#and many members of that religion angry at people not accepting despite that kind of proof

[maaruin]

What if we create Superintelligence (artificial intelligence with intellectual capacities way beyond what humans have) and besides eliminating poverty, giving us medical technology which makes us immortal, creating a Grand Unified Theory of Physics, it also tells us "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His prophet." ?

[mageglory]

I have no idea if I have ever summed all my Dragon Age Canon Characters but in short. Oh and I treat Bioware Canon like my playground so be warned.

Galria Theirin nee Brosca: Brosca origins (obviously), two handed reaver berserker. She is the Warden and becomes Queen of Ferelden with Alistair, her romance. She is the first non human queen of an human kingdom in history and tecnically she converted to andrastianism for politics (and because she doesn't care anyway about religion) but the Chantry keeps annoying her until Leli becomes Divine Victoria.

Ignis Hawke: Fire magic, Force magic and Blood Magic. He follows Anders romance and is a ruthless supporter of Mage RightsTM. He keeps switching between Red Hawke or Blue Hawke answers depending on who he is talking to (Red Hawke with Meredith, Elthina, Orlesians. Blue Hawke with fereldeans refugees, mages, elves and similar). He is one of the leaders of the Mage Underground with Anders if not the leader (mainly because Anders keeps telling him he's the boss even if Ignis considers himself equal to him) and he helped enlarge the underground across all the Free Marches, a lot of the random apostate npc we fight on the wounded coast are gonna live as members of the underground. To protect his identity/keep his family safe from Templars and because Hawke is not Hawke without drama he wears a mask in his rebel persona and Meredith has been yelling to Cullen to bring her the apostates leader in chains for years. He doesn't want to hurt civilians, but he is ready to accept civilians casualties as necessary if it's to free his people. His mabari is called Templar and Varric keeps saying Ignis exausted all his life capacity for jokes in that one idea. He's the gayest revolutionary/terrorist (depends who you ask) in town.

Raphaël De Bougainville: The Marquis of Serault. He has an obviously smaller role and is kinda irrelevant to The Fate of ThedasTM but he is a good guy despite having a very orlesian centric view of the world out of ignorance/cultural upbringing. His main worries are to restore Serault glory, which he succeeded in (and he also annexxes Aloyns along the road since the neighboor Marquis tried to sabotage his relationship with Justinia and failed) and romance Krem while visiting Skyhold. He had the idea to pay some mages after the rebellion won to come work for him with the glassworkers and now there are a lot of Serault glassworks for nobles with sparkly enchantments, but nothing plot relevant, he's just rich because now every noble in Orlais wants Serault magical glass. His main quirk is that he's an enthusiast of scientific research (think the king guy in Eragon) and his dream is to teach at the University of Orlais.

Melkior Lavellan: This damn boi is a pacifist. IN THEDAS. He is not the First of his clan, but only because he left the position to travel around the clans and bring messages/organize things. I'm not sure if canon mentions something similar but he's basically a travelling Keeper, so he has a bit more knowledge of the world, especially thanks to his high emotional intelligence. Kind of guy who smiles even when he doesn't like you and the "if he yells shit is going down" character archetype. Clan Lavellan Keeper is his grandma because his parents were murdered by Gaspard De Chalons during a dalish hunt, in front of him. Gaspard would have killed him too but decided that a knife eared kid wasn't worthy of a chevalier steel. Years later, Gaspard will fail to recognize Melkior at the Winter Palace (because elves are all the same amiright? I doubt Gaspard remembers his victims faces) and that's how the Granduke died and also one of the two occasions in which Melkior got really angry. Also, Melkior is the host to a spirit of Hope, which made the entire Inquisition scream in fear of abominations when they heard about that. Melkior romances Cassandra (altought I made her supposed character arc/change matter uh Bioware?) and tries to spare/redeem/imprison if necessary as much people as possible when sitting in Judgment because he doesn't like to kill and he does that enough on the field. At the end of Trespasser he disbands the Inquisition but he also creates a constitution that blocks the power of the Chantry so that in 100 years no Divine will be able to recreate Circles or Templars and a council to oversee the constitution with elected officials with a mandate of 5 years max.

Alidda Tabris: Someone could ask why I put the Tabris after the Lavellan, well that's because Alidda Tabris, my non warden dual wielder rougue, is more linked to Briala than Origins. She was prisoner of Arle Howe dungeons with others during Origins, forgotten there after having murdered the Arle son. She was freed by the Warden before the Landsmeet and despite the long imprisonment she suffered she fought in the Battle of Denerim, defending the alienage. After the death of the Archdemon, she helped King Alistair and Queen Galria in dealing with the many issues the elves had and was later sended to Orlais to investigate the risk of a new invasion of Ferelden. She joined Briala during the events of The Masked Empire, helping Celene in beating Gaspard but hating the Empress for her genocide of elves, she was helping only because forced to choose between her and Gaspard. She joined Briala at the end of the book and the two got together shortly after. In Inquisition, Alidda breaks in Celene vault during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearths to get her beloved medallion back and the two keep plotting the liberation of the Dales after the ball.

Livia Amladaris: Magister of Tevinter, new leader of House Amladaris, descendeant of Corypheus and the worst person ever and I love her for that. Livia is literally my favourite classic villain tropes throwed together, because if you don't do that in Tevinter what's the point. While Livia wasn't a Venatori during Inquisition, she took control of the movement later. She is considered the most beautiful woman in the Imperium by many (the Amladaris pratic eugenics unironically) and she is a political genious and probably the greatest demonologist and necromancer (the Quentin kind, not the Dorian kind) Tevinter will ever see. Sadly, all this perfection on paper was given to a woman who respects only one thing: power and hates the other Magisters because they are limited in their ambitions. Livia intends to not simply enter in the Fade like her ancestor, but to open thousands of minor rifts controlled only by her, causing an army of binded demons to invade every nation of Thedas at once. The Imperium will rise again with her as the first Imperatrix of all Thedas. Someone could call her mad, but if she is mad then she is of the lucid and most dangerous kind. She has invented numerous evil spells (the "blood sacrifices and demons" kind) and has the power to turn others in abominations against their will. She is at last defeated at the end of DA4, but not before she blood sacrificed all of her supporters inside the Imperial Senate to start her ritual and shapeshifted into a giant monster before being slain. She is the Maleficent of Thedas and I love a good old fashioned evil witch ok?

[fideleluc]

      introducing lucien montel, the graduate chair

“ for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard ” (2 peter 2:8)

hey hey! my name’s tays, i use she/her pronouns, and i live in melbourne, australia, and thus the aest (soon to be aedt) timezone. it’s been a little while since i’ve rped, but this group was just utterly irresistible so here we are! if you’re interested in plotting you can hit me up on here or discord (mightay morphin power ranger#9316) without any further ado, here’s luc montel!

stats.

full name: lucien henri montel known as: luc montel age: 25 dob: january 13, 1995 gender: cis male nationality: french religion: roman catholic course: currently studying a masters of social work, graduated a year prior with a bachelor of arts majoring in theology

bio.

( luc’s original bio ended up being i don’t even know how many words long so this is a very much summarised version, but if you have a bit more time on your hands you can read the full thing here! )

luc’s mother first learned she was pregnant not long after she graduated from highschool. she wasn’t sure exactly who the father was, but even if she did, she wouldn’t have told him - all of her friends, likely him included, had a pretty huge falling out near the end of their exams, and she was still too proud to turn to them for help, even after her own father kicked her out once he heard the news. she’d been working hard and saving up for years to get a shot at getting into a good school, something no one else from her area really saw as a likely prospect, but all her savings ended up getting funnelled into hotels and food while she tried to support herself on her own in the city.

the only way she could really pass time was to go for walks, and on these walks she ended up going past a church that seemed to be drawing her in - it was purely by chance that the priest, father pascal, was outside one time and was able to notice her hesitating, long enough for him to actually invite her inside. she had given up on religion after her mother left her and her dad, but still, when she was invited to their next mass, she ended up going - and she never really stopped. the congregation ended up being her entire support system while she was pregnant, getting her a well-paying job doing after school care for a catholic school and helping her find a cheap place to stay. 

luc was born on a chilly january morning, and got baptised a week later. there was no question of whether or not he’d be raised as part of the church - the only time he was able to sit still was when he was listening to father pascal’s sermons, and he took his first steps just outside in the garden. he was taught, essentially, to do good, to be accepting and generous and kind - and he never questioned it. his mother, who’d started on a teaching degree, was careful to teach him about other religions, and though his own devotion to catholicism never wavered, it still fascinated him. 

although he and his mother were better off than she had been only a few years earlier, they didn’t have a ton of money they could give - so they made good on their weekly promises to help the world with their time. luc was especially passionate about it - learning to cook so he could make things for bake sales, riding along with other members of his congregation to help out in food kitchens, doorknocking for any sort of donations people in his neighbourhood would want to give without hesitation or embarrassment. 

even when he got older and his friends had moved on to more entertaining hobbies, he continued on with attending mass and keeping up with his charity work, brushing off his friend’s accusations that he was being forced into it. truly, their own interests mostly bored him - he never really had a long enough attention span for tv or movies, and he couldn’t engage in video games like they could. one thing he could join in on, though, was football - if he wasn’t doing something for the church or indulging in his also newlyfound passion for cooking, he was out on the oval.

when his friends moved on further still to getting girlfriends and drinking, luc, again, couldn’t find himself as engaged in it as they were. though he’d happily drink with them, for the most part, he put his hand up to be the designated driver and was perfectly content staying their lookout when they got close to making scenes in public. he had a few girlfriends in highschool, but the relationships never lasted long - and again, he didn’t mind. at times he’d worry that he was missing out, but it was never a concern that lasted long, especially when he saw how desperately his friends needed someone to shepherd them at times. 

although he’d never been a hugely academic kid in the past, when it came time to think about university, he felt that, out of an obligation to his mother more than anything else, that he had to work just as hard as she had when she was his age to make up for the opportunity she’d missed for his sake. st margaret mary’s hadn’t been a realistic dream, but he’d figured he may as well apply - when he actually got in, with an offer of a scholarship on the side, he was almost tempted to throw it away thanks to his own doubts, but his mother quickly put an end to it. before he knew it, he was heading off across the city to the old building - a theology major. 

despite his devotion to the church, he hadn’t initially planned to join chastity club, if for no other reason that is just seemed a bit extreme for him - but when he came to a meeting out of a mix of boredom and curiosity only to find that something was distinctly wrong, he couldn’t stop it from becoming the major focus of his mind for the next few weeks until he could figure out what was really going on. when he was finally able to piece together the truth, he was conflicted - on the one hand, these were people using his faith to cover up criminal activity, bringing as much shame to the church as the people who twisted the lord’s words into messages of hatred, but on the other, it could be what these people depended on, and to have that taken away from them could be disastrous. instead of being angry like he knew he should’ve been, luc was overcome with a familiar urge to help - and so he did just that. 

he went to another meeting, and before they could say anything, he told them how easy it had been for him to find them out, how if he, someone with no connection to any of them, could discover the truth, then it wouldn’t be long before the staff would be following in his footsteps. he told them that, so long as a cut of any fundraiser went to an actual charity, he’d be happy to give them an actual, believable cover. 

he hadn’t actually thought they’d take him on. before he knew it, though, his actual studies were being pushed to the side in favour of planning, organisation, research - though he was sure to carve out a few hours a week to catch up on his actual work, most of his time was going towards the chastity club, and not just because he wanted to help them. even if it was just a cover to the rest of the club, to him, those cuts he got from the fundraisers were the only thing that mattered - he was doing what he was supposed to be doing, what he was taught to devote himself to all his life. helping people. 

as time went on, the idea of turning in the club became more and more impossible - not only was he actually able to make some wider good come out of it, but truly, the people he was surrounding himself with were like family, even if he had to turn a blind eye to half of what they got up to. he’d convinced himself that turning them in would be a far worse action than letting them stay running, and it’s a belief he’s held onto like a lifeline - but at the same time, he can’t ignore a worry that’s been growing louder and louder in the back of his mind. he never sees the consequences of the dealing. he doesn’t actually know if they’re doing more good than harm. he’s relying solely on faith, the same faith he has in god and that god, he believes, has in him. 

he can only pray it’s well placed.

personality. 

luc is nothing if not passionate. although it may take him a while to make up his mind about getting involved or starting a task, once he does, he’ll put his absolute all into it without turning back. no matter the exact motivation, whether it be his religion, his friends, or just a desire to do something, he works and believes with his entire heart, and once he’s dedicated to something, it’ll be almost impossible to tear him away from it.

since he was a kid, luc has always been generous. whether it’s with his possessions or even just his time, he’s one of those people who’ll throw their jacket around you if you mention it’s just a bit chilly and then refuse to ever take it back no matter how much you insist. the only way his mother eleanor was able to survive when she was pregnant and virtually homeless was through the generosity of what would end up being his parish’s churchgoers, so the first idea luc was ever taught to embrace was the idea of giving, something enforced by both her and the church itself.

part of what makes luc so convincing for the school board is that he’s an unfalteringly polite person. unless he has good reason to be angry at someone, he’ll try to greet everyone with a smile and see them off with a wish for them to have a good day, treating them like a friend even if they’re written in the first pages of his bad books. he’s always willing to listen to someone else chat and support them when they’re feeling down, no matter what mood he’s in or what’s at stake, and his consistently gentle, patient manner make essentially any lie he tells convincing.

although he was never known for his academic prowess, luc has never not been curious. once an idea intrigues him, he’ll do whatever he can to learn more, and rarely feels as if he ever has enough knowledge about the subjects that interest him, still willing to add more or take different perspectives.

luc has never been known for his spontaneity - though he’ll commit with his whole heart once he’d decided to do something, he’s very careful in making those decisions. he’ll often spend nights lying awake contemplating ideas, throwing himself different scenarios and seeing if they change his views, trying to look at things from every possible angle before making a call on something. though something he does may be stupid and may be risky, he’ll only take that risk if he’s absolutely sure it will pay off. his caution even comes through in the way he speaks, each word carefully chosen to keep things as civil as possible.

