#cluster b abolition

[healingwgabs]

Saw your most recent post in the ASPD tags, don't post there if your going to be abelist.

It’s not ableist, ppl with these patterns thrive in our society and are quite overrepresented in powerful jobs and are quite successful (in this sense)! I’d go as far as to argue that our current society was built by them and for them to excel in, giving them an unfair advantage over others who carry more “light triad” qualities and aren't along the spectrum. Even if u look at the workweek, most ppl don’t function like that (they're wired differently)...I do recognize that these disorders are stigmatized, however, I do think that’s for good reason and those who have these diagnoses should be approached with caution. ASPD is a diagnosis that is more of a danger to others more than anything else if u read the criteria

[joy-haver]

[trans-axolotl]

for anon asking about NPD/ASPD resources

For context, anon sent in an ask searching for nonstigmatizing resources for support with PD diagnoses and other stigmatized diagnoses.

And this is such a good ask--it is so fucking frustrating and dehumanizing to try to search for support when half the stuff that pops up is using really cruel language or just directed towards family and friends. The community definitely deserves better, both when it comes to the way psych professionals perpetuate stigma and in regards to the prejudice and sanism that shows up in other communities in our lives. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of resources on hand, although I do know one good support group. The rest of the resources I know of are kind of mediocre or not PD specific, so if other people could add on I would really, really appreciate it!

Neuromancers runs a discord and a Cluster B peer support group that I've heard really good things about. I haven't been myself, so I can't 100 % vouch, but they're a group with abolitionist and mad pride values.

This might not be exactly what you're looking for, but it's an article exploring cultural bias in PD diagnosis that links to a lot of sources that talk about how psychiatry contributes to stigma around personality disorders. I clicked through some of the studies that it links to and it does use a lot of medicalized language, but I thought I would link the article anyway in case it's ever helpful to have academic sources to show to other people.

Also not exactly what you're looking for, but another article debunking some of the common talking points about NPD in pop psychology (Content warning that it is discussing some very ableist myths in the context of challenging them)

Last sort of general resources for peer support that I have some trust that they are PD friendly are the Wildflower Alliance and Hearing Voices Network Groups. Wildflower alliance groups offer a lot of different general peer support and I have one friend with NPD who has spoken positively of those spaces. Hearing Voices Network groups can vary a lot depending on location, so defintely plan to email ahead, but I've been to a few groups that welcome people who generally identify as psych survivors/mad/ex patients who want to share community spaces around those values. Also want to share is the neurodivergent friendly workbook of DBT skills (the link is to buy it directly from the creator but if anyone who is interested can't afford it rn, dm me and I'll send you a pdf.) Again, I know this is really not super relevant to what you asked for but is one of the less stigmatizing, less medicalizing workbooks I can find for accessing info about coping skills and this is one of my general favorite support resources.

Overall I'm really sorry that I don't have better resources to offer you, and I think that really should be a sign to the mad pride/psych abolition/peer support community that we need to do a lot better job in making sure that our spaces are explicitly welcome to people with stigmatized PD diagnoses. The work shouldn't have to be on you to try to navigate these spaces and figure out whether or not you're welcome, and any spaces that offer peer support, are aligned with mad pride and psych abolition, really should be doing the work to make sure lateral violence and sanism aren't being perpetuated.

followers, esp followers with lived experience, please add on!

[facelessoldgargoyle]

When people see deviant behavior and comment that that person needs therapy, they’re not actually wishing that person well. They’re hoping to eliminate the deviant behavior, and failing that, to incarcerate them.

It’s also a gross misunderstanding of how therapy works. If you don’t want to be there, you won’t get anything out of it. I think people who say “they need therapy” do know it works that way, but they’re taking a mental shortcut. They’re imagining a deviant person who wants to change already, whom they can put in the Therapy Vortex and get a normal person out of it. If you’re intellectually rigorous about prison abolition, you have to grapple with the fact that you can’t incarcerate or therapize people into changing.

You also have to grapple with the difference between deviant behavior and harmful behavior! Someone who self-harms displays deviant behavior, which is harmful to them but not anyone else, and it’s your goddamn right to be mentally ill in a way that disgusts other people. If you want to stop, then therapy might be helpful, but it’s offensive to say that someone should get therapy just because you want them to stop.

Compare this to scamming people with fake blood testing machines. I saw people talking about how Elizabeth Holmes was a narcissist, a sociopath, whatever stigmatized cluster-B diagnosis they could throw at the wall. Maybe she is a narcissist. She doesn’t necessarily need therapy about it. She certainly doesn’t need therapy inflicted on her. It wouldn’t stop her from doing a scam again. She needs to be banned from the medical industry. Her actions were harmful, and we should address the actions, rather than trying to solve whatever the psychological cause was.

Much of this has been said before, but I’ve been seeing a lot commentary recently that criminals and deviants should go to therapy. IMO it’s a sanitized way to say “lock them up.”

[goobersnart]

Joyqueer

Image description of flag is tba

I want to preface this coining post with the following:

This blog is not a discourse blog or a coining blog! We don't take requests for this stuff. If you start shit you will be blocked and ignored! ^_^

The emojicode (cus we're a sucker for 'em): 🌤️🌈

Feel free to do whatever the fuck you want w/ this flag, it's a pretty flag, have fun with it!

This is a long post, be prepared HELP

Joyqueer is essentially a blankqueer term where one prefers to focus on positivity. They try and look on the bright side of things, even in the darkest of hours.

Even though Joyqueer focuses on the positivity, it doesn't condone toxic positivity. We're not naïve, the world isn't sunshine and rainbows 24/7. We look on that side when applicable to ease life and stress because focusing on the bad 24/7 and being drowned in misery is painful and hurts.

This stance is for good faith terms/identities, follows P.L.U.R (Peace, Love, Unity (and), Respect), and users might spread positivity and joy amongst others.

This stance is supportive & inclusive of/to the following:

Mspec queers (ie mspec lesbians, gays, biles, bipan, etc.), gender anarchy (being a girlboy, transfemasc thing, having no gender while having gender, etc), & relationship anarchy (being aplatonic, being loveless, having sex with your friends and or doing things with friends that others consider "weird", polyamory, being with objects and or stuffed animals, etc)

System inclusive with the respect of cultures and against spreading misinformation.

Inclusive of ones with cluster B disorders and to educate about them and spread joy to the ones with the disorders that are suffering. NPD abuse doesn't exist, and pw HPD/BPD/ASPD aren't bad for existing!

Anticontact paraphiles that are just existing in a world that sadly doesnt understand them. attraction isn't action and no matter how ""harmful"" the attraction is (attracts cannot be harmful as thought crimes dont exist), you aren't a bad person for something you cannot control.

