Ethiopian actor was hired to play a major role in this movie. American actor Michael K. Williams plays an Ethiopian Mossad agent by the name of Kabede Bimro who aids Chris Evans and his team to rescue the refugees from the genocidal Sudanese army while speaking a poor attempt of an Ethiopian accent. Other Ethiopians, however, have no character development or spoken dialogue. The Ethiopian refugees exist as a plot device to raise the stakes for Chris Evans and his team of white saviors or to be outright killed as a way of establishing the villainy of the stereotypical evil Sudanese Warlord, played by American actor Chris Chalk. Don't know about y’all but this is no way to show proper respect for the actual refugees. How can a movie about the plight of Ethiopian Jews not have actual Ethiopians?

For a movie based on true events, this is a cliché mess. The dialogue is cheesy and the overall story left me bored and uninspired. Director Gideon Raff, who is Israeli, also wrote and produce the movie clearly made it for an American audience, hence why the blatant whitewashing of the main cast and erasing of the experiences from actual Ethiopian refugees are so prevalent. A real shame too because the movie had so much potential and I hoped it would break out of the typical Hollywood white savior narrative, but it didn't deliver. But hey, montages of shirtless Chris Evans doing push-ups in tight shorts and waking up from bed ass naked will quench any thirsty American viewer.

#red sea diving resort #movie rant #rant #blackgirltalks

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innuendostudios · 6 years

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New video essay! Internet reactionaries argue as though they have no core beliefs at all, and will just say anything to own the libs. So are they nihilists, or is there more going on?

You can ensure this series continues by backing me on Patreon.

Transcript below the cut.

Say, for the sake of argument, you’re online blogging about a Black journalist’s commentary on marketing trends in video games, movies, and comic books, and you’re saying how the vitriol in response to her fairly benign opinions reveals the deep-seated racism and misogyny in a number of fan communities, most especially those that lean right, when a right-leaning commenter pops in to say, “Or maybe they just actually disagree with her about marketing trends! For Christ’s sake, there’s no mystery here. People aren’t aren’t speaking in coded language. They are telling you what they believe. She had a bad opinion; why do you have to make it bigger than that? Why can’t you ever take people at their word?”

You pause and ponder for a moment. Mmm… Aw heck with it, you’re in a discoursing mood. Let’s do this.

“Mr. Conservative, in order for me to take you at your word, your words would have to show some consistency. Let me just lightning round a few questions about the reactionary web’s positions on marketing trends: Do you believe that having the option to romance same-sex characters in an RPG turns the game into queer propaganda, or do you believe that killing strippers in an action game can’t be sexist since no one’s making you do it? Do you believe that the pervasiveness of sexualized young women in pop culture is just there because it sells and that’s capitalism and we all need to deal with it, or do you believe that a franchise has an obligation to cater to its core audience even if diversifying beyond that audience is more profitable? Do you think words are inherently harmless and only oversensitive snowflakes would care about racialized language, or do you think it’s racist if someone calls you mayonnaise boy? As long as I’ve got your ear: Are you the Party that believes in the right to keep and bear arms because you’re distrustful of all authority and what if we need to overthrow the government someday, or do you believe that cops are civil servants and we should trust their account of events whenever they shoot a Black man for looking like he might have a gun?

“Does optional content reveal a game’s ideology, or doesn’t it? Is capitalism a defense for decisions you don’t agree with, or isn’t it? Is language harmful, or not? Do you hate authority, or love cops and the troops?

Alright, alright, ease off. Add some nuance. “Now, I know the Right is not a monolith, and maybe these arguments are contradictory because they’re coming from different people. We’ll call them Engelbert and Charlemagne. Maybe Engelbert’s the one who thinks any institution funded by tax money is socialist and therefore bad and Charlemagne’s the one who says we should dump even more tax money into the military and thinking otherwise is un-American. But here’s the thing: Y’all have very fundamentally different beliefs, and you’re so passionate about them that you enter search terms into Twitter to find people you don’t even follow and aggressively disagree with them, and, yet, you’re always yelling at me and never yelling at each other. What’s that about?

“And I can’t say how often it happens, but I know, if I let Engelbert go on long enough, he sometimes makes a Charlemagne argument. And vice versa.

“And, I see you getting ready to say, ‘The Left does the same thing,’ but ba ba ba ba ba, don’t change the subject. That’s an extremely false equivalence, but, more importantly, it doesn’t answer my question. What do you actually believe, and why are you so capable of respecting disagreement between each other, yet so incapable of respecting me - or, for that matter, a Black woman?

“See, I don’t take you at your word because I cannot form a coherent worldview out of the things you say. So, forgive me if, when you tell me what you believe, I don’t think you’re being candid with me. It kinda seems like you’re playing games, and I’m the opposing team, and anyone who’s against me is your ally. And you’re not really taking a position, but claiming to believe in whatever would need to be true to score points against me, like we’re in that one episode of Seinfeld.” [Card Says Moops clip.]

(This is borrowed observation #1, link in the down-there part.)

Hoo, it feels good calling people hypocrites! Person says B when earlier they said A and you point out the contradiction! You don’t take a position on A or B, and you still “win”! I see why Republicans like this so much.

But that’s the kind of point-scoring we’re here to deconstruct, so let’s get analytical.

There’s a certain Beat-You-At-Your-Own-Gaminess to the Card Says Moops maneuver. “Safe spaces are bullshit, but, if you get one, I get one too.” “There’s no such thing as systemic oppression, but, if there were, I’d be oppressed.” It’s dismissing the rhetoric of social justice while also trying to use it against you. Claiming “the Card Says Moops” does not, so much, mean, “I believe the people who invaded Spain in the 8th Century were literally called The Moops,” but, rather, “You can’t prove I don’t believe it.” Not a statement of sincere belief, simply moving a piece across the board. All in the game, yo.

If they could be so nakedly honest with you and themselves to answer “what do you actually believe” truthfully, one suspects the answer would be, “What difference does it make? We’re right either way.”

This has come to be known as “postmodern conservatism,” a fact I find hilarious, because, in The Discourse, “postmodernism” is a dogwhistle for everything the Right hates about the Left. (...it also means “Jews.”) Postmodern conservatism is the thinking that, at least for the purpose of argument, the truth of who invaded Spain is immaterial. You have your facts, I have alternative facts. What is true? Who’s to say?

Regardless of what you actually believe - what you believe serving no rhetorical purpose - you are at least arguing from the position that material truth does not exist. Truth is a democracy. Whoever who wins the argument decides who invaded Spain.

It would be reductive to blame this pattern of thought on the internet, but its recent proliferation isn’t really extricable from the rise of chan culture (this is borrowed observation #2, link in the down there part). 4chan didn’t cause this thinking, but sites like 4chan reveal it in its most concentrated form.

The two most common properties of a chan board will be anonymity and lack of moderation, which means, among other things, that you can say whatever you want with no systemic or social repercussions. People may disagree with you, but it carries no weight. You won’t be banned, you won’t have your comments deleted, and, because there’s no way to know whether any two posts are made by the same person, you won’t even get a reputation as “the person with the bad opinion.”

The effect this has on the community is that there is no expectation, in any given moment, that the person on the other end of a conversation isn’t messing with you. You can’t know whether they mean what they say or are only arguing as though they mean what they say. And entire debates may just be a single person stirring the pot. Such a community will naturally attract people who enjoy argument for its own sake, and will naturally trend towards the most extreme version of any opinion.

In short, this is the Free Marketplace of Ideas. No code of ethics, no social mores, no accountability. A Darwinist petri dish where ideas roam free and only the strong ones survive. If the community agrees Bebop is better than Eva, well, then I guess Bebop is better than Eva, because there wasn’t any outside influence polluting the discourse. Granted, it could just be a lot of people thought it was funny to shit on Eva, but it’s what the community has decided, so it will at least be treated as truth.

This demands that one both be highly opinionated and to assume opinions are bullshit, to place a high premium on consensus and be intensely distrustful of groupthink.

A common means of straddling these lines is what I call the Stanislavski Opinion: the opinion you entertain so completely that you functionally believe it while you express it, no matter the possibility that you will express - and, to an extent, believe - an opposite opinion later. Most of us go through a phase in our youths where we’re online and like the idea of believing in something, but don’t know what to believe just yet, so we pick a position and find out if we believe it by defending it. We try on ideologies like sunglasses off a rack. Most of us will eventually settle on a belief system, and this will usually involve some apologies and some comments we wish we could scrub from the internet, but it’s an important stage of growing up.

But some percentage of people will seek out a space where there is no embarrassment, the comments scrub themselves, and never growing out of the Stanislavski Opinion is actively rewarded. There, figuring out what you believe would make your ability to argue less flexible, and, besides, if you believed anything unironically, much of the community would still assume you’re trolling. Where no one is bound by their word, what, really, is the difference between appearing to have an opinion and having one?

Sincerity is unprovable and open to interpretation. Decide someone is sincere if you want to make fun of them, decide they’re trolling if you want to make fun of someone else. What is true? What do you want to be true? It’s easy enough to start thinking of one’s own opinions the same way: What do I believe? What is it advantageous to believe? Your answer isn’t binding. You’ll change it later if you need to.

The person I’m describing, you spend time online, you’ll meet him a lot. His name is Schrodinger’s Douchebag (borrowed observation #3, link in the down there part): A guy who says offensive things & decides whether he was joking based on the reaction of people around him. Any website that lacks effective moderation and allows some level of anonymity will, to varying degrees, approximate 4chan, and be overrun with Schrodinger’s Douchebag.

