#cultural provenance

[edenfenixblogs]

I think about this a lot. And I think the White indifference to indigeneity is interesting. (Tone indicator: genuine) I’m genuinely unsure of what to make of Euro-American Christian Whiteness as it relates to indigeneity. (And yes, even former Christians raised in Christianity or atheists with a Christian familial/cultural background are included in this as a dominant culture). And I actually think that informs a lot of how I think and feel about Palestinian indigeneity.

Look, a lot of very educated Jews who I deeply respect and don’t entirely disagree with are responding to my post right now with the assertion that Palestinians aren’t indigenous to the Levant. I maintain that Palestinians ARE indigenous to the Levant, but not because I disagree with them on the facts.

It’s hard to talk about because Muslims and Arabs in European and American society are inarguably minorities who are treated poorly. And the last thing I would ever want is to have a statement of mine taken to mean that I hate ANY Muslim or Arab person, especially on racial or religious grounds. I do not.

But Arabs and Muslims have repeatedly colonized, abused, tortured, and ethnically Jews both in Israel and in many other nations around the world. This is a fact. Palestinians during the British mandate made it very clear that they despised Jews and would not tolerate the existence of a Jewish state when British colonial rule ended. The rest of the Muslim world exiled Jews to Israel as punishment for its creation.

And yet, the Naqba was indeed an ethnic cleansing. The violence against Jews by Muslims and Arabs does not erase violence done by Israelis against Palestinians. Neither justifies the other.

Like White Christians, Palestinian history is full of instances of systemic privilege and verifiable instances of violence against Jews. But the situation Palestine is currently facing is no privilege at all.

But here’s my hot take: we are all indigenous to somewhere. And I think that the idea that who is and isn’t colonized is the sole determinant of indigeneity is outdated and incomplete. Academic Discourse about what is and is not encompassed by the term indigeneity is still a relatively knew field of study. And I think it’s not so set in stone that we can’t interrogate the idea of indigeneity itself outside of a colonial context.

To be very clear: colonization is extremely important in terms of its impact on creating indigenous cultural groups. I don’t recommend or advocate for removing a colonial framework from the concept of indigeneity at all.

But outside of that, what are other frameworks that we can use? What else creates indigeneity? When does indigeneity begin?

I know that there is no timeline on when indigeneity ends. Jews are indigenous to the Levant. And we always will be, because our relationship to that land is inextricable from our identity.

But when does that relationship BECOME inextricable from other identities in other circumstances?

As a Jew, I am part of one of the very few cultures that predates most other cultures that currently exist. My culture has witnessed the birth of many indigenous groups and the fall of many cultures—both dominant and oppressed. Where were citizens of the Roman Empire indigenous to at the time Rome fell? Perhaps the answer there is easy: Rome. But it gets more complicated than that. Rome conquered Greece. Did the Greeks become indigenous at that time, despite being a violent colonizing force before that? I’d argue yes. And unlike Rome, Greek identity extended over many individual city states that previously had more unique identities and their own conquered territories.

For me, indigeneity has more to do with cultural relationship to place. The influence of place on food and language and customs. Oppressor vs oppressed is just a binary. And in the words of John Green, “Almost everything we think of binary is actually spectral.”

Sure, White Christian Americans may have been indigenous to England or Spain or France, depending on your location and family history. But now? Do those places still determine your identity? Your language? Your culture? Your food?

Quite possibly yes! But also sometimes no!

Also, as a Jew, I’m very familiar with the concept of a dominant culture coming to my people after a century or so of residence in a location and being told not so gently to “get the fuck out and go home.” Even now, even though I identify as American as well as Jewish, I know that this directive has always assumed that “home” is Israel. We never belonged here. We were never part of here. We were always perceived as unwelcome interlopers wherever we existed—no matter how long our people existed here. And so we never fully assimilated. We never lost our connection with the land of Israel. In our bones, we are from there, BECAUSE we have never been allowed to be from here.

