#be discriminated against for that instead?

[arcticdementor]

A few points:

If you attempt to do racial discrimination as government policy [Reuters], then naturally people will react to that by shifting to the party that doesn't plan to discriminate against them.

Just because something is a natural reaction doesn't make it a moral one. Just because it's natural for Dracula to resist Van Helsing's attempts to stake him, the moral thing for Dracula to do would be to let Van Helsing stop him from killing more people; and that Dracula instead chooses to try to preserve his predatory existence, however natural that choice may be, only reinforces how much of a monster he is, and thus the need to slay him.

Similarly, in the view in which "corrective" racial discrimination is necessary for "racial equity" and justice, then whatever the natural reaction may be, the moral reaction is to accept being discriminated against, and the rightness thereof. To instead choose the natural reaction, however natural it is, is only to confirm your lack of morality on matters of race, further underlining exactly why the government needs to erect policy against you.

there was no one actually meaningfully in charge of the Democratic party who could say "no" to racial activists

I know you tend to see this as being due to a leadership void — that to a great extent, there's "no one actually meaningfully in charge of the Democratic party" at all, really. But have you considered that there are people in charge, and it's not that they can't say "no" to racial activists, it's that they don't want to? That perhaps "people in charge of the Democratic party" and "racial activists" are significantly overlapping sets?

What is your proposal to do about it if it turns out that the leadership on the left (and Western elites in general) are "racial activists" and actually want these policies?

Someone needs to take control of the Democratic party, impose discipline on activists, NGOs, and lobbyists, and overhaul permitting and so on so that infrastructure and housing actually get built.

First, why? So what if they don't? Can't they just keep their hold on the meaningful institutions and power (outside the clown show for rubes that is "democracy" and merely-elected offices) without having to deliver on any physical infrastructure?

And secondly, what makes you think this "someone" even exists? I get you think they're just some sort of fringe who've been unreasonably and inexplicably indulged, but what you call "activists, NGOs, and lobbyists" here, I call the ruling elite of the West. And the idea that the powerless peasant masses can meaningfully fight the elite themselves — rather than as the footsoldiers of a rival elite — is the "populist delusion," and needs to be discarded. Your 'someone who needs to take control' is a rival elite… but there isn't one. Not one powerful enough to take on the current one.

The people pushing the policies you decry are simply too powerful to be defeated. No matter how much you hate it, no matter what you do to fight it, these policies are going to continue, and even intensify. There's nothing you or anyone else can do about it, and you need to accept that already.

things we need to address:

gen z men getting pulled into alt-right pipelines through andrew tate, joe rogan, elon musk, jordan peterson etc

the gullibility and stupidity of half the country voting against our collective best interests

the broad effect social media has on public and common good

lazy minds and lack of empathy

outside-country interference (trump and elon’s connections to russia and the amount of bots from other countries spreading misinformation)

the long-term effects of AI and rampant disinformation

[aroaceleovaldez]

one of the things that I found particularly interesting in Demigods of Olympus is that it finally gives the best direct comparison we've seen so far between Percy and another character's experiences in terms of academics and particularly ableist discrimination.

The way Zane describes his experiences and what we see in his POV is that, while he is similarly discriminated against for his "atypical" behavior and blame is placed on him, the only sorts of punishments he receives for this are relatively benign, such as an increase in counseling. (It is also notable that Zane is somewhat autistic-coded, such as having the "incorrect" scripts when speaking with adults and Sam explicitly reminding him to remember to make proper eye contact.) Percy, on the other hand, similarly experiences discrimination for "atypical" behavior, but whereas Zane is treated as "too smart for his own good" and given slaps on the wrist, Percy is automatically labeled as aggressive, destructive, and a trouble-maker based on preconceived assumptions about him and is more severely punished, such as being frequently expelled.

