#anarchism in fandom

[molotoph]

Magic functionally is a shorthand for the intricate systemic structures of white supremacy’s power by reducing them from a massive stranglehold of checks and balances to uphold each other ad infinitum, to a single power source that when removed removes all of their weapons and ability to enforce their own genocidal order, you obstinate shit brained brat.

Let’s check our notes on how well America’s beautiful and totally real democracy is working out for the reduction of genocide against indigenous people at home and abroad, how it’s working out protecting the lives and rights of black people, of trans people, of the poverty class. OH RIGHT IT’S FUCKING NOT, AND IT ULTIMATELY IS WORKING AS IT WAS DESIGNED TO WORK. But whatever, enjoy your corporate sponsored brat summer.

Telling anarchy to constantly look for a “better option” when what you mean is “an option where neither I nor the ruling class whose aesthetics make me endlessly sympathetic to and patient with them never have to lose anything uwu” is just a refusal to engage with a reality that at the end of the day you aren’t willing to allow in. I have my lattes and my duvet but I also have my fucking rage, I have my love for my human siblings the globe over, I have my comrades’ support to lean on when I’m weak. My praxis defines how I seek a better world. You don’t get to keep whiteness.

Nobody gets to keep whiteness. I don’t want it. It is a stain on me that separates me from others who rightfully must shut it out. But sure. I’m not worth arguing with. “Arguing to” you’re not giving me your dnc debate. An argument isn’t a matter of preaching. I don’t think you’re worth arguing with either, you leave the taste of Vaush and blue wave in my mouth. I’m showing your words to other people to show how y’all aren’t interested in any revolution because when we get down to it sweetheart, you don’t find anything wrong enough to leave. And other anarchists can do the work to try to hold baby’s little hand through understanding human rights, but I won’t bother. You being angy isn’t as valuable as time that could be spent with my comrades, with learning history, with trying to save lives by killing Nazis.

“Nazis didn’t use magic uwu” no shit. They used the irl equivalent. If we had magic here you wouldn’t fucking understand anyway. “Distribute the whiteness instead” You poor thing.

Tell me what the difference is in what it does to cities and human bodies between carpet bombing and a horizon darkened by 12 story suits of armor. The difference between a wand blast and a drone strike. Does a sparkle cupcake blast shield your delicate little eyes from the gore of a child shot twice in the head better from the same body they leave dead. Is a body mangled under hundreds of unicorn hooves functionally different than one run over by a tank.

You aesthetics diehards don’t have shit to say. “Buh buh the framing” makes you feel better about your culpability in an imperial core. Sure is a lot of flowery prose layered on top of “I don’t care enough to be willing to change anything.” We’re all trapped in it. I’m American, and I’m culpable for not doing enough to stop this. I’m afraid of getting butchered by fascists and my fear paralysis lets them kill unimpeded by me. I am willing to own my failures here. I am willing to let them hurt me and I am hoping my anger and my love will soon override my fear. What exactly are you holding onto that bends your body into a human shield of the fascist state. Your comfort isn’t as valuable to them as you think it is. Your comfort isn’t an impenetrable wall keeping the revolution out.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

Maedhros built up a high pain resistance from Angband; particularly to the burning sensation. Considering how low he thinks of himself, it’s likely he expected the Silmaril to burn him. He didn’t think he was redemptive, he thought I can take it.

Part of why Maedhros acts so viciously is because that’s how life treated him. I can take it if my brothers die. I can take it if I’m damned for eternity. I can take it if everybody thinks I’m a monster.

He’s proud, and he’s suffering. He won’t back down, he will succeed or be martyred.

[whereserpentswalk]

Nothing is a better comparison between communism and capitalism then looking at Wikipedia and comparing it to Fandom.com.

[alpaca-clouds]

Understanding Individualism vs Collectivism

Making that post about individualism and capitalism yesterday, I got some questions, that showed me the same problem as the person I was talking about had: A lot of people do actually not know what individualism and collectivism mean. So, let me try to explain.

I had kinda hoped that Abigail from Philosophy Tube might have made a video on this, but no such luck. So, I guess I have to try and explain it, even though I mostly know it from sociology, rather from the philosophic origins where it comes from.

Basically, both concepts originate with socialist philosophy in the early 19th century, which correctly identified the early capitalist society as individualist and saw the dangers coming with it. It argued that an individualist society will be harmful on a societal level, because the society at large would always focus on the self, rather than the other. Capitalist philosophy however picked this up was like: “Yeah, awesome, right?” And especially in the 20th century they really started to run with it, realizing that they could use it to make people into better consumers.

