#This happened as a protest of censorship to show how stupid it is and it went through | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

xbladekitkat85 · 4 years ago

Text

Why Clint is on Tony’s Sh*t List

Word count: A bit over 3k.

Chapter summary: Peter and Harley are brothers and the children of Tony Stark. Which is highly classified knowledge that nobody outside of the Avengers knows. Until Clint Barton accidentally spills the secret with a technology related mishap.

Warnings: A bit of language here and there. Tony threatening Clint’s life because he did an oopsie.

Peter's POV

In the school that is Midtown School of Science and Technology, everyone is basically a genius of some sort. You have biology geeks, math geeks, chemistry geeks, robotics geeks. You name a branch of STEM subjects, there are guaranteed to be at least 5 masters in every subject.

That being said, being a master in a subject doesn't mean that you would be instantly popular. Sure you might get hounded for homework help, but it doesn't mean you actually make friends as easily. It's more like people want to leech off of your knowledge and don't bother to get to know you.

There's a social pyramid in all schools and let's just say I'm towards the bottom of mine. I build Lego sets, I love Star Wars, I'm a whiz at chemistry and math. But people ignore the fact that I'm 'somewhat' intelligent and focus on the Lego and Star Wars part of my image. Which sucks big time. At least I'm graduating this year.

But at least I have my brother Harley to confide in. We argue over stupid stiff but we both enjoy poking fun at each other.

3rd person POV

Peter was sitting at his usual table with his small group of friends. Ned, MJ, and Betty made up this small group of people.

"So, what are you guys doing this weekend?" Ned asked the group.

"Uhhhh, I was planning on going to see that new movie coming out." Betty answered. "You know, the one with Emilia Clarke and what's his name."

"Oh yeah, I know which one you're talking about." Ned replied.

"You losers can go see a movie, I'm going to a protest outside of Oscorp." MJ replied, sipping her thermos of coffee.

"What did Oscorp do?" Peter asked curiously.

"They're trying to cover up an employee getting severely injured, the safety protocols are shitty, and HR is as usual, the worst part of it all in addition to the censorship of the incident online."

Peter nodded his head, eyes widened.

"Gotcha. I definitely understand why you're going."

MJ set her thermos down and opened her latest book, Speak.

Ned turned to look at Peter.

"Stark internship all weekend?" He inquired.

Peter shrugged and took a sip of water.

"I'm gonna hang out with Harley. Probably do some stuff in the lab. Usual stuff."

Betty shook her head in disbelief.

"I still can't believe you're friends with him." She said. "He's pretty high on the social ladder here. I mean I know you guys have the internship together but it's still kind of baffling that I never see you interacting in school."

Ohhhhh, if you only knew Betty. Peter laughed to himself on the inside.

Nobody at school knew that Peter and Harley were half brothers and the children of Tony Stark. Not even Ned or MJ knew although he suspected that MJ somehow knew or was close to figuring it out. She's scarily perceptive and freakishly good at knowing things about other people that she definitely shouldn't.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

The four friends parted ways and headed to their respective classes.

*After school*

Peter arrived at the tower straight from Delmar's after picking up snacks for the weekend. He had grabbed an assortment, ranging from potato chips to pretzel M&Ms. He waved at Ms. Maldonado, the lady who commanded the reception area and dashed to the elevator, scanning his pass when prompted.

FRIDAY greeted him when the doors closed.

"How was your day Peter? Harley is already waiting for you. He told me to tell you, and I quote, "Peter, I hope you remembered my PRETZEL M&Ms not PEANUT M&M's like last time. If you forgot, I'm going to steal that new Lego set you were planning on building tomorrow. And I WILL hide it somewhere you'll never, ever, find it. Insert maniacal cackling, blah blah blah."

Peter stifled a laugh at Harley's message.

"Uh, well my day was the usual, you know. And tell Harley I got his stupid M&Ms. And I grabbed him something else too if he promises not to threaten the Legos again."

"Sure thing, Peter."

He exited the elevator to the floor which housed the labs he shared with Harley. There were multiple as the duo tended to accidentally blow things up and would need to have another place to work while repairs were being done. Needless to say, Tony was more than a little annoyed that his kids needed multiple labs because they kept blowing them up. But whatever, he loves them and will pay for it as long as he gets to blackmail them with all the ridiculous stories of what blew up and how it happened.

Harley looked up towards the door Peter walked through and lifted his welding mask off his face.

"Hand over the merchandise, blockhead." He said, his arm stretched towards the bag of goodies Peter was carrying.

"Only if you promise to leave the Legos alone, biotch." He replied.

Harley rolled his eyes and dramatically lifted his hand in the air as if he was testifying in court.

"I promise not to touch the Legos." He said in a half joking tone.

Peter handed him the pack of M&Ms as well as a container of Oreos.

"I still don't understand why you like pretzel M&Ms." Peter remarked. "There's too much pretzel and not enough chocolate."

Harley stared directly at him as he tore open the M&Ms and popped a few in his mouth.

"I don't understand why you don't like pineapple on pizza." Harley shot back as he swiveled around in his chair

Peter groaned.

"We are not having this discussion again."

"Peter you're an idiot if you don't like pineapple on your pizza."

"Harley, you're a disgrace to the entire state of New York if you do. Fruit is not supposed to go on a proper pizza."

Harley chucked a bolt at Peter's head.

"Hey!" He protested as he turned to look at Harley. And then he saw a glint in Harley's eyes.

"Pizza is a dish with everything from the food pyramid. You have grain, dairy, meat, vegetables, fats, and oh, wait, you don't like pineapple so you're missing out. You could be getting every nutrient from the food pyramid but you're an idiot so you miss your daily serving of delicious pineapple on your pizza."

"Oh my god, stop."

The boys busted out laughing for a full 3 minutes, eventually with Harley falling out of his chair. Tony walked in to find his kids cackling at who knows what, and one on the floor, almost incapacitated by his laughter. He sighed before clearing his throat to gain their attention.

The boys sobered up and finally stopped laughing but they had unshed tears left from the fun.

"What on earth were you two dying of laughter over? Should I call a therapist? Do I need to be concerned? Did you eat something that you shouldn't have?"

Harley sniggered as Peter was trying to keep a straight face.

"He was eating pretzel M&Ms!" Peter said, holding back his laughter. "The type that should be illegal!"

"Peter, you don't diss Pretzel M&Ms, they're an underappreciated member of the M&Ms family. If you think pretzel M&Ms should be illegal, you clearly haven't tried the raspberry ones." Harley replied while doing his best to keep his face straight. "If anything, you should call a therapist for Peter and help him overcome his aversion to pineapple on pizza."

Tony looked even more lost than he was before.

"Ok, I don't know what I'm supposed to make of this. FRIDAY, show me footage of what the hell happened while I wasn't here."

"Sure thing boss."

Friday pulled up security footage of Harley and Peter's conversation. Tony watched it as the two teens were snickering behind him. After he understood the situation he turned to his kids and let out a tired sigh.

"Ok, I don't understand your sense of humor, but I came to tell you that we're having Italian for dinner."

Peter pumped his fist and Harley just shrugged.

"Italian is fine by me I guess."

"All right kiddos, be in the dining room by 7ish or else I'll cut the power to these labs. We eat as a family."

*Time skip*

It was 2 am, Monday morning and everything was silent except for the faint noise of shuffling towards the ceiling.

Clint Barton was crawling around in the vents, obviously on his way to do something he probably shouldn't be.

He had lost a bet with Nat earlier and the punishment was that he had to steal something for blackmail off of FRIDAY's databases.

He quietly dropped out of a vent shaft into an important looking office. He didn't bother checking who it belonged to but he was already too far gone to ask.

"Ok Nat, what do you want me to look for?" He whispered into his earpiece.

"Check the computer on the desk. The password is written on a sticky note in your pocket."

He checked his pocket and there was indeed a post it with a password on it.

"Ok, what am I supposed to find?" He asked once he logged in.

"Look for footage from the labs." She said. "Check labs CTS2 and IAI1."

"CTS2 and IAI1, gotcha." He reaffirmed.

He browsed around until he found the cameras he needed.

"Ok, found em. What dates should I look at?"

"Look at this past Friday," She answered, "around 4:45 to 6:15 pm. Tony drank from a can of motor oil instead of his coffee cup. I would like this footage in my posession. For my entertainment, and possibly blackmail to pull on him."

"All righty, ok, uhhhh." He muttered as he searched through that window of time.

He watched snippets of the footage and fast forwarded a few times until he glimpsed footage of Harley swiveling around in his chair as Peter looked exasperated. He paused and rewound to see what the situation was.

As Clint watched the whole argument play out and the aftermath, a shit eating grin began to spread across his face. He emailed himself the whole interaction for his own entertainment (blackmail, cough cough) and went back to searching for what he originally came for. He eventually found it, sent it to Natasha, logged out of the computer, and climbed into the open vent.

"You get it?" Nat asked suspiciously.

"Oh yeah, I got it." He said, trying to hold back the mischievous laughter that was threatening to let loose. He checked his phone to see whether he got the email he sent to himself. But to his surprise and sudden panic, it was not there. His social media, however, was blowing up with comments about the two kids and who they were and theories people were spouting.

"Oh shit."

"What did you do, Clinton?" Nat asked in a threateningly monotone voice.

Clint banged his head on the vent, forgetting that he still had his comms on.

"I may or may not have accidentally exposed Peter and Harley as Tony's kids."

Nat was silent for a moment before she finally responded.

"Tony's probably going to kill you for this, so you should pack your bags right now. Make funeral arrangements as well and update your will."

"Ah shit."

*Monday morning, 6:45 am*

Peter woke up to his phone ringing. He groaned and turned on his side to ignore the call. The phone rang again and he sighed before reluctantly sitting up and grabbing his phone.

What the hell, who's calling this early?

He looked at his notifications and saw multiple missed calls and texts from Ned and MJ. Something must have happened because Ned had typed in all caps, 'PETER EVERYONE KNOWS! CALL ME NOW!' MJ's text just said, 'I knew already. Don't try to hide it from me whenever you come to school.'

Instantly, Peter was wide awake. Did the whole world know he was Spiderman? But how did this happen, who would leak that information and how did they get it?

He called Ned and before he could even say, "What's up?" Ned butted in with a sentence he was not expecting.

"Peter, when were you going to tell me your dad was Tony Stark?! This is even bigger than Spiderman! As your Guy in the Chair, I think this knowledge might have been missing in our conversations."

Peter was at a loss for words as he stood up.

"It's all over social media and people are going apeshit over this!"

"Ned, you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet." Peter replied in a nervous tone as he began pacing back and forth in his room. "How do you know the source is credible? Remember what Ms. Hernandez said about credibility when giving information in an essays or whatever?"

"But Peter, Hawkeye was the one who posted it. You know, the Avenger who shoots arrows?"

Peter stopped pacing and froze midstep.

Uncle Clint was behind this? But why?

"You sure he wasn't hacked?" Peter asked as he feebly attempted to get out of this confrontation.

"No, it's security footage from a lab. Tony said in the video that you guys were a family."

Peter then realized that he couldn't worm his way out of this situation. The whole world knew he and Harley were brothers and the sons of Tony Stark. Of course this happened, why wouldn't it?

"I'm going to call you back, I need to talk to Clint." Peter said.

"Ok, just let me know if you and Harley are going to be ok or not." Ned replied.

"Bye Ned."

"Bye."

Peter hung up and took a deep breath before leaving his room to go find Clint.

He entered the kitchen and almost everyone was there except the one person he wanted to talk to.

"Hey, uh, where's uncle Clint?" Peter asked.

Uncle Steve looked up from his breakfast.

"He left last night. Family emergency."

"Uh huh, so correct me if I'm wrong but Clint left because dad was going to kill him, right?"

Suddenly everyone was avoiding eye contact with Peter. Yup, everyone knew what happened.