We rarely get this level of direct comparison between Percy's experiences and that of another character, particularly such similar experiences, so looking at the differences is really interesting to gauge what their different experiences with ableist discrimination is like - and how it could potentially tie into intersectionality and other forms of discrimination at play for them.

For instance, Zane's parents are generally heavily implied to be middle-class and/or generally financially secure, versus Percy who grew up poor, so it could be classism in combination with ableist discrimination. Alternatively, it could be intersectionality with racial discrimination, as neurodivergent behavior in people of color is significantly more likely to be punished more severely and labeled as aggressive or disruptive behavior due to racist preconceptions - particularly since we know Percy's experiences with ableist discrimination are also somewhat based on assumptions people make regarding his appearance. Both Zane and Percy are racially ambiguous - Zane's appearance essentially being completely unspecified, but Percy at least having some notable details such as having a deep tan complexion. If not racism, it could also be colorism, which in this context often has similar intersectionality. There's a lot of potential options.

It's just very interesting to me! I love having such a direct point of comparison to examine the experiences of two characters within.

[sunnyshinesunshine]

The real reason the Rings of Power Elrond is so excluded from Gil-Galad’s court:

He kept interjecting to point out that not everything in the world can be blamed on the Fëanorians.

Unfortunately this was not a popular take.

[bonyassfish]

It’s not really possible to exist as a trans person without experiencing some level of discrimination and oppression, or even outright violence. Most trans people I know, self-included, have experienced discrimination in the workplace, loss of friendships, sexual assault, familial rejection, street harassment, etc

All of us trans people are, for the most part, living with the daily trauma of existing in a world that fundamentally does not want us to survive. Our politicians, religious leaders, and celebrities make careers out of demonizing us, mocking us, harassing us, and attempting to legislate us so we either die, kill ourselves, or agree to be forcibly detransitioned

We’re all angry. We’re all hurt. And most of us don’t feel like we can fight against our true enemies because they’re so powerful. So we instead turn on each other. I’ve seen it time and again in queer discourse, especially here on tumblr. We endlessly debate over the existence of particular terms and theory, play oppression Olympics, and do it all in a way that ensures that only the most privileged members of our community (no enbies, no intersex folks, no disabled people, no poc) get to have their say

We’ve got to resist that impulse as much as we can. We’ve got to remember that we are siblings in arms, that we can and have and should be caring for each other and upholding each other, not arguing online.

The best way to remedy this, imo, is to try and find trans groups irl to connect with. The more time you spend with the trans people in your community, the more you’ll realize that most online discourse is nonsense. So I’ll hold my friend’s hand during her bottom surgery consult, give away my old dresses in exchange for “men’s” clothes, comfort my friend as their parents reject them, cook dinner and send funny cat videos and remind all my friends, here and in real life, how beautiful and strong and powerful we all are, how the transsexual menace grows stronger by the day, and one day, we can all hold hands on the down with cis bus

calling transfems baeddels and transmascs transandrodorks/bros are both bad in their own ways and these two statements must coexist in transfeminism and trans liberation.

[archaeos]

Tory party stop being fucking fascists for one minute challenge (immediately failed)

[clementimetodie]

Why does the right constantly believe they are not being idealistic, the world needs to conform to your beliefs for them to work too, things are not going to just turn on a dime because you think you're intellectually superior for not thinking about the impact your changes would have on other people

[vmures]

Do people not realize that everyone has both estrogen and testosterone in their system? And that those levels fluctuate over time? It's the amounts that tend to align with specific genders or cause specific aspects of gender attributes.

Cis people often need hormone replacement therapy and/or hormone balancing for health reasons. And the regulations making it harder to access those treatments affect cis people as well.

So support gender confirming care across the board cause transphobia is bad for everyone's health.

[darkacademiaarchivist]

i had a conversation with my aunt today about how the system and politics and basically everything is fucked at the moment (which is true) and she was SO CLOSE to so many points but she never acknowledged that capitalism is the root of so many of those problems... Bestie you're So Close...

