#and we fight against fascism every day!

[bandzboy]

happy 25 de abril! 🌹🤍

today marks 50 years since the dictatorship in portugal ended and it was all thanks to the brave resistance of brave men and women that i'm able to be here today, free, and able to speak my mind. i'm eternally grateful to these people for what they have done for my country and if it wasn't for them, there was no democracy or liberty of expression. today, i'm especially thinking of palestinian people like i've been thinking for the past few months every day but i sincerely hope that portuguese did too since even tho, we have the freedom to celebrate our democracy and be able to go home to our families, palestinians can't and so therefore, today and more than anything, i'm praying for their freedom that is definitely gonna come. i'll always stand with solidarity and i'll fight every day so you can be happy in a free palestine. from the river to the sea 🤍

[humanityinahandbag]

I'd like to tell you all a story about my grandmother.

My grandparents raised their children, four girls (one of them my mother), to be fighters. My aunts marched in Washington for women's rights with babies strapped to their chests and like to joke that all of the grandchildren who came from that line (including myself) were born with picket signs in their hands.

But it started with my grandparents. They fought hard for what they believed in. They marched against Vietnam. They marched for Martin Luther King. They marched for women's rights. They marched for a better future.

But let's talk specifically about my grandmother for a moment.

My grandmother unfortunately passed away in 2016. She had to watch the first Trump election and did so knowing that it would probably be the last election she'd ever see. And there is some argument there that she could have given in to fear and defeatism. She could have decided none of it was worth it, and she could have decided that fascism had won and the world was over.

But she did something else instead.

To give some context, my grandparents had friends who were Republicans. I say were, because they shifted from the normal Republican towards the MAGA Republican we see today. And despite a very clear message from my family about how we felt, they were more than ready to still come to the funeral as if everything was normal. Like their beliefs were normal. Like they were welcome to celebrate someone who had fought so hard for the rights of other people.

These were people who would have absolutely used their rhetoric to scream and shout if they were left out or disinvited.

And so my grandmother, even past her final moments, pulled the most brilliant, petty move I've ever seen.

She'd decided ahead of time that everyone who had known her was more than welcome to attend but that she wanted everyone attending the funeral to donate money. That was the requirement to be invited. And so everyone did just that. There was no talk about what the donations were for, just that they were appreciated. I want to say that the assumption was the money would help pay for funeral expenses and give the family some support while we grieved.

Except that wasn't the case.

Because in those final moments of the funeral, the rabbi stepped forward to thank everyone, and then very cheerfully announced;

"Arlene was so happy to know just how many people were coming to join us here today. She couldn't have been more proud of her family. And I'm sure she would have been elated to see just how much money you all gave today to Planned Parenthood."

When I say that the faces of those people are enshrined in my memory, I mean it. The anger, the devastation, the rage, the betrayal. It was an absolutely gorgeous display of true defeat at the hands of a boss ass old lady who literally fought with her last breath and threw up both middle fingers all the way out the door.

What I'm saying is this.

It is very easy to feel defeated. It is very easy to think that everything is over, and there's nothing left for us to do. It's very easy to say that fascism won, that fear won, that hate won.

But that's only true if you let it be true.

There is always more that we can do. There is a future that is still worth fighting for. And it's more than possible, even when it doesn't seem like it.

And fighting is going to look different every time.

Some days it will look like picket signs in our hands.

Some days it will look like spending time with friends and family and people you love and knowing that you have a community that supports you and your vision of a brighter future.

And some days, it's pulling absolute natural level 20 petty trickster shit even after you've left the world.

Because you can always make an impact and you can always add a little brightness to life, and if that means tricking a group of MAGA idiots into throwing their money behind Planned Parenthood in the middle of your own goddamn funeral then that's what it means.

Keep fighting. People have done it before you. People will continue to do it after you.

And enjoy the little victories.

(Even the petty ones)

[sunbentshadows]

Been mulling over the news today. But not about Biden, nor Harris. Not the breathless coverage of media-spinning-this-as-another-losing-move-for-Democrats.

I've been thinking about the right-wing in this country. The Republicans. You know, the group the coverage SHOULD be about. Especially as they've fallen into a fascistic cult of personality and vindictive cruelty-as-politics.

What is the Republican platform now? It used to be fiscal conservatism and 'business-interests' (at least on the surface), deregulation, less governmental power. Now it's, well. Trump. Sure. But what are they fighting for? "Get their guy in the White House"?

Well yes. But no. The Republicans are desperately trying to hold power. The power to dismantle the rights of every person in the country who isn't a white-male-Christian-business interest. One of Their Guys.

Why? Why so much now?

Because they're fucking UNPOPULAR. The country doesn't support them! If the entire country voted, the right wing would not meaningfully exist in the US political sphere.

Think about that for a second. REALLY internalize it: If everyone in the US voted, period, full stop. The right would be gone. The Republican party, as it is, now, would be a fucking joke.