though luc is known to many as being gentle and polite, usually because he just is, that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of nothing less than being purely furious. though it usually comes from a place of love and devotion, often in response to some injustice or cruelty and rarely occurring at the drop of a hat, when something does anger him, he has no problem speaking his mind if he feels something could be done about whatever’s happened. he just can’t fathom the idea of people sitting by and letting bad things happen, and couldn’t live with himself if he just sat back and watched while someone got hurt. he has a lot of faith in people, and when people let him down, it cuts him deep.

luc was always a restless child, and that’s something that’s continued into the present day. he doesn’t often make it known - but that’s just because he’s always desperate to find something to occupy his time. whether he’s keeping himself busy by studying, planning a fundraiser, cooking, or even just going for a walk, he can’t just sit still and do nothing. the only exception to this is when he’s learning or listening to something, such as when he’s in class or church, but if he has no interest, all he’ll be focused on is how badly he wants to get up and move around again. he simply can’t relax until something that needs to be done is done.

as sociable and polite he is when in church or running fundraisers, luc is truly independent. as much as he enjoys the company of others, he’s equally comfortable in his own company, and much prefers to go over problems in his own head rather than voice them to someone else. although he’ll passionately speak out to help others, he rarely voices a concern if something has to do with him alone - it’s not that he doesn’t want people to worry, but he just figures he has everything under control as far as he’s concerned. he has no problem working on his own, and despite his own insistence when he gets a chance to assist others, he often refuses help for himself, no matter how big or small the problem is.

headcanons.

luc isn’t too sure how he went from being lucien to just luc when he was a baby, but it’s still what he introduces himself as now.

luc has never once had a moment of doubt about god’s existence, but he doesn’t think he really has much say in what happens on earth - he was taught by his childhood parish’s priest father pascal that humans were given free will because god trusted them, specifically trusted them to do good and take care of one another, and that’s a trust luc has always tried to uphold. even so, he does still think he’s always watching and may be able to give some signs, but he mostly turns towards asking saints when he needs specific help with something.

he still follow’s his mother’s belief that all gods from all religions are just aspect of the same spiritual belief of there being something bigger, and learning about those other religions still fascinates him, hence why he majored in theology when he was still studying for his bachelors - he’s still happy to follow his own god, though.

although he would never force any of his atheist friends to come to church or believe what he does, the idea that anyone would choose to believe there’s nothing over believing there’s something does baffle him somewhat.

he still goes to mass every sunday, but he doesn’t hang around the church as long as he did when he was younger - it’s partly a matter of time, partly a matter of the congregation. they’re lovely people, don’t get him wrong - but even after so many years, it’s still not his parish.  

luc isn’t all that much of a tv or movies person - unless it’s about something he’s interested in, he struggles to sit down for long enough to care about what’s happening even for just an episode, let alone a whole series or film. he may have a comedy or just something light on in the background while he cooks, but he doesn’t go out of his way to watch much.

although he’s studying for a masters in social work and does want to do something to help disadvantaged people in his country, he has genuinely considered becoming a priest.

although he hasn’t played since he was in school, he does still love football - he doesn’t often watch it, but if he gets a chance to go out on the oval, he’ll take it without hesitation.

the only language he’s fluent in is french, but he does know enough english to get by and did try to learn some latin from father pascal for certain bible passages - it didn’t really stick.

even though much of his free time is spent studying or organising the chastity club’s cover, he will still try to take a few hours every so often to go and help out in some soup kitchen or another.

he’s deadly afraid of insects - moths especially freak him out

when he was young, he’d often fall asleep with the sound of his mother’s radio coming through the wall, and still now when he’s struggling to sleep he’ll find some radio stream on his phone and listen to it until he nods off.

as much as he tries, he can’t keep a plant alive - he’s made many attempts to grow his own herbs or fruit trees, but to absolutely no avail.

when he’s studying he’ll chew on the ends of his pens, and if he doesn’t have a pen, he’ll bite at his bottom lip - if one were to look closely, they’d notice a patch of it is faintly scarred.

luc has so, so much love in his heart, but despite his few brief relationships, he’s hardly been able to turn any of that love into romance - not yet, anyway.

as willing as he is to help cover up the chastity club’s true nature to the school board or anyone he feels should be hidden from the truth, he doesn’t go to any of the parties they sell at, and hasn’t ever tried any of the product. it’s just not his thing.

he stayed in student housing until he came back to get his masters, and now rents a small place a short walk from the school - when he was furnishing it, he made sure to get a pull-out couch instead of just a regular one, just in case anyone ever needed a place to crash.

he still has the same copy of the bible he poured over as a kid, though out of fear over how worn it’s gotten he mainly keeps it safely in a drawer of his bedside table.

luc is very optimistic and has a lot of faith in others - though he does think things through thoroughly just in case something can go wrong, and is constantly aware of that possibility, he has a lot of hope on his side.

misc.

pinterest starsign: capricorn sun, gemini moon myers-briggs type: isfj-t enneagram: type 2 (the helper) hogwarts house: hufflepuff alignment: neutral good aesthetics: sun coming through a stained-glass window, rainbow dappled on skin. a voice lost in a chorus. a borrowed coat on a chilly morning. the ever-present smell of something cooking, always making enough for plenty of leftovers. restless legs, restless mind. faith that keeps your heart beating, fury that boils your blood. a tongue bitten so frequently it bleeds. unwavering eye contact, no matter how elaborate the lie. burying your head in the sand. murmured passages from a book with worn pages. doing all you can, but still lying awake, wondering if you could be doing more.  

[whenallelsefails-eatpie]

Finally Answering Questions for y’all

Q1: How tall or short do you wish you were?

I used to wish I was taller because I already am tall for an (AGAB)female (5′8 1/2) but then I learned about platforms so. 

4: What was your favorite video game growing up?

Monkey Ball or Sonic Adventure Escape the City...I only had a Gamecube.

6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

Warning: Uses humor as a defense mechanism but will quickly become extremely invested in you  and give you immense amounts of unending love if they vibe w you

8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic]

Melancholic

9: Are you ticklish?

extremely, on my back and sides (use this information wisely. I take no responsibility for involuntarily punching anyone who tickles me)

10: Are you allergic to anything?

absolutely nothing, allergies are to weed out the weak. (jkjk no eugenics here sis you slay that epipen)

11: What’s your sexuality?

~ pansexual  ~ (prefer agab [not cis, those are two different things] females)

12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa?

tea, then coffee with cocoa. I don’t enjoy cocoa or coffee as much separately.

37: What is your eye color?

hazel/green 

38: Introvert or extrovert?

I’m ambiverted but lean toward introversion. 

44: Do you like tattoos and piercings?

oh yeah absolutely, I personally just prefer that the tattoos aren’t on your face.  Or with piercings that they don’t take up so much of your face that I can’t see what you really look like.

54: What color would you like your hair to be right now?

pink, red, or platinum 56: Something that calms you down?

reading, playing instruments, taking a bath, cooking or baking

57: Have any mental disorders?

yessir. ADD, anxiety. and I used to have really bad depression. Now my depression is simply manageable lol. 

73: What is your MBTI type?

INFP (enneagram 4)

86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes?

surprisingly yes, will I come close to passing out? Maybe. But I can.

87: Do your socks always match?

never, I hate matching my socks unless the socks are funky and need to match to give them the biggest bang for their buck. 

92: A store you hate?

Dick’s sporting goods. I have been dragged around that place for hours and absolutely nothing there interests me. (edit: I found a beanie that I liked but my previous opinion still stands)

93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day?

start counting and never stop. If you mean in terms of actual measurements like cups/ounces, I can drink 20. What can I say I’m from New England.

94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds?

Definitely fly because that might help lessen my fear of heights

95: Do you like to wear camo?

literally shoot me if you ever see me wearing camo. please, I beg you. that will be me at my lowest point 

96: Winter or summer?

Autumn. Next question.

97: How long can you hold your breath for?

3-4 minutes. It’s all that breath control from musical theatre.

99: Someone you look up to:

Jughead Jones. Yes I said that, fight me. He is completely himself and he allows the different facets of his personality to shine through to people that he loves and cares about. He is loyal and caring but also unique and resilient. Plus his fave food is burgers which is an instant win for me.

100: A store you love?

Hot Topic, Barnes and Nobles, Savers or any thriftstore 

102: Where do you live?

New England bb (; gettin that dark academia aesthetic straight from the source

104: What is your favorite mineral or gem?

Amber

105: Do you drink milk?

You mean out of the glass? Like a psychopath? Like a serial killer? Absolutely not

106: Do you like bugs?

I do! Except for spiders and mosquitoes (although I’m warming up to spiders)

109: Can you draw:

Eh yeah ig, well enough. I draw realistically but I’m not great at animated style. 

111: A question you hate being asked?

“Are you a boy or a girl?” (like why? does it personally affect you? are you planning on boning me? if not then buzz off)

113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach?

Yes, but only at night when the beach is quiet. I’m not a huge fan of the beach during the day

114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days?

Rainy or sunny. Don’t go givin me the clouds with none of the drizzle.

119: Favorite thing about a person: 

Personality first and foremost. Humor and kindness. But physically; their smile and mannerisms. 

120: Fruits or vegetables?

Veggies (or berries i like berries)

121: Something you want to do right now:

Run away... ahah. But in all honesty I would love to go mushroom foraging rn, or possibly go on an adventure. Maybe go put on clothing meant for an entirely different time period and run around Target idk.

123: Sweet or sour foods?

Definitely not sour I hate sour. Spoonfeed me wasabi, that I can handle. But if you make me eat a Warheads I will cry. 

129: What would you want written on your tombstone?

I personally have a lot of problems with the funeral industry, so I would rather not take up space and rot preservation chemicals into the earth. But if I had an interim tombstone with no body underneath, it would read “Live Laugh Love” bc ~irony~

131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself?

that I’m very individualistic and stubborn

132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures?

Yes absolutely, that’s what they’re there for.

134: Do you like roller coasters?

Do I like feeling like I’m about to full send through the crust of the earth and die? No. No I do not. (I am a simple person, I go to carnivals for the food and to feed off terror.) 139: What nicknames do you have/have had?

Cookie

141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink?

OH YEAH absolutely, I am a repressed gen z homosexual raised in a homophobic religious atmosphere, I am practically born with a therapist assigned to me.

142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others?

Definitely good -_- unfortunately. Catch me bein the mom friend.

143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help?

I prefer giving, but I am learning how to recieve. 

144: What makes you angry

People who live their lives in willful ignorance despite the endless resources available to them and let that ignorance hurt others.

146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries?

All of em. Gimme em all. I don’t like boys as much currently but I would still probably lay my life on the line for some. 

147: Are you androgynous?

Yes. It’s more fluid than it is being in consistent limbo between masc and femme. Usually I’m androgynous but I often swing wildly between both ends of that socially perceived spectrum. 148: Favorite thing about yourself physically?

My hands or smile(product of bracesTM). But I have been told I have nice hands. 

149: Favorite thing about your personality:

I am a very strong blend of wise and class clown. I can do em both, I can do em well, and I can do em whenever. I also care a lot about others but I don’t change myself to be accepted by them. 

150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person.

MLK Jr. --> I want to gain perspective on some of the current global issues. Jesus --> I’ve got a lot of questions for that dude. JRR Tolkien bc he’s incredible or Joan of Arc for the same reason

151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose?

Ooh well, as a woman not many eras are desirable. But um probably either the 70s or Ancient Greece

154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons?

YES. GIMME UR FINGERS > i meant that to sound much less threatening than it did but my statement still stands. 155: Do you like to play with others’ hair?

Yes it’s literally one of my favorite things to do. I hab empty lap. *pat pat* U may lay your head on it and watch Rilakkuma and Kaoru with me while I play with your hair. pls. 157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious:

Women..... That’s it. That’s the tweet.

158: Biggest lie you have ever told:

That I am not a member of the alphabet mafia. (It’s not currently safe for me to come out) Now tell me *shines light in your face* who are your contacts?

164: Do you have long or short hair?

I have medium hair. It’s around the length of a bisexual bob or a good mullet. 

165: Shortest/Longest your hair has ever been:

Shortest was a pixie cut, almost buzzed, amazing. Longest was to my butt and was literally the worst experience in existence. I shall to this day actively rebel against having hair like that again. 

166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religion?

Organized religion can suck it. You can’t organize your relationship with God, nor can you stick it into a little manmade box and pretend that you have the ability to create a perfect faith which others have to either follow or perish. It’s arrogant and damaging and hurtful and not at all what Christianity is supposed to mean. 

167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created?

I do. I think it’s important and something we need to think about. I do believe there is something after death, and I like to believe that my life has meaning. I think that questions of creation are important questions to ask and we can’t just ignore them.

168: Do you like to wear makeup?

Yes! It’s fun! Pretty colors!

170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully?

Absolutely. And the ones I didn’t feel like answering I simply omitted.

[hiten-chettair]

THE FORGOTTEN __________________ HITEN CHETTAIR

Age: 25 years old Gender Identity: Non-binary Pronouns: they/them, he/him Occupation: Mechanic Religion: formerly Christian, formerly Hindu Alignment: chaotic good Residence: Shady Lakes trailer park Face Claim: Suraj Sharma

BIOGRAPHY

(tw car crash, abandonment, drugs, alcohol)

Hiten came to understand at a young age that religion was something fluid. Their father had been Hindu, trying to teach his young child the many important rituals of the religion so as to prepare them for the world. He died in a car crash. Their mother had absolutely nothing to do with the religion of their home country, and she was quick to marry a Christian man and adjust Hiten’s education to fit their new home. Hiten didn’t just have to adjust to Christianity - which they liked because they could talk to God about what had happened to their father, something their mother did not wish to talk about - they also suddenly had an older brother. A much older brother. So much older than he was already on his way out of the house when Hiten and their mother moved in. It started off as a difficult situation. Their mother had grown used to keeping things from them, and never told them what had happened to their new brother’s mother, or why they moved to Wheeler of all places. She often asked them to be a good little Christian boy - a term which Hiten would come to resent much later. And while a good little Christian boy they were, they did whatever they could behind the backs of their parents that would make any good Christian family pass out. 