[solitaireships]

Twitter sucks bcs I’ll politely tell a white woman not to use an Asian name bcs that’s cultural appropriation and she acts like she got brutally harassed (I apologized to her twice in the conversation where she constantly dismissed me and only mentioned her doing it publicly after she started acting like she was being attacked and framing me as getting offended over nothing). Then someone claims me being whitepassing means I’m not actually Korean and being hypocritical for saying that she shouldn’t use a Japanese name, and a popular white rw/by fic writer blocks me for calling out her friend, but if I say anything about that I’m the bad guy

[gamergal-ds]

Got voted the funniest little shit in the Cod4 Lobby

[aphverse-confessions]

i find people who include fantasy racism, sexism and homophobia in their rewrites for ‘added drama’ and ‘issues’ are extremely unoriginal and lacking creativity. if your go to conflict is always fascism just because you have no creativity to try and come up with anything else besides what you know and is obviously ingrained in your brain, you should sit down and think why your go to awnser is always fascism.

.

[tevatron]

i'm so glad i won't be working with my pi after this month. i think i've reached my limit. i just can't deal with her anymore

[the-light-of-stars]

just saw a snippet from a newspaper while sitting in the subway to uni and apparently one of germany's high ranking ministers - a member of the 'progressive' Green party that ran on a platform of anti-homophobia, anti-racism etc. - just said that he'll make sure that any immigrant that takes part in a pro-palestine demonstration can be forced to move back to the country they emigrated from, supposedly on a charge of antisemitism, simply for attending a demonstration against genocide. (note that it said 'immigrants' not even just 'refugees' but immigrants that have lived here for years or decades)

if it was really about stopping antisemitism in germany then how come they are only targetting these demonstrations and never *never* have put in the same effort condemning and prohibiting demonstrations by real actual neo nazis, which there are plenty of here and which always are protected by official police squads under the banner of 'freedom of speech'? it is so transparent that they don't actually care about antisemitism - if they did (and they should!) they would have prohibited white supremacist marches years ago, yet those guys can have weekly gatherings in the thousands and even get seats in parliament.

his statement also comes at a time when the -again, supposedly 'progressive' - government generally stated they want to make it easier to force refugees back to the countries they fled from and want to mark multiple countries with especially high refugee counts as 'safe origin countries' meaning they wouldn't have to take in refugees from there at all.

but it sure is good that the government is 'progressive' that clearly makes a positive difference for minorities rn

[yelloworangesoda]

“guys transmisogyny isnt WORSE than transphobia towards trans men/transmis/ndry” um….. idk…….. misogyny IS worse than. mis/ndry. idk guys……

[labyrynth]

very salty salt re: someone’s hotter-than-the-sun take on jgy/meng shi, mu qing, and class

just saw someone insist that bc meng shi was a famed courtesan at some point, she therefore was actually quite well off financially, and was not at all lower or working class, as if she not only had a say in her profession, but as if this did not all come crashing down after 1) aging, and 2) having a literal child

they also described both meng yao and mu qing as “functionally middle class” because obviously not being jobless or homeless means you’re middle class.

and also claimed that mu qing was personally responsible for xie lian’s downward spiral, and that mu qing’s decision to leave abandon xie lian was selfish, cruel, and—get this—fueled by CLASSISM.

OP i am beating you over the head with a stick. how do you fuck up class awareness/analysis THIS bad.

the whore and her bastard son are middle class because she’s fuckable and he knows how to read. uh huh sure.

the working class servant is selfish and classist for prioritizing his own family over his employer, the royal fucking family. why not.

here look OP i can string together offensive sentences too: you are fucking stupid.

[phagodyke]

god I was thinking well I have some old voicemails from when the disability services tried to call me (before they realised I was deaf) so I can test how difficult mobile audio is for me to listen to without lipreading by going thru them! :-) but it just sounds like a big crackly tangle of gibberish. it's so over </3