#Outing as a political act

[grison-in-space]

trying not to scream about that post I saw this morning asserting that the "original context" of coming out was entering a queer* community such that one can connect safely with other queer people. so don't think that coming out has to mean anything unsafe!

to which I am not linking because frankly it's trying to send a message of reassurance to a lot of people who are terrified and demoralized just like me, to be clear.

but holy shit. What a way to erase decades of extremely explicit political theory exhorting people to come out to their straight loved ones, friends, and acquaintances as a humanizing tactic. the idea is that if enough people do this everyone will know someone who is queer, so they can't dehumamize us. the point of coming out was to put a known, beloved human face on queerness for as many people as possible.

now, does that mean that anyone should come out if coming out would be unsafe? No, absolutely not. That's why coming out should always always always be the decision and choice made by the person who is doing it. We Do Not Out Other People.

I get we're all terrified. I get that it's good to remind people that we've gone underground as queers before. I get that it's good to try to give people who have never lived in places when it's not safe to be out the knowledge that the closet, too, is a place where one can survive if one must.

but what a way to diminish the wisest and most powerful insight about the power of outness itself as an activist tool! an insight that could only ever have come from a population whose marginalization is usually not shared with parents, a population who can be born anywhere.

Like I said, the message I think the other writer was aiming for is "don't just lie down and die: we lived once in hiding and we can live again if we must," with a side of "if coming out genuinely isn't safe for you, do not pressure yourself to do it For The Cause," both of which are messages I agree with deeply. Especially for folks who still depend on parents for safety and housing or education.

It's just that I think it's important to acknowledge that coming out is politicized and framed as an act of solidarity with the larger queer community and resistance against the demonization of queer people because that is exactly what it is. Being out is a political act. It might not be one you can afford in every moment but that doesn't stop it being political.

*here I'm using queer to refer to generic communities of both gender and sexual minorities

[simplenefelibata]

as much as i love sam knowing about destiel before dean does, there's something about "i mean yeah my brother and his angel best friend are really weird about each other, live together, co-parent a kid, nearly kill themselves every time the other is gone, stand too close and stare at the other's mouth while they talk, but i mean to each their own i guess??" that's so special to me

[ofswordsandpens]

I rewatched Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai recently and it's left me wondering – when Zuko begins to goad Azula into striking him with lightning, was he making the decision to kill her?

Because had Azula shot lightning directly at him like he planned and not at Katara, the most forthright implication to me is that he was intending to strike Azula with her own lightning. And Azula, for all her mastery, would not have been able to counter that.

On the other hand, maybe he wasn't planning to kill her at all and was simply planning to redirect it elsewhere (similar to what he did with Ozai). But given the tone of tragedy throughout the Agni Kai, the fact that they both acknowledge that this fight will be "the end" to them, I don't think it's inaccurate to read Zuko's actions as him preparing to kill Azula, even though an Agni Kai doesn't have to end with death (and in canon it didn't). Also, why goad her into striking him with lightning if he wasn't planning on doing something intentional with it? If anything, it adds another layer to the tragedy to me, because I don't believe Zuko wants to kill her. And it stands in such contrast to the way that Azula desperately wants to kill him.

I also think that there would have even been something sadly poetic in that sort of demise for Azula should the Agni Kai had gone this direction: Azula, struck down by her preferred sub-skill. Azula, struck down by the very bolt of lightning that she intended to kill her brother with. Azula, struck down by her own power.

[sassysnowperson]

The world is exploding and you want me to take care of myself?

I live in the U.S.A. As you might have heard, things are PRETTY BAD right now. It's been bad before, sure. I mostly coped with 2016-2020 by ignoring the news and writing a TON of fanfiction.

But between then and now I went and got a job as a therapist, and it turns out I can't just stick my head when my whole job is to help other people with the stuff that's stressing THEM out. So I've had to find a better way to deal with it. I thought some of y'all might appreciate a distillation of the conversations I've been having, with myself, and with the people I'm working with, as we try to figure this out together.

Yeah, It's Bad.

So yeah, we know that depression and anxiety are lying liars that lie. But. Your anxiety or depression isn't lying to you about this one. Things are bad. That said, maybe it's helpful to check if they are lying to you about your ability to survive this, to handle this, to find spaces where you can act. We are not doomed to paralysis and misery.

The Paralysis is the Point.

The current administration is using a playbook that involves trying to make their opponents feel overwhelmed, helpless, miserable. Any action we take against that is action against tyranny.

Action is the Antidote.

We live in an age where we can take in endless misery, about things that are either so big or so distant or so both that we are not able, by ourselves, to fix them. And that sucks. We need to find a way to turn that fear energy into action.

