#QUESTIONING THE STATUS QUO
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Very informative post
Amatonormativity 101: What it is, and why it affects you
It’s pride month, so in the spirit of fighting for social equality, I’ve decided to make a post about a phenomenon that’s frighteningly widespread, yet rarely discussed outside of certain circles: Amatonormativity.
Originally coined by Arizona State University philosophy professor Elizabeth Brake, amatonormativity refers to the cultural assumption that:
Everyone wants/needs a committed, long-term, romantic (monogamous) relationship,
That such a relationship is absolutely necessary in order to lead a properly fulfilling life, and romance is essential to one’s happiness,
That aiming for such a goal should be a major priority in one’s life,
And that this relationship should be the most important, and all other types of relationships are inherently less valuable or less intense.
Some of you may be thinking, “Well, that’s ridiculous. I know romance isn’t more important than other relationships, and I know you don’t need romance to be happy. I don’t have any amatonormativity.” Or, some of you may be thinking, “Well, that makes sense to me. Romance is the most important thing in my life, and I’d never be happy without it.”
But the truth is, amatonormativity still exists and harms you, even if you fall into one of those categories. Amatonormativity is a societal value that’s deeply embedded in western culture, and no one is immune to it. Not even me, not even Professor Brake. There’s a lot of toxicity in it, and awareness of it is the first step to overcoming it and helping to break down these harmful values.
So, where do we see amatonormativity in everyday life? Let’s start with some hypothetical scenarios as examples. Although I’m drawing from real life, please keep in mind these are hypothetical, so when I say “you” in these examples, rest assured that I am not directly accusing you personally of anything.
You’re having dinner with your extended family for the first time in a while. A few of your relatives ask you if you’re dating anyone, and you say no. They respond in various ways, ranging from “Well hurry up, you’re not getting any younger!” to “Don’t give up! There’s plenty of fish in the sea.” Your relatives believe that you need a romantic relationship, and you need it as soon as possible.
You are openly gay. There is one other openly gay student at your school, and although you don’t necessarily have anything against this person per se, they’re not really your type; You have no desire to date them, and they seem to feel similarly about you. Despite this, your friends keep trying to hook you up with each other. Your friends are assuming that because you both experience the same type of attraction, that you must be interested in each other, and/or that you’d be happier dating this person than being single.
It’s February again, and you’re currently single, as you have been for the past few years. You worry that there’s something wrong with you, since clearly no one wants to date you. You have plenty of close friends and family who care about you, yes, but it’s not the same, is it? You feel ugly. You feel unlovable. Your best friend assures you that you’re not, but until someone starts dating you, you’re not sure you can believe that. You believe that your worth as a person is dependent on the presence of romance, and that other forms of love don’t really matter.
You’ve recently started watching a new TV show, an action-mystery with no romance in it as of yet. You really enjoy this show and are interested in hearing what other fans think, especially theories about the upcoming season finale. You join an online group for fans of this show, and to your surprise, the first thing everyone asks you is what your favorite ship is. The other fans are assuming that you must primarily be interested in any hypothetical romance in the show, or maybe even that the plot itself isn’t as interesting as romance.
You’ve just cut your hair short, something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and you’re very pleased with the results. Your mother, however, is distressed by this. She tells you, “You’ll never get a boyfriend with that haircut!” Your mother is more concerned with your potential for romance than with your own preferences for your body.
You and your best friend have known each other since you were young, and you’re very close. You know each other better than anyone, and tend to be quite physically affectionate with each other. People tend to assume you two are dating, and some may even refuse to believe that you’re not, insisting that it’s “so obvious” that you’re in love and that you should “just confess already”, even though you both know quite well that your feelings for each other- however intense they may be- are strictly platonic. The people around you are assuming that because your relationship is so close, it must be romantic, because no other relationship type can be as strong. Their belief in this is so strong that they think they know your own feelings better than you do.
You’re someone who enjoys an active sex life, and you find someone to hook up with. You both agree up front that this is a casual thing- No strings attached, no romance, no obligations, just a mutual interest in the activity itself. Despite this, after a few hookups, your sexual partner develops romantic feelings for you, and asks you to go out with them long-term. You say no, you don’t feel that way about them, and remind them of your agreement; Yet they get angry at you for this, blaming you for causing them to “catch feelings”, and say that you shouldn’t have started this relationship if you weren’t willing to possibly commit to something “more”. They spread nasty rumors about you, saying you’re a heartbreaker, a cold-hearted monster who used them for sex. Your sexual partner believes that their desire for romance should take precedence over any previously set boundaries, and that you are in the wrong for not doing what they want.
