#Hypocrisy & Hegemony

[swordsonnet]

i'm sorry but i don't think we should call this the "autism website" when there's still posts with tons of notes mocking people who:

struggle with social skills / have anxiety around social settings

are unemployed / unable to work certain jobs

have intense or "age-inappropriate" interests

haven't had certain life experiences that are deemed universal/essential

struggle with personal hygiene

don't have any friends or dating experience

don't go outside much or at all

take things literally / don't get sarcasm/jokes

have unusual ways of speaking

generally aren't "normal"

[bixels]

I'm not explaining why re-imagining characters as POC is not the same as white-washing, here of all places should fucking understand.

[thisismyanimus]

it seemed that searching three words allows you to find all posts containing those three words

with two words, it seemed that both words have to be in tags, or else it doesn't work. maybe unless the post is popular

but what if i write a really long tag? the maximum limit is 139 characters per tag

i did this experiment in this post

i concluded that if your search contains common words, for example "what write really", it only retrieves certain posts where those words are in the text

for uncommon/nonexisting words in the text of your post such as "brasput yabet mituarb", you can find your post by searching just 1 word

for two words in any of the tags, it retrieves the post, even if the words are common. for example "eat above"

[immaculatasknight]

Descent into darkness and isolation

[xtruss]

US’ Double Standards, Hypocrisy Undermine Prospects For Lasting Peace In Gaza

— By Professor Victor Gao | March 15, 2024

Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

While the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate as regional conflicts drag on, the US military dropped food and water on Tuesday into the region. On the same day, it was announced by the Pentagon that the US army ships were also moving to the Eastern Mediterranean to build a pier to bring aid to civilians in Gaza. However, the US government is pushing itself into a quagmire, demonstrating a high level of double standards and hypocrisy.

On the one hand, the US has become the main lifeline behind the Israeli military, providing a tremendous amount of equipment, ammunition, weapons of all kinds, military intelligence, as well as money. On the other hand, the US has taken some actions seemingly aimed at providing more humanitarian support to the Palestinian people, alleviating their agonies, pain and suffering.

However, even before the ink dries on the US' pronouncement, the US military has stated that constructing the pier may require up to 60 days. This means that there would be a waiting period of 60 days before the pier could even begin to operate and receive supplies from overseas.

Currently, a war is raging in Gaza, and innocent lives are being lost. How can we afford to wait another 60 days or so? The US government should take immediate action by enforcing a cease-fire while simultaneously expediting the construction of the temporary pier. I hope this can be completed in a shorter time frame. Subsequently, the international community should be called upon to rush supplies to Gaza to alleviate the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is not being contained solely between the two sides. Instead, it has the potential to escalate out of control. Yemen's Houthis are attacking ships bound for or departing from Israel. Moreover, the US and the UK are bombing sites inside Yemen. Other countries, including Iraq, Syria and Iran, are facing increasing crises and strategic bombings by Israeli or Western forces.

Therefore, this is a critical moment for the US to stand up and do the right thing, rather than being accused by future generations of failing to live up to their responsibilities. However, the US does not appear to demonstrate any genuine commitment or willingness to end this conflict. I don't think they really care that much about the civilian deaths in Gaza. They are not dedicating enough resources or attention to do the right thing.

The Gaza crisis seems to be rapidly becoming a pawn in the US' presidential election. Just look at how Donald Trump and Joe Biden talk about the crisis in Gaza and how to deal with the Israeli government or its defense forces. They probably do not want to solve the problem and the crisis immediately. They would prefer to gain more votes by playing electoral tactics, any way they can.

In the US general election up to early November, even though the Gaza crisis itself is one of the most significant and horrific human tragedies in history, attention will likely be focused more on domestic issues rather than international ones. However, the Gaza crisis will undoubtedly influence the election in several ways.

First, many Muslim Americans are expected to mobilize their efforts to urge people not to vote for Biden. They perceive Biden as having let down the US by failing to stand firm in defending peace and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, as much as the US defends the legitimate rights of the Israeli people.