But what about you? Where are you from? What is the place that informs your identity? Because you do have a cultural identity. You do have a language and a religious background (whether or not you practice that religion) and family recipes and history that has been passed down. And those elements of culture came very literally from somewhere. That is the place to which you are indigenous.

I think the other reason it is harder in the modern era to disentangle all this is because, in some ways, religion has replaced nationality in terms of a point of origin for cultural elements. Culture in Europe and America so many ways seems to originate from a Church. And I don’t think we’ve really begun to academically and socially engage in the idea of how that change in the organization of human society from land-based to religion-based has impacted concepts of cultural identity and indigeneity.

And Jews are caught in the crossfire about this. Because we are a religion and an ethnicity. We don’t have a central religious figure or group in the way Catholics have a pope or Shia Muslims have a Grand Ayatollah or Sunni Muslims have the Grand Imam or Mormons have The Church of JCLDS. We have the historical texts of our forefathers, which all take place in Israel and are about Israel.

But what about Palestine? Many Palestinians identify as Arab, but I don’t think Palestinian Arabs want to call the whole of the Arabian peninsula home. If they did, they wouldn’t be so upset about the tiny scrap of land that is Israel when they have a whole peninsula.

So, I want to examine why. I want to examine why Palestinians, unlike White Christian Euro-Americans, have decided to assert indigeneity now.

I know cynics will say it is because they hate Jews and wish violence upon all of us. And, OK, many of them really do. They proved as much on 10/7 and all the threats and bombs that they’ve launched our way since.

But I still hear the others. I hear the Palestinians who are saying they just want peace in their homeland. They don’t want violence. Their culture is tied to the land. And I want to meet them where they are instead of telling them their cultural identity is somehow a lie or false. It’s not my culture. It’s theirs. And an integral feature of indigeneity is the right to self identify.

So I’m here. I validate that self identification. I hear that you don’t want violence or to hurt/exile/kill Jews and that you regard yourself as indigenous to the Levant specifically. Ok! Let’s talk about that, then. Because I think that’s interesting and valuable that you have such a clear idea of who you are and where you come from when your Euro-American counterparts don’t seem to have that same clarity.

I think acknowledging Palestinian indigeneity is a very valuable thing for evolving how we discuss the concept of indigeneity in general. It doesn’t mean that we stop using the frameworks we have already. But it does mean that new frameworks might apply. Let’s figure out how all that works —together and peacefully.

I get that this topic is controversial and pushes buttons. But discussing it doesn’t actually harm anyone. And our discomfort in addressing it is key to why we must address it.

Reminder: Jewish indigeneity is not a threat to any other ethnic group. It’s just a fact. Acknowledging Jews as indigenous to the levant doesn’t actually harm any Palestinians. Palestinian indigeneity does not actually rely on Jews NOT being indigenous. Multiple peoples can be indigenous to the same place.

[psqqa]

yes, yes i know edgeworth’s big wet eyes and loser boy personality have captivated us all, but listen. listen.

phoenix wright

phoenix “genuinely unable to reconcile the girl on the stand with the girl he dated for eight months, a cognitive dissonance so profound it’s ultimately explained by them being literally two different people, but which he first sits with for five years and does not talk about at any point to anyone” wright

phoenix “don’t mention that name to me. i don’t want to talk about it. i don’t want to think about it. i am just going to keep myself in this state of perpetual crisis mode focus on other people’s problems until eventually i die and get to hang out with mia on the astral plane and never have to deal with any of these emotions ever again” wright

phoenix “overnight loses his career and reputation and sense of identity while gaining an adopted, probably pretty traumatized eight-year-old daughter, and rather than leaning on his friends for help, or getting therapy, or taking any time to process any of this, he *checks notes* spends seven years dedicating all his free time and energy to investigating the weird fucking circumstances around it and maintains a friendship with the guy he suspects was behind it all” wright

phoenix "runs across a burning bridge and falls through it, half a day after the game establishes that he is terrified of heights, because his friend is on the other side of that bridge" wright

phoenix “i sure felt surprised. maybe i had my poker face on” wright

phoenix “looking back on it that was actually a pretty dark period in my life” wright

phoenix “don’t ask me how i got started. i don’t remember” wright

phoenix “only you stood still, your eyes calmly watching” wright

phoenix “sometimes, life just sucks” wright

just

phoenix wright

crunchiest man in the world

and all i wanna do is chew and chew and chew on him

[imanisays]