You and your best friend have been living together for several years, and intend to continue doing so indefinitely. You’re both working adults, but your friend has a significantly more secure job than you do, with better benefits. You both think it would be great if you could get insurance coverage under your friend’s employer, but because you’re neither a blood relative nor legal spouse of your friend, their insurance company won’t cover you- they can’t, as their policies don’t allow such a thing. If you were married, this wouldn’t be a problem. Non-romantic relationships are not extended the same protection and legal/financial benefits as romantic relationships.
Your favorite manga just ended after a long and successful run. It’s an action series with little romance, yet the epilogue shows every single main character to now be married, even to characters they’ve rarely spoken to or seem to have little chemistry with. The manga’s author- or perhaps their editor, either way- believes that the story cannot be complete without romance, even if said romance makes no sense or contributes little to the plot or characters.
See what I mean? Now, I’m not saying that romance as a concept is inherently bad. I know that to many people, romance is incredibly important, and that’s entirely understandable. For many people, their romance has historically been discriminated against, and continues to be in many ways. I am not trying to take romance away from you, nor shame you for it. But I do think that it’s important to recognize the harm that social values about romance can cause, to you and to others.
If you’d like to start learning to recognize, and shut down, amatonormativity in your own life, try taking some time to reflect on the following topics:
How much does romance matter to you, and why does it matter that much? What aspects of romance do you genuinely, sincerely want? Might some of your experiences with romance be influenced by social pressure to live your life a certain way?
What assumptions do you make about others, and why? Should you really be making those assumptions?
Are you properly appreciating the non-romantic relationships in your life? Do you ever say things that might make your friends and family feel as if they’re not as important as your romantic partners, even if they don’t express this?
Do you use language that unconsciously places more value on romantic relationships than anything else? Do you use terms such as “just friends”, “better half”, “more than friends”, or “catching feelings”?
I hope that this post can help bring some awareness to the harm caused by amatonormativity, and help people better learn to recognize it- as well as fight back against it. By becoming aware of the value our society places on romance, and the insecurities it can cause us, we can better learn to love ourselves, our friends and families, and our lives, whether or not we choose to pursue romantic relationships.
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Who I am, how I choose to live; an autistic reappraisal, one year in
Who I am, how I choose to live; an autistic reappraisal, one year in
As I reach the end of another year, my 54th so you would think my conclusions would be getting somewhat familiar by now, its interesting to note how much I really do feel I have rebooted my life and entered new territory in the past 12 months so there is actually nothing predictable about my end-of-year reappraisal at all. This is largely because I have fully, finally, accepted and integrated…
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#acts that show you care#articles#authenticity#autism#autism and Christmas cards#autism friendhsips#autism networking and social media challenges#autism questioning social rules#being yourself#benefits of autism diagnosis#choosing how to live autistically#different mode of expression#late-diagnosed autism#questioning the status quo#self-ownership and advocacy#showing you care#sincerity
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less "this story has no romance in it" and "this story has aspec characters in it", more "this story is about aromantic people and aromanticism" please and thank you
#i mean there's nothing wrong with the first two options#but i really really want to read aro stories#like stories told from the pov of aro characters#stories about aro characters#stories that question the status quo of “romance above everything else”#and “love above everything else”#bit tired of most recommended "aro stories” actually meaning “romance isn't the focus that's what the aros want right?”#im on my aro bs again can you tell#aromantic#aro#queer stuff
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maybe im overthinking, but do you ever think abt how in episode 1, utena justifies wearing the boys uniform by saying its not against the rules? while this was clearly a "gotcha" moment against that stuffy teacher, i feel like it also shows how shes still functioning within the parameters of the ohtori system. like, yeah, shes being rebellious, but its a form of rebellion that isnt actually revolutionary- shes still following the rules propagating the structure built around the patriarchal prince, shes just doing it in the "opposite" way of whats expected, but shes not actually fighting it. though, of course, even this much deviance still tries to get corrected... its still not against the rules. i feel like from the beginning we're told aspiring to princedom isn't a noble goal, and that utena is still part of the system as long as she pursues it
#idk compare it to... you know pop feminism thats like ''lipstick red enough to kill a man'' type stuff?#obvs thats going in the more fem direction but its like... still perpetuating the patriarchy in the end#its an empty movement (lol) that doesnt actually mean shit bc it doesnt challenge the status quo#the point is its not ''against the rules.'' thats an irl thing i can think of comparing it to at least#but yeah i also think it answers the question of ''how come a school SO obsessed w gender norms doesnt enforce a stricter dress code?''#is bc as long as you play a role to propagate the system it doesnt really matter#though at the end all girls are like the rose bride etc etc i also think thats an aspect of it#like how gender nonconformity is often seen as ok in young girls- the ''tomboy'' phase thats seen as frivolous#and something theyll grow out of. or something theyll be made to grow out of. i very much think that plays into it too#its okay when youre a girl but when youre a woman you have to become a bride. literally and figuratively#rgu
