#and op was like 'you don't see how that's weird behavior' NO i dont see how it's weird for the public to react to my art

[novemberthewriter]

like this latest thought train was sparked by recent stuff on the ao3 subreddit (which finally made me delete reddit for the last time god bless) but i see these same sentiments on here and on youtube & across the internet . i think some people just don't get that critique is a hobby and artform for many ... not everyone who says something Harsh about your work is an obsessive hater

[edenfenixblogs]

hope you dont mind me sending an ask being a total stranger and all, i just don't wanna bother op of that post

fd does bring up the fact kendrick is a BHI/hotep briefly, specifically that that's great ammo for a beef because to most people the bhi/hoteps are considered weird and embarrassing and would be insanely easy to make fun of in a beef (at least according to most black people I've spoken with & fd himself), but also he believes that drake probably doesn't even really grasp what they are because he's distanced himself in such a specific way from the black community (and arguably jewish community as well, though i think fd only kinda alludes to it) in a really specific way- BUT, that it was an evolution, he started out in a very odd cultural position where he was ostracized for simultaneously recieving antiblackness from white & jewish communities he was a part of but also seen as "not black enough" by many black people (and it's still a bullshit take people will have)

that desire to fit in is what led him down a shitty road, but also drake already clearly had some clearly terrible behaviors already. he talks about how kendrick was being unhinged too and isnt necessarily one to talk

overall the video is more about the music history behind it and the connection between it and the current culture, and just kinda what led to this climate that could want the downfall of drake

i dont know if i agree on drake not knowing about BHIs, though i could believe he doesnt with how he really weirdly constantly codeswitches even wrt jewishness, but imho fd doesnt like to touch on areas where he really cannot speak to the experience, he's said as much in the past, so he only speaks very briefly of the black perspective of how hoteps are goofy as hell

sorry for rambling, im really into music, think fd did the video well although i dont agree with all his opinions, and just wanted to articulate it correctly that it's really more about the musical climate than anything else :)

I don’t mind this message at all!!! In fact, I’m so grateful for it!

This is all really good info. I would believe that Drake didn’t know about BHI, tbh. I didn’t know about it until a couple years ago when Ice Cube (who I grew up loving 😭😭😭) did some heinous shit awhile ago and I was like “Why did my man come for us Jews what the fuck??”

And then a mutual told me about BHI and I looked up. And found a whole new group of people who hate, dehumanize and erase us. 🙃🙃🙃🙃

I mean, theoretically, maybe Drake may have had more exposure to it as a Black and Jewish man. His mere existence makes him more of a target for people invested in that kind of ideology. But also, I do and always have very much gotten the sense that he was ostracized from much of the black community for his Jewishness and mixed race reasons—not due any specific issue in the black community, but just because people are always dicks to people who don’t neatly fit into social categories in expected ways. I can also see how being a Black rapper in white-passing Jewish circles could have been very uncomfortable if those white-passing Jews were inclined to tokenize or exclude him. So it’s possible to me that his bilateral isolation might have insulated him from BHI discourse.

Tbh I don’t think code switching is weird in almost any circumstance. It’s just a development in reaction to your environment. I have a really multiethnic and multicultural family and code switch all the time. I think if it seems weird when Drake does it, it might just be because he has not developed (and tbh should never have had to develop) a strong sense of what “version” of Drake he is supposed to be. So when he tries to read the room and meet expectations, be just does it badly. But it’s not his fault in the long run. It is fault of people who expect him to fit those expectations in the first place.

I respect the hell outta fd for staying in his lane and only speaking on what he understands. And with this context I’m glad he brings up BHI at all. Because it *is* relevant. Being Black and Jewish ANYWHERE are both identities that permeate every single element of someone’s lived experience. When dealing with a beef between people where one is Black and Jewish and the other is Black and attempts to usurp Jewishness by re-categorizing it historically and racially…the cultural friction at play is absolutely relevant.

