2023 APRIL 20 Thursday
"The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all."
~ John 3:31
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The second you start talking about some mysterious "they" that are controlling society in some fashion, you are engaging in dangerous conspiratorial thinking even if you're being woke about it. "They" did not institute the 40 hour work week specifically so you would be too tired to revolt. "They" did not invent the sleek minimalist aesthetic in order to crush the spirit of art in the common people. "They" are not pushing mediocre media into the mainstream in order to poison people's critical thinking skills.
Your best case scenario after that is you talk to someone who actually knows what the fuck they're talking about and you get embarrassed because you can't answer basic questions about your own ideology because you never learned anything past "the ruling class/capitalists/politicians are making things bad and if we got rid of them the bad things would all go away!"
Your worst case scenario is obviously the woo-to-fascist pipeline and you end up believing Jews are poisoning American food supplies with GMOs in order to turn us all into beta cucks, so like . . . maybe just stop blaming "them" before you fall down that route.
Obligatory round of disclaimers: Yes, sometimes people do bad things. Be specific about exactly who is doing what instead of ascribing it to some vague group of shadowy elites. Yes, sometimes things in society are bad. Learn to identify the root causes of complex social issues instead of assuming that they're actually extremely simple to fix and we're just not doing it because of some vague group of shadowy elites. Yes, minimalism isn't for everyone. Learn that some people don't share your tastes and get the fuck over it for the love of god.
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It's hard to talk about the war in Israel.
It's hard because it seems that everyone I know who IS talking about it, is 300% on the side of Palestine and Hamas, and they're sharing articles that make Israel sound like a country of barbarians.
It's hard to talk about because I have a friend who lives in Israel, who's literal job is to study Jewish history and then teach it to others. And she's been updating me (and others on her Tumblr) about her experience during the war. She's been sharing articles and videos and first hand accounts, and it all sounds directly opposite to the propaganda I see everywhere else.
It's hard because it feels like everyone I know doesn't care that it's her job to know the history and the truth. They keep sharing the antisemitic articles and cheering for the downfall of any company that half-mentions support for Israel or doesn't outright support Palestine.
For some reason, people are looking at this war that doesn't effect 90% of them and seeing it in stark black and white. They're raging against a country that has never hurt them, in defense of known terrorists that have never done anything for them.
And it blows my mind that I can't even bring up the idea that I want my friend to be happy and healthy and safe and for her life to go back to some modicum of peace and stability in the country she loves, because too many people will accuse me of supporting genocide and colonization.
Honestly, wtf is happening. It's like watching Donald Trump win the election and wondering how so many people can suddenly be racist, close-minded bigots all over again. How has America (and maybe the world?) been convinced that Israel is nothing at all but an aggressor and Palestine and Hamas are nothing at all but innocent babies in need of defense?
To all the people who claim this IS a black and white issue - honestly fuck you. No war has ever been black and white, and you fucking know it. Your brain's just gone stupid over this war for some reason.
To the civilians in Palestine, you didn't deserve the war brought to your doorstep by the terrorists among you. I wish this war would end yesterday and aid can rush to you and help you heal. You didn't (and don't) deserve to have your friends and family caught in this crossfire.
To the civilians in Israel, you have never deserved the vitriol thrown at you. And you certainly don't deserve to hear the world calling for the eradication of your country and livelihoods, all while erasing the terrible deeds done against you in this war. I wish I could erase antisemitism from the minds of everyone in the world so that you could heal from generations of degradation and mistreatment. You didn't (and don't) deserve to have your friends and family caught in this crossfire.
To anyone calling for the eradication of either nation - fuck you and your bigoted hearts. We're supposed to be spreading love, not hatred. We're supposed to care about each other, not hope missiles wipe imaginary enemies off a map.
What the actual fuck.
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General PSA to every artist/creative/writer in this fandom: thank you for your service and I greatly appreciate you. Please never feel discouraged by your work; you're all wonderfully talented and are such an asset to this community.
I love you all. 🫂
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Okay but Tommy drops out of high school — he told his father he was gay and he told him he could either be homeless or go to military school. He goes to military school and joins the army and he likes flying the helicopters because it means he doesn’t have to do any of the killing himself. And he makes some friends.
There's one guy who's like the squad leader who's a few years old and built like a Greek god and Tommy's young and a little bit in love. And they're friends maybe even family because this whole group of people spend every waking (and sleeping) moment together. And they all talk like a family and they all say they love each other and tease each other and it's nice. And one night it's just the two of them trading a flask of some sort of alcohol that Tommy doesn't know the name of and the man asks Tommy why he joined the army and where he wants to be in five years and Tommy trusts this man. He's half way in love with him so he doesn't even think twice before he tells the story about the time he came out to his family and his father nearly beat him to death before sending him here. And the conversation tapers off after that and he doesn’t register the change in the air but when he wakes up the next morning he’s being dishonourably discharged because he poses “unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability”. He knows what that means.
Tommy joins the fire department because he doesn’t know what else to do. He represses anything regarding his sexuality because he knows now that it’s wrong. He almost feels like he has a family again because his captain seems to like him and some of the guys are cool even if they say things he doesn’t agree with. And then he starts agreeing because maybe they’re right and he’s wrong and he’s just inherently wrong. So he follows their leads and is just straight racist because that’s how he can fit in.
And then a black lesbian woman joins and says she’s a black lesbian woman and Tommy doesn’t understand that either because you can’t be queer you just can’t be because it’s wrong.
But he nearly dies and and an Asian man saves his life and a black lesbian woman comes up with a better idea than any of them had and she tells them she’s no different and she is just as capable. So he improves himself he does and he tries to be better but he still can’t be who he is because the last 2 times he was honest about that he was betrayed.
Tommy leaves the 118 and “don’t ask, don’t tell” is lifted and he meets this guy he likes who likes him back and the 217 don’t seem to have a problem with the gender neutral pronouns and he slowly but surely lets himself open up again and be who he is and when the thing with that guy doesn’t work out because he’s moving to New York and Tommy’s not sure he’s ready to leave, it’s okay because his crew is there and they support him and he can still be himself.
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