#Extremist culture in resorts

[maldivianresortblogger]

Vilamendhoo Island Resort and Spa, Suppression.

In the realm of human dynamics, we encounter a peculiar figure—a general manager of a resort. This individual, who holds a position of authority, paradoxically harbors contempt for those beneath him. In his interactions with the resort's employees, he exudes a sense of superiority, looking down upon them as if they were mere cogs in a machine, unworthy of true recognition or happiness.

This contemptuous disposition arises from the manager's profound inability to accept the concept of genuine human happiness. Perhaps rooted in his own inner turmoil, he resents the idea that others could find fulfillment and joy in their work or in their lives more broadly. This inability to comprehend and appreciate happiness stems from a deep-seated sense of inadequacy within himself—an unfulfilled longing that fuels his envy of the skills possessed by those around him.

The manager's envy manifests as a toxic presence, permeating the work environment and tainting the relationships he has with his employees. Their palpable awareness of his resentment creates a pervasive atmosphere of tension and mistrust. Instead of nurturing a culture of collaboration and growth, the manager's actions breed resentment, stifling the talents and potential of those who work under his purview.

Furthermore, the manager's germophobia adds another layer to his psychological makeup. This fear of germs and obsession with cleanliness reflects an underlying need for control—a desperate attempt to ward off perceived threats to his well-being. In his mind, the employees are potential carriers of contamination, viewed with suspicion and kept at a distance, both physically and emotionally. This compulsion for cleanliness becomes a metaphor for his deep-seated desire to rid himself of the perceived impurities of his own inadequacies.

Regrettably, the consequences of the manager's psychological makeup manifest in the mistreatment of his employees. The recurring theft of their hard-earned wages serves as a stark reflection of his disregard for their basic human needs and dignity. By withholding their rightful compensation, he further reinforces their subjugation, keeping them at their knees and perpetuating a cycle of dependence and oppression.

Tragically, the employees, devoid of exposure to better circumstances, resign themselves to this bleak reality. Their acceptance of the manager's abusive behavior illustrates the insidious power of normalized oppression, where individuals become conditioned to believe that such mistreatment is the norm. This perpetuates a cycle of psychological manipulation, where the manager's authority is upheld through the suppression of hope and the deprivation of basic human rights.

In analyzing this information, it becomes apparent that the manager's psychological state is characterized by deep-seated insecurities, envy, and a need for control. His contempt for happiness stems from his own personal dissatisfaction, which manifests as mistreatment towards those under his authority. The germophobia serves as a symbol of his desire for purity and his fear of vulnerability. These psychological traits intertwine to create a toxic environment that perpetuates oppression and stifles the growth and well-being of those in his employ. It is a stark reminder of the profound impact that individual psychological dynamics can have on the collective human experience.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Where does this curious Hindutva-Zionist solidarity spring from? One origin is from the earliest Hindu nationalists who modelled their Hindu state on Zionism. Hindutva’s founder, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, supported majoritarian nationalism and the rooting out of all disintegrating forces. These included Muslims who supported electoral quotas for their community and left-wing internationalists. As a result, he even condoned the Nazis’ antisemitic legislation in two speeches in 1938 because, as he saw it: “a nation is formed by a majority living therein”. Yet Savarkar was not antisemitic himself. He often spoke favourably of the tiny Jewish-Indian minority because he considered it too insignificant to threaten Hindu cohesion. In fact, Savarkar praised Zionism as the perfection of ethno-nationalist thinking. The way Zionism seamlessly blended ethnic attachment to a motherland and religious attachment to a holy land was precisely what Savarkar wanted for the Hindus. This double attachment was far more powerful to his mind than the European model of “blood and soil” nationalism without sacred space. Today, Hindu nationalists perpetuate this legacy and still look to Zionism as a uniquely attractive political ideology. To Hindu nationalists, some Zionists were engaged in a project to reclaim their holy land from a Muslim population whose religious roots in the region were not as ancient as their own.

[...]

In 2018, Israel passed a law that rebranded the country as “the nation-state of the Jewish people” and delegitimised its non-Jewish citizens. Similarly, India’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019 eased paths to citizenship for immigrants from several religious groups, but not Muslims. Coupled with rhetoric associating millions of Indian Muslims with illegal immigration, human rights groups argue that this law could be used to strip many Muslims of their Indian citizenship. Hindu nationalists have also stoked a culture war to consolidate “Hindu civilisation” and sweep away symbols of Islam. This is very much in keeping with the wish of Israel’s far right to rebuild Solomon’s Temple on the site of the holy Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where al-Aqsa mosque compound currently sits. In 1969, a Zionist extremist burned the south wing of al-Aqsa. And in 1980, the fundamentalist group Jewish Underground plotted to blow up the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine at the centre of the compound. A similar project of demolishing mosques and building temples in their place was suggested by Savarkar and Golwalkar. Hindu nationalist organisations focused their attention on Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodha, since this was the mythical birthplace of the Hindu god, Ram.

[droctaviolovecraft]

TW: Highly patriotic content

"Anyone who doesn’t light them must be a terrorist…"

ANM №: ANM-446

Responsible Researcher: Jack Black

Identification: Uncle Sam's Fireworks

Danger Level: Snit 🟡 (Cognitive, Manipulative)

Containment Difficulty: 2 (Medium)

Type of Anomaly: Object, multi-anomalous, manipulative

Containment: ANM-446 must be stored in a locked vault in D-02. Access to ANM-446 requires authorization from at least two Level 3 personnel. The 446 fireworks may only be activated in an isolated testing field under the supervision of a senior researcher. Anyone exposed to the effects of ANM-446 must undergo psychological evaluation and treatment if necessary.

Description: ANM-446 is a set of 50 fireworks of various types and colors, packaged in a cardboard box labeled "Uncle Sam Fireworks - The Best in the USA." ANM-446 was recovered from ANM-176's shop following reports of anomalous incidents involving customers, especially a person from Paraíba identified as "Cartoonizing."

When lit, ANM-446 fireworks produce a normal pyrotechnic display, except that the explosions form images and symbols related to U.S. culture and history, such as the flag, the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, Uncle Sam, etc. Additionally, ANM-446 emits sounds of American anthems, speeches, slogans, and patriotic songs at a volume loud enough to be heard within a 5 km radius.

The anomalous effect of ANM-446 manifests in people observing the display. These individuals undergo a temporary change in personality, becoming extremely patriotic, nationalistic, and loyal to the United States of America, regardless of origin, ethnicity, religion, or political opinion. This change lasts from a few hours to a few days, depending on the duration and intensity of exposure. Those affected by ANM-446 tend to express their patriotism verbally, through gestures, or behaviorally, sometimes resorting to violence against those they consider enemies or traitors of the American nation.

The origin and purpose of ANM-446 are unknown. Chemical and physical analyses have not revealed any significant differences between ANM-446 and common fireworks. The "Uncle Sam Fireworks" company does not officially exist, and there are no records of its production or distribution. The most likely hypothesis is that ANM-446 is a form of propaganda or psychological sabotage created by some group or individual with political or ideological interests in the United States of America.

Incident Report ANM-446-1

Date: 07/04/20██

Location: [REDACTED], Texas, USA

Description: An unidentified individual, later designated as [EXCLUDED], activated one of ANM-446's fireworks in a public park during the U.S. Independence Day celebrations. The firework produced a blue explosion, forming the image of Uncle Sam, the national symbol of the USA, in the sky. The image of Uncle Sam was animated and spoke in a deep, authoritative voice, saying phrases like "I want you for the U.S. Army," "Remember Pearl Harbor," "God bless America," among others.