Anti-censorship in art and storytelling; fiction freedom in the largest of sense. Fiction isn't on the same level as reality, characters are the dolls you play with.

Youth liberation; realizing that the youth isn't stupid and that children are people too.

Atypical dysphoria and the ones that're nonhuman and or alterhuman, extranthrope, altsex, therian, objectkin, conceptkin, etc. A means to spreading positivity and joy to the ones suffering with odd and unusual dysphoria. This includes transhumanism and the personal choice of deciding what one does to ones body; this includes things that you'd find personally uncomfortable/harmful.

This stance is not supportive & inclusive of/to the following:

Transitioning to harmful transids (transnazi, transracist, transblack, transasian, etc.)

xenosatanism

any sort of harassment

antitheism/abolition of religion

Like I said above the cut, any sort of hate will get deleted. Spread positivity to the ones that need it, the world needs more positivity. If one has any questions, feel free to ask! :]

[imagoodone-iswear]

you think my username sounds pleading? think that makes me a beggar? have to disappoint you. it was a thought-out thing. i explain my reasons for my username here.

new pinned post; old one is buried somewhere.

25 year-old Genderfuck/NB Transmasc Individual. he/they.

we are a C-DID system with BPD + NPD (+ other stuff) and this is our collective main PD Blog (mostly about cluster b but can include cluster a or c). here to document life with my PDs and a CDD from within europe.

(Sys blog only given out per dm request due to privacy)

this blog isnt run by a particular alter so experiences can vary (mostly nobody will tag). although sometimes our persecutors (and ASPD symptom holders) post here.

cluster a: [ ppd resources ] [ stpd resources ]

[ szpd resources ]

cluster b: [ npd resources ] [ bpd resources ]

[ hpd resources ] [ aspd resources ]

cluster c: [ avpd resources ] [ ocpd resources ]

tw for

shameful vents, blood, mentions of self-harm, npd crashes and the like (this is a pd blog so go figure)

we do not put a filter on our posts or things we talk about here so if you dont like it you can leave or block us.

minors DNI obviously (we are in our mid 20s and dont want to have too much to do w under 18s; might interact barely, if you seem similar to us or we take a liking/can relate to your blog. general rule is 17 and above, depends on blog and maturity; everyone below that should dni and possibly block us)!

also not liked on this blog are radqueers, radical feminists, radical-whateverthefuckelse, transID/transX idiots, endos, strict anti-psychs (frequently or only posting about psych abolition = dont fucking interact), and ppl against researched self-dx!!

also narc abuse believers can take a hike (but feel free to give me attention~, i love living rent free inside your head <3 ;)).

[mariacallous]

To understand how the American media landscape fractured, one must first understand the brands that forged it. According to Faris Yakob, cofounder of creative consultancy Genius Steals and author of Paid Attention, advertisers created the neutral “view from nowhere” voice in media. In the 19th and 20th centuries, national brands looking to grow customers wouldn’t partner with biased publications. But everything changed when ad tech arrived.

“People started tagging their digital media buys so it wouldn’t appear next to topics like homosexuality, or Covid, to avoid getting into clusters,” Yakob says. “But that means that the news isn’t being funded. If you can pick and choose what topics to fund in news, you can distort what is being reported on, to some degree.”

That distortion, like the US Federal Communications Commission’s abolition of the fairness doctrine in 1987, is part of how America got into this mess. Similar to content recommendation algorithms, audience profiles in digital marketing created micro-targeted ads. Those ads are more valuable on multiple screens. Media executive Euan McLeod recalls growing up when “there was no choice” but to watch what his parents were watching. Now each person in a household might be watching something wildly different, and the shared experience has dissolved. Isolated artists are creating for isolated audiences. Is it any wonder that generative AI seems poised to tailor entertainment to audiences of one?

In this world, we can all be George Lucas, using technology to create special editions. Rick gets on the plane with Ilsa. Jack fits on the door with Rose. Ben Solo lives. As Marvel Comics writer Anthony Oliveira says, Andy Warhol was fascinated by the fact that people everywhere drank the same Coke. But the allure of AI content generation, he says, is the same as the Coca-Cola Freestyle: filling your own cup with someone else’s flavors.

But when everyone can just request the narrative path they want, opportunities to hear other people’s stories greatly diminish. “That is a very sad world to live in, because how else are we gonna be conveying our deepest hopes and wishes, what we think should be a vision of the world we want to live in, what we should worry about?" Yang says. "This is what story and art is for.”

Using AI to sanitize content in regions where certain subjects are banned is already possible, especially if actors yield likeness rights. Generative AI means that studios could edit or change the content of some films without consulting the people who signed a contract based on a script, and the only thing stopping them is the possibility of a defamation suit. It sounds unlikely, until you remember that multiple versions of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse appeared in cinemas.

And animation is an apt comparison: Most changes to entertainment production have made film and TV more like animation or video game development, not less. With current technology, actors can be little more than action figures smashing together, as weightless as they are sexless. With AI, the actors need never leave the trailer. Or exist.

“[Studios will] say it’s for the insurance,” says production designer Blass, suggesting a “Paul Walker scenario” in which a deceased actor’s performance needs generating, because that performance is one of the terms of the film’s business insurance. But in reality, these likenesses could be used to do things that actors would rather not—whether it’s a dangerous stunt or a sex scene.

Generative AI could also be used to edit films in real time, responsive to data-brokered preferences, with algorithms running A/B tests on how much nudity you want based on the customer profile you most closely match.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is: In the 1990s, Blockbuster Video refused to stock films like Natural Born Killers and The Last Temptation of Christ. But that tradition goes back even further. Otherwise known as the Hays Code, the Production Code was an industry standard of self-censorship guidelines for major US studios from 1930 to 1968, when it was replaced by the movie ratings system. The Code influenced everything from the Comics Code to parental advisory warnings to video game ratings. It’s why titles from major studios during that period don’t depict graphic violence. It’s also why they lack out-and-proud queer and interracial relationships. But today, a revived Production Code might have very different guidelines. For example, the Pentagon recently announced it would no longer offer technical support to filmmakers who censor their films for the Chinese market.

When I ask McLeod if he thinks America will ever re-adopt the Production Code, he’s unequivocal: “Absolutely. Everything goes in cycles.”