I’m sure it isn’t the whole story or even likely to be the most important factor in their beef. But it is definitely A factor and it wouldn’t have been right to leave it undressed. Especially when the beef took off as antisemitism more broadly was on the rise due to current events.

I am glad to know that most people still see BHI as a goody ideology. There’s still wayyy too many people who believe it, though. I’ve lived with the consequences of their hatred for white-passing Jews for several months now and it is…unpleasant. But mostly it’s heartbreaking. I grew up listening to Ice Cube. I used to cite James Baldwin. I adored Alice Walker. And finding out that they hate me one by one was devastating. But the worst part has been OTHER BHI folks using their words to justify their own hatred of me and all Jews like me while simultaneously making me feel like I was harming them in some way just by existing.

I want to be clear that I do not and never have believed that most black people believe BHI bullshit. I’m only saying that it was a shock to me the sheer number of people who DO believe it and how vehemently they hold that belief and direct that vehement *emotion* directly at me. It’s really good for me to know that people who aren’t Jewish are publicly speaking out against BHI bullshit. It restores a lot of hope for me.

So ok. I’m back on the “maybe I’ll watch in a little bit when I’m less raw” train. I also love music, even though I’m certainly not up to date on it. So I’m intrigued to know more about the musical landscape of what’s going on.

Thanks again!

[traineecryptid]

Hello,

Thank you for all the great shows you link to!

I was watching Overworking Man and I have a kind of stupid question. Wang-ge seems to spend a lot of time drinking directly from small teapot. I thought he was being a weirdo. Is this unusual behavior? I though you pour the tea into a cup (or share pitcher then cup), but then I saw a hanfu post today where the model seemed to be drinking from a teapot. I think I've characters in drama's pouring wine from from spouted wine decanters directly into their mouths. Are we supposed to infer something about that character from his tea drinking? Is it tea?

Thanks again.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I looked it up and well my findings are hmm strange? So in no particular order:

1. There are a specific type of teapot called 西施乳 (Beauty's Breast, beauty as in Xi Shi one of the top Pretty Lady of Ye Olde Days) and they are apparently? designed to be uh....cup-less so to speak...just teapot to mouth HOWEVER the only source i can find to this claim is a baidu zhidao (like yahoo answers) post

2. another person answering to the post mentioned another type of teapot called 紫砂壶 (Purple Sand Teapot) which confuses me,,,cuz as far as I know, this is a Material of teapot not a type? like glass vs ceramic vs metal kinda deal. but they did make a few points about the Behavior of drinking from the spout

3. FINALLY we're talking about The Behavior. So, I'm just paraphrasing here: 3.1 Depends on the person and the setting (the era? the time background?) of the story -from what i understand OP means that in like costume dramas it might look cool and show that a character is a rulebreaker/ not your typical nice guy BUT since we're in a modern society, the general impression people would get from this is "wow that weirdo/ thats so uncultured." 3.2 Depends on the teapot's appearance (and hygiene...stuff) (this argument is supported by quite a few other posts) -drinking from the spout might cause discolouration after using it for a long time due to the person's saliva and the porosity of certain types of teapots. so it's rather unsightly

SO, THE CONCLUSION

Is this unusual behavior? Answer: Nope. But it seems like this behavior is a rather Old Men Behavior...........so uh.......yeah Are we supposed to infer something about that character from his tea drinking? Answer: Given that the setting of Overworking Man is The Modern Times, I would infer that 1. Wang-ge is trying to look cool and cultured (by using a teapot instead of a regular mug) 2. failing at that (because...it's kinda weird in an office setting...like no one wants to see you uh sucking...on that...it's just Cringe Central Behavior) Also like combined with his general character design with the greasy hair and nosepicking...i don't think it's meant to invoke the same feeling as those people in the hanfu posts.

Is it tea? Answer: Probably? I don't know how common it is for people to put non-tea beverages into teapots (like how people put alchoholic stuff in non-alchoholic containers)...and since tea is already quite a common drink...i think it's unlikely that it's not-tea? But I dont think it's explicitly stated.