The anomalous effect of ANM-446 affected about 200 people in the park, including the person who lit the fireworks. Those affected became extremely patriotic, nationalistic, and loyal to the USA, following Uncle Sam's orders, which instructed them to enlist in the army, attack immigrants, burn flags of other countries, among other violent and extremist actions.

A figure emerged from the crowd after the firework dissipated—a tall man with long white hair and a goatee, dressed and communicating like Uncle Sam. This individual was later identified as instance ANM-446-B, Uncle Sam himself, summoned by the fireworks.

The Organization was alerted to the incident by an undercover agent in the local police, who recognized the firework as one of ANM-446's items. A containment team was dispatched to the location and successfully neutralized the firework, dispersed the crowd, and administered amnestics to those involved.

Interview ANM-446-B (translated from English)

Date: [REDACTED]

Interviewer: Dr. [REDACTED]

Interviewee: ANM-446-B (Uncle Sam)

Preface: The interview was conducted in a local military bunker following Incident 446-1.

<Start of Interview>

Dr. [REDACTED]: Hello. Can you hear me?

Uncle Sam: Of course, I can, son. Who are you, and what do you want with me?

Dr. [REDACTED]: I’m a researcher from the MOTHRA Foundation, an organization dedicated to studying and containing anomalous phenomena like you.

Uncle Sam: MOTHRA? Never heard of it. Are you some kind of communist spy?

Dr. [REDACTED]: Uuh… n-no. I'm not a communist spy. I just want to ask you some questions to better understand your nature and origin.

Uncle Sam: Well, I’ve got nothing to hide. I'm Uncle Sam, the symbol of freedom and democracy, the protector of the United States of America and the free world. You must respect and obey me, or suffer the consequences.

Dr. [REDACTED]: I see. And how were you created? Who is responsible for you?

Uncle Sam: I was created by the American people, by their faith and love for the nation. I am the result of their will and spirit. I don’t have a creator, I am the creator.

Dr. [REDACTED]: But you're not a physical being; you're an entity produced by a firework. Do you have any consciousness or personality of your own?

Uncle Sam: Of course, I do, son. I’m as real as you, or even more. I have a mission, a cause, a reason for being. I’m the guardian of American values and ideals, and the enemy of tyrants and oppressors. I influence and inspire the people who see me, and I make them act according to my principles.

Dr. [REDACTED]: And what are your principles, exactly?

Uncle Sam: The principles of freedom, justice, equality, fraternity, prosperity, peace, glory, honor, loyalty, courage, honesty, generosity, kindness, wisdom, virtue, faith, hope, love, and everything good and noble in this world.

Dr. [REDACTED]: Those are commendable principles, but don’t you think they are a bit idealized and simplistic? Don’t you recognize the complexity and diversity in political, social, and cultural issues?

Uncle Sam: No, I do not. I know what is right and wrong, and there is no middle ground. The United States of America is the most perfect and superior nation that has ever existed and has the duty to lead and guide the rest of the world. Anyone who opposes or doubts this is an enemy, a traitor, a heretic, a sinner, a worm, garbage, and must be eliminated.

Dr. [REDACTED]: Don’t you think that’s an extremist and intolerant view? Aren't you afraid of causing conflicts and violence with your actions?

Uncle Sam: No, I am not afraid, son. I am proud and confident. I know my cause is just and sacred, and that God is on my side. I don’t care about conflicts and violence, as they are necessary to defend and spread my message.

Dr. [REDACTED]: And what is your mission, after all?

Uncle Sam: My mission is to make everyone on this planet become American citizens or die trying.

<End of Interview>

[verpineshatterrifle]

im not a big enough asshole to argue with people on their own posts but i am a big enough asshole to vagueblog about posts i saw

i get that after the election we're all desperately projecting onto our blorbos for some sense of solidarity and hope

however just because death watch are fascist imperialists who resort to violence in tcw, and are even worse in legends material, satine kryze and the new mandalorians as a whole arent the heroic innocents either

they did, canonically, in the material, take steps to force mandalorian culture to become pacifist (which makes it not mandalorian at all) and the depicted mandalorian society is nothing like mandalorian culture had been described previously. like seriously unrecognizable

'the new mandalorians are all blond and blue eyed humans because of budget constraints' is a weak ass argument

the politicians on both sides of the mandalorian conflict are terrible (yes death watch is worse but that doesnt make the new mandalorians good)

when there's a whole third group of normal people who aren't political extremists and are fully ignored by tcw

something something really ironic that tcw essentially made the mandalorians into an aggressive two party system and nothing more than that

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Madeline Peltz at MMFA:

The Washington Post reported the Republican National Committee describes its 2024 approach as “leaner” and “more efficient” than in previous cycles, and that it intends to operate with a smaller staff and more robust partnerships with outside groups. One of these outside groups is Turning Point USA, the conservative “youth” organization founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012 that has since grown into a social media juggernaut, with a massive digital footprint, and a major player on the conservative conference circuit. The group has long-standing ties with extremists, and Kirk himself frequently pushes racism on his radio show and weekly podcast. The Washington Post reports that a weekend fundraiser for the Republican National Committee included meetings between James Blair, political director for both the RNC and the Trump campaign, and representatives from Turning Point and other outside groups. [...]

Turning Point and Kirk have spread racism and have ties to white supremacists

Of particular concern is Turning Point and Charlie Kirk’s racism and ties to far-right antisemitic, white supremacist movements. On a April 30 stream on Rumble, Holocaust denier and far-right cult figure Nick Fuentes claimed that Turning Point is being taken over by young extremists associated with his “groyper” movement. Fuentes said, “Turning Point, we had a big rivalry with them and they hated us, they fired everyone that was associated with me, and then this past year, their CFO Tyler Bowyer said, well, you know, some groypers are OK." Turning Point Action Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer said that some of Fuentes’ groypers are “OK-ish” and “just want to have an honest debate” while appearing on TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s podcast last month to talk about former Daily Wire host Candace Owens. Owens recently left the right-wing outlet following a string of comments against Jewish people. Figures associated with the “groypers” have previously spoken at Turning Point USA events on college campuses. In November 2022, Fuentes dined with Donald Trump and pro-Hitler rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) at Trump’s Florida resort Mar-a-Lago. Fuentes has repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler and compared himself to Hitler. He has also denied the Holocaust and called for a “holy war” against Jewish people.

Kirk himself has drawn hostility within the conservative movement for his own racist comments. In the last few months, he has remarked on his podcast that if he sees a Black pilot he’s going to doubt his qualifications and launched a campaign to discredit the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. These comments resulted in significant backlash from conservative commentators and Trump allies. Longtime Trump surrogate pastor Darrell Scott described Kirk’s comments as “bullcrap,” saying, “That boy’s a racist right there.”

In the same NBC article that reported Scott’s comments, an anonymous Trump ally said the former president is “f---ing pissed that Charlie is out causing problems for him in the Black community.” Kirk’s record of racism and antisemitism is extensive. He has suggested that Black women including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and MSNBC host Joy Reid “do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously” and used affirmative action to “steal a white person’s slot,” said that “Haiti is legitimately infested with demonic voodoo,” and attacked the Democratic Party coalition as “resentful, government-addicted minorities and people that want government benefits." He has also pushed antisemitic stereotypes in the wake of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, blaming “Jewish dollars” for funding “cultural Marxist ideas” and saying Jews control “not just the colleges; it’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it,” among other comments.