Hollywood’s Future Belongs to People—Not Machines

[egopathic]

I don't have a personality disorder, but I have had experiences with the psychiatric industry and am horrified by the way both it and society as a whole treat people with cluster b personality disorders. What can I do to be a good ally to people with cluster b personality disorders?

i love u for asking this thank u for such a kind question! unfortunately i have no solid answers.

honestly because the movement for the liberation of mentally ill people is largely online, that’s mostly where stuff this specific gets brought up unless you have a pd. so for that, just shutting people down when they start shitting on us or armchair diagnosing random people goes a long way. visibly including us in all aspects is just super helpful and makes it less bad to be a cluster b out loud online.

in real life there’s not much i can think of besides general involvement in antipsychiatry circles and stuff like breaking code silence since you’re a survivor yourself. those matter to all of us, no matter the diagnosis. other stuff, like organizing with local prison abolition groups and anti police movements are also great ways to help the movement. anything that brings the world closer to autonomy for all is helpful to cluster bs <3

[numbasafossil]

This is an experiment to help busy myself. I honestly haven't a clue for a theme, embrace the chaos.

About me; I am bi, someone who supposedly has multiple mental illnesses but I'll discuss this in time, and an addict, again I'm sure I will get more in detail with this. I'm the single mother of a really cool autistic and adhd teenager. Does any of this define me? No. I don't really care for labels, and putting myself into boxes. At one point I did and it helped "comfort my identity ". Then I saw it was not healthy and I was going backwards. One thing I am good at is adapting, and I am working on growing in a different way. I don't care what anyone else does or believes, if it's different from my beliefs that's fine. I only ask that you do not start shit, because I will never judge people. And you will be introduced to the block button.

This blog supports Palestine 🇵🇸. I support all religions but do not practice. I support all genders and sexualities, this is a LGBTQIA+ safe space. This is a safe space for all nationalities and ethnicities. I also stand in solidarity with all victims of oppression and genocide worldwide. I support prison abolition, and am antipsych. I'm pro choice and believe housing and health care are basic human rights. I still support anyone living with a mental illness or disability (this is neurodivergent safe).

If you believe in narcissistic abuse and that everyone you dislike is a narcissist, kindly go to another blog. Additionally if you demonize cluster b disorders, anyone who is neurodivergent or has a mental illness or addicts, this is not the place for you. Zionists, terfs, radfems, pro lifers , DNI. I'm sure that list will grow.

Happy new year?

[healingwgabs]

self-care for me is blocking accounts that use cluster b

[mutt-the-punk]

HAI

My nAme is River, I'm a scemo (Scene & emo)person who luvs new friends (Including you!! <33)

I use tUmblr as a kewl (cool) & fUn way 2 find new friendz and to find peOple whom have the same interEsts as mE (Interests later listed)

Oh no.. your computer has a virus! I'll help you out but you gotta listen first.

Dni: Homophobic, Transphobic, Racist, Ablelist, pro overturning of Roe V Wade, -12,+21, Andrew Tate watchers, Msi supporters, falling in reverse supporters (basic Dni), Cringe culture, mean, rude, anti tone tagsif you are &/or support any of the following:

* racist, anti-black, against blm, support alm/blue lives matter, against police abolition & acab. xenophobic, antisemitic, islamophobic, nazi, zionist, assadist. don't support land back. alt-right.

* pro-life, anti-abortion. map, nomap. use/say slurs you can't reclaim. aren't critical of interests.

* romanticize or glorify abuse, and/or mental illness. trauma invalidation. think [emotional] neglect isn't a form of abuse.

if you are &/or support any of the following queerphobic beliefs:

* radfem, terf, swerf. transmed, truscum. against neopronouns, against xenogenders. against lesbians who use pronouns outside of she/her, and gays who use pronouns outside of he/him.

* fetishize mlm, fetishize wlw. think mlm are inherently 'less oppressed' by society, oppression olympics in general.

* believe aroace people aren't inherently lgbtq. mistreat transhets due to them being het. think polyamory is inherently sexual, think you can't cheat on your partners in polyam relationships.

* think bisexuality is the 'default' to being mspec, think pansexuality is biphobic, think trans people aren't included in bisexuality. treat pan/omni/ply/etc. as micro-labels under bisexuality.

if you are &/or support any of the following radinclus beliefs:

* pro-ship, anti-anti, pro-fic. think fiction has no effect on reality. pro-para (pedophilia, zoophilia, necrophilia, etc.).*

* mspec 'lesbians', mspec 'gays', and mspec 'straights'. lesboys, turigirls, 'male lesbians', 'gay women'.

* transabled*; endogenic, xeno-origin, any non-traumagenic 'systems' are included. 'systems' caused by disorders outside of DID or OSDD-1, like 'bpd systems', you get the gist; think you can have any trauma disorder without the trauma.

* this doesn't mean the support for the people with disorders that cause these thoughts and feelings. this means the anti-recovery sentiment of identifying as 'pro-paraphilia' & transabled- whether or not you have said disorders- and the worsening of symptoms.

if you are &/or support any of the following ableist beliefs:

*accuse people of faking their disability, also known as fakeclaiming. exclude the experiences of physically disabled people when talking about ableism. dismiss the experiences of chronically ill people due to the fluctuation of severity in symptoms.

* think allistics can say the r slur, think the infinity symbol is for all neurodivergent people rather than just autistics. against informed self diagnosis.

* think people with cluster b personality disorders are inherently abusive, or that people with DID, schizophrenia, psychosis, ASPD, etc. are dangerous or violent. 'narcissistic abuse' truther.

* misuse mental health terms, like naricissistic, psycho[path], psychotic, delusional, schizo, etc., especially in a derogatory fashion.

If you are any of those, I can't help you! Srry, not srry..

There we are, I just changed your computers oil out!....

Your computer doesn't take oil? Oopsies..

Wellll while you're contacting tech support, let's talk about a few of the things I like!

Interests: Monster high (Mh), My little pony (mlp), Invader zim (Iv), Ruby gloom (Rb), Waffles (no really, I love them), Tone tags, Swag new friends, Slushies (SO YUMMY!!)

My favorite characters: Derpy (mlp), Gir (Iv), Discord (mlp) Draculara (Mh), Ruby Gloom (Rb), Skelita (Mh), Sarah Scare (Mh), Clawdeen (Mh), Lagoona (Mh), Bender (Futurama), Ghoulia (Mh), and a few OthErz

Other: My dms are open but I don't respond often, my notifications are off.

I luv 2015

I REALLLY like neon (Mainly Green & Pink)

I watch REPOSTED Shane Dawson vidz, Markiplier, and Brandon Ferris!!!

LVL 14

You managed to get on the tech support line but you're on hold? Hm.... let's play my favorite song!!

