#Confederate symbols

[samasmith23]

So here's some really fun trivia for y’all!

For my "Idea of the American South" graduate school class, we just had to read William Faulkner's novel Absalom, Absalom! this week, since Faulkner is highly regarded by historians for his nuanced portrayal about the darker side & systemic injustices of the Deep South. But this was actually not my first exposure to Faulkner, since one of his other novels, Go Down, Moses, was actually directly referenced in The Adamantium Men arc of Jason Aaron's Wolverine run. In the arc, the evil Roxxon corporation managed to duplicate the Weapon X procedure which gave Logan his adamantium claws to a bunch of private mercenary henchman in order to act as bodyguards for the company's illegal activities overseas. And they all have lightsaber claws!

One of the titular Adamantium Men was apparently a huge Faulkner fan and was even reading a first edition copy of Go Down, Moses before being told by a Roxxon higher-up to assassinate Wolverine. But when said-mercenary realizes that he's about to lose the fight, he actually asks Logan to spoil the ending of the novel for him before he dies, and Logan honors his request!

I was told that the copy of Go Down, Moses displayed in the comic is actually the original first-edition copy from the guest-lecturer for said-class since it was the only version to ever feature the subtitle “And Other Stories” on the front cover.

And it honestly makes sense that Aaron would reference Faulkner's work since he's similarly written stories which are highly critical of the American South such as his Image Comic series Southern Bastards. One issue of that series even had a variant cover featuring glorious sight of a dog ripping a Confederate flag to shreds!

So beautiful! I would love to train my dog Zoe to do the same thing to one of those AWFUL flags! Plus, the royalties for that variant cover were even donated to the survivors & families of the Charleston mass-shooting in 2015.

From Wolverine: Weapon X #4 by Jason Aaron & Ron Garney.

[misano17]

GIRLS NIGHT(for two grown men) ✨✨✨

Looking at the wiki for torture with the bestie and deciding what fresh hell to release on our original characters on this fine evening as if both of us were thirteen year old girls sitting on their beds on the phone kicking their feet up and squealing over the boys they like.

[danieldukeauthor]

Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure

Discover the intriguing tale of "Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure" as Daniel J. Duke, the great-great-grandson of the notorious outlaw, leads readers on a captivating journey through secret diaries, coded maps, and mysterious connections...

Unveiling History’s Enigma: ‘Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure‘ Secret Diaries, Coded Maps, and the Knights of the Golden Circle by Daniel J. Duke Discover the intriguing tale of “Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure” as Daniel J. Duke, the great-great-grandson of the notorious outlaw, leads readers on a captivating journey through secret diaries, coded maps, and the mysterious…

[xtruss]

Denounced as a hate symbol, the Confederate flag remains popular among white supremacists and Southerners who claim it as their heritage. In this image from January 6, 2021, a man flies the flag at the rally for then-President Donald Trump that led to an armed siege of the U.S. Capitol. Photograph By Nina Berman, Noor/Redux

How The Confederate Battle Flag Became An Enduring Symbol of Racism

It was never the official flag of the Confederacy. But the battle flag has since been claimed by white supremacists and mythologized by others as an emblem of a rebellious Southern heritage.

— By Erin Blackemore | Published January 12, 2021

When a mob of armed insurgents flooded the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, they brought an accessory: the Confederate battle flag. As the crowd of President Trump’s supporters rioted, many hoisted the symbol of a short-lived splinter nation that tore the Union apart.

Today, alongside the nation’s growing acknowledgment of systemic racism and widespread Black Lives Matter protests, the Confederate flag predictably makes appearances at white supremacist gatherings.

But how did the battle flag, also known as the Southern Cross, come to represent the Confederacy in the first place? It’s a story of rebellion, racism, and disagreement over the true history of the Civil War—and as the controversy over its use during the Capitol riots shows, it’s divisive even 160 years after it was designed.

How The Confederate Flag Came To Be

Though inextricably linked with the Confederacy, the flag was never its official symbol. When rebels fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, they flew a blue banner with a single white star called the Bonnie Blue Flag. But as secession got underway, the Confederate States of America adopted a flag that riffed off the Union’s stars and stripes.

Known as the “Stars and Bars,” the flag featured a white star for each Confederate state on a blue background, and three stripes, two red and one white. It was distinct from the Union’s flag. But it didn’t look like that from a distance—and in the thick of battle, it was hard to tell the two apart. This caused major problems at the July 1861 Battle of First Manassas and during other skirmishes as some troops mistakenly fired on their own comrades.

A lithograph from 1897 displays four prominent designs of the Confederate flag and states that the images "help in keeping within us recollections of those who gave their lives to the 'Lost Cause,' and to perpetuate the memories and traditions of the South." Photograph Courtesy The Library of Congress

In an effort to avoid the visual confusion, General Pierre Beauregard commissioned a new battle flag design. William Porcher Miles, a Confederate congressman and Beauregard’s aide-de-camp, designed it, borrowing an X-shaped pattern known as St. Andrew’s Cross and emblazoning it with one star for each seceding state.

But though it was extremely popular, this new battle flag— which eventually became known as the “Southern Cross”—wasn’t adopted as the Confederacy’s official military or government symbol. Although future official Confederate banners did incorporate its symbolism in the left-hand corner, they instead added a white field that represented purity. The Confederacy adopted a total of three national flags before its collapse in 1865.

With the war over, the South entered Reconstruction, a period during which the now reunified United States ended slavery and gave Black Americans citizenship and voting rights. But once Reconstruction ended in 1877, white Southerners hastened to restore what they saw as their rightful place at the top of a racially segregated social order. Segregation and oppressive “Jim Crow” laws soon disenfranchised Black Southerners—and members of the Ku Klux Klan terrorized them.

The Myth of the Lost Cause

By the early 20th century, white Southerners had mythologized an imagined South that fought the war not to uphold slavery but to protect states’ rights and a genteel way of life—an idyll endangered by “Northern aggression” and interference. As historian Caroline E. Janney notes, the Lost Cause myth came about immediately after the war as Confederates struggled to come to terms with their defeat “in a postwar climate of economic, racial, and social uncertainty.”

Efforts to memorialize the Confederate dead also began as soon as the war ended, but they ballooned as white Southerners reclaimed their power after Reconstruction. Then, as Confederate veterans began to die in the early 20th century, groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy pushed to commemorate them—and make their version of history the official doctrine of Southern states.

Confederate monuments soon dotted the South, and the battle flag was added to the state flag of Mississippi. Historian Gaines M. Foster for Zócalo Public Square writes that its use “was regional and tied to the memory of the war.”