[cosmicanger]

“I’m bisexual but hetero-romantic. Meaning I am sexually attracted to both men and women but I’m only interested in being in a relationship with a man. Like girl we could bump coochies but I’m not cuddling and watching movies with you 😅😅😅”

^^^^

“i hate how y'all have taken the split-attraction model from the aroace context to justify bioessentialism, transmisogyny, and anti-transmasculinity”

“Love the strict adherence to the application of models of sexuality just to loop around and pathologize and police sexuality.”

^^^^

“Black trans women do not wield the power to "pathologize and police sexuality", especially when the "sexuality" in question is a reduction of gender to genitalia, which quite literally oppresses us. you're a cowardly, antiBlack obnoxious POS that is obsessed with projecting views onto other people they don't hold. i didn't say gender preference is bad, my sexuality actually involves a lot of gender preference. a lot of lesbians have gender preferences that we manage to divorce from bioessentialism and transphobia. the most obvious example being butch/femme”

“Niggas acting weird in the qrts as if the split attraction model being wrongfully applied isn’t the downfall of all gay n trans folk because it leads to all of us being fetishized and objectified. If u read the thread op is being very bioessentialist and heterosexist—Which begets transmisogyny + anti trans masculinity. Op dont see queer people as valid enough to be with, reduces sex with other sapphics to their genitalia and reinforces cisheteronormative behavior surrounding sexuality. Op isnt queer or gay theyre a queerphobic fetishizer.”

[molluskzone]

i wish the people making whiny posts demanding reblogs from people just admitted to themselves that no, its not about "reach," its about Big Number Feels Good. because if you allowed yourself to confront the fact that you ARE a number chaser then youd have a much better chance at fixing it. and you HAVE to fix it if you want your art output to remain sustainable. numbers will NOT make you satisfied never ever especially not on modern social media. and no its not "just big accounts who dont get it" who know this: the MOST followers ive had on ANY art account of mine since 2014 is 600. and i got maybe 40 likes per post and a handful of comments. thats the best i did in 10 years online and i reached that point in like 2016. haven't gotten near that level of "popularity" since that year because the game changed and i was unwilling to change what *I* wanted to do to please an algorithm.

i understand WANTING people to care about your art. i think itd be weird if someone DIDNT want people to care (at least, out of the people posting their art publicly). but lashing out at the audience not only will NOT get you what you want but it also reflects REALLY badly on you and just makes you sound annoying, mean, and bitter. i honestly hate this and this is the main reason i block people, i have unfollowed people for even just reblogging particularly nasty posts because it rubs me the wrong way SO bad

"people dont reblog because theyre all new users who are too stupid to use the site! you NEED to reblog its just how the site works if you dont like it dont come here" its not up to you to decide what people do on their OWN blogs. people have been complaining about this since at least 2015, and honestly likely before that too (thats just the first time i remember seeing it firsthand). its NOT the "fault" of new users. if people arent reblogging your work... ITS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT IT ON THEIR BLOG. this is not a crime. some people just dont reblog everything they see: and if people DID truly reblog every post they saw (which by these posters logic they SHOULD be doing if they Really care about creators), their accounts would be so cluttered the "reach" wouldn't matter anyways. if they have a blog centered around their OWN work, their followers might bail if all they do is reblog random peoples work they didn't agree to see. THIS IS A VALID AND NORMAL WAY TO USE THIS SITE. i've also seen people suggest making a "reblog dumping blog" so you can give number-crazed artists their precious internet points without reblogging something to your main that you don't want to. this is a genuinely stupid suggestion. again, if the point of reblogs is "for reach," then WHAT purpose would a dumping blog have. nobody is going to follow the dumping blog of the average tumblr user. it wouldn't "reach" ANYbody but the op. not only is this pointless but its also STILL trying to control the actions of random internet users who are causing no harm and just trying to use the website as they please: this is ridiculous and entitled behavior.