More Things are Action than You Think.

Self-care is an act of resistance. Authoritarianism does not do well with a hopeful, resilient, connected populace. Taking care of yourself is action, taking care of those you love is action, building hope and resilience is action. Talking to your neighbors, taking care of them, paying attention to their needs and seeking local solutions to address them - all actions. Any step you take towards building resilience in yourself and your community fights the crap you see on the news.

Speaking of the News.

Lets talk about digital self-care. This is not an all-or-nothing situation. If you need to detach completely, go ahead. But your options are not only ignore or open yourself up to an endless stream of misery. This is going to look different for different people, but we have got to refine our information boundaries. That might be blocking or unfollowing people (even people we agree with, who are saying things in a way that triggers our own despair). It might be losing certain platforms, it might be seeking out news from specific trusted journalists or a weekly roundup. Pay attention to how you feel during and after your news and social media use. Is it helping you live the life you want to live? Is it meeting a need? Is there a better way to get that need met?

Some Things are Still Good.

Let's make a Still Good list. All the crap in the world, but you know what, my cats purr is still good. The smell of vanilla and old books is still good, the look of a new-green shoot sticking out of the dirt is still good. No, we're not doing this to ignore the bad and pretend life is wonderful. But our brains are designed to prioritize threats, and with so many threats, it will wear itself out trying to protect you. Find the things that are still good, focus on them. Let yourself rest in the good, at least for awhile.

You are not alone.

It's so easy to feel alone. Feel like we misjudged the world, what was important to people. How can people think so differently than ourselves? The world is so big, things are so bad, and it feels like we're fighting by ourselves, so why not give up?

You are not alone. There are people that believe in the same things you do. You are not the only one fighting. Anything that you find full of despair and hopelessness, I promise, there are smart people with good ideas working on it. Take comfort from their presence. If you have space to do more, try to find them for the thing that's close to your heart.

I want better for us. And I know I am not alone. Neither are you. I promise. Neither are you.

[puppppppppy]

you are umasou

[transman-badass]

I hope everyone who's ever said they'd punch a Nazi gets the chance to prove it.

I hope everyone who's ever said "protect trans kids" put their money where their mouth is.

I hope everyone who has ever caused discourse and division in the queer community shuts the fuck up and stop doing the feds work for them.

I hope the world that's born when this one burns down is kind.

[bonefall]

Heyyyy since there's talk of the Breezepelt Attacking Poppyfrost scene going around, I just wanna remind people that he explicitly does that because he was groomed by the Dark Forest. Jayfeather points it out on the page that Breezepelt's stated motivation doesn't make sense, because it's not actually a rational idea Breezy-P came up with. It's then shown that actual factual evil demons are exploiting the anger he has from being a victim of child abuse, to indoctrinate and manipulate him into radical violence

I wrote a little essay about this with citations and stuff. It wasn't "for no reason," and anyone who tries to use the scene as "evidence" of Breezepelt being Secretly Evil to justify the abuse he underwent as a kid either didn't read it, has bad reading comprehension skills, or is cherrypicking on purpose.

Crowfeather emotionally and physically abused his child, Breezepelt was socially alienated by WindClan as a result, which leads to this moment. That is what is on the page.

[bameme]

Getting myself in the headspace for the coming four months of my feed to be:

"Kamala is a cop 😃🫡👮‍♀️🇺🇸🟦👩‍⚖️" vs.

"Kamala is a cop 😡🙅🐷🚨⛔🥓"

[solarpunkani]

Am I legally allowed to say that

“Solarpunk started as an aesthetic/literary movement so stop getting pissy when you see a lot of aesthetic/literary stuff in the tags and convos people have about it.”

And

“Solarpunk has and continues to rapidly evolve to include much more than aesthetics and thats great and valid and awesome expanding our aesthetic ideals into tangible work we can do for a better future and better now is fantastic.”

And

“With that being said, you don’t have to diss on the people who post mostly aesthetic stuff, and you don’t have to try and act like solarpunk was Always a Political/Radical Action Movement and had no history as an aesthetic/literary genre in order for your actions to be Valid.”

Are all points that can and should coexist?

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Very bold to fucking say 'we' when no one in the UK stands with Israel and if anything, has been protesting for a free Palestine and to stop the government supporting Israel via weapons and money.