The Dixiecrats Defend Segregation

That changed in 1948 with the “Dixiecrats,” or States’ Rights Democratic Party, a racist, pro-segregation splinter party formed by Southern Democrats. They objected to the Democratic Party’s adoption of a pro-civil rights platform and were dismayed when hundreds of thousands of Black Americans registered to vote in Democratic primaries after the Supreme Court declared all-white primaries unconstitutional.

The Dixiecrats’ adoption of the Confederate battle flag as a party symbol led to a surge in the banner’s popularity, and a “flag fad” spread from college campuses to Korean War battlefields and beyond. The Southern Cross symbolized rebelliousness, writes historian John M. Koski—but now it gained “a more specific connotation of resistance to the civil rights movement and to racial integration.”

The identification stuck, and the flag’s use proliferated. In 1956, prompted by the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared segregation unconstitutional, Georgia adopted a state flag that prominently incorporated the symbol. Across the South, Citizens’ Councils and the Ku Klux Klan flew the battle flag as they intimidated Black citizens. And both South Carolina and Alabama began flying it over their capitols.

Robed Ku Klux Klan members watch Black demonstrators march through Okolona, Mississippi, in 1978. The protesters were demanding diverse hiring and were boycotting the area's stores. Photograph By JM, AP

A crowd of white teenagers protest school integration in Montogmery, Alabama, in 1963. Photograph By Flip Schulke, Corbis/Corbis/Getty Images

Rebellion, Heritage, and Hate

But though the flag had been adopted by advocates of segregation and white supremacy, many denied that aspect of its meaning and instead insisted it stood for the Southern ideals espoused by the Lost Cause. The Dixiecrat-era “fad flag” stoked its sale on everything from T-shirts to mugs and bumper stickers. Its popularity persisted, and over the ensuing decades, the battle flag became a generic symbol of rebellion spotted on TV shows like The Dukes of Hazzard and on stage with bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The flag had become big business—and led a double life both as a nostalgic symbol and a deeply evocative banner of racism. As historian John M. Coski writes, “Confederate heritage organizations insisted that the flag was rightfully theirs and stood only for the honor of their ancestors.” At the same time, however, the symbol was publicly claimed by those who challenged Black people’s humanity—people like Byron De La Beckwith, a Mississippi white supremacist who murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers in 1963 and who wore a Confederate flag pin on his lapel throughout his 1994 trial.

It was also challenged by Black activists and their white allies. In 2000, the NAACP began a 15-year-long economic boycott of South Carolina because of its use of the flag. Protesters fought the symbol in public spaces and educational institutions. But despite recurrent debates about its meaning and appropriateness, the flag never really disappeared.

Does the Flag Have a Future?

In 2015, the flag came roaring back into the national consciousness when a white supremacist killed nine churchgoers at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. After images of the shooter, Dylann Roof, carrying Confederate battle flags emerged, multiple states bowed to pressure to remove them from memorials. South Carolina, which had defiantly flown the banner at its capitol for years, retired it that year, and multiple retailers stopped selling merchandise featuring the flag now labeled a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League.

The Southern Cross still has plenty of supporters who insist their love of the flag is about “heritage, not hate.” In a 2019 survey of nearly 35,000 U.S. adults, polling firm YouGov found that although a plurality of Americans (41 percent) think the flag symbolizes racism, 34 percent think it symbolizes heritage. In the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally, demand for the banner surged across the country.

Activist and filmmaker Brittany "Bree" Newsome climbed a 30-foot pole outside of the South Carolina state capitol to remove the Confederate flag weeks after a shooting at a predominantly Black Charleston church in 2015. Newsome was arrested, but state officials voted to remove the flag from the building the following month. Photograph By Adam Anderson, Reuters

Men fly a massive Confederate flag during a Black Lives Matter protest in Charleston, South Carolina, in August, 2020. Photograph By Kris Graves, National Geographic

Historian William Sturkey, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina and author of Hattiesburg: An American City in Black and White, says that racists turn to the symbol again and again when they feel embattled and threatened. “When their backs are against the wall, they turn to the flag,” he says.

Heritage or no, the Confederate flag retains its associations with centuries of racial injustice. Though it has some Black supporters, it remains shorthand for a defiant South and all that implies. For many on the receiving end of hundreds of years of racism, the Confederate battle flag embodies everything from hatred to personal intimidation—a far cry from the sanitized Lost Cause narrative that helped fuel its rise.

[tiger-moran]

Why do people (usually americans) assume everyone magically knows everything about american culture and history? Mate when I was in school we were barely even taught anything about our own history never mind that for an entire other country

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 18 July 1969, Black Panthers held a conference in Oakland alongside the white anti-racist Young Patriots Organisation and Puerto Rican street gang-turned-radical group the Young Lords. The Young Patriots were a group of poor, mostly Appalachian migrants in Chicago. Although they opposed racism, they originally wore Confederate flags, which they believed were a symbol of rebellion. As they worked more with communities of colour, they abandoned the flag as an irredeemable symbol of white supremacy. Leading Panther Fred Hampton played a key role in building links with them and other white working class youth, until he was assassinated by police. In his speech, William "Preacherman" Fesperman of the Young Patriots, argued for armed self-defence against police brutality: "A gun on the side of a pig means two things: it means racism and it means capitalism and the gun on the side of a revolutionary, on the side of the people, means solidarity and socialism." Learn more about the Panthers in these books by former members: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/black-panthers https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=663813302458555&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

[headspace-hotel]

I hope I can express this properly and sensitively, but I think oftentimes people need to have Categories and Identities and to be healthily exploratory and playful and elastic about them, else they can get vulnerable to some negative things, sometimes really awful things

I wish I could remember where I read it, but there was something that wrote about whiteness in America as an abyss.

Whiteness is something that sheltered white Americans' ancestors, and at the same time devoured them. They used to have a distinct medley of heritages: Irish, German, Scottish, Italian. "Whiteness" ate it up, the languages, the cultures. There were privileges if you destroyed it, and punishments if you held onto anything that was "Other." In a white supremacist society, white people wanted to be "white" first before any other possible identity or connection they could have.

Yay! You're white. You're on top. You win...what? Turns out the prize for "winning" is just that you get to perpetrate the violence of the game instead of being on the receiving end of it.

And that's the nasty twist—there is no prize. The deeply embedded vice of "Southern pride" is not just what the Confederate flag stands for, but also why they've got to cling so hard to that symbol of traitors and losers: they need to be on top of something so bad that even a pile of shit will do. My ancestors were ultimately dirt poor, loads of them ending up in prison or breaking their bodies down doing hard labor, but they were white. Their reward, and their pride, was being stepped on by the violence of poverty only, instead of also by the violence of white supremacy.

