#End Systemic Oppression

[blackstarlineage]

Generational Trauma Left Unaddressed or Normalized: A Garveyite Perspective

Generational trauma is a persistent wound carried by the African diaspora—a trauma that has been left unaddressed, normalized, and passed down through centuries. From the scars of slavery and colonialism to the systemic oppression we see today, these traumas continue to shape Black communities worldwide. But what happens when trauma is not only ignored but becomes a part of our daily lives?

From a Garveyite perspective, the answer lies in self-determination, Pan-African unity, and economic empowerment. Marcus Garvey’s philosophy provides both a critique of generational trauma and a solution for breaking the cycle.

1. The Origins of Generational Trauma

Slavery and Colonialism: The Foundation of Oppression

The African diaspora was built on the forced removal of Africans from their homeland, the erasure of their culture, and centuries of systemic dehumanization. These experiences left deep psychological, social, and economic scars:

Displacement & Identity Loss: Stripping African people of their languages, traditions, and names created a generational disconnect from their true heritage.

Psychological Degradation: Centuries of forced subjugation led to internalized inferiority complexes.

Economic Enslavement: The denial of wealth-building opportunities reinforced cycles of poverty and economic dependence.

How Trauma is Passed Down

Generational trauma doesn’t just disappear—it is inherited. It manifests in:

Fear and Survivalism: Parents unknowingly pass down the survival strategies developed during oppression.

Cultural Disconnection: A lack of knowledge about African history and heritage leads to internalized self-hatred.

Economic Hardship: Systemic barriers (e.g., redlining, mass incarceration, education inequities) reinforce generational struggles.

2. The Normalization of Trauma in Black Communities

When oppression becomes routine, trauma is no longer recognized—it is accepted. Garveyism challenges this normalization, calling for Black people to wake up and reclaim their dignity.

Signs of Normalized Trauma

Colourism & Self-Hatred: The colonial obsession with whiteness led to generations of Black people being conditioned to prefer European beauty standards.

Community Distrust: Systemic oppression created deep divisions within Black communities, fostering competition instead of unity.

Economic Dependency: Many Black communities have been taught to depend on external institutions instead of building self-sufficient economies.

How Institutions Maintain the Cycle

Education: Schools reinforce Eurocentric histories while minimizing African achievements.

Religion: Christianity and other religious institutions have often been used to pacify rather than empower.

Legal Systems: Mass incarceration and policing disproportionately target Black communities, reinforcing trauma.

3. The Garveyite Solution: Reversing Generational Trauma

Marcus Garvey believed that mental liberation precedes physical liberation. Breaking the cycle requires:

1. Mental Reprogramming: Rejecting Internalized Oppression

Reclaiming African Identity: Teaching real Black history and embracing African traditions.

Celebrating Black Excellence: Uplifting achievements that counter colonial narratives.

Healing from Colonial Trauma: Rebuilding self-worth and rejecting inferiority conditioning.

2. Economic Self-Sufficiency: Building Wealth & Power

Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) championed economic independence through:

Business Ownership: Black entrepreneurship as a means of liberation.

Cooperative Economics: Community-driven wealth circulation.

Land Ownership: Agricultural and industrial development for sustainability.

3. Pan-African Unity: Strength Through Global Connection

Garveyism teaches that Black people worldwide must unite to reclaim power. This means:

Cultural Reconnection: Restoring the bond between Africa and its diaspora.

Global Economic Networks: Strengthening Black-owned businesses and trade.

Ending Internal Division: Unifying around a shared vision of liberation.

Final Thoughts: Breaking the Cycle is Our Responsibility

Generational trauma is not just history—it is an ongoing reality. But trauma does not define us. Garveyism teaches that we are the masters of our destiny. The path to liberation requires rejecting the psychological chains of oppression, rebuilding economic independence, and uniting as a global force.

If we fail to address generational trauma, we allow it to continue. But if we reclaim our power, we break the cycle for future generations.

Rise up. Reclaim. Rebuild.

[its-just-hyper]

In anticipation for the ending of my hero academia, I gotta say: man, is anyone remembering that one time that one beloved book series about a wizarding school ended with the flawed government staying exactly the same, everyone having kids and naming them after killed off characters, and the protagonist becoming a cop?

[iamthepulta]

I think I'm slowly getting a picture of a narrative. This is tricky though. If I had uh- known what the fuck I was doing six months ago, I would've titled the presentation, "Alum mining, trade, and metallurgy from Bronze Age to Present" and called it a day.

