#but who knows australia just voted to change supports for people like me

[not-poignant]

I think it's amazing that you're getting help with your autism, and I share your grief on all you had to struggle through before now. I experienced something similar with an abusive parent and an adult diagnosis. I hope the future brings you a lot of support and resulting joy.

Hi anon,

I'm honestly very privileged that I could afford the diagnosis, I've been saving up for about a year, but just getting access is something that not everyone, everywhere, can do. I wish it was more accessible, it really should be more accessible.

I'm sorry for the pain and suffering your own journey has brought to you anon re: an abusive background and late diagnosis. It can be very rough, and I hope you're taking care of yourself!

[official-boobies-posts]

always was, always will be aboriginal land ❤️💛🖤

[luneandbarbecue]

(to those who align to the Left partaking or not partaking in the us election who feel 'weak', those not can read if they want)

(The voice to read this in is gentle, I've intended it to not be sarcastic. Please, I mean it.)

I live in Australia, so what I say might be naive, insensitive to the situations of the election, so if it does end up so, please leave if needed. Please leave especially if you don't have the emotional space for a post intending to give mental comfort to those not in your dire situation. Take care of yourself first.

I've been trying to imagine what would be like to be in an American citizen where many of those aligning on the left are facing many conflicting decisions and view points from other members of the community. I didn't just want to lay back and be relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with a situation that would expose our values vulnerably, so that's why I imagined myself, reading posts as if I had a stake in voting. The conclusion I came was this.

I think to the core, the Left is trying....

Everyone is trying to do the right thing, I do have faith that many people are considering the suffering of others of those around them. Maybe someone's approach doesn't seem like the best course of action, I have my opinions for sure, but it is healthier for me to think that the people here really are trying and they want a kinder world. So even if I wouldn't make the same voting or non-voting decision if I was in your position, I have faith that you are trying to do the right thing.

This is probably unexpectedly gentle from what you've been hearing around. Yes, there is a space for imperative and constructively critical voices, but I think you do need space for 'weakness' and to be 'pathetic' (as the phrasing of that word tends to go). The need to nurse your ego and to be absolved is very human. That's because you don't want to do something bad. I'm sensitive and 'delicate' myself so I think I know how that feels.

I think this situation really is very stressful for you and despite the major sufferings of others, you are important to and deserve to rest your mind. You don't have to be strong all the time, we don't know everything. Being self-reflective and critical is vital for good change, but it can be difficult to handle if it's very constant, especially when your self-esteem is low. Please, do not destroy yourself, don't set yourself on fire so that others can be warm.

In the end, no matter what you choose. I don't think anybody's hands are clean. Use that to unite yourselves with others who feel that same vulnerable 'weaknesses' as you do. I'd love to see more people on the Left strive to have more space for being 'weak', for not truly knowing everything and use that as a point of bonding. You need to be able to fall on each other for support because we are all trying our best to do good.

The thing is, no matter what decision you come to, in the end the imperative is that.... We need to work HARD. Harder than before. The election CANNOT be the end all and be all for social change and progress. If you cannot cannot bite the bullet, not give in to infighting and work together with other people you deem incorrect despite them being fundamentally on your side, then I feel that nothing major is going to happen. The revolution that we all dream of bringing forward is not going to grow stronger. It really isn't... the time to call each other liberals when there is direct action to be done, which I think it more productive than labeling someone with a word that is bound to make them defensive and not want to work with you.

Anyway, please try to make space to understand and be kind to each other. I think this community really needs it.

(If there are any comments and conversations below, please do try to not make your comments inflammatory. You can direct those thoughts somewhere else. I want to leave space here for people to be vulnerable and feel safe without being attacked. Like I said, we're all trying)

[starseedfxofficial]

Dollar Holds Steady While FX Markets Wait: Hidden Moves Ahead The Dollar Holds Steady, While Markets Fidget: What's Lurking Underneath? The Forex market is like a dance floor—the beat changes, people move, but the real action is always at the edges. Today, the dollar index (DXY) decided to do a little shimmy without moving much, staying glued at 106.00, as if it couldn’t decide whether to jump or sit this one out. The culprit? A mix of weak ISM Services PMI data and a rather uninspired ADP jobs report. Not even Fed Chairman Powell could add any fireworks, despite his latest comments. Guess sometimes, not even the head honcho can get the party started. On the other side of the pond, EUR/USD made a slight move upward, though it seemed about as enthusiastic as someone dragging themselves to the gym after a long day. With political drama brewing in France—where PM Barnier lost the no-confidence vote—markets were cautious. Traders are now eyeing President Macron’s next move, as he was rumored to be scouting for a new prime minister ahead of Saturday. It’s like watching a chess game, only with bigger stakes and less predictability. Meanwhile, GBP/USD was parked near the 1.2700 mark. Yesterday’s drop, courtesy of BoE Governor Bailey's gloomy comments, left the pound nursing its wounds. Picture a boxer sitting in the corner of the ring, trying to catch their breath—that’s the pound right now. And let’s talk about the yen, because USD/JPY had its fair share of mood swings today. BoJ’s Nakamura played the role of the ‘uncertain coach,’ wavering between dovish and data-dependent, like a kid deciding between chocolate and vanilla. Initially, the yen lost ground on Nakamura’s skepticism about wage growth, but then the tides turned as he hinted that he’s not completely against a rate hike—as long as the numbers justify it. Traders, predictably, went into overdrive, and we ended the day with USD/JPY slipping below the 150.00 mark. Down under, the Antipodeans were all about those small wins. NZD/USD led the slight gains, while AUD/USD, despite Australia’s improved trade and household spending data, decided to just keep calm and carry on—no big rallies here, folks. Sometimes, even good news isn’t enough to get everyone excited. Why Traders Should Care: The Hidden Moves That Matter Now, if you’re reading this thinking, “Okay, but what’s in it for me?”—let’s cut to the chase. These moves may seem mundane, but there’s gold to be found in the subtle shifts. Here’s what you should be watching: - Fed's Murky Stance Means Opportunity: The fact that Powell’s comments didn’t shift the market tells us traders are still guessing about the Fed's intentions. Uncertainty equals opportunity for those who know how to play the waiting game. Look for the next Fed meeting minutes or economic reports for clues, and be ready to jump in before everyone else catches on. - EUR/USD and Political Turmoil: With France in political limbo, the euro is balancing on a tightrope. If President Macron does bring in a new prime minister, expect some volatility. Traders can capitalize on this by setting pending orders just above or below key support and resistance levels—catch the breakout, no matter which way it moves. - The Yen and Nakamura’s Waffling: Nakamura’s comments about data-dependency are your cue to pay attention to upcoming Japanese wage and inflation data. If there’s an upside surprise, the yen could strengthen quickly. Consider straddling positions or keeping tight stop-loss orders to protect against sudden moves. - The Aussie Dollar’s Quiet Resolve: Good data but no big rally? This means the market’s pricing in a lot of skepticism. If sentiment shifts, there’s potential for a sharp correction. Watch the commodity markets—they often have a spillover effect on AUD/USD. How to Play It: Advanced Insights for a Strategic Edge For those of you wanting to dig deeper and find the hidden opportunities, here are a few contrarian tactics: - Buy on the Rumor, Sell on the Fact—With a Twist: Everyone knows this old trading adage, but let’s take it a step further. In the case of the euro and France's political drama, consider fading the initial spike if Macron appoints a new prime minister and the markets overreact. Often, the true move happens not on the news itself but in the following days as the market digests the reality. - Watch the Yield Curves: Powell and Nakamura have both mentioned data-dependency. This means bond markets will be key indicators. A steepening yield curve in the US or Japan could signal shifts in market sentiment before it’s reflected in currency pairs. Look for entry opportunities based on these early indicators. - Take Advantage of Market Complacency: Right now, GBP/USD looks subdued, almost as if traders have lost interest after Bailey’s comments. This kind of complacency is where hidden gems lie. When the market goes quiet, look for options to buy volatility—it's often undervalued just before a big move. The Waiting Game Pays Off If today’s market is teaching us anything, it’s that sometimes the best moves come when everyone else is bored. The dollar stayed put, the pound took a breather, and even the yen couldn’t make up its mind. But in Forex, the dull moments are where the next wave begins—it’s about knowing when to dive in. So, keep an eye on the edges, watch for the subtle shifts, and remember—when in doubt, let the market reveal its hand first. After all, the best trades are often like the best jokes—all about the timing. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated   Read the full article

[notthewriteryourelookingfor]

1 - I am not American, I am watching this from Australia so my words are being said as someone who can & will see & experience the global effects of Trumps presidency.

2 - yes, protesting right now is hard everywhere, in Australia we had threats of snipers on October 7 this year if we marched for Palestine.