"White pride" is all about hate because white supremacy didn't give these folks anything to be proud of. It stripped away the culture and heritage their ancestors had in favor of "whiteness." All those jokes about how white people have no culture, well, it's true isn't it? This shit is how we ended up a primarily monolingual nation. And what looks like happened is that white Americans wound up just...scavenging most of their culture from those they oppressed. Food, music, all of that stuff. Our white ancestors didn't GIVE us anything that was their own to start with.

And this is something that really strikes me about the white supremacist and fascist movements nowadays: the starvation and hollowness behind them. These folks are empty inside. They were given nothing by white supremacy except a very vague sense that they deserve something, and they see people of all different cultures celebrating and flourishing in their unique heritages and identities, and they feel like...they've been cheated.

Equality is so threatening when you're in this situation because it feels like you've got less than everyone else at the end of the day. Not just because of comparison to previous privileges, but because your whole identity was "person that gets to step on everybody else" and your whole inheritance was "shit stolen from everybody else" and in a world where all is set right, you have no identity and nothing. You are nothing.

Anyway I was looking just now at a blog that seemed really white-supremacist-leaning and it was 99% about like, Norse and Proto-Indo-European paganism and "traditionalism" and that's what got me thinking about this again.

This person had apparently done DNA tests on themselves or something, and were really fixated on figuring out their Norse and Germanic ancestors and separating out their genetic and racial identity at a level of precision that seems really pointless that far back in time. And honestly all the paganism stuff seemed like totally arbitrary speculation as well.

And how to become satisfied as a person like this? I am just as much Germanic or Norse as they are, but I don't believe that distant ancestors determine who you are to such an extent that I have some sort of innate cultural tie to Vikings or Visigoths or what have you. I know what percentage Celtic or Anglo Saxon or Norse I am—zero. I learned about those things in books the exact same way I learned about all the cultures and past kingdoms of the world that I presumably don't have ancestors from.

I feel like the experience of being a baby ally and obsessing about apologizing for being white is the same kind of thing in another direction, or another outcome of the same process. Some people seem to get really twisted up for a time over how to stop being guilty about being white.

It's part of the same thing as this guy who is trying to genetically identify his ancestors from like 3,000 years ago. It's the emptiness and meaninglessness of "white" identity apart from white supremacy.

I talk about deradicalization sometimes and I've had the notion a few times that fascism appeals to people who are hollow and starving in terms of identity, and if it wasn't for the sense of emptiness and hunger, they would be less easily radicalized. But it's also a little bit awkward to talk about the deeply unsatisfying nature of white supremacy, because...well, that is pretty low on the list of things bad about white supremacy.

I think this concept is worth talking about in general, though: People want to feel like they come from or are part of something meaningful. They are drawn toward Identities and Categories and Belonging to groups. This is something I think is commonly true about humans, I think it is normal and not a bad thing, and I think we could stand to be a little more upfront about its reality.

I think this means that wanting, and seeking, a sense of cultural identity as a white person (particularly an American) needs to have some kind of non-horrible outlet for it. Because right now, it's nothing but a way to get radicalized, and the dominant other option people take (becoming the Guilty White Person) is liked by no one and helps nothing.

And maybe it doesn't need to have anything to do with race or culture or your ancestors or any of these things that can lead a person down such terrible paths. Maybe more of us should be furries!

As just another thing to consider, I'm reading the book Ecology of a Cracker Childhood and the author of the book uses the word "cracker" not like, with the gravity of reclaiming a "slur" or something like that, but seemingly because that is just the word she most strongly identifies with, the word that best articulates who "her people" are. This feels very solid and levelheaded to me, something that comes from someone with a good sense of themselves.

Personally I've thought a long time that more people should reclaim "redneck." Not in the sense of reclaiming a slur exactly, but in the sense of putting it in neutral usage among the folks it always referred to, instead of letting it increasingly be associated with any Southerner (regardless of working class background) that is the sort to wave a Confederate flag around. The very idea of gatekeeping "redneck" away from racists is just absolutely hilarious to me, I won't lie.

[transform4u]

I woke up this morning to find my earphones were still in and my phone playing something called “southerncountrybro.mp3”. Ever since then, I’ve been zoning out all day. For example, I snapped out of my trance and found I had an American flag hoodie and camo pants in my Amazon cart. What’s happening to me?

You hold your phone to your ear, the initial crackle of “southerncountrybro.mp3” filling your senses. A steady beat begins to pulsate through your headphones, each thud pushing away stray thoughts and grounding you. The rhythm is unwavering, almost hypnotic, and as it settles in, other sounds start to weave in—soft, buzzing noises like a hive of bees, the distant rumble of tractor engines, and the occasional metallic creak of old machinery.

Gradually, the steady beat evolves, and the familiar strains of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” start to seep through. The bass takes over, a steady thump that seems to synchronize with your heartbeat. Each pulse of the song reverberates through you, creating a cocoon of sound that drowns out your thoughts. The song’s rhythm becomes a relentless force, gently but insistently draining away your ability to think clearly.

As the melody envelops you, you find yourself slipping away from the present. Your mind’s eye drifts back to a place that feels both familiar and distant—a memory of growing up in a dusty, rundown trailer. Beer cans are scattered across the floor, remnants of a life that was harsh but somehow comforting. Your father’s voice echoes in your memory, rough and commanding, urging you to get to work on the farm. The scene feels almost tangible, a vivid snapshot of your past.

You remember how he would sit down with a cold beer after a long day's work and tell stories about his own childhood, always ending with some piece of wisdom that shaped who you are today. You admired him then and still do now—a man who stood up for what he believed in, no matter how unpopular it may have been at times.

The anger that once fueled those intrusive thoughts has faded away, replaced by an ironclad resolve to protect what is yours—your family name, your traditions, and most importantly, yourself from any outside influence that threatens them. Your eyes narrow as you envision those who challenge these values; they will meet their match in someone like yourself: tough as nails and proud as hell.

"A real man stands up for what he believes in, son. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

Those words have stuck with you through the years, shaping how you view yourself and your place in society. You believe in being strong, assertive and unapologetically Christian – traits that set you apart from those who challenge traditional values or embrace "woke" ideologies. This mindset has only been reinforced by your experiences growing up in a conservative community where faith and family were at the center of everything.

The thought of gay people and their agenda makes you boil with fury. You can't stand how they're trying to force their lifestyle on everyone else, how they want special treatment just because they're different. In that moment, all homosexuals seem like threats to everything that matters most to you – family values, traditional gender roles, and respect for history. Your anger grows stronger with each passing second until it becomes an all-consuming fire within yourself. As the memories of your past flood back, you can't help but feel a sense of pride in your heritage. In this moment, the image of the Confederate flag emerges in your mind’s eye, vivid and bold. It flutters with a sense of pride and belonging, a symbol of your heritage that seems to light up your inner world.