Now, individualism does not mean “a sense of self”. This is not connected to it. You will still have a sense of self in a collectivist society and nobody says that you shouldn’t have. Rather it means that the focus of everyone should be on the individual. Both themselves – but also the individual actors in society. It is as such not a surprise that the idea of “Great Man Theory” came up and started to thrive during early capitalism in the 19th century.

So, if individualism does not mean “a sense of self”, what does it mean?

I would argue there are two aspects to it. Once the aforementioned tendency to put the individual above the society and apart from it, but also to create and sell a personal philosophy that people are defined by their differences from others, rather than what they have in common. It tells people that they are all so very different from everyone else, which is a useful political tool for capitalism to fight collective actions such as unions, but also collective action for things like environmental protection. In the same vein it is used to keep people riled up against one another within society, as they focus on their differences, rather than what they have in common.

The most anarchistic professor I had at university put it very well: “If you as a worker talk to a factory worker from Bangladesh, you will find you have a lot in common. In fact you will always have more in common with this other worker rather than any billionaire there is.”

Which brings me to the other aspect that individualism is about: It sells you an individualistic dream. Which is why capitalism focuses so much on those rags to riches stories (that tend to be lies most of the time). “See, this millionaire started out his business in daddy’s garage. So you can also become a billionaire if you have the right idea.” Fellow leftist might know the saying: “You are just one bad day away from homelessness, but you will never be a billionaire.” Which is basically the counter argument to this.

See, capitalism tries to convince you, that “I am the better system, because in me you could become a billionaire,” to sell you not only on your own exploitation, but the exploitation of the masses.

And more than that, capitalism also has realized that it can use individualism to make you a better consumer. I alluded to this a bit further up. But the long and short of it is, that capitalism pushes this idea of “you are, what you consume”. Your individuality is defined by the things you spent money on. Maybe by you having the most expensive things, but also by you having maybe the weirdest things or something. You know, the “not like the other girls” girl will probably spend as much, if not more on the things that make her special, as “the other girls”.

This also goes into the whole idea of greenwashing, pinkwashing and rainbow capitalism. All this is about getting you to consume something to gain some sort of individual aspect from it. Basically, through buying the “green” stuff, you are a better consumer.

Ironically this also goes into the entire anti-shipping discourse, which basically also says that your goodness as a person is defined by the things you consume.

Capitalism is selling you your identity. Your individual identity.

But sadly this is an idea very, very deeply engrained into the heads of most who have grown up in capitalism. Because it is everywhere in media. Sure, there is some media that calls it out, but most of it actually peddles the idea of the individual.

Because this is the second aspect at the core of individualism: The myths that only individuals can change something, rather than a collective. Which is what I call out so often when I am talking about the entire punk-genre stuff.

Even though it is less punk, let me take Star Wars as an example, because it is an amazing example of this. Especially the original trilogy, in which the Rebellion battles the Empire. However, the evil Empire is not defeated because the Rebellion manages to somehow outwit or outmaneuvre the Empire. Or because maybe the collective of the workers in the Empire turn against it. Rather it gets defeated because Luke, the individual, turns Darth Vater, an individual, and defeats the Emperor, the individual. Which goes back to this idea of the “great man”. It is those unique individuals who will save the world, rather than collective action.

This idea of some individuals being the ones to save the world, rather than we – the people – as a group and ourselves, is used to keep the people pacified under capitalism. They are waiting for “a good billionaire” to solve climate change, homelessness and all the other problems for us, rather than getting active themselves. They keep telling themselves: “Hey, under capitalism everyone can be a billionaire, including myself, and also my life isn’t that bad right now. So who cares that under socialism/communism everyone could be lifted up?”

Look, folks. I am saying this lovingly. But you are not as much of an individual as you think. You are your own person, but you are not unique. In fact, if you talk to a random person on the street – no matter who they are – and you and them are not instantly judging each other for one reason or another, you will find that you have a lot more in common than you think. Capitalist individualism just taught you to not see this, because your empathy can be its undoing.

[lilithism1848]

[hecho-a-mano]

Yugioh is about anti-fascism, it's about the horrors of war, the crushing effects of class division, the foolishness of authoritarianism. It's about the power of belief in community, in your friends, and in the people who believe in you.

And about half the time, it's about card games.

[ouidamforeman]

why is all the dr who tv meta i see about like like last 10 years of the show all so depressing. i want people to talk about the show like edas fans talk about their magic talking animal books

[nibble-the-plush]

I usually try to keep my work as far from politics as possible... But today's not the day. I can't express how sad an angry i am for my friends in the US... But we will have to fight, all of us. If they want to revoke our rights, they will have to pay the price.

We will bite back, we are not alone. None of us are. We have to let them hear our voices.