So of COURSE they're swinging towards fascism. In a two-party system, a political party's only meaningful directive is survival of the power of their party. The very existence of Project 2025 is proof - it is the last, dying fucking breath a party that has TWO options to stay alive: Fascism and minority-rule, or change.

And they're sure not picking fucking change.

That is what we're up against.

If I could ask ONE thing of any person in the US who desperately wants to keep their human rights, who understands a loss in this election is likely the end of US-democracy as we know it - it would be to point the narrative towards the utterly vile platform of the right wing. Talk about it to everyone. Don't normalize it! Don't EVER say "That's just what Republicans do so it's normal". That's what they want.

If we win the branches of government - if we could make it 10% easier to vote. 5% easier to vote. That could swing elections and politics for a generation. We can even dream bigger: Ranked choice. Mandatory ballots. National holiday voting day.

And Republican strategists know this!! They're so terrified of it they're willing to dismantle the fundamental tenets of the United States of America to prevent it!

PART of why I'm so frustrated with the constant circling-on-Democratic-candidate is because it entirely misses the point. The choice is between a party trying to enshrine minority-Christian-Theocratic-rule in the country for generations - or, you know.

A middlingly-charismatic Democrat.

And, judgement-free - if you had a MOMENT of weighing the 'good' of those things, that's the fucking problem. These things are not remotely equal. The coverage of this political moment is like the coverage of climate change, and it gets into EVERYONE'S head - "The world is ending. But are hot summers REALLY that bad? Experts weigh in!"

The breathless both-sidesing of the current political moment is so appallingly, atrociously irresponsible I hardly have words for how fucking livid I am.

Vote.

[qqueenofhades]

Hwy dod we even need to send more money to Ukraine tho like we’ve already supported them plenty! But let Europe pull their weight and we can go back to spending that money on American policies

Do you read like, any news outside Tumblr, any Ukrainian perspectives, any basic analyses of the conflict, any rationale from Democrats or Congress, or anything? Because, in brief:

Ukrainians are currently facing a full-scale genocide. It has been going on for over a year and Russian military leadership has every plan to continue until fruition. If they stop resisting, there will be no more Ukraine or Ukrainians. So all the "appeasers" or "realists" insisting that Ukraine should "give up land for peace" (which notably worked so well with Czechoslovakia and Hitler in 1938) are basically deciding that it's fine to let the genocide be carried out, if it's even minorly inconvenient for us. Putin and cronies have repeatedly stated that if they are successful in taking Ukraine, they will go further. This is the exact scenario that leads to the "escalation" and/or WWIII that various people keep wringing their hands over. It is far more just and safe for Ukraine to be supported now and to stop that before it gets even worse.

America is not actually giving over buckets of black cash, regardless of what various bad-faith takes claim. They are handing over weapons valued at various amounts of money, along with some financial and budgetary aid. A lot of these weapons are older and would cost more to decommission than they cost to give to a sovereign democracy fighting for its life against an imperialist autocratic neighbor. This is some tiny amount like 5% (if that) of America's bloated military budget. And again: it's actual weapons valued at a certain dollar amount. These cannot be spent on American domestic policies.

The idea that helping Ukraine is directly coming out of our own pockets or preventing us from spending as needed on our own needs is propaganda. It is not good to repeat it.

I wrote this post the other day about why Putin is trying so hard to break American/Western support for Ukraine, and why the hard-right MAGA has enabled him in it. Putin's Russia is the motivating nexus, coordination, and funding center for Russian/European/American far-right theocratic fascism. This whole "America Only" is the exact rationale that appeals to said far-right domestic fascists and gives Putin and other imperial expansionist kleptocrats the justification to just throw away post-WWII international order and declare that any larger and more powerful state can systematically eradicate any neighboring country, claim its territory, destroy its government, kill its people, and get away with it. Because why would they stop, if there aren't any consequences and they are rewarded for it?

Putin has repeatedly interfered in American elections to help Trump and the Republicans. That should tell you something about who he sees as most favorable to his interests and what he would do again if allowed to emerge victorious.

Europe IS actually pulling its weight! They just brought all 27 defense ministers to Kyiv, they have been working on Ukraine's accession talks, they have committed all types of weapons (including the long-range missiles that the US still won't clearly authorize), they've committed a new tranche of 5 billion euros in long-term assistance, etc. But the whole "we should pull out of NATO and leave Europe to fend for itself" was a key isolationist and xenophobic Trump idea. We can see what that led to.

American aid is vital to Ukraine's continued existence as a sovereign country, period, and it is in American interests to continue to provide it as agreed upon. Not least because such an egregious betrayal of a democratic ally would empower the fascists of the world, both Russian and American, and because as noted, if this conflict was not stopped and got bigger, it would then involve American troops. It is a moral, democratic, political, and ethical imperative. This is not a difficult call or a complicated situation, regardless of what the Online Leftist tankies and the MAGA-world nutcases (because horseshoe theory) want you to think.

Слава Україні.

The end.

