#all my love for lgbt palestinians

[uiuishii]

Happy Pride Month everyone 🌈

[ursie]

Brennan’s statement on Palestine :

[ ID: Statement from Brennan Lee Mulligan, on Instagram. It consists of three black squares with plain white text. The text reads as follows:

"I'm calling on my government officials to immediately demand a ceasefire and de-escalation in Gaza.

I applaud anyone and everyone calling for peace, with the understanding that real peace only exists if it deeply and honestly accounts for and fully ends violence in all its forms. Real peace addresses and corrects wrong-doing in the past and guards against it in the future. It goes hand in hand with justice and requires truth, restoration, reconciliation, reparation.

Peace cannot co-exist with collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement. It cannot co-exist with blockades, embargoes, or with 2.2 million people, half of which are children, trapped with no hope of escape or political recourse. it cannot co-exist with murdered journalists, bombed hospitals, or years of protesters being shot and killed at the border. it cannot co-exist with illegal settlements, segregated roads, and the silent, imperial chill that settles over the gaps in the violence - the unspoken geopolitical consensus that a group of people need to unflinchingly accept permanent subjugation and occupation.

My hear breaks for every Israeli person who lost loved ones during the attacks of October 7th. It breaks for every Ukrainian person who has lost their loved ones. It breaks for every Congolese person who has lost their loved ones. I do not speak on behalf of Palestinians now because some lives are worth more than others. I speak on their behalf because I, and all Americans, have a responsibility to pressure our government because we are responsible for this. Some have said that this situation is complicated. The Unites States government clearly disagrees. It has definitively, categorically, militarily chosen a side, and I do not agree with that decision.

In wiring this, I have been wrestling with what I am sure many people like me wrestle with: There is a powerful narrative surrounding violence in the Middle East that asserts and ever-moving goalpost of self-education and study in order to even be qualified to have an opinion. As someone with a love of research, I have at times in my life fallen into the trap that I am not educated enough clever enough, or aware enough to have a worthwhile perspective, and that three more articles and two more lectures and one more book will do the trick. Unfortunately, democracy doesn't work that way - we, the citizens of any democracy, cannot possibly be experts on every aspect of the policies of our governments, and yet if we do not constantly weigh in an make our voices heard, the entire experiment falls apart. Not only do people constantly doubt themselves and the things they can see with their own two eyes, but old shortcuts for political action can fall apart as well: This specific issue exists along a raw, charged and unique faultline in American Politics. Nobody I grew up with has ever challenged me on my support for abortion rights, LGBT rights, Black Lives Matter, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, none of it. The people in my country who would despise me for those positions are, for all intents and purposes, strangers to me. But there are people who I've broken bread with and shared honest affection with who will see the words I've written here and incorrectly conclude that I do not wish for the security, dignity and happiness of them and their loved ones, and that breaks my fucking heart. Full-throatedly condemning the actions of the Israeli government while battling rampant anti-semitism at home is an urgent moral necessity, and doing so is made unnecessarily challenging for the average person to navigate by the pointed obfuscations of cynical opportunists, bigots, and demagogues on all sides of the political spectrum who see some advantage in sowing that incredibly dangerous confusion.

So, I'm calling my representatives. I'm having hard conversations with friends and family. I'm here, talking to you. I should have done it sooner. If you're Israeli and hurt by this statement, know that I want freedom, dignity, security and peace for you, and that every ounce of my political awareness believes whole-heartedly that the actions of your government are not only destroying innocent lives, but doing so to the detriment of you and your loved ones' safety. If you're American and feel lost and confused - I understand and empathize. This, the whole country, only works when we get involved. I am constantly haunted by the specter that maybe I missed some crucial piece of information on this, or any, important world event. I'll just have to make my peace with that self-doubt and trust my gut by going with Jewish Voice for Peace, Amnesty International, the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, etc. And if you're Palestinian and reading this: I unreservedly support your right to life, to freedom, to happiness and human flourishing, to full enfranchisement and equal rights, to opportunity, prosperity and abundance, to the restoration of stolen property and land, and to a Free Palestine." End ID ]

[dear-ao3]

Katya, why do you support Palestine? The people there would literally kill you for being trans... Like, no joke, they'd throw you off buildings.

Like, everyone there is literally homophobic... They'd kill you. This isn't exaggeration.

Me as a Palestine supporter, I'm just genuinely curious. I see so many LGBT people support a country that would kill them for their identity, and I just wonder why you'd support a country that genocides LGBT people.

/gen question.

hello anon, thanks for this question. here is my answer:

i don't care.

innocent people are being murdered. is that not enough of a reason to stand with palestine? no one should be the victim of genocide. futhermore, in your ask you say that "everyone there" is homophobic. in that, you erase all queer palestinians. you are taking away the love that people share, and have shared, and demonize them as they are subject to genocide.

trans people around the world are subject to hate and transphobia. that is obviously an issue of its own, but it is not relevant to my support for palestine.

you cannot claim to be a palestine supporter and then make such hateful claims like these.

shame on you anon. you have no excuse for this.

free palestine.

-most sincerely, a jewish trans man

[queermania]

you know, i really meant it when i said i'm not going to hold a knife to the throats of the people that are ultimately on my side. i don't hope that you suffer from the policies you've chosen to enable. i don't hope you "get what's coming to you" or any other disgusting thing i've seen people saying. i don't believe in punitive cruelty. i genuinely hope that, miracle of all miracles, trump's presidency somehow manages to be a net positive for everyone. i would love to have egg on my face about him. i don't want anyone to suffer and i'm not going to fight you.

but i'm also not going to take you seriously anymore either. so you didn't vote for kamala harris. okay. what did you do? did you vote for any of the ballot measures? any of the local elections? did you vote in the primary? in the midterms? any election at all? did you do any organizing or campaigning for any of the changes you want to see at all? did you go to a single town hall or city council meeting? are you subscribed to your reps' newsletters? what about your library's? did you go to a protest? have you contacted any of your reps about anything? via email? phone? written letter? fax? did you donate to a single cause–palestine, ukraine, the sudan, abortion funds, LGBT organizations, etc? have you done anything at all besides spread misery and gloat from your very tiny high horse that you are okay with sacrificing everybody's life, including palestinians, as long as you don't personally have to feel bad about it?

i haven't blocked you yet and i cropped your name out but i obviously know who you are. if you can provide a single shred of evidence that you personally have done any one of these things before the timestamp of whenever i end up posting this, i will give you my entire rent for november, no questions asked. you don't even have to use it to donate to a cause you clearly care so much about. you can spend it on candy. and i'm talking anything at all–did you donate a single dollar to esims six months ago? good enough. sign up for a newsletter relevant to your community? great! my rent is yours.

like i said, i don't wish you ill. but i am done treating political rubberneckers who criticize me for my imperfect triage as anything other than children throwing a tantrum. if you want to be taken seriously, fucking do something.