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Ponder rolled his eyes. These things always sounded fine when he worked them out in his head. He'd read some of the old books, and sit and think for ages, and a little theory would put itself together in his head in a row of little shiny blocks, and then when he let it out it'd run straight into the Faculty and one of them, one of them, would always ask some bloody stupid question which he couldn't quite answer at the moment. How could you ever make any progress against minds like that? If some god somewhere had said, "Let there be light," they'd be the ones to say things like, "Why? The darkness has always been good enough for us."
Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent
#ponder stibbons#unseen university#the last continent#discworld#terry pratchett#wizards#academic#faculty#assistant professor#coworkers#progress#new ideas#tradition#status quo#bloody stupid question#good enough for us
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I love the line, "They sell presentable, young and so ingestible, sterile and collectible, safe, and I can't stand it," SO much. It really gets at the heart of what so much of Danger Days is trying to say imo. And I especially love the sort of visceral note in the phrase "young and so ingestible" - like obviously the image of art and artist as something to be consumed has been around for ages and it doesn't have to evoke anything so literal as the audience wanting to physically eat the band, but it certainly calls that to mind for me, and the idea that the music industry (and capitalism more broadly) exists to facilitate and encourage that desire is just... chef's kiss.
#danger days is a work of legitimately interesting anti-capitalist critique and i love that for her#the question of how to be an artist in a late capitalist society that wants to sell your voice and package your rebellion as a commodity#that ultimately serves and upholds the status quo is a really interesting one that gets explored in this verse and also sing#it's just a good fuckin album is i guess what i'm saying#mcr#my chemical romance#danger days#danger days the true lives of the fabulous killjoys#ddttlotfk#ttlotfk#danger days era#planetary (go!)
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adaine's family relationships are something i can actually be so incredibly normal about too btw
#like. a little bit later adaine's father gives her a useless orb for spell casting#and she points out it's not practical and he says 'i try my best with you! i really do!'#like. it's about parents who fundamentally don't understand you#it's about parents who have such a narrow and rigid idea of what's acceptable that when you start to find yourself outside of it#they can't even recognize you.#it's about watching your sister (aelwyn) seamlessly meet the conditions that are required to achieve your parents' love#and then not even being able to comprehend how to do that for yourself#it's about asking questions and being met with hostility for challenging the status quo#it's about experiencing unfairness and asking why and your parents' unflinching answer being:#because i'm your parent and i decide when things are fair#and i dont HAVE to figure out why i act this way much less make the adjustment to make it fair#anyway :))))))#fh#fantasy high#adaine abernant
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qsmp francophone cubitos and their dynamic drive me wild, they all know they’re mutually lying and obscuring the truth to one another, they all know they’re keeping each other at arm’s distance, they all know they’re not as open as they once were when it was just them and the aftermath of a plane crash, but the love is still there. the worry and the concern. they pry information out of one another in supposedly subtle ways that really just convey how much they still care about each other. what’s your stance on the federation. how’s your code arm doing. even if in the end you don’t turn to me, please call out to someone. maybe looking out for yourself is looking out for others as well. i don’t know you anymore but i will protect the unknown anyway
#qsmp#qsmp french#jay rambles#i need to go sleep . said i’d go to sleep ages ago . rotating them in my mind anw . fawk#it’s like. they KNOW they’re not being frank with one another. and it’s almost a game they play#i ask you this question and you know what i mean . but i will not say it outright .#for how long can we dance around the topic until one of us spills the obvious out into the open air#<- etoiles broke first btw lmao . and he and baghera went right back to pretending like neither of them knew any better too#insane of them . fuck#(for context it was about bbh and ron . both him and baghz were prodding at each other trying to gauge how much the other knew#and etoiles at one point just said ‘oh my god i know you know baghera !!! please !!!!’ it was a very validating moment for french cubito#enjoyers . right until they went back to pretending nothing had happened . win)#shoutout to like two months ago when etoiles said smth along the lines of how baghera isn’t telling him everything bc she doesn’t trust him#i will explode and explode and explode#antoine’s whole Thing early on about being distrustful and wary of others and how it hurt that he wasn’t always told everything anymore#a slow unraveling of the status quo that you don’t even realised has happened until you look around you
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Big props to Fromsoft for realising that if the most authoritarian character in Elden Ring was an epic badass who fights for their beliefs, there would be legions of the most annoying people possible crowing about how based they are, so instead they made Goldmask an ascetic pacifist with no combat abilities who died from doing too much math and upon resurrection as a candidate for the next shaper of reality, does nothing except stand naked and silent, then did so much math he died again.