[ganondoodle]

didnt want to talk about it but i feel like im actually going insane

anti-queer laws are popping up everywhere, fascism is on the rise in every country around me, including my own which is famous for the atrocities of its past that happened not even 100 years ago and only got this far bc no one thought he'd get through with it

a pandemic that WASNT defeated and is STILL around and endangering everyone yet nigh everyone acts like its a thing of the past

the entire creativity of humanity being stolen and chewed up in a maschine so companies can make an endless shitty new schlock of media to pay even less to even less people and earn more or for some entitled tech bros thinking that all art is is the jpeg on screen deluding themselves into believing they now have a privilege denied to them by the talent-god even tho that god never existed and the only one who denies them the ability to make art is themselves

the climate visibly going haywire and few things are done against it, if at all even

and now i am watching a genocide happen while every piece of media joins into the propaganda of the oppressor, of course i dont think hamas is good, a terror organisation is a terror organisation no matter who they claim to fight for, and i am not defending them, hell no, but why are we being told to cheer on an entire country being wiped out for something a small group did, knowing that wiping palestine from existence has been the goal of israel all this time and this has now given them a good excuse and international support to finish it off?? the war russia started agaisnt ukraine is still ongoing, isnt there also a genocide happenign in armenia? and one against a minority in china as well?? probably even more i havent even heard about..

i didnt know about the details of whats happening to palestine until a few days ago either but now, on top of everything, i feel like im losing it, what even is happening, how am i supposed to just .. go on with my daily life while all of that is going on, not losing your faith into humanity has become a real challenge over these last few years even tho i know its vital to keep it alive bc the pit of thinking its all lost anyway is deep and only makes things worse for everyone

[wild-karrde]

Obviously, I'll get back to Star Wars posting at some point, but if I can offer a few thoughts here as I work through my grief and anger:

We can debate until we're blue in the face whose fault it is for this. But at the end of the day, the issue is 70M people chose fascism for whatever reason, be it they don't understand the economy, that they're bigots, what have you. They were ok with what Trump stands for if not openly welcoming of it, and that is the problem.

This shit is gonna suck. It's gonna be hard. We are not going to win every fight. We are going to lose a lot. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

FIND AND BUILD COMMUNITY. And I'm not just talking about activism (although that is important). But you're going to need people to get through this. Find YOUR people. Ones that remind you that there's good in the world on the darkest days. People that will mourn with you, that will fight with you, and when it comes, experience joy with you.

FIND JOY. I saw a Bluesky thread today that talked about how important it's going to be to find little moments of joy, whatever they are. Take a walk to your favorite park. Look up at the moon. Eat good food with friends. Those little moments of joy are going to keep you going during this fight. They are necessary. Please make time for them and don't feel guilt for having them.

FIND A WAY TO GET INVOLVED. There are mutual aid funds, local political movements, abortion funds, volunteer positions at the local library, etc. SHOW UP in whatever ways you can when you can. There are so many options. Figure out what's available to you locally, and if you have the means to donate to places that will be impacted most harshly (red states, poor communities, etc.), then please do so.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. As someone that has already lived through one Trump presidency, I offer this: do not engage with every dark moment. You're going to feel like you have to stay outraged and engaged with everything he does. You can't. It's too much. Especially this time. You need to pick a few issues that you feel you can have the most impact on, and you need to stay in those fights. If you have the energy to do more some days, then do it. But do not fall into the habit of doomscrolling and feeling helpless about things you could not change. Do what you can. Rest. Stay hydrated. Keep going.

Fascism is fragile. We will break it. It may take a long while, but we will win. But in order to do so, you have to make sure it doesn't break you first.

It is going to be hard. There is no denying that. There are going to be days that feel so incredibly bleak that you can't get out of bed. But that doesn't mean we give up. Reach out to one another. Take care of each other. Take care of yourselves.

We have a few months to figure out how we can best help each other and contribute to the fight. Speaking specifically as part of the Star Wars fandom, I feel like we're uniquely prepared for this, as cheesy as that may sound (but fuck it, I need cheesy right now). We live for the stories of everyday people rising up against an overpowered fascist empire. We get to be those fucking people now. So take time to grieve and get your head right. And then get back up and let's fucking do this.

[oinonsana]

thoughts about a national "filipino" culture

this post is written after a bout of rereading fanon. this post is by no means a hikayat or persuasive piece but rather pure unfiltered thoughts, perhaps ya'll will find it interesting.

filipino culture is largely revolutionary. this is true of almost every colonized culture: as according to Fanon, National Culture is the Struggle for Liberation, and I largely agree with this. in a way, we are still struggling for liberation from outside forces. in many ways, the Philippines is still a colony (or, perhaps, a neocolony) of america. thus colonialism is still on going. thus, fanon's terminology of colonized/colonist dichotomy is still very effective when applied to modern filipino identity.