Because while Hiten appeared to be a good child, always going to church, singing up where they could, getting average grades, being friendly to their elders, they had grown to resent their mother for always keeping them in the dark. They resented their step-father for taking away everything they had left of their father, and they resented their new brother for not being there for them when they first came to town. Resentment was their easiest way out, they explained to God that they were sad that they would always have His attention, but never that of their family. Also there was a thrill to trying to get away with things: they would steal, bully, cheat, and fight. They would blame others and pretend they were a good little Christian boy that would and could never do such a thing. They would get away with everything. They were the star of the Church after all, Lead Alto, important, grand. They would steal the show, time and time again. 

They were eighteen when Cassie was born. The relationship between them and their new brother was stained, but it wasn’t bad, not bad enough that they would keep their little niece from them. By then Hiten had a job as a mechanic, straight out of High School. They hated cars, but damn were they good at fixing them. They could stay close to the Church, make a good living for themselves, and buy Cassie all the ice cream she wanted. It was also the same year that Hiten sought to reconcile with their father’s religion, looking up information online, reciting that information until they could hold small rituals themselves. They enjoyed Hinduism far more than they did Christianity. But they kept it a secret, like much else, like everything else, they still went to Church, still sang in the choir, they were still a good Christian boy. 

Hiten had always expected the stealing and fighting to become the result of their break with their mother and step-father. They figured all those things that tainted their youth would find a way to the surface - as they had been hoping for - and would come crashing down. They would leave, finally free of the grasp of their home, and live a life of their own. Instead, one day when Hiten had expected their mother to be away from home, she had ventured into their room when they had started performing Puja, saying prayers and making offerings. She had been enraged by what she saw and locked them in their room while calling their step-father. They were forced to leave the First Assembly Baptist Church, but only a few knew why. A day later they found themselves in the trailer park at the edge of town. 

Of course they were angry, life as they had known it had ended, but it hadn’t ended the way they had intended for it to go. They thought they could handle family fights and rage directed at them, they didn’t want their mother’s lack of love or their step-father’s warnings. But the information about their apparent conversion to Hinduism didn’t go unnoticed, and soon the First Assembly’s congregational members were on their doorstep trying to convert them back to the church. Hiten decided enraging them further might get them off of their case, they weren’t a good little Christian boy no longer. They made the trailer park their own, they gave away their services as a mechanic for free, they preached not wanting a thing to do with the town, they fought off anyone trying to come at them with free advice and whatnot. They protected their new people by being the sole point of the town’s focus. But it also lost them their connection to Cassie. They had plans to win her back, to be allowed to see her again, if only they could prove they were not a risk to her. They were so close to that goal, having seen her once or twice, having hugged her on rare occasions, before they knew it they would be allowed to hang out with her again. Their little niece. The one good thing they had. 

Then she was gone. 

Two months went by before Hiten had completely given up on her ever being found again. They had angered their parents once more, tried to gain as much information as they could about the day she disappeared. They would not let it rest. It should’ve been a time for all of them to grow closer together, for the family to help each other, but Hiten pushed them all away. Even before they gave up. And when they had given up, they returned to their life in the trailer park, gave up on Hinduism, and instead accepted a new type of religion. Because religion was fluid. And whether they found it through Sunday prayers, Puja, or the bottom of a bottle of jack or the end of a joint, did it really make that much difference?

quick summary: Hiten’s father died, and their mother remarried a Christian man. They moved to Wheeler where they could only talk to God about their father, who had tried to introduce them to Hinduism before his life ended. They were a good Christian boy for a while, but Hiten didn’t want it. They wanted to be free, and they knew the only way to be free was to be bad. They always got away with it however, nobody thought the lead alto of the Church’s choir could do something wrong. They always believed them. But they knew there would come a time when they would find out. They never expected the thing that broke them free was their mother finding out that they had been practicing Hinduism in secret. They were forced to leave the church since they would not give up their second religion, and moved to the Shady Lakes trailer park, where they angrily kept everyone who wanted a piece of its population at a distance. Their new association kept them from their little niece, who they loved and cherished. They were so close to convincing their step brother that they were still trustworthy when Cassie disappeared. Then there was nothing left for them when it came to religion. 

HEADCANONS

Despite having given up both Christianity and Hinduism, Hiten still follows certain Christian and Hindu value. They’re vegan, believe in the concept of Brahman - the Eternal One Soul -, and try to follow Dharma, Artha, and Kama  in order to reach Moksha, although they are certain they might never reach that goal themselves. Yet, Hiten also believes in God. 

(Transphobia two) Hiten has always known they were neither male nor female, or at least have always been aware of this fact once they’ve started thinking about their own gender identity. They were already not speaking to their mother and step-father at that point, so they had no-one to tell, but they knew the church would not accept them this way, which was another reason for them to try and break with their parents.

While Hiten could’ve easily left on their own accord, there was a kind of selfish need in creating chaos that they successfully managed to avoid the consequences off. They were seeking attention, while also enjoying how easily they diverted attention.

The term “good Christian boy” was one of the main reasons Hiten started to see they needed more than just moving out to cut ties. 

(Alcohol & drugs tw) They still wake up from nightmares about Cassie’s disappearance. They’ve long since accepted that she’s dead. But it does not keep the nightmares from coming. They wake up in cold sweat and tears, shaking and unable to function until they’ve used enough substances to drown out the pain. 

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Childhood friends - those who like Hiten enjoyed creating chaos, stealing, fighting, anything to anger their parents. 

Choir buddies - Hiten was lead Alto for the choir for years, they enjoyed the spotlight because it took attention away from whatever else they did.

Shady Lakes residents - Hiten has made themselves an important part of the place, taking the spot light and thus taking attention away from the other residents.

Those who knew Cassie - up to two years ago, Hiten saw Cassie at least four times a week. They would babysit her every chance they got. They had been only eighteen when Cassie was born, and they had been in love since the very first time they saw her. They went to all the parties, sometimes picking Cassie up from school or getting icecream in the park. 

[aclassiguy]

nobody’s gonna read this but i’m gonna rant a little as an ex-fundie kid with a perspective on unconscious bias re: thedas’ religions. (i’ll grant you i do not have encyclopedic knowledge of dragon age, so i’m commenting based off what 90% of people know - the games)

If we’re assuming that every interaction concerning the religions in Thedas is intentional, it’s genius. It represents real world religious dynamics so well. But that’s also assuming we’re going to be allowed to confront those religions; otherwise, it’s just a carbon copy with no purpose but to reflect reality. You’re duplicating problems, without offering avenues for solutions or even criticism.

I want to leave this uncut in case a piece of it actually caught someone’s eye for some reason, but I’d feel bad if I did that.

I’m actively agnostic. I have no problem with other people being religious. I react quite negatively to both active and passive attempts at conversion. I know a LOT about Christianity. I know some, though not as much, about other world religions.

We can pretend all we like that Thedas is a world completely separated from reality. “Lighten up, it’s just a game.” I can, however, point to direct parallels between game concepts and real world concepts that I find quite troubling (Blackwall’s plot, certain wartable missions, Descent DLC), I can expound on those at length as well. And of course it’s just a game, and you can stab people with no consequences and all that - that’s fine. Stabbing people in a game isn’t likely to make you think it’s OK to stab people IRL. But a game has the power to subtly reinforce existing biases which can cause real harm.

Christianity is a dominant world religion. In fundamentalist circles, one of the tenets is to spread it to as many people as possible, to save them from themselves. Even casual Christians adopt this attitude when they tell you how sad they are that you’re not Christian, because they think you’ll be happier as one and can’t fathom how you’d be happy without god. I can get REAL deep into Christian psychology, but I’ll spare you. The thing is, this is an insidious train of thought that has been beaten into the world by its victors. Monotheistic religions are treated more seriously than pantheons. The Bible is held as separate and more holy than “myths,” which are treated as little better than Harry Potter novels. Religions that encourage non-Western behaviors are treated as scary, deviant, and oppressive - to be obliterated before they dare to try converting precious Christians - DESPITE Christians actively trying to lure those believers away from their “scary” faith and into Christianity. They think their own religion is more normal, or their own culture is more normal. All of this leads to many, many Christians (as well as your average Westerner) holding really racist, xenophobic views they don’t perceive as racist or xenophobic.

SO LIKE - I’ll just make a bulletpoint list:

Andrastianism = Christianity (esp. Western brand)

Evanuris = Pantheistic religions

Qun = Eastern philosophies

The familiarity and diversity is fine. There’s pros and cons to each religion, just like real life. Thedas is fun because it takes aspects of discrimination like racism and sexuality and pretzels it to be same-but-different. No matter your background, you have the chance to get really involved in the ethical dilemmas provided, the visceral experience of being insulted and responding to insults with pride, and it’s fun to read something new and feel some kind of vindication if you had a suspicion before.

What irritates me currently about the religions is that every time I get a little taste of “Okay, finally, we’re acknowledging the damage a religion like this can do,” I get kicked right the fuck back. I spent so long hating the Chantry more and more because it started to become clear to me the intentional abuse being directed at literally anyone who wasn’t a non-mage human, and even then they abused their own followers to exert further control over mages for personal gain. (Seriously, FUCK the Chantry.) FINALLY, Exalted Plains acknowledged that the Chantry steamrolled over the elves in a brutal slaughter, where Sister Whatserface tried to blame the elves for being “too far from the Maker” but she was a good person for “showing them more mercy than they deserved.” Clear signals that Bioware intended it to be taken as it was - an unjust crusade. Then what do they throw in my face? Some documents intending to show that the elves were “also at fault.” Excuse me? I’m sorry, excuse me?!

Elves had already been the subject of extensive oppression at that point, and given the racist goddamn teachings of Sister Whatserface and ALL THE DIVINES, I can hardly blame the elves for being just a little testy with the humans sticking their noses into their lands trying to force them to convert to Andrastianism. “Equally to blame” my ass. This is a pebble against a boulder. And yet I’m supposed to treat it like some kind of shocking revelation. Ooo - should I turn these documents in to the Chantry to exploit the elves some more, or should I give them to the Dalish, who then react with shame? There’s no just option: have the Dalish explain why maybe elves would be just a little angry, and have my Inquisitor go “oh yeah, that makes sense. kbye”

Finishing up with the Dalish, we get told by some pride demon ass lying fucker that all the Dalish gods that these poor widdle uneducated primitive elves worship were essentially slavers. Hahah. WHAT. Sorry. WHAT. You’re going to make me play through a game with my character’s religion shat on or flat out ignored at literally every turn, and my vindication is to be told it’s all fake and my ancestors were idiots for ever believing? Canonically? Really? When do we get told that we checked the Fade and the Maker wasn’t there and don’t these humans look pretty dumb now?! Or is that too risque because Andrastianism is a little too close to Christianity?

Then there’s the reaction to the Qun. I have loved Qunari since Sten. I honestly think it’s a really cool concept and I would love to explore it more deeply. I also LOVE Sten. Sten seemed so calm and generally fairly accepting, although he had his own flaws. He also had hidden depths - push aside the fronting and you get his cookies and chocolate loving sweetness. (If people hate him, again, come see me after class so we can have a chat on why you stan Blackwall but not Sten?)

But it seems like the Qun is falling victim to the world needing a reliable villain. What was once a mysterious system of beliefs existing outside the concept of the Maker or Dalish gods is increasingly this Scary religion that oppresses women and mages in barbaric ways, and is treated as horrible for trying to spread their religion to other lands (allow me to remind you of Exalted Plains and why every person in the game seems to be Andrastian by default, or at least Andrastian-sympathetic). It’s essentially playing up the fears that makes people uncomfortable with Eastern religions, relying on xenophobia to make them hateable enough that you don’t accidentally end up with too many Qun sympathizers in the playerbase. Even though you can play as a Qunari in Inquisition (hell yeah), you aren’t allowed any kind of Qun background. It’s understandable in some ways, plot-wise, but baffling in others. How much cooler would it be to have access to Qun beliefs like the Dalish has access to the Evanuris?

And now they have the Qunari poised to be the result of doing horrible dragon-blood experiments on elves by MORE slavers, and their religion’s entire purpose is to limit their horrible dragony desires to murder people, but now they want to subjugate others to live under their rule of law to make a horrifying monotone culture. Aren’t these scary-looking Qunari even more scary? There’s a reason to hate them now, they’re canonically more violent, just like the dragons! (Do not get me started on how dragons are treated. Actually, do, I have a lot of thoughts on that too. lmao) REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Then you have the Tal-Vashoth, not only defectors who found fault with the philosophy who are then hunted relentlessly by the believers, but also twisting back on themselves to be crazy violent, therefore simultaneously a condemnation of the Qun and an affirmation of its necessity to keep Qunari from being violent. Where are the defectors from Andrastianism? Literally every ex-fundie Christian kid I know has had a sex and/or drug-fueled meltdown period after having their core beliefs and foundation obliterated. Why do we have all these pure innocent Chantry Virgins, but no defectors? The only atheist you get to meet is your own Inquisitor, and you have a HELL of a time through the whole game as a result of it. (Though I will say the payoff at the very end of the game is so very worth it.) Almost ALL of your companions nag you about why you don’t believe you’re Chosen. I have yet to play as a believer, but I haven’t seen any indications I would be criticized for it.

And so what of Andrastianism? Is it fakery? Lies? Canonically brought into existence to oppress people? The product of slavers?

NOT YET.

Any criticism brought against Andrastianism is neatly and shortly thereafter countered, not by an untrustworthy member of the Chantry but by some word-of-god canon itself. The Maker stands, silent, valid, unchallenged.

There’s nothing wrong with presenting these complex scenarios, but if you don’t have the time, resources, or courage to REALLY plumb these depths, give everyone fair criticism (and it is not fair to ding the predominant world religion with the same criticisms as you level against a dying minority religion), don’t bother. You make the real world problems worse.