[statementlou]

Louis might not be chucking bricks at No. 10, but people are responding like he’s never displayed leftist politics or challenged a government position on anything. He supported demands to the government about a fix for UK touring musician post Brexit and Marcus Rashford’s petition about food insecurity. He fought the police about their social media use in 2018 and criticised the UK government position/support for factory workers in the pandemic. The things he speaks about are usually UK issues and meaningful to him or his family and friends. He’s also most likely to speak when he isn’t working. Also that specific anarchy has a punk anti authoritarian message as well. That statement fits Louis pretty well. He has been a poster boy for not sitting down and shutting up and doing what you’re told since 2012. If he was he probably wouldn’t have a solo career and he definitely wouldn’t have sold out the O2.

I like this point about him speaking out more when he's not working, I think that's a really great and useful observation and makes so much sense. I feel like it makes sense in two ways right now: like first, I don't blame him for not wanting to do things that would jeopardize how beautifully everything is going for him right now after the number of setbacks and troubles he's had to get here, it must feel so precarious. And knowing for a fact that any political statement you make will spawn a dozen tabloid stories and all kinds of outrage is bad enough, but add to that the fact that it's simply impossible to predict which thing will turn into a huge viral mess- it's a lot. And second, he's not just working, he's been on TOUR! I've been around musicians my whole life and one constant is that tour is time outside of normal time and life, it's a bubble, it's only paying attention to right where you are and what's in front of you and the people there with you and everything else is put off and neglected, is for when you get home (and have massive post tour letdown depression and fatigue). I'm not saying he can disconnect with the outside world entirely... but putting everything on pause? I would be surprised if it were any other way, and I would be surprised if he's been following the news and counter news and so forth closely enough to feel comfortable speaking out publicly about anything when it will be so scrutinized and picked apart. I would add to your list supporting the rail strike (something we wouldn't even know about if it hadn't been tossed in as an aside by an interviewer in the print only version of a piece, he didn't post about it or anything) and attending and posting about the BLM protests (not to mention telling people to pirate his stuff come on how punk is that), and I agree he is much more likely to speak out about UK issues which makes sense: most people are most moved by issues that are close to their lives in some way, and it's his brand. And I agree that even though as an anarchist I love talking about what anarchism as a political ideology actually is, the symbol does also have a common meaning in the world as just basically standing for anti-authoritarianism, and Louis as a guy who rejects authority and the status quo is nothing new at all and one of the reasons we love him, and in the last few years I feel like he's been going further in that direction both aesthetically and politically, and we love to see it! Plus he has pretty much always sported this slightly punky aesthetic to some degree, even when he was being dressed up like a little ken doll he snuck in skater looks and indie band tees and so forth (something something it's part of why his fanbase was so primed to love his new sound and it wasn't the risk he feared it was because people were always drawn to him who were already into that aesthetic even when his sound wasn't that yet) it's not like it's just a brand new out of nowhere side of him or something.

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

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[thewackypegasus]

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my friend indigo is going on a hunger strike to raise money for several palestinian families in desperate need of money for their own food and other basic necessities

the current milestone they're working towards is to raise $6.5k to help Firas and his family. you can donate to their fundraiser here:

here are the links to the fundraisers of other families they are striking for as well:

https://gofund.me/b342fb62

https://gofund.me/9d7fa2b4

https://gofund.me/16e05f94

if you can donate anything to any of these funds, please do! if you can't, or even if you can, please reblog to help this reach more people! the more people we have donating and sharing, the faster we can reach the goals for these funds, and the faster my friend can begin eating again!

thank you all!

[palin-tropos]

loved this picrew by @elena-illustration enough to make my elysium OC

[izukuleeyoung]

13 streams in only a couple days ✨️✨️✨️✨️

Thank you, everyone! 🖤🖤🖤🖤

Here's where you can listen!

Alternatively you can listen through this:

[ectoderms]

college taught me the ease of hanging out w friends irl again except that ended pretty quickly now im back to a ton of ldr friendships

anyway when im calling u and im silent on the phone u can imagine me curling up beside u like a cat and dozing off. my real desire for friendship is to nap with everyone...phone calls make that so hard

[mrsblackruby]

[eucliddd]

Also— Been fully embracing the 'cringe' because fuck it cringe culture is dead who the fuck cares whether you want to wear a tail or hoard xenogenders? You're fuckin kewl. Who cares if people are gonna try and stereotype you? They can fuck off cus at least you look like you have a personality and are a kewl person. Fuck societal standards. Embrace it.

I don't care whether people don't like that I'm a therian/otherkin and a furry. Or because I'm an anarchist and fit into multiple alternative subcultures. Me being me doesn't affect their life. I'm just chillin, they're the ones goin' outta their way to be an ass.