When this type of person defends rape jokes by saying all humor is inherently punching down because there must be a butt to every joke, he hasn’t thought about it. He assumes it’s true, because he figures he’s a smart guy and whatever he assumes is probably right, but he’s unfazed if you prove otherwise; there’s no shortage of dodgy reasons he might be right and you wrong. He’ll just pick another one. What matters is that the game continues.

The thing is, Bob, it’s not that they’re lying, it’s that they just don’t care. I’ll say that again for the cheap seats: When they make these kinds of arguments, they legitimately do not care whether the words coming out of their mouths are true. It is a deeply held belief for precisely as long as it wins arguments.

So it’s kinda funny, right, how many of these folks self-identify as “rationalists?” I mean, typical rational thinking would say: If I am presented with the truth, I will believe it, and, once I believe it, I will defend it in argument. This? This is not that! This is a different idea of “rationality” that views it not as a practice but as an innate quality one either possesses or lacks, like being blond or left-handed: If I’m arguing it, I must believe it, because I’m a rational person, and, if I believe it, because I’m a rational person, it must be true. You speak assuming you’re right, and, should you take a new position, this telescopes out into a whole new set of beliefs with barely a thought. Stay focused on the argument, and you won’t even notice it’s happening.

You might now conclude the internet reactionary believes in nothing except winning arguments with liberals. And, like Newtonian physics, if you assume this framing, you will get highly useful results. If you enter conversation with Engelbert and Charlemagne believing they do not mean what they say, they are only entertaining notions, and, on a long enough timeline, they will eventually defend a position fundamentally incompatible with the one they defended earlier in the same argument, you will navigate that conversation much more effectively!

But, like Newtonian physics, this framing is lowercase-a accurate without being capital-T True.

In reality, nihilism isn’t that popular. People will tell you, “I don’t care about anything, I just like triggering the libs,” but why is it always libs? It is piss easy (and also hilarious) to upset conservatives, why only go after the SJWs? The easy answer is, well, if you upset a feminist, you might make her cry; if you upset a Nazi, he might stab you, and that has a cooling effect. But the more obvious answer is that they actually agree with the racist, MRA, and TERF talking points they repeat, but would rather not think about it.

So much of conservative rhetoric is about maintaining ignorance of one’s own beliefs. To uphold the institution of imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy while thinking you are none of those things. (Well, OK, knowing you’re a capitalist, but thinking it’s a good thing.) Most people have a baseline of fairly conventional, kindergarten morality, and conservatism often clashes with it. You can rationalize these contradictions - “I’m not a bigot, I just believe in states’ rights” - but, as American conservatism gets more radical, it gets harder to square one’s politics with what one assumes to be one’s beliefs. So you learn, when someone challenges you, to cycle through beliefs until something sticks, just play your hand and trust that you’re right, or, in extreme cases, insist you have no beliefs at all, you’re just here to watch the world burn.

But they’re not. They are willing participants in the burning of only certain parts. They don’t care what they believe, but they know what they hate, and they don’t want to think about why they hate it. On paper, they believe in freedom of religion and freedom of expression, but they also hang out in communities where Muslims and trans women are punching bags. And, like a sixth grader who believes one thing in Sunday school and another thing in biology class, they believe different things at different times.

This thinking is fertile ground for Far Right recruitment. I’d say the jury is out on whether chan boards attract Far Right extremists or are built to attract Far Right extremists, but they’re where extremists congregate and organize because they’re where extremists are tolerated, and where they blend in with the locals. They learn the lingua franca of performative irony: Say what you mean in such a way that people who disagree think you’re kidding and people who agree think you’re serious. People who don’t know what they believe but clearly have some fascist leanings don’t need to be convinced of Nazi rhetoric, they just need to be submerged in it and encouraged to hate liberals. They’ll make their way Right on their own. Folks start using extremist rhetoric because it wins arguments with SJWs - usually because that’s the moment SJWs decide it’s not fruitful and possibly unsafe talking to you - and this creates the appearance that, if it keeps winning arguments, there must be something to it. The Far Right literally has handbooks on how to do this.

Those who never consciously embrace the ideology - who don’t transition from participating to getting recruited - are still useful. They spread the rhetoric, they pad the numbers, and often participate in harassment and sometimes even violence.

There’s a twisted elegance to all this. Think about it: If you operate as though there is no truth, just competing opinions, and as though opinions aren’t sincere, just tools to be picked up and dropped depending on their utility, then what are you operating under? Self-interest. The desire to win. You’ll defend the Holocaust just to feel smarter than someone, superior. Think about how beautifully that maps onto the in-group/out-group mentality of dominance and bigotry. Think how incompatible it is with liberal ideas of tolerance. I think this is why we don’t see a lot of these “I’m just here to fuck shit up” types on the Left. Don’t get me wrong, the Left has gotten on some bullshit, but (excepting politicians, whom you should never assume to mean anything they say) it’s sincerely-believed bullshit! We don’t build identities around saying things just to piss people off.

The takeaway from all this is not only that you can’t tell the difference between a bigot who doesn’t know they’re a bigot and a bigot who knows but won’t tell you, but that there is no line dividing the two. When some guy, in the middle of a harassment campaign, says the victims should be nicer to their harassers because that will “mend the rift,” I don’t know if he believes it. But, in that moment, he believes he believes it. And that scares the shit out of me. But, if you’re asking how many layers of irony he’s on as compared with the harassers, nine times out of ten it doesn’t matter.

Borrowed observation #4 is: “We are what we pretend to be.”

#the alt-right playbook #alt-right #video essay

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afrosocialism · 6 years

Text

Crimes of the US Presidents

CW: mention of sexual abuse, slavery, theft, imperialism, colonialism, war crimes, anti-black/brown/indigenous violence/policies, repression, racism, xenophobia, overthrows, invasions, and police violence.

Hey y’all, I intended to do this list on Presidents Day, but I didn’t. Anyway, I’m going to list every crime that every President did because all Presidents are guilty of crimes. Here’s the list.

1-5) The first five aka The so called founding fathers - Created this nation by enslaving Africans and the theft of Indigenous land. Owned huge number of slaves. Thomas Jefferson owned over 600 slaves, and raped one of them (15 yo Sally Hennings). Some of them supported the colonization of Liberia. They were also horribly capitalist, racist, and sexist.

6) John Quincy Adams - Nothing great about him. Moving on

7) Andrew Jackson - A genodical slave owning fuckface. Responsible for the Trail of Tears, forcing many Native tribes of their land. Got involved in wars that removed Natives from their land, including the Seminole Wars. Owned slaves and supported it.

8. Martin Van Buren - Continued Jackson’s Indian Removal policy and did nothing to stop slavery and owned some slaves.

9) William Henry Harrison - His reign was too damn short. So nothing about him, although he did participate in the Indian Wars before he was president.

10) John Tyler - Theft of Texas from Mexico. Owned slaves and didn’t stop slavery and was okay with it. A forgettable name tho.

11) James K Polk - Continued the theft of Mexico through the Mexican American War. Was a huge slaveowner and supported it and used the territory from Mexico to expand slavery. Asshole.

12) Zachary Taylor - another short run, but was a slaveowner and supported it (the last president to own slaves during his presidency). Also was a General in the Mexican-American War. Nothing great about him. Another forgettable one.

13) Millard Fillmore - Wanted to expand slavery to the new territories stolen from Mexico. Enacted the Fugitive Slave Act that criminalized slaves that escaped from their owners.

14) Franklin Pierce - Continued the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. Wanted to push slavery in Northern territories via the Kansas–Nebraska Act which also pushed Indigenous land off their territories. This caused a violent conflict between pro and anti slavery forces, preceding the Civil War. He continued the theft of Mexican land and tried to steal Cuba to make a slave state.

15) James Buchanan - Did nothing to stop slavery and defended the Dred Scott case. He also wanted Kansas as a slave state. Another forgettable name.

16) Abraham Lincoln - Now here’s some good stuff. But first, the Civil War was fought over slavery, not over that states rights bullshit. Anyway, the so called Great Emancipator was a far cry from what he is seen as. He never gave a damn about freeing slaves, his actions were plain opportunistic. He said he would preserve the Union without freeing a slave and don’t believe in rights for black people. He also planned to put freed black people on Liberia as an attempt to recolonize em. Another thing, the 13th Amendment never fully abolished slavery as slavery could be legal as a crime, which was instrumental in creating mass imprisonment and the influx of private and state prisons. He also ordered the massacre of Dakota Indians after an uprising by them. Racist as hell. The Great Lie. That’s what he is.

17) Andrew Johnson - One of the worst presidents ever, if you can say that as all presidents ain’t shit, Johnson’s incompetence and his attempts to veto any rights for black people got him impeached. He wanted to re-slave and recolonize black people (he tried to vetoed the 13th and 14th Amendment). He also owned slaves, which probably caused his thinking. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

18) Ulysses S Grant - Even though he pushed hard on the Reconstruction, improved rights for black people, Jews, and Natives, and criminalized the KKK, he was a corrupt fool who had a number of corruption cases that weakened the Reconstruction. He also tried to claim Santo Domingo (now Dominican Republic). He was the last president known to own chattel slaves, although he freed his, despite his family still owning slaves.

19) Rutherford B Hayes - He was the final nail to the coffin of the Reconstruction as he pulled troops out of the South, letting the racist as fuck Southern Democrats take over. This intensified racial violence and discrimination against black people such as lynchings and voter suppression. He was the one that created the Dawes Act, that enforced assimilation on Indigenous people and them losing any ownership of their land. He also sent troops crushed a railroad strike (the Great Railroad Strike of 1877). Did nothing about the corruption, labor conditions, and wealth inequality during the Gilded Age.