[lizzieisright]

How can you support Palestine? It’s constantly ranked as one of the worst countries for lgbt rights/safety and people who are found out face death in many instances. A man was decapitated in the street for being found gay and gay sexual relations are illegal with a penalty of jail time… Who do you think you are crusading for? The reality is if you went there with a rainbow flag walking down the street you would not be ok. Queer people flee to Israel for safety because society there as in many Islamic regions is notoriously anti-lgbt. Israel bought their land and have every right to defend themselves contrary to what the people wanting to wipe out their entire country believe

Hello!

I support Palestine because every person has a right to live. Because what is happening is a genocide. It's a fact. You can argue about it to the kingdom come, but it's done by the book genocide and, since it's a fact, opinions can't change it.  

With this being said, I'd like to address two specific points you made.

You can't shame me - or anyone who is queer and supports Palestine - by talking about hate crimes against queer people or describing them. Because before that you should look at your own country and check when was the last time a hate crime happened. I bet it'll be recent. Hate crimes and homophobia are not exclusive to arabic/muslim countries. This point of view is narrow minded at best and racist at worst - either by the lack of education or lack of interest in the world.

"The reality is if you went there with a rainbow flag walking down the street you would not be ok." - At this point I thought you might be a troll because saying this to me? I really am the wrong person to come to with this. I live in Russia. It's illegal to wear rainbow flags here and you will go to jail for it. Chechnya has torture camps for gay men. There's police raids in gay bars in Moscow happening regularly. Trans people are in danger of being forced to detransition. I live in the scenario above, you don't need to scare me with it out of supporting Palestine.

But my point is - I support Palestine as a queer even more as just a human, because I know what it means to live like this. Just because Palestinian queers might not be all loud and proud doesn't mean they don't exist; just because being gay is condemned and puts one's life at risk doesn't mean queers just suddenly stop existing.

And I also know - just as I have support here (my closest friends are straight women with traditional beliefs and they are very comfortable with me being gay, most people I know are not violently homophobic) Palestinian queers have their support, their communities and their people who love them and care for them. And they need our support as well. We don't get to turn our back on our fellow queers just because they happen to live in unsafe places. (and again, this kind of belief stinks of racism or of the need to broaden your worldview horizons. Believe me, the majority of queers are not white and don't live in lgbt-friendly countries)

"Israel bought their land and have every right to defend themselves contrary to what the people wanting to wipe out their entire country believe." My point in this is also really affected by me being Russian. (I'm sorry if some of you are uncomfortable with it, I can't really change it.)

You see, these reasons are very similar to what I've heard when Putin tried to justify the attack on Ukraine.

"Israel bought their land" is just as disgusting to me as "Ukraine didn't exist until 1991". "Israel has every right to defend themselves" is Putin's "We're defending ourselves against the collective West". Which is fucking nonsense.

And this is done by the book propaganda - and I'm not saying this because propaganda is a big word people like to throw around. I know this because I studied propaganda for my bachelor degree as a part of "changing public's opinion" course - me and my classmates were trained in this. They take some historical facts you can't deny or make an enemy out of someone (them vs us) and manipulate it to fit their rhetoric. Once you know how to recognise it you'll never not recognise it again.

Israel is not defending itself by targeting civilians and sniping children - they killed more children in these months than Russia in two years which is horrifying to me - they confirmed multiple times they want to erase Palestine from the face of the Earth. These words don't mean self-defence. It's a colonial power that really wants to show how powerful they are and how unstoppable they are. And again, I know this from the side of the colonial power. For me, people who side with Israel are the same people who side with Russia - and it makes me sick. 

Also please don’t assume that people who support Palestine want to destroy Israel, this is again, very narrow minded. Saving people from genocide by committing another genocide? This is plainly stupid. The world is not black and white, it's more complicated than just taking sides. I'll give an example: I'm queer and I know I'll be in danger if I ever come to Dagestan (close to Chechnya) - but dagestan people fund rise to send humanitarian aid to Palestine and I donate to them, because people are dying and I don't really care if people who'll help them are homophobic to me. Because it's not about me.

But there are moments in history when you need to take a stand, and I will not stand with Israel. (or Russia for that matter)

Anyway. Stand with Ukraine. Free Palestine. 

[ohsalome]

love seeing people (westerners) WHO HAVE NEVER EVEN MADE A SINGLE PEEP ABOUT UKRAINE AID, EVER, reblog russian lgbt aid funds after the recent news.

i'm very anti whataboutism but holy hell. when it comes to a certain country we all agree that liberation comes before improvement of lgbt issues. *i* agree with that, at least. but then the same people would rather pay to save lgbt people from a country that's actively besieging another country, it's just... beyond words how hypocritical it is.

I have so many things to say, none of them being nice.

Ukrainian army is, so far, the only force that is presenting challenge to "putin's regime". Wouldn't it make sense for people who "want to protect russian lgbt+s" to support us then? We are conctantly being degraded for "not allying with good russians" who are supposed to be our "natural allies" because they are "anti-putin".... Funny how it doesn't work the other way around, doesn't it? And yes, I have personal experience with russian lgbt+ and feminist circles (prior to the full-scale invasion), and I remember clearly how they explicitly ignored all pleas from ukrainians to speak up on our behalf. And how can one forget the famous "women have no nationality"...