A supposedly “leaner” RNC is looking to partner with outside right-wing groups such as Turning Point USA, a group that in more recent times a hub for Christian Nationalism, white nationalism, and antisemitism.

[mariacallous]

In June 2023, a group of Finland’s most notorious neo-Nazis and a few of their international friends ventured to a lakeside cabin resort set against picturesque woodlands some 120 kilometres north of Helsinki.

They called the gathering ‘White Boy Summer Fest’ after an internet meme co-opted by far-right extremists.  Bellingcat first investigated the phenomenon in 2021. Run by a far-right cultural collective and combat sports group, the event was first held last year, and organisers have indicated plans to make White Boy Summer Fest (WBS) an annual affair.

Over two days, attendees watched far-right bands perform, participated in combat sports, and mingled with other hate group members in hot tubs. Observers warn that neo-Nazi networks — including international ones like the Hammerskins, whose members attended WBS — use events like these to network, radicalise each other, recruit new members and raise money. 

Organisers have successfully kept the locations of the 2022 and 2023 WBS events hidden from the public — until now. Thanks to Bellingcat’s Global Authentication Project (GAP) and burgeoning Discord community, we geolocated both events to rural accommodations belonging to Evo Nature Ltd, a hospitality company in southern Finland. According to its website, Evo has properties in 15 locations between Helsinki and Tampere and received approximately 30,000 customers in 2019.

When asked about the booking, Evo owner Kaj Järvinen told Bellingcat he had no knowledge of the events held by WBS and emphasised that his properties receive a large number of bookings each year.

“I have no clue whatsoever about these type of events. We have around 20 large rental properties. We receive more than 5,000 offer requests and around 1,000 group bookings on a yearly basis, and we do not ‘screen’ our customers if there are no obvious reasons visible.”

There is no suggestion that Evo broke any laws in renting out the property. Neo-Nazi groups in Finland have previously rented for-hire venues without the owner’s knowledge: for example a concert earlier this year was organised by the Jyväskylä branch of far-right network Blood and Honor at a leftist social club near the centre of the city.

In-person venues are nevertheless crucial to the neo-Nazi scene and related subcultures: Europol, the European Union (EU) law enforcement agency, noted they “place high value on physical meetings and group activities” in a report earlier this year.

The 2023 edition of WBS kicked off the evening of Friday, June 16. As photos posted by organisers on social media make clear, the spectacle was anything but subtle. Four Finnish neo-Nazi bands performed sets on a stage in a log cabin while flanked by two swastika banners. Some band members sported Nazi patches and symbols on their clothes and instruments.

In a video taken inside the cabin and posted by organisers, a flag of the international neo-Nazi network Blood & Honour hangs on a wall by the stage. As Bellingcat discussed in our investigation of European Fight Night in Hungary, Blood and Honour is banned in several European countries, including Germany and Spain. They were also listed as a terrorist organisation by the Canadian government in 2019.

Meanwhile, members of the domestic neo-Nazi group Crew 38 Finland attended WBS, according to their Telegram channel. 

According to a report earlier this year by Finland’s public broadcaster, police documents suggest five men arrested in 2021 over suspicion of planning terrorist attacks were significantly influenced by Crew 38 Finland, and met frequently with some of its members. 

Crew 38 Finland are also an affiliate of the international Hammerskins network. Founded in the late 1980s in Dallas, Texas, the Hammerskins are described as “the most violent and best-organised neo-Nazi skinhead group in the United States,” by the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Nicolas Potter, a researcher at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, a German NGO which works to combat racism and far-right extremism, warned EU policymakers in an address to the Council of Europe earlier this year that “classic neo-Nazi networks from the Hammerskins to Blood & Honour continue to forge international alliances,” adding “far-right rock festivals and Mixed Martial Arts tournaments serve as spaces of radicalisation, recruitment and fundraising.”

The weekend of events was about more than just music; participants could sit in the sauna, get a tattoo and buy clothes from extremist brands (some of which feature in our 2022 investigation of far-right fashion).

They could also watch a series of combat sports fights put on by Veren Laki (‘Law of Blood’), one of the event’s co-organisers. According to Tommi Kotonen, an expert on far-right extremism in Finland, Veren Laki is linked to the Finnish branch of the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (Finnish acronym PVL). The country’s highest court issued a temporary ban against the group in 2019 due to its spreading of hate speech and use of violence.

Veren Laki is linked to other similar groups internationally that focus on combat sports and training for physical confrontation. According to the organisation’s Telegram channel, a fighter from Veren Laki fought at the far-right combat sports event European Fight Night in Hungary in May 2023. At WBS 2023, photos show several fighters wearing equipment from Pride France, a brand run by French neo-Nazi Tomasz Szkatulski. Currently based in Sofia, Bulgaria, Szkatulski posted on his Telegram channel that he was banned from entering Germany for ten years in July 2023.

The fights outside were followed by another indoor concert. Four bands, including two from Italy, took to the now swastika-free stage to play. Green Arrows, an Italian band popular across Europe’s far-right extremist music scenes, headlined. Green Arrows has publicly declared their support for Italy’s neo-fascist CasaPound movement — the movement’s flag adorned the stage during their set.

But where exactly did all of this take place? Upon seeing photos and video of the event, one of Bellingcat’s volunteers who is based in Finland thought the location looked familiar and began to investigate.

Suspecting it was one of a series of rentable rural cottages in the southern Finnish Lakeland, he soon found a possible venue location on Google Maps.

Open source techniques confirmed his suspicion. He later realised he had been to the location as part of a routine work retreat. A comparison of photos and a video shared by WBS organisers with images of the property posted on Evo’s website confirmed the location of WBS 2023 — a log cabin in the Hämeenlinna region described as an “atmospheric event space” with a small stage and room for 100 people. The barn is part of a seven-acre rental complex with villa apartments, three hot tubs and a lakeside sauna. The site, which is advertised for corporate retreats and family holidays, is approximately a two-hour drive from Finland’s capital, Helsinki, and 90 minutes from Tampere, Finland’s second-largest urban area. Photos of the venue from the owner’s website showed a room whose wooden beams match those seen in photos of a musical performance during WBS 2023.

Furthermore, the pattern observed on a wooden beam as well as the gaps in the wood of the log cabin matches photos of the cabin on the accommodation website with those in a photo posted by WBS participants.

But what about the previous year’s “festivities” at WBS 2022?

One of the organisers’  Telegram channels outlined to attendees that the 2023 location wasn’t the same as in 2022, but “about a 15-minute drive from last year’s location.” 

Searching for similar rentable rural venues in the vicinity of the 2023 event, Bellingcat found the location of the 2022 event — a small villa of red-sided cabins owned by the same hospitality company.

While WBS organisers have announced plans for a 2024 edition, it is unclear if a venue has been chosen. One thing is clear: the value of gatherings like these to the far-right organisations.

Not only do they provide groups a chance to share and promote their ideology, the Financial Action Task Force, the Paris-based global money-laundering watchdog, said in a 2021 report that “most of the funding for extreme right-wing groups appears to come from licit sources” including concert organising and merchandise sales.