You’re bathed in the warmth of a religious upbringing, the deep, foundational beliefs of the South intertwining with your emotions. The flag, the music, the memories—they all reinforce a sense of unity and pride. It’s as if the song, the flag, and the memories are all part of a singular, affirming force that redefines your perspective, pushing aside complexities and filling you with a profound, if uncomplicated, sense of belonging.

You glance down at your phone, the Confederate flag now a bold backdrop to the screen. Tweets from Republican politicians flood your feed, each message resonating with an increasing sense of agreement. You find yourself nodding along, a sense of camaraderie settling in with each word. There's a strange blend of satisfaction and discomfort—an acknowledgment of how easily you're swayed, despite a nagging self-awareness of your vulnerability.

As you ponder this, memories of your father and life in the trailer start to fill your mind. The farm, the long hours, and your father’s stern guidance begin to blend into a vivid, almost tangible recollection. It’s as if each memory is a thread, pulling you back to a time and place that shaped you. With each recollection, you feel a deep-rooted connection to the rugged, hardworking life you once knew.

Suddenly, your body starts to shift, molding itself into a striking embodiment of a quintessential Southern hick. Broad shoulders and a powerful chest emerge, a testament to years of hard labor under the sun. Your muscles swell and define themselves, arms rippling with every slight movement, veins running across your skin like a map of strength and endurance.

Your core hardens into a chiseled six-pack, a visible result of relentless work and dedication. Your legs, now thick and robust, reflect the countless hours spent navigating farm terrain. The sun-kissed bronze of your skin deepens, each sun-soaked day contributing to this golden hue.

Your face transforms to match the new physique. A chiseled jawline and rugged features come into sharper focus. A few scrapes or scars, badges of a life well-lived. Your eyes, a piercing blue, radiate confidence and kindness, reflecting the down-to-earth nature you cherish. A strong, straight nose, marked by past scrapes, and full lips that curve into a relaxed, easy-going smile complete the look. A rugged stubble or well-maintained beard adds to your Southern charm.

You’re now wearing a sleeveless plaid shirt, the fabric faded and well-worn, showcasing your muscular arms. The jeans, classic and durable, are held up by a sturdy leather belt with an ornate buckle. You hair grows out into a mess of blonde locks, all topped with a ratty little baseball cap.

As you continue to listen to the throbbing beat of “southerncountrybro.mp3,” your phone buzzes with a flurry of texts. First, it’s Jamie, your best drinking buddy. “Hey man, you up for hitting the bar tonight? Got some new brews to try and a game to catch!” Jamie’s text is followed by Megan, one of the hottest girls you know: “Hey, saw your post—want to grab a drink later? 😘”

The notifications keep coming. Sarah, another friend, texts, “You’re gonna love the new fishing spot I found! Let’s hit it this weekend.” And then, a message from Derek, a buddy from your gym, “Bro, new weights just came in. You gotta see this!”

Each text you get starts to sink in, twisting who you are like a country boy back in his element. At first, it’s just a small shift, but before you know it, it’s like you’re turning into a real down-home Southern fella.

You find yourself becoming someone whose charm and enthusiasm are so big they drown out any hint of subtlety. You’re all about being direct and to the point, with no time for fancy talk.

Bluntness becomes your thing. When you talk, it’s like swinging a hammer—straightforward and no-nonsense. You ain’t got time for complicated issues or all that political mumbo jumbo. Instead, you’re sticking to catchy slogans and the lively banter from your favorite talk radio. Your views turn into a mix of loud claims and simple phrases, just like your newfound straightforward style.

Your view of the world gets smaller and simpler. Those big, fancy issues? They don’t matter much now. You’re all about sticking to the good ol’ traditional values and the routines that make life easy. Forget diving into current events; you’re sticking with plain talk and the comforts of Southern life.

You dive into your Southern roots with a passion that’s almost obsessive. The more you think about your old man and the life you grew up with, the more you latch onto the traditional values that shape this new you. Any city doubts or liberal ideas you once had start to fade away, replaced by a strong loyalty to the old-fashioned ways.

Your hobbies come into focus: trucks, beer, and hunting. These become the heart of your weekends and what you talk about the most. Tailgating, fixing up your truck, and spending time outside become what you’re all about. Simple pleasures take over, and your humor gets straight to the point, with good ol’ Southern jokes and stories.

"Hey, buddy!" Stacey's message pops up on your phone screen while you're out on the town with the boys. You can barely make out what she's saying through all the noise and commotion around you. The music is blaring, people are shouting, and it feels like everyone else is having a better time than you are.

You try to focus on Stacey's message but it doesn't seem to be working; your mind feels foggy and slow. "Wanna come over for some...BIG DUMB… FUNun…" You repeat those words over in your head as if they were some kind of mantra, hoping that maybe they'll help clear things up for you. But no such luck – all that happens is more confusion sets in as thoughts of 'fun times with Stacey' begin dancing around inside your head like a bunch of drunken flies.

Next Charlotte sends you a sext – Your dick instantly starts to grow hard as she invites you over for some fun. But then reality sets in – one too many baby mommas already, and they're all probably expecting something from you at this point.

Your dick grows even bigger now, reaching an impressive 10 inches long despite your better judgment telling you otherwise. Your mind feels like it's shrinking by comparison; it's the size of a pea now as thoughts of Charlotte and her invitation dance around inside your head like a bunch of drunken flies. You laugh dumbly and chug down another beer, trying to ignore the fact that there might be consequences later on for acting so impulsively.

Charlotte sends you a picture – it's just her in a sexy little number, posing provocatively with one hand on her hip and the other holding up an empty beer bottle. Your mind immediately starts to shift gears; thoughts of sex, working out, and drinking more beers become your only focus.

You've become the stereotypical dumb, horny southern hick that everyone seems to think you are. All those negative labels they've given you start to feel like badges of honor now as your mind continues its downward spiral into nothingness.

You take a swig of your beer. As you think about working out, fucking, and drinking, your mind wanders to the gym where you push yourself to new limits each day. The satisfaction of feeling your muscles grow stronger fuels you not only physically but also mentally. After a grueling workout session comes the reward – unbridled passion with some dumb bitch with big tits.

But that's all there is to you now, or should I say Beau… always thinking your dick is bigger than anyone else's and using it as leverage when dealing with others – especially women! You act like you owns the world just because you can bench press twice your body weight and has this insatiable appetite for conquests. It makes your bros roll their eyes every time you open your mouth about how "alpha" you is or how many notches are on your belt from all those "bitches" who fell for you just because they thought they could tame The Beast!