[guyveranimefan87-blog]

About Hate Speech...

As You all know Tumblr is not a place for the faint of the heart, as every opinion You share can, and probably would get some kind of hateful, harmful comment. And as many of us here, I accepted it as a price for freedom of speech, since everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, regardless of how dumb, angry or hate-filled it may be.

At least until I saw how hate speech can spill over to the real life.

But, some context is needed, since I doubt people outside of Poland would know about this. 

Not to mention the fact, that political situation in Poland is now such a cluster#uck, that even living here I sometimes have problems with grasping what the hell is happening.

So, prepare for a very uncoordinated, and fragmented rant...

For the last few years political climate in Poland had been slowly becoming more and more toxic, to a degree that leader of the ruling party is calling people not supporting him "worse sort of Poles" as well as "traitors", "communists and thieves" and other nice things like that.

Sure it could get nasty before, with members of two biggest political parties in Poland, right-wing Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law & Justice) and centre-right Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) were taking verbal shots at each other, but not to such a degree, and not with such venom.

It all went downhill in 2010 with Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash in Smolensk, which took the lives of 96 people, including President of Poland Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria, as well as the former President of Poland in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski, high-ranked military officers, president of the National Bank of Poland, and prominent politicians from Law & Justice Party.

Which was a huge tragedy for everyone in Poland, regardless of their political sympathies, but since Chairman of the Law and Justice Party, Jarosław Kaczyński was president's twin brother, and took it very personally, supporting multiple conspiracy theories claiming that the crash was a political assassination ordered by Russia and / or his chief political adversary former prime minister of Poland and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

Since 2015, when Law & Justice had won parliamentary elections "assassination theory" had became an official explanation of the Smolensk Crash, with special Parliamentary Committee of Investigation being created with the sole goal of proving it, even though despite their huge funds, and broad prerogatives they hadn't been able to find a shred of evidence pointing to the assassination.

Some political scientists even call it "Smolensk Religion" since it has markings of a cult, with deifying the "martyred" president, and vilifying Donald Tusk and his supporters as pure evil, with instances verbal and physical violence against "heretics", and promotion of an idea that if a person does not believe in assassination, then he or she is automatically a traitor and/or Russian agent. 

Banner reads: “Before President was murdered in Smolensk, he was betrayed in Poland”

Thus, we got to the situation, where hate speech and outright death threats to the members of the opposition were dismissed as being of "no consequence", while any form of criticism against Our Glorious Righteous and Catholic Government is a serious offence that can end with person being prosecuted and dumped into jail.

Above: Right-wing activists “hanging” portraits of liberal politicians as “traitors”, and “fake Poles”.

I know it sounds dramatic and kinda dystopian, but let me give You an example.

Ever since Law & Justice gained power, they had been trying to overturn judicial system and make it subservient to the government, by claiming that judges are "elite class" that should be purged and replaced with "proper patriots" that would understand that "national interest" is more important than "some laws".

Their actions include government sponsored hate campaigns against judges (!), and creating bills that make removing them a lot easier, even if said bills are non-constitutional.

This led to many protests from the people, and wearing t-shirts with the words "Constitution" printed on them became a rather popular way of reminding the government, that they are breaking the laws. 

So, what Infallible Polish Government had done with that fact?

Well, they deemed such t-shirts and other accessories bearing the word "Constitution" to be a... hate speech, and wearing them in public can lead to being accused of... public disturbance. Yes, it is real...

And now, let’s get into crux of the matter.

In my country we have a something called Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy a.k.a WOŚP, roughly translated into "The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity", which is the biggest, and most recognizable non-governmental, non-profit, charity organization in Poland.

It was created in 1993 by a journalist, musician, tv-personality and a radio host Jerzy Owsiak, with a goal of "Protecting Health and Saving Children's Lives by Providing Medical Equipment to Public Hospitals", as during that time public hospitals were dramatically underfunded, and many of them lacked the funds to buy, or repair their basic, life-saving equipment, following the fall of communism.

The first "Grand Finale" or a day-long public fundraiser accompanied by various events such as concerts, sporting competitions etc,  turned out to be a great success, enabling the GOCC to fund equipment for several pediatric hospitals, so it was continued every year for the last 24 years, earning 297,214,654.37 USD, becoming a cherished national tradition, and expanding to every place in the world that has even the tiniest polish community.

Along with the GOCC's Grand Finales Owsiak also created Pol'and'Rock Festival (Formerly known as "Woodstock Festival Poland"),  a free rock festival dubbed "the biggest open-air festival in Europe", as a way of thanking all the volunteers for all their hard work in making their fundraiser work, which also grew to become a cherished annual tradition.

Unfortunately, when there's success, there's jealousy and hatred. And The Great Orchestra is not an exception.

You see, despite being an icon of charity Jerzy Owsiak had always been quite controversial, as he has very liberal worldview, for example endorsing religious tolerance, LGBT rights, or bringing up controversial topics like abortion, or immigration in public media, making him Public Enemy #01 for the Far Right as a whole.

Additionally since Owsiak is a loud supporter for the separation of Church and State, quite a few influential clergymen in Poland try to paint him as a hedonistic, amoral heretic, who "steals money that should've been donated for The Church".

Which wouldn't be that much of a problem, even if Poland is predominantly a Catholic country... if not for the fact that our government is a Far Right nightmare I mentioned above, and they had done everything in their power to bring him down, for example pretending that GOCC does not exist on public TV, painting Owsiak as a greedy fraud, and creating laws deliberately targeting his initiatives.

Still, despite all that obstacles, and outright hatred from government's supporters, this year we had another Grand Finale in several big cities, raising over 90,000,000 PLN for hospitals, beating the last year's record, which should be the cause for celebration, and it was... until something happened that destroyed it all.

In Gdansk, The Great Orchestra was openly endorsed by it's long-time mayor, Paweł Adamowicz (Who had been re-elected for the last 21 years), so during the official finale of the fundraiser he was on the stage with several of his closest people, giving a impassioned speech about how people once again has shown that love and mercy win over hatred and spite...

And then he was attacked by a man with a knife, who managed to stab him several times in the chest and stomach, also being able to grab a microphone about him being "Agent of Justice", claiming that he was "A victim of previous government" and "made them pay" by killing the mayor.

He was quickly captured, but wounds he gave Adamowicz proven to be fatal, as he died in a hospital a day later, despite efforts by doctors, making him first victim of politically motivated murder in Poland since 1922.

And yet, despite that ruling party and it's supporters immediately rushed to blame... the opposition, for "creating the atmosphere of hate", blaming them in general, and Owsiak in particular for the crime, with some people even calling Adamowicz's murderer... a hero, and gathering money to "buy him the best lawyer".

[Andrzej X] Fundraiser for a lawyer for the man with the knife is in progress.

[Rafał X] I’ll give my money for that.

[Andreas X] I wonder whom he (Mayor Adamowicz) would call for his last rites. Priest or an imam? (Adamowicz wanted refugees from Syria to be allowed to come to Poland, which led to much hate from Alt-Right)

[Wielki] I wonder if there is a GOCC logo on any doctor or equipment in place he is now???

[Józef X] As they say... Karma always returns.

[Radosław X] Was it the same Adamowicz, who sold himself to Germans??...

[Henryka X] They (The opposition) would tell EU that PIS is at fault.

[Rafał X] It was fight between gangs controlling the city.

[Jarek X] The guy who had attacked him is a True Polish Hero.

[Klara X] Nothing to grieve here, neither him, not PO as a whole.

Apparently they hadn't noticed any fault on their own side, and are content with blaming the others, and making everything work as it did before. And I dread to see what would happen next, since we already crossed that one line...

So yeah, now I see that “it’s only words, they don’t hurt anyone” argument is a bullshit. 

[derhaifischderhattraenen]

tagged by: @kernprovinz

tagging: @radiomayak @fury-of-argos @tsarnarozite @gebrochener-adler​ @a-lion-roars​ @zdravstvuysclntse​

FULL NAME: Michael Arwin Schröder, he was named by the members of the German order upon its foundation. Schröder however was his last name since birth.

GENDER AND SEXUALITY: male, bisexual but so far into the closet he lives in Narnia and throws a fit if people merely joke about him having a thing with guys

ETHNICITY AND SPECIES: Northern German, representative/nation

BIRTHPLACE AND BIRTHDAY: He was born at the west coast of modern Germany in the area of the state of Niedersachsen. Michi hardly remembers his old home. As far as birthday goes he has no idea when the date is and never bothered to set one. He celebrates his name day, which is on September 29, according to his patron saint Archangel Michael .

GUILTY PLEASURES: If asked directly Michael would state that he has no guilty pleasures. He either does things he openly admits to doing or he does things that he is extremely insecure about and you shouldn’t poke fun at him for it or it’ll end badly.

That said there are quite a few things he does other people would call sinful. Like the fact that he shamelessly wears socks in sandals and loudly listens to 80s disco music. Then there is his obsession for overly expensive cars. He doesn’t even drive all of them but he buys them anyway and throws loads out money out the window! 

PHOBIAS AND FEARS: One of his prime fears is the fear of being unloved by his little sister. He knows he has been a shit person in his life and a shit brother and while he would never openly admit to it there is a small voice in his head telling him that she resents him for the misfortune he has caused her. In connection to this another thing he fears is that he was still the person who committed all of those horrible acts, that being a warmongering monster was his true nature.

FAVOURITE BOOK GENRE: As silly as it sounds but he loves non-tropey fantasy novels and stories about the medieval era. You’d think he would know better because he lived through the hardships of that time but he feels absolutely nostalgic about the middle ages. Another sort of genre he loves is sci-fi, especially scientific ones. The ideas for new inventions, the strange alien creatures and stories about distant planets. He just sucks it all up.

WHAT THEY WOULD BE INFAMOUS FOR: Michi is infamous for his temper tantrums, his shit sensibility in conversations, his rude manners and the fact that he always was more of a peasant soldier than suited to be a kingdom. He is also infamous for his sort of military obsession, though today he tries to fight that.

WHAT HAVE THEY/WOULD THEY BE ARRESTED FOR: Most of all war crimes and murder. He has killed a lot in the name of Religion. On top of this during the GDR era he willingly committed repeated acts of vandalism, rebellion, revolting, smuggling (items and humans), digging tunnels under the border, listening to illegal music, holding illegal meetings and many other crimes. Michael is also still frequently arrested for starting bar fights.

CHARACTER MOST LIKELY TO MURDER THEM: France and/or Bavaria

CHARACTER(S) YOU SHIP THEM WITH: I don’t really have an OTP for him. It’s like if our muses get along then heck yes lets try it. Though of course I can’t deny that there has been a muse where I especially enjoyed their mess of a relationship. In the end I just don’t see any particular match as his go to ship.

WHY SOMEONE MIGHT LOVE THEM: Michael has an air of confidence and boldness about himself. He is honest, straightforward and not afraid of backing down or saying what was on his mind. Frequently there have been characters that admired there traits about him. I would also say his dedication and ability to persistently work towards a goal are to be inspiring.

On a more personal level what makes him even more likeable is how social he is. Michi will talk to anyone, try to get to know them, have a pleasant conversation and hope to seem approachable. Unless something grave happened he tends to have a cheerful manner about himself and encourage people to join him. Even more so when you gain his friendship he becomes very attached, helpful and kind. Michi would die for his friends and family and he doesn’t hesitate to do the world for them.

WHY SOMEONE MIGHT HATE THEM: He has a strong tendency for throwing fits and going into tirades about the dumbest things. This can be caused by just the tiniest of comments! Overstep his boundaries and you die. Ironically however Michael will not give a damn about overstepping the boundaries of other people. If they can’t take it then they “are too sensitive” and “need to stop being whiny pussies”. He is also in general very unpleasant for timid characters for he straight up refuses to have respect for them. 

Another very infuriating feature of Michael is that he tends to believe he can’t be wrong about things. Especially when he is upset it takes quite a lot of hitting his head until he understands that he may have been overreaction and that he probably has seen things in the wrong light. 

HOW THEY CHANGE: Boi this is a looong story lemme tell ya.... When Michi started out as a wee lil kiddie he was actually a quite sweet obedient child, although he did give his guardians quite a bit of a headache with his shenanigans. However as he grew older and gained more lands as the German Order he really escalated into this whole idea of “I am the divine chosen one, the incarnation of Archangel Michael, who shall bring salvation to this world!!” and he just got... so intense! He was extremely invested in his goals and actually quite arrogant and a know it all.

Then all of it came crashing down when the order was destroyed by the enemy and he spend so many years just sulking over it. Once he accepted his fate and started working for Poland he more of less became a good boy again, he was living his life satisfied with what he has instead of loosing himself in some mad fantasy. Nevertheless he was a cocky young man and childishly egoistic, straight up refusing to do anything for anyone from the German nations because he was still salty about them not helping him when the German Order needed it. 

At the time he quite frankly did not the deserve the kingdom title but he took it and spitted on anyone who was mad about it. He didn’t know at all what the heck he was doing though so Michi had to learn to cooperate and be less of a shit. So I’d say he became pretty nice for a while though there, albeit still a stupid lil’ shit. Then Napoleon happened and it really messed him up. As it all went down he became quite mature but also cold and power-hungry and more angry than before. He started to have this ambition of proving everyone how powerful he was and literary walked over corpses and suppressed people to get what he wanted. It all just escalated the more successful he was until it came crashing down on him starting with the first world war. Then thanks to the second one he spend quite a bit of time on a depression trip. But once he got over it Michi developed to wanting to make up for what he broke and be a better person. Not saying he has become an angel but he really did change for the better. 

WHY YOU LOVE THEM: I mean first of all I gotta admit I love asshole characters. I just love writing a muse with glaring flaws and problems. In this case it’s the way how intense he can be about certain things. Push the wrong button and he goes off and you can’t get out of it, he just keeps going. Also how he is just such a goddamn hypocrite at times. The way he talks can just be atrocious and it makes him so fun to write. But while Michi is a jerk he is also quite sweet and endearing. He can turn to sugar when talking to the right people! And he has the right notions that steer him towards wanting to do the right thing despite his angry fits and idiocy.