#one may question if goldmask is truly an authoritarian if he seeks absolutely nothing in terms of personal gain#but I think if you rewrite the laws of reality to make everyone incapable of changing the status quo that makes you authoritarian#even if the new status quo turns out pretty good#things won't get worse but they also can't get any better#elden ring#goldmask
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Riot Kings, page 154
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#riotkings#whump comic#angst#emotional whump#gore#blood#implied death#nabi's audacity to ask questions and go against the status quo is growing to be a thorn in the Fleet's side lol
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redemption arcs where instead of the character having to do through the arc with the person they wronged and have the end goal be forgiveness they go through the arc with a completely different character that has no involvement in the main conflict with the goal being self improvement>>>
#feel it opens up alot more character exploration possibilities with the character being 'redemed' where you can explore their end of the#conflict (which tends to be less focused on as the actual conflict in relation to whoever they wronged is what happens in-story) without it#being 'apologism'#and the arc is more about self improvement than forgiveness/fitting the main characters status quo#it also feels alot more fair on the one who suffered from the conflict because to be able to say 'this person needs help but I can't give i#to them' is rlly good#obviously there are times where both characters SHOULD work together for overcome the conflict in question. but with the common/popular#structure of redemption arcs rn (I blame zuko personally) we need more variety#I'm growing to love this trope it's rlly fun#esp if your're a fan of rarepairs/are more interested in the villains pov#current examples floating in my brain: atlas/denkou. 0124ji. morro/echo (but as a long term citrusshipper...when am I not thinking about#them? XP)
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Khaos Reigns (2)
So far, my two biggest complaints about new Mortal Kombat storytelling is the lack of Tomas in Lin Kuei-focused Khaos Reigns and lack of sensible logic behind characters’ choices. This is not really about how characters behave toward each other as this is rooted in the previous game, but how weak is the reasoning that pushes the story forward. Which sadly is how the whole attack on Kuai Liang’s wedding feels to me. We have Bi-Han’s lie
Cyrax: I still cannot believe that Liu Kang capitulated to Outworld. That he agreed to break up our clan.
that has no backing up. A certain time has passed between MK1 and current story mode, right? So if Liu Kang capitulated to Outworld, then logically Outworld forces should showed up in Earthrealm or the Fire Lord would knock on their door to say sorry guys, no more Lin Kuei; something Lin Kuei would be first to know. Even more, since apparently Lin Kuei were asked to protect Earthrealm in dire need in the previous game, something they refused to do (as we were told by Tomas). Liu Kang capitulating to Outworld would be a political change hard to miss. So it is no wonder why Cyrax is not buying it, as this lie makes little sense.
(Personally I think it would be better if Lin Kuei were not “deceived” but simply wanted their independence and supported Bi-Han for this goal alone, while Sub-Zero letting his father die still works fine as the shocking revelation to cast a doubt in Cyrax’s mind.)
Then we have Sektor and Bi-Han acknowledging Cyrax suspecting their deception
but apparently this is not a concerning enough to, you know, not including her in the attack or not giving her the top-technologically advanced armor, if you can't be sure of her loyalty.