Just then, Tony walked in with a very irritated expression.

"I don't think you and Harley are going to be able to go to school today. Some kid from your school, Dash or something posted you go to school with him and know you both. So there are multiple news stations outside the tower and surrounding your school. Might be best to just stay home today."

"Is Uncle Clint still alive?" Harley asked as he walked in, yawning.

"He is alive," Tony responded "Not for much longer though."

"Dad, you can't just kill him." Peter protested. "It's not like he actually did anything that warrants his death."

"I don't think he meant to do it." Harley added. "He deleted it maybe 10 minutes after he posted it but other people recorded it on their own devices and re shared it. He probably realized what he had done and tried to delete it but of course, once it's out there, it's out there."

"Don't kill Uncle Clint, he's got a wife and kids. Besides, we need him on the team." Peter said.

"We don't need Clint," Tony said, waving his hand. "I already got a replacement set up."

Peter had not heard of this new team member that was apparently going to replace Clint.

"Who is it?" Harley asked curiously.

"Kate Bishop. She's already on her way here. Clint trained her to take over the mantle of Hawkeye anyway so it shouldn't be that big a deal." Tony shrugged. "She's a bit older than you two, 18 or 19, I can't remember at the moment."

"Ok, then, as long as she's trusted by you." Peter relented.

"Don't know what she might be like, but if Clint trained her, and they share similar personalities, whatever spirits above help us." Harley said solemnly.

Peter smacked Harley's arm.

"Hey!" He complained.

"She's not even here yet and you are badmouthing her already. Have some manners, dude."

"It doesn't matter at the moment right? You said it yourself, she's not here yet and I will 'have some manners' when she does."

All of a sudden, Peter heard a nearly imperceptible shuffling coming from above. He felt a shiver go down his spine and the instinct to get into a defensive position.

"He's right, you should have some manners young man." An unfamiliar voice boomed from above.

Harley looked around wildly in confusion.

"Who's there?! Are you a spirit from above???" He asked.

All of a sudden, a figure dropped out of the vent directly above Harley and tackled him to the ground.

"And that is Kate Bishop." Tony said, answering the question in everyone's mind.

Kate released Harley from her grip and she helped him up.

"Clint was right," She said, smiling. "Crawling through the vents to prank people is fun."

She looked up to the open vent and held out her arms, to everyone's confusion.

"Lucky, come on down!" She called.

To everyone's shock, a dog with one good eye poked his head out from the vent and jumped into Kate's arms.

"Oh crap, nobody has allergies to dog dander, right?" Kate asked, looking at everyone.

"Maybe? I'm not sure." Peter replied.

"Damn, I should have checked before bringing him, huh." Kate muttered.

Tony waved his hand at the dog.

"As long as he's potty trained, we should be fine." He said, trying to reassure her worries. "We're all fine with dogs."

Peter thought back to all the dogs he's pet on patrol. They always seemed happy to play with him and now there was a dog in the tower. Huzzah, he didn't get to only pet dogs on patrol now!

"Well, all's well that ends well, right?" Peter said.

"How about everyone gets acquainted with Kate?" Tony suggested. "It's not like you two are going to school today anyway."

Peter and Harley agreed and that day became a get to know the new team member day.

Peter texted Ned to let him know he was going to school the next day and invited him to the tower after school to meet someone. Oh the look on Ned's face when he found out would be priceless.

Taglist:

@frostedgiant

Send an ask if you would like to be tagged!

#marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #peter parker #tony stark #harley keener #kate bishop #ned leeds #mj #michelle jones #clint barton #natasha romanoff #irondad #irondad fanfic #fanfiction #hawkeye #ironman #spiderman

33 notes · View notes

zkenvs3000 · 4 years ago

Text

Privilege, what is it good for?

In this unit, we defined “risk” in several different ways. The first and probably most commonly used definition of the word is as follows: “the possibility that something unpleasant or unwelcome will happen”. I think most people would agree with this definition and it is understood that people take risks of their own free will. But we never defined the word “privilege”. To me the word privilege means to be able to do or say something without being concerned with the potential outcome. In other words, being able to take risks without fear while knowing that there is a possibility of something unpleasant or unwelcome happening as a result. We, as people living in a first world western country, take risks every single day without thinking about them. We can walk around and explore our surroundings freely without the fear of being kidnapped or killed. We have the ability to freely practice whatever religion we agree with without the fear of being persecuted by society for our beliefs. We have the ability to say whatever we want (within reason) without the fear of being murdered by the people that disagree with us. But we call these things “rights”, not privilege.

Two men arguing about their beliefs at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C.. Photo by @mariagrklens on Unsplash.

Being able to live this way without realizing that it is a privilege, is a privilege. People say stupid things on social media all the time and they get lost in the stream of information that comes with being able to use those services on a daily basis. In other countries, people are not so lucky. Censorship is rampant. Journalists get murdered for speaking out against corruption in other parts of the world all the time. Just last year, people in Hong Kong were arrested for peacefully protesting the tyranny of the Chinese government. They were forcefully silenced by the very people they were trying to expose for forcefully silencing people.

People in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong protesting against the Communist Party of China. Photo by @arturkornakov on Unsplash.

Here in North America, we were able to elect a president that openly supported white supremacists along with his vice president that openly hated gay people. Even with all these privileges, people in our own society live in fear of taking risks. Women (and men to a lesser degree) have to stay vigilant whenever they go outside by themselves for fear of being attacked. Minorities have to stay vigilant whenever they go outside for fear of being profiled or targeted because of their race, gender, or religion. Both groups have to stay vigilant because they may not be treated equally within their own society. Poor people can’t afford to take risks like buying the latest phone because they’re probably more concerned with paying off debts or where their next meal is coming from. Humans within our own privileged society have been robbed of their basic privileges.

People protesting systemic racism in the United States during the Black Lives Matter Protests last year. Photo by @eadesstudio on Unsplash.

In the context of nature interpretation, privilege means to be able to explore nature freely without being concerned with the risks. Natural areas here are preserved and maintained by the government; many communities have preserved forests and bodies of water within them for people to explore and learn about. I can go to my local forest and climb a tree knowing full well that if I fell out and broke my leg, I can use my phone to call for help and go to the hospital where they’ll fix it for free. I can wander around like an idiot knowing that I have Google Maps to show me the way home. I have the privilege of being able to get a university education that helps me understand the natural world around me and explore it in whatever ways I see fit. Heck, I even have the privilege of spending my time writing this blog right now. Even within nature, animals don’t have the privilege of complex thoughts or the ability to communicate their concerns. They can’t even tell the humans that live alongside them when we’re overstepping our boundaries and destroying the place that we live in or how it’s affecting the organisms around us. I believe that it’s our responsibility as the dominant species on this planet and as human beings with privilege to share it with those that don’t. We should speak for the plants and animals that can’t do so and preserve the environment that we all share. We should help to give a voice to those living without privilege so that we can work towards a society where everyone can take the same risks and suffer the same consequences. In the end, we should use our privilege to give everyone and everything the right to have privilege in the first place.

4 notes · View notes

surveys-at-your-service · 4 years ago

Text

Survey #315

“can’t breathe to scream / suffocating in this dream / long way down”