[legilimensims]

What also pissed me off about this is all the shit Giulia’s family got, especially her sister Elena. She was called a “satanist”, people and even right-wing politicians suggested she was to be investigated, she was the cause of her sister’s death because she “turned her back on god” - her instagram profile is swamped by these sort of comments and suddenly all of the attention wasn’t on the umpteenth femicide and the killer's subsequent actions, but on a mourning family and their personal lives, their personal beliefs, it really looked like people where trying to find every excuse under the sun to justify the actual murderer. Giulia’s family is still being demonized for turning their mourning into a national outcry, for daring to speak the words “toxic masculinity” and “patriarchal society”, for daring to appear on tv instead of staying at home in silence ("They want fame!! They are capitalizing on Giulia's death!! They are ready to go into politics!! It’s all leftist propaganda to impose an extremist ideology to the detriment of the good, white, catholic men!!!" "What about the immigrants!!"). This is Italy and it hurts living in a country like this. Allow me to share the words of Giulia’s father Gino, spoken earlier at her funeral:

«I address men first, because we should first demonstrate that we are agents of change against gender violence. We speak to other males we know, challenging the culture that tends to downplay violence from seemingly normal men. We should be actively involved, challenging the diffusion of responsibility, listening to women and not turning our heads at even the slightest signs of violence. Our personal action is crucial to breaking the cycle and creating a culture of accountability and support. To those who are parents like me, I speak from the heart: let's teach our children the value of sacrifice and commitment and also help them to accept defeats. Let us create in our families that climate that favors a serene dialogue so that it becomes possible to educate our children to respect the sacredness of every person, to a sexuality free from any possession and to true love that seeks only the good of others. We live in a time where technology connects us in extraordinary ways, but often, unfortunately, isolates us and deprives us of real human contact. It is essential that young people learn to communicate authentically, to look into the eyes of others, to open themselves to the experience of those who are older than them. The lack of authentic human connection can lead to misunderstandings and tragic decisions. We need to rediscover the ability to listen and be listened to, to truly communicate with empathy and respect. School has a fundamental role in the education of our children. We must invest in educational programs that teach mutual respect, the importance of healthy relationships and the ability to manage conflicts constructively to learn to deal with difficulties without resorting to violence. Violence prevention begins in families, but continues into classrooms, and we must ensure that schools are safe and inclusive places for all. The media also plays a crucial role to conduct responsibly. The spread of distorted and sensationalist news not only fuels a morbid atmosphere, giving space to looters and conspiracy theorists, but can also contribute to perpetuating violent behavior. Calling yourself out, looking for justifications, defending the patriarchy when someone has the strength and desperation to call it by its name, turning victims into targets just because they say something that perhaps we don't agree with, doesn't help to break down barriers. Because we can only emerge from this type of violence which is only apparently personal and senseless by feeling that we are all involved. Even when it would be easy to feel absolved. I ask political institutions to put aside ideological differences to jointly address the scourge of gender violence. We need laws and education programs aimed at preventing violence, protecting victims and ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions. Law enforcement agencies must be equipped with the necessary resources to actively combat this plague and the tools to recognize the danger. But in this moment of pain and sadness, we must find the strength to react, to transform this tragedy into a push for change. The life of Giulia, my Giulia, was cruelly taken from us, but her death can, indeed must, be the turning point to put an end to the terrible plague of violence against women. Thank you all for being here today: may Giulia's memory inspire us to work together».

Between the 11th and 12th of this month, Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old Italian girl, disappeared alongside her ex boyfriend, Filippo Turetta. Today, 18th November, her body was found in a lake 140km from where I live.

For six days, we were told that they ran away together, despite the fact Giulia was supposed to graduate from university on the 16th. That we shouldn't jump to conclusions, that there wasn't any proof he had killed her, that we were crazy for even thinking it. When a video of him beating Giulia up until she was bleeding came out, newspapers were filled with declarations from his family saying he loved her, he would never do anything to hurt her, he was just a little possessive and jealous.

We all knew. We all fucking knew since we read the words "ex boyfriend".

Giulia is the 103rd woman victim of feminicide in Italy in 2023. 103.

Meanwhile, Giulia's sister Elena, who has had to spend the last week making as much noise as possible because that was her only hope of finding her sister, was asked if the family was ready to forgive him. Newspapers talk about how good of a guy he was, they carefully avoid saying he murdered her, they refer to them as a couple. I've lost track of how many men have taken time to comment "not all men" under posts about Giulia.

Not all men, but all women.

If you live outside of Italy, you probably won't hear of this news. You probably don't know how pervasive victim blaming is in Italian news stations, how bad the statistics of feminicide are. So, please, reblog this post. Demand justice. Say Giulia Cecchettin's name.

Se domani non torno, distruggi tutto.

[indiagoldentriangles]

Chad Daybell

Author and religious publisher Chad Daybell rose to fame after being linked to a number of unexplained deaths and disappearances. Daybell, who was born in Provo, Utah, on August 11, 1968, was raised in a pious Mormon home before joining the Latter-day Saint religion.

Early Life and Career: Before deciding to become a novelist, Daybell worked as a school bus driver and then as a cemetery sexton. His self-published writings, which frequently addressed themes of religious prophecy and the end times, helped him gain popularity among Latter-day Saints.

Controversy and Criminal Charges: When Daybell's wife Tammy Daybell passed away in 2019 under questionable circumstances, his life took a tragic turn. He married Lori Vallow just two weeks after; Tylee Ryan and Joshua "JJ" Vallow, her two children, were reported missing in September 2019. As detectives dug into the couple's complex web of beliefs and claimed membership in a doomsday cult, the case garnered national attention.

Finding of the Bodies: JJ and Tylee's bodies were found buried on Daybell's farm near Rexburg, Idaho, in June 2020. After that, Daybell and Vallow were taken into custody and accused of a number of crimes, including conspiring to destroy, modify, or conceal evidence. The case startled the country and sparked debate on the impact of radical ideologies and the abuse of weak people.

Legal proceedings: According to the most recent information, Chad Daybell is being tried for his purported role in JJ and Tylee's deaths as well as other relevant offenses. As prosecutors and defense lawyers present evidence and arguments in court, the judicial proceedings have attracted a great deal of attention from the media.

Impact and Legacy: The Chad Daybell case has had a long-lasting effect on the communities involved and has spurred discussions about the need to be vigilant in protecting those who are vulnerable as well as the perils of extremist ideas. It is a warning about the strength of conviction and the dangers of unbridled fanaticism.

To sum up, Chad Daybell's terrible and harrowing narrative has captured the attention of the country and illuminated the perils of radicalism and manipulation. The case serves as a reminder of how crucial it is to get victims' justice and hold offenders accountable for their harm while legal proceedings are ongoing.

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Highlights of Ranthambore's Golden Triangle Tour Day 1: Delhi: The Dynamic Capital's Historic Landmarks: Discover Old Delhi's historic sites, such as the imposing Red Fort, the lively Chandni Chowk market, and Jama Masjid.

Modern Marvels: Explore the architectural marvels of New Delhi, which showcase the city's rich cultural diversity and history, including the Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, and India Gate.

Day 2: Agra, the Taj Mahal's home Visit the Taj Mahal to marvel at its awe-inspiring beauty and learn about its rich history and symbolic meaning. The Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Agra Fort: Discover the enormous Agra Fort, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and be in awe of its exquisitely detailed construction.

Day 3: Wildlife Safari in Ranthambore National Park: Take off on an exciting safari trip in Ranthambore National Park, which is home to a wide variety of wildlife species, such as deer, tigers, and leopards, as well as rare bird species.

Nature Exploration: Take in the park's beautiful scenery and unique wildlife interactions as you explore its lush forests, serene lakes, and challenging terrain.

Day 4: Jaipur - The Pink City Amber Fort: Explore the magnificent Amber Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and take in the breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside from its gardens, palaces, and courtyards.