[tangerine-dream-machine]

do you wanna see the west with me?

Notes below!

This is not a realistic road trip at all, but here are the places/activities shown:

Yorktown Battlefield, Virginia: the site where General Cornwallis surrendered in 1781, bringing the end of the Revolutionary War

Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: the famous bell with the message "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof", and later a symbol of liberty for abolitionists and suffragists

Drive-in theater: outdoor cinemas that reached their peak in popularity in the 1950s to 60s; the film is The Searchers (1956)

Kayaking: a fun lake/ocean activity

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail: this trail crosses nine states and follows the forced displacement of Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Muscogees, and Seminoles due to the Indian Removal Act in 1830

Traffic (and billboards): a bane to many and common in car-dependent cities

Cedar Hill Cemetery, Vicksburg, Mississippi: one of the oldest cemeteries in the US still being used; predates the Civil War and includes a Confederate burial site

Devil's Tower, Wyoming: a majestic (and sacred) butte and the first US national monument

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah: a flat, empty salt pan estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt and a popular racing site

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: a geyser in the world's first national park known for its reliable eruptions

Gas station, Nowhere, USA

Horseback riding, Montana: no comment, just a fun time

Las Vegas, Nevada: the world renowned Sin City, a place that caters to many vices

Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, North Dakota: group of missile defense facilities including missile silos and the pyramid-shaped radar system; built in 1975 and decommissioned after one day of operation, a "monument to man's fear and ignorance"

Hoover Dam, Nevada and Arizona: hydroelectric power plant on the Colorado River; the highest dam in the world at the time of its completion in 1935

Space Needle, Seattle, Washington: an observation tower with a revolving restaurant built for the 1962 World Fair "Living in the Space Age", a theme chosen to show the US was not lagging behind the USSR in the Space Race

Sequoia National Park, California: home of the world's largest tree by volume (General Sherman) and the highest point in the contiguous US (Mount Whitney)

Muir Beach Overlook, California: a former base station overlook with dugouts that gained importance immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 as a means to watch for attacks on nearby San Francisco

@usukweek

[decaffeinatedpartymuggoop]

Okay, we all know being a demigod is a shit position. Its scary and gets you killed in really nasty ways. But I feel like being a Big Three Kid has to be the shitiest position in all the shit positions.

Like, imagine being Thalia Grace. Your dad is king of the gods, lord of the skies. Led a war to get rid of a tyrant. And the only thing you get is his scorned wife AND brother, who both try to kill you (with one technically succeeding), a drunk of a mother, and brother who you thought was dead. Oh, wait, he’s not dead! No instead he was used as an offering to appease your dad’s wife and help fight in a war and prevent mass destruction.

Or maybe you can imagine being Percy. Son of the sea god, the stormbringer, the earthshaker. You get to live with a disgusting, abusive man for around 6 years. Who smells like literal shit. All because your scent as a demigod is too strong, BECAUSE of who your father is. You see things that you aren’t supposed to see and do things that people can’t do and go years thinking something is wrong with you. That your the problem. Then you get to the one place where you’re supposed to be save. But! Here is the kicker! You’re not! Your uncles hate you and you’ve been accused of stealing a symbol of power. A series of events that will kick off a war, and guess what. You’re a center point for it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.

Mhm, but then there’s Hazel. Daughter Pluto, god of the underworld and riches. But that doesn’t really change anything does it? She’s still living in 1930s America, in a red state. One where confederate flags still hang if you go deep enough into the city. She go to a school where the kids are supposed to be just like her! They still don’t like her tho. She’s got no idea who your father is, only that he left her with a parting gift. Only it’s not really a gift. Sure, she can pull rubies and diamonds from the earth, all worth millions. But anyone who’s ever gonna touch it will die. She lives with her mother, a woman gone so mad with greed it kills her. And Hazel, by the way. Laying dead Alaska, inhaling oil. But it doesn’t end there! She can’t have her mother suffering for eternity, can she? The answer is no. Hazel gets to spend the next 70 years in the Fields of Asphodel. It still doesn’t end! Because when she’s brought back to life, she gets to fight in a war against giants, her sad story seemingly never ending.

Nico’s a son of one of the Big Three, one of the most ancient and most powerful. But most people look at him as something bad, something not worth taking a second glance at. Something too look away from, mostly. He’s from the 30s, spent years in a magical time casino with only his sister at his side. She doesn’t stay for long though, she dies soon after they discover their heritage. And he doesn’t remember his mother much, a name without a face. A face without a name. He survived an attempted assassination at 2, though it wouldn’t be the only time his was life was threatened. He clings to his sister, even though she’s dead. He’s the son of the god of the underworld, is he not? There had to be a way, and there is. Only she won’t talk to him, she seems more concerned with communicating with the guy who got her killed instead. She chooses rebirth, and he decides to lay it to rest. She’s not coming back, and he has a war to fight in. (He gets stuck in a jar and forcibly outed a few years later, but that’s a lot to get into for now.)

Jason Grace is a pillar of New Rome, their golden boy, their American boy. He’s a son of Jupiter, a natural born leader. He’s been at camp for as long as he can remember, he wants to be praetor soon. He’s had a rocky start, but maybe he’ll be one of the lucky ones. Retire a veteran and live a long life with Reyna in New Rome. Only that never happened. He has no idea where he is, there’s a girl holding his hand, and she’s cute but it feels wrong. They get attacked and people come in and call him a Greek demigod, familiar, yes, but still wrong. It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t put things into perspective the way it does for Piper and Leo. He’s goes to a quest to rescue Hera, the name sounds wrong. He nearly dies but at least he remembers who he is. He spends the next 6 months trying to get back home, even though he isn’t too sure on where or what home is. He gets there, eventually, but it doesn’t stop there. He’s dragged on quests and battles and fights in the war but at least he survives it, he’s still there. Apollo needs help, he and Piper give him aid. He gets dumped. He doesn’t get to he a veteran in New Rome. Not with Reyna, not with Piper, not with anybody. He doesn’t get kids or grandkids. No, he gets shot down, another demigod buried.

You could be any one of them, really. Pick your poison, but I guarantee you won’t like any of them. Spending years trying to find a place where you belong, where you feel safe. Only for it to never come.

Percy, who, if you really look at the books, isn’t really all that well liked until he’s at least 2 years into camp. Only to then be sidelined because the courages, brave, fearless daughter of Zeus is back from the dead. Nico, the son of one of the most feared and hated gods. Who has death written all over him, who excludes it so much animals can smell it and humans can sense it, who’s been ostracized and pushed off to the side since he was 10. Hazel, who was treated like disease as soon as she stepped foot on camp soil. Who’s gone her whole life looked as something that’s cursed, that will only bring misfortune, a bad omen.

