#F.I.G.H.T

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Joseph (Jake) Klein

Published: Apr 13, 2023

Segregation has a new brand name: racial “affinity groups.” Race-based “affinity groups” have exploded in prevalence across the United States over the last few years, moving from workplaces into schools, religious congregations, and other organizations all across the country. Affinity groups can also be organized around other identity categories such as gender, sexuality, disability, and religion, but affinity groups were first created around racial identity.

In 1969, Xerox employees based in San Francisco launched the Bay Area Black Employees (BABE) caucus, the first known workplace affinity group ("caucus," "employee resource group," and "affinity group," are all terms that have been used to describe the same idea).  Overall, Xerox's chairman at the time, Joseph C. Wilson, was an important leader in driving workplace integration. He reacted to race riots in the 1960's with a mission to increase integration and hire African-Americans who had previously been denied employment opportunities, and took numerous concrete actions to do so.

However, as has happened on numerous occasions to other well-intentioned leaders (including in response to other 1960’s race-riots), Wilson chose to take advice not just from integration-oriented civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., but from the Black Power activists responsible for the riots. Wilson enlisted the counsel of a group called “F.I.G.H.T.” While much of F.I.G.H.T.’s activism was productive and aimed at pushing back on genuine and oppressive racism, it was also a “decidedly militant” organization that “alienated much of the black middle class” and worked closely with the explicitly anti-integrationist founder of the Black Power movement, Stokely Carmichael.

Today, more than 50 years later, affinity groups have spread to 90% of Fortune 500 companies. These companies sometimes claim that racial affinity groups help foster communication and help bring new ideas to leadership. Corporations also point out that membership in racial affinity groups is usually voluntary, and therefore it cannot be a form of racial discrimination as banned under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

However, despite these claimed positives, many corporations have also found that affinity groups polarize employees, and many people of color are reluctant to join such groups for “fear of being reduced to their racial identity.” Even when they are organized and advertised as voluntary, the social pressures on individuals to join racial affinity groups are substantial. And although some data supports companies’ intuitions that affinity groups are helpful idea generators, these positive results may be better explained by the existence of a group creating increased discussion time, rather than the racial makeup of that group.

With affinity groups’ recent spread throughout K-12 schools, higher education, religious groups, and many other key institutions throughout our society, we face an even worse danger. While businesses are beholden to the profit motive, schools and other non-profit institutions are not. This creates more opportunities for affinity groups in non-profit institutions to advance a fanatical ideology, since organizational leadership doesn't need to worry, as businesses do, about the possibility that a Marxist ideological agenda would compromise their ability to operate in a financially viable manner.

Advocates of racial affinity groups claim they are not racist or segregationist, but do so while practicing racial segregation and making explicitly racist claims. For example, Truss Leadership, a so-called “racial equity” consulting group that works with numerous school districts, declares that “Racial Affinity Groups are NOT … Racist or segregationist,” but also says they are a place where white people can “reckon with their Whiteness” and non-white people can “take care of themselves and one another…in the absence of Whiteness.”

FAIR ally Ye Zhang Pogue has written beautifully for this Substack on how affinity groups in schools can harm our society by needlessly pitting people against each other along racial lines. What advocates of affinity groups often ignore is how prejudice and discrimination is often caused by diminished contact between groups, and can be overcome by increasing that contact and having group members work cooperatively instead of separately (one of psychologist Gordon Allport’s four conditions for reducing racial prejudice). This insight into the power of contact is the same idea that has driven FAIR Senior Fellow Daryl Davis’s pioneering efforts to get Klan members and neo-Nazis to give up their lives of hate.

Even racial affinity groups' most extreme and vocal advocates have acknowledged that “Caucusing can generate anxiety even at a visceral level for some. For people of color, history has shown that real harm can come from spaces exclusively reserved for white people. … People of color may also experience racial anxiety and stereotype threat, the fear of being viewed through societal stereotype ‘lenses’ by white colleagues and supervisors.” These are not ungrounded fears. Corporations seeking to pursue effective anti-racist strategies would do well to remember the horrors of the interoffice segregation of America’s past.