Speaking of which one thing I also love about him is his idealism that very often fights his own desires. He is very much immersed in his belief system and wants to stick to the rules as good as possible but sometimes he just.... well. Michael is very much emotional and can’t resist at times. 

Another thing I love is his brutal honesty. Sometimes I seriously can only call him stupid for what he says but no matter what he refuses to back down from it. Michi is just the head-through-the-wall sorta type. He don’t give a shit if there was an open down right next to it, he chose the wall!! Fuck what anyone else is saying!

There is so much more but I think I already typed long enough of a novel here...

[phantombones]

RILEY HAYES-GOLDSTEIN really is the spitting image of MARGARET QUALLEY, right? For someone only EIGHTEEN ( VIRGO ) years old, RILEY has been forced to endure so much. Yeah, that HALFBLOOD has been scraping by at the sanctuary since MARCH, 2028, working as a SUPPLY RUNNER in the DIVISION OF FORAGE. SHE identifies as CIS-FEMALE and is known to be SARDONIC and PESSIMISTIC but also WITTY and MORALLY RESPONSIBLE. Best of luck surviving through this.

CHARACTER PARALLELS: Daria ( Daria ), Seth Cohen ( The OC ), Veronica Sawyer ( Heathers ), Ron Swanson ( Parks & Rec ), Rory Gilmore ( Gilmore Girls ), Pam Beasley ( The Office )

PINTREST: [ x ]

TRIGGERS: parental abandonment, mentions of drugs and alcohol.

LIKES & INTERESTS: Cult Classics - Movies ( Heathers, Dead Poets Society, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Cruel Intentions, The Breakfast Club, Almost Famous ), Blue raspberry Slushies, Donuts, Judaism, Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Rey, The Smiths, the color blue, writing poetry, e. e. cummings, art museums, greek mythology, rmemes, Rolling joints on her favorite books, biblical mythology, astronomy, astrology ( she finds it very entertaining in a mocking way and would never admit there’s a small part of her that enjoys it ), Star Wars, black cats, black cats named Boggart, black nail polish, tattoos, carnivals, comic books, ferris wheels, puns, the sea, jellyfish, NPR every morning, going to the beach at twilight, 4 am drives, 5am runs, spliff.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Observant, Cooperative, Strategic, Witty, Intelligent, Resilient, Responsible.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Reserved, Pessimistic, Sardonic, Secretive, Curious ( it will get her into trouble ), Awkward, Suspicious.

When you meet Riley Hayes, a picturesque childhood in a picturesque suburbia is not what you would expect and yet it was exactly what she had. Born on the cusp of summer and fall, Rachel and Christopher were over the moon to have their daughter born on August 28, 2010. Finally, a child to complete the perfect family unit. Maybe they had hoped for a boy despite what science said ( hence the name Riley & a full name for a boy they had prepared ) but, they had a daughter and for the first ten years of her life they pampered her greatly. Trips to the coast every summer to visit his side of the family where Riley was praised for being such a pretty, good girl, and what seemed like infinite love from her father was doled out as long as she was what he wanted her to be. The younger girl was cooperative, it was in her nature it seemed, because she loved seeing her parents happy with each other. As long as Riley stayed within the lines, stayed within Christopher’s lines at least, everything would be well. Even when Riley started to develop a few habits and interests that were off the wall, he brushed them aside as childhood obsessions. Never could he accept his family for what they were which is exactly why he left.

The ugly truth was, Riley was an accident and the picture painted had been a lie – not that Riley knew until then. While she knew they had gotten married young she’d never known how much exactly her mother had given up to be with her father. Rachel Hayes had left her family, forsaken her religion ( as Christopher was a very religious Christian man ), the semi famous Goldstein Wizarding name, and moved down south into this suburbia all with the promise of a family. The biggest thing? Magic. When Christopher left a year before Riley entered Hogwarts school, Riley was forced to grow up and pick up the pieces of a broken lost woman who simply couldn’t find herself in the rubble that was the aftermath of her father leaving. But finding out she was an accident was the least of her worries. No matter how much poetry she wrote trying to figure out her mind, oftentimes thinking she was losing it, something within her was different, something within her felt different.

It took a few months to coax the why from her mother, and truly she was her caretaker. It wasn’t until her 10th birthday when she got the letter from Ilvermony that she realized what exactly was off. When she confronted her mother – her mother just poured everything out to her. Who Riley was, who her family was, what she was doing with her life before she met Christopher. At first, Riley couldn’t believe it – – she’d grown up hiding comics under her bed, hiding anything about the supernatural away. Even if her whole life she had felt a weird pull to these people who didn’t belong in her comics, these freaks, she never in her wildest dreams thought she’d have something in common with them. It all made sense though, and finally the pieces of her life started to come together. Riley knew what she had to do, so at the age of 10, she went with her mother to Wizarding NYC to try to find out more. To try to find the family her mother left behind.

After that, everything fell into place – her family was beyond accepting, even if they gave her shit, more than she’d ever known from her dad’s family and her mom started to get better as she become more true to herself. The family reconciled, helping Riley and Rachel move into a flat in NYC, in Chinatown. Rachel got a job at the ministry as an assistant and with the help of some family members and Riley started to prepare for school Wizarding School. She’d never been more happy in her life. New York City was her home, more than her podunk shitty town ever had, and she felt a freedom that made her wander the city, she felt a freedom to finally be herself. The only issue then? Riley wanted to go to a school far away from everything, because even if New York was her home, she needed to a break from being in the states. A break from all these people who knew who her family was & really, a place that was her own to find her own in the world. Easily, she picked Hogwarts and was delighted when they accepted her no matter how far she was. Hufflepuff was the perfect house for her, even if she wasn’t the most conventional or stereotypical kind of one.

For years, she pushed away a lot of the pain she felt – she figured her pain was her own, it was selfish of her to dwell on it or even think about it when she had this new fantastic life. Only in her poetry would she divulge her feelings, only her poetry knew that she felt inexplicably lost in the world the more she saw it. Around her 14th birthday, she met two boys in school who were a bit older than her but the twins ended up being her half-brothers -- as they found they shared a father. A scumbag father who’d also been horrible to them. It was then that Riley wanted to distance herself from her father even more, fiercely signing and writing her last name as Hayes-Goldstein or just Goldstein when she could get away with it.

The thing was, the reminder of her father, the reminder that he was out there ruining more people’s lives, that he was out there spawning more children really intensely messed with Riley’s head. Why wasn’t she good enough for him to stay? Why couldn’t they have been enough? It was stupid, but the thoughts started to consume her and the lost feeling just got bigger. Picking up vices like smoking, smoking pot, drinking beer like she was her own father after a long day of work, anything to escape the feeling that she didn’t really have a place in this world. Not one she could see. What was she even going to do with her life after school? What did she have to offer the world? A loneliness she could not shake slept with her at night like any blanket did, every day felt like she was smothered. Every day there was a new realization that she didn’t know what the hell she wanted to do with her life, and that she didn’t really have a place in the world. When the climate in the Wizarding World of England became a developing war zone, Riley wanted nothing to do with it but because of who she was – because of what her religion reminded of her – she couldn’t just stand idly by. Riley knew that even if she was Neutral, she would fight with her friends if need be, but nothing prepared for a zombie outbreak.

She had stayed in the UK for the family she’d now made there, the dude squad, her cousins, her brothers, her best friend Isa Potter was there as well. She’d just finished transitioning moving into their new place when the news hit and things spiraled from there, staying by Isa’s side the whole way. Now, she’s been at the castle and misses her old life, more so the comforts of it. Netflix. Memes. Accommodations and not having to worry about the end of the world truly being torn apart - and end near. Riley is beyond fucked up and freaked out by the idea of zombies, finding comfort in her religion but questioning it even further -- how could G-d allow this? She did what she could for the effort at Hogwarts, angry, scared, and simply trying to make sure the people she loves survives as well as herself.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

I once called her a Memelord Shitstain. I stand by that.

Cousin to Nathan Hayes! Also bigger roaster of Nathan Hayes!!

If Lana Del Rey and Weird Al’ Yankovic did a duet, that would be Riley’s vibe. LOL.

Never learned how to properly swim really but often dreams of water and loves water a lot. WILL DEADASS run in water and jump in it but doesn’t go too deep even though she wants to.

Riley is very content with the friends she has, the dudesquad, isa, she’s surprised she even has that many and Loves them. But Riley is becoming more open to people and friends as its the end of the world and WHY NOT? 

Riley has a natural inclination towards legilimency, her first sign of magic was actually poking around someone’s mind in a grocery store and influencing them to eat a random frozen meal on accident but it’s not a developed skill in the slightest and truthfully Riley doesn’t EVER want to go into it. It’s really not developed it’s just like a fun fact. a tidbit!

that’s all she wrote!! I hope this is good and please like this if you’d like to plot!!

[barrypurcell]

Statues of Limitations

Winston Churchill and the quest to find the right standard for public memorialization

On June 7, during a Black Lives Matter protest, a statue of Winston Churchill in central London was vandalized. Rather than properly contextualize the incident as part of a global movement for black rights, many news sources conjured images of unruly gangs of teenagers randomly tagging beloved national monuments (and on D-Day anniversary weekend, no less).

How could anyone, argued Twitter patriots with a Union Jack in their usernames, defile the memory of the man who defeated the Nazis and is widely considered to be the Greatest Briton Of All Time?

What the question forgets, and what history confirms, is that destroying statues is a perfectly legitimate form of political protest. Few complained about the destruction of Joseph Stalin’s statue in Budapest in 1956, or the removal of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Baghdad in 2003, among many others. Whatever problems people have with statues being torn down are more context-dependent than they like to admit.

Some pointed out that no one defaced the statue of Karl Marx that day, presumably in an attempt to paint anyone interested in promoting racial justice as a communist. The “statue” of Karl Marx is actually his tomb, and it was nowhere near any of the protest sites.

There was less harrumphing when a statue of Edward Colston, a slave trader with the Royal African Company, was toppled in central Bristol and thrown into Bristol Harbour on June 7. Ironically, professional restorers intend to preserve the graffiti, as it is now an important part of the history of the statue.

In Ireland, we know how to deal with the stone and metal monuments to our erstwhile colonial occupiers. Statues to William of Orange, King George II, and Viscount Gough had already been destroyed before 1966, when dissident IRA members blew up a statue of Lord Nelson in the middle of the main street of our capital city. The government spokesmen did a good job of acting horrified, but the general reaction was more sanguine.

On June 15, as part of an official statement in response to the defacement of the Churchill statue, Boris Johnson, the English prime minister and author of The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History, asked: “Where will it end? Are we supposed to haul down Cromwell who killed so many thousands of people in Ireland?”

In England, Oliver Cromwell is widely regarded as a hero and a pioneer of what would eventually and gradually turn into representative democracy. His position in the national consciousness is cemented by a statue outside the House of Commons.

In Ireland, his name is synonymous with brutality and xenophobia. J. Michael Straczynski, the showrunner for season eight of Murder She Wrote, tells the story of how the mere mention of the name Cromwell to an Irish hotel receptionist was enough to cause a cancellation of a wrap party of one of the episodes set in Ireland.

What about a statue’s pedagogical function? Of course a monument could play an educational role, but then again, that’s not the contribution a statue tends to make. Statues of war criminals, perhaps prime candidates for enlightening the citizenry, often fail to convey even a minimal understanding of the figure’s checkered past. Cromwell’s statue has been outside Westminster since 1899, yet Johnson’s comments about his murders will be the first many British people have heard about his ruthless violence against the Irish people.

British colonial crimes are often news to English people. However, once they make the effort to do some research, they often not only realize their mistake, but conclude that, in the words of former cabinet minister and Johnson’s fellow-Conservative, Michael Portillo, the “ignorance of Ireland among the British is rather shocking.”

Their Finest Hour

Despite the air of mystery surrounding initial reports, Black Lives Matter protesters did not work very hard to hide their opinions about Winston Churchill. After all, they did not merely deface the statue, but they painted the specific accusation “was a racist” under his name. This appears to be unambiguously true.

In 1920, Churchill established and deployed the Royal Irish Constabulary Special Reserve to Ireland. This group, known in Ireland as the Black and Tans, was notorious for its human rights abuses and war crimes.

In 1943, Churchill had thousands of tons of rice shipped out of India for use in the war effort, while a famine hit millions of Indians, whom he regarded as “a beastly people with a beastly religion.” Churchill was reluctant to send relief on the basis that Indians “breed like rabbits.” (Ireland had a similar problem from 1845–1849, when exploitative English government policies caused a famine while massive shipments of grain were simultaneously being exported.)

In 1902, he called China a “barbaric nation” and in 1954 said he didn’t “like the look of [Chinese people] or the smell of them.”

In 1922, as Colonial Secretary, he financed the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia despite stating that they were “intolerant, well-armed, and bloodthirsty.”

In 1937, when discussing the future of the Arabs in Palestine, he said that the Arabs could hardly complain that “a stronger race, a higher-grade race … has come in and taken their place,” as this was, in his view, the natural order.

Moreover, the warm feelings Brits in the 1940s had for Churchill’s defeat of the Nazis did not translate to blind worship of the man. He was decisively voted out of office in 1945 in favor of Labour’s Clement Atlee, albeit for reasons entirely unconnected with his racism.

This litany of shame is not to besmirch the memory of Churchill in particular. The point is that statues don’t educate anyone unfamiliar with the subject. If you don’t know anything about Winston Churchill, then a statue erected to him without any context could be reasonably interpreted as a celebration of his achievements, whatever they might be.

The statue depicts the well-documented Hitler defeater, but doesn’t tell us much about the brutal racist. That’s not appreciating, or even acknowledging, history. That’s not education of any kind. That’s propaganda.

In a long Twitter thread, the same Boris Johnson tweeted that “we cannot pretend to have a different history” and that the abuse of statues is “to lie about our history.” However, there is a legitimate argument that many of these statues were erected specifically to pretend to have a different history in the first place.