Bi-Han said they will be ready when Cyrax learns the truth but as the story goes, there are no backup plans for that scenario. Sub-Zero does not deny he lied or killed his father and I really wonder what he or Sektor expected to happen? Yeah, so much for being ready to deal with the problem they were aware of from the start.
Same with the stealth attack on the wedding. Lin Kuei warriors successfully got unnoticed inside Wu Shi place,
where the wedding was happening. And instead of some of those ninjas quietly opening one of the gates, Sektor was using her guns to destroy the main gate, losing the element of surprise.
A tactical surprise that she and Bi-Han wanted to use it to their advantage.
Not to mention Lin Kuei warriors had no problem with getting past the not-even-so-high walls so it is not like the main gate was so necessary for their army to get inside. Or if they have such great firepower, they should thrown some grenades over the walls or set bombs before frontal attacking. Just saying.
Okay, that could be just Lin Kuei arrogance or testing the armors in battle (something they could anytime anywhere), but one would think a clan that for ages was doing commando-like work for Liu Kang would get the stealth attack correctly. Especially since one of the first things Sektor told us on screen was that Lin Kuei were not trained for Tournaments but for war.
Cyrax is overall a fine character, but for me she lacks an edge the MK9’s male Cyrax had and thus feel, well, meek. The story shows her as a person with a strong moral sense, however Bi-Han literally said to her the mission is to attack Kuai Liang and his clan. Harumi chose to fight back so why is Cyrax so surprised that Lin Kuei warriors were ready to kill her? It’s not part of their missions, she said when attacking her own people to save Scorpion’s fiance/wife-to-be, but for me this shows how much Cyrax is just naive and detached from reality. The previous game showed us that Lin Kuei brothers are ruthless fighters (Bi-Han was ready to decapitate defeated Shang Tsung, Kuai Liang effectively killed his opponents with no hesitate), so Cyrax jumping to rescue a woman that killed her own comrades kinda made me wonder, why she is even that important to Sektor or Bi-Han to be involved with them so close? Like, there is little I can see that could interest Bi-Han or Sektor in her, as she is presented from the start as disrespectful toward her superior and mentor (Sektor) and way more idealistic than any of them is. Literally the first argument she has with Sektor and her criticism about ambush & sneak attack tactics feels a bit off, considering this is what Lin Kuei were doing even as the good guys, presumably for centuries and with full approval of Liu Kang (as was seen in previous game).
Sure, we could say Cyrax is new! She knows no better… but then storyline openly claims she and Kuai Liang knew each other before he left the clan and even were once friends, so it is not like Cyrax just joined the Lin Kuei. On one hand, I understand why NRS went with Cyrax’s personality in such a direction, on another, she feels so un-Lin Kuei, I have no idea why Sektor and Sub-Zero even bothered with her in the first place. Like... what was so special about Cyrax for the whole fuss about her from their perspective?
In all fairness, I’m also a bit confused how MK1 and Khaos Reigns follow the same storyline. In the previous game, Bi-Han was captured by Kuai Liang after the ill-fated mission and presumably imprisoned. Then somehow Lin Kuei was asked(?) to aid Liu Kang in the battle against the sorcerers
so how is that the news of Sub-Zero allying with Shang Tsung is still a secret to anyone if Lin Kuei already made a decision to abbadon Earthrealm in need - story wise, after Bi-Han was defeated by Scorpion and captured? So I’m to believe Scorpion took compromised Sub-Zero to Lin Kuei headquarters like nothing happened, did not mention the whole allying with enemy, then left to honor tradition and dad and joined Liu Kang and some time later he is angry at Cyrax she believed in a not-well prepared lie? Is this me, or did NRS not connect all the dots together between the first game and the additional storyline and kinda every character took damage to intelligence so the story could go from point A to point B?
The relationship between certain characters is frustrating, I won’t lie about it. But I’m much more frustrated by how the logic and consequences of events feel either forced or make little sense. I do not except a brilliant, smart storytelling from a fighting game, but when characters that are supposed to be competent and/or trained for a specific job suddenly share one brain cell - and no one is using it at all - kills a great chunk of enthusiasm I had for Mortal Kombat.
I may not like my fav characters being robbed of their original complexity and yet still enjoying the fact they are part of the storyline. I do however take a great offense when story mode turns them into incompetent idiots just to push plot from point A to point B.