Shit positions, all of them.

[starlightomatic]

I recently discovered this flag, for the whole a-spec umbrella, and I really like it!

Sorry for the shitty quality, I had to screencap it from a merch website because I couldn’t download it directly from the LGBTQIA+ wiki for some reason.

Anyway I really like the idea of having a flag emphasizing the whole umbrella and I also thing this flag is really clear symbolically — the colors for ace and for aro, plus the design indicating “a confederation of different groups of people.”

I’m not sure who made it so I can’t credit them but I think it’s an awesome flag and I’d love to start seeing it more!

[fruity-pontmercy]

Les Mis adaptations and apolitical appropriation

I think it's no secret on this blog that I love the original Les Mis 1980 concept album in French, and that I also love comparing different versions of the stage musical. I've noticed that Les Mis seems to get progressively more vaguely apolitical as time goes on, not only in the way it's viewed in our culture, but in the actual text as well.

It's natural for specifics to be lost in adaptation. It's easier to get people to care about 'the people vs. the king' in a relatively short musical rather than actually facing the audience with the absolute mess that were 19th century french politics (monarchist orleanists vs monarchist legitimists vs imperialist vs bonapartist democrats vs every flavour of republican imaginable). Still, I feel that as time goes on, as more revivals and adaptations of the stage musical come out, the more watered down its politics become. Like, Les Mis at it's core is just meant to be a fancily written, drawn out political essay, right?

In a way I feel that the 1980 concept album almost tried to modernise it with its symbols of progress. Yes, through Enjolras' infamous disco segment (and other similar allusions to the ideals of social change), but perhaps most interestingly to me, through one short line that threw me off when I first heard it, because it seems so insignificant, but might actually be the most explicitly leftist line of all of Les Mis.

"Son coeur vibrait à gauche et il le proclama" (roughly "His heart beat to the left and he proclaimed it" i.e: he was a leftist) Feuilly says, while speaking of the now dead général Lamarque in Les Amis de L'ABC.

What's that? An actual mention of leftism??? in MY vaguely progressive yet apolitical musical??? More seriously, this mention of leftism, clashing with the rest of the musical due to it's seeming anachronism, is interesting not because it's actually more political than anything else in Les Mis, rather, because it's not scared to explicitly name what it's trying to do.

But we've come a long way from the Concept Album days, it's been 43 years, and Les Misérables is now one of the most famous and beloved musicals in the entire world. It's been revived and reimagined and adapted in a million ways, in different mediums, in different languages and countries, and it's clear that it's changed along with it's audience.

On top of pointing out a cool line in my favourite version of the musical, I wanted to write this post to reflect on the perception of the political message of this work. We as a Les Mis fandom on Tumblr are very political, I don't need to tell you that, however, I feel that because this very left leaning space has sprung out of a work we all love so much, we oftentimes forget to revisit it from a more objective point of view.

Les Misérables has a history of being misrepresented, this has been true since it's publication, since american confederate soldiers became entranced with their censored translation Lee's Miserables. However, with it's musical adaptation, this misinterpretation has been made not only more accessible but also easier. As much as I love musical theatre and I think it is at it's best an incredible art form able to communicate complex themes visulally by the masses for the masses, I think it'd be idealistic to ignore the fact that the people who can afford to go see musicals regularly are, usually, not the common folk. Broadway and the West End are industries which, like most, need money to keep them afloat, and are loved people of all political backgrounds (and unfortunately, often older conservatives) not just communists on tumblr. We've seen the way Les Miz UK's social media team constantly misses the mark regarding different social issues, and the way Cameron Makintosh has used the musical to propagate his transphobia, and most of us can agree that these actions are in complete antithesis with the message of Les Misérables as a novel.

But I must ask, how does Les Mis ,as a West End musical in it's current form, actually drive a leftist message, and how are we as a community helping if every time someone relating to the musical messes up if we just claim they "don't get it"?

I'm thinking in particular of incidents like last october, where Just Stop Oil crashed Les Mis at the West End. Whether you think it's good activism or not is not the question I think, this instance is interesting particularly because it shows that, outside of Les Misérables analysis circles and fandom spaces, it is not recognised as an inherently leftist, political or activist work, and instead of just saying they completely missed the point of the musical, I think it'd be interesting to take a step back and look at what the musical as it stands actually represents in our culture today.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, so I won't try to give one, but I do hope we can reflect on this a bit.

[erik-even-wordier]

I really don’t owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology. I’ve been critical of Trump these last several years, and am still exhausted from the experience.

But to be fair, Trump wasn’t that bad…………..other than when:

1. he incited an insurrection against the government,

2. mismanaged a pandemic that killed a million Americans,

3. separated children from their families, lost those children in the bureaucracy,

4. tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church,

5. tried to block all Muslims from entering the country,

6. got impeached,

7. got impeached again,

8. had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history,

9. pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden,

10. fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia,

11. bragged about firing the FBI director on TV,

12. took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community,

13. diverted military funding to build his wall,

14. caused the longest government shutdown in US history,

15. called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate,”

16. lied nearly 30,000 times,

17. banned transgender people from serving in the military,

18. ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions,

19. vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers,

20. refused to release his tax returns,

21. increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion,

22. had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history,

23. called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers,

24. coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist,

25. refused to concede the 2020 election,

26. hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House,

27. walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl,

28. called neo-Nazis “very fine people,”

29. suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID,

30. abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey,

31. pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans,

32. incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic,

33. withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords,

34. withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal,

35. withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances,

36. insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter,

37. pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op,

38. failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies,

39. called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries,

40. called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation,”

41. claimed that he single handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere,

42. forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader,

43. believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,

44. berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe,

45. suggested the US should buy Greenland,

46. colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges,

47. repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people,”

48. claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases,

49. violated the emoluments clause,

50. thought that Nambia was a country,

51. told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public,

52. called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution,

53. nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet,

54. nominated a corrupt head of the EPA,

55. nominated a corrupt head of HHS,

56. nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department,

57. nominated a corrupt head of the USDA,

58. praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies,

59. refused to allow the presidential transition to begin,

60. insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death,

61. spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president,

62. falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote,

63. called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,”

64. falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year,

65. considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions,

66. mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID,

67. locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones,

68. used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus,”

69. hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser,

70. pardoned several of his shady associates,

71. gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressmen who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories,

72. got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!),

73. had a Secretary of State who called him a moron,

74. forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history,

75. botched the COVID vaccine rollout,

76. tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him,

77. charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties,

78. constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate,

79. claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear,

80. called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas,”