It’s understandable to erect thoughtless memorials to people who were heroes given the standards of the time. It’s less understandable when you find out that huge chunks of British history have been intentionally “censored and airbrushed,” including the “mass destruction of documents,” the kind of thing we correctly mock Stalin for, and which forms the basis of Winston Smith’s job in Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Nor is this old news. More recently, the Home Office destroyed evidence of the right to citizenship of thousands of Windrush immigrants. In 2013, the Conservative Party deleted an archive of their speeches from their public website, in a move which demonstrates the extent of their commitment to transparency and preserving the historical record more than tweeting about a statue.

The Germans, natürlich, have a word to describe the entire ideology behind dealing with all the awkwardness of a murky past, the glorious rollercoaster of Vergangenheitsbewältigung. There is no German who is not aware of the Third Reich, and they manage to achieve that awareness without putting up statues to war criminals. They accept their history, but they are very careful to avoid anything which could be confused with a celebration of it.

In the same way that German targets of the Holocaust could reasonably feel angry if there were a statue of a Nazi outside the Rathaus, is it not reasonable for English black people to feel angry when there is a statue of a slave trader in the middle of town?

Reading History

Conservatives love the idea that the destruction of statues is somehow editing history because they subscribe to the idea that history is a collection of immutable names and dates and unquestionable facts.

History as a discipline, however, can be better understood as a series of competing narratives, and the project of historians is to identify, evaluate, and eventually assemble for themselves those narratives. To historians, names and dates are the mere raw material of facts. Facts have no inherent meaning, because meaning is something we do. It is an action, not a property.

Historians learn to fear any person or organization who claims ownership over the collective memories of the past.

Students of history will be constantly aware of the need to keep an open mind, to adapt their approach to different types of information, to understand that the prevailing theory is just that, the prevailing theory, and that phrases like “we only use the facts” and “this is an objective account” are fairly reliable indicators that something is about to go badly wrong.

Arc Digital, 20 August 2020

[newstfionline]

Poland’s Nationalism and Europe’s Values

By Steven Erlanger and Marc Santora, NY Times, Feb. 20, 2018

SNIADOWO, Poland--The young mayor of this small town deep in eastern Poland is extremely proud of its new Italian fire engine, which sits, resplendent, next to a Soviet-era one. Nearby, the head of the elementary school shows off new classrooms and a new gymnasium, complete with an electronic scoreboard.

All of this--plus roads, solar panels, and improved water purification and sewer systems, as well as support to dairy farmers--has largely been paid for by the European Union, which finances nearly 60 percent of Poland’s public investment.

With such largess, one would hardly think that Poland is in a kind of war with the European Union. The nationalist government has bitten the hand that feeds more than once, drawing censure for backsliding on democratic norms by packing the Polish courts top to bottom, and by threatening to undo the rule of law.

The tug of war has intensified as Eastern Europe becomes the incubator for a new model of “illiberal democracy” for which Hungary has laid the groundwork. But it is Poland--so large, so rich, so militarily powerful and so important geostrategically--that will define whether the European Union’s long effort to integrate the former Soviet bloc succeeds or fails.

The stakes, many believe, far outweigh those of Britain’s exit from the European Union, or Brexit, as the bloc faces a painful reckoning over whether, despite its efforts at discipline, it has enabled the anti-democratic drift, and what to do about it.

The growing conflict between the original Western member states of the bloc and the newer members in Central and Eastern Europe is the main threat to the cohesion and survival of the European Union. It is not a simple clash, but a multibannered one of identity, history, values, religion and interpretations of democracy and “solidarity.”

“It’s yes to Europe, but what Europe?” said Michal Baranowski, director of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund, noting that Poland’s support for European Union membership runs as high as 80 percent but can be shallow.

The Polish government, which is dominated by the Law and Justice party, itself dominated from the back rooms by the party chief, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, seems to have its own answer to the question.

It is more than happy to take European Union support, but worries that Poland’s share could come on the chopping block in the future. The country is to get nearly 9 percent of the European Union budget for 2014 to 2020, some 85 billion euros, or $105 billion.

But the vague threats to apply the brakes to the gravy train are unlikely to push the Kaczynski government to change. It has responded to European criticism by accusing Brussels and Germany--so recently Poland’s greatest ally in Europe--of dictating terms to newer members and trying to impose an elitist, secular vision.

It has campaigned on Polish national pride, “getting up off our knees,” portraying the predominantly Roman Catholic Poland, which traditionally sees itself as a victim of history, as the “Christ of nations.”

After being squeezed between empires and occupied in turns by fascism and communism, Poland is ready to take its place as an equal, Mr. Kaczynski asserts, no longer relegated to serfdom or secondary status.

This combination of Polish nationalism, religious conservatism, anti-elitism and attacks on those supposedly seeking to dictate to Poland about values and migrant quotas has made Law and Justice by far the largest party in a divided country with a disorganized political opposition.

The party has risen from almost 38 percent of the vote in the 2015 election to about 47 percent in recent opinion polls. Much of that success is attributed to its investment in the poorer countryside, and much of the money for that investment is attributed to European Union support and access to its markets and jobs.

But more than money, Law and Justice thrives on cultural and identity politics. It has contrasted a conservative, Catholic Poland and its family values with a godless, freethinking, gender-bending Western Europe.

It accuses past governments, the opposition and the urban elites, of hankering after European approval and acceptance to the detriment of Polish interests.

Sniadowo district, a collection of villages northeast of Warsaw with roughly 5,500 people, reflects that support. While the pre-World War II population was about 40 percent Jewish, today it is Kaczynski country.

The area is profoundly Roman Catholic and deeply affected by its proximity to Belarus and the memories of the Soviet occupation of World War II. In 2015, roughly 70 percent of voters in the region supported Law and Justice.

People go to church several times a week, priests tend to give passionate, political sermons, and state and church media give a partisan version of events.

“Promoting same-sex marriage will not go down well here,” said Marek Adam Komorowski, 58, a local councilman in nearby Lomza. “If you are in Europe, you can’t speak against it, but it is not a norm here. Here, family means something else.”

Rafal Pstragowski, the 37-year-old mayor of Sniadowo, an independent in his seventh year in office, echoed the sentiments. “Poland is a traditional Christian country and Poland respects other religions,” he said, “but we want our culture to be respected, too.”

“There is a fear among people that Western secularism is a threat to our traditional culture,” he added. “If things in Europe keep going in the same direction, people think that the migration crisis and terrorist attacks could start here, too.”

Slawomir Zgrzywa, 55, a local historian, said that Poland’s long history of conflict with Russia had made it skeptical of “any sort of left-wing or liberal politics,” and had enhanced the standing of a deeply conservative and politicized Roman Catholic priesthood.

As for the fight with the European Union over the government’s control of the judiciary, that “seems abstract,” said Agnieszka Walczuk, 45, the director of the town’s elementary school. “The people here are poor, and they feel they have been helped by a government seen as protecting them,” she said.

The recent squabble over Poland’s new law about history and the Holocaust is another example of the government offending Western European sensibilities about free speech for domestic gain. It is seen at home as an effort to protect Poland against all those angry, upset foreigners--including Jews and Western Europeans. It was telling that the opposition abstained on the vote, rather than voting against.

While firmly in favor of membership, Law and Justice has a vision of the European Union similar to the British one--a union of nation states trading freely with one another but not interfering in domestic politics or national culture.

At the same time, Poland sees an emerging vision for Europe, under the proposals of France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, as reviving French-German domination of the bloc, which would leave Poland more sidelined.

In Poland’s view, talk of restricting the rights of foreign workers in France is protectionist and aimed at the new member states, but wrapped in pro-European language. Poland rejects a “multilevel” or “two-speed” Europe, with an inner core of eurozone states and an outer ring of lesser members. But it sees Brussels heading that way regardless.

In general, Mr. Kaczynski’s priority is domestic, “and for control of the judiciary, he’s ready to pay almost any price,” said Piotr Buras, head of the Warsaw office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “He is slowly using mostly democratic means, amassing so much power that the party’s position is unassailable.”

The changes, the government argues, are necessary to clear out an old Communist elite, but they are “rendering the independence of the judiciary completely moot,” Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission, said in December.

“The constitutionality of legislation can no longer be guaranteed,” he said, because “the country’s judiciary is now under the political control of the ruling majority.”

The European Union has warned Poland officially, charging that Warsaw risks “a serious breach” of its commitment to shared values of liberal democracy and the rule of law, principles that all member states have sworn to uphold.

Some think that Warsaw and Brussels will compromise somehow, since other European states do not want to risk being subject to sanctions one day. But compromise is difficult to foresee. Mr. Buras views in Mr. Kaczynski a pessimism about the European project.

“He thinks that this E.U. is doomed to fail, and so we need to save ourselves,” Mr. Buras said. “He believes that it cannot survive.”

[radioactive-tiefling]

Ask meme: Lux

My good good buddy @captain-atlantic asked me to answer all 30 questions for one of my characters, so here’s lux! My newest dnd character, a fallen aasimar raven queen Warlock.

1: What’s your OC’s biggest insecurity and how would they react if someone pointed it out to them?

Lux is insecure about her motives for what she does sometimes, but feels it is wrong to doubt it. If someone else doubts it, it gives her a chance to explain at length exactly why she’s doing what’s best, and convince herself as well as the person who doubted her.

2: If your OC wants to buy a firearm, what it might be for?

In a modern au where guns exist, I think it would have been to kill her abusive guardian/ break herself and her friend out of the church where they grew up.

3: Does your OC behave differently around different people, if so with whom and how?

yes, she always had masks for different people. It used to be she seemed either incredibly pious or incredibly rebellious to everyone except her friend lyra, but after they’ve been separated for a year she puts on a more secretive face with her, like she’s trying to hide something. With the other members of the party she purposely goes out of her comfort zone to try and make connections.

4: Would your OC want to involve themselves in humanitarian work ? If yes, then for what? If not, then why not?

She kind of thinks of what she’s doing already as humanitarian, even if it involves helping police death. However, she has some issues with many churches and other organizations that claim to be humanitarian, since she thinks they’re all too easily corrupted.

5: How would your OC generally react to someone being verbally abusive towards them for no apparent reason?

she would ignore it at first, and try to appear sarcastic and jaded about the comments. If she responds at all, it would be with joking agreement or by making fun of the abuser. If she ever actually looks angry, you should run.

6: Does your OC have a realistic image of their own intelligence?

she knows she’s pretty smart, but she constantly beats herself up about her slow (in her mind) progress. She trusts what she already knows, but works hard to learn more because she believes it’s the only way to move ahead.

7: Does your OC have any irrational phobias?

Anything/ anyone being in her mind. Her angel spoke mind to mind with her for her whole life, and now even the message cantrip can cause her to panic, especially if she isn’t expecting it. Possession and gaslighting are a real fear of hers and any time anyone is in her mind, for any reason, her first thought is that the angel is back.

8: How is/was your OC’s relationship with their parents?

she never knew her parents. They were farmers and gave her up as an infant. They were devastated about it, but poor enough that they couldn’t afford to raise a blind child who couldn’t help make money on the farm. They chose not to visit her or know her because they didn’t want her to miss them.

9: Does your OC feel a pressure to achieve or are they content and calm with doing what they can at the moment?

she feels incredible pressure to achieve. Despite only just getting her powers, she is desperate to impress the raven queen and advance in her forces, and feels that nothing she does is enough to progress the way she needs to.

10: Does your OC guard their emotions by being tough? If not how would they?

she mostly guards her emotions with humor and dry, sarcastic comments about herself. Either that or by ignoring emotions as much as possible.

11: How would your OC react to hearing they’re adopted?

She already knows, and did since she was a child, that her parents gave her up for adoption.

12: What is one of the most primary thing your OC feels that is missing from their life?

friends, and the ability to get close to people without hurting them or them hurting you.

13: What kind of situations does your OC avoid the most?

Anything involving organized religion

14: If your OC gets into a fight with their best friend, would they wait for their friend to make up with them, or would they try to make up with their friend?

most of the time she would try to make up first. However, she sometimes gets into fights because of something she’s hiding, and in that case she continues to hide it rather than make up.

15: Does your OC consider themselves a good person?

no, not really. She works for death and is obsessed with killing a creature most people would see as “purely good.” She pretty much decided to leave the idea of goodness behind her, because people will never accept goodness from someone they think is bad.

16: Is your OC good at giving others validation of their feelings and making them feel understood?

She thinks she’s not great at it, but she really tries if it’s someone she cares about or wants to grow closer to. She’s naturally charismatic, so even if she doesn’t know how people feel they tend to listen to her anyway.

17: Does your OC suffer from any mental health issues?

she probably has PTSD, and minor OCD.

18: What kind of intrapersonal values does your OC have? (values about their self, what makes them feel like a valid person)

she feels valid as long as she’s working towards a goal. Whether that’s making friends or impressing the raven queen, progress and new discoveries fuel her and make her even more motivated to keep going.

19: What boosts your OC’s confidence the most?

the biggest confidence boost is when she gains more power, or when someone actively chooses to do something nice for her.

20: Does your OC hurt others often unintentionally? If yes, how?

yes, often by shutting them out of things or appearing to brush them off.

21: Does your OC hurt others often intentionally? If yes, how?

yes, for her job or for a goal. She uses magic to control or hurt people most of the time.

22: How does your OC usually show affection? Are they openly romantic or more restricted with their affectionate emotions?

she used to be much more affectionate, with her best friend. If she’s close to someone, she’s generally a very tactile person since with lyra they had to be touching to even communicate (she’s blind, lyra’s mute, so they used a form of physical sign language.)

23: Does your OC tend to hide something about their personality/essence when meeting new people? If yes, what?

yes, she mostly hides the fact that she’s not really a “good” person. She also tends to hide insecurity and reactions to anything that might hurt her.

24: How would your OC react if they got humiliated by someone in a group of people?

probably laugh about it. If it was really bad, she’d cause a scene with magic to scare them out of messing with her again.