"its an INSULT to like a post and not reblog it. youre basically telling the artist their work is shit to their face!" / "likes are useless!" honestly i do not have any sympathy for people who say shit like this because it's just so fucking number-greedy i dont even know what to say. like i said before, there are many reasons a person might not reblog something. its entitled as HELL to demand people do with their blogs what YOU want them to. but to say that likes are useless, or worse than useless? absolutely ridiculous. god forbid people want to express appreciation of a piece even if they dont want to reblog it. i would personally MUCH rather get 20 likes and 0 reblogs on a piece than 0 likes and 0 reblogs. again, targeting and being rude to people trying to express appreciation for your work in simple ways because YOU have a problem with being focused on numbers and because YOU are *choosing* to take it personally is inexcusable

"if you like but dont reblog i will block you! you dont care about artists" perhaps the reason you dont get "enough" attention on your posts is because you are alienating any potential audience by trying to control their use of SITE-WIDE functions. the like button is part of tumblr, it is so weird to me to block people who use it. if you want to block people that is your business but i genuinely dont understand why youre blocking potential followers and people who enjoy your art enough to WANT to click the like button if your goal is to grow your account. you don't have a right to complain about lack of attention if you do this is all i'm saying

"im leaving the site because YOU didnt reblog my work enough! im QUITTING ART FOREVER because nobody reblogged it so if youre reading this its YOUR fault! if artists leave the site its YOUR fault. if you dont reblog work THINK about what youve done. artists are quitting and its ALL YOUR FAULT" this is immature guilt tripping and it boggles my mind that grown adults will make posts like these. i have seen many! if you quit art because you didnt get enough reblogs, that's your own problem. it's probably for the best because focusing on numbers so much that your entire motivation for creating is based around numbers is unhealthy and unsustainable anyways. ill give you a fun fact: the numbers will NEVER be enough if that's all youre focusing on. and even if you get to your "goal", it will NOT be forever. the internet isn't even forever and your social media site could be shut down at any time. you need to find other motivations. and again, this is ANOTHER example of alienating your potential audience: if you care about growth, stop trying to manipulate your audience! stop blaming your audience for your personal problems! if you want to quit, just quit. it's not your audience's fault.

basically: no it's not "reach" or "mutual artist support" you just want numbers. numbers feel good so you want them! admit this. there is no other reason you would feel THIS agitated and aggressive over reblogs. and i have seen some REALLY nasty posts before. it's an unhealthy mindset that it would do you good to unlearn. and honestly: im going to call you a hypocrite if you make ANY posts like this. because there is NO WAY that you as an artist are reblogging every piece of art you see. there is just no way. youre reblogging art that you like enough to share with others. and that is simply not every art piece you see. if you understand this for yourself, then you NEED to accept that this is the case for others: people are not reblogging your work because they do not want to. we all know what the reblog button does. we can all figure out that clicking reblog shares the post with all of your followers and gives the post more chances to be seen and reblogged again and again. WE KNOW. if people arent reblogging your work then they just don't want to. accept it! you need to deal with the fact that not everybody likes your art! work on yourself instead of demanding that others cater to your ego.

there is no problem with asking for reblogs. there is no problem with wanting to grow your account. there is no problem in letting people know why reblogs help artists. there is no problem in encouraging people to comment on or like your work. there IS a problem with being rude and entitled about it though

and for artists whos jobs rely on internet attention: you still don't have a pass to behave this way sorryyy... i understand being numbers-focused if you rely on commission work or ad work. but lashing out at others is STILL never okay even if your income relies on it. if you cannot game the algorithm, that is NOT your audience's fault. you have to learn to play the system if you want to make posting online your job, and if you CANT do this (like so many cant), it is not fair to blame it on the people supporting you for "not doing enough". it is nobody's obligation to make your living for you! if you cant convince people to reblog your work and spread your work based off of the content of your posts, that's a YOU problem. people share what they want to see: if your income relies on shares. make what people want to see. and even then it might not work because of how social media algorithms work. this is the risk you take being an online artists and its NEVER your followers fault for not doing enough.