This is, from my memory, the third time russia has "banned lgbt+s", and I believe I have a good reason for being sceptical about the real consequences of russian laws which, as we all know, are worth a little more than toilet paper. It is common knowledge which people of russian elite are gay, and I sincerely doubt their life will change in any way with this new law. As a matter of fact, most of them are a part of russian propaganda machine, like the infamous Anton Krasovsky. Also, what is the point then of this law, if it functionally duplicates all the previous ones already existing and brings nothing new to the table? I will not repeat the conspiracies about "diverting attention from Ukraine", because you've probably already heard of them. My own conspiracy is that its goal is to further the international reputation of russians as innocent victims of the regime, all while ukrainians are being actively slandered and forced into fake opposition with palestinians. One example relevant to the discussion I've seen recently is a post of a russian "war refugee" who has fled from russia either when the war started, or during one of the mobilisation waves. She was complaining about how much she dislikes living in the West and how she plans to return to russia, fully knowing that it is an authoritarian hellscape, and she will have to collaborate with it, because "it is more comfortable there"... This is what I think about russian "victims of the regime" - this is all masquerade for them, which they are ready and happy to take off once they are tired of play-pretending being part of the civilized world and want to return to their comform zone swamp.

Just like pussy riot monetizing Bucha imagery for their fame and profit, russian lgbt+s jumped on the oppostunity to appropriate the suffering of ukrainian war victims to earn more $$$$$. And I blame western media which has for day one has put us on the same scale, equating ukrainian civillians to russian ones, even though only one side has to live under constant bombardment, only one side had to seek refuge due to the threat of occupation, only one side is being actively genocided... But russians are having meanie mean words said about them on the internet, and this is just as bad - nay, mayhaps even worse! Remember how during the first months of full-scale invasion westerners were claiming that russians will starve to death due to sanctions, and I was preaching to the choir trying to explain that we are literally dying due to west feeding the russian war machine that is exterminating us? Well, almost two years have passed, no russian have famished because Chanel has left the market, they are successfuly importing all the missiles components through Kazakhstan, and Ukraine cannot even count all the losses we've had because how much of our territory remains under the occupation. But westerners have already congratulated themselves about how they've "immediately gifted ukraine all the weapons they need once the war started" (hahaha!) and moved on to playing with their new palestinian toy, all while for some reason pitting us against each other (and stealing footage from Syria and Ukraine to misrepresent them as Palestine)

Oh and don't get me started on western "political activists" who go out of their way to mention every single conflict happening on planted earth, excluding Ukraine. I will never forget that.

[very bitter and pessimistic conclusion censored]

[thatshirleylee]

brennan's statement on instagram

I'm calling on my government officials to immediately demand a ceasefire and de-escalation in Gaza.

I applaud anyone and everyone calling for peace, with the understanding that real peace only exists if it deeply and honestly accounts for and fully ends violence in all its forms. Real peace addresses and corrects wrong-doing in the past and guards against it in the future. It goes hand in hand with justice and requires truth, restoration, reconciliation, reparation.

Peace cannot co-exist with collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement. It cannot co-exist with blockades, embargoes, or with 2.2 million people, half of which are children, trapped with no hope of escape or political recourse. It cannot co-exist with murdered journalists, bombed hospitals, or years of protesters being shot and killed at the border. It cannot co-exist with illegal settlements segregated roads, and the silent, imperial chill that settles over the gaps in the yiolence - the unspoken geopolitical consensus that a group of people need to unflinchingly accept permanent subjugation and occupation.

My heart breaks for every Israeli person who lost loved ones during the attacks of October 7th. It breaks for every Ukrainian person who has lost their loved ones. It breaks for every Congolese person who has lost their loved ones. I do not speak on behalf of Palestinians now because some lives are worth more than others. I speak on their behalf because, as an American, my government is actively championing and financially funding their mass slaughter and forced displacement.I speak on their behalf because l, and all Americans, have a responsibility to pressure our government because we are responsible for this. Some have said that this situation is complicated. The United States government clearly disagrees. It has definitively, categorically, militarily chosen a side, and I do not agree with that decision.

In writing this, I have been wrestling with what I am sure many people like me wrestle with: There is a powerful narrative surrounding violence in the Middle East that asserts an ever-moving goalpost of self-education and study in order to even be qualified to have an opinion. As someone with a love of research, I have at times in my life fallen into the trap that I am not educated enough, clever enough or aware enough to have a worthwhile perspective, and that three more articles and two more lectures and one more book will do the trick. Unfortunately, democracy doesn't work that way - we, the citizens of any democracy, cannot possibly be experts on every aspect of the policies of our governments, and yet if we do not weigh in and make our voices heard, the entire experiment falls apart. Not only do people constantly doubt themselves and the things they can see with their own two eyes, but old shortcuts for political action can fall apart as well: This specific issue exists along a raw, charged and unique faultline in American politics. Nobody I grew up with has ever challenged me on my support for abortion rights, LGBT rights, Black Lives Matter, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, none of it. The people in my country who would despise me for those positions are, for all intents and purposes, strangers to me. But there are people who l've broken bread with and shared honest affection with who will see the words l've written here and incorrectly conclude that I do not wish for the security, dignity and happiness of them and their loved ones, and that breaks my fucking heart. Full-throatedly condemning the actions of the Israeli government while battling rampant anti-semitism at home is an urgent moral necessity, and doing so is made unnecessarily challenging for the average person to navigate by the pointed obfuscations of cynical opportunists, bigots, and demagogues on all sides of the political spectrum who see some advantage in sowing that incredibly dangerous confusion.

So, I'm calling my representatives. I'm having hard conversations with friends and family. I'm here, talking to you. I should have done it sooner. If you're Israeli and hurt by this statement, know that I want freedom, dignity, security and peace for you, and that every ounce of my political awareness believes whole-heartedly that the actions of your government are not only destroying innocent lives, but doing so to the detriment of you and your loved ones' safety. If you're American and feel lost and confused - I understand and empathize. This, the whole country, only works when we get involved. I am constantly haunted by the specter that maybe I have missed some crucial piece of information on this, or any, important world event: I'Il just have to make my peace with that self-doubt and trust my gut by going with Jewish Voice for Peace, Amnesty International, the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, etc. And if you're Palestinian and reading this: I unreservedly support your right to life, to freedom, to happiness and human flourishing, to full enfranchisement and equal rights, to opportunity, prosperity and abundance, to the restoration of stolen property and land, and to a Free Palestine.