[edenfire]

🌸💌 Please read the caption 💌🌸

voting is tomorrow for the USA, and I was hoping this would be a reminder and encouragement to go out and vote!!✅️✅️

if you've voted, then drop a comment or send me a message, and I will draw akira with a hoard of gorbs based on the number of people who have voted!💗💞🌸

make sure you're registered, and use voter guides for info on the candidates on your ballot🌟✨️

[letters-to-rosie]

I think one thing that people can sometimes lose sight of is the reason we say ACAB isn't because all cops are terrible people on an interpersonal level (though a lot of them are lmao). It's because the raison d'être of policing is, above any protecting of the populace that happens, keeping the masses in line with the interests of the powerful. It always has been.

This applies to Arcane, too. At the end of the day, the Enforcers exist to enforce a set of laws and a social structure that immiserates and prematurely kills an entire population. The first scene of the show is about that.

So it's not against ACAB to enjoy a character that is a cop, but it is... perhaps naive to think that good apples will fix a system that at its core is about oppressing the many for the benefit of the few. Until that raison d'être goes away, policing will never be able to do anything else at its core.

[heycrymeariver]

five and many more: a timeline summary

(For legal reasons, all of this is alleged.)

Ref. links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

1984, is the first time Neil Gaiman released a book. 

In 1985, he got married and started his career as a comic book writer and in 1986, he assaulted Julia Hobsbawm.

This took place in Chalk Farm, London, where he forcibly kissed her and shoved her down on the sofa at her own studio flat before she escaped. According to The Crown Prosecution Service, “sexual assault is where one person intentionally touches another person sexually without their consent. The touching can be done with any part of the body or with an object.” In her own words, she described it as “an aggressive, unwanted pass” and that she still remembers it even now. 

Through 1987 and 2002 he progressed his career and published the famous book Coraline. A new year happens and he is in his early-forties and is thriving off of the success of his several money-making works, at a book signing event in Sarasota, Florida. There he hits it off with a young 18 year old (K) and they start dating. Two years later, in 2005, with two more awards under his belt, he forcibly penetrated that young twenty year old who told him not to because of a painful infection.

After another two years, he and his first wife divorced.

It's 2012, five years later and one year into a new marriage and at another book signing, Neil, age 52, immediately assaulted Claire (pseudonym) with a non-consensual kiss. Throughout keeping contact Neil had escalated this with video and phone calls that had a heavy sexual connotation where he appeared to either be naked or tried to instigate something. All of this accumulated into sexually assaulting her on a tour bus. Neil’s contact with her lasted until 2014 where he had promptly accused her in a text message that she had used him for sex.

Within the same year, Neil had enough money to buy a property, and met Caroline Wallner, 55, and her at-the time current husband. With a deal to do odd jobs for Neil and his wife to live there until she could own a five-acre plot, it wasn’t long before things turned sour. A divorce in 2017 sent everything spiraling, with her former husband fired, she in a once financially stable position, was now completely dependent on Neil Gaiman who used that to his advantage. Using her lack of financial stability to get himself sexual favors, he coerced her into a sexual-only, notably uninformed BDSM-entering territory while she was emotionally vulnerable, not accepting denials. This lasted until the summer of 2021, and in December of that year she and him went to court, what awaited her was $275k of compensation and a non-disclosure agreement (nda).

It wouldn’t take long for another woman to experience Neil Gaiman’s repeated offenses as well because in February of 2022, Scarlett (a pseudonym), age 23, a newly hired nanny, was sexually assaulted in the bathtub at his house. Neil, age 61, climbed into the bathtub with her and coerced her into having sexual relations. He too, in his coercion of her, made her financially dependent on him and brought BDSM elements to an inexperienced young woman who could not say no.

Since July 3rd of this year, 2024, five women have come out with sexual assault allegations aimed at Neil Gaiman. They all have several things in common with each other: either being young and naive, a fan of his, or put in a vulnerable spot financially or emotionally. Throughout the years and according to the stories, Neil progressively gets more bold and aggressive in his attempts for sexual gain. There are many more stories out there and whispers on the internet of how predatory Neil Gaiman has been in the industry. However, focusing on the five women who came out to speak and pushing their voice is an important part of the discussion.

Staying silent will only protect his peace.

(If you want to help keep this topic alive, please check out this post by @taraljc to see what steps you can take.)

[thanatika]

crazy how viktor can't take a shit without people trying to claim that the shape of it is somehow him trying to brand himself with the talis family crest because being romantically obsessed with jayce is his whole personality now apparently.

[bitethedevil]

I’m going to need a mental cleanse from US politics once my exam tomorrow is over.

[mumblesplash]

ok but like the contrast of pkciv evbo being Just Some Guy Trying His Best but he’s a world class prodigy who ends up with god himself holding his hand as he ascends to power vs pvpciv evbo explicitly being The Chosen One but all he has going for him is the ability to die over and over again