tumblr is really bad a politics actually. please don't form opinions about political systems on tumblr. oh my god. this made me literally blind with rage and confusion for a second there.
just because the mainstream democratic party has started using "threats to democracy" as part of its campaign strategy this election cycle doesn't mean this is untrue?? please don't let your hatred for mainstream democratic political messaging make you also hate that it has FINALLY cottoned onto the fact that the american right would like us to stop living in a multiracial democracy/pluralistic society. that is a good thing, actually. it's a good thing that mainstream politics are finally willing to acknowledge that one of the two major parties is only interested in trying to destroy the political system we live under, is only interested in shoving gravel down our toilets so they blow up.
we do actually have a democracy. it's not a total direct democracy. there are a shit ton of flaws in the system. this is in part because, in fact, it's a relatively young democracy! I agree with nikole hannah-jones' assertion that the u.s. has only been a democracy for real since the 1960s, when civil rights legislation Black americans fought and died for started going into effect.
which is why this moment, 60 years on, is so important. it's a radical stress-testing of a system that it's important to preserve so that we can continue to make more progress from this point. we have to prove that the system can work this way.
i get it. voting sucks. gerrymandering has backed so many of us into a corner. we've politically and legally incentivized imprisoning members of minority populations so that they can no longer vote. the supreme court actually gutted some of that legislation passed in the 1960s that made us into a real democracy, sending us into the period of backsliding that we're currently in.
do you know how many of the candidates I voted for in my last election won? zero. ZERO. every single one of them lost. I get it, okay? this all sucks! it makes you feel powerless! but you can't let that feeling win.
that feeling is a lie they're trying to sell you so that you give up. so that you stop fighting for the democracy we've got. "bourgeois democracy" get the fuck out of here. oh my god. shut up.
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Is Blanche Devereaux a Landlord?
Random thought of the day: Is Blanche Devereaux of the Golden Girls a Landlord? And if she is, does she deserve the guillotine?
Obviously, in the strictest sense, she is a landlord. She owns accomodation, and she derives income from renting that accomodation out. That's a landlord.
But in saying that, Blanche lives in that same house - she rents it out to the other women because she has space and she's a widow with no dependents anymore. She had a large house to raise children and live with her husband, but her children have moved out and her husband's moved on (to the afterlife).
The absolutely moral thing to do would be to either let her roommates stay with her for free (because housing is a human right) OR to downsize.
And it's easy to say that's what she should do, but the absolutely moral thing for most of us to do is to sell most of our belongings and give the proceeds to charity but that's the kind of behaviour you'd expect from a saint, not some random person. I think we generally agree that there's a gradient between the extreme ends here.
And although it's kind of a meme, landlords do provide a service - as someone who has owned their own home with a mortgage, owning a home can be annoying and stressful. Owning your own home makes you feel like you put down an anchor, and when you want to move, you end up asking yourself if it's worth raising that anchor. For some people, it's better to have the freedom and flexibility that renting can provide.
(Also technically you don't have the stress of wondering how you're going to pay for repairs because that's the landlord's responsibility, but you know, that also puts you at the mercy of the landlord.)
In some ways, I think there wouldn't necessarily be anything wrong with having landlords if those landlords weren't private investors whose desire is profit - if the government owned my house, and I just 'rented' it from them by paying taxes, and then I would be able to move at some point if I chose, that'd be a neat solution.
(But then it also raises all sorts of questions such as: should I, a single bachelor with no dependents, be allowed to have a house with more than one bedroom? Under the capitalist system, I could have as big a house as my pockets could afford, even if that is a terrible allocation of space and housing.)
Looping back to Blanche, neither Rose nor Dorothy seem like they might've been in a position to buy a house - Rose sold her previous home, so maybe she would have the funds, but she was also moving from a small town to Miami, so the houses would probably cost a lot more (but she could probably afford a condo or small apartment). There's also the fact that living in a shared accomodation with each other was almost definitely good for them, socially wise.
I know living on my own was kind of sad in some ways, even if it did mean I didn't have to wear clothes in the summer.
So is Blanche bourgeouise? I mean... probably, but if the Revolution came, would she be up against the wall?
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and so the day is finally upon us - the FFXIVSwap name draw! The partners have been determined, and I will be messaging you over the next day with your recipient!
REMEMBER - this is a secret Santa-style gift swap! The person who you'll be making a gift for will NOT be the person who makes a gift for you!
When you get your message, please 1. Respond to it to let us know you got it, and 2. Reach out to your recipient to gather any OC info you'll need!
If you're unable to participate, please let us know ASAP so we can reassign your partner. And if you don't respond to our initial message with your pairing within 5 days, I'll assume you're no longer able to participate and reassign both your gifter and recipient - no gaming the system! This is a swap to do something nice for other people, not to be selfish and mean.
If you have any communication issues with your recipient, please let one of us know and we'll help you handle it, or even reassign you if need be.
And, as always, remember the rules!
Be kind - everyone has different levels of skill, but we're all doing this out of the goodness of our hearts to enthuse about each other's OCs.
Communicate! I'll be checking up to make sure everyone has heard from their partners. If you don't at least reach out, there's a good chance you may be removed from the swap for being seen as inactive/absent. If you need info from your partner, ask!
No being mean, making fun of others' OCs or creations or anything of the sort. If we learn that you've done such, you will be removed and your partners reassigned.
Have your OC info in a convenient form to share with your gifter! Don't make them have to read 30k words of a fic or trudge through a tumblr tag. Have a concise set of info ready to go - and remember, the more thorough you are, the better your partner can make something for you!
There's no time limit for the gifts, as everyone has different speeds and different things happening in their lives, but do try to communicate an idea of your time table. We'll be reaching out to anyone who hasn't finished their gifts in about one month, just to check in and keep track.
Remember that not everyone uses mods, and if you use mods for your character, your partner may not have those same mods/may not be willing to install mods for you. No harassing people about using/not using mods - if I find that you have, you'll be removed from the swap and your partners will be reassigned.
Only one OC per gift, UNLESS you have discussed this with your gifter and they have agreed to do multiple! More OCs are more work.
There are no rules on what the gift can be, so long as you put your heart and effort into it. Gpose, writing, art, whatever it may be!
Use the tag #ffxivswap to share your creations, so we can all enjoy them!
As always, if you have any issues, please reach out to me and I'll sort it out. At the end of the day, everyone who gives a gift will receive a gift, we won't leave anyone high and dry. Let's all have fun and celebrate each others' OCs and creations! Remember, we're doing this for the love of the community and the game, and by the Twelve, do not make me regret this.
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I will say, there is one major way that I seem to differ from other plural people: Names.
Like, I absolutely understand WHY people develop names for their alters, and we definitely have ways that we refer to ourselves internally... but EXTERNALLY? Sorry, we are all Ceetee. Every single one of us fought hard to establish that identity. We aren't going to squabble over which of us is the "Real" one that gets to KEEP that name.
Plus, I DONT EVEN WANT OTHERS TO KNOW. Like, it is so much easier to just Pretend To Be Ceetee, even for the alters that aren't trans, than try to let people KNOW every single time a different alter starts fronting. Who the hell do you think you are to feel privileged to that info? What are you, a cop? I don't even let my fucking PSYCH know which of us is attending the appointments.
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