#bringing racism into politics

[bixels]

So i have a small nicpic i wanted to share with you about your interpretation of spike in the au and i want to make two things clear before i talk

1) i havent watch the series for a little while as of now so i might be misnterpreting a aspect of this chatacter that might have never been there and only apeared in fan content and personal interpretation (since that whats been keeping me on the fandom)

2) this is not a big problem about the au i matured enough to not get angry at a interpretation of a fictional charater

Now here i go

I feel spike being the same race as the rest of his familie makes him lose a part of his character that might have not been central but was still something interesting about him and is the idea of not mayhering how diferent he looked from his adoptive family (and his cominty as a whole) he was he was still seen as part of it

Again this isnt a big problem with the au as a whole its just a small nicpic that i have about the au and its not going to make me hate the au

This was just my opinion that i wanted to share and im interested to know your opinion about what i said

I understand this criticism and agree that having Simon/Spike be a different race than Thea could speak to their relationship in the original show.

My reasoning for designing them both to be African American is this. I believe Simon's adoption is enough to explore the feelings of separation and exclusion he may have with Thea and her family. The original show doesn't bring up Twilight and Spike's racial differences much because they originally didn't consider Spike to be a part of Twilight's family. As far as I know, there's no moment where someone says, "Wow! You're telling me you're related to Twilight Sparkle? But you look nothing alike!" because Spike was more so Twilights... familiar than anything.

Later episodes that explore their familial dynamic poses the conflict through Spike's adoption. There's one episode where Spike's "biological father" returns, and Spike accuses Twilight of not being his real family, which breaks her heart. There's another that delves deep into Spike's feelings of exclusion from Twilight and Shining Armor's siblinghood. Basically, in discussions of family dynamics, the show places more emphasis on Spike's identity as an adopted sibling rather than a dragon.

I really do believe a multiracial family would be good representation, but the racial dynamics would not be something I'd be interested in getting into. That's not to say I find real multiracial families problematic or uninteresting or unappealing or unimportant. I just wouldn't be interested in having to explain in-text that Simon (non-black) and Thea (black) are related over and over; it would grow tedious. It adds an extra level of writing complication and opens up racial discourse (discourse that I feel is unrelated to their relationship in the original show) that I don't want to concern myself with, especially because I have no experience in navigating such discourse.

[famdommcfanface]

Okay, so I was talking to some friends about the Harry Potter HBO show (and how awful it is that it's happening), and they said something interesting. They said that only transphobes will watch it anyway.

Transphobes are not who is going to watch the show. Well, some of them might, but most of the transphobes who support Joanne don't give a shit about Harry Potter.

I was into Harry Potter, back in the day. This means that I still see stuff from the fandom occasionally. It's unavoidable, and trust me I try to avoid it. But I think it's important to consider who your average fan is these days when a good amount of people have ditched Harry Potter.

If we discount the marauders fandom, because frankly that's a whole other can of worms that a) probably aren't going to even be interested in the HBO show and b) is almost entirely unrelated to Harry Potter at this point, then your average Potterhead is probably a millennial cis (probably even het) American who does not like Joanne but don't think that really matters all that much.

They're aware. They're not transphobes. They don't like what Joanne is saying. But that's not going to stop them watching the films and buying the merch and putting their Hogwarts house in their bio. I've put American down because I find non-British people often fail to see how significant Joanne's politics are here - she's provided a bit of a turning point for worsening trans care in the UK. But saying that, there are definitely British people like this. I know some of them. I, a trans man, am friends with some of them. Some of them - very trans accepting ones - expect me to discuss Harry Potter with them without bringing up politics. They don't think it's a big deal.

Idk I think this is important. Because if you start thinking every Harry Potter fan is a transphobe then ones who aren't think they're alright. No. Don't buy the merch, don't watch the show, don't give this woman any money to make the lives of me and my friends worse. You are funding a literal hate campaign. This is the bare minimum.

[shinobicyrus]

It doesn't matter to JD Vance - or Trump's supporters - that the 'immigrants eating pets' stories are false. He's admitted as much, and says he will keep repeating them. Because "memes."

It also doesn't matter when it's pointed out to him that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are in the country legally. He's going to keep calling them "illegal" because their legal status is not the thing about them that he finds objectionable.

It doesn't matter if they're legal immigrants or illegal immigrants. It doesn't matter that immigrants - regardless of legal status - are statistically much less likely to commit crimes than those born in the United States.

None of those things matter, because it's never been about those things.

Trump & JD Vance and all of their supporters hate immigrants. Full stop. The reasons and justifications will always shift and change to fit the present circumstances and political environment; reactionary politics at its finest. Meanwhile, the cold and vile core remains unchanged:

"These non-white people are lesser than us. In fact, they aren't people and we don't want them here."

[sunbeamedskies]

Just like how some celebrities on the popular blockout lists HAVE spoken up for Palestinians, some celebrities I’ve seen people complain about because they believe they haven’t said anything condemning October 7 HAVE spoken up for Israelis. One of those people is Angelina Jolie.

Her statement about I/P on Instagram had a large part dedicated to condemning the Hamas attacks, right on the first page. It is the kind of statement I wish more celebrities would put out there which emphasizes empathy for both peoples, and yet the hate she continues to get is unreal. Just because she’s against the Israeli government’s actions does not mean she’s against Israelis. Please continue to fact check as well as check your own biases. We are all susceptible to falling for misinformation

[stars-and-soda]

No amount of reading political theory can make up for not seeing poc as people to our cores btw.