[tslockjawmassacre]

Whenever gay Americans get angry abt what our government is doing to Palestinians (and why), there's always someone who loves to be like "Who's gonna tell these dummies homosexuality is illegal in Gaza?"

That's so crazy.

I'm a gay Texan in my mid 20s. When I was a little kid, homosexuality was illegal. Here in Texas, where I lived and where I still happily live.

So (TW "war" crimes) I guess it would've been fair enough if the U.S. and Israel had bombed me and my family and neighbors, our houses and jobsites and whole communities, the girls I played with down the street, my baby brothers, my grandparents at work, the trans Texans who used to meet up downtown in the city, everybody else etc. If they had deliberately driven us from our homes and forced us to live in terror every night and every day, maiming our children, burning our parents alive, attacking&cutting off our food and water, blocking our aid, methodically starving us out and telling us straight up that we needed to be scrubbed off the face of the earth so they could take everything we have and not worry about keeping it.

I mean, damn I guess we would've had it coming. Homosexuality wasn't even legal, right? Sounds like a Texas problem. What do I care what the gov spends all those $$,$$$,$$$,$$$ and lives doing?

*Just to be clear, gay sex between men was a crime here until 2003 (when I was definitely kicking around, painting my nails with markers and eating bugs).

If I wanted to see penalties that were exactly the same as (or often harsher than) what's been left on the books in Gaza (and maybe sometimes ? enforced), I just have to go back one generation to my parents' lifetime, when men were getting 10 years in prison and, unlike in Palestine, police were setting up sting operations to actively crack down on the gay problem (again, smth that doesn't even happen in Gaza).

This is not, like, a weird feature of some "foreign" culture to me, and it really shouldn't be for any American who isn't super young or who knows her history. That doesn't make it right (at all), but you can't believe the lie that "these people aren't like you". It's actually insane. Pretending this has any relevance on the genocide other than to say that queer Palestinians are even more greatly impacted by it is crazy and disgusting.

-- This really doesn't need to be added, but if we're supposed to play this stupid game, Palestinians in the West Bank took their anti-gay laws off the books in the early 1950s, at the same time basically all U.S. state governments were creating new laws specifically targeting gay (and trans) ppl and categorizing gay sex as a felony with harsh prison sentences. Now should our American grandparents/parents have been starved and scrubbed off the earth?? I would say... No!

The laws in Gaza are definitely not good for gay and trans Gazans -- stigma is very real, and gay rights aren't explicitly protected under the freedoms and human rights guaranteed by the Palestinian constitution. This is wrong, but obv genocide makes it a million times worse and is indescribably more horrible for all Palestinians, queer and straight.

And I don't get how anybody living in the "anglo-sphere" can pretend like this is some distant culture we're talking about -- these laws were imposed by the British Empire on occupied Palestine in the 1930s and then left on the books. Incredibly, Palestinians are normal people, and I think there's a good reason so many lgbt's see right through this bullshit.

We understand that the same politicians who weaponize "family values" can condemn families to death to line their own pockets.

We've heard "save the children" from people happy to condemn children to the horrors of genocide.

And when bought-out politicians defend our gay rights, they still don't hesitate to drop bombs on our mangled gay bodies.

[girlactionfigure]

3 questions for the global far left:

1/14 

Here’s the 1st question: How many Jews need to die before you stop blaming us for everything that happens? Because on that dark Saturday 2 weeks ago, 1,400 were murdered. How many more do you need? Ten thousand? 6 million? 

2/14 Yes, I went there. I referenced the Holocaust. Tactless, I know. The Jews always do that, don’t they – bring up the Holocaust so they can claim to be the victims. It doesn’t work. Six million is just a number to you. Like 1,400. 

3/14 Maybe the number shields you. That way you don’t need to think about the people behind the number. About the grandmother who was murdered with her autistic granddaughter who loved Harry Potter. 

4/14 You won’t need to think about Abigail. She’s three. Hamas abducted her into Gaza. Who abducts a 3-year-old girl? What will they do with her? How can it be that there are people demonstrating against Abigail and in support of the people who abducted her? 

5/14 The second question is this: Do your feelings exempt you from knowing the facts? I understand that you feel the Palestinians are suffering, you really feel it, it’s a strong feeling, but do you really have no interest whatsoever in actual facts? 

6/14 Do you know, for example, that Hamas doesn’t support a two-state solution? They don’t even want to free Palestine. That’s not the kind of movement they are. Hamas isn’t a Palestinian national movement, you’re confusing them with the Palestinian Authority. 

7/14 The two organizations are bitter rivals. Hamas is a radical Islamist organization, like ISIS. Their goal is an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East without Jews, without LGBT people, without Christians, even without moderate Muslims 

8/14 And what about LGBT people? Do you really not care that the people you’re supporting hang gay people? Don’t “Queers for Palestine” care about Ahmed Abu Marakhia, a young gay Palestinian who managed to escape to Israel but was abducted by Hamas, murdered, his body mutilated? 

9/14 By my calculations, this is the point where you stop reading, because it won’t help. You feel differently, and so there must be something wrong with what you’re reading rather than what you’re feeling. 

10/14 As far as you’re concerned, my words are an annoying manipulation that’s best ignored.

I promise you’ll be able to find other facts that will better suit your feelings. There will only be one problem with them – they’ll be wrong 

11/14 The reason they’re so available on your social media feed is that Hamas and the Iranians fund a huge network of disinformation, which directs itself to the algorithms of the ultra-liberal left 

12/14 If you’re the kind of person who Googles “trans rights” or “climate protest,” you’ll soon find their propaganda appearing in your scroll. It will make you feel good, but I’d still recommend that you check why there aren’t trans people in Gaza, not even one. 

13/14 And the third question is this: Do you know that there is a simple answer to the first two questions? There is a reason that you’re protesting against us these days and, like everything else, it comes from feelings. 

14/14 Because as opposed to everything you think about yourselves, 

everything you say about being color blind, humane, champions of human rights and all the rest, you have one other personality trait – you are antisemites.