#mortal kombat 1: khaos reigns#mortal kombat#mortal kombat spoilers#bi han#sub zero#sektor#cyrax#lin kuei#mortal kombat worldbuilding#if i should even call this mess like that#cienie's rants#look i can forgive nrs making my loved sub zero bi han into bastard or evil man#but making him an idiot is the crossing line i won't accept#the whole first chapter of Khaos is such a mess#there is so little logical reasoning behind the action#we want stealth attack! so we fucking blow up a door when our people could quietly get inside#we know cyrax will be a problem when truth will come out#so we gave her our super advanced armor and take on mission she is already questioning#so fucking smart move uh-uh suuuuure#we make a lie that makes no sense since liu kang capitulation change the whole status quo and is too big deal to not notice something is of#like if he agreed to break lin kuei he would be already there knocking on their door#something to few months(?) has passed liu kang is still not there to destroy your clan but sure a perfect lie#at this point of story i think tomas stole the one brain cell get super smart and simply get the fuck out of this mess XDDD
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It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. - Epictetus
#epictetus#learning#unlearning#open mind#unknown#critical thinking#question#status quo#dogma#science
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Y'all the new mashle opening goes so hard
#the song is called bling-bang-bang-born by creepy nuts#mashle#mashle: magic and muscles#if you want a HP alternative I do recommend it - the worst thing abt it is the standard baseline anime misogyny#but as far as world-building and the implications thereof go#it is fundamentally better set up than HP and its blood lines matter elf slavery goblins run the banks nonsense#we are actively questionning and fighting the status quo and genocide over here and the protag is of the affected group#and showing up all the elitist asshats#we love to see it
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Help my baby ,Don't leave my baby alone please
🍉I am Hala, a Palestinian from the besieged and destroyed Gaza Strip 😭😭. I fled the war with my husband to Egypt..
The story began on March 21, 2024 when my beautiful child was born.. He was a wonderful and special child.. Suddenly, a week after his birth, my child Abdul Aziz's belly swelled up a lot and I visited several doctors without discovering the reason.. After another week of the child's suffering, I took him to a specialized hospital and the doctors there discovered a blockage in Abdul Aziz's colon that prevented him from excreting stool.. It was decided to perform a surgical operation consisting of an opening in Abdul Aziz's belly to temporarily remove stool from his intestines until the affected part of the colon was removed in another complex surgical operation that cost thousands of dollars..😭😭
I am speaking to you now with great sadness about my child's condition and I ask you to help me and donate to me to collect the costs of the operation within a month from now.
I appeal to everyone who can donate any amount, no matter how small, because it will save my child and give us hope.
Please don't leave my son alone to suffer and struggle in these difficult days alone.. You can support my campaign by donating what you can or share my posts to reach others who can help us by raising the cost of the surgery you are helping in the life of an innocent child with your small contribution. ❤❤🍉🍉
Every donation makes a difference in his very difficult life
YALL THIS ONE IS VETTED!!!!!!!
#oliver quick#joseph quinn#my queen#status quo#quotes#queer#quoteoftheday#queer nsft#queue#quran#queer artist#queen#questions#book quote
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But did Star Trek give us an Afrofuturist utopia? Did DS9 get a movie I haven't heard of? No one is denying the impact of Star Trek, but the entire franchise put together has fewer black characters of note than just the first Black Panther movie.
Do you seriously think making one entry to your established formula franchise in 2018 with a predominantly black cast is 'doing more' than writing an explicitly and confrontationally post-racialised future where bridge officers were Black, Japanese, and Russian on US network TV in 1966?
#Star Trek is certainly not perfect but it engages seriously with ethical issues and what society should be#it holds up a critical mirror to contemporary reality and challenges it#it is aspirational and posits genuine transformational change#the MCU is status quo American propaganda where only villains ever meaningfully question the system#and the most radical idealism possible to conceive is the Right People being in charge of that system and nothing otherwise needs changing#they only do anything because it's safe and ultimately unchallenging#if they didn't think it was safe the corporate overlords wouldn't have done it#they did it because genre fiction has been breaking this ground for the last sixty years and now it's thoroughly ploughed#but you just dismiss that out of hand as if there's anything that isn't mercenary behind it#US imperialism is in the bedrock of the mcu and that does actually matter
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