81. used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise,

82. opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling,

83. got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers,

84. claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US,

85. ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings,

86. blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining,

87. redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle,

88. got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters,”

89. threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution,

90. botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico,

91. threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them,

92. pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to “find” him votes,

93. thought that the Virgin islands had a President,

94. drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane,

95. allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing,

96. rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos,

97. pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID,

98. rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers,

99. held blatant campaign rallies at the White House,

100. tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man,

101. refused to attend his successors’ inauguration,

102. nominated the worst Education Secretary in history,

103. threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted,

104. attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci,

105. promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t),

106. allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues,

107. struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble,

108. called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ,”

109. threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders,

110. went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic,

111. claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,”

112. seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution,

113. demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director,

114. praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles,

115. completely gutted the Voice of America,

116. placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service,

117. claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower,

118. suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country,

119. suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public,

120. overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported,

121. reduced the number of refugees the US accepts,

122. insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames,

123. gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address,

124. named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties,

125. eliminated the White House office of pandemic response,

126. used soldiers as campaign props,

127. fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him,

128. demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade,

129. hired a shit ton of white nationalists,

130. politicized the civil service,

131. did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government,

132. falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts,

133. claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won,

134. insulted reporters of color,

135. insulted women reporters,

136. insulted women reporters of color,

137. suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs,

138. attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him,

139. summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election,

140. spent countless hours every day watching Fox News,

141. refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas,

142. hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer,

143. tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him,

144. acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney,

145. attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a prominent lady who accused him of sexual assault,

146. held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present,

147. didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media,

148. stopped holding press briefings for months at a time,

149. “ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power,

150. led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform,

151. claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers,

152. tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course,

153. suggested that the government nuke hurricanes,

154. suggested that wind turbines cause cancer,

155. said that he had a special aptitude for science,

156. fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure,

157. blurted out classified information to Russian officials,

158. tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida,

159. fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban,

160. hired notorious racist Stephen Miller,

161. openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them,

162. interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel,

163. abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war,

164. tried to get Russia back into the G7,

165. held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden,

166. seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive,

167. lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated,

168. falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t,

169. shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies,

170. still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan,

171. still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure Weeks,”

172. forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID,

173. told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,”

174. fucked up the Census,

175. withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic,

176. did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,”

177. allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act,

178. seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican,

179. stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win,

180. constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump,

181. claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened,

182. said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake,

183. claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him,

184. claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President,

185. created a commission to whitewash American history,

186. retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain,

187. claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there,

188. hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims,

189. had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others,

190. bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties,

191. apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House,

192. stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians,

193. falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police,

194. said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about,

195. tried to rescind protection from DREAMers,

196. gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic,

197. tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax,

198. said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states,

199. deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented,

200. claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln,

201. touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile or may not exist at all,

202. retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile,

203. forced through security clearances for his family,

204. suggested that police officers should rough up suspects,

205. suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs,

206. tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender,

207. suggested the US not accept COVID patients from a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher,

208. nominated a climate change sceptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy,

209. retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden

210. had played a song called “Fuck tha Police” at a campaign event,

211. hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags,

212. accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address,

213. claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were “spending too much time” on Russia,

214. mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault,

215. obsessed over low-flow toilets,

216. ordered the rerelease of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release,

217. called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek),

218. hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech,

219. took advice from the MyPillow guy,

220. claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists,

221. said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure,

222. never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign,

223. falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent,

224. announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest,

225. insulted the leader of Canada,

226. insulted the leader of France,

227. insulted the leader of Britain,

228. insulted the leader of Germany,

229. insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!),

230. falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues,

231. blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually,

232. continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders,

233. said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked,

234. left a NATO summit early in a huff,

235. stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of 5 knows not to do that,

236. called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary,

237. refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise.

238. Don’t forget that he took many classified & top secret documents with him when he left the White House, many of which have not been recovered & may have been compromised.

I’m sure there are a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment.

Plz copy and paste. Whoever wrote this deserves credit but I don't know who it is.

[scotianostra]

Happy Canada Day!

The British North America Act took effect as the Constitution of Canada, creating the Canadian Confederation and Glasgow born John A. Macdonald was sworn as first Prime Minister today in 1867.

The Maple leaf above has the Regional tartans of Canada in it. All of Canada’s provinces and territories, except for Nunavut, have regional tartans, as do many other regional divisions in Canada. Tartans were first brought to Canada by Scottish settlers; the first province to adopt one officially was Nova Scotia in 1956 (when registered at the Court of the Lord Lyon; adopted by law in 1963), and the most recent province was Ontario, in 2000. Except for the tartan of Quebec, all of the provincial and territorial tartans are officially recognised and registered in the books of the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland.

The tartan for Canada as a whole is known as the maple leaf tartan and became an official national symbol in 2011, you can find itat the link below

[yoga-onion]

Legends of the humanoids

Reptilian humanoids (2)

Dragons, the confederation of nature that protects Mother Earth: Part 2 [So far]

Dragons are not from this dimension. They are projected into the 4th dimension and take the form of different creations. They don’t have anything in common here, with the normal existance. They are the aspect project from the 3rd dimension into the 4th and 5th dimensions, the mostly in the 4th dimension in the part of reality. But we need to understand the origin of the dragons as humans may see the dragons. The concept of dragons are not that they saw those creatures used to be existed but it is the cocept in the mind that the most humans in the past created in order to feel protected, and to feel the protection of the whole. There were good dragons and bad dragons but they all have a goal which is to protect the Earth. 

So, the dragons are the mythological creature that join in human being different aspect from the animals. Why is this? Because, when people were animalistic, so this means that the religions and the cultures of beings were related to animals, so they, for example, some good aspects and bad aspects of animals to talk about the qualities of being. For exapmle, eagle flies very high so it is related with the Sun, so related with the good view, so related to the spirit as high as being flying, so  they’re related with the totem of the eagle with all the beings that the sprit with the Sun, with the perfect side of the whole. That’s why one that can give you the advice and so on.

So what we did in history, was to prject in these things’ qualities that we’d love to have. That’s why many cultures in the past we used to change our names according the animals that we’d love to be or the qualities that we’d love to be awaking in ours. So, all these potentials of every animal that we have in nature, if we put them all togethder, we create that presents all of them, presents all the qualites, good and bad qualities, every totem of the Planet, and they’ve created the image of dragons. The dragons are joined of all those totems that created and represents every quality that humans would reach, that humans would honour. So, this is like the King or Queen of the mythological realm of animals. 