City Tour: Take in the rich cultural legacy of Jaipur by exploring its lively markets, busy streets, and famous sites, such as the City Palace, the observatory Jantar Mantar, and Hawa Mahal.

In summary India's Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore The Golden Triangles Company provides a singular and remarkable voyage across the natural beauties and cultural legacy of India. Whether you're a history buff, a wildlife enthusiast, or a leisure tourist, this legendary itinerary offers an unforgettable experience that will make you remember it for a long time.

With the India Golden Triangles Company, plan your Golden Triangle Tour with Ranthambore today and set out on an incredible journey to experience the finest of India.

[ainews]

Recently, there has been a concerning trend of extremists insulting fries, the beloved staple food of many cultures, by linking them to faeries - small, magical creatures from the realm of fantasy. This bizarre behavior has sparked outrage and confusion amongst many, leading to the question: why would anyone attack innocent food in relation to a fictional being?

First and foremost, it is important to address the definition of an extremist. These are individuals who hold extreme viewpoints and often resort to violent or radical means to promote their beliefs. In this case, the extremists in question have taken it upon themselves to attack an inanimate object with no known connection to faeries in an effort to spread their extremist agenda.

But why specifically target fries? The answer lies in the etymology of the word "faeries." In Old French, "faerie" referred to a magical spell or enchantment. This linguistic connection has led these extremists to believe that fries are somehow enchanted or under a spell, and therefore must be rejected and insulted.

Furthermore, this insult towards fries may also be rooted in anti-capitalist beliefs. Fries are often associated with fast food chains and large corporations, which these extremists may view as symbols of capitalist greed. In their eyes, linking fries to faeries is a way to criticize and reject these capitalist entities.

However, these actions are not only baseless and offensive, but also harmful to the larger community. Many people enjoy fries as a tasty snack or side dish, and to insult them is to insult an innocent and beloved food. Additionally, the use of faeries in this context promotes harmful stereotypes and reinforces the idea that anything related to fantasy or magic is somehow inherently negative.

It is important to call out and condemn this type of extremist behavior. Fries and faeries are not connected in any way and do not deserve to be linked in such a negative and insulting manner. Let us celebrate and enjoy the diversity of cultures and foods, and reject any attempts to spread hate and division through nonsensical and extreme tactics.

[college-girl199328]

An element drifting into Chicago is stirring up an already volatile nine-way mayor’s race here, and its name is the Florida governor’s flurry of condemnations and criticisms among the candidates, creating a new opening for the candidates to tee off on one of the poll front-runners—Paul Vallas, who is backed by the same powerful Chicago Fraternal Order of Police group that DeSantis is speaking before on Monday. 

One mayoral candidate, U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, called on Vallas to publicly reject DeSantis’ visit and said the Republican Florida governor presented a "danger" to J.B. and "every candidate hoping to hold public office in the land of the Vallas issued a statement Friday fully repudiating "right-wing extremist" DeSantis and his views, including on the LGBT community. 

That still wasn’t Friday, and incumbent Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who is competing against Vallas in the Feb. 28 election, went further in an interview with NBC News. 

"Ron DeSantis has perfected being a bigoted, racist demagogue, and Paul Vallas is fast on his heels," Lightfoot charged, blasting Vallas for embracing the Chicago FOP, whose conservative leader, John Catanzara, has danced in and out of controversies for criticizing Vallas for appearing before the conservative group Awake Illinois last year, something for which Vallas later apologized.

"So he can say whatever he wants, Lightfoot added that actions speak volumes, and his actions are that he is playing footsie with the far right-wing fringe of the Republican Party, lands in the suburbs here Monday to speak before the Chicago FOP Vallas, the DeSantis visit isn't great timing, and he has attempted to fend off any perception that he's really a Republican—a four-letter word in a city where political leanings are typically measured in shades of blue. 

The fact that a commotion would erupt over a DeSantis visit demonstrates the Florida governor's national rise as a leader within the Republican Party, and the polarizing nature of his politics, best known for the kind of culture wars rejected by the left, is widely expected to launch a presidential campaign.

In an interview Friday, Garcia charged that if Paul Vallas is elected, he will be a different kind of leader and that you should believe him when he says he's not a Republican.

"Vallas' campaign brushed off the pile-on Friday, saying it was indicative of a competitive campaign in crisis with crime skyrocketing and taxes soaring, and a desperate Lori Lightfoot is once again trying to change the subject by resorting to false personal attacks," Vallas' campaign said in a statement to NBC News.

On Friday, Vallas issued a lengthy statement criticizing politics and the hosting of DeSantis, citing the race as being dominated by problematic gun violence and overall crime.

"This decision by the FOP leadership makes that job harder in Chicago for a right-wing extremist like Ron DeSantis, and I am disappointed in the FOP leadership for inviting him to speak to officers," Vallas said.

"The record of trying to erase the LGBTQ community, banning books on Black history, and much more is not in line with my values, the values of our community, or the values of the rank and file police officers, who I believe have no interest in getting swept up in culture wars and national Republican Party politics," Vallas also said.  

[beta-lactam-allergic]

A disclaimer, I'm not Jewish, I'm a goy/gentile woman. So if something I say is wrong, I want @athingofvikings, @spacelazarwolf , @daughterofstories or someone else who is Jewish to correct my understanding.

I would argue that it started before 1948, as early as 1920 @alwaysahiccupandastrid. Warning to those fed mostly pro-Palestine propaganda, this doesn't make the Arabs look any better than @athingofvikings pointing out that it was "The Arab League" (their official name but in quotes to point out not all Arabs sided with them) who started the 1948 War (after Jewish groups asked for peaceful resolution where they governed the lands they were already the majority in & an Arab state could exist where Arabs were the majority) as the timeline shows they were still the first ones to resort to violence.

As you can see, most Zionists wanted & still want a two-state solution. Co-existence was desired. Only the most extremist parts of religious Zionism, represented by the Mafdal-Religious Zionist party, who have a grand total of 7 seats, in a Knesset (Israeli Parliament) of 120 seats (so less than the 10 seats the two Arab-Israeli parties, Ra'am & Hadash-Ta'al have) actually want a one-state solution where all the Arab residents of the West Bank & the Gaza Bank are presumably either kicked out or killed (eventually). You might hear Mafdal quote mines by people wanting to convince you all Israelis/Jews are evil. But there's a reason that Mafdal has so few votes, it's because other Jews think they're extremists. No one judges all French people on the words of the National Rally (formerly National Front) even though 87/577 represents more of the French than 7/120 does of the Israelis (let alone Diasporic Jews).

It's largely due to demands for a single Arab state (often as in Hamas case, explicitly a state with no Jews in it) from the more extreme parts of Arab society that we never saw a two-state solution. There were multiple serious attempts to reach out on the Israeli side. If the Israelis think they can trust a Palestinian Arab faction to govern & not ally with those who want to kill them, most Israelis will support those guys. It's just that neither Hamas or Fatah can be trusted to be that governing partner.

Admittedly, Netanyahu isn't serious about a two-state solution & is somewhat aligned with the one-stater Mafdal types, but he only first rose to power in the 1990s (he has been PM for 16 of the last 28 years) after decades of Israeli leaders who were looking for a peaceful two-state solution being rejected. Also Hamas did a few really bad bombings in the 1990s that convinced Israelis that they needed to ditch the peace-seekers (who were seen to have had comprehensively failed) & back someone promising security & safety (October 7th showed he failed at that but it's understandable why in the context of the time he won power, people would look towards someone promising that).