i've been pretty vocal about my perspective on filipino identity: it being mostly constructed during the american colonization of the philippines. even to this day, i believe that it is mostly a regurgitation of american culture, even seemingly activist perspectives. much of filipino culture is repurposed from american educational systems. much of filipino culture talks about filipinos, and ignores a vast majority of the other people in the isles. ask the general activist how a bisaya or mindanaowon revolutionary and they will balk.

fanon argues that national culture is just the culture of the struggle that arises from nationhood. after decolonization, both colonized and colonist die. what then, afterwards? he states that national culture is the best way to achieve international solidarity. smaller scale focuses of culture can create better and more authentic cultures instead of vague and generic eidolons. i largely agree for the most part, though we can definitely peer a lot deeper. fanon is also quick to argue that national consciousness (the consciousness to fight for liberation) is different from nationalism (that thing that very quickly leads to fascism).

in the case of the philippines, multiple different culture still exist in milieu with the rest of philippine culture. fanon's works talk alot about the importance of word and language in the colonized's world. so it is here: the filipino as a term is claimed from the colonizers (filipino used to mean spanish that lived in the isles). can it be redeemed and twisted into an empowering word for us, na nakatira dito? potentially (as with all things its mostly a percentage chance). unfortunately, larger is the chance that we completely assimilate into the term: we become spanish people that live in the isles, despite having an already multinational culture (the tagalogs, the bisayas, the bikolanos, etc. all only sharing culture through colonization, in the same way africa shares culture through colonization but have bespoke cultures in and of themselves). thus why there's a tendency for filipinos to be separate from the indigenous people of the philippines, despite tagalogs, bisaya, etc. being indigenous people of the philippines

"but waks, bitch boy, you can't compare the ph to the africa and whatnot they're too big!" witness the philippines' true size in comparison to mainland seasia

multiple empires can fit within the philippines in size, so that's a fraught argument.

anyway, as i reread fanon i'm realizing too many leftist spaces (at least, mainstream ones in the PH, and especially the manilenyo ones) are currently ascribing to the first kind of culture that fanon spoke about (regurgitation of white culture): looking for pieces of culture to turn into "filipino identity", reinforcing fragments of filipino identity, conveniently forgetting other cultures in the ph (and some even being outright hostile against the idea) when it doesn't benefit their movement (which is annoying, because as real marxists we should be including them under a single revolutionary solidarity). increasingly it's beginning to feel like (manila centric) Mass Organizations are becoming just larger college orgs

however, i'm not saying that won't change--i feel like these orgs will evolve past anyway. and harnessing the power of guilt-ridden petty boojwazee instilled with the fervor of national consciousness is pretty potent in mobilizing large movements, even if they end up burning out by the end of it

so at the end of it i accept filipino as a geographical and revolutionary description, but not as a cultural nationalistic descriptor (as that would end up with us redoing the colonizer's culture). it is a stepping stone. and perhaps we might need to rejigger our definition of the filipino: maybe change its name to pilipinhon (coming from the philippines) from bisaya. or barring that, look at it differently, refuse the colonized intellectual urge to make it a culture like our colonizer's, and accept the culture as it is, of struggle and of liberation.

and then accept that there are multiple cultures underneath it--that there are tagalog cultures and bisaya cultures and lumad cultures and bikolano cultures etc. etc. hell, if the spanish didn't hand us over to the americans, who's to say that the philippines wouldn't have split into multiple different nations (a bisaya nation, a tagalog republic, etc.) it almost happened multiple times in the past. the only thing stopping us was colonialism :)

[local-lesbrarian]

Yesterday, the board of trustees for the library I work at voted unanimously against banning This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson! This was a huge relief for me (and my fellow staff), and I just wanted to share a few takeaways from this experience.

For context, a library patron had submitted a formal request to have the book removed after seeing it displayed alongside other recent additions to our YA section. He took issue with, of course, the chapter on sex ed and provided pages of out-of-context quotes and straight-up lies to make the book appear "dangerous." Lots of the homophobia and puritanism you'd expect. Per our policies, we formed a committee to address his request, and the committee decided the book was fine where it was. Again per policy, he had the option to appeal to the board of trustees, which he took.

We found out he was doing this 5 days before the next board meeting. And even with that short warning, we had over 150 people show up to a small-town library board meeting that often has few or no public attendees! We couldn't fit everyone in our biggest room! Look at us all!!

Public comments are limited to 3 minutes or less, and that still lasted for more than an hour. People spoke who were parents, teachers, nurses, therapists, voting activists, workers at other libraries, and of course, many queer people. They talked about censorship, freedom of expression, freedom to read, the positive impacts of this book and books like it on youth, their own experiences as queer kids and teens or parents or such, and more--too many perspectives to list here. Every single speaker opposed the book ban. Every. One.

The patron who initiated this challenge was present, but left before public comment was over, without speaking.

So, those takeaways:

This is further evidence that campaigns of censorship and queer erasure are perpetuated by individuals and small groups, and don't represent the common view. You can check out stats on ala.org to back this up, but most people, including most parents, oppose book bans.