Who was your first big crush? I would probably say this guy in high school named Sebastian. We sat beside each other in Art, and I definitely liked him a lot. Man, my freshman-sophomore years honestly involved a handful of crushes before Jason popped into the picture and I lost all romantic interest in everyone else. Where was the first place you drove after you got your license? N/A Is it a blue sky outside right now? No. All North Carolina has known for weeks on end now is rain. We've had very rare sunny days, but for the most part, it's just gray and gross. Was your last breakup a bad one? Nah, I'd say it ended maturely and with a mutual understanding of "why." When was the last time you were surprised, in a pleasant way? Hell if I know. Is there an ice-cream flavor that you strongly dislike? Which one? Yeah, like strawberry. What was the last sitcom you watched? No clue. ^ Do you have a favorite character in that sitcom? Why is that character your favorite? N/A What does the last group you joined on Facebook concern? I am 90% sure it was this group I joined that is literally just about cute yet dangerous animals lmao, mostly reptiles and invertebrates. "Misunderstood biteybois and where to befriemd them" or some stupid shit like that. Has there been a spider in your house at any time recently? Not that I've seen, no. Do you like wearing make-up? Not at all. I only like wearing it for pictures and then taking that shit off. ^ If so, how old were you when you first started to wear it? I started consistently wearing it my freshman year of high school. Then some time later I just showed up one day without any, shocked all my friends, and then only wore it when I felt like it. What foods are you craving lately, if any? Nothing, really. What were some of your favorite foods as a child? Chicken nuggets of course, as well as spaghetti, peanut butter sandwiches, just the typical stuff that kids tend to enjoy. When you were younger, did you ever have a friend that your parents hated? No. Have you ever talked in your sleep before? That's very normal for me, especially now that I have nightmares like every goddamn night. What was the last song you heard, that reminded you of someone? Well, not a real someone, but "The Ordinary World" by the Hit House is 110% one of Fetch's soon-to-be themes. What has brought you joy today? Nothing brought me "joy," really. When was the last time you won a prize in a raffle? What was it? I actually recently won an art rafle on deviantART hosted by a truly amazing artist, like I thought I had no chance, and she's going to be drawing Moondust!!!! :'''') What is the next non-essential item that you intend to buy for yourself? I'm still paying the bulk of my tattoo in May. Is there anywhere in your town/city that's rumored to be haunted? Oh, I'm sure. When you were younger, did you ever think that a certain place was haunted? Bitch I still do lmao. What were your school meals like? Did you enjoy them? This really depended on the menu for the day. My school lunches were nowhere near as bad as some people make theirs sound, but most things still weren't great. I think school pizzas are the most notoriously bad. What kind of granola bar did you eat most recently? I had a cashew bar earlier today. Do you have any books on your shelf that you've read multiple times? I never reread books. What did your last post on social media concern? That I personally wrote, something regarding subtle racism still being racism, pretty much. How do you feel about people using graphic images as a scare tactic to promote their beliefs? (i.e.: PETA, abortion…) I have mixed feelings on this. Like sometimes seeing the brutal side of certain things is definitely useful in opening someone's mind to things they don't want to see/think about, but then there's that, too: it can just be so invasive and unexpected, and thus very upsetting and even scarring. I'd say I'm most for the "appropriate" social media route: using censorship that the viewer can decide whether or not to remove. But you obviously can't do that in like, a public protest with a sign, so idk. Which is harder for you: writing creatively or academically? Honestly, both are pretty easy for me. I enjoy writing creatively far more, though. Do you think gender neutral bathrooms are a good idea? I think it's fine to have them as an option. When was the last time you voluntarily went outside of your comfort zone? Just talking about stuff in group therapy recently. Would you ever use a dating site that costs money, like Match.com or eHarmony? Have you known anyone who had good experience with such sites? No, and yes. Do you think it’s fair that people are able to make a reasonable salary and live comfortable lives just by making YouTube videos? Yes? It takes charisma and talent in some area (humor, education, etc.) as well as consistency for it to be a reliable career, and just consider how often you hear about creators burning out. That happens for a reason. Entertainment is a valid job category and should not be seen as an unfair joke. Whether you’re in college or not, do you become fearful about whether or not you’ll find a good job? Story of my life. What is something you can only understand if you've experienced it first hand? Deep heartbreak. Do you think it's a double standard that a woman can hit a man and expect to get away with it, but if a man hits a woman it's assault? Obviously. Abuse knows no gender, and hitting another person is just that. I do, however, believe in self-defense, also regardless of gender. In terms of a wedding, put these things in order from what would be MOST important to be perfect, to LEAST important... Engagement ring, dress, hair, venue, ceremony, food, pictures, decorations, honeymoon. This requires too much thinking, haha... but I do know the quality of my honeymoon would be most important to me, given that that's personal time with my new spouse and not a public celebration. I feel like what goes on behind closed doors is more important and heartfelt than how you act publicly. Do you have a go-to small talk conversation topic? Probably video games or music, idk. Define "small talk." Does anyone owe you money? Do you owe anyone money? (Besides credit cards) Mom does. She just a few days ago had to borrow $100 for rent. If someone was going to buy you any practical gift (anything except a house or car), what would you choose? It'd be dope as fuck if someone could pay for Venus' next terrarium, but that's a big purchase that I'd have a hard time accepting. How many people do you know with the same first name as you? At least one, but her name is spelled differently. What in your opinion is the best love song ever written? I'm not sure, but I can tell you that "When It's Love" by Van Halen has always been high on the list for me. Was your mother married when she had you? No, actually. I thought she was until my most recent bday, I think. It was just part of a conversation. How old was the first person you kissed? He was a few months into 18. The first person you were in a relationship with, do you still care about them? Of course, he's a sweet guy. We don't talk or anything, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him. Has anyone ever sang to you? Yes. So, what if you married the last person you kissed? That'd be pretty rad. What are you listening to at the moment? "Long Way Down" from the The Evil Within soundtrack. It's funny, like I've loved the game for many years, but I'm now in a serious semi-obsession phase after watching another let's play of it. Have you read the The Hunger Games trilogy? I only read the first book. I loved it, but just never continued. What is your boss’ (or school prinicpal’s) name? N/A Who is the person you dislike the most? That I personally know, probably a former best friend, oddly enough. Do you text your parents often? If Mom's not home, it's not unusual for us to text. I don't text my dad much because he's not a fan of texting. Do you watch YouTube videos often? Pretty much always. Do you know anyone with celiac disease? Sara, my aunt, and my cousin. Those are the ones I know of, anyway. Do you currently have any alarms set? No. How many cars can fit in your driveway? Barely even two. If someone else is here, they usually just park where the road meets the sidewalk of the cul-de-sac. Do you have the ashes of a family member or a pet? Of my dog Teddy, yes. Have you ever been involved in a car crash? Yes, as a kid. Do you prefer flash or no flash on a camera? Definitely no flash. It's more natural, and especially with people, it obviously prevents red eye. How often do you use hashtags? Just about never. Have you ever had whiplash before? No. Have you ever given another person or an animal a bath before? Pets, yes. I could never bathe another human. Is there a birdbath in your yard? No. Weirdest place you’ve ever had a cramp? Nowhere weird, I think... How many lamps are in the room you’re in? How many are actually turned on? Technically three, if you count my snake's heat lamp. Right now that's the only light that's on. Are there any activities you enjoy doing, but can only do for a short amount of time before you get bored or tired of them? Yeah, reading comes to mind first. Is there anything coming out soon (books, albums, movies, video games) that you're looking forward to? I'm not up-to-date on this stuff at all, not even video games. What is something someone recommended to you that you disliked/hated? I know Girt's recommended me music I haven't been a fan of. We like the same general stuff, but there are specific sub-genres we differ in opinion about. Can you unwrap a Starburst in your mouth? ... There are people who do this to even know in the first place??? What is the last thing you ate? Popcorn. Who is your favorite person to spend time with? Sara. Do you know how to grill a steak? I don't know how to cook, period. Do you have a large dog? We don't have a dog currently, but Mom is looking for one pretty intently. We don't know the size it'll end up being. Do you like walking places? Absolutely not. I can't walk far at all without my legs starting to scream at me because leading such a sedentary lifestyle led to muscle atrophy in my legs. It's incredibly embarrassing. Are you a fan of bands most people don’t know of? That's not uncommon for me. Have you ever sent an X-Rated picture to someone? No. Do you think your voice is higher or lower than average? It's deeper than the average woman's. Do you have a pool? No, but I really, really want one... Given how easily I sweat, I would love to use swimming to strengthen my legs. I could also stop the very moment I feel I need to; it in general sounds like something I could quite easily do. How many times have you been on a plane? Ummm including the trips going back, at least six times. Favorite ice cream flavor? Oh my gooooood, if you haven't tried Ben & Jerry's "phish food"... fucking try that shit. It is innnnnncredible. Do you have a TikTok? Nope. Do you enjoy driving? Fuck no I don't. Your favorite store as a teen? Hot Topic was and still is my fave, ha. Favorite YouTuber? There's this one called Markiplier that I think's pretty cool. How many online accounts do you have? A LOT. My whole life is essentially on the computer, so... .-. Do you tend to always be in some sort of drama? Quite the opposite. Do you collect quarters from every state? No. When was the last time your living room furniture was rearranged? Not since we moved into this place. When you were little did you like watching Cartoon Network, Disney or Nickelodeon more? Disney probably topped Nickelodeon. I didn't watch much CN. Who was the last person to kiss you on the cheek? Either my niece or nephew when saying bye. Have you ever seen a magic show? Yes, as a kid. I even had a magician for my bday once. When was the last time you vomited and why? It's been a year or so. It would've been a side effect of starting a certain med that I didn't stay on because it so consistently made me sick. Where do you usually sit when you eat dinner? Either in my bed (I know) or at the dinner table if Nicole is here to eat with us. What time do you usually go to sleep at night? It's typically around 7:30-8:30, occasionally a bit later. I can't believe as a teen, it was my "rule" that I couldn't go to sleep before 10:30 because it was "too early." Nowadays, I can barely imagine regularly staying up that late. Do you avoid using public restrooms? As best as I can. I've seen some nasty shit. What’s your favorite type of cookie? Chocolate chip. How basic.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''long way down'' - the evil within ost

3 notes · View notes

stephenjaymorrisblog · 4 years ago

Photo

Today’s Pig is Tomorrow’s Bacon

Thursday, June 11, 2020

By Stephen Jay Morris

©Scientific Morality

History to some is a boring subject. The way it was presented to me in grade school was all about memorizing dates and peoples’ names you didn’t really care about. It was about the mid term, and then the final exam. Public school curriculum was always a tug of wag between progressive methods and conservative techniques of education.

So, who won the war? Neither ideology won. It became a compromise of mediocrity. Most subjects in school were anemic because of censorship by various groups on the left or right; mostly right wing Christian groups. That is why science classes were so flimsy. You couldn’t teach that the world was billions of years old because it contradicted the bible.

History is not boring! You remember your own name and birth date, don’t you? Well…I am going to lay down some history on you: my own! My history parallels social history. Back then I wasn’t just a spectator of history, but a participant.

In the late 60s, what was happening in the black community was a daily ritual of police brutality. If you were black and walking anywhere, you were stopped, frisked, searched, and asked for identification. Were you to show any disrespect to the cops, you would “accidentally” fall down on your face and cause injuries to your body. It was their word against yours.

Other non-white people suffered the same injustices by the police. And, so did white hippies! Long hair meant you were on dope and you were a “nigger-lover.” I had my share of police harassment. My long hair covered my face, so my white skin privilege was suspended until I got a haircut. “Are you a boy or a girl?” a cop would ask. There was also penis privilege, of which mine was revoked because I had long hair. There used to be heterosexual privilege; mine was canceled until I got…well, you know. If you had long hair, the cops would call you a cock sucking queer. All I had to do was get a haircut and all my problems would be over. However, for those who were Black, it was a constant, day-to-day struggle.

Enter the Black Panther Party. The Panthers were not some ideological or political group. In the beginning, they were a militant Civil Rights group, which ultimately became the vanguard of the New Left revolution. They supported Third World resistance and uprising against Imperialism. They were in support of the Viet Cong and others. Their focus was on police brutality. The Panthers went on street patrols, armed with rifles and law books. When they saw cops harassing someone, they would stand nearby, shouting instructions to the victim on how he should legally respond. They put a halt to police harassment for a couple of years. It was illegal to call a cop a curse word, so the Panthers would call them “pigs.” That word was and is protected by the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Once, I used that word to some cops.

In 1970, I was on my way home, walking. I was in the alley that ran adjacent to my house, when some unmarked cop car stopped beside me. Inside, there were two plain-clothes, white cops in dark sunglasses, with sideburns and mustaches. They looked like characters from the sit-com, “Reno 911.” They were dressed in casual clothes, like male models out of a department store ad in the Sunday paper. The driver asked me, “Have you seen a Chicano wearing khaki pants and a yellow shirt, about 6 feet 4, walk by here?” Now, I was a stupid, 16-year-old militant, so in a reflex action, I replied, “I didn’t see shit, pig!” Both of them were clearly exasperated, plus they were wielding giant flashlights that cops commonly used as Billy clubs. They slowly exited their car and approached me. One of them asked softly, “What did you say?” I felt a surge of adrenaline invading my belly; I knew that I was going to get the shit beat out of me! Just then, behind me, I heard my mom open the front door of my house. With great relief, I turned around and said, “Hey, mom!” She didn’t say a word, but she looked concerned. The head pig said to my mom, “Ma’am! Tell your son to watch his mouth!” They both got in their car and sped off in pursuit of their suspect. What was even scarier was that this incident occurred right next to my house on Martel Avenue!

That’s just one of many encounters I had with the cops. This next anecdote took place in my high school history classroom. My history teacher enjoyed holding class discussions of current events. One day, were talking about police brutality and how to stop it. Now, this was 1969 and the network news nightly showed film clips of cops bashing and whacking the hell out of student demonstrators with their batons. By this time, I was in solidarity with the Black Panther Party, who’d proposed having community control of the police department. I said to classroom, “We should abolish the police department!” One girl’s eyes popped out her head and she shrieked, “Are you out of your mind?! Who is going to protect the public from crime?” To this, I replied, “The community peace patrol, I imagine!” Then she had the nerve to recite this bumper sticker text, “Well...if you don’t like the police, next time you are trouble, call a hippie!” It turned out that her dad was a cop. The bell rang and my teacher said, “What Stephen said is a valid point. Good day.” Wow! No teacher had ever validated anything I said!

So here we are. It seems a million years since the Chicago cops assassinated Black Panther Fred Hampton, and it’s been just 15 days since a cop murdered George Floyd. His murder started a wild fire of protests and riots around the world. There are calls now from the Black Lives Matter movement to defund the police. I also heard some anarchists calling for the abolition of the police department. Bam! Some ideas never die.

So, what do I believe now? Since the police are part of the working class, they should be revolutionized toward progressive values. They should take off the uniform and not carry guns. They should be trained in the martial arts. They should be peace officers not police officers. Progressive unions should represent them. I say abolish the police department and transform it into a community peace force.

The white-wingers (formerly, right-wingers) claim they are pro-police. They are not. They only support the cops when they violently abuse some poor victim. Now, should the cops go on strike for higher wages, you will not see one conservative on the picket line with them. Conservatives are not willing to pay higher taxes to support their local police. Hell, no! They’d rather privatize the police force and have them guard and protect the white rich and their acres upon acres of property. Here’s one argument worth contemplating: Abolish the police so they can never be privatized!

Okay, Boomer?

Take a listen to this song I wrote in 1980 about the Los Angeles Police Department:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpIzWoS0Vto

#george floyd #blacklivesmatter #60s #poets of tumblr #stephenjaymorris #defund the police

1 note · View note

lefrenchfox · 5 years ago

Text

Should I come back to DeviantArt ?

Obviously, making a brand new account there (since I can’t use my own account anymore, because of the permanent ban hammer put on it). Should I come back at DeviantArt ? Since everybody apparently of the fetish community still massively ignore any other platform outside of this shit platform that is DA ? I feel like people overall don’t leave me much choices, because of their F-ing resilience to stay on DeviantArt, despite all the troll, despite all the hates, the shiny little pricks that use anonymousity to act asshole and report everything that don’t please them. DeviantArt is the place that put me down after years of presence basically because i draw titties of fictional characters ... And here is the terrible dilemna I have now :

1/ - Staying outside of DeviantArt forever, and trying to make my way out of this shithole ?