25: How would your OC process the grief caused by the death of a loved one?

she wouldn’t do it very well. She’s new to working with the raven queen, but currently sees it as a solution to everything if she can just get strong enough. She would probably remain in denial/bargaining, insisting that if she works harder and becomes stronger she can fix it.

26: What is the most intense thing your OC has been battling with?

PTSD from her childhood with an abusive angel whispering in her head night and day. She’s still trying to get past it over a year after falling.

27: Does your OC practise any kind of escapism? If yes, what kind?

her main form of escaping is her dry humor and self deprecation.

28: How would your OC react if a bully stole their lunch money in high school?

probably with a quick command spell to get it back, then walk off leaving them wondering what she did to them.

29: How do they behave on the face of a conflict?

almost scary casual, trying to look the part of a warlock of the raven queen to prove her worth.

30: What makes your OC defensive quickest?

Slights on people she cares about, and people questioning her motives.

[serensama]

Lots and lots of thoughts..

(I decided to go with a submission rather than multiple asks on this topic because honestly… I have a lot of feelings and thoughts when it comes to this topic, and I’ve had no one to share my opinions with, as the people I know if real life don’t know the game so I hope this is at least an interesting read ! haha).  I completely agree with everything you said about her, she used literally everyone around her, whom cared for her without question which is the worst part, for her own means and denied the need for help arrogantly when she cearly needed it. Such as creating her own arrogant version of a religion/belief system,  (which I want to point out is a plot line that bothered me a little as it kind of demonises mentally ill people as disturbed in a really messed up and destructive way when a very tiny amount of sufferers are actually that ill)  that put her at the centre of it and subsequently in possession of all the power within the group, and hurt so many while being upheld as a saint who deserved better. Even after she’s discovered, Yoosung still spends time taking care of her after she goes into some form of shock when he knows more than he did before and how dangerous she can be.  He isn’t openly angry that he was lied to by her, or that she didn’t try to talk to him even after she knew that he was someone she could’ve honestly confided in.  I may be getting off track but I feel Yoosung, precious baby that he is, was also selfishly dumping blame onto others like V so that his idol wasn’t to blame for actions that she has sole responsibility for. But I feel that’s because he’s so tied to her emotionally that he simply can’t accept that she wasn’t as good of a person as he thought. She didn’t deserve someone as loyal as that after all the shit she pulled tbh, anyhow! I got frustrated when the majority of the members all initially still try and solve the problems she caused, including V’s death, in the most democratic way possible despite having all been hurt on a personal level by her, indirectly or not. People with mental disorders do have to be considered under a different light, but an explanation for behaviour is NOT an excuse for it, she’s still entirely responsible for a lot of damage.  I feel with V… while I agree, he was undeniably loyal to her, and she was INCREDIBLY abusive towards him and therefore he took on many of the traits of an abuse victim, he inadvertently caused some of the backlash and damage and should be considered responsible to a /degree/ for it.  In the secret end, in his attempt to retain her reputation to the other members and public, he keeps all the suffering that the couple go through between the two of them when neither are healthy emotionally, as his devotion blinds him to the blatant abuse she throws at him and allows it to remain by saying ‘aim it at me’ and therefore perpetuating her destructive traits by giving it an outlet rather than helping her find ways to not even get to that point.. or something like that at least! Then there’s all the lying he does to the RFA to protect them.. which in part is selfish as he is willing to hurt people who he considers family to simply keep Rika in good graces … that’s so irresponsible and but at the same time incredibly sad because he’s defending his abuser, literally to the death.  It’s so sad, if Cheritz ever do make a route for V I sincerely hope that this behaviour is addressed as it’s a huge part of his portrayal in the story and that he comes to realise how toxic the relationship with Rika really was.. It hits a nerve with me because my current partner went through an abusive marriage for 7 years.. so man I see a lot of his abuser in Rika. I personally think the entire story wouldn’t have escalated as it did if the entire RFA had been supporting the two of them knowing what was happening and pressuring her to stay in therapy and counteracting her destructive behaviour between them, V isn’t assertive enough as it is so he need help, (according to Jumin in the Christmas episode where he states that V isn’t a fighter) to make sure she didn’t hurt herself and/or anyone else in one of her episodes. I know that was a lot, haha I’ve been thinking about it a lot since I played the secret ends and Saeyoung’s route.. She was a victim but much more than that she was also the abuser. Using Saeyoung and doing what she did to Saeran in full knowledge while he was under her care and V’s, and just her general manipulation and queen bee behaviour to everyone else, and accepting the view from them that they thought she was the literal god incarnate.. ugh it just bothers me. I don’t honestly know what I would have done if I had a chance to confront her but I feel like if she had the weight of her crimes placed on her in full awareness, she, in her very mentally unstable state, probably would have either tried to kill herself or the MC or someone else in a violent destructive episode, based off of purely how she was characterised in the game.  Okay… I’m done now ! I hope this was an interesting read and I look forward to your thoughts too, it’s so nice to have someone to talk to about this! :) 

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

I know this blog talks a lot about dealing with intolerance from family/friends who are anti-LGBT+, but how do you talk to other LGBT people who are against the teachings of Christianity?

Hey there! This is a really good question, and I’m glad you asked it because I’ve been meaning to address this for a while.

To start with, I think few people in general are against the “teachings” of Christianity – the teachings of Christianity are things like service, love, and reconciling relationships, after all. Rather, non-Christian LGBT+ people are sometimes wary of or against Christians or the Church, as many Christians are in places of power that oppress LGBT+ people. So I’ll respond to this ask with that in mind instead.

Below, I trace out some suggestions for dialogue with non-Christian LGBT+ people about Christianity. 

1. Assess your own capabilities for dialogue. 

Since this tends to be an intense topic and can get very personal, it’s wise to enter this kind of dialogue with a good idea of how much mental, emotional, and spiritual energy you have for the conversation.

Talking about why you are Christian as an LGBT+ person, with LGBT+ people who have a problem with Christianity, can be emotionally exhausting and spiritually challenging. Think about whether you are in a place where you can deal with their questions and emotions without becoming too upset. It is important in these dialogues to keep calm and kind – not to respond to their anger with your own anger. Think also about whether you are spiritually ready to grapple with this difficult topic – it’s okay not to be ready.

You are not obligated to have these conversations! If a person tries to get you to explain yourself and you don’t feel you can, simply say so: “I respect how you feel, but I’m afraid I am not in a place where I can have this conversation with you. Do you mind if we talk about something else?” 

Another option: “I would like to have this talk with you, but I need to take care of myself too. Are you able to talk about this without directing your anger towards me specifically?” 

If they have a tumblr, you can even direct them to our blog; we are always happy to answer respectful questions. 

Be ready to back out of the conversation if it gets too much for you – it’s not “losing” to say you need to stop talking.

2. Approach them from a place of understanding. 

The most important thing to me when encountering other LGBT+ people who are against Christianity is to enter the discussion from a place of understanding. LGBT+ people have plenty of reasons to be wary of Christianity. Despite being a faith meant to worship a God who constantly aligns Themself with the oppressed and exploited, Christianity has all too often been taken and misused by oppressors to legitimize prejudice and injustice.

Here is the way I see a part of the issue: Christianity is so tangled up in certain “Western” ideologies that it is hard to pull them apart. To me, Christianity is not inherently homophobic/transphobic/etc. – but rather, because Christianity is so tied up in social systems that are heteronormative and LGBT-phobic, many people – Christian and otherwise – grow up assuming these ideologies are themselves Christian ideologies. Speaking from my perspective in the USA, heteronormative viewpoints are what have been normalized in our culture, and (quoting Black theologian Howard Thurman) “if normal, then correct; if correct, thenmoral; if moral, then religious” – religious here meaning Christian, because that is the religion of the people in power.

So many Christians who have absorbed LGBT-phobic ideology both in church and in society at large use their faith to legitimize that ideology – and therefore use their faith to harm LGBT+ people. When Christians are the ones in power constructing laws that deny LGBT+ people basic rights, when Christians so often claim that “God hates” LGBT people or that the Bible condemns being gay, how can we blame non-Christian LGBT+ people for steering clear of Christians, or for feeling anger or even hate against Christianity? 

Thus, when encountering these LGBT+ people, assure them that you understand why they feel the way they do. Acknowledge that Christianity has indeed caused harm – don’t deny it.

3. Be patient. But take care of yourself, too.

Remember that while you as an LGBT+ person are part of a marginalized group, as a Christian, you are (depending on your country) a member of a privileged religion. As such, it is good to acknowledge how we Christians often get to have the loudest voice – you do deserve a voice, but let them speak too. 

As touched upon earlier, the person you are talking with might be aggressive about how they feel, they might say things about Christianity that hurt you. Try to keep your emotions as calm as you can. Be patient and listen to what they have to say. Remember that they are not really angry at you specifically, or even about “all” Christians: they are hurt and angry with Christians who have enabled and enacted LGBT-phobia. 

That being said, if their comments do become too accusatory, too much like an attack on you personally, that’s not okay, and you have a right to tell them that’s not okay. Balance between listening to what they say and understanding their need to vent their hurt and taking care of yourself and not letting them step all over you and your feelings.

3. If you’re willing, share your side of things.

If you are LGBTA+, chances are you’ve been hurt by Christians too, even if you’re Christian yourself. Dealing with being told you’re sinning, struggling to overcome internalized homophobia, losing the support of Christian friends and family members, having to stay in the closet to protect yourself, losing the support of a congregation when you come out to them, having your own scripture be used against you – we know this hurt too. Tell them about it if you are willing to do so – that you know firsthand the hurt they’re experiencing. 

LGBTA+ people of faith face challenges from both sides – LGBT+ people tell us we are “betraying” the community; Christians tell us we need to give up important aspects of ourselves. You can try to explain this and the pain it causes you to be confronted by fellow LGBTA+ people. You deserve to be accepted in the community as much as non-religious LGBT+ people do.

4. Answering their questions.

There are common questions and comments non-religious LGBT+ people have for us; I’ll try to offer some answers you can use to discuss this topic with them.

“You’re sellouts / betraying the LGBT+ community by being Christian.” “You aren’t really LGBT+ if you’re Christian.” We are LGBT+, and we have every right to be active members of the LGBT+ community. Everyone has a right to intersecting identities, and we should not have to lose one part of who we are to satisfy members of another part of our identity. The idea that we have to “choose” one or the other is an argument used against way too many marginalized people – we do not need to pick a side. 

“You’re brainwashed into being Christian.” “You’re only Christian because you’re conditioned to believe in it.” – While it is true that many of us became Christian by being born into the faith, we as LGBTA+ people stay Christian in spite of overwhelming odds against us. If we were only Christian because of being “brainwashed,” it would be easy – we wouldn’t have questions or struggle with our own faith. On the contrary, to stay Christian as an LGBTA+ person means wrestling with hard questions and dealing with opposition from both Christian and LGBTA+ communities. Many of us have a rocky relationship with our faith for a while or forever. And that’s okay.

“Why bother be Christian when Christians have hurt you so badly?” Black Theologian Howard Thurman opens his 1949 book Jesus and the Disinherited with a question asked to him by a Hindu man: “How can you, a black man, be Christian?” – referring to the oppression inflicted by white Christians on African Americans. The long and short of Thurman’s answer is that, in spite of the pain and exploitation too often inflicted by Christians in positions of power, the oppressed have always been able to see past that misuse of the Christian message to the true message lived out by Jesus Christ: a message of liberation for all. In all places, in all times, God stands with the persecuted and marginalized, overturning unjust systems. In spite of everything humans can do to mar the name of Christianity, Christ’s truth shines through, and we believe that in following Jesus we follow a way that leads to a better world. 

“Well why not just follow Jesus on your own? Why bother with other Christians?” One cannot be a Christian in a vacuum – it is a religion of relationships. We are called to be in relationship with God and with human beings – as God’s love spills out from the Trinity into the whole world, so our love must spill over all boundaries built by hate and prejudice. Being a Christian involves building bridges between the oppressor and the oppressed, working to uncover injustice and bring about healing. It is our hope that by being an example of good fruit and glorifying God with our authentic lives as LGBT+ Christians, we can guide the Church as a whole into understanding that we too are an invaluable part of the Body of Christ.

If there are other comments or questions you’ve heard from non-Christian LGBT+ people that you’ve been wondering how to respond to, send them in and I’ll do my best to answer them! Or, if you have ideas for answers of your own, it would be great to share them.

Non-religious and religious LGBTA+ people are much more similar than we are different – we all face homophobia, transphobia, and denial of rights. It is important to engage in dialogue that leads to understanding so that we can work together to improve our world.

[piratefalls]

posting because my friend @ampersandy doesn’t have facebook anymore.

this is what i took from my experience at my local women’s march.

--

When I debated going back to college – a luxury I am lucky to have, especially with the knowledge that I will not be accruing new debt – I struggled with where I wanted my education to go. I had no idea what area of study I wanted to fall in, having too many interests that rarely intersect to decide on just one department. I applied anyway, knowing that at least being accepted gave me more options than I had as someone on the outside looking in. Most of the classes I was interested in were full by the time I was allowed to register, and one of the only classes left that I had any interest in was a Gender and Women’s Studies course titled: “Queer Lives, Queer Politics.”

After yesterday, I don’t believe that this was in any way a coincidence.

All semester long I learned about power structures, both social and legislative, that put certain groups of people at a disadvantage the further they are from that power source. That power source, generally speaking, is a white, able-bodied, straight, cisgender male. Are you a person of color? Take a step back. Are you employed? If you are, stay put. If not, take a step back. Are you poor? Take another step back. Are you disabled? How’s your access to healthcare? Higher education? Take a step back for every one of these things you do not have at your fingertips. That is your relationship to power and the people who have the most influence. I want to make this post, and my experience at yesterday’s Women’s March on Champaign-Urbana, about those power structures.

Yesterday, I stood in a muddy park on an unseasonably warm, beautiful January afternoon, surrounded by women of color, of different ability, of different socioeconomic status, of varying levels of education, women who are transgender, and I listened. I was given a reminder that I desperately needed.