I know you think you’re not, but you are. 

• • •

[gryficowa]

I love the liberals' text when they say "But Trump won't help Palestine!", I have a fucking question, how did Biden help Palestine? Giving weapons to Israel to murder Palestinians and colonize? Oh yeah, Biden was blue, so you don't give a damn

The Blues won't stop supporting Israel either, but you liberals are too gullible, a few empty promises and that's it, you vote without a second thought

Do you seriously buy pinkwashing/homonationalism? If you cared about LGBT+ people, you wouldn't buy empty promises

Oh yeah, you're too proud Americans to admit that you're electing a terrorist…

Don't believe politicians with beautiful promises, damn it

Do I seriously, as a Pole from a country where politicians lie like crazy, have to explain this to you? After all, since you are more "Civilized" you should know that politicians cannot be trusted, their promises are often beautiful only during elections, I have a question whether Biden got rid of this wall, that Trump created? According to the promises, this should happen, right, liberals?

Biden hasn't done much for America, but you guys masturbate to him like he's done great things, WTF

Even I didn't buy the empty promises of liberal platforms in my country (Unfortunately, Poles did because "PiS" has to lose and it's depressing, yes, they still haven't offered partnerships as they promised, so you can see how liberal parties are so sincere that it can't be seen , but "It was worse under PiS!", yes, it was, but KO is like Biden and PiS is like Trump, in short, shitty options, KO still has this wall on the Polish-Belarusian border, and Donald Tusk from KO says to strengthen this border, when they lied beautifully to the liberals that they will get rid of it and get out the immigrants who were trapped there by the border guards from both countries, I didn't buy it then, it was just empty and yes, there were also attacks on students by the police in my country, but liberals are silent, because KO is not PiS, so they will not criticize it… Yes, liberals, you are useless and should be ashamed of yourself)

If I tell you that Biden (or rather the blue ones) is a bad choice, it's a fucking bad choice, because I know it from my own experiences and I see how liberal parties make beautiful promises and do shit, the very fact that you buy it is irrational on many levels

How do you support LGBT+ people and minorities, would you listen to them and not attack them for their strikes "Because they don't convince anyone with them", if you supported them, you chose the third one, in short, you are false supporters, and you use pinkwashing and Palestinians to scare people, not to actual action, but this is typical of liberals, all you know how to do is scare people, but to do something? Guys, this is too much, it's better to go after those who are actually fighting (Yes, I'm talking about Greta, but also about other activists you love to attack)

That's why we leftists don't like liberals, they don't do anything to change anything, and only think about their own comfort, not about other groups (They prefer to use them for emotional blackmail to get them to vote for their party), you are such artificial allies that leftists they prefer not to have you in their group, you simply don't fight for minorities, and you use them as emotional blackmail (Like conservatives/right-wingers), and no one likes to be used this way

And no, Americans, your policy is nothing special, in Poland there are usually two candidates for president, and hardly anyone uses the third option (It sucks, because you either have Andrzej Duda for causing problems, or liberals)

And yes, in 2020 the elections were… Strange, unfortunately, Duda won, because at that time the campaign against LGBT+ people (which this clown created) was doing too well, so yes, I'm telling you straight, this fucker won because TVP Info was spreading queerphobia, and many boomers watched this station and well, connect the dots

And this election looked like this: Andrzej Duda shouted into the fucking glass that was standing at Rafał Trzaskowski's stand, so yes, that's why I call this election weird as fuck

But yes, Biden has done nothing good for Palestine, so it's hypocritical to say the same about Trump (Even for people who hate that orange face, it seems like a double standard) and by the way, I'm not from Russia, I'm from Poland, that's what I'm saying to the liberals who love to call me a "Russian troll" because I have the nerve to tell you, you're crazy, isn't confusing Poles with Russians considered racism in your country? Hmm…

So in short, Biden and Trump are the same evil, and the fact that one of them cares about your ass doesn't change anything, because he is guilty of the genocide that Israel is committing against the Palestinians (Just like Obama, whom you also voted for, so Yes, you love picking people who supply weapons to murder civilians in other countries, don't you?)

Vietnam, Afghanistan, Palestine… Those you elected made this happen, but you live by the logic that "If it's not me, not my family, it's not my problem", and this is a sick way of thinking (And it is related to white supermacy)

So what if your electorate gives rights to LGBT+ people when in another country your electorate is complicit in genocide? Many LGBT+ people would prefer not to be used to explain why a genocide goes unpunished…

What about LGBT+ people who were murdered by blue people? What about them? Are they less important than you Americans? Do LGBT+ people have to be Americans for you to care about them?

You don't support LGBT+ people when you elect someone who murders them in another country (Do you think that LGBT+ people in Palestine were not murdered by weapons provided by your beloved Biden? Do you seriously assume that LGBT+ people do not exist in countries other than America? And? yeah, you're liberals, you don't care, I forgot…)

You will probably start calling names, because that's all you liberals can do, because when it comes to action or even persuading change, you are the ones who are always against it (Because you love the status quo)

And by the way, you were happy that striking students were attacked by the police because they supported Palestine, so what do you expect from you?

[jewishmcr]

I recently made the extremely difficult decision to leave my synagogue two months shy of completing my conversion requirements because I couldn’t continue to support a congregation that aligns itself with “liberal Zionism.” I’ve been working towards conversion for nearly two years and this decision has been weighing on me heavily since October. I wanted to share the email I sent to my rabbi, in the event that it resonates with or helps other people in some way (I have redacted information about the specific synagogue for privacy). I would love to hear from others pursuing conversion to Judaism who have experienced similar issues!

Dear Rabbi,

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into the conversation we had last week, and I appreciate the time you took to speak with me and help me think about next steps. I’ve spent countless hours over the past seven months interrogating my relationship to [synagogue], Judaism, and Zionism, and am devoted to continuing to pursue conversion to Judaism. Although I desperately wish to carry on and finish out the conversion process with [synagogue], I cannot continue to do so.