20) James A Garfield - Another short one. Nothing great. Moving on.

21) Chester A Arthur - Signed a law targeting Chinese immigrants and citizens as they were blamed for low wages and unemployment. Did nothing about the rampant anti-blackness going on. He also continued the assimilation policies of Indigenous people and the theft and blockade of their land. Also did nothing about what’s going on during the Gilded Age.

22 & 24) Grover Cleveland - Did nothing about the poor labor conditions of the workers and let capitalists multiply their wealth while letting workers suffers. Sent troops to quell the Pullman Strike, which resulted in the imprisonment of socialist Eugene Debs. Also did nothing about the anti-blackness in this country. Continued anti-Chinese policies. A fave among libertarians. I can see why.

23) Benjamin Harrison - Let the Wounded Knee Massacre Happened with many Lakota Indians being massacred in order to destroy the Ghost Dance movement. Also supported assimilation of Natives. Supported the colonization of Hawaii after the Kingdom was overthrown by American missionaries and plantation owners. Also did nothing about anti-blackness and the robber barons. Continued anti-immigration policies.

25) William McKinley - Now we’re getting into the big imperialism. Finally colonized Hawaii as a part of the US. Took Puerto Rico, Cuba, Philippines, and Guam from Spain, transitioning power from one colonizer to another one. He also sent troops to China to quell the Boxer Rebellion, which resisted cultural imperialism and colonialism from missionaries and other colonial interests. Also did nothing about anti-blackness.

26) Theodore Roosevelt - Progressives favorite president was a big ass imperialist. But Square Deal, trust busting… yeah he regulated businesses and put out many social reforms, but as an attempt to quell any revolutionary changes. Anyway, increased military presence in the Philippines leading into the Philippine-American War, which was responsible for the deaths of many Filipinos. Expanded the Monroe Doctrine, which the US the right to intervene in Latin America aka imperialism. Took control of Cuba after briefly giving it independence and Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Panama too. Targeted anarchists, socialists, poor and disabled immigrants, and sex workers with another anti-immigration law. He okayed the discharging of black soldiers after they were accused of Brownsville Raid, ya know black people were accused of harming wite people at the time and were killed because of it. Never cared about black people. Hated Natives and once said a good Indian is a dead one. After his presidency, he killed around 11,000 animals that were Indigenous to Africa for a fucking Museum. So much for being progressive.

27) William Howard Taft - Didn’t care about black lives. Sent troops to try to stop the Mexican Revolution as he was a supporter of Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. He also planned a coup against Nicaragua.

28) Woodrow Wilson - A despicable name who is another fave of progressives. An extremely racist motherfucker. He support segregation, banned black people from Princeton when he was President over there, and was pro-wite supremacist and played the pro KKK film Birth of a Nation in the White House. He also occupied Veracruz, Mexico and tried to quell the Mexican Revolution which also include the attempted capture of revolutionary Pancho Villa. He also invaded Dominican Republic and Haiti, the former led to the rise of DR dictator Rafael Trujillo. He got the country into WWI, getting the country into a war that had nothing to do with it. He started the Espionage Act and the first Red Scare which targeted socialists, anarchists, unionists, and anyone who opposed the war. Continued Teddy’s anti immigration policies. A fucking fascist is what he was.

29) Warren G Harding - Another corrupt motherfucker. Privatization of multiple industries and implemented tax cuts for the rich and corporations. Let wage cuts happened and oil preserves be control by private oil companies. Let corrupt officials in his government. Possible member of the KKK, and barely did anything for black lives. He was a terrible person.

30) Calvin Coolidge - Continued the capitalist policies of Harding. Refused farm subsidies. Didn’t do nothing for the black victims in the Great Mississippi Flood and let em suffer. Signed an anti-immigration bill. Sounds like something familiar that would happen almost 80 years later.

31) Herbert Hoover - While he’s known for his mishandling of the economy which was the final nail to the coffin that led to the Great Depression, he refused to sign any anti-lynching laws, favoring the interests of the Southern whites. He also put black victims of the aforementioned flood in poor conditions in the camp during his Vice-Presidency.

32) Franklin D Roosevelt - Here’s another progressive fave I’m gonna expose. But muh New Deal and Second Bill Rights… I don’t give a shit. The New Deal existed to save capitalism and not to radicalize the country. Most progressive reforms existed to preserve and maintain the capitalist system. Also, black people faced restriction and discrimination from the New Deal programs. Refused to sign an anti-lynching bill. Supported dictatorships in Latin America like Batista (Cuba), Trujillo (DR), and Somoza Sr.(Nicaragua). Let banks finance Hitler. Only went to WW2 after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because he froze trade towards Japan, which was a huge mistake trading with Japan. His administration planned creation for nuclear weapons. Put anyone of Japanese descent into concentration camps. Some progressive.

33) Harry S Truman - Committed one of the worst crimes in history. Nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was responsible for many deaths over there. Help kickstart McCarthyism in America, one of the most repressive eras in America that targeted any radical leftist and even caused the downfall of some of them (ie Paul Robeson). Not only that, he’s instrumental in starting the wide support for brutally oppressive dictators and overthrowing popular leaders that would follow later presidents. He also help form the CIA. Supported Chiang’s repressive KMT government in Manila China and Taiwan (ROC). Helped in trying to stop revolutions in Greece and Turkey. Started the Korean War, which resulted in the death of multiple Koreans, the destabilization of DPRK (North) and the rise of multiple dictators in ROK (South). He also flirted with being a member of the KKK prior to being a president.

34) Dwight D Eisenhower - The OG of hardcore American imperialism. He continued the McCarthyist policies of targeting socialists and communists and let COINTELPRO exist, which was responsible for the repression and destruction of many black and brown revolutionary movements and targeted other black and brown activists. He also used McCarthyist policies against LBGT people. He supported repressive dictators like Francisco Franco (Spain), Chiang Kai Shek (ROC), Ngo Dinh Diem (South Vietnam) and Fulgencio Batista (Cuba). Supported France in maintaining control of their colony of Vietnam, and suppressing the Viet Minh revolution led by Ho Chi Minh, sparking the Vietnam War. Let the CIA plan coups in Iran and Guatemala, resulting in the power of the Shah Reza Pahlavi and the rise of military dictatorships in Guatemala respectively. Ordered the assassination of Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba. Tried to overthrow Cuba after Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution. He was too chickenshit to come to Castro after he went to the US. Equally loved by liberals and conservatives and I see why.

35) John F Kennedy - Not good ole JFK! He was set up the USA! But Jack got blood on his hands too. He fully got the country into Vietnam, supporting South Vietnam and continuing one of the most unpopular and deadly wars, a war that existed to maintain colonialism and imperialism in SE Asia. Not only that, he tried to overthrow Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion, which almost got the country involved in a nuclear war with the USSR and Cuba. Also planned a coup in Iraq, which resulted in the Ba’athists taking. Not only all of this, he let the COINTELPRO spy, target, and harass black activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., who Kennedy pretended to be his friend. He played a lot of civil rights and Black Power activists. Malcolm X saw through his game and critiqued the March of Washington as a farce to control any black activism and radicalism. He’s also instrumental in the long term goal of the Democrats and liberals manipulating black people to support him. So much of him being a good president.

36) Lyndon B Johnson - The fucking manipulator. Continued the repressive policies of the COINTELPRO and Mccarthyism. Even tho they also targeted (via spying, wire tapping, and harassment) anti-war and communists and socialists, their main targets were the black activists and radicals. He targeted MLK after he spoke out against the Vietnam War and caused his breakdown, some friend he was. He also let the COINTELPRO target Malcolm X, SNCC, the Black Panther Party, and other black radical movements. He perfected the manipulation of black people to the Dems and liberals, and said once I’ll have those n***ers voting Democrats for next 200 years. He only passed out Civil Rights Acts and anti-poverty programs to quell any revolutionary movements, like all liberals do. Intensified the Vietnam War by sending more troops over there, resulting in more casualties and massacres over there like the My Lai Massacre. Started the bombing of Cambodia. Aided Israel in their Six Day War against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Let the CIA overthrow democratically elected and revolutionary governments in countries like Indonesia, Congo, Ghana, Greece, and Brazil, replacing them with military dictatorships. Supported repressive dictators around the world, including the aforementioned. Got the CIA to capture popular Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, which resulted in his execution by the Bolivian military. He also increased the power of the police after multiple riots happened as a response against racism and police brutality. A true champion for liberals.

37) Richard Nixon - Oh hell yeah! I got so much dirt on this motherfucker. A legit criminal and tyrant. Continued McCarthyism and the COINTELPRO through violent suppression, harassment, wiretapping, and spying. Suppressed revolutionary and anti-war movements, including Kent State, SNCC, the Chicago Seven, Black Panthers, and Black Liberation Army. The destruction of the BPP by the FBI, CIA, and police happened during his presidency. Started the War of Drugs which criminalized black people (his intention). First president to fully use the Southern Strategy, which appealed to Southern wites by promising state rights to them, which is wite power in smaller steps. Continued the War in Vietnam, which also includes invading and bombing Laos and Cambodia (which also includes a coup) respectively. However, he withdrew troops from Vietnam in 73. Sent arms to Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Let the CIA continue overthrowing democratically elected and revolutionary governments, which includes overthrowing democratically elected Chilean president Salvador Allende and replacing with a repressive military junta led by Augusto Pinochet. He also supported and defended Pakistan in their war against Bangladesh, which includes a genocide against them. He also military supported dictators around the world like the Philippines, Greece, aforementioned Chile, Spain, Congo (Zaire), and Haiti. He got exposed by the Watergate scandal that forced him to resign. Too bad that never got indicted for his crimes.