This turnout was gathered mainly through texts, email, chats (like Discord), phone calls, and word of mouth. Every town and city has people willing to fight and support those fighting the tides of fascism--keep in touch with your community and your allies, your local friends and trusted acquaintances, and when the time comes for action, they will show up.

Pushback, especially public, visible pushback, demoralizes bad actors. These are often people with little to do except organize and promote their hatred, often people with few material problems demanding their attention. (In this case, a retired eye doctor.) Give them a fight, and they often back down. If they don't back down, see #2 and beat them with numbers and passion.

Even after a victory, stay alert. We're prepping for litigation (not that we think he has a case, but he does have a reputation). We're also keeping a close eye on the smaller libraries in nearby towns and townships. Even if someone like this backs down once, they might try their luck somewhere easier. Keep those contact networks from #2 ready to go.

None of this is comprehensive, and your particular situation may well require different tactics. I'm not an expert, just a chronically online trans woman and librarian who's gotten unexpectedly attached to her current town. It was incredibly heartwarming to see so many people stand up for queer teens where I live, when it usually feels like nobody cares about what's happening to queers in the States. This post has already gone on longer than I expected, I'm just still quite emotional and wanted to talk about it. (Also still mentally drained from the past few days of stress...)

Huge shoutout to everyone who helped make this community action happen. Many of them were more eloquent or piercing in their comments, but here's my 3-minute spiel. It was delivered with none of the eye contact or dramatic reading I'd rehearsed because, holy shit, there were a lot of people there!

[jonasgoonface]

Happy anniversary of Willem Van Spronsen's attack on the Tacoma ICE detention center. Here's a thing I drew a while back. Here's a manifesto that he wrote, it's v good. ------

What follows is the written manifesto of Willem Van Spronsen:

there's wrong and there's right. it's time to take action against the forces of evil. evil says one life is worth less than another. evil says the flow of commerce is our purpose here. evil says concentration camps for folks deemed lesser are necessary. the handmaid of evil says the concentration camps should be more humane. beware the centrist.

i have a father's broken heart i have a broken down body and i have an unshakable abhorrence of injustice. that is what brings me here. this is my clear opportunity to try to make a difference, i'd be an ingrate to be waiting for a more obvious invitation.

i follow three teachers: don pritts, my spiritual guide, "love without action is just a word." john brown, my moral guide, "what is needed is action!" emma goldman, my political guide, "if i can't dance, i don't want to be in your revolution."

i'm a head in the clouds dreamer, i believe in love and redemption. i believe we're going to win i'm joyfully revolutionary. (we all should have been reading emma goldman in school instead of the jingo drivel we were fed. but i digress.) (we should all be looking at the photos of the YJP heroes should we falter and think our dreams are impossible, but i double digress. fight me.)

in these days of fascist hooligans preying on vulnerable people on our streets, in the name of the state or supported and defended by the state,

in these days of highly profitable detention/concentration camps and a battle over the semantics, in these days of hopelessness, empty pursuit and endless yearning,

we are living in visible fascism ascendant. (i say visible, because those paying attention watched it survive and thrive under the protection of the state for decades [see howard zinn, "a people's history of the united states.") now it unabashedly follows its agenda with open and full cooperation from the government. from governments around the world.

fascism serves the needs of the state serves the needs of business and at your expense. who benefits? jeff bezos, warren buffet, elon musk, tim cook, bill gates, betsy de vos, george soros, and need i go on? let me say it again: rich guys, (who think you're not really all that good,) really dig government, (every government everywhere, including "communist" governments,) because they make rules that make rich guys richer.

simple. don't overthink it.

(are you patriots in the back paying attention?)

when i was a boy, in post war holland, later france, my head was filled with stories of the rise of fascism in the 30's. i promised myself that i would not be one of those who stands by as neighbors are torn from their homes and imprisoned for somehow being perceived as lesser. you don't have to burn the motherfucker down, but are you just going to stand by?

this is the test of our fundamental belief in real freedom and our responsibility to each other. this is a call to patriots, too, to stand against this travesty against everything that you hold sacred. i know you. i know that in your hearts, you see the dishonor in these camps. it's time for you, too, to stand up to the money pulling the strings of every goddamn puppet pretending to represent us.

i'm a man who loves you all and this spinning ball so much that i'm going to fulfill my childhood promise to myself to be noble.

here it is, in these corporate for profit concentration camps. here it is, in brown and non conforming folks afraid to show their faces for fear of the police/migra/proud boys/the boss/beckies... here it is, a planet almost used up by the market's greed.

i'm a black and white thinker. detention camps are an abomination. i'm not standing by. i really shouldn't have to say any more than this.

i set aside my broken heart and i heal the only way i know how- by being useful. i efficiently compartmentalize my pain... and i joyfully go about this work. (to those burdened with the wreckage from my actions, i hope that you will make the best use of that burden.)

to my comrades:

i regret that i will miss the rest of the revolution. thank you for the honor of having me in your midst.