2/ - Coming back to DeviantArt with a brand new account, and recreate a link with people that are apparently obstinated to stay there and gives me no choice than being part of it myself if I want interaction with them ?... The problems with 1 : Overall, nobody cares of you if you’re not on Deviantart. Clearly... That’s something that pisses me off. But it’s like Facebook, the sad truth is that you can spit and shit on Facebook, if you’re not on it, just because everyone else has decided to be on it, you’re forced to be part of it or you’ll just cease to exist from the eyes of 90% of people. The problems with 2 : Yeaaah, I might rebuilt something there, once again from scratch ... and get back to everyone who has been magnificently ignoring me after my ban (including people I used to call ��friend”) and staid there... But then I would be back into troubles again... censorship, troll, my constant weekly lot of report attempts on my stuff to virtually kill me, the hates ... and because of retarded brainless SJW nazis mods, eventually bans again ... And what about my dignity ?... Crawling back to DeviantArt after having been clearly pissed on fabulously and kicked in the nuts, would be like a glaring admission of weakness. The definitive proof of victory DeviantArt has on artist because, whatever how asshole and disrespectful they can, you just have to bent the knee... It’s all people fault ! DeviantArt has become abusively dick with fetish artists, everyone saw that, going with stupid policies, even regarding fictional characters that aren’t living being and hence can’t be harmed by any mean (since they’re not actual people, there are no offense possible to object... because they are just objects...) People see that, but people don’t react. They see artists they like getting banned but yet, instead of protesting, showing support by moving on elsewhere where fetish artists are better treated, they sat on their ass and goes : “oh well, whatever... I’ve these other artists not being banned yet i can enjoy... I’ll not protest and lets things happens”.... And doing so, they are actually giving legitimacy to DeviantArt to be asshole with fetish artists. It’s all people fault !... But this being said... What can I do about it ? Nothing ... Unless one day DeviantArt is stomped, destroyed and burnt to the ground, leaving apathetic people no choice but finally moving on elsewhere (I dream of that day... really...) or unless suddenly people wake up and realize DeviantArt IS NOT friendly to fetish and mature content artists (but yeah, never gonna happen because the average mature content enthusiast just don’t give actual shit to the well-being of the artists they enjoyed...) So yeah.... Should I come back to deviantart, or not ?...

13 notes · View notes

secretsofthemasquerade · 6 years ago

Text

What the fuck is happening with V5, neonazis, and shits.

So, first, terminology. Everything I am going to be talking about here concerns the company White Wolf Publishing, which is the Swedish company created by Paradox Interactive for when they bought back the IP from CCP.

This DOES NOT include Onyx Path (with whom I have grievances, but they are mostly a question of taste and some of their business practices I am somewhat disapprove of, but this has nothing to do with them), and their classical authors, whom have nothing to do in the thing. So don’t go about telling Richard Thomas he’s a Nazi asshole okay? They’re clean in this matter and their statement is genuine and honest, and their statement matches their actions and publications. This also does not involve By Night Studios.

Basically, White Wolf Publishing (new version, the one in Sweden, owned by Paradox) has released a preview for V5 (corebook, which is due in three weeks), and they presented neo-nazis in a way that is controversial to say the least, in the clanspread Brujah for V5, which is in their V5 preview.

Some see it as "wwp trying to make neo nazis play their game", some are saying "lol sjw are being sensitive and ruining everything", some are saying "it's ok to explore dark themes but this is poorly worded and looks like they're glorifying it", and some are all censorship and stuff.

The spectrum of answers are very wide, with assholes on both sides, and death threats being sent to everyone by everyone. Including OPP people who are completely out of the loop on this one (altho some may argue that since they’re licensing the IP from WWP that makes them a level of complicit/quiet acceptance; that argument can be heard, but I am pragmatic and I understand they don’t want their company and their livelihood to sink into oblivion because Ethics are superior to Food)

Here’s the catch. People aren’t pissed just about the Brujah issue, that places neo-nazis at the same level as any other character concept and definition of the Brujah, without an ounce of self awareness, and using terminologies that clearly appeal to gamer gaters (the use of terms such as “fourth wave feminists” and others...). They’re pissed and worried because this isn’t the first WWP offense, they have multiple times allowed themselves to poke towards such people, more or less willingly.

There's been plenty of other signs by the WWP crew that they may be integrating alt-right and neo nazi elements in their games, not because they are saying they're a thing, but also somewhat inserting (willingly or not) some propaganda elements, not as a way to criticize them, but normalizing them or even misrepresenting them as "rebels with a cause" (aka Brujah, which makes little sense nowadays, current day neo nazis and alt rights are in positions of power and are very much accepted if not encouraged by our political systems, much to my screaming French ass).

They somewhat normalize and even glorify them. Despite being a game about monsters (lol u know what vamps are?? have said many people on those threads), it isn’t a game about BEING a monster. It is a game about Dealing with It and their Humanity.

WWP says it's to "acknowledge the state of the world today" but other elements such as dog whistle elements for neonazis, as well as the use of hate groups types of phrasings (euphemisms, like, clearly derogating terms like "fourth wave feminism" mocking tone like) are pushing non-straight non-white, non-male players out of their base. And oddly, almost everyone defending their edge-approach are.. yes, regular white dudes.

Add in their hiring of Zak S for their video game from February 2017 and the overall lack of research, + their apology / non apology / defense about all of these issues altogether up to now about the whole ordeal when people bring out the issues, and you've got a massive shitstorm of suspicion about whether they are actually openly welcoming neo-nazis and alt-righters into the games, especially when public comments made by WWP staff implies "they are very fine people” and “both extremes are horrible”, putting into equal footing antifascists and neonazis. That in and out of itself is suspicious, but arguable to some degree. Plenty of comments have been made both by the horrid fanbase, but also by WWP staff on the matter, as such they cannot really deny their hands being dirty (looking at you, MR-H and Ericsson, receipts are provided all over reddit and the FB threads from WWP but also from the VtM groups, including this one).

Just because they state they condemn racism, sexism and xenophobia, doesn’t mean that their writings and actions match those statements. They still sign “Blood and Souls,” their letters and posts, which is ODDLY similar to “Blood and Soil”, a known Neo-Nazi chant. The integration of 1 4 8 8 as a dice roll result may be completely meaningless and a sad occurrence, but there are SO MANY other occurrences that giving them the benefit of the doubt is hard. Especially when you add the fact that the lead dev has written books about nazis (so has done research, and when you research, 1488 comes up easily).

I’m always willing to blame ignorance and stupidity over Malice, and I am doing it for V5 write-ups, but their apologies and defense instead of listening to our concerns takes away their credibility. Their reaction should have been to listen and fix it.

In Game, there is also a BIG BIG PROBLEM that the authors didn’t even research. The Alt Right and neonazis are NOT in a marginal position of protesters anymore. They are in power. They are very much allowed, encouraged, protected by the system, at least in most Western Societies. They are no Brujah hunting ground, they are great Ventrue targets!

There’s a difference between allowing the themes be used and explored very darkly and grimly and glorifying them as a good thing (the little red book or Leni Riefenstahl’s movies), and doing the same but with careful research, expert consulting and making sure your intent is clear as a content creator (like the Handmaiden’s tale or 1984). You can’t objectively say that Wolfenstein is a game that approves of nazis despite being all about nazis, nor Far Cry 5 about wtf is going on in Far Cry 5, or that Just Cause approves of American Intervention in island nations or Latin American countries, or that Tropico approves of banana island dictatorships. Cartel Ciudad Juarez or many modern warfare games, on the other hand, do not manage this and are clearly not aware of what their game is saying (not unlike a RPG like Fatal... :p).

Then the article archived and linked above was made and shared, and that’s where all shit hit the fan. I do not believe the author is fully right about everything in the contents, especially when it comes to Zak S (who is an asshole by all means, but he is neither a gamer gater nor an alt righter), but there are solid elements that put together some of the various “uh” moments. The article has since been removed due to the harassment, death threats and worse.

Oddly, Reddit is doing okay (x, x) but Twitter has also given us frowny things about upcoming W5...

Do I think they are openly and willingly trying to pull one past us? No. Do I think the WoD has brought in lots of neonazis as players and has been a problem since the 1990s? Yes, for Vampire and Werewolf for sure. (Werewolf in particular is plagued with them despite the Revised attempts at fixing certain things...). Do I believe the 20th anniversary edition were made to glorify those days? No. Not at all. Do I think Ericsson and co are neonazis? No. They’re not. Do I think WWP is trying to be edgy to cater to anti-sjw and unapologetic show offs? Yes. Do I think WWP wants to openly cater to neonazis? No, but they’re not doing anything to make a stance against them buying and using their games. If their idea of Mature Themes is punching down and glorifying monsters, they are wrong and we should let them know. If a mature theme is exploring the dark sides of the world in a thoughtful manner, having Horror as a key component of VTM, then yes, that is what we want, but it has to be presented properly and fine-tuned. Right now, it’s “oh, wouldn’t it be cool/grim if...?”. They need to consult experts. They need to hire sociologists. Psychologists. Game Theorists. They need to SEE what Chaosium has done with Call of Cthulhu. They need to

I’m just also going to say that the two FB WWP threads are insane (here and here), full of fanboys and fangirls defending WWP and telling them they shouldn’t apologize, they even made a petition saying they did nothing wrong. I do not want to give up, and I do not want to let my voice be silenced by these assholes for a game I love and care about even if I am such a critic of it.

Let me be very clear. The problem is -not- the inclusion of asshole character concepts in the write up, it is the WoD after all... The problem is that they are presenting them under a good, acceptable, apologetic light even. The problem isn’t exactly the content of the game, the problem is how little research and how little awareness they’ve had about their publication, and the responses that they have given when we have raised questions and concerns about these issues. The problem is Accidental Indoctrination. The problem is Propaganda Games. What are your mechanics saying? What are your actions saying? What is your game saying?

https://youtu.be/4jKsj345Jjw

https://youtu.be/UP4_bMhZ4gA

(Yes they’re video games but it’s he same thing)

And in opposition, extra credits did also an episode about the Shoah book for Wraith. https://youtu.be/EDEgXUqHL9Q

So, do we want great quality mature content, serious gaming material, or shock for shock value? Do we want This War of Mine, Papers Please, Dead of Winter, CupidVN, Spec Ops the Line, Bury Me My Love? Or do we want Hatred, DARK, WoD Preludes, Ciudad Juarez or even Dante’s inferno?

Games Matter.

Education Matters

We matter.

Tyvm

If you have any questions, they’re going to do an AMA on Twitch on July 13, here’s the info.

Let’s try and be numerous to voice our concerns. EDIT: Blood and Souls actually references Elric, it was my bad and I apologize for it, but you’ll understand that sometimes, when it sounds and moves like a horse, it’s hard to see it’s a zebra. Especially considering all past elements from the different eyebrow raising worth of edge for edge’s sake.

I still do not believe they’re deliberately calling neo-nazis but considering their AMA’s comments of people who just don’t want to be respectful and do basic research when treating mature content in an adult way, and be like “hell no, DARK STUFF, don’t steal my dark stuff!”, there’s honestly all the proof we need that that’s the kind of crowd they’ve accepted was using their games as entertainment. Jason’s answers were clear, and did not bite the whole “but what about antifaaaa”. I’m cautiously optimistic, and I’ve chosen, like many others, to keep publishing in the Vault to show them we can do better, and that it’s in the community’s best interest they listen.

They also confirmed Mark Rein Hagen was just a “consultant” and isn’t part of the team in anyway ;)

#vampire the masquerade #world of darkness #wod #v5 #drama #white wolf publishing #vtm #long post

82 notes · View notes

lokasenna-tales · 7 years ago

Text

Known “Guest” Reviews

We’ll be keeping this post updated with new “submissions”, just to show the repetitive nature of this guy’s bullying, and be able to dissect it.