I acknowledge and deeply appreciate that [synagogue] takes the radical stance of wholeheartedly condemning the actions Israel has been taking against Palestinians, and that this opinion is extremely rare among synagogues. I am glad that [synagogue] continues to push for the dignified existence of Palestinians and the recognition of their right to exist in land that has long been their home. These stances give me much hope for the future of organized American Jewish life across the country, and I hope that [synagogue] will remain at the forefront of progressive Judaism. All of this being said, I refuse to compromise my own morals, those both personal and religious, for the sake of the convenience of completing my conversion quickly. Zionism, even “liberal” zionism, is a colonial project that has, from the very establishment of the state of Israel, resulted in the deaths, displacement, and torture of Palestinians. I cannot separate an idealized hypothetical version of zionism from its concrete reality. I do not believe that the Jewish people ever had an inherent right to occupy land by forcible displacement. I do not believe that the state of Israel had the right to be established in 1948. Especially considering that on May 15th, 1948, one day after the official establishment of Israel, the first Nakba began. The day that you and I spoke marked the 76th anniversary of this horrific event, something that weighed heavily on my mind during our conversation. It is also my belief that Israel should not continue to exist as a nation. This has been my belief for quite some time, but it has strengthened exponentially since October 7th.

I understand that many members of [synagogue], including possibly clergy, share these beliefs with me. I also understand that I would not feel content in my conversion if I carried it out in a synagogue that continues to ally itself with zionism in any form. The version of Judaism that I want to create for myself has no space for zionism in any capacity. I seek a Judaism that, in addition to condemning Israel as [synagogue] does, is anti-zionist in words, actions, and religious practices.

I am heartbroken to be leaving [synagogue], which has been providing me with a community of fellow LGBT Jews since I moved to [current city]. This is not a decision I am making lightly, nor is it a decision that I’m happy to be making. I do not know yet what the next steps of my journey will be, but unfortunately it will not include [synagogue]. Although I did not yet want to admit it, I knew this was my decision when you asked me towards the end of our conversation if I could see myself continuing to worship, celebrate, and mourn with the [synagogue] community if I were to continue pursuing conversion here. My answer, unfortunately, is no. My discomfort with [synagogue]’s treatment of the genocide in Palestine has already caused me to withdraw significantly from synagogue life, as well as from completing the conversion requirements. I have found it increasingly difficult to jump through the hoops when I have a strong moral opposition to [synagogue]’s identity as a liberal zionist congregation. This decision is particularly difficult for me because, as you said, I’m unlikely to find a congregation willing to openly condemn Israel any more than [synagogue] does. I remain optimistic that eventually, I will be able to complete my conversion of my own terms among a community that shares my anti-zionism stance.

I thank you, [rabbinical intern], and everyone else from the [synagogue] community who has been there for me over the past two years. I have learned much and gained invaluable perspectives during my time at [synagogue], all of which I will take with me as I continue on the path to conversion. I plan to reach out to [rabbinical intern] separately as well as share my decision with the rest of my gerut group.

Thank you for everything,

Oliver

[savefrog]

Hi! I shouldn't assume that being a longtime follower means I know you but I gotta unfollow anyone engaging in "vote blue no matter who" rhetoric and figured I'd say so on my way out. You have every right to do whatever w electoral politics and I agree there's a level of pragmatism to voting. But like, are you saying that about the USA Dems?? They're bombing Gaza to the point of genocide as we speak! Even if you're not proud of that fact, what would be the aim of such a vote? I doubt anyone of any party committing war crimes can be pushed by freely given votes, no?

You're welcome to unfollow. But essentially I'm entirely on the pragmatism end here.

Me saying vote blue in this case is not going "woohoo ok dems i love everything you do, do whatever!!!!"

it's a matter of "red quite LITERALLY wants to remove all ability to protest and say this shit is wrong".

see summary of Trump on shutting down the ability to protest

blue is not entirely clean on this matter either but i would take getting run over by a motorbike over getting run over by a truck.

I would like to preserve the ability to say the government sucks ass and while I totally get where people are coming from when they don't want to vote dem...I'd say that abstaining from voting to "send a message" is akin to complete silence in this current election climate especially considering the stakes, and there are a lot of other ways to get a message across that isn't passively allowing the literal white supremacist in - who by the way said BIDEN of all people was too soft on Palestine and that he wanted Israel to hurry up and "finish the job":

source (It is also recorded on various other news sources)

Though frankly I agree with this quote here, from an article that is also critical of Harris and Biden:

“Trump would be the worst,” Asmaa Nimilaat, 50, said from a hospital where thousands of people are sheltering in Deir el-Balah, an area in central Gaza. “But any candidate that becomes president will not support Palestinians.”

The USA as an entire machine is so heavily invested in Israel it's hard to imagine a pro-palestinian president ever being elected. That is why I said the election is "picking your opponent".

The ideal situation is a complete rework of the US. As much as not voting FEELS like protest here...it is not going to do anything meaningful in this regard. It is indistinguishable from a non-vote from someone who couldn't get off work or was screwed out of an accessible voting location by red bullshit or just skipped out of apathy.

But we can at least not let the guy in whose ideal is to restructure the government to only allow fascist kiss ups in, heavily criminalize any opposing voices and militarize against them, has already set a new standard to allow the executive branch to do "What the fuck crime ever", and continue to use poc and lgbt in the US as a scapegoat and target of violence to radicalize his people. And then CONTINUE to protest and make pressure.

By all means I'd say no matter someone's plans for the actual voting day, TELL democractic nominees you're undecided and will not vote if they don't call for a ceasefire that lasts more than 10 minutes.

You can do whatever, but im personally not interested in a situation I see as letting conservatives take what is already bad and making it 3000 times worse and 80x less improvable and I guess I would encourage others if they can stomach it to make that same consideration rather than treat the election like a moral pageant. If they truly believe not voting will actually send a message, cool. But I want people to think really hard on whether it will. And then for the love of god don't stop at just voting.

If anything I encourage people to vote dem in state elections if only because there are dems right now trying to make ranked voting a thing, so that we can finally be free from having to vote dem at all and actually make it viable to pressure them in ballots!!!!