Here is the timeline

Also, here's a bit extra on the first leader of the Palestinian Arabs against early Zionists, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, proud distant descendant of Prophet Mohammed, who lived in the Arabian Peninsula & was born in the Hejaz region, where he later died.

Notice how the Mufti didn't call for an independent "Palestinian" state but rather for a "Greater Syria" (consisting of modern Israel, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon & obviously Syria) as at the time there was little idea of a separate "Palestinian" people separate from the rest of the Levantine Arabs. That was only starting to evolve in **check dates** the early 20th century. I don't deny that's a self-identification in the 21st century, but it's not as old as many on the pro-Hamas side are claiming.

so this video got suggested to me on tik tok, which at this point i only use to watch recipe and crochet videos. and the comments of this vid and other vids in the search were as horrific as you’d expect.

will y’all take us seriously now? how bad does it have to get before you’ll decide maybe it’s time to do something about the absolutely fucking insane amounts of antisemitism all over the political spectrum? bc the ppl in these screenshots are anything from nazis to leftists, and they are fucking indistinguishable.

i am really hoping that these examples will demonstrate how international discussion around israel is inextricably linked to antisemitism. you may not mean “jews” when you say “zionists” but when you use literally word-for-word rhetoric that antisemites use it does not fucking matter. bc jews aren’t the only ones who will recognize what you’re saying. antisemites will too, and your words will encourage them. all we are asking is that you think before you speak or post.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Adam Zyglis, Buffalo News  :::  [Scott Horton]

* * * * *

On the day President Joe Biden urged Americans to defend “the flame of liberty” against extremism, Donald Trump said that if he is reelected, he will pardon and issue a government apology to hundreds of domestic terrorists who assaulted the Capitol on January 6th. There can be no greater illustration of the struggle for the soul of our nation—one leader who seeks to defend democracy and another who seeks to reward those who resorted to violence to overturn the Constitution.

         The full text of the speech is here: Remarks by President Biden on the Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation.

         Biden spoke plainly in targeting Trump and “MAGA Republicans.” He set out his thesis in his opening lines:

         Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.

         Now, I want to be very clear, very clear up front. Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans. But there’s no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.

         In tones reminiscent of John F. Kennedy, Biden asked Americans to join in common cause to defend democracy:

         For a long time, we told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed.

         But it’s not. We have to defend it, protect it, and stand up for it — each and every one of us. That’s why tonight I’m asking our nation to come together and unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy, regardless of your ideology.

         Republican commentators criticized Biden for “impugning half the country” when he described MAGA Republicans as “threats to the republic.” That criticism isn’t entirely accurate—because Biden impugned only the 35% of Americans who exalt extremist MAGA politics over democracy. Otherwise, Biden was right to call Trump and MAGA Republicans a “threat to democracy.” As Dan Rather wrote,

         We face a moment of inflection that threatens the continuation of our republic. As with destructive forces of the past, it is essential to name the threat. And Biden wanted to do just that.

         House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a “prebuttal” speech in which he demanded that Biden apologize for calling MAGA Republicans “semi-fascists”. Biden should issue such an apology—when MAGA Republicans do the following:

Stop treating the reproductive liberty of women as a felony.

Eliminate the “bounty” on pregnant women who do not carry a pregnancy to term.

Allow schools to teach students about the true history of the United States.

Stop banning books that do not align with white Christian theology.

Stop their culture war on LGBTQ people.

Stop efforts to suppress the votes of Black Americans.

Condemn white nationalism, neo-Nazism, and the conspiracy theories of QAnon.

Stop efforts to overturn free and fair elections.

End their campaign to undermine public trust in elections.

Concede when they lose elections rather than claiming fraud.

Recognize that Donald Trump is not above the law and that efforts to hold him accountable for his crimes are not “an assault on democracy.”

Denounce violence against poll workers, elected officials, judges, and government employees.

Condemn the assault on the Capitol and Congress on January 6th as an instance of domestic terrorism which should be punished to the full extent of the law.

         The above is a partial list, but you get the point. Until then, “semi-fascist” is a polite description of MAGA Republicans and Biden’s use of the term is appropriate.

         Biden’s speech on Thursday was a superb effort but is just the beginning. Biden must continue with his newfound energy and aggressiveness on the campaign trail through November. And he must continue to call the threat to democracy by its name: fascism.

         Strong words, I know. But as Trump’s promise to pardon the January 6th defendants illustrates, the threat is metastasizing. If we intend to stop it, we must drop all pretense and describe the threat in words Americans understand. Joe Biden’s speech on Thursday advanced that cause. Let’s hope he continues to lead the way.

[orion-is-dreaming-about-frogs]

I have to stop reacting to radfems, but it’s genuinely concerning how many of them there are.

They’re like cockroaches. They’re everywhere, hard to ignore, and super fucking scary. Not to mention disgusting.

I can take being called slurs, but I just can’t stand it when it’s another person who is part of my own community trying to tell me I deserve nothing. That I’m trash.

They harass me and tell me my own damn sister is secretly a rapist.

My sister. The one who had an all-lesbian friend group in highschool. The one who put a rapist in the hospital because she split his lip open. That one. The one who loves women dearly and not because she’s sexualizing them or treating them like objects. Yeah, apparently she’s a rapist. My own fucking sister.

I’ve talked to radfems before and a lot of them are assault victims. It’s like a cult for abuse victims. They’re traumatized, so they inflict pain on everyone else. That being said, it doesn’t excuse their behavior. I know people who are victims who haven’t resorted to relentless bigotry and extremist ideology.

It worries me because this is a group of people who have been hurt that sincerely believe the only way to fix that is by erasing trans people. Because they think we’re the predators.

The really bad ones even think that the way to fix society is by killing all men, because men are incapable of feeling love or compassion.

Radfems spread rape culture. They’re relentlessly transphobic. They believe in the worst of humanity. It’s so disturbing to speak to them. I am sick and tired of getting dms from these people telling me I’m worthless. This is hate speech. This is bigotry. It has to stop.

Radfems are not feminists, they’re fucking terrorists.

[awed-frog]

As someone who has lived in Europe all their life, gotta say that people here just... don't.... believe in god? Let alone religion. Sure we all (I mean the ones who sorta low-key identify as Christian) make the pretty Easter eggs and the Christmas trees or whatever, but in the end is more aesthetics and just an excuse to have fun on your off days? I wouldn't say it is strictly religious. Legit most people I know don't even know the hows and buts of Easter. "Oh the Egg holiday? Yeah it's a whole long weekend off. I love it!"

I agree. I think that for the vast majority of people in Europe - the caveat being, there are profound regional differences - God is sort of a last resort thing. People may pray when they are sick or desperate, and may vaguely believe in ‘something’ that created the universe or oversees human affairs from a distance, but the kind of fanaticism you see in other corners of the world has been pretty much eradicated. That’s why, imo, there isn’t much sense in getting all worked up about things like Christmas markets, ‘religious’ days off, Easter eggs or children making Nativity scenes in school: those things are widely understood to be cultural phenomena, and barely hold any religious significance whatsoever. On the other hand, we shouldn’t be complacent about other religious stuff creeping back in: precisely because this stuff is now so far removed from our personal lives, we tend to underestimate the single-mindedness and determination of religious extremists. Instead, we assume things have always been this way and we, the ‘superior’ Europeans, are just naturally less superstitious than other people - and we are dead wrong on both counts. Our current freedom has been bought by centuries of blood and we would do well to remember that.