You finally got ahold of them? SWAG! Well I've gotta go, byeeee

[aronarchy]

So far there have not been any criticisms of furiousgoldfish’s posts themselves apart from the ableism. General consensus seems to be along the lines of “her advice is (very) good, she would be a net positive if she weren’t ableist and transphobic.” A few more dedicated and detailed users might examine her other harmful radical feminist beliefs (i.e. her being extremely anti-kink), but of course no one would ever go so far as criticizing her casual stigmatization of that other group we don’t talk about which she also constantly scapegoats as inherently abusive because of course no one cares about us we’re an acceptable scapegoat (yes I am extremely salty, no that’s (hopefully) not what this post of mine is primarily about, sorry for getting off track).

One person attempted to criticize Fish’s advice as harmful because it “convinces children they’re being abused when they’re not actually being abused,” among other things. I had that individual blocked, and I won’t name them because I don’t want to get them attacked and their posts were extremely triggering, but hopefully we can all agree that they’re wrong and that’s shit reasoning.

I would, however, like to try my hand at a criticism of my own.

Of course, we know that Fish’s anti-abuse advocacy fails when considering intersectionality: what about trans/cluster B/kinky/para youth and abuse survivors, how are we to be treated? Ostracized and called monsters and sterilized, or coddled as poor helpless victims? To people like her, there are no nuances, no gray areas, no in-betweens; people are classified into either monstrous sub/inhuman perpetrators undeserving of any rights, or poor uwu little victims who could never be abusive or have traits she deems abusive themselves. When encountering someone who does not fit neatly into either category, they attempt to rewrite our narratives for us to maintain their cognitive dissonance.

But there are also some more areas in which Fish’s bigotry limits her anti-abuse advocacy. Mainly: that radical feminism and other bigoted reactionary ideologies mentioned above have a not-particularly-progressive view of civil rights; they call out problems only when they are present in individual cases without examining why they were able to happen in the first place. They assume problems with systems are mistakes, accidents, rather than signs that systems are flawed by design.

Her solution to rampant parental abuse is, simply, “get rid of all the bad parents” (whom she can magically identify by specific neurological traits). With someone like her in power, the nuclear family stays, adultist hierarchies stay--only a few demographics which are mostly victims and not abusers, and who make up a tiny percentage of real abusers, are forced to go.

There is very little examination on her end of the systemic structures which teach abusers they should abuse and allow abuse to run rampant unchecked. Like all other carceral feminists, she believes the system can be reformed and hierarchies can remain as long as the people holding the authority will Use It For Good and not abuse it, and she knows they won’t because they are an Inherently Good Person and don’t have a specific biological difference.

It’s not a coincidence that radical youthlibs tend to overlap with the pro cluster B, pro para etc communities and vice versa. Those of us who are severely hated and marginalized by all of society, including the ostensibly “progressive” groups, are far more likely to have been abused as youth and far more likely to be skeptical of liberal “reform > abolition” moderates because we have been through it all, we have tried it all and we know by now that it doesn’t. fucking. work.

Radical feminist, ableist etc beliefs rarely stand on their own. They bleed over into the “anti-abuse” advocacy you do. And until you deconstruct that you are no ally of mine and your solutions will not work and you’re just enabling more abuse. There is no true child abuse prevention without complete youth liberation and abolition of ageist hierarchies.

[the-mechanisms-system]

Pinned post revamp!

We're the Mechanisms System! We're a traumagenic monoconscious system. We suspect OSDD-1b

We're explicitly endo-safe, so please DNI if you support fakeclaiming, harassing, or mocking endogenic systems.

We have NPD w/ ASPD traits. If you support "narc abuse" terminology fuck off. Or any cluster B abuse for that matter

Pro informed self dx, pro psych + prison abolition, anarchist, anti fascist, etc

Headmate intros under the cut, as well as terms and pronouns we use both collectively and individually!

Collective pronouns: it/he/they

Intros!

Terms we're comfortable with: system (and all variations such as collective, group, etc), headmate, systemmate/member, alter, plural, multiple

Terms we don't use: facets, parts

Elliott- he/fae || no known role || fae || transmasc, gnc, cottagecore art boy. absolute ray of sunshine.

Elrían/Trace- they/it || host || elf || the "default setting" (affectionate). Vin's partner. (NOT TRANS RACE. TRACE IS STRAIGHT UP JUST MY NAME.)

Corvid- he/xe || protector || human || punk, anarchist, one of the two NPD symptom holders, often angry. favorite color is purple

Gavin- he/him || caretaker || introject/fictive, demon || Elrían's bf. rarely fronts, if ever. deals more with things on the inside.

Cr- he/they/xe || none(?) || human || pirate. mischievous and adventurous, a bit of a troublemaker

Glitch- it/its || none || robot/android || calm, analytical, curious. rarely fronts.

Riley/Riles- they/them || syskid/little || human || rarely fronts, easily overwhelmed. they wont be interacting here.

Dormant but we don't wanna delete their intros

Sarin- they/them(?) || who knows || human(?) || the other NPD symptom holder, arrogant af

[puff-world]

TO "SERVE AND PROTECT"

Hey this is a post I made on amino describing my opinions on the police

And in case it doesnt load

(PLEASE NO TROLLING)

This is a blog about the many issues of the police system in america and other thing

[B] WHAT THE WERE MADE FOR

The police in America are derived from slave patrols who looked for run away slaves and would beat them senselessly.

The police forces proper were founded some time after the civil war and did some interesting things.

First off in the 13th amendment it said that no citizen will be enslaved unless as a legal punishment, you can see where this is going. So laws were introduced that criminalized blacks and allowed law enforcement not just the police to arrest blacks and enslave them for their "crime" like not having a job, leaving a job interview, quitting, exiting an unfavorable deal with landlords. Imagine quitting your job because your boss was a dirt bag and being arrested and being forced to work and being labeled a felon and having your right to vote being removed. Because the anti felon voting law was a jim crow law that still persists today.

And it's not like its peaches and sunshine for every non black person because these laws could be applied to anyone. If you were homeless or jobless these laws will apply. As well this attitude if criminalization of the poor is continued in America as seen with the government using tax dollars to pay cops to kick homeless people out of condemned buildings and out from under bridges rather then using those tax dollars to help people and on that topic

In the north while the cops were arresting blacks the yankee cops where beating up people who were unionizing and protesting for whatever reason which is something you see presently today and has always been happening like how during the civil rights era the cops were just waiting for something to spark violence and sometimes did it them selves like when cops that look like soldiers throw gas grenades at protesters and run through the crowd with their cars.

Now on that subject of police violence we can now cover the protests, riots and how the police treated them in comparison to the CAPITOL seige.

The protests mainly went on for about 6 months following the death of george floyd. Now some people try to say it was just one person but if you look back this new civil rights movement is about the police's actions they have taken to brutalize and oppress bl Americans and other for decades. And they wont stop until they learn which is what this new movement is about. Like how the civil war was about abolition the civil rights movement was about desegregation, this new one will be about the decriminalization of blacks and others as well as the reform and possibly the abolishment of the police system.