Second, they are frustrated by the complete failure of the US in helping end the tragedies in Gaza. They are dismayed by the fact that the US has repeatedly blocked resolutions in the United Nations Security Council calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. As a result, they will likely be mobilized. Political activists will attempt to hold Biden accountable for the US' failure to promote a cease-fire in the Israel-Palestine conflict, a failure that has been demonstrated to the entire world.

However, while the American people may be paying attention to the Ukraine crisis and the Gaza conflict, their main focus is on domestic issues, particularly the outcome of the presidential election. Unfortunately, news about civilian deaths, atrocities and indiscriminate killings may be overshadowed by headlines about domestic affairs. This will be a tragic chapter for both the Palestinian people and Israel, as it undermines the prospects for lasting peace in the region.

This is a critical moment for the US to do the right thing and prevent a real crisis of lasting instability, hatred and confrontation between the Palestinian people and the Israeli people. The US should treat the Palestinian people the same as they treat the Israeli people. If anyone attempts to prioritize the political rights of the Israeli people at the expense of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, they will ultimately fail to serve the fundamental interests of the Israelis, as this is not how lasting peace for Israel can be achieved.

— The Author is a Chair Professor at Soochow University and Vice President of the Center for China and Globalization.

[germiyahu]

I think we shouldn't talk about Aaron Bushnell from here on out. I know everyone has their own hot takes about it, and there are plenty of posts that entice one to debate, many such cases of bait...

But don't give him what he wants. Let his name fade into obscurity.

Already the antizionist "activists" are hailing him as a martyr and a prominent leader of the "movement." People are going to remember his name over any individual Palestinian names. The Palestinians who've died will just be a lump sum, whereas Aaron Bushnell will always have a face and a name and a story. They're going to have him represent the ~victims of Zionist fascist genocidal Apartheid terror~ equally if not more so than Palestinians, who will be a nameless statistic beyond a few exceptions. The hashtag "restinpower" was trending when he was confirmed dead.

Do you know how disrespectful and disgusting that is? A white American man who worked for the United States military, an organization that has killed orders of magnitude more civilians in the Middle East, made himself the star of Palestinian Liberation. And he probably was aware that this could happen. But he wanted to be seen as a martyr, he wanted to be absolved of his sins. Nobody will ever dare criticize his career in the military now. No one will mention his hypocrisy as a settler on stolen native land who actively helped propagate the imperial hegemony of the United States.

He gets to be a "hero" to the Palestinians even though he's helped zero of them. What allyship had he worked toward in his life? He gets to be placed along side them as a fellow victim of the Jews Zionists. And they will use his face, name, and memory as a rallying cry.

Maybe someone on their side will make a similar point, not to get too carried away making a white man the face of "resistance" against the West and Israel and capitalism and all that. But I doubt it'll gain traction.

[greatwyrmgold]

I mean, the real answer is that the laws were written to let fundies consolidate power and fuck over LGBTQIA folks. But I'm interested to know if the "religious freedom" crowd has a coherent response.

Good damn question.

[notmuchtoconceal]

Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds really doesn't have anything going on, especially if you're paying attention. It's not holding up a mirror to American hypocrisy by showing you how much you love killing by giving you the excuse that thought-terminating cliche makes it okay. You have to understand, Americans really are the good guys, and Nazis are a unique and special evil who are above all consideration, so approaching the subject with rational thought makes you complicit. The special Nazi evil does not, to this day, make leftist brains shut down with single-minded righteous fervor.

The Americans have fought a single just war in the entire history of their country, and this completely justifies their current imperialist economic hegemony. You're only a good person if you constantly perform a fascimile of goodness, as if chanting a prayer to ward off evil spirits which are simply the pre-conceived notions you don't wanna reckon with. Your willful ignorance does not excuse or reinforce the ignorance of others.

This is war. It's always war. We're never not at war. You only know how to exist under war time rulership, but you're a smart educated person who doesn't secretly crave the fear and tension like a stablizing drumline, for peace is a kind of unkowable dread.

You feel nothing, spending two hours in a crowded theater with other Americans laughing at dead Germans, to only then in the final reel see Hitler himself in a crowded theater laughing at dead Americans, while the star of the show can't stomach to watch a fictionalized account of his own alleged heroism, because it doesn't bring him any joy to remember all the people he's killed.