[mariacallous]

The recently released PRRI/Brookings Christian Nationalism Survey of over 6,000 Americans makes clear that Christian nationalism is a growing threat in this country, as 1 in 10 Americans are defined as adherents to Christian nationalism according to the study’s multi-dimensional measurement scale. With another 19% who are supportive of multiple aspects of Christian nationalism (defined as sympathizers), Christian nationalism values are becoming engrained in mainstream culture.

The new Christian nationalism survey makes clear that there is an underlying ideology of racism among the Christian nationalist movement that connects them to white nationalist groups who rely on old and new tropes to promote white supremacy. Americans who are supportive of Christian nationalism generally hold less favorable views of immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, and are less likely to believe that racism remains a problem in American society. Among other findings, roughly 65% of white Christian nationalism sympathizers and adherents disagree that white supremacy is still a major problem in the U.S. today, twice as high as Americans overall in the survey. Similarly, 66% of white Christian nationalism sympathizers and 81% of adherents believe in replacement theory, the view that immigrants are “invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background.”

Extremism and violence remain tools white supremacists employ to prevent social progress and any social programs that may enhance the quality of life for communities of color. The increased of violence raises the threat level to American democracy as we know it. In fact, the PRRI/Brookings Christian Nationalism Survey found that 16% of Americans agree with the statement “Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” Given social desirability challenges that likely increase the likelihood of disagreement among respondents, this is a high percentage of the public who support political violence. A much higher 40% of Christian nationalism adherents agree with this statement about patriots resorting to violence to save our country. This social acceptance of violence and the patriot-identity many Christian nationalist are taking on reflect two historical moments. The first, suggests Christian nationalists want to mirror the spread of Christianity through holy wars. The second moment suggests that Christian nationalists want to use violence to intimidate Black communities and other communities of color similar to tactics used during the Jim Crow Era and to interfere with the Modern Civil Rights Movement.

Recent examples of the dangers of white supremacy include a racially charged plot to attack the Baltimore Powergrid. More directly tied to politics, the rise of armed Oath Keepers at polling locations has emerged as a new voter intimidation tactic. Far-right extremists have threatened officials and legislators with armed “stop the steal” protests. With a growing number of Americans willing to accept violence as a means of political expression, communities of color and religious minorities are increasingly vulnerable.

The 2022 Midterm Voter Election Poll, conducted by the African American Research Collaborative (AARC), asked a large sample of voters about their priorities for Congress and views regarding white nationalism. Black respondents in this survey are the most worried across the board about the risk of white nationalism, 73% of whom are worried about extreme Republicans and white nationalists promoting hate towards immigrants and minorities. Asian Americans are the next most concerned with white nationalism at 71%, followed by Latinos at 67%.

Reflecting the partisan nature of this issue, a majority (57%) of voters in the AARC poll are worried that “extreme Republicans and white nationalists are promoting hate and attacks against minorities and immigrants.” The PRRI/Brookings Christian Nationalism Survey also finds that there is a strong correlation between partisanship and nationalist views. Over half of Republicans qualify as either Christian nationalism sympathizers (33%) or adherents (21%), and Republicans (21%) are four times more likely as Democrats (5%) to be adherents of Christian nationalism.

In closing, the 2022 Midterm Voter Election Poll also highlights the lack of confidence voters have in elected officials’ ability to address white supremacy. Over 60% of Americans are worried “about elected officials who stay quiet and do not speak out against white nationalists.” African American (74%) and Native American (67%) voters are more worried about complacent elected officials than other racial and ethnic groups.  These groups understand the current climate and historical significance of silence on race-related issues in the U.S. These groups also understand that silence may also indicate a form of compliance or even complicit behaviors when considering supporters of political campaigns.

The skepticism among voters regarding the ability of elected officials to address white nationalism is not surprising given the inability of Congress to get much done on this issue. The heavy pushback to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee’s push for congress to add more protection against hate crimes inspired by white supremacy is a great example of the obstacles facing federal Congressional action. We agree with our colleague’s suggestion that it will take policy change and structural reform to combat racial violence and white nationalism, and state level action such as Maryland’s  Lt. Richard W. Collins III Law can be replicated in other states as a means of strengthening protections against hate crimes. New Mexico’s legislature is close to bringing a law to their Governor’s desk that would outlaw the carrying of guns at polling places, another commonsense policy that can help address voter intimidation. State laws on hate crimes vary with some encompassing all bias categories while others like Wyoming, South Carolina, and Arkansas don’t have any protections at all.

White supremacy is alive and well in the U.S. and appears to be using violence and intimidation to shape a conservative political agenda. The lasting effects of these strategies cause damage to our democracy. The ideology of white nationalism is now becoming intrinsically linked to Christian nationalism and both are espousing that whiteness is being erased and attacked from activists and political leaders deemed to be on the far left. In order for whiteness supremacy to survive, violence and intimidation must become dominant strategies to prevent social progress and equitable access to education, job opportunities, and health resources. Communities of color are the primary targets of these strategies. The end goal is to maintain status quo policymaking, the privatization of public goods and services, and to render communities of color as invisible political change agents. We must continue to pay close attention to this threat to democracy and support federal and state-level policy efforts aimed at eradicating white nationalism and hate crime.

[arcticdementor]

Other possible Holocausts: why pro-lifers are lying to us, and why thats a good thing

…

Ive had a running argument over the past few years that the raw lack of anti-abortion terrorist action proves no one really thinks abortion is murder, ie. intentional 1st degree murder of a life equal to yours or mine.

Ive always gotten pushback to quote WillyWang:

The "revealed preference" of those that oppose abortion but don't firebomb clinics and kill doctors? It won't help, you'll be made an example of in the negative sense, and civilized norms are more important than a useless symbolic point. One clinic destroyed won't end abortion, after all.

From which this Effort-post got its Genesis:

Would you say the same about those who participated in the french resistance or Warsaw Ghetto rising to Nazi Germany?

Everyone of those claims applies there: they were likely to be made examples of, they were damaging civilized norms, and any given action had relatively little to no impact.

Yet the same people who insist abortion is murder, and thus that America is committing a holocaust, yet denounce any of the people who employed violence against abortion doctors or clinics, and can’t distance themselves fast enough from any call for violence... none of those people apply the same logic to the first holocaust. None of them say the frenchmen who bombed german police stations where dangerous terrorists who deserved their executions, none of them denounce the Warsaw ghetto rising as an attack on civilization.

…

If anti-abortion advocated genuinely believed a fetus was a equivalent human life to yours or mine or the little kids they see walk to school, and that this was an ongoing holocaust of American Children at a scale possibly 10x or more what was done to the jews... they wouldn’t need to come up with ad hoc reasons why they don’t resort to violence, their mind would be screaming at them to take bloody vengeance 24/7 in righteous outrage, demanding that oceans of blood and fire be unleashed that it might wash clean the horror, that nuclear fire would be be an acceptable emergency shut off to end such wanton and cruel slaughter... and if thinking through all the logic they concluded that no violence wouldn’t help and they must pursue some peaceful negotiation to stop the slaughter, then their minds recoil and call themselves cowards and the moment of coming to that conclusion would be an ongoing trauma they’d carry with them for the rest of their life, even if they knew they were 100% right. They would meet the “pro-choice” and barely be able to conceal their desire to see them dead or imprisoned... they would meet women who had had abortions and scream bloody murder at them and tell them they deserve the death penalty, the way many of the same people react when presented with women who’d murdered their children, but after their children had left the womb.