Now back on topic of the protests, people often talk about how violent it was, and for the longest time I had no good answers. But now I understand, the reason violence happened was not because of evil antifa but Because of the police. As I previously described the police were just hoping for someone to beat up and there track record of protester suppression. Martin Luther king jr. Once said that quote "riots are the voice of the unheard" end quote. When people got violent it was because the police were walking in with modified gas grenade launcher and riot sheilds. I've seen the police do horrible things including beating up navy veteran Christopher david for asking the cops about there actions. According to him they surrounded him in a group of ten and started spraying him and beating him up and gave him a broken arm and fucked up his leg while he stood there and did not attack, this was a 50 something white man, if you think this blog is only about black oppression, you are wrong, this post is about the police's refusal to do good.

So yes the protests were a cluster fuck and the news reported about it Usually saying the protesters were violent and ignored actions taken by the police and even said that kyle rittenhouse a 17 white boy who shot into a crowd of protesters with an ar 15 and killed two people was a hero, and the police when they saw him they didn't shoot him or beat him they calmly asked him was there an issue and later calmly arrested him.

That's what I dont understand. Why is it that when a black man says any thing or says he has a registered fire arm hes shot and the protesters are treated as savages who burn cities even though the protesters fought for freedom like their founding fathers but when terrorists stormed the Capitol the police didn't shoot gas or beat them up they calmly stood by as these guys entered the Capitol and had the intention of attacking politicians, despite my destain for politicians this is still horrible. I will quickly mention officer Goodman who steered terrorists away from IMPORTANT parts of the Capitol, which did give time to evacuate, he was likely the only officer to do anything about the terrorists storming the Capitol.

Now you may ask, wait ABOLISH the police but they are needed to protect us also all of this seems pretty sus arent they supposed to serve and protect

Well no actually. In 2005 the supreme court ruled that the police are not obligated to protect people

As you can see the police time and time again have proven that they dont protect people, that they are violent, that they escalate situations. That if American freedom is to stay alive reforms and POSSIBLY abolishment is needed.

Now one note about personal run ins with the police. I worked at ihop for about 10 weeks as part of a program. And one day the police came in, now I was scared because I thought something would happen but I was wrong. Apparently a man called the police to take him to the hospital, Which is a relief, but I went if he were black.

Now heres some links and pictures I have

[I know th WP are not the best but still|https://youtu.be/eBvo2OE5kqM]

Know their names: Black people killed by the police in the US https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/know-their-names/index.html

[americanimperium-blog]

General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell  Graduating West Point in 1904, Stilwell later taught at West Point, and attended the Infantry Advanced Course and the Command and General Staff College. During World War I, he was the U.S. Fourth Corps intelligence officer and helped plan the St. Mihiel offensive. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his service in France. He is often remembered by his sobriquet, "Vinegar Joe", which he acquired while a commander at Fort Benning, Georgia. Stilwell often gave harsh critiques of performance in field exercises, and a subordinate – stung by Joe's caustic remarks – drew a caricature of Stilwell rising out of a vinegar bottle.  After discovering the caricature, Stilwell pinned it to a board and had the drawing photographed and distributed to friends.

 Yet another indication of his view of life was the motto he kept on his desk: Illegitimi non carborundum, a form of fractured Latin that translates as "Don't let the bastards grind you down." Between the wars, Stilwell served three tours in China, where he mastered spoken and written Chinese, and was the military attaché at the U.S. Legation in Beijing from 1935 to 1939. 

In 1939 and 1940 he was assistant commander of the 2nd Infantry Division and from 1940 to 1941 organized and trained the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California. 

It was there that his leadership style – which emphasized concern for the average soldier and minimized ceremonies and officious discipline – earned him the nickname of "Uncle Joe."

Just prior to World War II, Stilwell was recognized as the top corps commander in the Army and was initially selected to plan and command the Allied invasion of North Africa. When it became necessary to send a senior officer to China to keep that country in the War, Stilwell was selected, over his personal objections, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his old friend, Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall.

He became the Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, served as US commander in the China Burma India Theater, was responsible for all Lend-Lease supplies going to China, and was later Deputy Commander of South East Asia Command. Despite his status and position in China, he became involved in conflicts with other senior Allied officers, over the distribution of Lend-Lease materiel, Chinese political sectarianism and proposals to incorporate Chinese and US forces in the 11th Army Group. Following a three month furlough, on 24 January 1945 Stilwell assumed command of the Army Ground Forces, with it headquarters at the Pentagon, overseeing all mobilization and training of Army ground units in the United States. On 23 June 1945, following the death of Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. on 18 June, Stilwell was appointed as Commander of the Tenth United States Army, shortly after the end of Japanese resistance in the Battle of Okinawa. The Tenth Army was disbanded on 15 October 1945 following the surrender of Japan.In November, Stilwell was appointed to lead a "War Department Equipment Board" in an investigation of the Army's modernization in light of its recent experience. Among his recommendations was the establishment of a combined arms force to conduct extended service tests of new weapons and equipment and then formulate doctrine for its use, and the abolition of specialized anti-tank units. 

His most notable recommendation was for a vast improvement of the Army's defenses against all airborne threats, including ballistic missiles. In particular, he called for "guided interceptor missiles, dispatched in accordance with electronically computed data obtained from radar detection stations. On 1 March 1946, Stilwell assumed command of the 6th Army with its headquarters at the Presidio of San Francisco. The 6th Army had been reorganized as an administrative command in charge of Army units in the western United States. In May 1946, Stilwell and his former subordinate Frank Merrill led two Marine platoons in suppressing the prison uprising known as the Battle of Alcatraz. Joseph Stilwell died after surgery for stomach cancer on October 12, 1946, at the Presidio of San Francisco, while still on active duty and five months short of reaching the Army's mandatory retirement age of 64. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered on the Pacific Ocean, and a cenotaph was placed at the West Point Cemetery. Among his military decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit degree of Commander, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

[marcos008-blog]

India – Karnataka – Hampi – Banana Plant – 3

A banana is an edible fruit, botanically a berry, produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. (In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called plantains.) The fruit is variable in size, color and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic (seedless) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name Musa sapientum is no longer used.

Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in at least 107 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and banana beer and as ornamental plants.

Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the simple two-fold distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants which produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa like the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), pink banana (Musa velutina) and the Fe’i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, like the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are classified under the banana family, Musaceae.