giving me space to be useful, to feel that i was fulfilling my ideals, has been the spiritual pinnacle of my life.

doing what i can to help defend my precious and wondrous people is an experience too rich to describe.

my trans comrades have transformed me, solidifying my conviction that we will be guided to a dreamed of future by those most marginalized among us today. i have dreamed it so clearly that i have no regret for not seeing how it turns out. thank you for bringing me so far along.

i am antifa, i stand with comrades around the world who act from the love of life in every permutation. comrades who understand that freedom means real freedom for all and a life worth living.

keep the faith! all power to the people! bella ciao

don't let your silly government agencies spend money "investigating" this one. i was radicalized in civics class at 13 when we were taught about the electoral college. it was at that point that i decided that the status quo might be a house of cards. further reading confirmed in the positive. i highly recommend reading! i am not affiliated with any organization, i have disaffiliated from any organizations who disagree with my choice of tactics. the semi automatic weapon i used was a cheap, home built unregistered "ghost" ar15, had six magazines. i strongly encourage comrades and incoming comrades to arm themselves. we are now responsible for defending people from the predatory state. ignore the laws of arming yourself if you have the luxury, i did.

[top-shelf-tender]

{{I saw a really helpful post on Facebook the other day talking about how not every war is won by the infantry alone. Some of us weren’t built to be fighters in this struggle against Fascism, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more covert ways we can aid those who are on the front lines.

It made me think of Emily - how even though she’s not able to physically fight for the hotel, she’s still passionate about helping in ways more suited to who she is. She excels at being a compassionate light for others, and that’s what I want to be. I may not be able to be a DPS player, but I’ll be a healer, and that’s still valuable.

I hope these thoughts help others like me who are prepared to fight in our own unique ways ❤️}}

[sorrowlikefalling]

not my usual post, but i care enough to speak.

tw: mention of rape.

was never so disappointed in the world ever. the fact that felonies, misogyny, rape, and other things arent deal breakers for the so many of us is insane. you would rather a felon lead you than a woman. a woman who wouldve stuck up for women. a woman who wouldve supported this country. america, you are truly disappointing. the world was in your hands and you let that man win. the only people who dont care are the ones privileged enough not to. women and people of color have to fear for our lives now. what about the girls younger than me?. how are they gonna make it. 2028 is gonna be long from now. day one and im scared for the rest of the world. fuck everyone who is privileged enough to where your vote doesnt affect you. you changed lives. ruined some. youre disgusting. you would much rather a man like him run, because to this world masculinity equals qualified. to the men, what would your mother think? what about your daughter? your sister? your niece? why would you only preach to your benefit. donald j. trump is going to fuck a lot of people over. thats what you want? he gave police immunity. they can shoot and kill if they want. he is taking away rights from minorities. the women. the lgbtq community. your votes are rooted in the patriarchy. he is a violent man. the most important election of our lives. ruined. god bless america right? liberty and justice for all? ive always said it was bullshit. they want you to pledge to idolatry and fuck you over. the united states is under a disgusting rule. were under control. we arent being worked with. we are controlled. congratulations to the people happy. all it means is that youre privileged. enjoy your silver spoon before it rusts. some of us needed kamala as president. this is what so many people fought against. you wouldnt be here without a woman. think of that before you vote. i wish i could change minds. hes going to deport the immigrants who moved here for their kids or future generations to have a better life. you took that from them. you took our choice from us. another shot for america, but throw it to the ground. they can afford for glass to break. we are in debt in unity. not just by finances. i wish we were more of the united nations than the united states. we are united by state but not by nation. good job americana. you won. you conditioned the world to bow to you and now you got your reign. words arent meant to be on a watch list. i wish we could fight more. die for what you believe in people. they wont get it until you do. im a woman of my own. not a woman of america. you guys wont do us right anyway. woke up in fear for myself and the rest of the world. what about the children. you selfish things. your mother would never be proud of you. speak up and speak loud. if you didnt vote, youre the problem. kamala deserved that. you let her run like water through our hands. you lost her. let her slip. now our fate is in cardboard boxes. houses are paper. you know how easy it is to break that? good job. racism, fascism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, idolatry, right wing, white supremacists. men upheld by the social hierarchy. you win. give yourself a pat on the back. i hope you throw up and choke. you can call me a liberal, a snowflake, whatever makes you happy. i know based off of that you run most of society. capitalist fucks. bourgeoisie losers. we fought and you took it away. im gonna keep editing this and i will keep saying every word that comes to mind. do it big and do it loud. fight and scream and dont let them forget. brains on pavement mean nothing to those so high they cant see it. god america you disappoint me. fuck you and your eagles. you and your everything. selfishness. trump hates the rest of the world and the minorities in it. hes the majority. dont let him fool you. thank you.