Segregation in the form of racial affinity groups today is disturbingly similar in concept to the separate bathrooms, water fountains, bus sections, and other spaces in generations past. Then as now, we ought to remember the worldchanging verdict from Brown v. Board of Education, that “Separate [is] inherently unequal.” As Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred M. Vincent explained in the Court’s also unanimous decision for McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, which was cited in Brown v. Board of Education, “To separate [children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their-hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.”

==

The KKK must be beaming with pride at the outright enthusiasm of re-implementating segregation.

Were it discovered that they were shadow-funding this, I would be incapable of feigning any amount of surprise.

Wokeness divides and destroys.

EDIT:

That's so weird. We keep being told that "cRt iS nOt iN sChOoLs." And yet, here we find out that not only is it in schools, but it's a good thing, because "opposing" - as ominous, authoritarian, and nigh on DiAngelo-istic choice of words as I've ever heard - is wrong. Gee, when did that happen? They must have done that really quickly. /s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM2JvQVXWQg

"DiAngelo's essay doesn't talk about disagreements or debates, but only about those who 'practice' social justice, and those who, quote, 'resist' it."

To actually tell people "[not to] entertain this blog or its opinions" or "don't read the post" has really strong religious blasphemy overtones. Like the priest telling the congregation not to read Harry Potter.

Still, the very first thing the kids do when they get home from church after being told not to read Harry Potter is to read Harry Potter. So sermonizing people on how to close their ears to maintain their moral purity usually doesn't work out that well for the clergy. So, thank you for dangling an irresistible temptation for them, like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden..

P.S. Opposing gay conversion therapy and child mutilation is a hill I'm willing to die on. Line in the sand. Pretty comfortable there. The latter, at least, used to be a self-evident taboo: you don't tattoo kids, you don't cut children's testicles or breasts off, you don't drug girls by flooding their bodies with quantities of hormones their body is not equipped to handle so they're balding and infertile at 16. Despite pretence to the contrary, these positions aren't the slightest bit controversial.

[blackladisdestrcz]

Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition OST - F.I.G.H.T. - Unwritten Law With lyrics

[whistlekick]

Episode 909 - State Change Management with Matt Thomas

SUMMARY

In this episode, Jeremy and Andrew are joined by Matt Thomas and they discuss state change management and its application in martial arts. State change management involves identifying and optimizing different states to achieve desired outcomes. They explore the use of breath work to manage states and prime the body for peak performance. Matt demonstrates the Fire Breath technique, which involves hyper ventilation-style breathing to psych up before a match. He also explains the Calm Down breath technique, which focuses on exhaling longer than inhaling to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. These techniques can be used in both training and competition to enhance performance. This conversation explores the connection between the body and mind and the impact of breathwork on performance in chess boxing and other activities. The guest, Matt, shares various breathing techniques for relaxation and peak performance, such as box breathing and the 4-7-8 breath. He explains how breathwork can help control the body's response to stress and improve focus and decision-making. The conversation also delves into the mental shift required in chess boxing and the importance of harmony and triumph in winning. Matt discusses the F.I.G.H.T. acronym for peak performance and the potential applications of breathwork in different situations. Lastly, he shares his efforts to grow the sport of chess boxing and offers resources for those interested in learning more about breathwork and state change management.

TAKEAWAYS

*Breathwork can have a significant impact on performance by controlling the body's response to stress and improving focus and decision-making.

*Different breathing techniques, such as box breathing and the 4-7-8 breath, can be used for relaxation and peak performance in various situations.

*In chess boxing, breathwork helps shift the brain's focus from spontaneous cognition to idea evaluation, improving performance in both chess and boxing.

*Harmony and triumph, rather than just winning, are important aspects of peak performance.

*Breathwork can be applied in different areas of life, such as difficult conversations or important presentations, to achieve desired states and outcomes.

*The sport of chess boxing is growing, and there are opportunities to participate in alternate formats, such as point sparring or non-contact versions.

Check out this episode!

[beatdisc]

🚨 PRE-ORDER ALERT 🚨 Arriving next week!

1st time vinyl press of Unwritten Law 2005 studio album!

Here's To The Mourning is available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent green coloured vinyl and includes an insert. - $65 each.