This film isn't explicitly an expose on the nature of propaganda, which also incidentally critiques academic fanboyism by having sexy, sexy Michael Fassbinder in his sexiest role as a British film critic commando who gives a lucid contrasting of the ideological and aesthetic approaches of Joseph Goebbles and Hollywood (who to this day still produces wartime propaganda disguised as wholesome fun for the whole family) and gets selected by Churchill Himself to pass for a German in an undercover operation cause he watches a lot of German movies, then gets his cover blown and murdered cause he can't order a beer in a bar.

[twinkrundgren]

heres my redesign of the radio demon guy. again, i tried to keep a lot of the scene/edge aspects of his design while actually making him 1. look like a 20s radio host and 2. actually mixed race.

the mixed race aspects are subtle, but i didn't want to stray too much from vivzies art style. i just enlarged the nose/flattened it to portray a wide, flat nose in a similar style, while changed his hair to be more curly. since it merges with his fur, its a bit hard to tell, but its definitely workshoppable.

skin color i felt actually was rather accurate to around the same shade of someone i'd consider mixed race, though you can absolutely increase the saturation so he doesn't look undead.... he kind of already is so i think the desaturation isn't as bad as it would be on say, a living character.

a lot of simplifications and making him more deer-like. added a hat with the scene stripes cause i thought making a bowler hat with scene-style stripes would be a great mishmash of 20s attire and the scene aesthetic vivzie loves.

the biggest change imo, is how i'd handle his backstory. disclaimer that i am NOT black and my suggestions should not be taken as final, but rather something that should be used as a jumping board for a sensitivity reader to adapt.

if we want to keep alastor's voodoo and cannibalism aspects, while not condemning it as SPOOKY SCARY BLACK PEOPLE RELIGION, i think it would be prudent to explain that the reason for Alastor's sinning is not because he was evil, but because Christianity deemed his faith as paganism and thus a sin. There are cultures out there that practice ritual cannibalism to honor the dead-- i do not know if voodoo incorporates it, but if it does, i can see that the Angels above condemned it as evil due to their inability to reconcile with faiths that are not their own, casting Alastor down to Hell simply for practicing his own faith.

This would turn him away from the Powers that Be, disillusioned by a world that would deem his faith to be a sin, reveling instead in his status as a demon as an act of rebellion towards Christian hegemony. He's not a bad guy, he's just a man who became a victim of violent colonization and racism and his status as a sinner is *not* as judgement on his character, but a reflection of the hypocrisy of Heaven in that universe, which seems to be a theme in the Hell Shows.

[nezumasa]

But tbh, what I find better written from my collection is generally not what “catches” the attention of people when I write (which hey, people have different tastes which is fine, especially on AO3).

But the same thing happens to artists so…it’s equal.

Like Goldfish Scales is the one that I think has the strongest sense of self-identity among my recent three. Similarly, Ol’ Boys’ Club explores hegemony, the intersection of privilege and oppression, the concept of power and control and remorse, etc.

Probably not the most popular but those feel the most distinctive to me with the application of literary use and allusion.

“Where’s the Goldfish” like yeah the title references Hozuki’s Goldfish plants but goldfish are a symbol of prosperity and peace and good fortune + a wordplay on the scales that the Medicine Sellers use to pinpoint where the Mononoke are. And also the scales of a goldfish.

It’s wordplay.

Like…together the implication is “scales pointing toward good fortune/peace” or the presence of a Mononoke and with the actions and heavy/darker emotions running in that story, it’s pointing to a very particular set of people. The idea of hypocrisy.

[kick-a-long]

God she seems so stupid sometimes...

Guys, Gals, Queers, NBs, and +, that want to wash away the original sin of being raised by super shitty conservative christian republican in christian hegemony:

Please, please, please, unpack the baggage you took with you when you left. It makes it look like you are just visiting instead of moving in.