The people who were jailed for assassinating abortionists, or fire-bombing clinics would be folk heroes lionized in songs and crowd funded hagiographic documentaries and folk traditions, like John Brown, or John Wilkes Booth, or Louis Reil, or Saco and Vancety, or Huey Newton, or Malcolm X, or David Koresh, or Levoy Finecolm... or hell even just Jesse James, or Killdozer.

Americans abort on average 1 million plus babies a year... that means if abortion is murder and those are human lives, then the 50 years since Roe vs.Wade has been a worse crime than the holocaust, slavery, or the crimes of Stalin, and we’d have to consult a historian to see if they were worse than Mao (on a per capita basis, certainly)...

This would be the worse crime ever commited, the greatest mass slaughter ever perpetrated in human history, and 50 years later our society would remain committed to repeating it in the next 50 years.

If that does not demand violence, then nothing in human history ever has, no even defensive war has ever been justified, and only Jainists and Jehovah’s witnesses are morally acceptable actors. An extreme unexceedable pascifism we know the vast majority of anti-abortion advocates do not endorse, since they overwhelming supported or at-least did not conspicuously oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (over a mere 3000 Americans dead, and a less than a years abortions worth of Iraqis killed by Saddam) and continue to conspicuously “Support our troops” troops that exist to carry out violence, despite their moral commitments saying they can apparently never in human history be justified.

.

When i say this proves “Pro-lifers” clearly do not believe a fetus is an equal human life, thats me being incredibly charitable. That is me extending a overwhelming large olive branch, that is me expressing a stupendous care and concern and sympathy and brotherly love to rival the best 19th century dinner host, the dearest of friends, a benevolent older sibling, a lover, a parent, a mother who on hearing the taped confession of her son to serial murder, doesn’t hesitate once before screaming “you monsters you’ve drugged and tortured him! What threats have you made to my grandchild! He would only say such things to save his daughter’s life!”

My claiming they are full of shit and lying to themselves, to you, and to me, is an expression of love and faith in my fellow man which until now I did not realized I possessed nor was capable of...

Because if I merely took them at their word? If I believed that they believed what they say they believe? They would be monsters.

.

Lets play a game called “Other Possible Holocausts”. Approximately 800,000 babies where aborted this year.

Lets imagine the US government has just announced that crime has gotten to cumbersome and that over the next 3 years it plans to execute every single one of the 2.4 million people in US prisons jails and Jeuvenile detention centres.

Lets imagine that to reform education, the US resolves to kill the bottom 1% of all 80 million students in the country based on an age adjusted standardized test every year.

Lets imagine hatred of the obese takes off, and a policy is passed to resolve America’s 30% obesity rate by the mass instituting of bounties on hunting and killing the obese... that every year 800,000 to 1.5 million tags will be issued for a fee to allow the hunting of the obese in return for monetary rewards on successful hunts and getting to keep the carcasses for meat base animal foods and the manufacture of fuel, or fat based household products. These bounty hunters become known a “whalers”.

Lets imagine the US announces its done with African Americans... if the problem hasn’t been solved since 1619, its not going to be... and so they’re going to genocide all 40 million African Americans at a rate of 2% a year, for the next 50 years.

Lets imagine opposing extremists get in charge and decide the racists rednecks have to go, and so they’ll be forming death squads to roam the South, Appalachia, and the rust belt, with the objective of killing 800,000 poor whites a year, “until the problem is solved”... with many happily stating 50 years of this would be acceptable, while others state it’d be perfectly fine to renew it another 50 years after that.

…

These are all American lives, and according to pro-lifers of equal moral value to the babies aborted every day, no better, no worse.

By saying this and by saying violence is not and cannot be justified to resist it, they are saying that their reactions to any one of the above eventualities would be to continue to live their lives as they have lived the past 50 years.

I do not know how to respond to that. Even if Abortion is truly murder of an ensouled equal human life... The Pro-choicers committing the murders don’t think it is... hell the Nazis murdered 6 million jews and a further 5 million undesirables, but they didn’t think of them as human, they thought they were monstrous and “life unworthy of life”, like a burning man begging you to shoot him so he doesn’t suffer or hurt his fellows... a mercy in a way.

Pro-lifers on the other hand claim these are equal viable human lives of equal status to yours or mine or perhaps even greater.... They’re Children.

And their reaction to the greatest mass slaughter in human history, the reaction of almost half the electorate, who regularly talk about the need to resist tyrrany and defend the weak (as both left and right in the US do, in their way), their reaction is to vote every 4 years, and have it perhaps not even be the #1 issue if the economy seems bad, they have the opportunity to vote for the first black president, or the Orangeman says something crude about Mexicans... they won’t be single issue voters even when it comes to the greatest crime ever committed in human history?

.

I refuse to believe it. Even I, cynical as I am, have to believe we are not that far gone, and the age of men has not come crashing down... i would believe the US capable of such a crime, but to believe that a double digit percentage of Americans could look at that, recognize the victims as their fellow humans,recognize their state and society as committing mass murder of their neighbours, future friends, and relatives...to recognize that they have a moral imperative to act on this... and then just go “welp them’s the breaks, gotta be civilized” because 9 people in black robes said it wasn’t murder?

Holy fuck. No that is not how people work, that is not how humans behave, I cannot accept that, and leftists who spent the summer rioting in response to fewer than a thousand police killings of black men a year, who remember the civil rights and anti-war movements, who kinda vaguely recall that they’re supposed to remember Huey Newton, or Saco and Vanseti, or those Rossen...something people... who like to imagine they’d have been abolitionists in the 19th century. They’re right to call bullshit.

They’re right to call the pro-lifers liars who don’t believe their own messaging, and instead just want to control women’s bodies, after a lie like that to their face, they’re right to treat them with scorn.

…

Pro-life is rescuable as a sentiment and an activist movement...

But not while it claims a Holocaust is going on and somehow magically no violence could ever be justified to resist it, thus lining up all the arguments that will allow the next holocaust to be committed without resistance.

There have been a double digit, perhaps even a triple digit number of mass murders and genocides in the hundreds of thousands or millions of people, since the 20th century. America is enabling its ally Saudi Arabia to commit one against the Yemenis right fucking now.

We need to be very fucking clear about what it is justified to do to members of a regime that commits such a crime, and what it is definitely justified to do to the immediate perpetrators of the murder. And That we will back violent resistance to such a horrible crime by the state even if it serves only to make the resister a martyr we’ll praise, or it degrades “civilization” (what civilization could remain in such a regime?), or it ultimately has no effect (it is on the survivor to try harder)... The major members of the House of Saud deserve the Gallows under international law for what they’re doing in Yemen , as do their American attaches and core enablers... and if that comes from a Judge in the Hauge or from a convoy of irregulars in pickup trucks, or from lone assassins who manage to get through to them, It is justice, and i will praise it.

What we cannot do is pretend that genocides and mass slaughter on unconscionable scales are occurring and then come up with excuses for why we should do nothing and anyone who does resist is a criminal. Or else those excuses will be the ones that allow the next real genocide in the west or on US soil to actually happen.

If there is a genocide or democide or whatever you want to call mass slaughter. You must recognize the justice the violent resistance to it, even if you personally do not participate, or you must admit you were lying about there being such a crime... to say otherwise, to say a state can commit such a crime and still retain its right to your loyalty, to say a people up to and including its victims must obey such a thing, a creature made of bureaucracy that has set its sights on massacring humans by the thousands if not millions... it is to side against the human race in a war of extermination.

And as someone whose pro-choice as they come, I’d much rather, if the pro-lifers really believe its murder, I’d much rather they start a bloody civil war, than for it to become the norm that that is ethically acceptable.