anyways if u like my work i <3 you if you reblog my work i <3 you i never expect notes on my art so any attention i get is much appreciated and i treasure every compliment i get SO much that i screenshot them all and put them in a google folder so i can look at them forever and ever <3

[hotgirlrry]

anyways i lied bc this is something i need to get off my chest

this! this is where i draw the line because truly honestly what is wrong with op like i'm not trying to be funny but truly what is wrong with you cisharry. my opinions are based on my own understanding of the trans community outside of fandom and online spaces. and yeah transfems are the only people who really have the authority to speak on this stuff because 95% of the time anti trans rhetoric is directed at them, not us tmes, and it's about time we need to start realizing that we can’t adopt their struggles. that’s not me “realizing” that trans/nb people are the ones steering this conversation, it’s just me understanding transfem voices are more important. not to mention the erasure of gnc men/transmasc or fem gay men from this convo, who deserve to have their input before we do

you mention me on a “transphobic larries list”, a list made by a troll who sent death threats and gore to my friends?? someone who tried to come for me because i said the very same things i continue to say to this day; expression does not equal identity! especially if you take the time to read what he’s saying and just understand that clothing is just an outlet of creativity/something he thinks is neat and that’s all. any questioning involving identity has been answered about sexuality, not gender. i beg anyone who’s reading this to read about how we assume behaviors equal something that’s internal! we cannot simply assume because someone does something gnc that they aren’t cis or aren’t straight. especially since in the incident in question, it was a cis person talking about how they have “receipts” on how harry isn’t cis like its something we are owed, or blatant misinformation. and i was attacked for that, you’re so hellbent in convincing yourself that you are right that you find validation in a troll wanting to harm me and people i care about. go fuck yourself cisharry

i said this before and i’ll forever say this. you claim this is about uplifting trans people and finding a collective identity and seeing yourselves in harry. that is fine! i am not against that, what i am against is the fact that there is y’all are framing this as a “trans harries and allies” vs “blouies” and that is disgusting! this is being reduced to some moral top/bottom discourse, it’s weird and fetishistic and if you allowed yourself to take the genuine valid criticisms people have had about you then you’d understand. leave me out of your larrie shit, i am not taking a “blouie side” im taking a normal and reading on and about the community side and all that means is, you can’t project your identities to real people. that shouldn’t be controversial but yet here we are! and it’s so weird that if its not an offshoot from the fanfiction preference discourse, why do you answer anons that make it out this way?? why did you attack another black person on their art and stylistic choices for being ~blouie centered~? why do you keep calling people who disagree with you “blouies” especially since i know you are very well aware i am not a larrie and i don't ascribe to this shit. it’s all very conflating fandom and real life issues 

and fuck your whole black solidarity bullshit. no really it being scattered around while you’re shitting on me and making me out to be a terrible person because im a transphobe that enables cis people to be transphobic (even tho the majority of the people that have talked to me about their discomfort with you and people like you have all been trans), and we all say the same thing because we engage in our transness outside of fandom spaces.. imagine that. imagine allowing people to attack another black person in this fandom because you wanted to be a bully but y’all weren't ex-mutuals... imagine that! imagine not making your whole Internet personality a wannabe bully who cowers behind tags posts instead of just saying shit to my face... fan behavior to me! a whole witch hunt from your dogs because we dont share your wack ass opinion... fan behavior to me!

[theothin]

#prev agreed#heres one prev tag bc ik u cant click back anymore:#it's like saying anyone who participates in different cultural practices HAS to be autistic which is weird#prev is v right#i do gotta say tho.... i don't think ~culture~ is a good reason tho...#im eastern european and my culture is considered high context too (not as high as like Japan's but still)#there's a lot of 'u have to know a billion rules and never say you want anything and be agreeable always and helpful always#and never complain and by god you're wearing socks that dont match ur outfit?? u shouldnt come to the family event at all youll ruin it'#the last bit is a verbatim quote of sth my friend was told but its not like. uncommon by any means#still i think it wasnt laios's fault ¯ \_(0-0)_/¯#im sorry but at the end of the day it was on toshiro to communicate (!) that he didn't like sth!!! cmon#obv its a story and in a story there has to be drama. but if toshiro was a real life person i wouldnt like him v much#there's just sth so horrible about thinking you're having fun w smo and doing ur best to be good and nice and just having them snap at you#years later with some bs that u didn't know u did wrong AND wouldve stopped the SECOND they said anything!!!#no im not projecting..!#does it suck that toshiro was made to feel like he cant express his emotions? absolutely#did laios raise him to not speak up?? no. then how is it 'also laioss fault' smh