Chappell is full of shit. "Both sides suck" okay girl your family are Republicans.

hasn’t recovered from the republican parent lib-hating brainrot

[phydoro]

KENYA AT A POLITICAL CROSSROADS: NAVIGATING TRIBALISM, GENDER IMBALANCE, AND THE BOLD VOICE OF GEN Z

Kenya stands at a pivotal juncture in its political evolution, as a profound generational shift challenge entrenched power structures, unmasking the deep-seated issues of tribalism, gender inequality, and political hypocrisy. At the core of this transformation lies a younger, reform-driven cohort determined to hold the ruling elite accountable, demand transparency, and dismantle the barriers that have long hindered equitable progress. The future of Kenyan politics hinges on this emerging generation, which brings both a renewed sense of urgency and a commitment to redefining the nation's political norms. This moment, marked by widespread public dissatisfaction and unprecedented activism, signals a watershed in the country’s democratic journey.

Political Hypocrisy and Public Dissatisfaction

The Kenyan political landscape has long been marred by a palpable disconnect between political promises and the lived realities of ordinary citizens. This gulf has been most evident in the cynical disregard for public welfare by the political establishment. The experience of leaders like Morara Kebaso, who was subjected to violence while advocating for accountability and the impeachment of rogue officials, underscores the perils faced by those seeking to challenge the status quo. These incidents illuminate the extent of political repression and the existential challenges of confronting an entrenched elite. For Generation Z, the widespread political hypocrisy has become intolerable. Their frustrations are driven by the growing realization that the political system is rigged in favor of a powerful few. The call for transparency and reform has never been more urgent, as young Kenyans demand an end to the perennial cycle of deceit and broken promises.

Gen Z’s Entry into Politics and the Generational Shift

A seismic shift is underway in Kenya’s political ecosystem, driven by the rising engagement of Generation Z in the political sphere. This cohort, once perceived as apolitical or disengaged, has proven to be an invaluable force for change. Individuals like Kasmuel McOure, an artist turned activist, embody the new wave of political leadership that prioritizes integrity, social justice, and accountability. McOure’s announcement to run for office in 2027 signals a burgeoning political ambition within the youth demographic, one grounded in a vision of a more inclusive, transparent, and accountable government. Recent protests against the Finance Bill of 2024, organized through viral social media campaigns such as #OccupyParliament and #RejectFinanceBill2024, further illustrate Gen Z’s capacity to galvanize large-scale political movements, utilizing the digital realm to bypass traditional media and rally citizens from all corners of the country.

 Digital Activism and Direct Engagement

In an era defined by digital connectivity, Generation Z has leveraged social media as a powerful tool for civic engagement. The ability to organize protests, share grievances, and expose political wrongdoing has empowered youth to bypass the gatekeepers of traditional media and engage directly with both government officials and the public. Campaigns like Tuwasalimie, which published the contact details of public officials to facilitate direct citizen advocacy, represent a radical departure from previous forms of political engagement. This approach reflects a preference for grassroots activism, wherein digital platforms serve not only as organizing tools but as mechanisms for holding the state to account. The protests against the Finance Bill were organized largely through online channels, demonstrating how virtual spaces can transcend geographical divides, amplify marginalized voices, and challenge the political hegemony of those in power.

Tribalism’s Legacy and the Shift Toward Unity

Kenya’s political history has been inextricably linked to ethnic affiliations, with tribalism often dictating the nature of political alliances and national policy. The dominance of the Kalenjin and Kikuyu ethnic groups, embodied in figures such as President William Ruto (Kalenjin) and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (Kikuyu), has historically shaped the country’s political direction. These power dynamics have contributed to systemic exclusion, with smaller communities finding themselves marginalized within the national discourse. However, the recent youth-led protests signal a dramatic shift away from tribal allegiances towards a more unified, issue-based approach to politics. The growing convergence of diverse ethnic groups around common economic grievances—rather than ethnic identity—marks a transformative moment in Kenyan political culture. Generation Z’s emphasis on shared struggle over tribal loyalty signals a nascent, more inclusive political identity that could redefine the national fabric.

��Gender Imbalance and the Struggle for Women’s Representation

While Kenya has made significant strides in addressing gender inequality, the political sphere remains a male-dominated arena, with women continuing to face significant barriers to full participation. The proposed gender-balanced ticket by President Ruto, while an admirable step forward, has yet to translate into tangible change in terms of female leadership representation. The legal mandate of the two-thirds gender rule, enshrined in the Constitution, remains largely unenforced, leaving Kenya's political institutions skewed toward male leadership. This persistent imbalance exacerbates the underrepresentation of women’s perspectives in governance and impedes the advancement of policies that could address the unique challenges faced by women and marginalized communities. The call for structural reforms to guarantee equal representation in political decision-making processes has gained increasing traction, with a growing chorus of activists advocating for genuine gender parity in leadership.