ICYMI - Beatdisc's very own @scotty_mac has been a guitarist for UL since 2017! Catch the band in August touring AUS - https://linktr.ee/unwrittenlaw

-----------------------------------

Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour.

Here's To The Mourning is their fifth studio album and was released in 2005. Since they had no drummer at that time, they were joined by Adrian Young of No Doubt and Tony Palermo of Pulley. "Save Me (Wake Up Call)" was written in collaboration with Aimee Allen and Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes).

Some of the songs of this album were featured in racing games: “Celebration Song”, is featured on MX vs. ATV Unleashed and Need for Speed: Underground 2, and the track "F.I.G.H.T" is featured in Burnout Revenge and Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition.

[iwasforceedagainstmywill]

Something this so strangely funny about listening to some of the Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition Remix ost while making chicken nuggets and tea

[1-dollar-cd-sale-reviews]

Unwritten Law - Here’s To The Mourning (2005)

This is an album I’ve known about for a while. I’m a big fan of the song F.I.G.H.T, which was featured in the game Burnout Revenge - F.I.G.H.T, Red Flag and Lights and Sounds were the only three songs I particularly liked on that soundtrack. Because of this, I went back to F.I.G.H.T a lot - even out of those three, it was my favorite track. Hell, I even downloaded it on Limewire back in the day. So this is the first album I’ve reviewed where I’ve been aware of its existence before buying the CD - because of that, I think I went into the album a little bit biased - I had a reasonable idea about what to expect before I listened to the record.

I’ve actually listened to this album twice before this review, both times while playing Borderlands on PS3. There’s a lyric in the first song that talks about needing to get a second wind, which kind of floored me at the time - I’m well aware that it’s an existing term, but how often does it come up? Because of my prior experience with the album, I’ve had more time to sit back and chew on it than other records - which doesn’t help with the pre-existing bias towards the record. Full disclosure, I went into this album expecting to like it due to a song I heard like eight years ago - if you think that has negatively affected my ability to critically assess it, then feel free to write this review off. Don’t write the album off, though - listen for yourself and judge it by your own parameters.

Buyer beware, this album has several descriptions of recreational drug use - if that is an issue that you are sensitive to, I don’t recommend picking up this album. The review is fairly safe, so feel free to keep reading - but if drug use is a touchy subject, I highly recommend staying away from the album proper, because it is brought up several times in a very prominent light. You have been warned.

Back when I did a review of The Bleeders’ record “As Sweet As Sin”, I mentioned a lack of energy that really brought the album down - the singer just wasn’t that good, he had garbage range and he brought the band down because of it. I mentioned wanting something metal, something really loud and energetic, and that record left me feeling very unsatisfied.

I mention that review because I think I found a record that lives up to the expectations I had for The Bleeders.

The singer of Unwritten Law has range. He shouts, he barks, and he can tone it down and chill out. His voice complements the band, and vice versa - everything just slots together really well. Unwritten Law - in 2005, at least - is the complete antithesis of The Bleeders, and it makes me so happy.

The album starts with a 50 second intro that leads into the opening song, Get Up. It’s a promising start to the record, everything barring the vocals gets shown off before it dives into the subject matter head-first.

Get Up has a good amount of heaviness to it, but it’s also surprisingly mellow in its rhythm and vocal style. The chorus is kind of uplifting, the vocals soar and there’s a really well-worn feeling of being back in the saddle, returning to something you haven’t touched on in a while. I think that’s just the lyric “business as usual, 1-2-3″, but I like the sentiment a great deal.

There’s some pretty gentle subject matter in some of the songs, like Because of You which is like a thank-you note to someone who helped the singer to achieve his dreams. I’m kind of against that sort of thing because something about it takes me out of it, but I don’t have a bad thing to say about this song - even with the theme of the song, it’s as heavy as the rest of the album.

Lost Control could have easily been in a Burnout game. It’s a fast, pounding song with a hype as fuck chorus, where the singer really gets to show his chops. Next to Slow Dance and F.I.G.H.T, this is one of the hardest songs on the album, and it’s awesome.