The lax definition of alum's chemistry also makes it really hard to pin down. It ranges from hydrous to anhydrous (impure and pure) aluminum sulfate salt to aluminum clay. Civilizations until the Roman era just kind of pointed at white shit, called it alum, licked it to see if it was sour (not salt) and tossed it in the chemical vat.

There were also specific locales for the good shit. So instead of saying 'alunite', you'd say 'alum from the Hittites', or 'alum from Egypt'. One could be used for tanning, but the other was used for a fancy blue glaze (cobalt-clay). You could also produce alum from alunite, like on the isle of Lesbos (Sappho historical romance novel with alum when??)

But. Within all this. You have the Babylonians primarily using it as a tanning agent and wool-dyeing. The Egyptians used it as a glaze, for pottery, and medicinal/metallurgical uses. Apparently blue beads were making it all the way to China and Scandinavia at this time? The Romans took the metallurgical uses and cranked that up to 11. After the fall of Rome, the Arabs used alum for all the above and Germany was also using it metallurgically, but my research ends here right now.

In the present, alum is still used as a mordant (dyeing agent), but is more often used as a water treatment flocculant (filtering impurities). It's also more rigorously defined as either ammonium, potassium, or sodium hydrous aluminum sulfate. Whether we still mine it is unclear?? It doesn't seem to be the case: we mine aluminum, get aluminum oxide, which either goes to Iceland to be made into pure aluminum, or is sold separately and then added to Na2(SO4) to make alum.

It doesn't really pack the same punch I wanted it to with clothing though, because it's not really used for that. Chromium sulfate is now the primary mordant if you're doing chromium tanning, which is environmentally bad and kind of like nuking a hide to make it tan fast. I guess I can track down where the chromium is coming from, and how they make that.

This isn't even getting involved in plastic production, or rayon, or nylon, or the history of fast fashion and petroleum. I think the end line of this will have to be something vague and unspecific, like "disregarding the non-renewable resources that go into <I want to say artistic, but they're not artistic. The proper term is probably female-driven industries lol> fundamental human tools can lead us to overlook industries that have just as much impact - economically and socially - on geopolitics."

... I can already see the first question on that being, "what are some other non-renewable resources you think have been overlooked?" :') ahh, idk. I've been reading for 30hr. I'm going to go to sleep. I'll run away from the podium or smthg.

to do: I should reread Al-Razi with alum in mind... the translator is not Levey, so I have to chemically check all the names she gives minerals. But I distinctly remember alum coming up several times and tripping me up.

Also chromium sulfate manufacturing/mining; saving this chrome/ferric reference because I haven't seen them written altogether anywhere else.

[jesncin]

Currently watching the last of Smallville's special features. Turns out the first idea the show's writers/producers pitched was a Lois Lane centric show. Where Lois is in college and goes through Ally Mcbeal/Nancy Drew style adventures, and has an online friend named ckent. It might not have lasted 10 seasons, but it probably would have been fun.

Interesting,, that seems like a curiously similar premise to the Lois Lane YA novel series Fallout! Right down to being online friends (or more) with Clark. Which I haven't read (does not seem like my cup of tea haha). Fascinating to hear about different show pitches though.

[thetireonstageright]

my grandma dropped lore that her brother (my great uncle i guess??) was a greaser in the 60’s and um that’s literally so fucking cool???

[cowpokezuko]

Barbie Spoilers

Obsessed with the way that men are saying that the Barbie movie ‘hates men’ when the worst thing that happens to a man is a girl rejects him. Way to tell on yourself. 

[wlwocprincess]

You know the when it comes to the “demonized radical leftist freedom fighter that the narrative has chosen to turn into a villain (maybe they’re a terrorist? War criminal?) that makes the protagonist realize that radicalism can be Just As Bad but then chooses a way that’s easier and safer than Liberation” I’m surprised nobody has pointed out Gale Hawthorne. He’s this trope exemplified. Ppl will pick all these characters but Gale Hawthorne, probably because we have all sort of deluded ourselves into choosing the comfort of the easier and safer option that is so within the ending of these books, isn’t labeled this way which is wild. This is a poor brown character who we get to know really well throughout the first two books and because of how angry he is due to his oppression he quite literally ends up making Bombs that are used to kill children. And we just. Move on from that. Accept that’s just who he is now and that’s the end of his story as we know it. Huh.