Institutional Corruption and the Push for Transparency

Corruption within Kenyan institutions remains a formidable obstacle to progress, eroding public trust and exacerbating socioeconomic disparities. The pervasive culture of impunity that has characterized Kenya's political establishment for decades has entrenched a system where public resources are often siphoned off by the political elite. Generation Z’s demand for accountability and transparency has found expression in their vocal opposition to corruption, with activists calling for a paradigm shift in governance. The protests against the Finance Bill, which focused on issues of financial mismanagement and the exploitation of public resources, highlight the growing appetite for reform among young Kenyans. This generational shift places transparency at the forefront of political discourse, signaling a move away from the patronage politics that have long defined Kenya’s governance.

Human Rights, Police Brutality, and Civic Liberties

In recent years, the issue of police brutality has emerged as a focal point for civil rights activists, particularly among Kenya's youth. The excessive use of force during protests, as well as the targeting of marginalized communities by law enforcement, has sparked widespread outrage. Campaigns like #EndPoliceBrutalityKE have gained momentum, with activists calling for comprehensive reforms to Kenya’s police service and a reimagining of law enforcement practices. The viral dissemination of videos documenting police violence has helped amplify the voices of victims and galvanized support for systemic reform. This demand for accountability is not merely about addressing police abuse but is part of a broader push for the protection of civil liberties and the establishment of a more just and equitable society.

As Kenya navigates its current political crossroads, the forces of change, driven by the demands of Generation Z, are shaping a new vision for the country’s future. The legacy of tribalism, gender inequality, and political hypocrisy continues to haunt the political landscape, but the vitality and determination of Kenya's youth offer a promising path forward. Their calls for transparency, accountability, and inclusivity represent a powerful repudiation of the status quo, offering hope for a more equitable and just society. In this decisive moment, Kenya’s political trajectory hangs in the balance, as the nation contemplates whether it will embrace reform or remain mired in the divisions and injustices of the past.

[mariacallous]

One of the more remarkable developments over the last 25 years is that an investment banker’s arbitrary acronym for a quartet of emerging market economies has become the rubric for rebellion.

The BRICS countries—or BRICS+, since the original grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and later South Africa has since further expanded to include four more members—are meeting this week for their headline summit in glitzy Kazan, Russia, on the banks of the Volga. On the agenda this year, the first full summit after the formal incorporation of Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates into the bloc, will be the usual talk of creating a truly multipolar world order to challenge U.S. and Western hegemony. A big part of that, especially for sanctions-battered members such as Iran and Russia, will be efforts to come up with viable alternatives to the global dominance of the U.S. dollar.

The overarching question this year, 23 years after Goldman Sachs banker Jim O’Neill (now Lord O’Neill) invented the term “BRICs” as a nifty shorthand for what seemed like the economies of the future, is whether the increasingly disparate club can manage to craft an actual alternative to the Western-led international order or whether it will become just a fight club for wannabes.

“For Russia, it’s an important moment to show the West that it is not isolated, and it will be really interesting to see how far other countries are willing to go along with what Russia clearly wants—to make BRICS more clearly anti-Western than it currently is,” said Oliver Stuenkel, an expert on BRICS at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university and think tank in Brazil. 

“Brazil and India clearly want to push back against that, so the Kazan summit will give us a really interesting sense of the true political dynamics in the global south between BRICS countries,” he said.

The expanded BRICS is indeed a diverse bunch. It includes a Marxist-Leninist superpower and a revanchist authoritarian state. It includes the world’s biggest democracy as well as Latin America’s largest. New members include countries under the U.S. security umbrella and countries under U.S. sanctions. Prospective members could even include NATO countries such as Turkey and global pariahs such as North Korea and Syria. 