Note that we’re actively taking in submissions at this point for other stories that have been attacked. The purpose of this post is not advertisement for our stories, but to show the repetitive nature of this guy’s bullying (and, boy, is he repetitive; there’s a reason why many fics show up in nearly every category...).

So, if you’re getting harassed, let us know, and we’ll add the review to the list. So far, we’re at 12, 14, 16, 18, 19 20 21 24 26 distinct signature patterns; if we get to 25, we’ll start making Bingo cards.

Sorted by Template and general tone:

1. “Wise Woman Once Told Me” Abstinence Is The Only Way

If Astrid wasn't ready for marriage then she had NO business having sex with Hiccup. As a wise woman once told me, if you don't love a person enough to marry them and to raise a child with them then you have no business having sex with them because no matter how careful a couple is or the nature of the birth control they use-accidents DO happen.

Fics “Reviewed” with this Template:

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking-Mansongur

I Should Go, by ShipMistress

Dancing And Dreaming, by Wikelia

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

The Aftermath Of Being Stupid, by ShipMistress

Unprepared (Hiccstrid) by Plasma Snow

The Shieldmaiden and the Fury, by Aquariuspower

Comments: One of his signature comments, combining morality policing, a Virgin/Whore complex, victim-blaming, missing the point in favor of pushing his agenda, and various other elements that get remixed across his general tone.

2. MOAR Abstinence!

You can if you wait to "know" them before you choose to bed them.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking-Mansongur

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

For Milady, by Harry Panther

Hey Guys, Meet My Wife, by Lizby

The Shieldmaiden and the Fury, by Aquariuspower

Comments: Tends to show up when you protest point 1, and is just doubling down on it.

3. Projection Much?

Utter, Unequivocal Garbage

This story has degenerated

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Walls We Build, by Katergator

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

The Imposter, by Harry Panther

For Milady, by Harry Panther (x2)

If, by Harry Panther

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

Earn It, by MidwestMexican (x2)

Disturbed Reflections, by CdnChrgr

Runaway by Flame of the Dark

Comments: And yet he always seems to continue to read and review...

4. So Disappointed

Disappointment does not do justice to describe my response

The sad part, for me, is I really enjoyed this story at one point and the way you handled the characters. That is no longer the case. At this point, I’m not sure I care enough...

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

Walls We Build, by Katergator

The Blacksmith’s Apprentice, by Harry Panther

The Imposter, by Harry Panther

For Milady, by Harry Panther

If, by Harry Panther (x2)

Infernal Fascination, by evilwriter37

Disturbed Reflections, by CdnChrgr

Runaway by Flame of the Dark

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Escorts, by HeathenVampires

Warrior to Warrior, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: Related to but distinct from #3, which attacks the story for not living up to his standards, this one is him throwing a petulant tantrum in a paternalistic manner.

5. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (But Sometimes You Get What You Need)

Also just because, "they want" something shouldn't mean they should get it.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking-Mansongur

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

Comments: And why not? And the same really goes back on him: just because he wants us to write his idealized morally upright and sexually inhibited interpretation of these characters, why should he get it from us?

6. Tough Love

I’m being honest in my reviews, and you never indicated that they must only be affirming ones.

The truth is that I have no agenda other than reviewing stories honestly.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking-Mansongur

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

If, by Harry Panther

For Milady, by Harry Panther

If, by Harry Panther

The Blacksmith’s Apprentice, by Harry Panther

Infernal Fascination, by evilwriter37

Prodigal Son, by commandocucumber

Warrior to Warrior, by AstridTheValkyrie

Try It For Me, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: Disingenuous to say the least; his agenda is pretty clear as that of a Moral Guardian attempting to Purity Police the HTTYD fandom on FF.net.

7. Freeze Peach!

(shows up when you delete his reviews or turn on moderation)

I believe that all censorship is wrong

censorship is the last resort of those who don’t like to be challenged. I would expect this kind of behavior from a Hitler or Stalin but not from a writer who, after all by the virtue of posting on fanfiction, is asking for reviews.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking-Mansongur

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

Runaway by Flame of the Dark

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Try It For Me, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: This right here is one of the points that makes me certain that he’s a White Christian American Male; the ridiculous free speech absolutionism, combined with blatant hypocrisy. Free speech means that the (US) government can’t stop you from saying what’s on your mind, but private citizens have zero obligation to grant the speaker either their time or a platform. Also, he’s hypocritical in that he doesn’t see that he’s trying to censor the writers’ own rights to free expression.

8. Hey, What Happened To My Unsolicited Advice?

I left a review for this chapter (along with many, many others). Is there some reason it hasn't posted?

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Persephone, by SunflowerB

Walls We Build, by Katergator

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

For Milady, by Harry Panther

If, by Harry Panther

The Blacksmith’s Apprentice. by Harry Panther

Infernal Fascination, by evilwriter37

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Comments: Related to #7, this one is so repetitive that it bears pointing out that each of the stories that get this comment typically get it multiple times, typically sequentially, and with the tone escalating. And that is a power-play that ties into the guy’s abuse. Since he’s on Guest, we can’t reply to him without posting a chapter and having a comment in the AN addressing him. However, most of us can go weeks or months between updating--meaning that either we have to give in and post one of his comments, or put up with a torrent of escalating abuse.

9. I Have Never Been Insulting... You Asshole

(shows up when you get at all irritated with his attitude)

I have never disparaged you as a person nor resorted to the type of "ad hominem" attacks

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking-Mansongur (showed up the very line after comparing the author to Hitler and Stalin)

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

Walls We Build, by Katergator (compared to the Marquis de Sade)

Not One Of Them, by ShipMistress

Times of change, by soulofhorror

Runaway by Flame of the Dark

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Try It For Me, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: Not only actively lying (as noted by the comment to Viking-Mansongur), this argument is disingenuous at best. His comments are not productive, nearly universally miss the point of the story in favor of his agenda (often insultingly so), paternalistically demeaning, and otherwise abusive. Just because he hasn’t called us names and directly insulted us doesn’t mean that he gets to demand we post his shit.

10. You Brought This On Yourself By Posting Fanfic On The Internets.

you asked for comments

a writer who, after all by the virtue of posting on fanfiction, is asking for reviews.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking-Mansongur

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

If, by Harry Panther

Infernal Fascination, by evilwriter37

Runaway by Flame of the Dark

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Try It For Me, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: Victim-blaming, and pretty classic. It’s not his fault that he’s posting such messages. It’s ours for posting our stories on the internet. Much like points #1 and #6, he likes to present himself as lacking an agenda and agency; in point #1, he distances himself from the abstinence-only platitude by stating it as originating from a “wise woman” (compare that opener with “It’s like I always say...”), and in #6, “Hey, you never said that I had to be courteous and polite.” In essence, it’s not his fault that we wrote the thing and gave him something to abuse.

11. I Wanna See Some Consequences!

I do not mind characters, hated or not, screwed up or not, making bad decisions/actions as LONG as they pay the CONSEQUENCES for those decisions/actions.

Sorry but not nearly enough. They all deserve to die for what they did to Hiccup or at the very least be charged (and convicted) of kidnapping and attempted murder. Period.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

Persephone, by SunflowerB

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

If, by Harry Panther

For Milady, by Harry Panther (x2)

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking Mansongur (variation: Protesting lack of consequence, aside from the, wait for it, pregnancy!)

Tidings of Comfort and Joy, by Harry Panther

Prodigal Son, by commandocucumber

A forbidden love by LightningFlare1 (note that for once, he was pleased... because there was sufficient punishment in the form of career loss and destruction of reputation. He approved of the tragic aspect, calling it a “morality tale”)

Comments: Another one of his most signature points, he wants to see consequences, particularly punitive ones, on actions that he finds morally objectionable--and even when there are consequences, he’ll whine that they’re not the right consequences, such as what he said for Families Are Forged, where there is a consequence, one directly in line with his agenda no less (i.e. an unintended pregnancy), but since they weren’t the right consequences that he wanted, he protested.

12. You’re A Good Author--Which Is Why I Must Abuse You Into Conforming With My Vision

I believe that you, as an author, have too much integrity

I continue to read and review your stories because you ARE an EXCEPTIONAL writer-something I believe I have affirmed on numerous occasions. I have continued to review your stories because I firmly believe that words, ideas and stories DO matter.

"It is, far the most part, an exceptionally good story and at some point I will try to look past what I see as problematic misunderstandings of history/religion and spend my time sending you reviews about how impressive this story is on so many other levels not the least being your ability to write and your willingness to paint a scene on a truly grand canvas."

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Persephone, by SunflowerB

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking Mansongur

The Blacksmith’s Apprentice, by Harry Panther

If, by Harry Panther (x2)

The Imposter, by Harry Panther

Walls We Build, by Katergator

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

Prodigal Son, by commandocucumber

Earn It, by Midwest Mexican

Not One Of Them, by Shipmistress

Departure, by Judge1964

Times of change, by soulofhorror

Flame, by Yodaime Namikaze

The Wild Crown by funkytoes

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Try It For Me, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: Another of the core signature points, he seems to feel that fanfic authors should be serving him and his viewpoint, and must protest when we diverge from it. It is extremely entitled and egotistical on several levels:

First, he apparently believes that his reviews are so insightful, essential and earthshaking that he feels that it is a moral imperative for him to continue in order to get his message out so that we may influence our readers in a morally upstanding way--which ignores the point that your average fanfic has perhaps a few hundred to a thousand regular readers.

Second, let’s say that we are exceptional authors; since we managed that without him, why should we listen to him?

Third, we do have integrity--to our own visions, but not his, which seems to be the primary sticking point.

13. If I Can’t Understand It, It’s Absurd And Impossible

Err, still don’t understand why someone would do [character action]. I mean, yeah, that [this story element] happened, but I find the character’s actions a little ridiculous.

but it simply isn't believable that two 15-16 year old teenagers would be as competent in this area as you portray them even allowing for Hiccup's internet research-after all it's one thing to watch and/or read how to overhaul an engine, but it is an entirely different thing when it comes to actually doing it.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking Mansongur

Walls We Build, by Katergator

If, by Harry Panther (x2)

The Imposter, by Harry Panther

Infernal Fascination, by evilwriter37

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

Hey Guys, Meet My Wife, by Lizby

Fly To Live, by eretsonoferet

Disturbed Reflections, by CdnChrgr

Flame, by Yodaime Namikaze

Warrior to Warrior, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: Fairly standard argument from incredulity, and commonly seen among authoritarians. It does, however, corroborate his utter disinterest in seeing any other viewpoint that differs from his.

14. I Blame... THE VICTIM

If Hiccup is not man enough to stand up for himself [...], then frankly he deserves whatever happens to him and no one should care.

Victims only CONTINUE to be victims if they CHOOSE to be.

Sorry, but this Hiccup has very little to commend him. He is, in fact, a coward. Whatever his terrible secret is-he NEEDS to own up to it.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Walls We Build, by Katergator

If, by Harry Panther

The Aftermath Of Being Stupid, by ShipMistress

Infernal Fascination, by evilwriter37

Hey Guys, Meet My Wife, by Lizby

Comments: Distilled victim-blaming, as distinct from the other moments of victim-blaming and abstinence preaching (#1) or victim-blaming and moral policing (#6), or victim-blaming the writer for having dared post things on the internet (#10). Also, as a side note... aside from the moral horror of this sort of statement, it shows how he justifies abusing us: we have a choice to continue being his victims--we could always choose to pack up and leave.

15. The Other Guests Are On My Side!

I, and some other reviewers, have tried to address this aspect of your story before, but it appears that you don't really want to listen to reviewers who aren't telling you what you want to hear concerning this aspect of your story.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking Mansongur

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

For Milady, by Harry Panther

If, by Harry Panther

Try It For Me, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: Argumentatum ad populum, and also pure bullshit.