So for us, this dragon was bounded to the elements, so the dragon of fire, the dragon of air, the dragon of earth, and the dragon of water. The fire, air, earth, and water are the 4 statements, basis of the universe. That’s why we had the different dragons to protect the north, the south, the east, and the west, according to these. That’s why we related the wind, for example, the big storms with one dragon, we related the volcanos with another dragon, because they were the energy and quality of mother earth in different directions from elements. That is why in history, we used dragon as a symbol of the power of protection of nature.

But in the 4th dimension, everything that created in the mind of 3rd dimension from the forms of the 3rddimension can be created us a reality in the other reality. So, we can maybe feel, see, and be connected to the energy of the dragons. But they are in the 4th dimension, being created by the cultures, ideas and politics from the 3rd dimension.

In history, there was one dragon that the Atlantean people used to honour, and it was the dragon of enlightenment. The dragon of enlightenment was that they were following the snake of the world would go around the Planet through the mountains of the world. This snake has its head in Kiev(*Please note that this is the only part, the sound was distorted, so it is not certain), and then goes all over every montains of Middle East, Asia, North America, South America, creating this snake that goes all around the Planet as if the Planet would be an egg, and snake would protect it. The snake being enlightened which means that every chakra of the Planet has been enlightened, so you have the power of this snake with wings and with parts and all these different elements of nature. And this dragon’s head is in Scansinavia, and wings are in Russia, and parts in Europe. And it is enlightened through the crown of the snake which is in Crimea, the penensyla under Ukraine. From there the dragon was enlightened. That was the frst dragon was created in the energy of the Atlantis generations. Thus, the dragon, protecting the mother earth, was something realted to the nature fedarations, 4 elements, all attributes of different animals.  

[*Refer to: this discourse was published in 2020, about two years before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and began occupying large parts of the country.]

伝説のヒューマノイドたち

ヒト型爬虫類 (2)ドラゴン 〜 母なる大地を守る自然の連合体: その2（これまで）

ドラゴンはこの次元の存在ではない。彼らは4次元に投影されたもので、4次元の現実の一部にいる。しかし、人間がドラゴンを見るためには、ドラゴンの起源を理解する必要が���る。ドラゴンの概念は、かつてそのような生き物が存在していたのを実際に見たのではなく、過去のほとんどの人間が、守られていると感じ、全体が守られていると感じるために作り出した心の中の概念なのだ。良いドラゴンも悪いドラゴンもいたけれど、彼らには地球を守るという共通の目的がある。

つまり、ドラゴンは動物とは異なる側面で人間に加わる神話上の生き物なのだ。それはなぜか？というのも、人間が獣崇拝的であった時代には、宗教も文化も動物に関連していたからだ。だから彼らは、例えば動物の良い面と悪い面をいくつか挙げて、存在の特質について語り合う。例えば、鷲はとても高く飛ぶので、太陽と関係があり、良い眺めと関係があり、飛んでいるように高い精神と関係がある。だから、鷲のトーテムは、太陽と精神、全体の完全な側面とすべての存在と関係がある。だからこそ、あなたにアドバイスなどを与えることができるのだ。

だから歴史上、私たちがしてきたことは、自分たちが持っていたいと思う資質をこれらのものに投影することだった。だから昔の多くの文化では、私たちがなりたいと思う動物や、私たちの中に目覚めさせたいと思う資質に応じて名前を変えていたのだ。だから、自然界に存在するすべての動物の可能性をすべて一緒にすると、それらすべてを提示するものができ、すべての資質、良い資質、悪い資質、地球のすべてのトーテムが提示され、ドラゴンのイメージが造られた。ドラゴンは、人間が到達すべき、人間が尊ぶべきあらゆる資質を象徴し、創造されたすべてのトーテムが結合したものだ。つまり、これは動物の神話的領域の王や女王のようなものだ。

しかし、4次元では、3次元の形から3次元の心で創造されたものはすべて、もうひとつの現実であり、現実として創造することができる。だから、私たちはドラゴンのエネルギーを感じたり、見たり、つながったりすることができる。しかし、それらは4次元にあり、3次元の文化、アイデア、政治によって創造されているのだ。

歴史上、アトランティスの人々が敬ったドラゴンがいた。彼らが崇拝していたのは、世界の蛇が世界中の山々を通って地球を回るという『悟りの龍』だった。この蛇はキエフに頭を持ち  (※この部分のみ音が途切れて聞き取りにくかったので、定かではないことをご了承下さい)、中東、アジア、北米、南米のすべての山脈を巡り、まるで地球が卵であり、蛇がそれを守るかのように、この蛇を作り出し、地球を一周する。蛇は悟りを開いていて、それは地球のすべてのチャクラが悟りを開いていることを意味している。そしてこのドラゴンの頭はスカンジナビアにあり、翼はロシアにあり、パーツはヨーロッパにある。そして、クリミア、ウクライナの下にある半島にある蛇の頭頂部を通して悟りを開く。そこから龍は悟りを開いた。それが最初のドラゴンで、アトランティスの世代のエネルギーで創造された。このように、母なる大地を守るドラゴンは、自然の連合体、4つのエレメント、異なる動物のすべての属性に関連するものだった。

[＊参照: この談話は、ロシアが2022年2月にウクライナへの本格的な侵攻を開始し、国土の大部分を占領し始める約2年前の2020年に発表されたもの。]

[throwing-in-the-towel]

The one thing that confuses me in Little Brother is the verse where Dally starts going:

‘Do it for all of us/the faces in the crowd/and when they try to shut you up/they’re screaming twice as loud/do it for cool hand Luke/do it for Jesse James/do it for all the unsung heros/you don’t know their names/do it for Ponyboy/do it for Johnny Cade/don’t leave a stone unturned/don’t leave a debt unpaid’

From what I understand he’s going to jump in front of a train so I’m confused on what he meant by ‘do it for XYZ’ because it sounds like he’s going to do something but FOR them but he just ends up killing himself?

I’m just confused on what he means, could you explain?

i’ve always interpreted that whole verse and the “do it for all us” lines as dally doing what he does to bring light and attention to all those who came before him and those he’s lost, like johnny. i think he does it hoping that people will finally listen to what these kids go through and how unfair they way they’re treated is,,,and how it leads to deaths and su1c1des.

(i have always thought the jesse james mention was weird because i’m pretty sure he was like,,,a confederate soldier during the civil war? so weird that they had him be the person dally mentions,,but he was an outlaw who was murdered so i guess that’s why?? and cool hand luke spoiler but luke is also killed in that movie and it’s kinda viewed as symbolic death to show that he died in the name of beating the system)