The West, when it pays attention to BRICS at all, tends to dismiss the grouping as an incoherent grab bag. But there is a common thread, as durable as that behind the Bandung Conference in 1955 that kick-started the global south’s efforts to create a brave new world. 

Outside of Washington, and the G-7 and the European Union, it is hard to appreciate just how much resentment there is of Western hypocrisy and hegemony, all mortar helping to bond the loose membership of BRICS. That has become especially evident over issues such as the conflict in the Middle East, the hyperweaponization of U.S. sanctions, and the outsized cost for middle-income countries of the dollar’s exorbitant privilege.

“It is not a cohesive bloc, but it is a cohesive message, about the desire for an alternate global order, and it is coming from sizable economies,” said Asli Aydintasbas of the Brookings Institution.

It took eight years for the BRICS countries to turn their arbitrary acronym into a proper grouping and another six to start laying the foundations of an alternate global order. By 2015, the BRICS had a bank, called the New Development Bank (NDB), that was meant to offer an alternative to Western-dominated lenders such as the World Bank. It has sort of worked: The NDB expected to make loans worth about $8 billion to $10 billion last year, compared with the $73 billion doled out by the World Bank’s two financing vehicles. But while the “BRICS Bank” aims to increase non-dollar loans, it still collides with reality. The NDB had to suspend operations in Russia, a member state, because of U.S. sanctions on Moscow.

In the years since, though, member countries have also sewn invisible but hugely important ties through constant mid-level meetings to deepen relations on trade and investment, diplomacy, law, finance, and more. At heart is the idea that emerging economies can’t emerge unless they nudge the leviathan out of the sun.

The animating ideas behind BRICS—reformed global governance and greater political and financial sovereignty—are still today just broad enough to harbor the whole sprawling membership. (Though not always: Argentina was poised to join the club, until newly elected President Javier Milei, an advocate of deeper dollarization, nixed his country’s bid.)

All sorts of countries, especially those in BRICS that have bigger economic heft than geopolitical influence, want to see reforms to the way the world is run, meaning a revision to how the United Nations works, to quotas and leadership at multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and to much more. 

They all share, to a greater or lesser degree, a visceral reaffirmation of sovereignty as the organizing principle of international relations; they are more Westphalian than Borussia Dortmund. Western, especially U.S., meddling in areas such as human rights, the rule of law, domestic politics, and diplomacy rankles as much for being unwelcome as for being often hypocritical. 

All share, more or less, an understandable desire to escape the tyranny of the dollar; even staunch U.S. allies outside of BRICS such as France and Germany have chafed at the manacles of the greenback. 

And all of them, to different degrees, foresee a world in which a West in decline is no longer the only power in town, making it imperative to prepare for, if not hasten, what comes after. That’s even true for prospective members such as Turkey, which has spent the last two decades balancing the West against the rest.

“BRICS is popular because countries are hedging their bets for a post-American order,” Aydintasbas said. “BRICS is an insurance policy for many of these countries.”

The problem—and it’s an especially acute one for members such as Brazil and India, which see BRICS as the manifestation of their preference for a nonaligned foreign policy—is that the bloc is very much aligning in one direction. With the hardened anti-American stances of Russia and China now joined by the likes of Iran, the bloc is becoming less a club bracing for a post-American world and more a group seeking to accelerate it. That’s perhaps the bloc’s biggest fissure and one that may prove hard to bridge.

For its first decade-plus, BRICS lived in a world without an overt cold war. “Now, in a context of geopolitical tensions, countries have to consider if being part of BRICS has a cost, if that causes real friction in their relationship with the West,” Stuenkel said. “Russia along with China is deliberately trying to integrate BRICS into a Sino-Russian world order, part of a Sino-centric global structure.”

BRICS has, since its inception, talked a lot more about creating a new global order than doing anything concrete to create one. One area in which the group, led by China, has been particularly active is money. Dethroning the dollar has been, and will remain, a central goal of BRICS; last year’s summit concluded with the explicit mission of drafting a blueprint to make that a reality. 