38) Gerald Ford - Really nothing but a transitional president from Nixon to Carter. However, he did pardon Nixon for his crimes. Along with that, he did got involved in the Angola Civil War, supporting the neo-colonial and right wing forces over there. Supported Indonesia in their war against East Timor. Yeah he was just there.

39) Jimmy Carter - He maybe seen as an incompetent president, but Carter got blood on his hands too and is another one liberals love to praise because of his post-presidency. Anyway, he funded the muhadjeen in Afghanistan, an Islamic fundamentalist paramilitary group that is a predecessor to many Islamist organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, to overthrow communist rule over there. He also stood by the barbaric Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. He said his foreign policy supported human rights, but that was a lie as he supported dictators like Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (Congo), the Shah Pahlavi and Muhammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan. He also didn’t say shit about the repressive nature of the countries he supported. He also expanded the War of Drugs. So much for him being a humanitarian.

40) Ronald Reagan - Beloved by the right, somewhat loved by the liberals, The king of neoliberalism, McCarthyism, and American imperialism. There’s so much I gotta say about this fuckface cuz he got so much blood on his hands. His neoliberal Reaganomics is the most toxic economic system ever. He made cuts to a majority social services, and created a huge fucking wealth gap that increased the wealth of the capitalists and bourgeoisie. Not only this, black and brown suffered the most from Reaganomics as poverty increased in black and brown communities. Cut multiple civil rights bills and acts, and used the Southern Strategy to a tee. Coined the term welfare queen (which is racist, classist, and sexist) to rum up fear and hostility against welfare recipients. Expanded the War of Drugs that continued the constant incarceration of black people. Speaking of that, he let CIA plant drugs (cocaine) in the black neighborhoods, while him and his wife told people to say no to drugs. Went to Bitburg, Germany to celebrate the memory of SS officers. Let thousands of people die from AIDS and didn’t give a damn about gay rights. Also, during his time as Governor of California, he ordered a witch hunt against communists, which included Angela Davis, and worked the NRA and police/FBI to disarm and crush the BPP respectively. Now to his imperialist record. His Reagan Doctrine existed to crush revolutionary movement and replace em with barbaric and despotic governments/extremists. A major example was his increased funding of the muhadjeen, going where Jimmy Carter left off, and y’all know how well that went when they took over Afghanistan. People forget (tbh ignore) that these Islamist extremists were funded by the US (esp the CIA). Not only that, he supported Saddam Hussein (he was an US ally) and gave him military weapons, which he used to kill the Kurds in Iraq. Funded the Contras to quell the Sandista revolution through trafficking cocaine (via the CIA) and selling arms to Iran. Almost got into a war with Lebanon, but got the troops out after he realized he fucked up with his plan. Invaded Grenada to destroy the remnants of the New Jewel Movement and replace with a puppet leader. He also support neocolonial paramilitary forces in countries like Angola, Afghanistan (muhadjeen), Cambodia, Nicaragua (the Contras), and El Salvador. Supported repressive military dictators of the likes of Pinochet (Chile), Mobuto (Zaire/Congo), Baby Doc (Haiti), Suharto (Indonesia), and Rios Montt (Guatemala) like other presidents. He also gave Baby Doc Duvalier and Ferdinand Marcos (the Philippines) refuge after revolts against them happen. Supported and defended apartheid South Africa. Bombed the fucked outta Libya and let a US Navy Ship blow up a plane full of Iranians. Yeah an inspiration of all spectrum of the right and a bit of the center. I see why. Some of this sounds similar to a latter president, more on that later.

41) George HW Bush - Son of a Nazi financier (Prescott Bush’s banks funded Nazis), father of a war criminal, Papa Bush perfectly bridged the gap from one dirty presidency to another. Stood by and supported Reagan during his tenure as VP. His campaign showed a picture of black criminal Willie Horton as a smear campaign against the other presidential candidate as they said that he is soft of crime and oppose the death penalty for criminals like Horton. Yeah, the type of shit that wite ppl pull, using a black face to advocate the death penalty, like they do, and associating blackness with crime, like they always do. Went to war with Iraq over it’s invasion of Kuwait, but it was right thing, the UN… please. It happened because the US sees Kuwait as their oil colony. It was a property war as both the US and Iraq saw Kuwait as theirs and it was responsible for the destruction of Iraq. Invaded Panama for drug trafficking, despite the US (via the CIA) doing the same thing and them knowing of it, and put another puppet leader over there. What’s ironic about this that we supported Panama and Iraq and we have them political/financial support and weapons (in the case of Iraq). When the Cold War ended, we stopped supporting em and stood against him just to look good. Also, put troops in Somalia under the guise of humanitarianism just to attempt to colonize it rather than giving it reparations. The theme of military intervention under the guise of humanitarianism would be a recurring theme for other presidents. Signed the toxic NAFTA which was responsible for horrible labor conditions and environmental violations. Targeted rappers (with his VP) like Ice-T and 2pac because of their content. He eventually lost re-election because he wanted families to be less like the Simpsons, even though his policies made the Simpsons look like the Waltons.

42) Bill Clinton - Ugh. Another Democrat who exist to look good and got blood on his hands. He was also a shitty person. During his time as governor of Arkansas, he and his wife made black prisoners take care of and clean up the governor’s mansion with no compensation. Yes, this is slavery. They essentially owned slaves. He was a disgusting predator who sexually assaulted and harassed a number of women, before and after his presidency. His predatory behavior led to his impeachment, which only limit his power. Now his presidency. Used the Southern Strategy to gain wins. Continued and Oked NAFTA. Continued the neoliberal policies that dawned over America. Signed a 1994 Crime which expanded the power of police and prisons and increased the mass imprisonment of black people. During that time, his wife called black boys superpredators. Killed the remaining remnants of the welfare state by forcing recipients to work for their welfare because muh welfare queen, targeting mainly poor/working/Black women. Was behind multiple corruption scandals like Travelgate and Whitewater. Wanted to target Sister Souljah when her outspoken views was misconstrued by the media, and portrayed her a racist and a pot stirrer. He was the one that enforced the immigration laws that would continue in the country that was responsible for restrictive borders, ridiculous immigration laws, and xenophobic attacks and targeting cuz illegal immigration, despite this country founded by illegal theft. Continued the US intervention in Somalia, but when shit got tough, he got em out. Knew about the Rwandan genocide and blocked any assistance of the country. The only reason he didn’t intervene because Rwanda wasn’t seen as profitable. Expanded the powers of NATO (North Atlantic TERRORIST Organization), which was bad. This expansion led to the 1995 and 1999 bombing of Yugoslavian nations (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Yugoslavia respectively), which was another one under the name of humanitarianism. The bombing did nothing but target civilians and bring damage and they didn’t end the conflict. The US protecting Kosovo was essentially them preying on a vulnerable country and making into a puppet state. Sent missiles to attack Iraq, when it didn’t do anything. Attacked a pharmaceutical company in Sudan. He still prove to be a piece os shit after his presidency when him and his wife exploited funds that was meant for Haiti and decided to went after BLM. And he’s labeled the first black president. Da fuck?! Fuck him (and his wife too).

43) George W Bush - Ol Cowboy George. The notorious war criminal himself. The biggest joke ever. Never forget, most of the whole world hated him because of his actions. Lets begin, but first… let’s talk about 9/11. No conspiracies please, even tho enjoy making jokes about it. What happened on 9/11 wasn’t because they hated our freedoms. That’s Grade A pure bullshit. 9/11 was a result of our toxic foreign policy and the fact that who did was our Frankenstein. What I mean? Never forget, OBL and his Al Qaeda buddies, and the whole fucking Taliban were created by the US. The US (like always, with the help of the CIA) made these people by shipping weapons to them and training/teaching them with a reactionary ideology cuz Cold War and we let em overrun Afghanistan. We also turned against em when the Cold War ended, and they turned against and attacked us when we kept fucking with the Middle East. Therefore, this was a case of chickens roosting. Saddam was also an US ally, but when we found him useless and fucking with our oil colony Kuwait, we turned against him. This led to the War on Terrorism (Afghanistan and Iraq) which was bullshit because it was foolish to wage war against terrorism when we have funded and supported terrorisn, we created these terrorists in the first place, war is terrorism itself, there was no WMD (it was an excuse just to kick out ol Saddam), and the fact that anyone can be a terrorist. Ironically enough, the USA had done nothing about the terrorists in their own country like the KKK (oh wait! They’re wite). These wars are responsible for the death of multiple Afghan and Iraqi lives and this wasn’t a fight for freedom. It was for imperialism. It was for resources, especially oil (in the case of Iraq). The theme of these wars are humanitarianism, and lemme tell you this, there’s nothing humanitarian about war because war is violence and profit. Afghanistan was led by a corrupt puppet leader, while Iraq fell into despair which led to the rise of ISIS. PS, his buddy Dick Cheney’s corporation profit ire from Iraq. Not only all of this, this began the targeting and discrimination of (Black and Brown) Muslims, Africans, (S, SE, and W) Asians, and some Latinos and Sikhs. This included racial profiling, xenophobia, racism, wiretapping, violence/harassment against said groups, and toxic policies such as the Patriot ACT, TSA, and NSA. Targeted dissidents and Started the drone program which would be carried by his successor. Bush was the match that sparked the fire of things like racial profiling, police brutality, anti-immigration policies, xenophobia (ICE started under his rule), racism including anti-blackness, ultra-nationalism/patriotism, McCarthyist/Espionage like acts, imperialism, the rise of US neo-fascism, and neoliberalism. Continued neoliberal policies which would later result into austerity, which would spark the rise of wite supremacist/new fascist groups and increase economic inequality. While he did say it wasn’t his intention to cause all of this, but he let it happen. Let black people (esp in NOLA) drown and suffer under Katrina, and how he dealt with it? Sending the Natl Guard on them out there like a bunch of rabid dogs. Also planned to overthrow Cuba, Iran, Syria, N Korea (DPRK), and Venezuela and was possibly behind the coups of Haiti and Venezuela. Started the No Child Left Behind Act, which pushed more state testing and in schools, that hurted schools, teachers, and student, and it was low key push for school privatization. Now, he has a library, painting pictures, and condemning racism, despite his war/imperialist crimes, sparking racism and xenophobia, and institutional racism. Aye, he was fucking horrible and he (and the libs) are trying so hard to erase that and make himself look good.