#and ive been on both ends of the situation btw! ive not been able to communicate sth and ive snapped at ppl over it!#and im glad those ppl held me accountable! they were understanding but they didn't accept my behavior!!!#and im glad!!! cuz they deserve better and i was shitty for not controlling myself and taking it out on them!!!#and i only wanted to be a good friend so it's good they told me 'hey this isn't the way'#i suggest to everyone just one thing. if u deal w ppl pleasing that is#stop blaming it on others. stop seeing it as a good thing. you're lying to ppl and it will always end up with you resenting them#least you can do is take responsibility for not speaking up and trying to do better. rather than blaming it on anyone but yourself#ik the op post was disagreeing w toshiro but ive seen one too many posts trying to use culture to excuse his behavior#i don't understand why we need to speak as if everything a culture different than usa's does is just perfect and flawless 🙄 its not#dont get me wrong the hyperindividualism of the usa is horrendous. but hypercollectivism isnt the way. trust me. as smo from a (pretty)#collectivist culture. the perfect thing would be a mix where we respect each other but dont force every small decision smo else makes#but to the ppl saying that we need to understand toshiros bg and that ppl from more collectivist cultures would see his pov better: yea#i agree. i don't like it. i disagree w toshiro. but i agree and ive been him and like 90% of ppl i know are just him

(via @assassinglasses)

Lot of good additions here. To expand on the topic of viewing Toshiro as autistic - speaking personally, the reason I got on board with that reading wasn't his expectations for Laios, but other parts of the scene: Maizuru noting that Toshiro was acting inappropriately by his own culture's standards and seemed to have a pattern of doing so, and Laios noting Toshiro's tendency to be weirdly quiet and closed off.

Copying over my comment from this post since the original now has reblogs turned off:

It's interesting to consider all of this in full context of how Toshiro is framed in the scene. The argument starts with Toshiro insisting that Marcille was wrong to revive Falin with black magic and that she should go back with him to face punishment from elvish society, then get their help in putting Falin to rest. Laios argues that they can actually help Falin, and that eating properly gives them the strength to pull it off, at which point Toshiro tries to shut Laios down by throwing his past frustrations in his face. When Laios eventually overpowers Toshiro, he attributes it to his party taking proper care of themselves, at which point Senshi shows up to offer Toshiro food. Meanwhile, Maizuru expresses frustration at Toshiro's behavior, and when Toshiro talks about his out-of-the-blue proposal to Falin, Mickbell questions why he would do something like that, while Chilchuck remarks that it's the kind of world he lives in. Every part of Toshiro's position here comes across as antithetical to the protagonists and the quest we're following them on. Even other characters present don't seem to think much of his behavior here. And, while playing that antagonistic role, we see him imposing those social standards on someone who finds them confusing and alienating. The result is that the primary lens through which the viewer is encouraged to see the scene is that of an autistic person being berated for not living up to a set of social standards, and in particular not meeting the standards of Japanese society. And while a Japanese audience might find it easier to understand why Toshiro thinks the way he does, the scene is very clear in sending the message that he is wrong and that, as previous comments noted, he's been stuck in a mindset that's hurting both him and Laios. The outcome of the fight suggests that Toshiro would benefit from learning to think more like Laios about food - and I think the audience is also meant to feel that Toshiro would benefit from learning to think more like Laios about people.

And the addition from @delvinanaris:

More than that, Toshiro’s last line of that scene—expressing his envy of Laios—suggests that he, too, feels that he would benefit from learning to think more like Laios about people.