Project 2025 will make it so much worse and plans to target pro-Palestine people specifically,

3 - you have 2 choices for president right now.

Kamala: who will continue to support the genocide I Gaza while she promises to try to fix things in the USA

Or

Trump: who will ALSO continue to support the genocide, maybe even ramp it up, while also dismantling workers rights, environmental regulations, destroy the economy further, and so on. He's literally bffs with Netanyahu.

This is not a decision about "who lines up with my ideals?" It's "who will be easier to fight against?"

Almost all the problems you are facing right now are cuz of Trump's first presidency: Roe v Wade being overturned (+ everything else the Supreme Court has done), food recalls due to eroding of food & health regulations, & everything the Republicans are blocking in the senate. Do you really want more?

Don't get me wrong, I hate the Democrats, they don't do anything. They're fuckin useless.

I'm not pretending to care, I care about everyone.

The problem is this:

You have to make a choice, if you do not make the choice, the worst outcome will be chosen for you.

Unfortunately you do need to prevent the Orange Cheeto from burning your house to the ground so you can continue to help others.

Here's an article of what will happen if Trump wins

Yes, it feels like blackmail, it probably is.

If you care about the people you talk about, vote for the person who isn't frothing at the mouth to hurt them even more.

I wish Kamala didn't support Israel.

I wish the majority of politicians didn't support Israel.

But saying "you don't care about these people if you care about those" is fuckin stupid.

Saying "you don't care about Palestine/Congo/Sudan if you care about immigrants/women/minorities/global health/workers rights" is unhelpful.

I know people want to vote for 3rd parties & in a lot of other countries that could work.

But there are several hundred 3rd party parties in the USA & they would need like 90% of the adult population of the USA to vote for them to win.

So let's look at it from the POV of the global south:

Who would you rather have in control of the USA, the main supporter of your colonisers & oppressors:

A woman who at most won't really make any changes but also won't make things like climate change worse so things like rising sea levels & famine worse, & won't start a nuclear war over a fuckin twitter dispute.

Or

A man who is frothing at the mouth to start a nuclear war, is BFFs with the leader of your colonisers/oppressors, has explicitly stated that he wants to wipe you off the face off the world, make everything related to climate change worse, cause another global depression, & has said that he wants to be US Hitler.

Neither is a good option

Both are bad options

But saying "protecting yourself so you can continue to help others is bad" is not only harmful to everyone (including the people you're claiming to support) but it also comes off really disingenuous & makes it seem like you're just lifting up the global south to drown out the voices you don't want to hear.

Not saying that's what you're doing but that's what it seems.

Sorry to post politics on main, but some of you pro-palestine people are missing the point when it comes to the US election.

At this point, there is really no alternative to voting for Kamala. RFK is not getting elected. Trump would be infinitely worse for the Israel-Palestine conflict (as well as other conflicts! and our well-being in general).

Stop virtue signaling and actually do something (vote) so that America can have a better leader than Trump. That’s all. We’re not voting for our next Messiah, we’re not voting between two perfect angels, it’s a US presidential election.

And those of you saying that Kamala is “committing genocide” really need to get things into perspective. The Vice President does not have the power to furnish weapons to Israel. Israel’s prime minister is acting in direct defiance of the Biden/Harris administration’s wishes and Harris has been the most vocal in asking for a ceasefire.

The Palestine conflict is not an excuse to not vote. Not voting makes it likely that Trump will win, history will go on whether you play a part or not. I want my reproductive rights back. Please.

[qnewsau]

From the Archives. Barnaby Joyce on marriage & Asian perception

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/barnaby-joyce-on-marriage-equality-asia-will-see-us-as-decadent/

From the Archives. Barnaby Joyce on marriage & Asian perception

The Deputy Leader of the Nationals Barnaby Joyce on marriage in 2015: Asia will see Australia as ‘decadent’ if the country legalises same-sex marriage.

QNews updates a 2015 story about Barnaby Joyce and marriage following his recent wedding to the former staffer he impregnated while married to someone else.

First published July 5, 2015 by Staff Writers.

Update by Destiny Rogers December 26, 2023.

This didn’t age well for the rabble-rousing attention seeker. Barnaby Joyce first entered parliament as a Queensland senator tagged Barnaby Rubble by political opponents. He moved to the lower house in 2013 as member for the NSW seat of New England. 

Elected Nationals leader in 2016, Joyce became Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. 😳

Marriage Equality

Following the nonsensical comments reported in this article, Joyce continued to campaign in defense of ‘traditional marriage’.

But within months of Australia voting overwhelmingly for same-sex marriage, the Australian media finally published a story already well-known to the Twitterverse.

Joyce had left his wife and was living with a former media advisor almost 20 years his junior — WHO WAS PREGNANT TO HIM!

How’s that for traditional marriage? 

After resigning as Nationals leader during the consequent controversy, Joyce returned to the position in 2021 but lost a leadership spill following the coalition’s 2022 election loss.

The original 2015 article

Barnaby Joyce has joined the anti-same-sex marriage chorus, warning of consequences with Asian trading partners.

“I think that what we have to understand is that when we go there (Asia), there are judgments, whether you like it or not, that are made about us and they see in how we negotiate with them whether they see us as – whether they see us as decadent.”

Joyce says Australia should not necessarily take its cues or cultural values from its near neighbours. However, his comments echo fellow cabinet minister Eric Abetz’ warning last week that Australia should not legalise gay marriage because no Asian country has done so.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

Joyce told ABC’s Insiders that he doesn’t believe we should be redefining marriage.

“Marriage for me is in the traditional form.

“In life, everybody doesn’t get everything they want.”

Marriage should be “inherently there for the support of children or given the prospect of children or the opportunity of children.

“I think that every kid has a right, absolute right to know her or his mother and father and also has – should be given the greatest opportunity to know their biological mother and father.

“I don’t think if you go and pass a piece of legislation and say a diamond is a square, (that) makes diamonds squares, they’re two different things.”

Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome told Fairfax Media that “to say children are better off brought up by a mum and dad reinforces prejudice against the children raised by same-sex couples and is just plain wrong”.

Horse has bolted

Rodney Croome said the horse has bolted on gay parenting in Australia.

“Aout 20 percent of Australia’s 50,000 same-sex couples are raising children.”

Meanwhile, Abetz defended penning a rebuke to Hobart City Council for expressing support for same-sex marriage.

The senator said the council’s resolution “undermines the important social institution of marriage.” He said it had nothing to do with the priorities of ratepayers.

Senator Abetz earlier suggested frontbenchers who supported change should resign. He said allowing same-sex marriage would open a Pandora’s box. It could potentially lead to polyamory (the practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all people involved).

Coalition divisions erupted over same-sex marriage last week. A marriage equality bill moved by Liberal Warren Entsch, seconded by Labor’s Terri Butler and backed by a multi-party grouping, will be introduced when Parliament resumes in August

Abbott a roadblock

Senator Penny Wong slammed Abetz’s comments, labeling them “illogical and outright offensive”.

She also accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of being an extraordinary roadblock on the issue.

“He keeps finding excuses not to talk about it,” she said. “It’s time for him to get out of the way.”

Abbott has played down the prospect of a vote on Mr Entsch’s bill. He warned it was unusual for a private member’s bill to get that far.

It has prompted speculation he will use parliamentary processes to shut debate down.

More about the man Twitter Wits tagged The Beetrooter :

WATCH: John Oliver Roasts ‘Hypocritical’ Joyce Over Affair Scandal.

Was Joyce just tip of traditional marriage hypocrisy iceberg? (Spoiler – YEP!)

Barnaby In Art: Kulcha with a capital K.

Image: @DirtyCreature__ Twitter

The fall and fall of Anti-Marriage Equality Pollies.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[triakis-octahedron]

You recognize by voting for a party on the condition of "they want a nicer genocide" just bolsters the party into believing they can get away with reactionary or conservative policy, right? This is the problem with liberal capitalist democracy. If you vote for the one guy who is 1% nicer than the other, their win just proves that the voters are willing to put up with (or agree with) bad policies for minorities.

If you want to do this whole crystal ball game about somehow "knowing" that Labour will be better than Tories, or Democrats better than Republicans (in both examples they work together to pass the SAME social policies while fighting over their minor disagreements usually through economic policy), then I could run the reverse argument at you. How do you *know* Tories won't face harder consequences from voters, and Labour won't reform to win the next election, etc.? The point is you literally don't know so acting like trans people, or any minority group targeted by bigoted policies, should sacrifice time to vote for someone who *MIGHT* go about making their life hell but maybe not *AS* hellish is an absurd, and completely un-materialist position. I'm not passing judgement on you personally I am simply giving my own perspective as someone who has gone through this as a minority who voted for "the lesser evil" many times only for them to stab me, my loved ones and my community in the back.