[cleaverqueer]

I think what really made it click for me about voting being something worthwhile

IN ADDITION TO DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVISM

was that one post talking about how its like we're giving a modicum of choice in our opponent moving forward. Given the chance id rather fight against someone who wants me maimed than someone who wants me dead, technically I guess? And without

EVERYONE WITH THE PRIVLEGE OF LIVNG ON THIS END OF THE FASCIST CAPITALIST WAR INDUSTRY PUTTING IN THEIR TIME AND EFFORT TO REDUCE THE HARM SAID REGIME CAUSES ON EVERYONE EVERYWHERE

at least until its overcome, which I'd dare say we have yet to achieve, voting is just another tool we can use to try and weaken the force of fascism in our lives. Because it's obviously

SMALL THINGS THAT WE DO EVERY DAY THAT HELP NORMALIZE THE STATUS QUO AS ONE OF VIOLENCE IN THE NAME OF SELFISH INDIVIDAL GAIN

that we as average people have control over that can most affect the world around us. That the american government is so warmongering and greedy does not have to be reflective of us as people, and neither do the most financially successful among us get to define us. I think we can be better, we just have to be better

[anarchotahdigism]

"

In these days when we welcome a new Newroz, the symbol of rebellion and resistance in the history of oppressed and exploited rights, the fire lit for the sake of freedom, the earth is witnessing one of the bloodiest periods of the historical struggle between the oppressor and the oppressed. The four corners of our world are increasingly engulfed by war, occupation, massacre, hunger and poverty created by the imperialist capitalist system. While mass massacres are being carried out in Palestine and Gaza, the conflict continues in Ukraine; the deepening contradictions between the imperialist forces, the deadlocked system crisis, and the hot conflict situation in dozens of areas/regions as a result of these, almost evoke the footsteps of the third world war.

Despite the heavy oppression and siege, the oppressed and exploited peoples of the world do not hold back from resistance, struggle and rebellion. Women, who have no choice but to struggle against male domination and capitalism, became the harbingers of spring by filling the squares on March 8 and revolting in all areas of life. Women’s call for rebellion will meet the fire of rebellion of Newroz and the fight will grow!

March, a month full of massacres, resistance and uprisings, is indelibly engraved in the memory of the peoples of the region and the world, especially in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, at a heavy price. One of the days of March that symbolizes resistance and rebellion is Newroz, a common heritage of the historical memory of peoples. March 21, the date of the triumphant conclusion of the struggle launched centuries ago by Demirci Kawa against the tyrant Dehak, has been flagged in the hands of those who struggle against the oppressors as the fire of freedom ignited by Kawa for centuries. The successors of Demirci Kawa, the creator of Newroz, have also raised Kawa’s struggle at the cost of blood and life under the most difficult conditions and carried it to today." ....

"It is a duty to raise the flag of rebellion against the Dehaks of today, just like the action of Kawa the Blacksmith, and to raise the revolutionary struggle. Against occupation, exploitation, poverty, oppression and isolation, we must raise the fire of rebellion of Newroz in every field, and grow the united revolutionary struggle against fascism, imperialism and capitalism.

Our salvation is in rebellion, united struggle, revolutionary war and REVOLUTION. There is no other way out for the oppressed and working people of the world. We call on the working class, toiling and oppressed peoples to join the Socialist People’s War for their liberation and to increase the organized struggle within the ranks of our Party.

Happy Newroz to our peoples, which is the holiday of resistance of the peoples of the region and the world, especially the peoples of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. We respectfully commemorate all the martyrs of revolution, socialism and communism in the person of those who were immortalized while raising the fire of resistance of Newroz with their bodies, and we reiterate the promise that we will carry their struggle to victory.

* Newroz Piroz Be!

* Newroz is Rebellion, Take Up Rebellion!

* Long Live the Socialist People’s War!"

[underwater0firework]

I think one of the main problems with MHA is that it's not anti-establishment enough. Like, in this era of media and pop culture, we (as viewers) are used to seeing stories of underdogs, of resistance groups fighting against authority. The most famous example of this would be Star Wars, which was commentary on the Vietnam War/Cold War. And then you have examples like the Hunger Games and the YA dystopia boom of the 2010s - all focused on resistance against government systems. (This of course, speaks towards the current sentiments on modern-day governments) I mean, hey, you've probably seen those cringy posts about "how does the government expect us to be complacent when we were raised by characters who resisted fascism." You know the ones.

While this genre of YA media is most prominent in western culture, MHA *has* become a part of mainstream western culture, due to its success. So many of the ppl active in the fandom, making fanworks, etc, are exposed to this trope as (mostly) the norm. And, in comparison to this trope, MHA just doesn't...sit right.

From the start, the world of MHA is flawed. I think everyone can agree with this. Quirkiness kids are bullied, one of the top heroes beats his children, there's an organization creating child soldiers, etc, etc. Hell, in the first episode, there's even a mention that literally every single kid wants to be a hero when they grow up! That can't be good for the economy, can it?