[kaleidoru]

I am extremely frustrated and sickened with how this site treats its users. I know it's no big surprise considering the 'nsfw bans' and trying to erase sex workers off the site, and that it was only ever a matter of time after lgbt+ tags began getting nuked that this was coming.

I really wanted to love tumblr. This was, at one point, considered 'the' LGBT site, but things have changed and now that's not true, especially not now with the rampant transmisogyny.

I don't want to quit tumblr... but I will be limiting my presense here.

If you think this doesn't affect you, you can guess again. They come for one group, then they come for all the related groups. It's transwomen and palestinians now, but it could be YOU next.

My main social media / posting place will be here: https://bsky.app/profile/kaleido.bsky.social obviously my other links are under here: https://kaleidoru.carrd.co/#contact

Now that bluesky is open for registration to all I hope to see some of you there.

[naradreamscape]

At this point, the DNC's true colours, and that of the US empire as a whole, are on full display. In the DNC's case, it's the essence of neoliberalism, which is that everyone has a valid place in government and representation...so long as they are supportive of the rest of the upper crust's pursuit of monetary gains and power. It's a Girl Power sticker on an oil fracking apparatus, or Raytheon bragging about how many LGBT+ employees it has.

People have been lied to that the Palestinian genocide is valid in any way - the population has been lied about to seem "uncivilized", "selfish" for not wanting to hand over their natural resources to the West, or as a culture of antisemites - in reality, they are defending themselves from self-entitled, often broken Jews enacting Manifest Destiny, who are backed by an imperialist empire that smelled oil.

Meanwhile, regular Jews such as myself are terrified that the establishment of a "home" state will mean we will one day be deported there against our wills. We are also sickened by how Palestinian people are being treated, and see it as a revolting mirror of the way our people have been treated throughout history. If this were a genuine Judaic settlement, the Arabs would be our neighbors; there would be no walls between us, and we would have bought our houses and land fairly from the ones who tended the land before us. If there were no aggressive, invasive occupation, there would be no native retaliation.

And yet, I am constantly told I, a White Ashken whose ancestors have lived in Europe and North America for centuries, am more entitled to occupied Palestinian land because the homes already there are "just Arabs". The gruesome deaths of children are supposed to be excused because "they were just going to grow up into terrorists anyway". I cannot believe the things I have seen self-identifying Jews say over the past 10 months...to meet them halfway in their arguments would be to land in blatant xenophobia.

The occupation of Palestine is not being done for "Jewish safety". It is being done to satiate the imperial industries of the USA, using a shield of profoundly Islamophobic religious extremists. At this point, everyone needs to call out the occupation. I, an actual Jew, am begging you all to feel comfortable criticizing the occupation. No one is benefiting from this, aside from bigots of many shades. The USA is committing a genocide for natural resources. Way too many of my people are trying to find personal benefit from this mass exodus.

To mi haverim: Please read more about Palestine that does not come from state propaganda or far-right publications. We should not see ourselves as being entitled to "civilize" the Middle East, because given everything we've seen the IDF filming themselves doing, does any of that seem civilized? And if you are scared to speak out, please know there are so many fellow anti-zionist Jews out there who would love to hear from you.

Goyim of America: speak out against your government. Do not fall prey to antisemitic stereotypes, but know the colony only represents a small percentage of our culture, one that is equivocal to nationalist Evangelical Christians. Criticize the colony as you would criticize any other foreign state's actions. Criticize American politicians for wasting money on genocide instead of your state and municipal systems. This won't stop until we are all united.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Emma Graham-Harrison at The Guardian:

When Daoud, a veteran queer activist, recently walked past rainbow flags hung for Pride month in the old port city of Jaffa, a historic centre of Palestinian culture, he was overcome by a wave of revulsion. The most famous symbol of LGBTQ+ liberation has been so co-opted by the Israeli state that to a gay Palestinian like him it now serves only as a reminder of the horror unfolding just 60 miles south. Last November, Israel’s government posted two images from Gaza on its social media account. One shows Israeli soldier Yoav Atzmoni, in battle fatigues, in front of buildings reduced to rubble by Israeli airstrikes. He holds a rainbow flag with a hand-scrawled message: “In the name of love”.

In the second he poses beside a tank, grinning as he displays an Israeli flag with rainbow borders. “The first ever Pride flag raised in Gaza,” the caption for both images reads. At the time, Israeli attacks had killed more than 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 4,000 children, according to Gazan health ministry figures. The toll has now risen to over 37,000, and more than a million people are on the brink of famine. “I saw the disgusting use of Pride flags in Gaza,” said Daoud, a Palestinian citizen of Israel whose name has been changed. He asked for anonymity because Palestinians have faced arrest and persecution for expressing solidarity with civilians in Gaza and criticising the war. “Now, in this period when terrible death looms over all of us, I can’t see the Pride flag any other way. It really turned my stomach seeing them; it was revolting,” he added.

Daoud’s reaction is shared by many queer people around the world, said Phillip Ayoub, professor of international relations at University College London, who researches the intersection of politics and LGBTQ+ rights. “That cognitive disconnect of seeing what else is in the image – ­rubble that was people’s homes – then seeing the flag being displayed in a celebratory way. It is a massive violation to people who have fought for their rights under this flag.” Those images from Gaza are part of a long-running international campaign that critics call “pinkwashing” because they say it aims to bolster the Israeli state by linking it with queerness, presenting it as an explicit counterpart to a Palestinian identity depicted as exclusively and violently homophobic.

It exploits global support for LGBTQ+ rights to further an Israeli ultranationalist political agenda and legitimise the oppression of Palestinians, said Sa’ed Atshan, chair of the department of peace and conflict studies at Swarthmore College and author of Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique. This messaging was driven not by genuine enthusiasm for LGBTQ+ rights from a government that includes a self-proclaimed “fascist homophobe” as finance minister, he said, but was deployed strategically for political ends. “The Israeli state has different audiences,” Atshan said. “If it is addressing LGBTQ-friendly domestic audiences in Israel or globally, then it whips out this pink-washing discourse trying to portray Israel as a gay haven.” For homophobic audiences, including at home and Christian Zionists abroad, “it presents a homophobic discourse about religious conservatism and adherence to ‘family values’ and revulsion towards queerness”.