And speaking of Slow Dance - it takes a different approach than the rest of the album and has more of a pulse to its rhythm as opposed to an ongoing wall of sound. The vocals of the chorus are absolutely biting - there’s more of an edge to the vocals during the end of the chorus, the vocalist barks out these strings of “Go, go, go!”, and I kind of love how harshly he delivers the lyrics “Slow dance/Take a chance on me/Take off your pants with me”.

The only track I didn’t like so much was She Says. Felt like a bit of a relationship song, which I’m not particularly a fan of, and it has the line “Father I’ve sinned”, and I’ve heard that dozens of times in tons of other stuff. There’s also the song Save Me (Wakeup Call), which is kind of like a “I’m not okay, I promise” or “life sucks - I know” type of song - another type of song I personally don’t like. But the thing about Save Me (Wakeup Call) is that I actually liked it a lot - the singer was pretty good, the lyrics had some wit even if they treaded a little bit of familiar ground, and it’s a nice, chill interlude after half an album of roaring guitars and loud singing.

Another negative is that in Walrus, they use the word “gay” as a pejorative - “everything is gay, everyone is fake”. It’s a part of the chorus, and it’s a bit jarring - it kinda shows how much the world has changed since 2005. It wasn’t right to do, but it is what it is. The song is chill otherwise, and an interesting closing to the album, but I understand if the usage is uncomfortable - I mostly just thought about how prevalent “gay” used to be as an insult, and how that’s changed - at least in my life. If this is a dealbreaker from some edgy mid-00′s rock, that’s cool and I respect that - but the record is still really good, and I recommend any other song..

There are a bunch of songs I didn’t mention - thank god, I’m trying to move away from my approach of going down the track listing and describing each song one at a time. Out of all these songs, I recommend Slow Dance, Rejections Cold, F.I.G.H.T and Intro/Get Up. I could easily recommend over three quarters of the album, but these are the ones I liked the best. I didn’t even get to F.I.G.H.T in my review - honestly, you should grab a copy of Burnout Revenge and listen to it there. That’s where it sounds the best.

You can grab the album for anywhere between $6 and $25, and the whole album is up on Youtube. I recommend buying the CD, it’s a great album to own if you’re into hard rock from the mid-00’s.

[saveyourself]

the girl hums random songs. the problem is, she doesn't know what song she's humming because she picked it up from kobra and ghoul, who always have some sort of song in their head, and now she's perpetually stuck in the cycle of "i've heard that, where have i heard that?"

[borrowedmediocrefiction]

Headcanon: When the Third Doctor sneezes, it sounds very much like the “HAI!” he shouts when he’s doing Venusian aikido, and it startles Jo every time because she thinks they’re being attacked.

Jo: I swear to god, Doctor, the next time you do that I’m going to attack somebody, so don’t let yourself be the only one here!

[tiocheli]

Used her built up childhood trauma to practise self defence ✊🏻 meet Eva

[ballplayersxo]

@anon on Wattpad this book called F.I.G.H.T. it’s not really a fan fic but the main characters who’d used to portray the story (Anthony Joshua etc.) stay the same. Im not on Wattpad but that book got me checking for updates weekly. It touches on everything, mental health, healthy relationships on all aspects, fake friends etc. and the visuals the author uses in the story goes PEFECTLY with what’s happening. Just scroll through and get a feel. You’ll LOVE it she writes their real life in the book

[rangikuxmatsumoto]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

image:

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO. (TO ME SHE IS)

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. (She’s fan service - so yeah)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.  

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  —  Bleach is a large enough and complex enough story that canon drives a lot of my roleplays but on the flipside, there is plenty of opportunities to write within the realm of canon but make it your own.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  Tits.

Rangiku is complex, although most just label her as lazy, carefree and self-centered. She’s fiercely loyal, protective and loving. She’s a ray of light in a rather chaotic and dysfunctional world. Rangiku would be the type of friend you’d want to have, she’d bring the party, she’d gossip and spill the tea whenever it was needed, she’d be ready to fight anyone who hurt her friends. She’d probably also make a great fucking wing woman, most of her friends are a bunch of guys, and she’s hot - you want her in your corner.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  — She isn’t shown as strong as other muses (which I don’t agree with, she just wasn’t given the STORY SHE DESERVED). She’s perfection, there’s nothing wrong with her.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  — Oh my god. I don’t know - it’s been so long since I first took up writing as Ran. I got into Bleach and I try to attach myself to a character early on, I wasn’t a fan of any of the females first introduced in the story so when Ran made her appearance I was like “yesss. she shall be the one”  

What keeps your inspiration going?  —   My two sweet babes in @t-hitsugaya​ and @toshiro-hitsugaya​. Plus the other wonderful roleplayers I have the pleasure to interact with. In addition, the burning sensation that the Bleach fandom didn’t get the justice we deserved or the storyline we wanted.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO (I think so? I mean I’ve been roleplaying her for like 15+ years, I kind of hope I do her justice)

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO. (Do I publish them all, no.)