BRICS members have different beefs with the centrality of the dollar, which serves to unify them for now but which also highlights the fissures just waiting to widen. For some, such as China, Russia, and Iran, an alternative to the dollar means a way to sanction-proof their economies. Russia and Iran are already under siege, and China has spent the last several years buttressing its financial ramparts. The West’s freezing, and potential seizure, of Russia’s overseas central bank holdings in early 2022 remains a searing and cautionary tale for countries that fear they could be next, even if they don’t seek to invade a sovereign neighbor.

Because the dollar remains the most used currency for cross-border trade, and the main currency in central bank vaults, and because U.S. banks ultimately take part in almost every dollar transaction, the reach of U.S. sanctions is global and crushing. Russia and China haven’t spent the last few years building alternatives to Western payment systems out of altruism. They are building escape pods. 

The other BRICS members also bristle at the dollar’s dominance but not because they fear sanctions per se (though some, such as Ethiopia, do as well). What they worry about is that the dollar dominates their economic life and they have no say over it. Many are commodity exporters and have little choice but to trade in dollars, since commodity markets remain dollar-denominated. A shortage of dollars can paralyze trade and poleax public finances. All are exposed to the vagaries of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions that can make their money worth less, their inflation higher, their capital balances redlined, and their debt unsustainable. 

The reality is that the dollar remains dominant. It has increased its share in cross-border transactions in recent years and remains the major (if declining) currency of choice for central banks. The Chinese renminbi has inched slightly higher in its share of cross-border trade, but that is mostly because China is such a big trading country and most of the currency’s trade involves Chinese counterparties either buying or selling; what makes the dollar’s resilient share remarkable is that it remains the currency of choice for third countries entirely removed from the United States. While Russia and China have taken steps to increase the use of the renminbi in their own growing cross-border trade, and China has signed a few token oil trades to be paid in yuan, those are hardly harbingers of a global currency.

“It’s easy to have complaints about the status quo paradigm, but it is harder to envision what a realistically attainable alternative would look like,” said Robert Greene, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a vice president at Patomak Global Partners, a financial consultancy. “There is a difference between increased use of the renminbi for payments and actual de-dollarization.”

And there’s a related collision between the expansion of BRICS and the expansion of its ambitions to replace the dollar. Middling countries are actually more reliant on the U.S. dollar than larger economies such as China’s. For a whole host of countries, it is almost impossible to even trade currencies, let alone settle payments, without using the dollar as a go-between. The bigger BRICS gets, the stickier the dollar becomes for its own members.

Finally, there is a philosophical problem with the group’s efforts to coin an alternative to the dollar, when the only serious alternative on offer is the renminbi. 

China has made great strides in technical areas such as increasing bilateral swap lines to make Chinese currency readily available to partner nations, and it has created a parallel payments system that could edge aside the Western-controlled SWIFT platform that oversees transactions between banks. China has even financed once prospective BRICS members such as Argentina with ample yuan to enable them to repay their dollar debts to organizations such as the IMF. All that goes some little way toward providing alternatives to the dollar, in some places and at some times.

But if the only way to dethrone the dollar, and thus neuter Washington, is to crown China the financial foreman of the world, that’s not creating a multipolar system. That’s just trading one master for another.

“Do we think that India is going to want a world where the renminbi is the dominant currency in Asia?” Greene asked.

[whumpbby]

Since i'm dropping some of my takes here on your ask box let me tell you my most controversial one. I fuck with Jiang Cheng more than i do Lan Xichen, like, i don't hate the guy, but his "bad choices" have a body count on the hundreds thanks to him neatly handing Jin Guangyao a solid backing in the form of sworn brotherhood with two main sect leaders and i don't care what anyone says Nie Huaisang was a 100% right to include him on his revenge. I love him as a character, i want him happy, but he's a bad politician (I also think that Xue Yang would kinda be his type but that's less of my views on his character and more my thoughts when i was delirious on a headache a few weeks ago)

I love to see other people's takes:)

I agree here to a degree.

I have... conflictung feelings about LXC. Because I like him a lot - he's a type of a character archetype I actually adore. The stoic, good, kind person that will also kick ass.

But he is not a great politician - partly due to his uncompromising kindness and partly due to being raised in Lan sect and knowing how his mother's situation played out.