[...]

Israel’s track record on LGBTQ+ rights includes barring discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, recognising foreign same-sex marriage (although it has not been legalised there) and allowing same-sex couples to adopt. Israel ranks better than most neighbours on the Equaldex LGBT Equality index, in 50th place globally. Palestine is ranked 146th, with consensual same-sex sexual acts legal in the West Bank but not in Gaza. But the idea that Israel serves as a regional haven for the queer community feels particularly cruel and hypocritical, activists and academics said, at a time when the LGBTQ+ population of Gaza has no more refuge from Israeli bombs than any other Palestinians. “There is no ‘pink door’ in the wall for queer Palestinians to leave Gaza and make a life in Israel,” said Ayoub from UCL. “The Israeli rhetoric just makes it even harder for LGBTQ Palestinians, because it reinforces the idea that queerness exists nowhere else … It erases the fact that there are Palestinian activists, queer Palestinians.”

Even for the Jewish majority in the LGBTQ+ community, Israel’s track record on equal rights is outpaced by its official propaganda. “Palestine is a patriarchal society, and homophobic, but so is Israel. There are more queer rights in Israel than other Middle Eastern countries, but they’re still limited and it’s not a major success story,” Ayoub said.

[...] LGBTQ+ Palestinians suffer widespread discrimination and abuse both in public and in family settings in occupied territories, human rights groups say. But those who smuggle themselves across the separation wall into Israel from the occupied territories in search of a more queer-friendly environment often find instead racist hostility, bureaucratic red tape and a state of long-term vulnerability. Queer Palestinians seeking asylum in Israel are regularly barred from healthcare and denied residence permits. They struggle to access shelter and therefore face abuse and exploitation, a “life of hell” documented in a +972 Magazine report.

This Guardian article on LGBTQ+ Palestinians and the Israel Apartheid State’s pinkwashing campaign to paint the nation as a beacon of LGBTQ+ rights in the Middle East (when it really isn’t much of one) is a must-read.

[drop-dead-dropout]

NEW USERNAME local-queer-disappointment -> drop-dead-dropout

unpinning my other post because i want to talk a little about me and this space that i've created! hi i'm alex and i dropped out of high school twice lol

i think a dni is stupid because people never listen anyways, which is why i haven't had one, but i still see the value in at least telling people who this little corner is for.

also YELL AT ME ON DISCORD I'M woahits_alex.mp3 IF U ASK ME ABOUT FIC RECS FOR MY FANDOMS I'LL CRY WITH HAPPINESS

anyways opinion stuff under the cut. you don't have to read it, and you don't even have to listen if you do, but i might argue with you (<- serial arguer) so if you want to avoid the Discourse here ya go.

you are welcome here:

- ALL queers. trans men, trans women, nonbinary, intersex, poc queers, xenogender, "contradictory" labels like mspec gays/lesbians lesboys/turigirls/sapphileans (omg it's me!!), slur reclaims, detransitioners (who are not transphobic), mspec lesbians, aro/ace and all variations thereupon, unlabeled, questioning, etc. i love all of you. i love the community that we share. we are family, whether or not some of us want to be, and exclusionism is Not Funky Fresh!!

- pro Palestine!! i don't always rb posts as much as i used to (i am scared of spreading misinformation) but i think i'll start doing that again! (don't forget your daily click guys)

- jewish people. i am specifically adding this one to say that because of the shitty Everything, i've seen a lot of concerning antisemitic stuff recently so i'm just, yk, putting this out there.

- disabilities/systems/cluster b disorders/AAC users. i am not any of these things (except maybe plural??) so if i say/do something out of line please tell me! but i love you guys and you're absolutely welcome here.

- proshippers (if this bothers you block and move on)

- furries. not personally one of y'all but i think you're neat and you make cool art :]

- literally, like, anyone, as long as you're not a dick

you are not welcome here:

- terfs, transphobes, exclusionists, anti-mspec, anti-lesboy, and people who think transandrophobia is "fake" or whatever. go away i don't like you (or at least be prepared to be blocked or yelled at)

- similarly to last, anyone who starts queer infighting or hates on less visible queers/strangers who don't "look" queer, the whole "bi girl's straight bf" nonsense (i don't care if you think someone is cishet. you have no way of knowing that. let's stop hating people for immutable characteristics and start having thoughtful criticisms of people's actions thanks)

- ZIONISTS. BYE BYE

- (but also antisemites because come on now let's notttt. judiasm ≠ zionism)

- ableists, fatphobia, racists/bigots, general dickheads

- antishippers (again, you can either leave now or expect to be argued with)

other general stuff:

- i accept anonymous asks! and also non anonymous ones. ask me shit idk

- i am autistic and VERY gullible. if i reblog a "bait" post, or something that's clearly fake or a joke with a genuine reaction, i'm probably not playing some 5d irony chess i'm probably just stupid. sorry y'all i'm trying :\

- i don't rb nsfw. not as, like, a rule, i just don't see the value in doing so lol. if i ever did i'd tag it and probably update this

UPDATE: thought i should clarify, i don't rb nsfw but i do rb nsfw humor, like dick jokes and stuff. hope there's no confusion

- i argue with people!! i enjoy arguing with people!! usually it's in replies and not reblogs but still. if you are allergic to stuff like that maybe don't follow me? i also rb "discourse" posts, mostly transmasc support stuff and callouts of transandrophobia, general solidarity stuff with the trans community or lgbt community as a whole, proship stuff, politics, current events, that kinda thing.

- this is, shockingly, supposed to be a fandom blog! (i got carried away; i always do.) current fandoms include: ace attorney (the one this blog was supposed to be about), doctor who (childhood hyperfixation come back to bite my ass), and splatoon (no excuse). also mha is basically my abusive boyfriend stockholm syndroming me to stay at this point but i'm trying to get better (not). you can find the records of my failing recovery at @alex-is-losing-sleep-over-krbk /hj (i also sometimes shamelessly rb this blog's posts over there lol)

and i guess since i'm mentioning fandoms, here are my fav ships: wrightworth, klapollo, franmaya, thoschei, pearlina, agent 24, & cuttletavio.

anyways, that's about it. love you all :]