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. (More often than I need to)

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO. (LATELY)

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO. 

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  — Fight me. Just kidding, I think I would but honestly I don’t think I take any criticism well.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  LOVE THEM.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  — Again. Fight me. Not really, after-all it is my headcanon. Not canon.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  F.I.G.H.T. M.E. Honestly, it’s roleplay, if you have an issue with how I write or portray Ran, good for you, you obviously know better and are a terrible human being.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  Uhhhh, why? How can you hate her? She is the sunshine. She is perfection. She’ll kick your ass.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  Not really. Like, we all make mistakes when typing, if you can read it and understand it, let it go. Don’t be a dick about it.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  I just told a bunch of people to fight me over a fictional character so this is going to be a contradiction to this statement - yes.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out! 

tagged by @toomanydamnmuses​

and @t-hitsugaya​

Tagging: Whoever hasn’t already.

[diaryofanangryasianguy]

10/26/18

Local Khmer American community sees highest number of deportations this year

In September, according to Formerly Incarcerated Group Healing Together (F.I.G.H.T.), at least 60 Khmer Americans under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody were concentrated into the Krome Detention Center.

This latest roundup was part of an aggressive campaign by the Trump administration into Southeast (SE) Asian communities and looks to not only accelerate the number of people deported to Cambodia but to also expand its scope by targeting other SE Asian communities including the Lao, Vietnamese, Hmong, Mien and Khmu communities.

[imagine-those-dorks]

Y.O.U C.A.N.T F.I.G.H.T T.H.E H.O.M.E.S.T.U.C.K

I’m fighting as hard as I can...

But I can practically feel Homestuck breathing down my neck!

[rosemarynonnyknight]

Fight, Fight, FIGHT. F.I.G.H.T!!!!!!

Fight, Fight, FIGHT. F.I.G.H.T!!!!!!

You are a powerful warrior You have overcome things that others have succumbed to You never quit But you are still not where you want to be. And why? You have been fighting the wrong battles, my love. You have been fighting to prove your worth but you have always been worthy You have been fighting to get ‘them’ to understand and love you but ‘they’ were too immersed in their own craziness to care…

[all-about-us-media]

“BOOTS ON THE GROUND”| F.I.G.H.T

Faithfulness Interceding Gracefully Honoring Trust

Have you ever been through a fight with “GOD” and thought you won…. You walk away feeling good everything is going your way….. And all of a sudden #BOOM….. GODS PARENTING is nothing like your natural #PARENTS it’s much more #POWERFUL & #PAINFUL ….. You remember you last beating your parents give you with the syllables pronounced with each letter and the sting of the belt……. Well equate that and magnify 1 zillion times that. You know GOD does have a sense of #HUMOR, but his #PARENTING SKILLS is full proof. Don’t be out here in the streets, work, businesses thinking that you have solved issues that are GOD ORDAINED to be done by GOD ALONE!!!!

Hebrews 12: 5-11 (KJV)

5. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

6. because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

7. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?

8. If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

9. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!

10. They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

11. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

STAY IN GODS FACE THE SUPERNATURAL IS MANIFESTING IN YOUR FAVOR!!!

Chevonna Johnson, Servant of the most HIGH GOD!!!!

[louderthanthedj]

Realized today I DID INDEED spend hours watching my brother play Burnout Revenge as a kid but never oNCE heard the Billy Talent song. We were too busy playing F.I.G.H.T on repeat.

Spotify, correspondingly, saw both of these songs in my likes and went "Oh, you like THIS game," and spent a couple years suggesting me songs I now love but never knew were on it