DESCRIPTION The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant. All the above-ground parts of a banana plant grow from a structure usually called a "corm". Plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy, and are often mistaken for trees, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a "false stem" or pseudostem. Bananas grow in a wide variety of soils, as long as the soil is at least 60 cm deep, has good drainage and is not compacted. The leaves of banana plants are composed of a "stalk" (petiole) and a blade (lamina). The base of the petiole widens to form a sheath; the tightly packed sheaths make up the pseudostem, which is all that supports the plant. The edges of the sheath meet when it is first produced, making it tubular. As new growth occurs in the centre of the pseudostem the edges are forced apart. Cultivated banana plants vary in height depending on the variety and growing conditions. Most are around 5 m tall, with a range from ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ plants at around 3 m to ‘Gros Michel’ at 7 m or more. Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres long and 60 cm wide. They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.

When a banana plant is mature, the corm stops producing new leaves and begins to form a flower spike or inflorescence. A stem develops which grows up inside the pseudostem, carrying the immature inflorescence until eventually it emerges at the top. Each pseudostem normally produces a single inflorescence, also known as the "banana heart". (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced five.) After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots will normally have developed from the base, so that the plant as a whole is perennial. In the plantation system of cultivation, only one of the offshoots will be allowed to develop in order to maintain spacing. The inflorescence contains many bracts (sometimes incorrectly referred to as petals) between rows of flowers. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem (closer to the leaves) from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary.

The banana fruits develop from the banana heart, in a large hanging cluster, made up of tiers (called "hands"), with up to 20 fruit to a tier. The hanging cluster is known as a bunch, comprising 3–20 tiers, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh 30–50 kilograms. Individual banana fruits (commonly known as a banana or "finger") average 125 grams, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter.

The fruit has been described as a "leathery berry". There is a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with numerous long, thin strings (the phloem bundles), which run lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion. The inner part of the common yellow dessert variety can be split lengthwise into three sections that correspond to the inner portions of the three carpels by manually deforming the unopened fruit. In cultivated varieties, the seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.

Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive, more so than most other fruits, because of their potassium content and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium. The banana equivalent dose of radiation is sometimes used in nuclear communication to compare radiation levels and exposures.

ETYMOLOGY The word banana is thought to be of West African origin, possibly from the Wolof word banaana, and passed into English via Spanish or Portuguese.

TAXONOMY The genus Musa was created by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name may be derived from Antonius Musa, physician to the Emperor Augustus, or Linnaeus may have adapted the Arabic word for banana, mauz. Musa is in the family Musaceae. The APG III system assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales, part of the commelinid clade of the monocotyledonous flowering plants. Some 70 species of Musa were recognized by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as of January 2013; several produce edible fruit, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

The classification of cultivated bananas has long been a problematic issue for taxonomists. Linnaeus originally placed bananas into two species based only on their uses as food: Musa sapientum for dessert bananas and Musa paradisiaca for plantains. Subsequently further species names were added. However, this approach proved inadequate to address the sheer number of cultivars existing in the primary center of diversity of the genus, Southeast Asia. Many of these cultivars were given names which proved to be synonyms.

In a series of papers published in 1947 onwards, Ernest Cheesman showed that Linnaeus’s Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca were actually cultivars and descendants of two wild seed-producing species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, both first described by Luigi Aloysius Colla. He recommended the abolition of Linnaeus’s species in favor of reclassifying bananas according to three morphologically distinct groups of cultivars – those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa balbisiana, those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa acuminata, and those with characteristics that are the combination of the two. Researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed a genome-based nomenclature system in 1955. This system eliminated almost all the difficulties and inconsistencies of the earlier classification of bananas based on assigning scientific names to cultivated varieties. Despite this, the original names are still recognized by some authorities today, leading to confusion.

The currently accepted scientific names for most groups of cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata Colla and Musa balbisiana Colla for the ancestral species, and Musa × paradisiaca L. for the hybrid M. acuminata × M. balbisiana.

Synonyms of M. × paradisica include: A large number of subspecific and varietial names of M. × paradisiaca, including M. p. subsp. sapientum (L.) Kuntze Musa × dacca Horan. Musa × sapidisiaca K.C.Jacob, nom. superfl. Musa × sapientum L., and a large number of its varietal names, including M. × sapientum var. paradisiaca (L.) Baker, nom. illeg.

Generally, modern classifications of banana cultivars follow Simmonds and Shepherd’s system. Cultivars are placed in groups based on the number of chromosomes they have and which species they are derived from. Thus the Latundan banana is placed in the AAB Group, showing that it is a triploid derived from both M. acuminata (A) and M. balbisiana (B). For a list of the cultivars classified under this system see List of banana cultivars.

In 2012, a team of scientists announced they had achieved a draft sequence of the genome of Musa acuminata.

BANANAS & PLANTAINS In regions such as North America and Europe, Musa fruits offered for sale can be divided into "bananas" and "plantains", based on their intended use as food. Thus the banana producer and distributor Chiquita produces publicity material for the American market which says that "a plantain is not a banana". The stated differences are that plantains are more starchy and less sweet; they are eaten cooked rather than raw; they have thicker skin, which may be green, yellow or black; and they can be used at any stage of ripeness. Linnaeus made the same distinction between plantains and bananas when first naming two "species" of Musa. Members of the "plantain subgroup" of banana cultivars, most important as food in West Africa and Latin America, correspond to the Chiquita description, having long pointed fruit. They are described by Ploetz et al. as "true" plantains, distinct from other cooking bananas. The cooking bananas of East Africa belong to a different group, the East African Highland bananas, so would not qualify as "true" plantains on this definition.

An alternative approach divides bananas into dessert bananas and cooking bananas, with plantains being one of the subgroups of cooking bananas. Triploid cultivars derived solely from M. acuminata are examples of "dessert bananas", whereas triploid cultivars derived from the hybrid between M. acuminata and M. balbinosa (in particular the plantain subgroup of the AAB Group) are "plantains". Small farmers in Colombia grow a much wider range of cultivars than large commercial plantations. A study of these cultivars showed that they could be placed into at least three groups based on their characteristics: dessert bananas, non-plantain cooking bananas, and plantains, although there were overlaps between dessert and cooking bananas.

In Southeast Asia – the center of diversity for bananas, both wild and cultivated – the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" does not work, according to Valmayor et al. Many bananas are used both raw and cooked. There are starchy cooking bananas which are smaller than those eaten raw. The range of colors, sizes and shapes is far wider than in those grown or sold in Africa, Europe or the Americas.[35] Southeast Asian languages do not make the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" that is made in English (and Spanish). Thus both Cavendish cultivars, the classic yellow dessert bananas, and Saba cultivars, used mainly for cooking, are called pisang in Malaysia and Indonesia, kluai in Thailand and chuoi in Vietnam. Fe’i bananas, grown and eaten in the islands of the Pacific, are derived from entirely different wild species than traditional bananas and plantains. Most Fe’i bananas are cooked, but Karat bananas, which are short and squat with bright red skins, very different from the usual yellow dessert bananas, are eaten raw.