I think that if voting is a lot of effort for you, and you don't see that major a difference between the two parties then you shouldn't do it, you're right. But where I live, voting takes like 30 minutes at most, and usually around 5 or 10, and you don't have to go somewhere to do it, you can do it online or via the mail, and that's with one of the most complicated voting systems for elections (in terms of what information the voter has to provide) in the world. If voting is significantly harder than that for you, or you find doing what I just said a lot of effort for any reason, then what I said about voting doesn't apply as much.

However, I disagree with you about it being basically unknowable that one party will be better than another. Left leaning parties usually have to pretend that they support minorities, or at least have some level of plausible deniability. This makes it much harder for them to implement the more extreme bigoted policies, whereas if a right-wing party does it, most of their voter base will be cheering them on. A few years ago, I looked at the policy history of representatives in my area, and I can tell you for sure that the right wing representatives voted much more often for harmful or bigoted policies than the left wing ones. Maybe this doesn't apply internationally or even in the rest of Australia, or maybe things have changed since I last looked into that, but it seems to me that while left wing parties can be bigoted as well, they very rarely do as much harm as the right wing ones.

As I have said before, I don't know anything really about british politics specifically, and should not have commented on a post about it. That was a mistake on my part. Most of my political knowledge is based on Australia, and because of our voting system allowing you to vote for multiple parties in order if the major left or right wing party decide to do a bad thing, they will loose votes to smaller parties. If the major left wing party here did something like that in Australia, many people would change their votes from 1. major left wing 2. minor left wings 3. major right wing 4. minor right wings, to 1. minor left wings 2. major left wing 3. major right wing 4. minor right wings.

This would show the major left wing party that they can't do what they did, while still preventing the right wing parties getting into power. The major left wing party would probably still win, but they would have to make compromises with the minor parties which they don't want, so they would avoid that in the future. I probably should have considered that other countries don't work like that, especially in posts where I talk about how australia's voting system is better than most. I'm still not sure what you are suggesting the alternative is, and why it would be just as bad for someone who will probably betray you to get in power compared to someone who has repeatedly stated that they want you dead and they are definitely going to go through with that.

I understand not wanting to vote for someone when you have been betrayed over and over again, but every alternative I've been presented with has been worse. Things seem hopeless, and like they can only get worse, but that's not a reason to give up. If every option is bad, and will make things worse for you, you have to keep delaying the inevitable and hope that another option presents itself, not give up and refuse to do anything, at least that's my opinion. And it is definitely possible to both protest and vote, you don't have to pick.

Another thing that's worth mentioning is that if refusing to vote becomes common that causes problems too. If people of a particular political ideology will commonly refuse to vote for reasons the politicians see as random or unreasonable (and a lot of the politicians will see refusing to vote in the USA or Britain that way, even if people are clear about why they are not voting), then I think the politicians will stop catering their policies to that demographic, viewing them as unreliable, and they will decide not to make policies in their favour since if the politician does one thing the demographic doesn't like the politician will loose most of their support. I'm not saying that's an accurate way to view things, but I think it's how most politicians would view things.

[naughtysalamander]

are other leftist americans who support various stricter gun measures feeling like they should get a gun? because i’m beginning to feel very unsafe for a multitude of reasons. i'm feeling anxiety about the safety of people i know. almost every reason can be boiled down to insane conservatives who already have an often times excessive amount of firearms and are projecting their ignorance, fears, and hatred onto other people in frightening ways. i feel like a hypocrite in some ways for thinking about this. not only that but i don't really want a gun. guns don't interest me in the slightest.

a normal person who allegedly lives in an allegedly extremely wealthy and an allegedly normal country who does not hunt should have no distinct need for a firearm in every day life. however, gun violence is out of control. other countries on par with the united states like australia and western european nations do not experience this same level of gun violence. but how, without my own gun, am i supposed to stand a chance against braindead "patriots" who are eventually going to figure out they can kill people they disagree with or groups they are for whatever reason afraid of? some extremists already know that but the mainstrain hivemind hasn't quite made this jump into incurable insanity yet. but i see it happening and it is closer than people think. i hate that i'm feeling forced into owning weaponry to "protect myself" because its the oldest and stupidest cliche in the book when it comes to firearms.

i have studied enough history and traveled to enough historically important places to know that certain moves conservatives are making in this country right now are indicative of a larger, far more insidious goal. there is a clear and transparent pattern that alarms me on a daily basis.

i can only laugh because if you remove the part about studying and traveling in the paragraph above, and change out conservatives for "democrats" (because obviously everyone who is not conservative is a democrat) it sounds like an insane right-wing take that isn't based in reality. it sounds like an uneducated or otherwise historically ignorant conservative who failed history class heard that paragraph and flipped it back around like "i know u are but what am i???!!!"

which then makes me stop laughing because conservatives actually do that. these people vote. i think everyone should vote but holy fuck why are there SO MANY PEOPLE like that?? these are the people that scare me, because they can so easily get manipulated en masse by some sociopath who wants to make a name for himself in history. just look at trump fanatics for fuck's sake. that was the test run.

[maytheamazing]

Hey remember not to fall for this type of stuff- For those not old enough to remember, or was before your time like me, we've fucking tried this. Again and again. And with the current two party system, where you can only vote for one person rather than your ordered top picks like Australia does, means that your options are vote for the lesser danger or hold the door open for the greater evil.

I recommend everyone looks up and reads about the 2000 American election, where a good amount of people voted for the green party to show their support for climate change and a candidate who promised to do something about it but rather than the voting split evenly, it was just democratic votes that then went to the third party. If you remember, that's how George Bush won.

And keep in mind that "moral arguments" like this actually help the republicans win. You're completely correct that Genocide Joe is a horrible human being with weak foreign policy and even poorer domestic standing. That's not the issue here. The issue is that the only other option is Project 2025 and the end of democracy and the United States as we know it. That's not an exaggeration. The Supreme Court ruled that any crime done by the President of the United States is exempt from prosecution as long as the President is using their Presidential Powers. That was this week.

If you want actual, tangible change, you have to vote every single time. In every election you are eligible, local and national. Politics is a slow game towards progress that can very easily slide into right wing and fascist hands if you don't keep playing. It's not fun, it's not fast, but it is necessary.

Like I'm not going to vote for a man who's outright denying a genocide is even happened DO YOU HEAR YOURSLEVES?

[not-poignant]

Hi, Pia

I just read chapter 28 'Strange and Lonely' of UtB and got curious about the omega rights that exist in this world. Would you mind listing some of the rights omegas have in Australia in this universe? And are there countries where they don't have these rights? Or countries where omegas have even *more* rights than where UtB takes place?

And also Gary says that Temsen became 'radicalised' after what he'd seen while studying overseas. Does Gary really think Temsens views are radical or was that just a word he used in the moment?

Thanks!

Hi anon!

Some of this stuff I don't know the full answer to (winging the story), some of it will be revealed in the story, but here's some bits and pieces!

Would you mind listing some of the rights omegas have in Australia in this universe?

I don't know them all because honestly I can't keep every single legal right that humans have in my brain so I don't know how I could do that for omegas, but generally speaking omegas in Australia have:

A right to education (conditional) A right to life (conditional - if no birth certificate is recorded, a right to life can be legally circumvented -> problematic because omegas have their own birth register, and many omegas births still aren't recorded at all) A right to freedom from medical experimentation and unusual acts of cruelty or inhuman acts (this includes conditional freedom from being imprisoned and raped in a fraternity house, but not freedom from being imprisoned and raped in an omega rehabilitation centre) A right to health (conditional) A right to a fair trial (conditional) A right to work (conditional) A right to protection from violence from strangers (conditional)

(I'm putting conditional next to all of these, because many of these rights have loopholes that can often be utilised by alphas and betas, especially in the case of spouses and families, and these are the people normally controlling an omegas life in the first place. For example, if a family causes an omega to be sick, that omega has no right to take their family to court.)

They do not have rights to:

Vote (hugely contested, but as omegas are such a tiny portion of the population and don't get much support, this is slow going. Alphas can of course vote, despite also being a tiny proportion of the population, lmao) Freedom from discrimination based on being omega Protection from violence (inc rape) from family or partners

Australia is considered one of the better places in the world for an omega, about on par with with UK, and ahead of places like the USA. However there are many countries that offer better rights and protections to omegas, but I couldn't tell you what they are, because I don't know! I just know they exist, lol. One of them is Switzerland, based on the fact that Gary and James went to do a conference there on omega psychology and rights.