16. You Have No Idea Who I Am!

"given your agenda" As you must be "omnipotent" to make this comment, since you don't know me in the least or I you, "What exactly is my agenda?"

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking Mansongur

The Aftermath of being Stupid, by ShipMistress

Comments: I think that this page is answering that rhetorical question quite handily, isn’t it?

17. There Is Only One Way For A Teenager To Behave: My Way

Hiccup, by the way, is not acting so much like a victim, as he is a spoil (sic) brat throwing a “silent” temper tantrum. Would expect that from a two year old but not an older teenager.

I strongly recommend that you take a look at [specific fic] as it takes a much more realistic look at teen sexuality than this story does.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking Mansongur

Walls We Build, by Katergator

The Aftermath of Being Stupid, by ShipMistress

Fly To Live, by eretsonoferet

Unprepared (Hiccstrid) by Plasma Snow

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Comments: Another authoritarian flag--there is only one proper pattern of behavior, and deviance from that pattern is not only unacceptable, but must be corrected with abuse.

18. Sin-sational!

Your idea of what constitutes “telling the truth,” and mine have very, very little in common. Sins of omission are often just as grievous as sins of commission-sometimes even more so.

Failing to tell the whole is just as must (sic) a lie as not to say anything true at all. The former is a sin of omission while the latter is a sin of commission, but-and this is key-they are BOTH sins.

Sorry, not buying any of this “pseudo” Christianity you’re peddling. TRUE forgiveness DEMANDS atonement which REQUIRES being BOTH held ACCOUNTABLE for one’s actions and PAYING the CONSEQUENCES of one’s actions. [...] Indeed, their actions BELAY the presence of any REAL moral center whatsoever. If they TRULY are repentant then they need to turn themselves in and PAY their dept (sic) to society. [...] Then and ONLY then can they expect to have their sins expiated. Anything less would be insufficient payment.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Walls We Build, by Katergator

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

Disturbed Reflections, by CdnChrgr

Comments: And, of course, with someone so concerned about moral rightness, sin is of great concern to him.

19. [Astrid/Hiccup] Does Not Deserve [Hiccup/Astrid]

Once again, Hiccup demonstrates in this chapter exactly WHY he does not DESERVE Astrid now or ever.

honestly if she cannot stand up for Hiccup and Stoick even NOW after all they have done for her because the "impulse to obey her father was too strong," then she does NOT deserve Hiccup [...]. Promising "silently" simply DOESN'T cut it anymore. Hiccup forgave Astrid for failing to believe/stand up for him once, he has NO business doing it again.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

If, by Harry Panther

Walls We Build, by Katergator

Dancing And Dreaming, by Wikelia

The Imposter, by Harry Panther

If, by Harry Panther

For Milady, by Harry Panther

The Aftermath Of Being Stupid, by ShipMistress

Infernal Fascination, by evilwriter37

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

Prodigal Son, by commandocucumber

Hey Guys, Meet My Wife, by Lizby

Earn It, by Midwest Mexican

Fly To Live, by eretsonoferet

Not One Of Them, by ShipMistress

The Shieldmaiden and the Fury, by Aquariuspower

The Wild Crown by funkytoes

Comments: For someone that has such strong Christian beliefs according to his rant at p-artsypants, he might do well to review 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. But that fits well with his judgmental and punitive attitude--forgiveness and growth are impossible, and mistakes are unpardonable. It’s all part of his purity policing--from his perspective, once someone is tainted, they are beyond redemption forever (unless tortured appropriately, but even then, they can’t just sit there and take it, because then they’re making themselves into victims and that’s just as unpardonable, as shown in #14).

20. I Don’t Buy This Happy Ending. There Wasn’t Enough Punishment.

So let me see if I have this right. For SIXTEEN chapters, we have watched Hiccup making an ass of himself only to have much of it--at least as far as his relationship with his parents is concerned--resolving in ONE chapter? Really?

Jerkup (sic) does not DESERVE a happy ending in this story.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

The Imposter, by Harry Panther

The Aftermath Of Being Stupid, by ShipMistress

My Game, My Rules, by ShipMistress

You’re Everything I Want (And Nothing I Can Keep) by queenofthewilderwest

For Milady, by HarryPanther

If, by Harry Panther

A forbidden love by LightningFlare1 (note that for once, he did buy the ending... because there was sufficient punishment in the form of career loss and destruction of reputation. He approved of it ending tragically, calling it a “morality tale”)

Comments: More argument from incredulity, combined with his usual victim-blaming and placing all of the blame on one party. It’s definitely related to #5, #11, #13, #14, and #19, but specifically whining about how he doesn’t buy the end of the story in question because (due to his victim-blaming and taste for retribution and punitive justice) he’s lost sympathy for the protagonists, because they didn’t earn it from his POV.

21: This Isn’t How The Character Would Act. I Know, I’ve Projected My Morality Onto Them

Hiccup, at least as portrayed in canon, has too much integrity not to be answerable for his crimes.

I’m not sure Hiccup would have done this. Believe it or not, there are young people who are able to show restrain in matters of sexual conduct until they are in committed relationships and, if there was was a fictional teen, who would and should be in that group, then it is Hiccup.

I respectfully disagree. Of all the animated character I have seen portrayed on the big screen Hiccup is by far the most "Christian" at least in terms of his moral compass and actions. Hiccup forgives to a fault, always tries to "love his enemies" when ever possible and tries very hard not "to return evil for evil." If Hiccup were given a copy of the Sermon on the Mountain (in a language he could read), I believe that it would profoundly resonate with his core beliefs. Finally, Hiccup was willing, on more than one occasion to sacrifice his life to save others-even others who might not "deserve" saving. "No greater love . . ."

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

The Aftermath of Being Stupid, by Shipmistress

For Milady, by HarryPanther

Prodigal Son, by commandocucumber

Earn It, by Midwest Mexican

Fly To Live, by eretsonoferet

Not One Of Them, by ShipMistress

Unprepared (Hiccstrid) by Plasma Snow

Disturbed Reflections, by CdnChrgr

The Shieldmaiden and the Fury, by Aquariuspower

Departure, by Judge1964

Runaway by Flame of the Dark

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Comments: Part of the Guest’s Pedestal complex; he likes to put the characters of Hiccup and Astrid up on an idealized pedestal as perfect characters who act as he says that they do... and when we write them as acting in a way that he disagrees with, he reacts poorly, as shown by his reactions on the rest of this page.

22: Practice As I Preach? What Do You Think I Am, Christian?

[Hiccup’s] willingness to give his live for others-be it dragons or people makes him, again IMHO, one of the most Christ-like characters in animation.

Of all the animated character I have seen portrayed on the big screen Hiccup is by far the most "Christian" at least in terms of his moral compass and actions. Hiccup forgives to a fault, always tries to "love his enemies" when ever possible and tries very hard not "to return evil for evil." If Hiccup were given a copy of the Sermon on the Mountain (in a language he could read), I believe that it would profoundly resonate with his core beliefs. Finally, Hiccup was willing, on more than one occasion to sacrifice his life to save others-even others who might not "deserve" saving. "No greater love . . ."

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Prodigal Son, by commandocucumber

320 State Street, by p-artsypants

Earn It, by Midwest Mexican

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Comments: For someone who will go on long rants about Christian theology and morality, he’s not very good about this whole “Judge Not, Least Yeh Be Judged” thing... but he’ll happily talk about it at length. Some of the reviews for this were practically essays on Christian morality.

23: I Suddenly SHOUT For Emphasis

One of the key and distinctive traits of the Guest’s REVIEWS is that he EMPHASIZES words by using ALL CAPS.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Just about all of them, really. It’s one of his signature points on his style.

Comments: if we end up making Bingo Cards, this’ll probably end up being the Free Space.

24. You’re Diverging From (My Interpretation Of) The Canon!

It is this disconnect that I find troubling and why I sometimes review particular stories of yours the way I do. It is my firm belief that when an author “borrows” someone else’s characters they have an obligation to respect that characters in terms of their core values and characteristics because if those values change too much then the characters really cease to be the characters in anything but name.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Not One Of Them, by ShipMistress

Disturbed Reflections, by CdnChrgr

Unprepared (Hiccstrid) by Plasma Snow

The Shieldmaiden and the Fury, by Aquariuspower

Departure, by Judge1964

Astrid meets Camicazi by PheonixFeather10

Times of change, by soulofhorror

Flame, by Yodaime Namikaze

The Wild Crown by funkytoes

Runaway by Flame of the Dark

Me Before You, by LexieFanatic

Warrior to Warrior, by AstridTheValkyrie

Comments: A bit of a semantical split from 17 and 21, but this one has become clear enough to deserve an entry of its own, as those two are “A teenager can only act in the way that I think that they can” and “Hiccup as Christ-like character”. While this is definitely related, the specific point here is that the Guest has a very specific headcanon on how the characters will act and think (a headcanon that speaks more of his personal projection onto those characters, as #21 demonstrates), and will attempt to aggressively “correct” the author for their “incorrect character interpretation”, saying that they’ve made so many changes that the character is now In Name Only. Essentially, the distinction between this Template and the prior ones along these lines is that 17 cites “realistic teenaged behavior”, 21 cites Christian morality as projected onto Hiccup, while this Template has nothing more to it than the Guest’s own headcanon.

25. Have You Tried Being More Like This Other Author?

In two paragraphs, you have demonstrated a better, more mature and nuanced understanding of Hiccup’s real treatment by the residents of Berk (at least in the first movie-canon, if you well) as well as his reasons for being willing to forgive them than a significant number of fanfiction authors demonstrate in their writings. In fact, these two paragraphs should be mandatory reading for any would be "vengeful” Hiccup writers.

I don't usually do this, but I strongly recommend that you take a look at [Other fic] as it takes a much more realistic look at teen sexuality than this story does.

Finally an author who gets it right. I have always believed that, because of their incredible trust, friendship and enduring love for each other, Hiccup and Astrid would eventually become proficient even incredible "lovers" but not over night and not without, please forgive the double entendre, a few "misfires." This was exceptionally well crafted and more than that it was thoroughly believable.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

The Rider And The Beast, by Aquarius Power

Crossing The Line, by ladyamythyst21

Families Are Forged, Not Made, by Viking Mansongur

Comments: A rarer template, the Guest likes to occasionally use other authors’ fics as his cudgel with which to whack them into compliance with his agenda.

26. The Character’s Moral Compass Needs To Be Calibrated Against Mine

He seems to have some moral compass and by all accounts he is a reasonably good king.

I respectfully disagree. Of all the animated character I have seen portrayed on the big screen Hiccup is by far the most "Christian" at least in terms of his moral compass and actions.

Fics “Reviewed” With This Template

Not One Of Them, by ShipMistress

The Wild Crown, by funkytoes

Flame, by Yodaime Namikaze

Prodigal Son, by commandocucumber

Escorts, by HeathenVampires

Comments: One of his signature terms, the Guest likes to talk about the “moral compass” of the characters on a routine basis, especially as they relate to his Christian morals. Closely related to #21 and #22, this is more just demonstrating how fond he is of the term, plus also catching those that just use the term without discussing how Christlike Hiccup is.

That’s all we have (for now). If you recognize one of the above signature reviews in content or tone from a fic review on FF.net and the story in question isn’t on the list, please, contact this blog with the information so that we can add it. It’s not for advertisement, but for solidarity--showing how much he lashes out indiscriminately, with the same tone and often even the same words helps take a great deal of the sting out of them. This is not on you--it’s on this guy, a reader so far up his own ass that he feels that he needs to proselytize his viewpoint to fanfiction authors.

38 notes · View notes

romymdxcontexualstudiesfirstyear · 4 years ago

Text

The censorship of women on social media.