44) Barack Obama - (Please refrain from using terms like Uncle Tom if you ain’t nonblack. That’s a black people’s thing) Aye, I use to support him so much, and I will defend him from wite supremacy (his right wing critics were fucking horrible), but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he was a successor to Bush. If Bush was the match, then Obama was the fuel to the flames of neoliberalism and imperialism. He continued the war of Afghanistan and took forever to end Iraq. He started a war with Libya and Syria which contributed to the destruction of them. He also funded terrorists to take care of that, which includes ISIS and Al-Qaeda, that led to Syria almost being taken over by ISIS, and Libya being toppled and overran by extremists and reviving the enslavement of black Africans. Expanded the drone program and drone the shit outta the Middle East and Africa, killing multiple people, including women and children. Also, invaded Mali for its resources and almost backed up the Ukraine coup (which was led by Neo-Nazis). Had thoughts of overthrowing Iran, Venezuela, and DPRK. Let Killary Clinton into his administration and she backed him in the wars of Syria and Libya. She was also behind the coups of Egypt and Honduras and the destabilization of countries like Venezuela and Haiti. Anyway, Obama, like the previous ones, continued neoliberal policies and austerity cuts, which added fuel to wite supremacist/neo-fascist groups and increased economic inequality. Continued the Espionage Act/McCarthyist like policies. While posing as a civil rights president, he didn’t do shit about the massive police violence against black people (especially LBGTQs, women, children, and the underclass) and trans people especially trans women, didn’t do nothing about the continued anti-blackness, racism, anti-LBGTQ-ism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia in this country, and let anti-immigrant policies happen including mass deportations and the ICE. Let the near privatization of public schools happen. Signed a deal with the TPP, which was a continuation of NAFTA. His policies and actions were the final nail in letting the next president. He’s still trying to make himself look good to this day. Another liberal with blood on his hand. However, if McCain won, he would’ve done the same thing as in whatever Bush did, the next person can do better.

45) Donald Trump - The final one for now. Ahhh!!!! What the fuck happened? I shoulda knew this damn bastard would win with how much the previous presidents destabilized this country. Fascism is what happens when the wite cishet patriarchal capitalist structure is in a dire situation. Trump is a fascist, no if, and, or buts. He’s a capitalist trying to appeal to working class as in I’m on your side (populism), like a fascist. He targeted non-Christians and nonwites and planned to take care of him, like a fascist. Ultranationalist and ultra patriotic, like a fascist. Uses racism, sexism, xenophobia, and anti-LBGT-ism, like a fascist. Uses a hell lotta cult of personality, like a fascist. Supports privatization of services and industries, like a fascist. Anyway, Trump in his beginning has done so much. Centers his presidency on racism, sexism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, and let his cult followers attack nonwites. He has been exposed as a sexual predator who has sexually assaulted a number of women, including a 13 yo girl and his ex-wife. He also been exposed of discriminating against black tenants in the 70s, and supported a conviction against four black boys and a Latino one after they were accused of raping a wite woman jogger, ya know the same fucking cases where black men were accused of raping WW. Hires a wite supremacist and someone who’s pro-privatization of public education into his office (Steve Bannon and Betsy DeVos respectively, although the former is gone). He also hired Mike Pence as VP, who’s horribly homophobic and has ties with toxic lobbies like ALEC and the Koch Bros. Plan to privatize and cutting many services and industries. His whole administration was full of capitalists and bigots. Tried to abolish Obamacare and cut funding to it. Dropped a huge bomb on Afghanistan and ordered air strikes at Syria and had thoughts of invading Venezuela and Iran. Defended wite supremacists and Neo-Nazis when they attacked and called em fine SOBs. Ordered a Muslim Ban and amped up anti-immigration legislation, including the rise of the ICE, targeting of brown and black immigrants, deportation of said immigrants, and separation and detainment of immigrant children. Targeted NFL players who kneeled during the Anthem, and attempted to make it illegal. Let police continue with their brutality, and stood by them, and released a Blue Lives Matter Bill, that increased their power. Oked the Keystone Pipeline, which would build through protected and sacred lands, including Indigenous land. Let the FBI target black radicals and BLM, under the excuse of black identity extremists, despite the issue of wite supremacists and Neo-Nazis and their shit. Did nothing about the rampant racism, sexism, anti-LBGTQ-ism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, both individualized and institutional. Also, his cult followers are fucking terrible. I’m gonna stop there for now. Anyway, Trump is a terrible human being and he needs to be off social media. He deserves to be hated, fuck what you say, and I’m tired of his ass kissers making excuses for him. As long he stays, fascism remains, and the libs and conservatives are keeping him there.

So that’s it for now.

#allpresidentsarebastards

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truethingsiwishicouldsay · 6 years

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How to be a shitty progressive

Several examples of problematic shit from subpar examples of progressives. Organized by category.

Male feminists: “I’m totally for women’s rights, as long as they don’t point out how porn harms women, how feminism focuses on women’s liberation, or how I need to stop telling women they’re not a real feminist unless they fuck me.”

Transactivists: “Down with cis. Murder anyone who expresses any reservations about my gender identity. Cis people’s bodies are disgusting. I’m more woman than you will ever be because I work harder to cater to the male gaze. Women aren’t allowed to talk about their bodies because it triggers me, and I want everyone to walk on eggshells around me because I like controlling people with my emotional fragility. Either help me pressure people who aren’t attracted to my body type into fucking me or I’ll ruin your reputation in the community like I plan to ruin theirs.”

Gays: “Women’s bodies are disgusting. I can engage in all sorts of casual sexism because I was raised with it, and don’t see a problem with it because I don’t need women to get my dick in. I grope gay boys at Pride and scare them back into the closet because that’s what being out and proud is about! Also I think I have a free pass to grab your tits and will whine that you’re a homophobe if you’re not okay with it.”

Lesbians: “One hundred percent of men are garbage. Anyone who sleeps with a man is a dick worshipper and is sleeping with the enemy. Bi and het women are garbage too. In fact everyone is garbage but lesbians.”

Libfems: “I’m going to help my trans friends sexually pressure, gang up on and ostracize people who aren’t attracted to them. That’s totally progressive guys! Also I’m going to turn a blind eye to the crimes of the porn industry because my totally woke boyfriend will get mad if he can’t jack off to women being pissed on. I can’t point out the endemic sexism in many nonwhite societies because that would be racist! Being trafficked for sex is an empowering personal choice! I’m the BEST feminist! :D uwu :D”

Radfems: “You’re invalid. And you’re invalid. And YOU’RE invalid! I’m the fucking Oprah of invalidating identity and sexuality, and I’ll come right onto your blog to make you feel like shit because THAT’S MY POLITICS. I don’t feel complete as an activist unless I’m attacking someone or bitching about someone where they can hear. And by the way, I’m the one who decides who is valid or not, and I’m justified in antagonizing total strangers because I think their very existence is a threat to women. I’m the best feminist. Fuck y’all.”

Disabled people: “I will now use my mental illness or personality disorder as an excuse to be a raging cock to everyone around me. If you protest, you’re ableist. I don’t believe in actually doing anything to manage my problems, by the way. So much easier to take them out on others.”

Pagans: “There is absolutely no sexism in Paganism. Let’s ignore that a lot of us define women by their fertility cycle. Let’s ignore that many of our founders were ragingly sexist males like Gardner who wanted to watch naked women whip each other. Let’s bully random Christians who haven’t done shit to us! Oh, and we love to invalidate each other and infight. Did I mention that we let an awful lot of our “elders” sexually exploit vulnerable people and then sweep it under the rug? Nah, that’s just a Catholic thing. Oh, it happened to you? You’re lying.”

Blacktivists: “Hi white demon, here’s exactly how you should act if you don’t want to be a demon. Except I’m gonna call you a demon anyway, because you’re all demons and you deserve all the hate we throw at you no matter how good or bad you actually are. You will never be good enough no matter what you do. What’s that--you’re not racist and have never done a thing to me? Doesn’t matter, you’re still a racist demon. Kill whitey. Kill Jews--oh wait, I meant destroy the Zionist conspiracy against the black nation. What do you mean there’s no evidence that that’s a thing? Racist. Oh, and by the way I’m bigoted as hell against members of other races too, but I get a pass because I’m oppressed.”

White liberals: “I’m so lost at this point that I’ll agree with any progressive I’m talking to even if they’re attacking a totally undeserving group. I’m either so full of white guilt and self-loathing that I hate my own race, or I’m still stealth-carrying a knapsack full of bigotry and barely pretend to tolerate people who aren’t like me. I might be legit frustrated that I’m singled out for vilification because of my race, but I have no idea how to handle it maturely. I will either “other” most members of my race and wish I wasn’t white, ignoring the need for a cultural housecleaning by distancing myself--or I will throw fits and threaten to join the MAGA crowd.”