But! Any of this could change depending on how the story goes. Winging it means the story decides how it progresses, in a way, so if one of these becomes inconvenient to me and I haven't established it in the story, I will ditch it lmao.

Does Gary really think Temsens views are radical or was that just a word he used in the moment?

Temsen's views really are radical. Just because Gary shares many of them, doesn't make them any less so. Hillview is a place that practices pretty radical omega theory and acceptance, and has to kind of hide that it does that because it goes counter to the global culture in general.

There's very few people in the world for example who would agree with Temsen's approach to Efnisien. Temsen asking Efnisien if he wants an alpha in the room with him instead of giving the alpha the choice is unusual and generally not done. Temsen seeking even some consent is not something many doctors do. Temsen embodies a more ethical practice (overall, not always though) towards omegas and in his viewpoints towards omegas. Gary agrees in theory, but he can have a harder time implementing it in practice, because he's still got a lot of internalise issues towards omegas. Everyone at Hillview does, because they live in a society that has taught them to discriminate against omegas, so it's something everyone there is unpacking, including the omegas.

It also makes Hillview challenging, because it tends to turn out more politically aware and educated omegas, and while they're sometimes wanted by their partners who also happen to be activists, it's not generally what omega rehabilitation facilities are meant to do (which is to usually establish the kind of mindbreak where the omega becomes so docile - through repeated rape and forced bonding - that they see complete and total obedience to a partner or family outside of the facility as true freedom).

The world is definitely described / tagged as dystopia for a reason!

[asynca]

Hi Auntieee Asy! Can I ask who you would be voting for in the Aus election? coz I dnt know who to vote and not into politics. I do believe who you pick would be good!

Well, I think you should do your own research into who you think would be a good candidate who aligns with ethos, mainly because anyone who understands LNP (Liberal-National Party Coalition) ethos would not vote LNP unless they were a multi-millionaire or a sociopath.

If you vote LNP, you're genuinely voting for a further dismantling of Medicare, a continuation of ignoring women's rights, another religious bill that will give people the right to discriminate against queer people, a furthering of systemic racism, a continuation of locking up brown refugees for years in subhuman conditions, etc, etc. Also the LNP want to privatise Australia post, which was Scomo's main reason for bullying Christine Holgate out of her exec position on Auspost: because she was making it successful.

If you live in an electorate with a Voices of ___ ticket or another big independent, it's worth checking them out. Sometimes they're a good mix of human rights, economic responsibility and social progressivism. Also not preferencing #1 to a main party shakes up the party and makes them realise they're not representing the will of the people. However, sometimes independents are crap and have LNP above Labor in their ticket which is BAD.

Labor is better than LNP, but they just said they're not going to look into an increase in Jobkeeper or other Centrelink payments. They also refuse to make a statement on trans rights. They also support locking refugees up indefinitely on jail islands.

Personally I live in an electorate with a GREAT Greens candidate so I'm going to vote Greens.

Greens, for me, is the only ticket where I feel like my concern about climate change, queer rights and economic and social responsibility is addressed. Don't believe the hype about them not being able to govern. Greens has a lot of canny politicians who would do a whole lot better than Scomo did.

The main thing you need to do is ALWAYS put LNP last. Always. Never vote for anyone who doesn't put LNP after Labor.

Remember: Australia is different than the US. You CAN vote independent or small party and not throw away your vote, because we have preferential voting, NOT the US-style First Past the Post. 

[likesrandomstuff]

Rating AFLW Season 7 Pride Guernseys (Part 2)

Continuation of giving my unqualified thoughts on AFLW Season 7 Pride Jumpers

Hawthorn Hawks

As we can't go back to 1925 and get them to choose pretty much any colour combination other than brown and gold, this is what they have to work with. I get the idea of having the stripes be unfinished, with a paintbrush edge, to represent the story not being completed, but that kind of detail is not clear unless you have a very close look. Change in logo is a nice touch. Would have liked some more creativity. Stripes on the lower half of the back too. Rating 3/10.

Melbourne Demons

Their jumper last season was my second favourite, so this is disappointing. One of my podcasts had a host who likes it, and I’m happy for her. It’s giving me circus big top or that parachute game we’d use to play at school. Not sure if that’s a universal experience. Back has the trans flag colours which is good. The front looks like a shield. Rating 4.5/10.

North Melbourne Kangaroos

Had an extra week to think about this one, and I believe my issue is that it looks like the rainbow is behind bars. I know prison bar jumpers is a Port thing, but still. Would have liked if the blue was broken up like a PowerPoint slide-change graphic, with the rainbow breaking the stripes up. An improvement on Season 6's. Rating 5.5/10.

Port Adelaide Power

After having the best Indigenous jumper they pull this out too? Not fair. It's a finger print with important years for the LGBTQIA+ community in Australia breaking up the stripes. I saw 2017 (parliament voted yes to gay marriage) in there. I also think it's so important that they said in their reveal video that this includes the lesbian flag, cause it's not a bad word and even in this space it's rarely said. Feel like it's just missing one thing to be perfect. Rating 9/10.

Richmond Tigers

Richmond's jumper last season is still my favourite, 9.5 for that. My only issue with that was having Geelong referenced on the shoulder. This isn't a Western Bulldog and Footscray situation where it's a previous incarnation of the club, this is pointing out to another team that you beat them. Just have your first winning score and would have been the 10. Feel like Geelong responded to the dig in how that Round 1 game played out. Not as eye-popping as the home jumper with the black base, but still very good. 8.5/10.

St. Kilda Saints

To quote my bi St Kilda supporter friend, "it looks weird". And it does. I just hope someone out there raised the idea that a rainbow cross may upset some people in the wider community. These people probably get mad a lot, but feels like an unnecessary risk. I know the jumper they based this off, but the not black (what is it even? grey?) surrounding the cross, not a fan of. Has some dates in there too. Watching the game it looked decent, and all the background appeared black. Sightly improves their score. Rating 4/10.

Sydney Swans

Really liked the men wearing their version of this in the one AFL Pride Game, but I'm not feeling this. Red and White is Sydney, but doesn't feel like a Sydney jumper. Fremantle's jumper last season was basically the same, but still felt Freo. Maybe because having a colourful V is already part of their uniform. Swans had a lot to do, and a design already there, so fair enough to them for using it. Hope they are a bit more creative next time. Couldn't pick out the rainbow in the stands. Rating 4.5/10.

West Coast Eagles

My favourite part of this is the rainbow stripes on the shorts. Don't think anyone else did that. And the rainbow line between the yellow and blue is a nice touch. They didn't have a jumper last season in part because they didn't want to rush a design into their club's history. With that in mind, a rainbow shadow is your centerpiece? You could have made the eagle rainbow! I'll give them credit for the shadow idea, as that's new, but Brisbane is the only other club with an animal who could have. Could not tell this wasn't their normal home jumper in the stands. Rating 2.5/10.

Western Bulldogs

Sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to go. Bulldogs have the most Pride jumpers, with Carlton, as they played a Pride Game before it was extended to a whole round. This is a big departure from all of them. Highlighting the trans flag colours is so important, and very convenient considering the Bulldog's normal ones. Don't have light blue very often in AFL/W, but we should; it's a great jumper colour. Solid concept. Rating 8/10.

[brick-van-dyke]

Yes, but in the grand scheme of things blaming them instead of using that energy in other, more meaningful, actions have dampened resistance. At least in my opinion. And it could lead to far worse consequences if we choose to divide ourselves over something like this.

Yes, you're absolutely right to feel the way you do and it makes sense you're angry at those who didn't vote, but my main point here is that, specifically; focusing your rage on them rather than the system itself for allowing a felon and war criminal to run at all is unproductive and will only create more issues rather than fix anything. I know it's easier to blame those who are more accessible; leftists online, but the real enemy who created this whole entire issue and who wrote up Project 2025, led to this situation, etc. are the real enemies here. Again, Hilary did get the majority vote and that's really important to remember. Again, this year, there was a record turnout of young leftists again according to at least the earlier polling. Even then, Trump won by a lot and it's very important to value how much worse it is that individual votes aren't being counted and how badly the system actually functions. Blaming individual leftists (who make up a very small number when the majority of blue votes are lifetime democrats who are liberal) just isn't sensible and will only distract from acting towards meaningful change.