This is about more than just fair wages, but I want to break something down here really quick. I know everyone gets tired of hearing the phrase: “for every dollar that a man makes, a woman makes $0.79.” This is both true and misleading. For every dollar that a man makes, a woman does make less. The year after President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act (2010), the statistics broke down as follows:

White men: 100 Black men: 74.5 Hispanic men: 65.9 White women: 80.5 Black women: 69.6 Hispanic women: 59.8

Wage discretion is real, but it is more real for people of color than it is for me.

This is about more than just sexual assault and rape. Now, if you know me at all, you know that violence against women is an issue I hold close to my heart, for reasons that don’t need to be rehashed here. But when we think about sexual assault and rape, what is the kind of person who comes to mind when you think of a victim? If you pay attention to the media at all, you probably imagine a white woman in her 20s. What they don’t tell you is that while 80% of all victims are white, minorities are somewhat more likely to be attacked. This breaks down as follows:

All: 17.6% (approx. 1 in 5) White: 17.7% Black: 18.8% Asian/Pacific Islander: 6.8% American Indian/Alaskan: 34.1% Mixed Race: 24.4%

And that doesn’t even include rape and sexual assault committed against men. Yes, women can be rapists too. According to a 2002 NCVS report, one in every eight rape victims were male. When we have a conversation about sexual assault and what needs to be done to end rape culture, we must include ALL victims, not just women. This also does not include rape and sexual assault committed against members of the trans community, which most studies reveal a whopping 50% will experience sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.

This is about more than reproductive rights. This is about access to life-saving healthcare. Viagra and vasectomies are covered by insurance plans, and no one bats an eye. When women want access to birth control, suddenly everyone is in a tizzy. You see what I’m getting at here? Dudes want to prevent pregnancy and that’s fine, but when we want to take control of our ability to get pregnant, suddenly we’re making irrational choices and need the government to intervene. Never mind the fact that the pill is not prescribed SOLELY to prevent pregnancy, but is also used in treatments for endometriosis, PCOS, and adult acne.

Also, please do actual research on Planned Parenthood, because they really are an incredible organization that provides sex education, whose goal is to reduce teen pregnancy through education, and provide women – a good portion of whom are low income and cannot afford hospital visits – with quality preventative healthcare like pap smears, mammograms, cancer screenings, and STD testing. If you can’t do it right now, that’s fine. In the meantime, let me give you a short primer: taxpayer money does not pay for abortions because Title X exists, abortions are 3% of their total services, and someone getting an abortion is none of your damn business anyway.

This is about more than just an Electoral College-elected leader we feel does not represent us. Or, at least, represents some of us. “How did this happen?” we kept asking ourselves on November 9. “Aren’t we better than this?” I thought we were, too. But, again, that’s my privilege speaking.

However – and this is something I find incredibly interesting – the exit polls of this most recent election tell a very interesting story. Most of the people I saw on Facebook after the election who were angry, or saddened, or just lamenting the fact that we’d elected probably the least qualified individual in recent history to our highest government position, were predominantly white. You want to know who put him in office? Predominantly white people. Exit polls in CNN show that 62% of white men and 52% of white women voted for Trump, with only 7% and 5% voting for neither candidate or not voting at all, respectively. Everyone else – black men and women, Latino men and Latina women, and other minority groups – overwhelmingly voted Clinton or didn’t vote for either/vote at all. I’m still trying to parse how I feel about this one, honestly, but I’m sure I’ll let you guys know when I figure it out.

I wanted to believe that we were better than a person who sought to divide us under the guise of making this country great again. America is, and can be, great, despite the fact that its history has not always been great. I know, I know, “We weren’t part of slavery, so why do I still have to defend myself against it? I didn’t kill all those Native Americans when Columbus sailed the ocean blue!”

First of all, DUH. You were born in 1993. This is hardly something I can put solely on your shoulders. BUT - and this is the part we struggle with - these terrible things ARE part of this country’s history, and we DO have to own that. Do we have to be proud of it? No. In fact, I’d encourage you to not be proud of it. However, as a historical moment, are we not supposed to learn from it? Are we not meant to arm ourselves with information so that we do not repeat what’s been done? That is why these conversations still take place: because we keep forgetting.

What this is about is togetherness. This is about recognizing where your place is in this world and using it in whatever way you can to lift up those who are not as fortunate as you. This is about the importance of mobilization. It is about feminism that is not limited to just white women, but is inclusive of all people regardless of gender expression, sexual orientation, race, creed, socioeconomic status, and physical ability. This is about the importance of knowing when to speak and when to sit down and listen; the importance of me, as a white woman, knowing my place at a table that is not designed to make me feel comfortable, or congratulate me for finally catching up with everyone else, but rather teach me how I can be better even if it involves hearing hard truths. My job, as a white woman, is to listen, to get educated, and to amplify the voices of women and men throughout history that our textbooks have silenced for far too long.

This is about learning the meaning of true ally-ship, that not all things are about you, but are about others and how you can do something that benefits them. Being an ally is hard work, and it’s supposed to be. We must not let our sisters be swept aside because of their skin, or their queerness, or their religion or ability or the life she chooses to lead. We must embrace them, encourage them, raise their voices when they are not being heard. True equality cannot be achieved until we are ALL equal players on the same field, in all facets of life, status, and government. We do not yet have these things.

Being brave is not about convenience. Being brave means stepping up to the plate even when it’s hard, when there’s nothing in it for you, when it scares you. Being brave is a lot of things, but it has never been, nor will it ever be, easy. I will be the first to admit that I have not always been brave. But I am going to try. I’m going to get more involved. I’m going to be a voice, a mouthpiece for other women who need to be heard much more than I do.

Whether you believe it or not, as a white individual, you ARE privileged. Having the luxury of not noticing that privilege is something women of color, trans women, poor women, and disabled women do not have.

At the end of all of this, all I’m asking is that you think about where you stand in this world, and the power you hold simply by existing. Have you ever gone to sleep wondering where your next meal will come from? Have you ever gone to sleep cold because you couldn’t pay your bills? Have you ever missed out on important moments in your kid’s lives because you had to work to make sure they were fed? Have you ever been followed around in a shopping mall because someone decided that YOU were the sketchy person they needed to police that day? If you haven’t experienced these things, you might be privileged.

The question is: what will you do with it?

[theliterateape]

Ripe for Indoctrination and Thirsty for a Glass of Ice Cold Kool Aid

by Don Hall

It happened my Junior year in high school at a stadium concert in Western Samoa.

The conversion had been a long time coming. I was a bit of an intentional outcast among the more popular kids in my Where-the-Fuck-Are-We? Kansas high school and, being a typical teenager despite my ingrained belief that I was fully non-conforming and different than this cast of Heartland Rednecks, finding inroads to the cool crowd was definitely on my mind.

Krystal Good (name changed because I’m not a complete dick). She was the captain of the cheerleading squad and president of the school’s chapter of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). Turned out one did not need to be an athlete but you had to be a Christian or at least be open to the relentless witnessing and Bible studies. The thing is I wanted to fuck Krystal. She was untouchable but hung out with that FCA crowd.

At one point, I randomly asked her how to join. Her reaction was effusive.

“Oh, Don. I’m so happy you’re asking. You would be such a powerful witness for Christ.” And she held my hand for a moment that, in my head, was instantly underscored by some awful Christopher Cross song. I was hooked.

Remarkably, as I started attending, I mostly listened and kept my built-in skepticism at bey. I wasn’t there to antagonize the Believers — I was there to get a finger into Krystal’s cheerleading panties. Once I understand the language and the right things to say, I went in for the facade.

I was a True Believer in Getting Laid Through Profession of Non-Existent Faith.

Meetings were almost always the same. Krystal would lead an opening prayer that was designed to remind us all of our supplication to the Lord followed by what could only be called vapid confessionals: each of us had to relate a couple of sins we committed during the week and how we repented for them.

“I cheated on my algebra test. I felt really guilty so I went out of my way to be nice to [INSERT ONE OF THE THREE BLACK KIDS IN SCHOOL].” “I lied to my mom about being at practice because I was playing Dig Dug at the Circle K. I promised God that I would be honest next time.” “I felt really angry at Mr. Telfer and wanted to kill him. I guess I didn’t kill him so that’s OK, right?”

At which point, once we had all told our stone-skipping sins (we rarely got into drug-taking, drinking, or sex because, hey, that’s personal and between me and Jesus...) it all devolved into a standard high school gossip session complete with Mountain Dew, Taco-flavored Doritos, and fudge brownies that one of the girls made in Home Ec.

Despite my efforts to cozy up to Krystal, it was never to be. She really was untouchable. On the other hand, my newfound faith became an entry point to many lesser desired vaginas so it wasn’t a total waste.

Close to the end of my Junior year, I was encouraged to audition for a touring mission group called The Continental Singers. Effectively a proselytizing show choir with a six-piece band, the bonus was summer travel. That summer the group was going to Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, and the Samoan Islands. Plus, we got paid a stipend and had free housing and food.

I put on my best On Fire for the Lord attitude, answered all the questions right, played a few bars on my trumpet and I was in.

What I didn’t realize was that I was now going to spend my every waking hour for three months with True Believers. A few of them spectacularly hot young women. This was going to be a challenge to keep up the pretense and not expose myself for the poser I had become.

Early into the summer, my rooming partner, Steve, started to catch on. When my guard was down, I didn’t seem that Christian in his opinion. Sure, I had all the right answers but got quickly bored with too much dogma and talk of the Bible. Word sort of spread and the indoctrination became a bit heavy-handed.

The show we performed went like this:

Band played an overture

The ‘show’ was an originally written version of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat but with different music and some really terrible dialogue. Turned out a lot of it was verbatim from the Word of God so I’m assuming God can write a bestseller but not a musical.

Following the show (about 45 minutes in length) our director would come up and do a “Come to Jesus, Won’t You?” sermon followed by an opportunity for anyone in the audience to receive the call, embrace the love of Christ, and publicly commit themselves to God.

The last part was always eloquent and a bit relentless. 

“You know in your heart that you are a sinner in need of redemption.” “Man is born in sin and must accept the saving grace of our lord.” “Jesus died to fulfill the Law of the Old Testament. Confess your sin and it will be washed clean.” “How about a couple of bucks once you’ve joined?”

OK. That last line was more implied than stated but the last section of the night was a prayer and offering plates passed around by the cast while the band played inspiring tunes adagio. People came up in droves to publicly admit they were permanently stained with sin and receive the acceptance of the rest of the herd.

We were mostly free during the day and we would go out in teams to recruit audience members for that night. The teams shifted around and almost every day I was gently nudged toward the idea that, while I was a Christian (wink wink) it was a beautiful experience to re-affirm my faith publicly.

Every day for 45 days or so this message was pounded into my soft adolescent brain and often by these stellar looking women of Christ. The Kool Aid was looking mighty tasty and I began to question whether my resistance to the whole thing was merely my sinful ways fighting back. It was as if they’d heard my objections a thousand times and didn’t need me to say them out loud to pitch their liturgical woo.

Mind you, this was long before smartphones and I was thousands of miles from home. I felt isolated but only because I simply couldn’t intellectually buy into the party line. I missed American food, my car, my friends, television, movies, and books written by living authors without the agenda to convert me to religion. I missed masturbating and saying ‘fuck’. I missed being myself.

One night at a show in Western Samoa in August, as the director was making his emotional pitch, when he asked if there was anyone who wanted to commit themselves to Christ, he looked directly at me. Three or four of the cast members followed his gaze and looked at me with smiles that said “We understand. Take the leap. We approve.”

And I drank the Kool Aid. All of it. In one weepy gulp.

I was dubbed “Born Again.” And I believed it as firmly as I had previously disbelieved.

From that point, I was in the freaking club. Knowing that soon we’d all be back in various states around the country, the talk was that our friends wouldn’t understand but it was our responsibility to show them. I was told that anyone we couldn’t get to see the power of Christ was a poison that we should cut out of our lives. Friends, family, anyone. Either with us or against us with no wiggle room on it.

When I came home I had heard the pitch so many goddamned times it was like a script filled with buzzwords and catchphrases that I could recite with gusto.

Some five years later, the magic wore off. While my mom is the kind of Christian who truly tries to judge no one and feed the poor, too many I encountered were not. She and the people I’ve met through her are the kind of True Believers you read about and by whom you should be inspired (that’s not me being partial to my mom - she started a Food Bank in a closet of a church that has now grown to serve four counties in rural Kansas). Most were either wearing their Jesus Bowling Shirts each week or worse — the kind of Christians who teargas a group of peaceful protesters so they can walk across the street to pose with a Bible and then make a campaign video about it. You know, the pussy-grabbing kind of Christians.

What happened during those five years are stories for a different time but the result of this conversion and the later coming to my senses is this: I know cult-think when I hear it. When it rears its head, I’ve been there.

Faith is a very personal thing. Like watching a Marvel movie or reading the 1619 project, it requires a certain suspension of disbelief. It can be a salve in the human experience as we are creatures born to existential crisis. Turns out, we need something to hang onto beyond our own survival to thrive as a species. It can also be used as a bludgeon for power and cultural control and has often in history been exactly that.

I understand how easy it is, seeking the approval of others, to agree to a guilt that isn’t yours to bear out of a sense of belonging (or to get laid). Of confessing sins you don’t feel at all responsible for but do anyway because that Kool Aid is delicious, ain’t it? The reward of feeling like you’re accepted by the crowd, that you are, indeed, a voice for the word of...whomever is selling the most potent elixir, is comforting.

One of the hallmarks of a cult is that it tries to cut you off personally from anyone who sees the world differently than they do. When you see people urging others to completely cut off their friends and families over an issue, it's a cult. Anyone selling you the idea that you are “born in sin” based entirely upon inclusion in your race, gender, sexual preference is pitching a cult mindset. Any concept that creates a circular maze of proof (If you admit you’re a sinner, you’re a sinner. If you deny you’re a sinner, you’re a fragile sinner) is offering you an ice cold glass of Kool Aid.

Remember that there are, like, fifty different flavors of Kool Aid but they’re all just sugary water with food coloring.