Deep rooted in our society is the attempt to control women, it goes back centuries. Women being told to act proper, lady like and quiet themselves, in fear of being unfairly labelled a shameful name. For decades this attitude towards women continued until more recent times, women have found new ways to challenge this outdated idea of womanhood. In today’s society women can proudly express their trues selves online, whether its speaking out about an issue they normally wouldn’t feel able to do or simply posting a picture of themselves. Although women nowadays have much more freedom then before, do they really have complete freedom? On social media women can post and write whatever they please, as long as it complies with the ‘community guidelines’, this is where the issues start to crop up. An alarming amount of women’s posts that get removed are to do with their appearance, if it doesn’t fit into the ‘healthy lifestyle’ or the objectified version of women. The culprit of this is usually Instagram and TikTok, along with most social media platforms having their own ridiculous guidelines.

Rupi Kaur the visual poet, had a menstruation-themed photo series which she posted to Instagram, to challenge the taboos of periods. One photo in particular gained some attention which resulted in it being removed twice, the image under fire (See Figure 1) was of the artist herself, fully clothed lying down in bed, with 2 small spots of bloods visible both on her trousers and the bed sheets. The post was then removed twice for violating community guidelines, Kaur challenged these removals and eventually the post was restored where you can still find it today. On the restored post Kaur writes how she “thanks Instagram for providing the exact response her work was created for, deleting a photo of a women who is fully clothed and menstruating, claiming that it goes agonist guidelines when the guidelines state that its nothing but acceptable.” (Kaur, 2015)

Although the post is back up and has been ever since, the fact that it was removed twice despite that there was nothing within the image that violated guidelines, proved how women are controlled to fit the common place ideals that have been ingrained into society. It’s surprising to see the amount of people who think this type of image shouldn’t be on social media, as if a women menstruating isn’t natural, it’s made to seem dirty which it just isn’t.

Figure 1. Rupi Jaur photographed by her sister Prabh Jaur, exposing a small part spot of blood, a part of the period series to break the taboos of menstruation. March 25th 2015.

Out of social media women are censored for simple things we might take for granted now, such as reading a book or educating yourself. Once women were ‘allowed’ to read and write books men started trolling and claimed that women’s novels were dangerously distracting, unrealistic and even damaging to their mental health; Men would often deem female writers insane or secretly male. Joan Acocella an American journalist comments on the book ‘The Women Reader’ by Belinda Jack (see figure 2) “Women seemed stupid therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore, they seemed stupid” (Aocoella, 2012) this statement holds a lot of truth, women were never even given the chance to educate themselves and when they did they were called insane and made fun of.

Male writers retaliated by publishing ‘helpful advice’ for women, targeted to keep women in their place; but women fought back. Publishers in the 16th century would offer cheaper and smaller books that could easily be hidden from husbands, book clubs started to form among women, discussing what made men fear women reading do much? The biggest reason being that women would then start to gain their own opinion, unguided or unbiased and they would think independently, another form of women being censored to fit this ideal that had been created just to put them down. The fear of women gaining education is still feared in more modern societies today, for example Iran’s ban of women studying certain topics like English literature, a way of controlling women to do and act how predominantly men want them to act and being punished if they disobey these rules, similar to the community guidelines on social media but in a more serious way.

Figure 2. Front cover of “The Women Reader” by Belinda Jack, the book introduced frustrated female readers over many eras, exploring the differences between men and women’s reading tastes.

The social media platform TikTok is particularly a culprit of censoring and discriminating women, policing their bodies and removing videos with women with “abnormal body shapes”. Raeann Langas, a body-positive influencer with a substantial following on TikTok aims to show people that all bodies are beautiful, regardless of shape or size. Langas posted a video of her and a friend dancing on the beach in matching bikinis, (see figure 3.) a few days after she posted the video she realised that the video had been taken down for violating community guidelines, assuming the app didn’t allow those types of videos she didn’t feel the need to challenge it. But after some digging she found countless videos of women in bikinis using the same #bikini nut the only different was they were all straight-sized women. She says “It was alarming to me that they were clearly removing certain types of people and body types, not the mention a majority of these videos kept up were highly sexualised and would be considered inappropriate for certain viewers.” (Langas, 2020

Langas brings up a great point here, for a post to be “accepted” on social media it is overly sexualised and pretty much objectifies women. You see it on most social media platforms, for example if a slender, “in shape” women posted a bikini picture on Instagram it would get high praise from both women and men, but if a women with a bigger body and stereotypically “unfit” shape were to post the exact some picture, the response would be name calling and making her feel like she is less than, and in some cases the post gets taken down for “violating guidelines”, censoring women who express their true self because society has deemed their body type unappealing and not fir for social media.

Figure 3. Picture of Raeann Langas with her friend at the beach, spreading body positivity. Malibu California, 2020.

Despite this unjust censorship women have experienced for far too long, there is also a positive side to it. International Women’s Day always brings to light the achievements of women and gives them to opportunity to continue to challenge the status quo by changing the shape of society. Alyssa Milano the American actress, singer, author, producer and activist is known for many of her achievements but especially her #MeToo movement that sparked up in 2017, Milano asked women on Twitter to write ‘#MeToo’ if they had ever been sexually harassed or assaulted. In just a few short days tens of thousands of women had responded, one small outcry became an army or supporting women. (Protesting women after Harvey Weinstein arrest pictured below. (See figure 4)

The MeToo movement is just a small part of the victory for women, women having the right to be free, uncensored is shifting the social norms, especially on social media. From my own personal experience getting the upmost amount of support from women on social media is so uplifting, it makes you feel seen and listened to, not just other women preaching about her rights. The more women taken control and break down barriers on social media the more freedom we will get, no longer being put in our place for expressing ourselves, we will no longer conform to the misogynistic views and objectify ourselves for anyone.

Figure 4. Picture above is participants in the march against sexual assault and harassment apart of the MeToo movement in LA Hollywood, November 12th 2017.

The cases I have brought up all support the same opinion that I have about women and social media which is that, misogynistic, sexist and old-fashioned views that have for years censored women are now the very thing that are now giving us the power to take a stand and challenge the status quo. Recent events of women being attacked and sexually harassed are terrible and should never have happened, I feel as if people have already started to stop talking about it and only support it while its “trending” and once it’s done being in the spotlight we get censored again because people don’t really want to talk about the real issues, only talk about them when its gaining them clout, which I feel is the real problem with the social norms we have created. Although it may seem like every step we take we get knocked back three, but every small victory makes up a brighter and better future for women, we need to continue to challenge the status quo, breaking down the barriers and make people uncomfortable until we are heard. Censoring of women may never stop, but we can learn how to make the censorship our own and command what we can and can’t post, no more of being put in our place, more of claiming our rightful place.

0 notes

mirceakitsune · 4 years ago

Text

Trump and the events that transpired today

It's AM as I start writing this journal, likely past 5 AM once I finish it. I'm tired after today and don't know to what extent I can be fully coherent, politically and socially correct, or whatever else I'm supposed to about what happened. But after the events that took place today I need to speak up. I am sick, feeling I have had it... but for once it's on a matter I can discuss with others in this world, shared by millions of people. Even though I'm nervous to even talk about it as the divide keeps growing; I don't know on which of those websites even journals discussing politics will still be allowed by the administration, I already have a hard time keeping track of the different rules on each of the +8 websites I post anything on... as far as I'm aware we're still allowed to discuss for now.

I don't know exactly who the people that invaded the Capitol building today were. Many say it was Antifa protesters disguised as Trump supporters; I find it hard to understand why they'd interrupt the crowning ceremony of their lover Biden if they were already winning, but who knows at this rate. The people who initially walked in there were likely Trump supporters, with Antifa coming later to start violence so they could say Trump did it. A woman was shot in the neck and unfortunately died soon after, no footage showing who did it yet... scary stuff but it's to be expected given the times we're living in, RIP.

I will start by saying the following thing: I was NEVER a real Trump supporter, and I likely never will be. I'll share a little secret: In 2016 when I first heard he won, I fell in a depression for the entirety of the next day, fearing that he was going to bring about the end of the free and modern world that seemed to be going well till then. And in some ways I was right: Bullshit like SESTA / FOSTA and the repeal of Net Neutrality and other garbage happened under his leadership. But things have changed SO much since that day. The true liberals and progressives I once knew and was proud of being among no longer exists: The left's tolerance has been replaced with hate and fascism, their love for freedom with "freedom as long as we aren't offended or our narratives challenged", even the free internet they once praised is now seen as a tool of "spreading hate and misinformation" unless guided by their censorship regime. No matter how difficult this was for me, I had to accept that only Trump and some of the people around him are still fighting for REAL freedom... putting aside some religious or "think of the children" bullshit the Republicans can't let go of; Freedom to think and say what you want, to live your life as who you are, to go outside without having to wear a god damn mask and breathe like a fucking sapient being that still has any right to live! I don't care that much about either left of right doctrine... all I truly wanted was to be free, to live in a world where everyone minds their own business without using fear and prejudice to control others. I'm also not a patriot as one way or another I believe in a world where people are just citizens of the planet and countries are mainly different legal / cultural zones... I do however believe in a movement to support the people of the world, even if that's currently dressed under patriotism.

Today I watched Trump's speech before the Capitol was stormed. I literally saw and felt a different man from that fool I too once hated and demonized. And I hated him for good reason: He still hasn't denounced his wall of hate (the Mexico border wall bullshit), never had the will or bravery to openly defend the LGBTQ community and distance himself from those supporters that oppose them, attacked Section 230 which is unacceptable despite his justified war against big tech and the corrupt media... I am and will remain outraged at those things about him, he was no ideal example. But you know what? He's not the demon the media makes him out to be either. And as much as I HATE to say this... he is a hero in his own way: For having the courage to fight the biggest organized crime network in the history of humanity... one known as globalism. THAT is why some people turn to him while others want him to look like the devil: Not because they're fascists but because he stood up against a problem everyone else is one way or another a part of, a problem you can't even talk about without being called a conspiracy theorist and raving nut, a frustration many of us feel yet is only deepened by this denial instead of anyone ever addressing it.

Let me be very clear on an essential thing: I'm well aware there are real neo-Nazis, xenophobes, racists, misogynists, transphobes, puritans, psychopaths, etc. in Trump's circles. Yes they are pests, and I too will smite those fools if they try to use Trump (or any other means) to impose their own bullshit on this world! The vast majority of Trump supporters I've seen have nothing to do with this hate: I've watched livestreams from dozens of Trump rallies by now, have only seen decent and peaceful and creative people dancing and having fun... unlike some Antifa and BLM rallies which are far more aggressive by comparison. It's always the media transmitting from those protests, journalists putting up theatrical scenes about how they're surrounded by dangerous extremists on their crusade to find the Proud Boys hiding in the crowd. There were at least 1 MILLION people supporting Trump in Washington DC today, kilometers of street filled with people. Including countless black people who were allegedly discriminated by him, who will also tooootally die from COVID tomorrow because they didn't respect social distancing... did I forget to mention the pro-LGBT flags being waved at those rallies? Really: Is anyone trying to tell me those are all evil intolerant whatever-phobic lunatics? Because I'm not going lie to myself because the media decided what we have to believe: The traitorous brainwashing media can go to hell, together with big tech and especially big pharma after what they did to the world with COVID.

I also watched dozens of livestreams from courts, of proof being presented regarding the massive election fraud that put Biden in office. There is no such thing as "there was no fraud", there were hundreds of testimonies under oath some with footage and documents; Courts simply refused to see the evidence or decided to ignore it citing procedural grounds... because like everything else, the globalist octopus (mafia reference) owns the justice system and every part of society. Dominion voting machines were programmed to default to Biden votes, they were designed with the mindset "here's a big button to vote for Biden... because you don't really want to vote for Trump do you, though if you really want to I guess you can click here". And other forms of manipulation that ultimately caused Biden to get MILLIONS OF VOTES OVERNIGHT, which is so normal and definitely not suspicious at all.