The whole point I've been making here is that the system itself is inherently fascist , regardless of who is running and when, and has been long before Trump even began running in just 2016 (very recent), and it's very important not to lose sight of that or risk dividing ourselves to the point any action we could take would be snuffed out by the police. My entire point in the above is to note how useless and a waste of energy it is, no matter how much a Kamala may feel like the best candidate to you and how much you personally feel that it's privileged for others to let the opportunity to stop Trump slip though their fingers by refusing to vote at all or voting third party, to blame such a minority of people for Trump getting in hole letting go of the long extended history of horrors commited by this system itself. Doing this only restricts your own ability to actually work with these same people because there is safety in numbers when it comes to the larger job of fixing this system (something that can't be done through simply voting) AND actually staying safe amidst it, rather than doing what we can to barely survive in it on our own without our respective communities and voting being out only method of engaging with politics. When activists say "voting is the bare minimum" it's because it only restricts worse cases like Trump and that's it, never actually fixes. What is needed is for people like us, who aren't tied to a corrupt system, to end that corruption with the power of numbers, disruption and resistance.

TLDR, I understand emotionally and I empathise with wanting to lash out at people who may feel or seem "privileged" in my own view, but logically it's more productive to work with those same people who are going to have different stances on voting because, historically, we have always won victories with solidarity and loved through genocides by sticking together rather than blaming each other. We relied on lesbians in the AIDs genocide and, at least for me in Australia, the disabled community here has ties to other activist groups for support. We need to trust and hold onto that unity right now rather than let this crumble any activism or potential actions we could take to self advocate for our own rights. Sorry for the long essay thing I just really wanted to be clear on what I meant.

As the final votes are counted in the US election and the results draw near, I want to warn once again:

Don't blame other leftists for whatever happens.

Remember, it is the electoral college, propaganda and the system at fault here. Please do not use your energy blaming other leftists, rather, use that energy to hold the system accountable.

I know it's easy to fall into the line of thinking that "others must be privileged and so I should blame them first and foremost for any struggles I face under Trump" and to hate all those who didn't vote at all. I know that perspective may feel satisfying when you need to blame someone material, accessible and easy to hold accountable, but they are not the root cause of what is happening. And no, there is a way to fight back and to use the power of your voice, actions and resistance to harm this system and hold it accountable.

Please, please remember that it wasn't any other leftists not voting in 2016 who led Trump to get in and it wasn't them who designed the electoral college to be unfair, all when Hilary did get the majority of the individual votes in 2016 but the system appointed Trump anyway because of the electoral college and because the US system is inherently unfair.

I want to remind everyone that the same backwards laws were still passed under Biden after Trump was replaced in 2020. The same aggression towards democracy existed as evident from Trump's fanning of flames even away from the presidency, the appealing of protections under Biden's watch and racism still increasing after 2020 and to this day.

And I want to remind everyone that it is the system that allowed Trump to run again, that allowed a felon to run at all in 2024.

I don't say this to dismiss voting, bit to remind despite any result that we have to remember who the real enemy is, and it isn't each other; it is the system that pits us against one another so that we are too distracted to fight it.

Regardless of who we voted for or didn't, we must all work together to resist.

[nevermindirah]

Non-Jewish friends, y’all might be wondering right now: Israel is doing clearly unacceptable shit to Palestinians. So, why are some Jews ardent Zionists, and why do some Jews seem to feel personally attacked by criticism of Israel?

A lot of (non-Palestinian) non-Jews have asked me where I stand on Israel/Palestine over the years, apropos of nothing, just because I’m Jewish. For the longest time I felt so stuck because I just didn’t know much about Israel/Palestine and what little I did know turned out to be largely misinformation and I felt so much pressure to say The Correct Thing That All Jews Should Say About This Issue. Obviously the violence Israel is committing against Palestinians is horrific and the interpersonal weirdness individual Jews might experience as people discuss Israel’s horrific violence doesn’t compare. I’m making this post as a small supplement to the important conversations going on about what Israel is doing to Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank, as well as Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinian refugees and their descendants living outside land Israel controls. I’m making this post because non-Jews might be feeling confused by conflicting messages about Zionism as either settler colonialism or Jewish self-determination. It sucks feeling like you have to choose only one oppressed group or another. It’s possible to support Palestinian liberation and Jewish liberation at the same time! Here’s some context that might help.

Palestinian friends will probably want to ignore this post, y’all shouldn’t have to deal with your oppressors’ feelings, and especially not right now.

Zionism is the ideology behind the devastating violence Israel is committing against Palestinians right now and has been committing against Palestinians since 1947-48. It’s heartbreaking and messy to talk about this reality, because Zionism originated as a strategy to protect Jews from antisemitism.

Any oppressed group can turn into oppressors under enough pressure, because humans are flawed. Jews fleeing antisemitism turning into Israelis ethnically cleansing Palestinians happened because Zionism is profoundly influenced by its time and place of origin: 19th century Europe.

Europe invented antisemitism, and basically every European country has done at least one very very bad structural antisemitism, like expelling all the country's Jews (the monarch and/or the church then stole all the wealth the expelled people had to leave behind), looking the other way when peasants murdered a bunch of Jews as an outlet for their frustration with the actual (non-Jewish) ruling class, banning Jews from owning property or holding certain jobs or being members of guilds etc, and of course the big horrific state-sponsored mass-murder operations the Inquisition and the Holocaust. From the 1790s through the 19th century different European governments emancipated their Jews, ie removed legal barriers to full citizenship and economic participation. But this didn't end antisemitism. Just like the legal improvements of the 19th and 20th centuries didn't end antiblackness in the United States.

Also happening in this time: nationalism swept Europe. From the French Revolution through the end of World War I, Europe’s predominant form of government transformed from multiethnic empires to nation-states, countries led by and for a particular ethnic group.

So this Austro-Hungarian dude Theodor Herzl came up with this idea for Jewish nationalism. Every other European ethnic group is getting their own country, so why not Jews? Maybe this is the solution to antisemitism! Maybe we’ll finally be safe if we just all move en masse out of Europe to a place that will take all of us and never expel us!

But also also happening in Europe and around the world in this time: European imperialism and white supremacist settler colonialism. Chattel slavery saw its height and then its end (legally, at least) during this era, but white supremacy entrenched itself across the planet in post-slavery economic practices and cultural imperialism as well as national and international laws.

I believe countries have a moral obligation to take in as many refugees as they can squeeze in. International law protecting refugees has evolved a lot over the past century, but we’re still devastatingly far from every refugee getting a safe place to call home, and the main reason for that is white supremacy. The Biden administration didn’t undo the Trump administration’s horrifically low cap on refugees until like last week and it’s because Democratic party leaders treat centrist white people as more valuable voters than the huge and growing numbers of people of color, immigrants, LGBT people, unmarried women, and working class people who want to vote for elected leaders who get that nobody’s free until we’re all free. Ahem. Back to the topic at hand, the US and many other countries turned away untold numbers of refugees fleeing the fucking Holocaust, so odds are slim they’d be more welcoming in less desperate times. Moving from places where Jews are an unwanted minority to places where Jews are still a minority and either still unwanted or little understood and unlikely to win revolutionary levels of support from a largely non-Jewish public seems like a bad plan.

In the mid to late 19th century, lots of Jews took the kernel of Zionism and ran with it in different directions. Maybe this ideology could mean Jewish cultural flourishing alongside stronger political/economic integration into the societies where we’re already living! Maybe it could mean a particular kind of socialism that advocates for the liberation of Jews both as Jews and as workers! Maybe it could mean a revitalization of Jewish religious practice both in Jerusalem where we have important heritage sites and everywhere we live across the world!

Eventually Herzl’s vision of Zionism won out over the others: Jewish nationalism in the sense of a Jewish nation-state, a country that has a Jewish demographic majority and/or that legally privileges Jews over non-Jews.

Problem is, if you want to do that, you have to find a piece of land on which to do it, and Earth was already a pretty crowded place a hundred years ago. Many locations were considered, and the one that ended up winning that debate was Palestine. Where a shit ton of people, mostly non-Jews, were already living. They were forming their own nationalist movement at the time: in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire they began to organize for local self-determination in Palestine.

The Herzl types who developed Zionism as an ideology and built institutions to advocate for and create a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine were a small subset of European Jews, mostly men, mostly with significant economic privilege within what Jews were able to achieve in their particular societies at the time. They were just as Orientalist as the non-Jews around them, just as antiblack, just as racist generally for all that Jews were (and sometimes still are) considered non-white in much of Europe. They had a cool idea (put a lot of effort into something that could protect Jews from antisemitism) floating in a bathtub full of shit, and they did practically nothing to protect the cool idea from absorbing that shit. Results of this include thinking about the millions of people already living in Palestine as if they were either like the rocks and the trees that will go with the flow and accept a new ruling class, or indistinct Arabs who would just leave for other Arab countries because what could be the difference — in the staggeringly small amount of time they considered the existing residents of Palestine at all.