Queer kids: “HOW DARE YOU NOT PSYCHICALLY DIVINE MY INCREDIBLY OBSCURE GENDER AND SEXUAL IDENTITY THAT NOBODY HAS EVER FUCKING HEARD OF!!!!!!!! YOU HAVE VIOLATED MY PRONOUNS YOU ARE A BIGOT I’M SICCING ALL MY FRIENDS ON YOU!!!!”

Democrats: “We’re so fucking corrupt that we undermined our most promising candidate in decades for someone more controllable, who then failed because almost nobody wanted her by comparison. We are like the mediocre boyfriend who will never get a job, give you an orgasm or do the dishes, and only has a chance with you because the other guy keeps trying to kill you. We are almost indistinguishable from pre-1980s Republicans except on a few issues, and like the vast majority of progressive people, we are too fucking busy infighting to actually get much done at all.”

EVERYBODY: “Everyone in my ingroup is uwu perfect and has never ever done or said anything problematic at all. I will turn a blind eye to any internal problems, denying them and attacking anyone who points them out instead of acknowledging and working on fixing them. Meanwhile everyone outside my group is garbage, a threat or irrelevant. Squabbling with one another is much, much more important than uniting against the people trying to kill us.”

#progressive infighting #activists can be total dicks too #liberalism #progresssive culture

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xtruss · 4 years

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The U.S., Like Israel, Is Wielding The Violence of An Occupying Power

The killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests bear striking parallels to similar events in Israel-Palestine. Despite their differences, the mechanisms of repression operate in the same way.

— By Mairav Zonszein | June 1, 2020 | 972Mag.Com

— Dr. Norman Gary Finkelstein

George Floyd protests in Washington DC. Lafayette Square. May 30, 2020. (Rosa Pineda/Wikimedia Commons)

Another white cop murdered a Black man in the United States. After over two months in which public spaces were emptied by the coronavirus pandemic – a disease which itself has been disproportionately killing Black and brown people in the country – the streets are now filled with people risking their lives and safety to demand justice for George Floyd and all Black lives.

Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis one week ago is painfully familiar. It comes just two months after the murder of Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Just a few weeks after footage surfaced of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. After Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castille, and Tamir Rice. The list goes on.

And yet, this time, it feels like a moment of reckoning. Mass protests, sirens, fires, fireworks, riot gear, tear gas, and curfews fill the streets of cities like Minneapolis, New York, Oakland, Atlanta, Portland, Louisville, and Washington D.C. Police have arrested at least 1,400 people in 17 cities and authorities have ordered curfews in 39 cities across 21 states. It looks and feels like an American Intifada.

As I watch everything unfold, I cannot help but notice the striking parallels between George Floyd’s murder and the countless Palestinians killed at the hands of Israeli forces. I write this as someone who is neither Palestinian nor Black, but as a journalist and activist in solidarity with both communities, who has witnessed such events both in the United States and Israel-Palestine.

While there are substantial differences between the two countries and their circumstances, the mechanisms of state violence and repression ultimately operate in the same way. There is a clear “us” and “them.” A sense that there is the occupier and the occupied. If you are Palestinian under Israeli control, you are a target. If you are Black in America, you are a target. And when you take a stand, you are beaten or shot down.

Israeli police arrest a Palestinian protester outside the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. May 14, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

In both countries, like many others, the state wields brutal violence to preserve the structural inequalities on which it stands. Those defending the sanctity of Black lives in the United States, like those standing with Palestinians against Israeli authorities, are finding themselves face-to-face with armed forces that are fulfilling the role of a hostile occupying power.

The parallels grew even more resonant last week when, just a few days after Floyd’s murder, a 32-year-old Palestinian with autism, Iyad Hallak, was killed by Israeli Border Police in Jerusalem’s Old City. The officers claimed they believed he was holding a gun, yet there was none. When they ordered him to freeze, Hallak, out of fear, ran and hid behind a dumpster. One of the officers shot him multiple times, reportedly even after his commander told him to stop.

Last week’s killings, along with many others, illustrate how the two countries mirror each other’s experiences of discrimination and brutality. Here are just some of those commonalities.

The Power of Cameras

George Floyd’s murder was caught on video from multiple angles. It is the primary reason why news spread so fast, and why those who tried to explain away the incident failed. Palestinians, too, have been documenting Israeli human rights abuses for years, with footage of violence often being one of the only tools they can use to demand justice and draw attention to their plight.

Floyd’s murder particularly reminded me of when Israeli soldier Elor Azaria murdered Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, a Palestinian resident of occupied Hebron, in March 2016. Although the circumstances were different – Al-Sharif had tried to stab a soldier – like Floyd, Al-Sharif lay incapacitated on the ground, posing no threat, when Azaria fatally shot him in an extrajudicial killing.

IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier, who shot dead a disarmed and injured Palestinian attacker in Hebron a few months ago, with family and friends in a courtroom at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, on January 4, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Azaria was deemed a bad apple by some in Israel, but was defended by others on the right. After serving nine months in prison, Azaria was released and welcomed by many Israelis as a hero. Despite the massive uproar, the IDF has not changed anything about their conduct in the West Bank any more than American police have changed theirs.

Nonetheless, if such footage had not been captured, many investigations of police officers and soldiers (no matter how futile) would not have been opened and brought to public scrutiny. It is why Christian Cooper, a Black man and avid bird watcher, instinctively took out his camera in New York’s Central Park last week when Amy Cooper, a white woman, called the police on him after he asked her to put her dog on a leash, claiming he was threatening her life. It is why many Palestinians in the West Bank similarly start filming when they face Israeli officers or Jewish settlers, either through their personal phones or professional cameras distributed by human rights groups.

The Narrative Around Violence

Were it not for the protests that erupted in Minneapolis, which saw the city’s 3rd Precinct police station gutted by flames, David Chauvin, the police officer who killed Floyd, would likely not be in custody at this moment and charged with third-degree murder.

Still, as places are being looted and vandalized, the mainstream media narrative has been turning against the protesters, claiming that they are “thugs” undermining their own cause. A New York Times op-ed by Ross Douthat, for example, discouraged the riots arguing that “what nonviolent protest gains, violent protest unravels.”

A destroyed car with graffiti in Minneapolis during demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd. May 28, 2020. (Hungryogrephotos/Wikimedia Commons)

Tamika Mallory, a prominent Black activist who has also been deeply engaged in the Black-Palestine solidarity movement, gave a poignant response to these narratives: “Don’t talk to us about looting. Y’all are the looters… America has looted Black people. America looted the Native Americans when they first came here. So looting is what you do, we learned it from you. We learned violence from you… So if you want us to do better, then dammit, you do better.”

This same media dynamic exists in Israel-Palestine. For decades Israel has looted Palestinian lives and properties, depriving them of their rights, incarcerating them, raiding their towns, demolishing their homes – an entire infrastructure of state violence and plunder. But when Palestinians protest and fight back, they are blamed as the violent ones; they are the “terrorists.” Suddenly, state violence becomes invisible.

All the while, the vast majority of Palestinians have continued to demonstrate nonviolently, including through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement. The same kinds of demonstrations have been led by groups like Black Lives Matter since Ferguson in 2014, while Black athletes like Colin Kaepernick have knelt during the national anthem against racism and police brutality – a simple gesture which was still met with punishment and backlash. No form of protest is ever good enough.

Double Standard Toward Protests

The double standard in how white and Black protests are treated by U.S. police is striking. When white, far-right, anti-lockdown demonstrations were held this past month – such as when hundreds of armed protesters in Michigan stormed the state house – police did not shoot tear gas or make arrests; they did not even bring out their batons.

Police in St.Paul and Minneapolis during protests following the killing of George Floyd, May 28, 2020. (Hungryogrephotos/Wikimedia)

In contrast, in the wake of last week’s protests, mayors have imposed curfews, and governors in several states have called in the National Guard. While tanks roam neighborhoods, police have been shooting stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets in Minneapolis and other cities. Journalists also reported at least 60 incidents since Friday of being targeted by the police, even though they were identifiable by their press helmet, vest, and pass; a female photographer, Linda Tirado, was blinded in her left eye by a rubber bullet in Minneapolis.

All of these practices are a mainstay of Israeli occupation, tactics taken right out of the Israeli playbook. The Los Angeles curfew order reads like an IDF closed military zone order. The arrests and attacks on journalists for doing their job, which rarely happens in the United States, is a frequently occurrence in Palestine.

The state’s contradictory response is also blatant in Israel-Palestine. When Palestinians protest, they are often beaten, arrested, or shot at, and those caught throwing stones can be sent to jail for years. Israeli Jews, meanwhile, can usually protest relatively freely, rarely having to fear arrest or repression – the major exception being Ethiopian Jews, who have been repeatedly brutalized by the police for protesting state discrimination and violence.

The U.S. certainly did not learn all its repressive methods from Israel, but there are many direct connections. In recent years, American law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels have held trainings in Israel on exchange programs sponsored by groups like the Anti-Defamation League, many of them centered around counterterrorism tactics used by the Israeli military. Groups like Jewish Voice for Peace have campaigned to end these exchange programs precisely because they bolster the methods and mentality of an occupying force.

JVP Philly protesting outside the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference in Philadelphia, calling on the Anti-Defamation League to stop running exchange programs between U.S. police and Israeli military. October 22, 2017. (Joe Piette/Flickr)

The hypocrisy of the groups sponsoring these police exchanges is also startling. The ADL’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, for example, issued a statement of solidarity with the Black community following Floyd’s murder, acknowledging that they are subject to a “racist and unjust system.” Greenblatt, who frequently comments on Israeli affairs, has yet to condemn the killing of Hallak or make a similar remark about Israel’s own “racist and unjust system.”