In summary, in commerce in Europe and the Americas (although not in small-scale cultivation), it is possible to distinguish between "bananas", which are eaten raw, and "plantains", which are cooked. In other regions of the world, particularly India, Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific, there are many more kinds of banana and the two-fold distinction is not useful and not made in local languages. Plantains are one of many kinds of cooking bananas, which are not always distinct from dessert bananas.

HISTORICAL CULTIVATION Farmers in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea first domesticated bananas. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE. It is likely that other species were later and independently domesticated elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is the region of primary diversity of the banana. Areas of secondary diversity are found in Africa, indicating a long history of banana cultivation in the region.

Phytolith discoveries in Cameroon dating to the first millennium BCE triggered an as yet unresolved debate about the date of first cultivation in Africa. There is linguistic evidence that bananas were known in Madagascar around that time. The earliest prior evidence indicates that cultivation dates to no earlier than late 6th century CE. It is likely, however, that bananas were brought at least to Madagascar if not to the East African coast during the phase of Malagasy colonization of the island from South East Asia c. 400 CE.

The banana may also have been present in isolated locations elsewhere in the Middle East on the eve of Islam. The spread of Islam was followed by far-reaching diffusion. There are numerous references to it in Islamic texts (such as poems and hadiths) beginning in the 9th century. By the 10th century the banana appears in texts from Palestine and Egypt. From there it diffused into North Africa and Muslim Iberia. During the medieval ages, bananas from Granada were considered among the best in the Arab world. In 650, Islamic conquerors brought the banana to Palestine. Today, banana consumption increases significantly in Islamic countries during Ramadan, the month of daylight fasting.

Bananas were certainly grown in the Christian Kingdom of Cyprus by the late medieval period. Writing in 1458, the Italian traveller and writer Gabriele Capodilista wrote favourably of the extensive farm produce of the estates at Episkopi, near modern day Limassol, including the region’s banana plantations.

Bananas were introduced to the Americas by Portuguese sailors who brought the fruits from West Africa in the 16th century.

Many wild banana species as well as cultivars exist in extraordinary diversity in New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and the Philippines.

There are fuzzy bananas whose skins are bubblegum pink; green-and-white striped bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet; bananas that, when cooked, taste like strawberries. The Double Mahoi plant can produce two bunches at once. The Chinese name of the aromatic Go San Heong banana means ‘You can smell it from the next mountain.’ The fingers on one banana plant grow fused; another produces bunches of a thousand fingers, each only an inch long. —Mike Peed, The New Yorker

In 1999 archaeologists in London discovered what they believed to be the oldest banana in the UK, in a Tudor rubbish tip.

PLANTATION CULTIVATION IN THE CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese colonists started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil, and western Africa. North Americans began consuming bananas on a small scale at very high prices shortly after the Civil War, though it was only in the 1880s that it became more widespread. As late as the Victorian Era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available. Jules Verne introduces bananas to his readers with detailed descriptions in Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).

The earliest modern plantations originated in Jamaica and the related Western Caribbean Zone, including most of Central America. It involved the combination of modern transportation networks of steamships and railroads with the development of refrigeration that allowed bananas to have more time between harvesting and ripening. North America shippers like Lorenzo Dow Baker and Andrew Preston, the founders of the Boston Fruit Company started this process in the 1870s, but railroad builders like Minor C Keith also participated, eventually culminating in the multi-national giant corporations like today’s Chiquita Brands International and Dole. These companies were monopolistic, vertically integrated (meaning they controlled growing, processing, shipping and marketing) and usually used political manipulation to build enclave economies (economies that were internally self-sufficient, virtually tax exempt, and export oriented that contribute very little to the host economy). Their political maneuvers, which gave rise to the term Banana republic for states like Honduras and Guatemala, included working with local elites and their rivalries to influence politics or playing the international interests of the United States, especially during the Cold War, to keep the political climate favorable to their interests.

PEASANT CULTIVATION FOR EXPORT IN THE CARIBBEAN The vast majority of the world’s bananas today are cultivated for family consumption or for sale on local markets. India is the world leader in this sort of production, but many other Asian and African countries where climate and soil conditions allow cultivation also host large populations of banana growers who sell at least some of their crop.

There are peasant sector banana growers who produce for the world market in the Caribbean, however. The Windward Islands are notable for the growing, largely of Cavendish bananas, for an international market, generally in Europe but also in North America. In the Caribbean, and especially in Dominica where this sort of cultivation is widespread, holdings are in the 1–2 acre range. In many cases the farmer earns additional money from other crops, from engaging in labor outside the farm, and from a share of the earnings of relatives living overseas. This style of cultivation often was popular in the islands as bananas required little labor input and brought welcome extra income. Banana crops are vulnerable to destruction by high winds, such as tropical storms or cyclones.

After the signing of the NAFTA agreements in the 1990s, however, the tide turned against peasant producers. Their costs of production were relatively high and the ending of favorable tariff and other supports, especially in the European Economic Community, made it difficult for peasant producers to compete with the bananas grown on large plantations by the well capitalized firms like Chiquita and Dole. Not only did the large companies have access to cheap labor in the areas they worked, but they were better able to afford modern agronomic advances such as fertilization. The "dollar banana" produced by these concerns made the profit margins for peasant bananas unsustainable.

Caribbean countries have sought to redress this problem by providing government supported agronomic services and helping to organize producers’ cooperatives. They have also been supporters of the Fair Trade movement which seeks to balance the inequities in the world trade in commodities.

EAST AFRICA Most farms supply local consumption. Cooking bananas represent a major food source and a major income source for smallhold farmers. In east Africa, highland bananas are of greatest importance as a staple food crop. In countries such as Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda per capita consumption has been estimated at 45 kilograms per year, the highest in the world.

MODERN CULTIVATION All widely cultivated bananas today descend from the two wild bananas Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. While the original wild bananas contained large seeds, diploid or polyploid cultivars (some being hybrids) with tiny seeds are preferred for human raw fruit consumption. These are propagated asexually from offshoots. The plant is allowed to produce two shoots at a time; a larger one for immediate fruiting and a smaller "sucker" or "follower" to produce fruit in 6–8 months. The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer, during which time the individual stools or planting sites may move slightly from their original positions as lateral rhizome formation dictates.

Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, i.e. the flesh of the fruit swells and ripens without its seeds being fertilized and developing. Lacking viable seeds, propagation typically involves farmers removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers, are easier to transplant and can be left out of the ground for up to two weeks; they require minimal care and can be shipped in bulk.It is not necessary to include the corm or root structure to propagate bananas; severed suckers without root material can be propagated in damp sand, although this takes somewhat longer.In some countries, commercial propagation occurs by means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating Panama disease).As a non-seasonal crop, bananas are available fresh year-round.

CAVENDISH In global commerce in 2009, by far the most important cultivars belonged to the triploid AAA group of Musa acuminata, commonly referred to as Cavendish group bananas. They accounted for the majority of banana exports, despite only coming into existence in 1836. The cultivars Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain (Chiquita Banana) gained popularity in the 1950s after the previous mass-produced cultivar, Gros Michel (also an AAA group cultivar), became commercially unviable due to Panama disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum which attacks the roots of the banana plant. Cavendish cultivars are resistant to the Panama Disease but in 2013 there were fears that the Black Sigatoka fungus would in turn make Cavendish bananas unviable.

Ease of transport and shelf life rather than superior taste make the Dwarf Cavendish the main export banana.

Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, Gros Michel is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama disease is not found. Likewise, Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain are in no danger of extinction, but they may leave supermarket shelves if disease makes it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace Cavendish bananas, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are attempting to create a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.

RIPENING Export bananas are picked green, and ripen in special rooms upon arrival in the destination country. These rooms are air-tight and filled with ethylene gas to induce ripening. The vivid yellow color consumers normally associate with supermarket bananas is, in fact, caused by the artificial ripening process. Flavor and texture are also affected by ripening temperature. Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C during transport. At lower temperatures, ripening permanently stalls, and the bananas turn gray as cell walls break down. The skin of ripe bananas quickly blackens in the 4 °C environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaffected.

"Tree-ripened" Cavendish bananas have a greenish-yellow appearance which changes to a brownish-yellow as they ripen further. Although both flavor and texture of tree-ripened bananas is generally regarded as superior to any type of green-picked fruit, this reduces shelf life to only 7–10 days.Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed" (i.e. not treated with ethylene), and may show up at the supermarket fully green. Guineos verdes (green bananas) that have not been gassed will never fully ripen before becoming rotten. Instead of fresh eating, these bananas are best suited to cooking, as seen in Mexican culinary dishes.A 2008 study reported that ripe bananas fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light. This property is attributed to the degradation of chlorophyll leading to the accumulation of a fluorescent product in the skin of the fruit. The chlorophyll breakdown product is stabilized by a propionate ester group. Banana-plant leaves also fluoresce in the same way. Green bananas do not fluoresce. The study suggested that this allows animals which can see light in the ultraviolet spectrum (tetrachromats and pentachromats) to more easily detect ripened bananas.

STORAGE & TRANSPORT Bananas must be transported over long distances from the tropics to world markets. To obtain maximum shelf life, harvest comes before the fruit is mature. The fruit requires careful handling, rapid transport to ports, cooling, and refrigerated shipping. The goal is to prevent the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene. This technology allows storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C. On arrival, bananas are held at about 17 °C and treated with a low concentration of ethylene. After a few days, the fruit begins to ripen and is distributed for final sale. Unripe bananas can not be held in home refrigerators because they suffer from the cold. Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home. If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the ripening process.

Carbon dioxide (which bananas produce) and ethylene absorbents extend fruit life even at high temperatures. This effect can be exploited by packing banana in a polyethylene bag and including an ethylene absorbent, e.g., potassium permanganate, on an inert carrier. The bag is then sealed with a band or string. This treatment has been shown to more than double lifespans up to 3–4 weeks without the need for refrigeration.

FRUIT Bananas are a staple starch for many tropical populations. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Both the skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. The primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate (also known as banana oil), which, along with several other compounds such as butyl acetate and isobutyl acetate, is a significant contributor to banana flavor.

During the ripening process, bananas produce the gas ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone and indirectly affects the flavor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas. The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a "starchier" taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.

Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make banana flour. Extracting juice is difficult, because when a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas feature prominently in Philippine cuisine, being part of traditional dishes and desserts like maruya, turrón, and halo-halo or saba con yelo. Most of these dishes use the Saba or Cardaba banana cultivar. Bananas are also commonly used in cuisine in the South-Indian state of Kerala, where they are steamed (puzhungiyathu), made into curries, fried into chips (upperi) or fried in batter (pazhampori). Pisang goreng, bananas fried with batter similar to the Filipino maruya or Kerala pazhampori, is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United Kingdom and United States as banana fritters.

Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes, such as the Pazham Pachadi prepared in Kerala.

Seeded bananas (Musa balbisiana), one of the forerunners of the common domesticated banana, are sold in markets in Indonesia.

FLOWER Banana hearts are used as a vegetable in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, either raw or steamed with dips or cooked in soups, curries and fried foods. The flavor resembles that of artichoke. As with artichokes, both the fleshy part of the bracts and the heart are edible.

LEAVES Banana leaves are large, flexible, and waterproof. They are often used as ecologically friendly disposable food containers or as "plates" in South Asia and several Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesian cuisine, banana leaf is employed in cooking method called pepes and botok; the banana leaf packages containing food ingredients and spices are cooked on steam, in boiled water or grilled on charcoal. In the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in every occasion the food must be served in a banana leaf and as a part of the food a banana is served. Steamed with dishes they impart a subtle sweet flavor. They often serve as a wrapping for grilling food. The leaves contain the juices, protect food from burning and add a subtle flavor. In Tamil Nadu (India) leaves are fully dried and used as packing material for food stuffs and also making cups to hold liquid foods. In Central American countries, banana leaves are often used as wrappers for tamales.

TRUNK The tender core of the banana plant’s trunk is also used in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, and notably in the Burmese dish mohinga.

FIBER TEXTILES The banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, while the softest innermost fibers are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all performed by hand.

In a Nepalese system the trunk is harvested instead, and small pieces are subjected to a softening process, mechanical fiber extraction, bleaching and drying. After that, the fibers are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for use in rugs with a silk-like texture. These banana fiber rugs are woven by traditional Nepalese hand-knotting methods, and are sold RugMark certified.

In South Indian state of Tamil Nadu after harvesting for fruit the trunk (outer layer of the shoot) is made into fine thread used in making of flower garlands instead of thread.

PAPER Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is made from two different parts: the bark of the banana plant, mainly used for artistic purposes, or from the fibers of the stem and non-usable fruits. The paper is either hand-made or by industrial process.

Posted by asienman on 2014-06-11 20:33:34

Tagged: , India , Karnataka , Hampi , Vijayanagara , asienman-photography , Banana Plant , Banana Flower

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