[dimensionhoppr]

One day I will be able to properly break down the themes of authoritarianism, bioessentialism, and the VERY flawed "hero and villain" dynamic in MHA and then it'll be ALL over for you...

[hyp3rfixation-h3ll]

not to get into discourse mode on here but the recent shit w/ ao3 being once again called out for being run by racists/genocide supporters and seeing so many fucking Absolute Gormless Shitheads blindly defend OTW and going " dOn'T bRiNg FiCtIoNaL PoLiTicS iNtO tHis!!!111!1 " as if they are not immune to propaganda is wild . my siblings in sin , ao3 is literally The Racism Fetish Fanfiction site , and propaganda via fictional work is exactly how racism perpetuates. ao3 and the otw are a part of the problem whether you choose to acknowledge it or not because they contribute to the cycle of violence , fetishisation and colonisation of marginalised groups via complacency (and sometimes even blatant PASSIVE ENCOURAGEMENT) , and then they cover it up by using soft cutesy buzzwords like " anti-censorship " and " free speech " and their dumb ass complex tagging system to appeal to white people , so when Actual Minorities and people affected by the shit they put on there speak up about it they're met with all kinds of bullcrap about "jUsT bLoCk ThE tAg If It'S a PrObLem1111!111" or "YoU'rE jUsT bEiNg a fAnDoM cOp!11!!"

You're a part of the problem if you support ao3 and actively continue to use it & donate to them , especially in the wake of the OTW being actively chockful of zionists who will , ironically , silence those who speak up and rally with Palestine for liberation . And If you decide to take this as me being hostile towards you or trying to " bring fiction into real world issues " , remember that at Any point in time you can go on ao3 for yourself and find thousands and thousands of raceplay fics and other various works that glorify and condone racism , and that the otw and their large userbase (primarily composed of white people!) has a track record of trying to shut up POC when this issue is brought to light .

Idgaf if ao3 is for " anti-censorship " , because there's a difference between anti-censorship and HIDING BEHIND the concept of free speech and the 1st amendment to do and say awful , horrendous things and believe you're above critique , punishment or consequences for it .

tl;dr: fuck ao3, fuck the otw, free palestine, and most importantly: you are NOT and will NEVER be immune to propaganda if you choose to ignore it because it benefits you.

[hussyknee]

I love living in this fascist shithole.

[constantvariations]

Prior to V3C11: Heroes and Monsters, are there any signs that Blake was abused? How well do you think her abuse arc as a whole is handled?

[originalleftist]

So, you might have heard that Bill Clinton decided it would be a good idea to go off at a rally saying that Israel has no choice but to kill Palestinians.

He also apparently claimed Jews were in the region before Palestinians, when in fact both groups trace back to the Canaanites.

He said this in MICHIGAN, a vital swing state known for its large number of Muslim and Arab voters, five days before the election.

Now, speaking as a Democrat, I've long thought that Bill Clinton is a piece of shit, but he was never an idiot. He was a skilled campaigner.

Maybe he's just starting to suffer dementia, but otherwise, he HAS to know that saying that, there, then was directly undermining Harris's campaign, in a way that (given it would be all but impossible for Democrats to win without MI, and it could very well come down to a few thousand votes), might very easily cost her the election.

Nope, not buying it. Sorry if I sound like a conspiracy nut, but this was sabotage.

Maybe Trump has blackmail on him from when they were both pals of Jeffrey Epstein's. Maybe Bill just subconsciously can't stand the idea of a woman of colour being President, and his white male self just couldn't help himself (I remember he said some stupid shit that undercut Hillary in 2016 too). I don't know.

Hopefully it won't change the result. Hopefully it isn't really as close as the polls say it is. But this was a really bad thing he did. It was doubtless hurtful to many Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Americans, it was inaccurate or at best oversimplified, and it was bad politics.

And (even though she will be blamed for it, and it'll be used as "proof" of her "supporting genocide"), I can pretty much guarantee that it wasn't approved by Kamala Harris, simply because she's not an idiot and actually wants to win the election.

I get why most Democrats don't want to disavow Bill Clinton, somewhat. He's a former President, a big name in the party, he has a lot of friends, and we don't want infighting close to a vital election.

But as a Democrat, the sooner we can leave Bill Clinton in the past the happier I'll be. That man is a fucking millstone around our necks, and an endless source of fodder for the "Both Sides" crowd.

[chronicallyzagreus]

2016’s optimistic first female president campaign

vs

2024’s desperate keep a fascist out of office campaign

[madamshogunassassin]

[gorgeousgreymatter-x]

"GenOcIdE JoE is thE BesT PresiDEnt OF MY LifETimE!!!!oneone!¡!!!!! 😭😭😭😭"

[nightingaletrash]

a surprisingly wholesome ending for a WoD game <3

[marcirose]

I finally got the chance to go through Sumeru's archon quests after not playing for a while (and for a good while I mean a year or so) and no one told me about the full on racism in these quests and I don't mean the character designs

[rig-a-rendal]

scared to keep this 500-word blurb about the civil rights movement in my review of "some like it lukewarm" because it doesn't ascribe to Internet Morality (i.e. I say that having Charlie Smalls on the show is actually a big deal for the legitimizing of black artists in the eyes of the show's largely-white audience). I know the jackals are going to gut me for "congratulating the white production team". I know they're going to be mad I'm promoting small, step-by-step practical change instead of adhering to the impossible standards of wokeness.