This racist hand-waving extended to Zionist leaders’ attitudes about Jews outside Europe as well. White Jews in settler colonies like the US were largely anti-Zionist at the time (not wanting their own countries to accuse them of dual loyalty was a common reason) but European Zionist leaders took what help they could get from Jews in the US, South Africa, Australia, etc. Jews across the Middle East and North Africa, however, barely heard from Zionist leaders about any of this until Zionist militias had removed enough Palestinians from the land and it was time to repopulate it with whichever Jewish bodies were convenient. You might have heard "all the Arab countries expelled their Jews in 1948" but lots of first-person accounts tell a different story of Israel coercing Jews who’d lived securely for a long time in places like Morocco to immigrate to Israel and then confiscating their passports and forcing them to live on less-fertile land with fewer resources while serving as a buffer between Palestinians and European Jewish immigrants. Ella Shohat is the best-known writer on Israeli racism against non-European Jews and I strongly recommend Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Perspective of Its Jewish Victims as a starting point to learn more about this.

Which brings us to today. We still haven’t eradicated antisemitism, several European governments that did a lot of structural antisemitism they still haven’t made meaningful reparations for get to feel good about themselves for “giving the Jews a state” as if carving up the former Ottoman Empire was up to them and not the people who lived there, and millions of people across the world who previously either lived peacefully enough alongside Jews or hadn’t really thought about us much at all now have very valid reasons to be pissed at this country that claims it represents all of us.

Zionism was supposed to protect Jews from antisemitism. And Israel has saved Jewish lives! But if we hadn’t sunk the past 70+ years into an ethnostate we could’ve been putting that energy into other political and economic activity to create adequate international support for refugees while we work on ending root causes of refugee crises, like antisemitism, racism, climate change, and capitalism. Meanwhile Zionism has killed, maimed, incarcerated, stolen from, traumatized, and erased the history of millions of Palestinians just because they happened to be living on land that some dudes who had a lot more in common with Thomas Jefferson and Donald Trump than with you or me decided needed to be cleansed for a Jewish ethnostate.

White nationalists in the US love Israel because they want American Jews to go away. Fascist leaders across Europe love Israel for the same reason, so much so that Israel’s prime minister is buddy-buddy with Trump and the equivalent shitstains of several European far-right parties. And I don’t know what it’s like in other white supremacist countries that are close allies of Israel, but the overwhelming majority of Zionist lobbying that pushes the US to give so much aid to Israel comes from Evangelical Christians, because they believe all the Jews have to be in the Holy Land for Jesus to come back. No thanks.

This whole thing fucking sucks. Jews and Palestinians, like all human beings, deserve to be free. Many Jews are understandably afraid of what might happen next if Israel decided to give up on ethnonationalism, allow Palestinian refugees to return, make reparations, and establish a pluralistic democracy that represents and protects all its residents — will some Palestinians murder Jews in revenge? That’s genuinely fucking scary. And it’s genuinely fucking scary to be a Palestinian in Israel/Palestine, and has been for over 70 years. We’ve gotta do something different. I say that as a white person sitting on land stolen from Piscataway people who has thought in detail about what portion of my income would be reasonable for my government to tax in order to fund reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.

Ok. One final piece of context before I wrap this up.

Most Jewish institutions in the US are explicitly Zionist, teach children that Zionism is THE way to ensure Jewish safety, and increasingly tell non-Zionist Jews that we're unwelcome or even that we’re not “real” Jews. This comes in a context where it’s only been 76 years since the latest and most gruesome of several attempts to wipe our entire people off the face of the planet. If you grew up in that environment, you, too, might be jumpy about even hearing the words Zionism or Israel, let alone considering the devastation this ideology and country have caused Palestinians.

Jews have a right to exist. Jews have a millennia-old connection to this scrap of land in the Levant, and we have a right to access religiously and culturally important geographic landmarks. What we don't have a right to is murdering or expelling other people in order to make an ethnostate, on that land or any other. Zionism is settler colonialism, but it’s settler colonialism by and for people who have a valid need for protection from structural antisemitism, which means that it’s going to take a lot of messy empathy to undo. The members of my extended family who voted for Trump (non-Jews in my case, though Jared Kushner isn’t the only Jewish Trumpite) are afraid that ending white supremacy will demote them from a privileged class to equal footing with everyone else — that’s the kind of fear individuals work on in therapy, not the kind that’s reasonable for a whole society to prevent from happening. I and millions of Jews do deserve for whole societies to work hard to end antisemitism.

I would never and will never ask a Palestinian to gently request their liberation. But if you’re not Palestinian, and you’ve got a little extra empathy to spare this week, I ask you to remember what I’ve shared here when interacting with Jews about Israel/Palestine.

If you’re a fellow Jew reading this and you feel like Israel is the only way to guarantee our safety, all I ask of you is to sit with the idea that what Israel is doing to Palestinians is too high a cost for safety that’s still not guaranteed, and start to imagine real-world ways we can protect our people from antisemitism without an ethnostate.

I made this post for people who know me (or know of me I guess?) in Old Guard and Cap fandom, despite my better judgment, because talking about Jewish Booker and Jewish Bucky and Jewish Natasha makes me so happy and I think some of the people I love on these characters with might appreciate this perspective. I didn’t provide any links in this post on purpose (to decrease its usefulness, so fewer people will reblog it) because the risk of anon hate when talking about Zionism outside my immediate fandom circles is so high. You’re welcome to reblog this post if you find it helpful! Unless you’re not within a few concentric circles of me, in which case, maybe don’t? If seeing this post makes you want to send me anon hate, no need: many people who share your perspective have already done so on Twitter.

Reliable sources on all this info are a few googles away, and I apologize for the things I know I oversimplified as well as any things I might have misremembered. I’m an American who’s never lived in Israel/Palestine who is posting this on my fandom blog.

TL;DR: This is a short ‘n pithy post about the same idea.

TL;DR, fandom edition: The shortest distillation of this anti-Zionist Jew’s feelings on the matter can be found in segment 4 of Five Times Booker Got Wasted on Purim and One Time He Didn’t.

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

You know that being alternative means being alternative to what the “norm” is, right? The norm is liberal movements such as BLM, everyone supports it and giant corporations praise it. You can love and support black people and not be for BLM, as it does literally nothing for anybody but become a trendy slogan on T-Shirts or a catch phrase for people to earn “woke” points.

Congrats, you aren’t alternative.

I'm 90% sure that you're a Nazi, because everyone that say, "Lol, liberals aren't Alternative" are usually fascists that think alternative culture is for them.

Spoiler alert, alternative is a leftist idea.

And how fucking dare you call me a liberal.

The norm isn't BLM when literally half of America voted for a man that is openly racist against every race, supports sexual assault, and is abelist.

And don't say "Well, that's just America." Canada and Australia are both murdering their indigenous populations, and the media is covering it up. England harassed the first Black person in the royal family with talk of her unborn child's skin tone and denying him security after making him a target before he was even born, nearly causing her to kill herself. Racism is prevalent and normalized in every developed country.

Giant corporations are fucking posers and you know it. Removing Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben is 100% performative. They aren't doing anything to help the Black communities, by removing those are clearly racist ideas, the Black communities aren't really concerned about a racist caricature when they're being murdered by police and being paid unlivable wages. Believe it or not, but dying is more important than mean words.

A giant corporation isn't pro BLM because they remove their racist images. They aren't pro BLM until they actively fight to dismantle the societal structures that are holding BIPOC communities back. Refusing to publish a book that has racist images doesn't do that.

And I'm not sure who told you saying "Black Lives Matter" means "I support the Black Lives Matter organization." I've donated to several pro-black organizations, none of them being BLM (more due to changes I personally want to see than anything against BLM).

Saying, "Blacks Lives Matter" means "stop killing Black people" because societal structures kill Black people both actively like through our police and passively like through minimum wage not being a living wage.

And Black Lives Matter as a political stance is about supporting more than Black people. It's about supporting MOGAI people, poor people, Jewish people, any BIPOC group, disabled people, etc. That's why I don't stand for people supporting my BLM posts with TERF shit in their profiles.

AND literally every Alternative music genre can be traced back to Black culture, so...

If you're going to enjoy your punk, metal, etc music and you're not gonna support the cultures that created it, then you're just a fucking poser.

-fae

[katblu42]

I have tossed up whether or not to post this, but I've decided to just go ahead and see how it lands. It is very personal to me, and I'm posting it because today is 2 years since I had to say goodbye.

This is basically a rambling vent that came out after the most traumatic period of my life so far. I needed to write it all down, chronicle it and get it out of my head, and the original destination for it was (my other) fandom.

It is more detailed than the story I posted earlier in the week, but it requires all the same warnings for some pretty unpleasant stuff. Please take heed before continuing.