[olberic]

triangle strategy freedom path 🤝 tactics ogre chaotic path : better stories than the “ideal” path that the game pushes

[dykedvonte]

you make really good points, I think I used the term karmic wrong sorry. I think of it more as not how I personally think he deserved all that happened to him (which thinking back os exactly what karma means, I messed up sorry), but as his fate being directly tied/parallel to anyas. I handnt noticed the toxicity of jimmy and curlys relationship, from the first playthrough I watched and the first interactions I had w fandom I saw so many ppl just. dismiss the terror Anya went through and focus too much on him as the "ultimate victim" and that just didn't sit well w me. I really dislike seeing ppl go "oh well nothing could've been done" I think it's much more complex than that. also I forgot to mention in the last ask that I really appreciate you bringing the point that this game isn't just about the harm of patriarchy but also very very critical to capitalism, I haven't seen too many ppl touch on this. I hadn't thought too deeply about how it makes "he deserved to become disabled as punishment" come up and I agree that's really messed up. I'll try watching a playthrough again with all of this in mind. but either way thanks! I really appreciate your answer 🫶🏼

I guess this is just part of being in a fandom like this. I've noticed a lot of people don't actually see posts outside of their curated view. So some people only get like anya posting or jimmy or curly and it can make it seem like that is what is saturating the conversation.

I mainly just follow the general tags and look for anything new because I'm like obsessed but I know some are only looking for what they want or believe to be the case and can get weird about other ideas.

Sorry if I came off mean its just a last few of the asks have been like circular conversations like this and its not draining per say but seeing all the nuance and details get overlooked to fit a straightforward and basic narrative really sucks cause there's a lot to explore character and theme wise.

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

And to follow up on my previous post about Dany and Sasuke, the main difference between the two characters is the fact that Dany is being written by an author who understands that the only way to dismantle oppressive systems is through violence, whereas Sasuke’s author doesn’t.

The shinobi system as shown in the anime and manga is cruel to almost every character that we encounter, from the main heroes,- Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade, Sakura, etc., and our anti-heroes/villains, like Pain, Madara, Obito, even Orochimaru. It preys on child-prodigies to use as tools to further the broken philosophies of the hidden villages.

Itachi massacred his entire clan at thirteen years old, because the people in power in his village gave him the order, and manipulated him into thinking he had a choice.

Nagato Uzumaki lost his entire family at the hands of shinobi wearing his family emblem on their backs.

Our main character, Naruto , was made into a vessel for an ancient demon by his father a few minutes after his birth.

The shinobi system is one that operates on violence and oppression. How else can it reformed or disbanded, if not through violence?

And there is a popular misconception about Daenerys’ last chapter in ADWD, the violence she will enact will not be towards the people of Westeros, but rather the slave masters, who have disregarded the lives of the people enslaved by them.

[wellijustfinnihedoneofthebooks]

I feel like people transitioning to escape their sexuality isnt a thing cause... well its a lot cheaper to be gay than trans

[fredtheengels]

i’m not here to do discourse but king wilhelm truthers are the funniest people how do you misread a show that badly

[roetrolls]

misc schooling headcanons because bulk anon got us chatting about it

To the surprise of no one, I, the art student, am most interested in examining how Alternia's fascist dystopia would affect the advent of "high/low class" art (the distinction of which is in itself a means of suppressing marginalized voices)

[brsb4hls]

Ok here's a good omens/Loki paralel from me, not the way you might expect though.

So Crowley calls heaven and hell 'toxic' and wants to leave the opressive system alltogether, while Aziraphale believes he can change it from within.

And (ok almost) everyone in fandom gets both side's reasoning and is very reflected and empathetic about it.

Now Sylvie calls the tva, which is an opressive, fascist institution, that flat out murders people, 'rotten' and wants to see it burned to the ground, while Loki believes he can use it as a valuable asset to beat Kang.

And still this scenario gets a completely different reaction.

Weird how that works.

[trickstarbrave]

theres a weird trend i see online where ppl assume if you dislike or hate something that means you either think its illegal, believe it should be illegal, and/or want to see it banned in some capacity

i dont think legislation will stop generative ai writing and art. there is no way to make a law that covers generative ai but will not cover human made art, nor would laws actually stop large corporations funneling money into large scale projects like that from bending the rules in their favor. i just think you're an asshole if you use it and also a lazy sack of shit who needs to learn to create something

likewise if you repost someone's art and writing i don't think they need to file for copyright, send a cease and desist, and sue you in a court of law. they can just call you a fucking asshole.

if you cut me off in traffic im not gonna report you to the police. im going to yell, roll down my window, and flip you off though.

assholes are part of living in a society. theres little point in trying to legislate them out of existence because all you'll do is cause problems for yourself. being a massive tool isn't a crime in and of itself, but you deserve to be called a selfish little asshole who doesn't care about anyone else but yourself if you're being a massive tool. there will be other consequences for every action and oftentimes assholes will sooner or later get whats coming to them in some form or another.