But instead of working to fix this, hori just gives us a worse evil to brand as the enemy. Asking the viewer to choose the best of two evils, hoping we will ignore problems like discrimination to overthrow the people who are literally making human puppets. Hori wants the world of MHA to appear "black and white" but really, it kinda just appears..."black and ehhhh...grey." Which, I mean, is quite realistic given our *current* world but...I guess it doesn't fit the genre? It's not satisfying, really. Or particularly well executed.

On top of this, the problems present in the hero world are ones that Hori's viewers might very easily relate to. Bullying, domestic violence, discrimination, even sexism (though that one is one that is VERY MUCH not deliberate on hori's part...ugh). Which is why, even though, realistically, Bakugou telling Izuku to k*** himself isn't worse than AFO making LITERAL MONSTERS OUT OF CORPSES, it feels that way. Because, y'know, I don't think any of the MHA viewers out there are at risk of being nomu-ified.

So, what happens? No matter how evil Hori tries to make Shiggy, people will still like him. Because he's not violent in a way that is relatable, he's just...edgy. And also hot as hell.

tl;dr? Hori created a morally grey world and refused to fix any of its problems, so we all simp for the murderous hand-man.

[iidsch]

Not to get sappy but the fact that the world is quickly becoming worse both politically and economically - that fascism is on the rise, climate change is looming over us and getting closer every day, capitalism is failing and making the younger generations hopeless - and yet Eurovision just got its first non-binary winner and both the participants and the public showed their support for Palestine.

Every year for the past decade or so there have been multiple openly queer artists in esc, we saw contestants and the public fight and criticize Israel despite the censorship, and there were huge pro-Palestine protests in the streets. I know more could have been done and this is by no means an attempt to whitewash Eurovision after the shitshow of yesterday, but things like this are a small glimmer of hope. That they will try to take away our rights but we will still win one of the biggest music contests in the world with the support of the public. That they will side with a genocidal nation and we will still find ways to protest and make the world know we won't give up on Palestine.

I've seen a lot of people say that this is not enough and it's true that a non-binary person winning esc won't stop Israel from committing a genocide, but people forget things could have been so much worse. All the queer and pro-Palestinian artists could have been banned from participating (I mean they found a way to kick Joost), they could have been severely harassed by Israel and its supporters, there could have been voter fraud to make Israel win, or Israel could have won by legitimate means because the world could have turned a blind eye to Palestine. But that didn't happen because things are still not completely hopeless!!! Small victories like these make you feel hopeful and they are just as important as fighting, because despair is what truly kills progressive movements. Knowing that there's still a chance, that we can succeed despite having the entire world against us, is what pushes people to keep moving forward and not give up on their ideals. I don't advocate extreme optimism but I don't think this pessimistic attitude of "oh well we didn't stop Israel altogether therefore this was a failure" is helpful to the movement either, because it makes it seem like nothing except the extraordinary will put an end to the genocide and our efforts are meaningless.

Anyway I'm proud of every person who made this win possible and everyone who supported Palestine despite everything 💖✨ And of course fuck the ebu and fuck Israel, Palestine will be free 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[leftistfeminista]

With Respect and Longing to the Leaders and Pioneering Communist Women of our Women's Freedom Struggle

Women of the Communist and Maoist movement in Turkey

From the Maoist Komünist Parti

Let's Increase the Fight Against Attacks on Women Revolutionaries

While women and oppressed sexual identities in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan continue their activities for both March 8 and local elections without slowing down, the detention, arrest, sexual harassment and torture attacks of the AKP-MHP fascist misogynistic alliance against women revolutionaries and politicians are increasing. Revolutionary activity is wanted to be prevented. The conclusion we can draw from the enemy becoming so aggressive should be, on the one hand, the fact that we are on the right track, and, on the other hand, to increase the efforts to thwart these attacks. Because this is what the women who are murdered, who are subjected to violence, harassment and rape every day, the working women who are subjected to all kinds of labor exploitation, and the oppressed sexual identities whose very existence is denied, expect from us. The fact that at least 3 women are murdered every day is now expressed in larger numbers. 8 women are murdered in one day!

While the fascist AKP-MHP Alliance is trying to destroy women revolutionaries with the help of the state, it is making the entire female masses do this through the hands of "the men closest to them". Violence, sexual assaults and murders against women and oppressed sexual identities receive legal protection in male state courts. Women who practice self-defense are given heavy penalties. With its "sacred family" policies, it aims to dissolve and imprison women and oppressed sexual identities within that family.

The united struggle of women is to combine the struggle for women whose closest relatives are murdered by men every day, and the struggle against male state attacks on patriotic, revolutionary socialist communist women who struggle in the mountains, in prisons, and in all areas of life. Our enemy is common, so our struggle must also be common.

Finally, as we commemorate our immortalized female comrades once again, let's make the upcoming March 8th a strong point where we will raise our united women's struggle and hold ourselves accountable against the male state that tries to turn our lives into hell.

This is our promise to our female comrades who have become immortal. We will win! Grow the rebellion against male domination and fascism! March to the women's revolution! Long live the united struggle of women!

KBDH General Council 01 March 2024