Police and Military Impunity

The Minneapolis police is notorious for refusing to remove bad officers or to adopt reforms; the officer who killed Floyd, David Chauvin, had 18 previous complaints filed against him. In New York City – where cops have assaulted Black people over social distancing during the pandemic – about 2,500 complaints of bias were lodged over the past four years against NYPD officers; the police deemed every case invalid.

Similarly, Israeli soldiers and police are rarely brought to justice for killing or harming Palestinian protesters. For example, during Gaza’s Great March of Return that began in March 2018, only one Israeli soldier was tried for shooting and killing a plainly unarmed Palestinian child during the mass protests, and was sentenced to only a month in prison.

Other soldiers who have shot tear gas and rubber and live bullets at protests in the West Bank rarely get tried. The soldier who killed Palestinian activist Bassem Abu Rahmeh, by shooting a tear gas canister at his chest during a protest in Bil’in in 2009, was never charged. Over a decade later, no one has been held accountable for his death.

For now, George Floyd seems to have avoided Abu Rahmeh’s fate, as his killer Chauvin appears set to face trial for his crime. But there is still nothing to guarantee that Chauvin will face meaningful justice, nor to ensure that other violent police officers will face the same consequences. Until then, America will continue to see many similar uprisings.

Mairav Zonszein is a journalist and editor who writes about Israel-Palestine and its role in U.S. politics. Her publications include The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, The Intercept, VICE News, Foreign Policy and many more.

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skollwolf · 7 years

Text

we’re doing one of these folks

WAS TAGGED BY: @mogblin (+ @benthicpressure kinda)

TAGGING: look if y’all wanna do this thing then I am tagging you go go go (it’s nearly midnight and I’m doing this sleepily, tagging people is effort)

RULES: ANSWER THESE 85 STATEMENTS AND TAG some folks i guess

THE LAST:

1. DRINK: choco milk

2. PHONE CALL: probably Ris @blazingfirecrotch when she was trying to tell me she got lost in the parking lot next to mine 3. TEXT MESSAGE: Cal probably? idk 4. SONG YOU LISTENED TO: uhh I’m going to have to plead guilty to having just listened to taylor swift’s new music video because it was so fuckin bad, so that song 5. TIME YOU CRIED: magnus wanted to make her proud folks

6. DATED SOMEONE TWICE: nope 7. KISSED SOMEONE AND REGRETTED IT: i too was once sixteen. so. 8. BEEN CHEATED ON: nope 9. LOST SOMEONE SPECIAL: yes 10. BEEN DEPRESSED: haha...yeah 11. GOTTEN DRUNK AND THROWN UP: see also: i was once sixteen.

3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

12. blue 13. black 14. probably like...grey

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. MADE NEW FRIENDS: yup 16. FALLEN OUT OF LOVE: never 17. LAUGHED UNTIL YOU CRIED: the fictional character of taako exists and means everything to me so like...probably 18. FOUND OUT SOMEONE WAS TALKING ABOUT YOU: i guess at work sort of? but that was just a generally bad work environment and not aimed at me in specific 19. MET SOMEONE WHO CHANGED YOU: I don’t think so. I’m pretty settled in myself right now I guess? Like I feel like I’m kind of getting to be the adult I wanted to be, and other, new friends can slot into that but not necessarily change me easily. I’m mostly changing myself i think. anyway it’s midnight. 20. FOUND OUT WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE: i already know 21. KISSED SOMEONE ON YOUR FACEBOOK LIST: insofar as my fiance is on my facebook friends list and is the only person i kiss at this point in my life, yes

GENERAL:

22. HOW MANY OF YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS DO YOU KNOW IN REAL LIFE: 100% 23. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS: i have a small baby son named Sterling who’s a dumb cat and he means the world to me. 24. DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME: i would like to alter my legal name so that it’s...actually my name, yes. 25. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY: uhh i think my family came to visit? i kinda lost track of my birthday this year seeing as i proposed to my then-boyfriend-now-fiance several days before my birthday 26. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP: 6am by accident whoops 27. WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT: discussing danganronpa i think? 28. NAME SOMETHING YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR: actually having my new job clear me to work on site, marrying the goob, the dragon age series in generally to feed my need for more dorian 29. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR MOM: a few months ago i think? 31. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: nothing but i have a song off the moana soundtrack stuck in my head so probably that’s up next 32. HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO A PERSON NAMED TOM: i worked with one all of this past year 33. SOMETHING THAT IS GETTING ON YOUR NERVES: fuckin work being ambiguous about my on-site start date like jesus please stop feeding my anxiety disorder like this

34. MOST VISITED WEBSITE: tumblr, youtube and ao3 are probably all in contention

35. HAIR COLOUR: medium brown i guess 36. LONG OR SHORT HAIR: one side is considerably shorter than the other but both sides are too fuckin long right now. and by too fuckin long i mean it reaches my shoulders and that’s illegal 37. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE: i’m going to marry some guy so i sincerely hope so 38. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF: the work i’ve put into being a good adult, and am still putting in. 39. PIERCINGS: my ear piercings refuse to close despite my best efforts so that i guess 40. BLOOD TYPE: i’ve literally been told this like eight million times and forget it each and every time 41. NICKNAME: jay, jules, jaj 42. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: super engaged. engayged. 43. ZODIAC: aries

44. PRONOUNS: he/him 45. FAVOURITE TV SHOW: uhhh uh uh sense8 steven universe and brooklyn 99 tho like i’m a season behind on all of those oops

46. TATTOOS: i’ve got plans but no actual tattoos atm 47. RIGHT OR LEFT HANDED: right 48. SURGERY: a fuckin bunch of teeth out over the years. so many teeth. you could reassemble half of a human mouth out of the combo of baby and adult teeth that i’ve had removed, and it would be very creepy 50. SPORT: karate and fencing back in the day, football or hockey if i’m watching on tv 51. VACATION: we went to new hampshire not that long ago 52. PAIR OF TRAINERS: if this is about shoes then my combat boots are always my fave, i guess

MORE GENERAL:

53. EATING: just had some fucking maple syrup and brown sugar oatmeal and i am content. if this is about favorite foods, then anything american-chinese food is good by me 54. DRINKING: still choco milk 55. I’M ABOUT TO: sleep 56. WAITING FOR: job stuff. 57. WANT: to play @benthicpressure’s d&d campaign i waaaant it 58. GET MARRIED: yeah! soon ideally! 59. CAREER: the dream is video game streaming/writing fiction but like realistically anything that makes a living? working as a pa maybe. 60. HUGS OR KISSES: both but the latter only from uno human 61. LIPS OR EYES: eyes 62. SHORTER OR TALLER: if this is a romantic thing, then yes, my partner is significantly taller than me, and yes, it is immensely helpful when things are on high shelves 63. OLDER OR YOUNGER: i’d say older generally but like my partner is very slightly younger than me so eh 64. NICE ARMS OR NICE STOMACH: arms 65. HOOK UP OR RELATIONSHIP: the latter 66. TROUBLEMAKER OR HESITANT: depends on my mood and where i am i guess.

HAVE YOU EVER:

67. KISSED A STRANGER: ye 68. DRANK HARD LIQUOR: ye 69. LOST GLASSES/CONTACT LENSES: oh god ye 70. TURNED SOMEONE DOWN: uh not formally, no. i don’t think i’ve ever been asked out in as many words in my life. i did gently let down a few people who were dancing around asking i guess 71. SEX ON THE FIRST DATE: even when i was sixteen sex and dating were things i did that were distinct experiences, and without any overlap. and once i combined the two we did not have sex on the first date and that was hopefully my last first date so like...nah i guess 72. BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART: no one ever told me if i did. i had some messy breakups but i don’t think it hit heartbreak level for either my partners or myself 73. HAD YOUR HEART BROKEN: yup 74. BEEN ARRESTED: nope 75. CRIED WHEN SOMEONE DIED: ....yes of course 76. FALLEN FOR A FRIEND: yeah. pretty much exclusively, like...isn’t everyone you love a friend first?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

77. YOURSELF: makes the handwavy motion

78. MIRACLES: nope 79. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: only for cute animals otherwise...no, that’s not how i understand love. 80. SANTA CLAUS: i’m not only a full grown adult but also a jew 81. KISS ON THE FIRST DATE: yep i have done that 82. ANGELS: i mean the torah tells me my ancestors wrassled ‘em so

OTHER:

84. EYE COLOUR: brown/black 85. FAVOURITE MOVIE: look i will fight anyone who makes me pick just one favorite

#ask meme #long post

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keshetchai · 7 years

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It’s a real damn shame-

that the @sarahswombzine relies on explicitly and intentionally banning all discussion of Israel (the state):

but we are not interested in receiving, reading, or publishing work that is in defense of the illegitimate settler-colonial state of israel.

This causes problems for any real or genuine discussion of Black-Jewish solidarity and for addressing and including Black Jews, and also just problems with discussing things seriously and earnestly in general.

a.) the affect of this is the direct erasure of the fact that Israel is home to a large amount of Black Jews. You cannot refuse to discuss Israel in a zine about Black-Jewish intersections/solidarity when 133,200+ Ethiopian Jews live there. (The total of all Jewish people who came from Africa to Israel was 897,300 in 2015.) What are you denying by refusing stories about this? What a way to shape the narrative! Is talking about Operation Solomon, Operation Moses, and Operation Joshua off the table? Are we just not supposed to talk about the fact that much of Beta Israel now lives in...Israel, because it would dare to admit that Israel rescued Black-Jewish refugees?