Warnings for Death Illness Hospital Cancer (Medical) Drugs Medical Procedures CPR

Deep breath Late in 2018 my husband, S, began complaining of a sore throat. He's the kind of male who won't go to the doctor unless he is literally dying. He finally went to his GP in January and was told there was an issue that needed more investigating. He was supposed to go back to the GP in 2 weeks, but we were on holidays then, so he ended up not going back until mid March. GP sent him to a specialist, but the earliest appointment was early April. Consultation, camera down the throat and $400 later the specialist says Cancer - two of them, one in the mouth, one in the throat. Next appointment is the biopsy. By now S has lost almost 20kg because he struggles to eat (and because apparently Cancer can do that to a person anyway). Now there are appointments at the local hospital with the Radiation Therapy Dr, the specialist in Chemotherapy and a dental team (who wanted to take all his back teeth out at first, but changed their minds when they saw where the mouth cancer was, and how hard it was for S to open his mouth wide). During all this I'm still juggling work commitments as we are building up to one of our busiest periods, which covers pretty much the entire month of May. I'm sharing appointment chauffeuring duties with his Dad. It is decided that due to S's weight loss and difficulty eating it is advisable to put a feeding tube (that they call a peg) in his stomach. This is basically a precaution in case he can no longer swallow anything at some point during early treatment. Surgery after Chemotherapy begins will be difficult to recover from. As it turns out the peg is never actually used for feeding S. The first cycle of Chemotherapy begins on Wednesday 8th May. The plan was to do at least 2, probably 3 cycles of Chemo and then begin combination Radiotherapy/Chemo. At first things seem to be going okay. Three medications are administered as part of the Chemo - 2 are done on the Wednesday at the Cancer Clinic, and the third he has to carry around with him for 5 days, returning on Sunday to have the rig removed once that one is done. The peg starts leaking during these 5 days. He is given advice over the phone not to worry about the leak - but I wonder about that advice. I can't be with S all day - work is busy, and he's a grown up who can ask for help if he needs it. Only he's the kind of male who will not make a fuss if he's feeling "not okay". By Tuesday (14th May) S is not feeling much like "eating" - which consists of swallowing soft stuff like milkshakes, jelly (jello), custard and the like - and I basically have to force him to go for a walk around the block with me, just to keep him from lying on the couch all day. (Tuesday is my regular day off). He seems okay, in the "so-so" sense rather than the "fine" sense. He's not particularly nauseous, just a bit Blah. Wednesday - while I'm at work - S stays home all day, which is unusual for him. He is a social butterfly who can't resist going across the road to the Bowling Club just to sit with his mates for a bit. The peg is still leaking, and he feels tired and a bit yuck. By now I have asked him a few times if I should be calling the hospital for advice and he says no - doesn't want to make a fuss. I don't stress too much because he has an appointment at the hospital on Thursday - it's with a Social Worker, but I know that he will be at the hospital, where they will ask him how he's feeling, and if they think he needs something they will take care of him. Thursday comes and he doesn't want to get out of bed. I go to work, telling him to make sure he gets to his appointment, even if he doesn't feel like going. His Dad calls me at lunch time and tells me S didn't go to the appointment. He got in the car, they got down the road, then S told his Dad to just take him home. His Dad tells me S doesn't look good, he thinks S should be in hospital and I wonder why he didn't take S straight there if he was that worried. I get home just after 5pm and S is in bed feeling miserable. I don't get much of a good look at him - the room is dark - but he talks

to me. He's not feeling nauseous, not throwing up, but also not eating or moving much. Over the next few hours he's up and down to the toilet at least once an hour. I ask if he has diarrhoea, because if he does I should take him to hospital. He says no, "not much is coming out". It's after 10pm, Thursday 16th May, when he calls out to me from the bathroom. Something about the way he calls out makes me get straight up to see what's wrong - normally I yell back "what's wrong?" or "just a minute", but this time I think I had an instinct that said something was wrong. I find him sitting on the toilet, slumped forward with his head between his knees. He can talk to me at this point, but I have to help him sit up - he really can't move - and his skin is quite yellow (which alarms me). By the time I have him sitting upright he's not talking to me any more, his eyes are only half open and not blinking and he can't squeeze my hand. I run and get my phone and call an ambulance. Now his breathing is laboured, and as the emergency call taker is asking me to "say now every time he takes a breath" his gasps are getting further apart. I have to get him clumsily onto the floor of our tiny, narrow bathroom and give him chest compressions. 2 ambulances are on their way. Minutes later I have 4 ambulance crew members working on my husband in our tiny bathroom, and I have no idea what is going on. By midnight S is in emergency at the local hospital, and I'm in a private waiting room, alone. I call my Mum - I've already called his Dad on my way to the hospital in my car (they didn't take me in the ambulance). It's about 12:30 when a doctor comes to talk to me. Infection. Kidneys and liver struggling. Blood pressure through the floor. No white blood cells. This is by no means good. By the time I get to see him in Emergency I have my Mum and his Dad with me. S is basically in an induced coma and about to be moved up to ICU. It's about 1:30am. Once he's moved to ICU we wait in another waiting room for more news. A surgical consultant comes and sees us - I think it's nearly 3am - she says surgery is not an option. The infection is in his digestive system. There is no clear area to surgically remove, and his system is so weak it would not take well to surgery anyway. S's Dad leaves soon after that. This is hard for him. It was only 3 years ago that he was here in this very ward with his wife. This is where she passed away after an infection she just could not fight. He tells me "don't let them put him down" - I guess because he had to make that decision for his wife/S's Mum. I think it's after 6:30am when I decide to go to the intercom and buzz the nurses station to find out what's going on. They let us in to see him. All they can tell us is that they are throwing every kind of medical support they can at him in the hope they can help him fight off the infection - blood products, meds to raise the blood pressure, antibiotics. He's been ventilated through a tube in his mouth since the ambulance. They have to run a heating vent to raise his body temperature. They let me into the room, but I see no point in holding his hand or anything - he is unconscious, he won't know I'm there. We go home. I had about 3 hours sleep. By the time I could crawl into bed it was about 8am. By 11am people are starting to text me asking what's going on, checking if I'm okay. I had managed to text my boss about needing to call an ambulance while I was in the emergency waiting room. He's now replied to say I don't need to be at work today, but in the back of my mind is the fact that I have a show to work on, starting on Sunday - we are so busy that there will be no one else who can replace me on this show. (And we had a Federal Election on Saturday as well, so I was going to have to fit voting in around visiting S). At some point on this day a doctor calls me to get permission to administer a drug to S. This drug is not approved for use in Australia, but it is approved in the US. As a result they will have to ship it in from interstate, because there is not much

stock in the country, and I have to sign my permission for them to use it. It is a reversal drug for the 5 day chemo medication. It works best if administered soon after the chemo treatment - we are already past the ideal timeframe, but it is our best shot at helping S. S is unconscious and fighting for the next couple of days, and I'm half dreading that call that says things have taken a turn for the worse, come now! Instead, I see him for a short period each day, but he doesn't know I'm there. And I keep doing the work I have to do - at least this show is close to home for me, and close to the hospital. He is being supported by the blood pressure medication (Noradrenaline) which they are slowly able to reduce in dose, his temperature is stabilising, and the chemo reversal drug has had some positive effect. His white cell count is coming up - probably with the help of the blood products he's been given. By Tuesday 21st May S is awake and aware, and they have been able to remove the ventilator tube. The Physio is concerned about how weak he is - movement in his arms and legs is limited. He is breathing on his own, but it's hard work because his muscles are weak. His lips and mouth have been bleeding a bit around where the tube was. Still, we are seeing slow, small improvements and hoping for the best. On Friday they have to re-insert the breathing tube - he is too weak to maintain his breathing without assistance. This is a set-back, and comes with a warning that the breathing tube can't stay in his mouth/throat for too long, because it can cause all kinds of complications, especially in his compromised state. They tell me that without marked improvement soon they may have to perform a tracheotomy and insert the ventilator there. By this stage they have moved from nasogastric feeding to Parenteral nutrition (intravenously). The peg is still leaking. I'm now getting into a rhythm visiting S when I can for as long as I can around my work hours, and answering enquiries about his health and well wishes from family and friends on both my phone and his. I no longer have rehearsals every night, and the weekend's performances go pretty well. I know he's still critical, but he's stable and despite the set back S seems to be on a path of slight improvement again. The next set-back comes in the form of a flare up of the infection. The gut is still very inflamed - particularly the bowel. More blood products, more antibiotics, Noradrenaline dosage increased again. There is a mention that he probably has a slow internal bleed somewhere. Clotting is a problem - the bleeding in his lips and mouth is evidence of this too. Before I go to my Friday show I have to sign the permission for them to perform the tracheotomy - they've decided it needs to be done, and an emergency surgical team will do it but it could be a day or two before the operation actually goes ahead. Through this entire week S has been awake and aware, communicating with me as best he can around the breathing tube and the bleeding lips, which are scabby and sore. He is still very much alive mentally, still able to laugh at our corny jokes and request the music be turned up! Being in ICU he's not allowed flowers of gifts or anything, but they did allow me to take in a little blue tooth speaker so he could have the radio on all day. I see him as early as visiting hours allow on Saturday 1st June - his 42nd birthday. I have 2 shows on this day, and won't be able to see him again until Sunday. I leave the hospital soon after his Dad and brother arrive for a visit, around 11:30. Around 12:30, while I'm running sound checks for the matinee show, I get a phone call asking me for permission to do the tracheotomy. At first this confuses me - they have permission already. Apparently they are now doing it in ICU, not in the emergency theatre or wherever. He was more drowsy on the Sunday, after the tracheotomy, but still essentially in the same condition - stable. I cried off sick for work on Monday and spent a bit more time with him - I knew I had to be at work on