My issues with the Lan are numerous and the hypocrisy is the main one. For all the rules stuffed into their heads, there doesn't seem to be much space left for actually wanting to be a good person. Hence Lan Xichen and Lan Sizhui are so interesting to me - they are the outliers. In general, the sects are focused on themselves, and to a degree that's to be expected, you want your people happy and fed first and foremost. But the Lan have this fame of being righteous and wise - but when you actually meet the Lan and see them act, that illusion kinda goes away. Lan Wangji picks fights with teenagers and wilfully destroys other people's property. Lan Jingyi "decorum I don't know her" is on that list too. Lan Qiren doesn't stick to his own rules. His brother was a rapist and that's somehow okay. It's all about visuals with them. Following the letter of the rules and not the spirit.

And then there's the fate of LXC's mother.

The woman imprisoned for a crime no one knows the reason of, that has spent her life paying and paying for it. Like, how horrific it had to be for Xichen to get old enough to start asking questions and finally realise what was happening? That he and his brother were a result of what was basically rape. (Sect Leader couldn't leave seclusion to, you know, run the sect but could do it to fuck? Okay then). That there wasn't a fair trial - just one mistake and a horrific lifetime of paying for it.

And I think as much as Wangji is scared of becoming his father (trapping the person he loves because he's ineffective at communication), Lan Xichen is scared of becoming the sect elders - of judging someone too harshly for one mistake.

Meng Yao is kind, helpful, gentle and wise - just like LXC's mother. That NMJ judges him so harshly for something he might have done without considering the reasons rings a bell with LXC. He's all about giving people second chances, chances to explain themselves and so on, because what if he makes a mistake and someone ends up like his mother? He is downright predisposed to falling for JGY's lies, just as Wangji is predisposed to be a doormat of a husband.

That's how I see it.

And yeah, his decision to swear the brotherhood comes form a position of immense privilege of not having to think too much - the fact he didn't even consider how it would shift the political powers either means he didn't care to consider anything but his current crush, or that there was a political play there (in maybe trying to limit the scope of Jin hegemony as the one sect standing that took almost no damage, which is what I think would convince NMJ to agree, because he's actually a decent politician when not deviating) that purposefully excluded Yunmeng Jiang and threw smaller sects to the wolves. Either way, not a good showing. Out of everyone, you'd expect Zewu-Jun to be caring for this stuff? (Can you even wonder why Yunmeng Jiang became known for being dangerous to mess with? What other choice did they have to secure their place at the table? JC doesn't have to be nice to anyone of them - no one was in his corner when he needed help, it's a wonder he even talks to these people and his sect being the last one standing undamaged at the end is poetic justice ��)

Nie Huaisang was 100% right to include Lan Xichen in his plan. Even if not as a straight up revenge - then out of anger at the wilful blindness the man kept exhibiting. Because if Huaisang caught on that something wasn't kosher - how could it be that Lan Xichen didn't?

[hometownrockstar]

i just dont get it why this oppression is the norm and is so commonplace that it is predictable at this point, I can watch history to see how it arises and propagates but its still so horrible to see the hypocrisy and how it is allowed to happen and continue over and over again. There have been so many successful revolutions and resistances and movements for justice in response and remembering those and seeing common people around the world speak out is what gives me hope, but it just feels so unfair that they have to work so hard against such forces. And seeing the endless repetition of news outlets and celebrities and politicians routinely supporting the wrong side of history without a mediocrum of reflection on the past because of colonialist and capitalist hegemony sickens me. The fall of america and all other colonial powers can't come soon enough

[literary-illuminati]

Really I still maintain that as far as verisimilitude goes the sin of the Masquerade is that it's too appealing, too concerned with representing a fictionalized Enlightenment and its hypocrisies and brutalities, so as to seem more familiar and indicting to the modern audience.

Like the imperialists that conquered and massacred most of the Americas and got rich off the Triangle Trade and turned most of India into a corporate fiefdom weren't talking about civilizing missions and uplifting the natives. The owners of 17th century sugar plantations didn't make any pretense they were helping anyone, they just knew they needed replaceable, disposable labor for their horrible nightmare blood sugar factories, and that a steady import of slaves was the only way to achieve that. By the time the liberal hypocrisy came around European global maritime hegemony was already pretty well secure.