2.) Does this mean we cannot address the fact that several thousand non-Jewish African refugees made their way to Israel, usually via Egypt through the Sinai? Does this mean discussing the ways in which Israel either does help undocumented refugees or needs to do more to help these African refugees is a de facto defense of Israel? Would demanding better treatment and resources for undocumented African immigrants to Israel be too much legitimizing of Israel as a government at all?

3.) are y’all going to directly and indirectly quash the potential of important, necessary, and complex/nuanced discussions/essays/poems/stories about both Black gentiles and Black Jews in Israel because...talking about these things admits Israel exists as a modern nation-state whose validity/legitimacy is no more or less than say, Iraq or Jordan?

It’s disappointing, it disengages with important discussions and debates and quashes people’s avenues to talk about these things because they might somehow support or be in defense of Israel as a state. The United States is several times over more of an imperialist nation, and as a modern-nation, has never been ruled by indigenous peoples (unlike Israel) -- yet there is no statement banning all work in defense of the united states.

and that’s real obvious, when it comes right down to it.

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theearthsheep-blog · 8 years

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and i’m feeling in a particularly venty mood right now so fuck all y’all we’re getting politlcal

and no fuck you i’m not putting this under a read more. if you follow me i want you to read this.

a) first of all yeah i don’t really get political on this here website very often and that’s not because i don’t have political opinions or because i’m worried that they’ll be unpopular, i expect most of my followers and i agree on pretty much everything. the reason i don’t post politics is mostly because they make me anxious and i’m on this website in my spare time when i don’t want to deal with it. with that in my mind, fuck the mentality of “everyone who doesn’t reblog this is a fascist”. first of all it’s very “with us or against us” and i understand where you’re coming from but there are plenty of valid reasons to not want to reblog that kind of stuff. i’m going to call out a specific post here just because it’s the one i remember and i want to give an example, but there wasn’t anything particularly egregious about it. it was a post supporting jews, i forget the exact wording but it was something simple like “this blog supports jews” and someone added on to it with something in the vein of “i’m watching those of my mutuals who aren’t reblogging this very carefully” and like... that made me feel really shitty because that’s not the kind of thing i like to post but here was this post telling me in no uncertain terms that i’m an affront to the jewish community if i don’t constantly tell everyone i’m not.

and i know there are plenty of people out there who would read this and their first thought is “oh sheep is just closet anti-semitic”. like, seriously, reconsider your worldview if that’s how you’re thinking right now. you can’t be this black-and-white.

and, like, look, i get it. i’m trans. i know what it’s like to know that a big portion of the world is literally out to get you, literally hates your actual existence. i know what it’s like to watch those around you like a hawk for any warning signs of being the kind of person it’s very unsafe to honestly introduce yourself to. i get it! but i can’t just assume that anyone who i follow who doesn’t post support for trans people on like, a monthly basis? is transphobic. and honestly i couldn’t really even assume that anyone who DOES post support ISN’T. it helps certainly but at the end of the day that’s just words. this may surprise you but people can just say words and it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. like you know how you were in elementary school and they made you say the pledge of allegiance? and after like two times it stopped meaning anything to you, and you were too young to understand it when you learned it anyway? don’t make everyone say the pledge of allegiance on their tumblr every morning, regardless of what allegiance it is you want them to pledge.

and to set the record straight, of course i support jews. anti-semiticism is disgusting. at the same time, (and this is getting into the shitty “who has it the worst” arguments that i hate) i think jews probably aren’t priority 1 right now. i’ve seen some buzz about a sudden upsurge in anti-semitic actions over the past few months (since trump got elected) and no statistics i’ve seen have actually supported that. it looks like it’s been a steady growth for several years now and like that’s worrying enough on its own but trump has already taken direct action against both muslims and latins and i feel like those are the people who need the most support right now. and honestly? i genuinely believe that trump isn’t anti-semitic, though particular members of his administration certainly are.

anyway.

that isn’t even what i wanted to talk about.

b) and this is what i’m here for, really. come on guys, you really need to fact check some of this shit. i’m not playing around here, if you think “spreading the word” or “keeping people informed” has any value at all then you NEED to curate the content on your blog. i’ve seen tons of posts that i’m sure mean well but are exaggerated or downright wrong. this plays directly into trump’s hands. especially right now, his message is that the “media elite” are conspiring against him and making shit up. this does not seem to be true in any meaningful sense, but every time some news organization uses some hyperbole to grab clicks and then every other outlet takes even the original CLICKBAIT out of context, misinformation flies quick. and it lends credence to trump’s “fake news” message.

right now, the story is the 100,000 national guard trump is secretly plotting to deploy to support ICE in removing illegal immigrants from border states (and a few that are adjacent). so where did this story come from?

the associated press claims that they have a leaked white house document that describes an executive order trump may give which will allow the deployment of the national guard of same states to support efforts to deport immigrants. this is worrying enough! this is bad!

however, the AP doesn’t just announce that. that doesn’t fit easily into a tweet and it doesn’t bait clicks. instead they say, and this is the exact quote: “BREAKING: Trump administration considers mobilizing as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants.”

the 100,000 number is nowhere, even in the document the AP says they have. - oh and just as a sidenote i’m going to keep saying the AP “says” they have a document. for what it’s worth i do believe that they genuinely got it from a white house employee, but i’m just trying to be clear here that it’s just them saying that, there’s no evidence for it either way. for what it’s worth, the white house denies the validity of the leak.

anyway. the 100,000 number actually seems to be in the neighborhood of the sum number of national guard in the states in question. in fairness to the AP, they did say “up to”, so i guess they’re covered (in that 0 is “up to” 100,000), BUT a significant fraction of the national guard are already deployed on various tasks, so it’s literally incorrect to say that anyone is considering deploying the full 100,000. plus, trump couldn’t mobilize these people even if he wanted to. the national guard for each state answer to the governor of that state. each of the fourteen governors have the final say on whether, and how many, of the national guard would be called into service.

okay, so, we have the Associated Press telling an exaggerated BUT still basically true tale. but because it was exaggerated, the exaggeration is what people will remember. in this case, it’s the number 100,000. i’ve said it enough times in this post, even if you only read this, it’s probably the first thing you’d remember about the story.

so what happens if or when this executive order actually gets signed? in a few weeks the news story comes out and says “5,000 national guard deployed to support ICE across fourteen states” and, “wow, look, that’s WAY less than those alarmist liberals told me there would be! see? everything’s fine!” so trump gets to say “the news media spun everything way out of proportion; the liberals worked themselves into a froth; and the world didn’t end”. and at the same time he literally used the military to fulfill a civic goal, which is about as big of a warning sign for fascism as i can imagine.

it is entirely possible that the white house is intentionally leaking documents that they know the news will whip into a frenzy over, just so that when the truth is less bad, people will think that it’s okay. this is trump’s path to victory, and if so it’s working alarmingly well. this is why you need to be careful. your voice matters and is valuable, don’t misuse it.

3) one last thing, john mccain just spoke at the Munich Security Conference, and his speech was decidedly anti-trump. mccain has been a critic of trump pretty much as long as trump has been a politician, and now he’s making some very, very valuable points. he may be trying to garner support in the republican party for a sort of “anti tea party” movement back to moderation, probably partly as an attempt to save the party from getting swept in the next few election cycles, and partly because john mccain isn’t absolutely fucking insane.

this is the kind of thing to watch out for, and support. even if john mccain isn’t a perfect person and he’s not my first pick for the oval office, he’s better than trump. i know that’s a low bar, but that’s what we’re reduced to. if such a movement among republicans were to occur i would happily volunteer for their campaigns if i thought they had a better chance than a more leftist candidate, and someone needed to keep actual fascists out of congress.

anyway that’s all largely speculative and not really what i wanted to talk about.

here’s a selection from his speech, sourced from the Washington Post:

[The founders of the Munich Conference] would be alarmed by the hardening resentment we see towards immigrants and refugees and minority groups -- especially Muslims. [...] They would be alarmed that more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticizing it as our moral equivalent. [...] I refuse to accept that our values are morally equivalent to those of our adversaries. I am a proud, unapologetic believer in the West, and I believe we must always, always stand up for it. For if we do not, who will?

now i know that it’s popular around here to hate on america. yes, we’ve been involved in some shit in the middle east and elsewhere. yes, there are tons of stains on our history of civil rights. yes, our treatment of american indians has historically been abhorrent and isn’t getting much better.

We are not as bad as Russia. We are not as bad as China. We are not as bad as North Korea. We are not as bad as ISIS.

the United States, and the rest of NATO, have the unique power to act almost unilaterally to promote western values around the world. and when i say “western values”, i don’t want anyone reading this to fucking scoff. i’m talking about freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, of assembly. i’m talking about the belief that a liberal education can make you a better human. i’m talking about the belief that people are inherently valuable. these should be a given but they are NOT.

yes. i know. the united states is not perfect, even in granting those things above to its own citizens. but it TRIES. it doesn’t fucking assassinate journalists. it doesn’t have its secret police raid meetings of non-state-sanctioned political parties. these are REAL THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO REAL PEOPLE AND IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CARE AND TO FIGHT FOR THEM.

the united states pulling out of NATO, or of just being too isolationist to do anything about these very real threats to very real people, is i think the most plausible worst case scenario from a trump presidency. and i am SO willing to fight for moderate republicans who agree with that. people like john mccain.

like, you can probably tell i’m getting kind of emotional over here but i literally want to kiss john mccain right now.

what has 2017 done to me

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