Tuesday for a morning staff meeting. The hospital social worker called me before I went to visit S, wanting to arrange a "family meeting" for this week some time. At first we settled on Friday morning, but later they asked me if we could arrange a time earlier in the week. After re-arranging my work schedule we agreed on 3pm Tuesday, even though S's Dad would not be able to be there anymore. Then I arrived for my Monday visit with S. We had the radio on - S likes to have music playing, even when he's falling asleep - and the announcers were talking about the State of Origin (a Rugby League series of 3 matches between rival state teams, New South Wales and Queensland). I told him I'd make sure we put the radio on the right station on Wednesday night so he could listen. Suddenly the most important thing in the world for him was finding a way to be able watch the game! I told him I'd find a way. Tuesday comes and I get through my staff meeting and a few other things on my now half day before running back to the hospital for this family meeting. It turns out this is just me, S, his ICU team, his oncology team and the social working re-capping what S has been through so far, and then scaring me (and more so S) by saying out loud the words "Palliative care". Essentially they are telling us we are out of further options. He is being given everything possible to assist recovery - the blood pressure meds are now at a low dose, but they still have to support his blood pressure, he is still on a ventilator to assist his breathing, the infection is still not improving, but it has not got worse, they have run out of different antibiotics to throw at the infection, it still seems the bleed is present, the scabs on his lips are still apt to bleed more than they should if they are disturbed. If his organs start to fail there will be nothing they can do - surgery will more than likely not be an option, and one failure will lead to another until his heart, then brain will go and that will be it. So, if we start to see organ failure palliative care becomes the only option. This is the point at which I am in disbelief. He can't be that bad. He is still totally alive mentally. How can we be discussing "making him comfortable until he dies"? And S is even more disbelieving and scared than me at those words. Yes S has looked better, yes he has spent over 2 and a half weeks in ICU, yes he has a lot more hard fighting to do if he's ever going to beat this, but his brain is fine, he is completely aware of where he is and what's going on around him - just a bit inclined to tire quickly. I stay with him longer than I intend to that night because he starts to complain of stomach pain. It gets worse. Really bad. They give him morphine. He says it doesn't help. His breaths start hitching, like something is stabbing him or something. He finally gives me the description "like hiccoughs, but sore". I can see how swollen his stomach is - fluid retention. And he is also complaining that he wants to lie on his side. We have to wait ages for the right number of people to be available to turn him on his side, to a more comfortable position. But his stomach is still giving him intense pain and whatever spasms are causing the breath hitches and grimaces. I have to leave him like that - in pain, but with the nurse on duty doing whatever he can to ease the discomfort, administering Morphine whenever possible - visiting hours are over and I'm asked to leave. On my way to work on Wednesday morning (5th June) I get a call from the head doctor in S's ICU team. He wants to know what time I can be there today - S has had major abdominal pain since last night (I know, I was there!), and they are investigating the cause, but it looks like the kidneys are failing. He tells me he will update me via text when he knows more, I tell him I will get there as soon as I can after work. I get no texts all day. I get to the hospital around 4:45pm - armed with the all important iPad mini for him to watch the State of Origin game on (yes, that is still a priority for S! God

love him!!). I'm told S has been taken for a scan and I need to come back in about an hour. So, when I return and he's back from the scan, I get the iPad hooked in to the Wifi and open the app he needs. Then I have to have the conference with the doctor. His kidneys have failed. Fluid is building up in his stomach. They want my permission to put a drain directly in his belly to ease the pressure. I give it. I have to wait outside while they get this done. There is a brief discussion about surgery - but that would literally be futile. Again we have the conversation about palliative care. This is the beginning of the end. His body is shutting down. S can't fathom this. He says the words that still break my heart, pointing to his head to indicate his mind he mouths "I'm still alive". He has so much to say, but we can't understand him through the scabs on his lips and his inability to make any real sounds. We try to get him to write things down, but his hands are really too weak. The doctor has asked if he wants to have the pain medication increased so he can slip away peacefully. The sentence he writes is "I just want to see how I go" - he wants so badly to keep fighting. He doesn't want to die. Once the doctor is sure he is comfortable for now he leaves us to watch the game - no S has not forgotten the game! He does not administer the pain medication, but he gives the authorisation for its use once S requests it. And although I had not planned to stay and watch the game (which starts around the time visiting hours end), I do. They let me stay. He nods off a bit during the second half, but I know how much seeing it means to him, so I rouse him for the good bits, and make sure he sees the end - a good result for him, a come-from-behind win for his team. I say my goodnight and leave S to get some sleep. I have told my boss how dire things are, and he has told me I have leave starting now for as long as I need. I get a call around 9:30 on Thursday morning asking me what time I will be getting to the hospital. Apparently S has been asking for me. I had a couple of things to do before I could get there, so I arrive just after 11:30am. S is not as awake and aware as he was last night. They have started giving him the pain medication (Fentanyl) the doctor was talking about, and it has affected S's ability to focus, and therefore communicate. He has apparently been asking what's going on - last night he knew the story, now he's unclear. I wish they had held off on administering the drug. I would have liked to speak to my clear headed husband today. His kidneys have failed, the liver is failing. We are out of options. His Dad and brother are in and out today - we are kind of rotating our breaks until early afternoon. A Palliative Care consultant, and the social worker and the nurse looking after S want to have a meeting with me, and it takes me longer than it should to realise that this meeting is for me to give the final word on the beginning of the end. They are focusing on making sure I am okay with what's about to happen. Making sure I know that I have the final say, and once I give the go ahead they will stop all meds that aren't making him comfortable - the Fentanyl dose will increase, but the feeding, the antibiotics and finally the Noradrenaline will be stopped. It will then be a matter of minutes or hours before he is gone. I know they are trying to be helpful, but having them ask if I'm okay, having them tell me how strong I have been for him and how much of an advocate for him I have been is only making my heart break more. That afternoon, his brother, sister-in-law and their 4 kids, my brother and sister-in-law and 2 of their kids all come in to say their farewells. The Fentanyl dose has already been increased, so S knows they are there, but he is so drowsy it's hard for him to open his eyes. His sister-in-law wants to stay with me. She doesn't seem to understand I need to be alone with S for this. But, at last she gives me space. I'm the one who has to give the green light. It's really hard to do, but I know we

are out of options. As soon as they stop the blood pressure medication (Noradrenaline), S opens his eyes and looks at me. He is as focused as I have seen him all day, his grip on my hand is desperately strong, and I explain to him one final time what is happening, tell him I love him, tell him I'm sorry things turned out this way, sorry for all the things we had planned that we won't get to do together, and tell him it's time to stop fighting and just let go. I try to tell him not to worry about anything or anyone, that it's okay to go. I hope he understands. It must be about 40 minutes before he is unconscious. They stop the ventilator. I turn off the radio - he can't hear it anymore, and he and I have different taste in music! I know he can't feel it anymore, but I won't let go of his hand until he's gone. He holds on for over an hour without the ventilator. Then there are no more breaths. I know he's gone. His hand is already much cooler than it was an hour or so ago. I am a widow. It has happened so fast. It feels strange, but I don't think the full weight has hit me yet. I am bursting into tears at random moments. I am thinking of stupid things like "what am I going to do with all these Fruit Loops - he eats those, not me!", instead of dwelling on the hard things like having a funeral to arrange, and dealing with all the people who keep wanting to do things for me, or stay with me.

That was two years ago now. In excess of 300 people came to his funeral service - a testament to how many friends he made, how many lives he brightened just that little bit with his generous spirit and ever-present smile. Of course, I still miss him. I still have my teary moments. I still struggle with guilt. But I remember his smile, his laugh, the way he would sing along to the music and make up his own words (often to make the song about us), his spontaneous dancing and all the love!