Also here's the original tweet and a great comment on it:

[papirouge]

"Im just saying if you see someone being attacked you should step in and help. On another note i also believe its ok to defend yourself."

We both agree on that. What I'm saying is that, in order to defend yourself, you shouldn't feel entitled to sin

"the same argument would apply just as well to denying modern medicine and relying on God to heal you there"

How does medicine go against any God's commandment exactly? Jesus healed people by the Spirit, but at some point he also used elements from earth (mud he mixed with his saliva) to heal a deaf man. So we humans can also do the same: use tools from nature/earth to heal people. That's the whole point of medicine. Even Paul advised Timothy to take some wine to heal his stomach problems (1 Timothy 5:23). The problem is when those solutions infringe God's commandments. For example, it's ok to try to find solutions to infertility, but surrogacy goes against the biblical order of preserving body integrity (using it as a commodity). Same for science: creating planes and nuclear fusion isn't against God's order.......but using both inventions to drop nuclear bombs from a plane over Hiroshima & Nagasaki is. That's the leap I'm talking about. Defending yourself =/= killing someone, and it's weird how you consistently use both terms like they were interchangeable. They're not. You can "defend" yourself by locking your door and not showing up signs of wealth when in a sketchy area....not by actively seeking to harm or kill people. Getting paranoid over someone attacking you fits with point 2 of distrusting God's protection.

"I just dont think we are called to be complete pacifists"

Why? Hasn't Jesus been a "complete pacifist" by accepting to be tortured and crucified instead of sending a whole legion of angels to kill his murders? Hasn't Stephen been a "complete pacifist" by glorifying God while he was being stoned to death? Haven't early church Christians been "complete pacifists" by rather being tortured and sent to the lions rather than retaliate or deny their faith? What do you think makes you so special that you think *you* shouldn't have to have the same behavior? Honestly, this entitlement shared by MANY modern Christians astounds me. Everytime I'm like "God sacrificed his own sinless Son and exposed him to the worst torture & humiliation ever imagined, but you think *you* are too good for suffering on earth? I-" This cope boils down to my point 3 of my OP, with people feeling more dedicated to survive in this cursed world, than they are with God's commandments. I love how those rules never fail lol

"I think violence should be a last resort, and that we should try to avoid harming or killing the aggressor whenever possible".

Babe, this whole reasoning is not biblical, and you know it😭. Look at Jesus, Paul, Stephen, John the Baptist...none of them made up excuses to retaliate over the physical violence they had to bear with. Again: what makes you think you're different from them?

ps/"I dont want a theocracy, that is a horrible idea on so many levels."

I'm a bit confused by this remark because...biblically speaking, Heaven is a theocracy. Don't you want to go to Heaven? The KINGDOM of God IS a government and we are called to glorify God forever. In heaven, we won't be brainwashed into blindly obeying God, that's why while we are on earth, we have to show we chose to follow him and that we are comfortable with authority and discipline. We have to show whether we are worthy to enter this kingdom. That's why I called out many times libertarians and anti-government Christians bc by showing how hateful they are of any form of authority, there is no way they would be accepted in Heaven. Why would God accept rebellious foul-mouthed Christians LARPers in a place where Love and Beauty are supposed to reign supreme? LOL

I love that whenever I bring up how gun toting Western Christians thinking they are entitled to violence because of their piss poor comprehension of the "sell your cloak and buy a sword" verse (by the same Jesus who 1) moments later literally shunned his apostle who tried to physically harm their enemies 2)healed said harmed enemy) are no better than Islamist terrorists, their reaction will either reflect

their deep seated cultural supremacism ("it's ok for me to murder for my faith because I'm more civilized than these filthy Arabs!")

their overall distrust of God in protecting their Life/physical integrity

that they are more attached this physical wicked world they spend their whole time seething against on their blog to the point of defending their existence down there even if that means sinning, than they will ever admit

Just try it, it just..... never fails. lol