Now that the brave and mighty police secured the Capitol building and drove those pesky citizens away, senators led by lowlife-by-profession Mike Pence resumed their session of shoving Biden down our throats at any cost (sadly not in a fun vore way). I watched their vomit inducing speeches as they went on about how they're sticking to their duties in such difficult times, and how those thugs who entered the building tried to stop them but failed. This will only add to the frustration, which they don't even realize or care about: They know all too well what their duty is... to sell the world to those who are desperate to have UNLIMITED POWER AT ANY COST. Their decision was fueled by sheer stupidity and ambition, and will only ensure that if Biden is allowed to become president he'll only be even more illegitimate than he already was. After such a shock there was no way any valid session could continue, no one is in the capacity to count electoral votes and certify a fucking president right now after today... they haven't even cleaned up the fucking blood from the staircase! An absolute disgrace.

But fear not: There are people who will stop this, people who won't allow this hell to come true. They aren't racists, homophobes, psychopaths... the media will no doubt paint them as such, and many will believe the lie, but with the same force others are seeing the truth now more than ever. They think China's authoritarian domination can be forced on us, just as their Covidist masks, or their censorship in the name of stopping hate, and everything else the globalists decided must be forced upon the planet. They have no idea how badly they're furthering this divide: The hate and sickness on both sides has reached a point where riots and tragedies are going to be unavoidable. Of course they tell themselves "we're gods on this Earth so we'll be able to control it", they're used to thinking they can hold unlimited power and nothing they do ever has any consequences. The truth will strike, the more you keep the pot on the kettle the harder it will explode once it blows off: All they did today was ensuring it will strike even harder. Save this journal if you wish, so you can remember those things for future reference, to know that some fool out there and in this community saw this and wasn't afraid to say it.

Whatever you think of me, believe me when I say this: I truly am sorry that it had to come to this... on multiple scales. I don't know if many friends that I do care for will ever understand me... such as a certain purple furred vixen, or a kind albeit sometimes rough unicorn who is one of my soul parents, not to mention a very close fox working on building a lab and bringing genetic transformation to life; They all more or less believe some of the official narratives, and I feel barely tolerate me for not doing the same. If there was another way to see the world and live this life, I would have taken it. If something would have been different in the past and led to a different outcome, I could be living a life of standing with the majority instead of against it... something I wish I knew what was like, I never did, I can only presume it must be peaceful and relaxing to live in such a world, but I'll likely never experience it as I don't have the naivety for such a leap. I'm sorry it's like this. And my only wish is that all of you will get to see who truly made it like this once all the lies are exposed! Whatever happens, whether it will be Biden or Trump in the end... please let what they did be exposed.

0 notes

back-and-totheleft · 4 years ago

Text

#Election2020

Why [the support for Trump], in your opinion? I was surprised that there was less support for the change than I expected. I expected the American people to be tired of Trump, tired of his misbehavior, but they’re not. Trump was openly outrageous in his latest speech when he said, "We won and we have to stop counting the votes because they’re stealing." It’s shameful that the President of the United States says they’re rigging the elections when they are still taking place. It is completely out of order. It's like he's pretending to be both the commentator and the protagonist in his own show. He abused his role and should be thrown out for that alone.

Was he kicked out with this election? No, it's not over. Trump will do whatever he can, he can't lose in his mind, he's what they call a bad loser. He’ll want every vote to be checked and will make everything as difficult as possible. He’ll fight tooth and nail until December 14th and something could go wrong. I hope not because I remember the Al Gore and George Bush election. The Democrats didn't expect the Republicans to play so dirty but now they’re better prepared. I would like to think that Trump is gone. The monster is gone, at least the biggest one of all, I hope. It’s like a horror movie. At the end of the movie you say, “Oh he's gone, the monster is dead,” but then there's a sequel and he comes back (laughs). Even if he admits defeat, I think Trump is crazy enough to run again in 2024.

Meanwhile? He'll be back out there in the world, and I hope they bring every lawsuit against him for all the shit he's done. He will sell the hotels or build them in the midwest, in all the red states, and find a way to turn them into a lower class money-making experiment.

Is the United States on the verge of a civil war? No, I don't see a civil war on the horizon. I think that fear is the result of media hysteria. There will be some confrontations. The point of these elections is that they’re now there for all to see, which makes it difficult for Republicans to declare them a scam. They’ve already repeated it so many times. Trump said it's a rigged election. But his words mean nothing. He’ll say other things, sure, but I don't think they will have the same impact as when he said them for the first time.

Many Western media do not seem to accept that Trump has all this popularity. Why? Trump is an embarrassment. He's the guy who goes to the party and says whatever he wants, says hurtful things. Many of the things that were happening in the government were covered up with polite speeches, while he was very blunt and pissed off a lot of people for his frankness. It ruined the show. He called Washington a swamp. He did the same thing Reagan did. He was right saying Washington was a swamp. It's a swamp but there's no way to fix it. America, like Italy, is stuck in the system.

And how does it get out of the swamp? We have to take money out of politics, which is not possible now because of the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United. It was an important decision that allowed corporate money to flow into the elections and now companies have the power. For much of the judiciary, corporations in the United States are treated as individuals. They have human rights.

Do you believe that Covid19 has shown the contradictions of our system? It showed that our healthcare system doesn't work nationwide. That’s very clear. Each state deals with it in its own way, and each hospital sets its own parameters. I'm by no means an expert on this, but it looks disorganized. In Europe, as you’re smaller countries, I think you’ve done a pretty good job.

What do you think of the protests in Italy against the lockdown? Personally, I'm afraid of this over-regulation where the government now has the power to shut down everything in a country whenever it wants. It is a form of control that I object to. I think a maturity is needed. The death rate from these infections has dropped significantly. I’m disoriented because Covid, to some extent for me, is a disease like others that have come into our life: SARS, MERS. There have been a number of diseases that are part of the planet, caused by climate change or whatever. We have to accept and absorb them without overreacting. Overdoing it is dangerous. Like America exaggerated in 2001 [after 9/11]. It was madness in this country. We passed the Patriot Act.

Could the pandemic threaten the political and civil foundations on which liberal democracies rest? In this period of my life, I’m giving a lot of importance to peace and war. I think it is a crucial issue. If there is peace and you can keep alliances and have no enemies - or you try to reduce enmity through diplomacy - we will have a much more fluid and harmonious world. This world is not facing a world war; it’s not facing what we have faced in the past. There are no diseases that are wiping out the human race. There are no survival problems. There has been an improvement in education and health around the world. In general, there are negative examples, but the emphasis has been on apocalyptic thinking, on doomsday thinking, and I think it’s important for everyone to realize that we are exaggerating.

The media are trying to cause a stir. The media thrives on bad news. It’s always been like this, but it has gotten worse because there is more media than we’ve ever had. Bad news sells. And I think a lot of people have stopped following the media. This is what America did. Many Americans don't read and that's why they like Trump, because they don't want to know all the bullshit he does, like the fact that he doesn't pay taxes. So I think if we maintained a world-wide peace system, there is nothing we could not overcome, including climate change. I really believe that and I'm making a documentary about it. If we fight Russia and call them enemies and thugs, like Biden did the other night, and if we're saying more or less the same thing about China, there is no way out. We're spending a fortune on military spending. Trillions of dollars a year to prepare for war, which is not necessary.

What should we prepare for instead? The real war is the war against climate change. We know that perhaps it’s too late and frankly America is wasting time and wasting an enormous amount of money. So we have to transfer the economic resources. I'm worried about Biden because he said so many stupid things about Russia. The only problem I have with him is on foreign policy. I think his domestic policy is progressive, but his foreign policy… I don't know if he will worry immediately about that because he will have other problems on the national level, so it’s difficult to say where he will want to go, but you know what Obama did. Obama eventually invaded more Muslim countries than anyone else and started drone strikes. He overtook Bush with the bombing. And then Trump obviously tried to do more, but without going to [a ground] war. So people say Trump didn't take us to war. No, but it brought us to the brink of war with Korea. He has certainly brought us to the brink of war with Venezuela and now with Iran.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, have we stopped thinking that there is an alternative world? At the time, the West could destabilize the new Russian regime under Yeltsin and they weren't worried about China because it wasn't that powerful yet. We have increased the rivalry with Russia and China, not only because we’ve destabilized Ukraine but because we’ve kept our weapons, our airplanes and our military troops, NATO troops, at the borders of Russia, closer than ever. The medium-range missiles that are in Europe are very dangerous to the status quo in China. We have completely surrounded it and spent a fortune to potentially block it.

Are there no alternatives then? I don't think neoliberalism has worked. There is this idea in America that the American model is the peaceful way, but it’s not because we embargo countries that do not agree with us. Look at, for example, Cuba and Venezuela. It's horrible. You can't bring medicine to Cuba, it's very difficult. We have imposed sanctions on Russia and Iran, and now against China.

America is not moving towards harmonious world cooperation. We want to be the dominant factor. We don't want to have partners. Bush made this clear in 2000 and it has now been reiterated with Trump. No partners. We only take hostages. Italy is a hostage, a great hostage, because of the huge naval bases we have there. Europe is a hostage. This is a fundamental problem that will grow in the future. It can’t be solved because countries have lost their sovereignty, at least some. Russia and China cannot be told that they must bow to the American model, and you can't tell Iran or North Korea anyway. I want these countries to defend their rights because it is crucial for the freedom of the world that there are alternative ways of living. I can assure you that they are truly sincere about their revolution in Cuba and, unfortunately, they have suffered a lot for that.

On the fake news and social media issue. What do you think of the censorship that some social platforms are implementing? There has been a lot of fake news in America since World War II. It could be said that the whole Cold War, in my opinion, was fake news because we wanted to strengthen the military after the war, so we portrayed the Soviet Union as a lot worse than it was and a lot more threatening. And we keep doing it by saying that the Russians will invade Europe. What the fuck would they want from Europe? They have no intention to do that and Russia is no longer the Soviet Union, it is a market economy.

The concept of fake news is crazy. What is it? It has existed for centuries. When someone wants to find another enemy, fake news is created. They say who the bad guy is, who did this and did that. The Spartans did it with the Athenians. There’s always fake news, what's new? Now they’re blaming Facebook. It's ridiculous. Facebook should be a free and open source. People should go there and say what they want. I agree that hate speech is not a good thing and should be labeled or banned. But when you start playing with the nuances of censorship, it becomes very dangerous.

I am thinking for example of the case of the journalist Glenn Greenwald who left the newspaper he co-founded, The Intercept, because he was not allowed to publish an article on the alleged scandal involving the Biden family in China and Ukraine. I think Glenn Greenwald was right. I think the story was true. I don't want to say it was the biggest scandal, but it's still a scandal, and Trump had his scandals too and people ignored them, but they were reported in the press.

What do you think of the Assange trial? Obama brought forward the first charges against Assange and his rights were violated in every possible way. The Russiagate case is a fabrication. Assange got the information from an insider on the Democratic National Committee, and the FBI has never investigated. They accused Assange of passing the information to Russia but that's not true, technically it doesn't hold up.

Trump wanted to pardon him if he came to testify as to who his source was against Hillary Clinton, but Assange didn't make that deal because he's an honest man and doesn't reveal his sources. Those were the WikiLeaks rules of engagement. Assange is hated by Hillary Clinton supporters for damaging her candidacy and her chance of being elected. At the same time, he is hated by Republicans because he was seen as a troublemaker to the military and the United States, a man who revealed secrets, like Snowden. Snowden and Assange are heroes to me because we need to know how our government operates. We need to know what they are doing on our behalf and they are not doing good things. The government is doing bad things, many bad things, which by the way cost us a fortune.

-Fabrizio Rostelli interviews Oliver Stone, translated from Italian, Fanpage Italy, Nov 8 2020 [x]

#oliver stone #election2020 #donald trump #joe biden #italy #covid19 #coronavirus

0 notes