[feministfang]

I don’t believe in "Innocent until proven guilty" when it comes to men accused of committing sexual crimes against women. Idc whether the victim is lying or not or whether she can prove it or not. She has my full support and that man should be brutally killed immediately because he is GUILTY EVEN IF "PROVEN" INNOCENT.

[saltyyetbland]

ngl im fucking terrified of how the fandom will act when the asian ccs get added and they are confronted with asian customs such as honorifics, asian cultural norms, and the language itself (ie words that are common in one language that sounds like a slur in another) and i know most of the fandom will be open and welcoming but idk im probably being way too pessimistic as someone who is asian and has seen the bs that people can spew esp regarding things like stereotypes

[georgemiser]

I Support the accused.

So, I recently saw this long, heartbroken "moving on" post from this user who believes the accusations against Danny Elfman and Neil Gaiman and how she was giving up their work to "support the victims" and how there's "other stuff", etc. Usual boring "Believe the victims" MeToo BS. (It's her loss of course if she wants to limit her viewing choices. Dumping Elfman certainly narrows the list.) Thankfully, I don't want to join her and I never will. People will undoubtedly call me vile, selfish and callous for refusing to let go of these men and their "tainted" works; For standing with them instead of their accusers; for choosing to believe in their innocence over their guilt. They'll say that I'm "coping" or "in denial."But then again, I'm not the one who's allowed sympathy and empathy to poison myself.

The truth is that Elfman and Gaiman, along with many, MANY others like them, are the true victims here. They're the ones with everything to lose, they're the ones who have to put up with lost work, defamation, the heartbroken howls of so-called "ex-fans" who buy into these inane, obviously fake MeToo Hollywood "Horror Stories", all after everything they've given those ingrates. Meanwhile, Their "victims", who haven't done jack for the world and never will, bask in undeserved love and admiration for their "courage" in ruining these men's lives. Luckily for those men, I feel nothing for those women, and I never will. I don't have to believe these men are innocent. They simply are so. The real evidence, I.E. everything outside of these women and their tear-soaked "testimonies", points to that conclusion. So, to Danny Elfman and Neil Gaiman and all the rest of Hollywood's "witches", consider me on your side for life, I'll never apologize, never reflect, and never be "better." Not for them. Never for them. My mind was made up nearly 8 years ago when this nonsense started and it hasn't changed an ounce since. I eagerly await the backlash to this post from your former ex-fans who foolishly decided to "move on" the moment the news broke about those women "coming forward." Thank God the "Court" of Public Opinion has no real power. Idiocy + Toxic Compassion kills justice.

[catacini]

idk if i think gender is "a choice" or not (thinking abt it just gives me a headache) but i do think the idea of it being a choice would be less of a problem if culturally we had any respect for people's choices. like no i shouldn't need to justify anything. maybe it is true that i couldn't change this if i tried (have tried before). but that shouldn't matter. i chose this and that should be enough.

[curiositysavesthecat]

*This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[undead-moth]

The idea that Sydney deserves “more” than Carmy when Carmy has not intentionally lied to Syd, betrayed Syd, insulted Syd, took advantage of Syd, purposefully belittled, disrespected, ignored or harmed Syd, just really reads to me as, “Anyone who has ever been anything less than the perfect potential partner one hundred percent of the time, even during times of extreme stress and mental instability they can’t help, does not deserve to be in a relationship,” and like sorry but zero people like that exist.

No two people are going to be perfect to each other one hundred percent of the time. Every single person in a relationship is at some point going to be inconsiderate, oblivious, or hurtful. Every single person in a relationship is at some point going to let something unrelated to their relationship get to them, and affect their relationship. Every single one.

The way Carmy behaved this season was unhealthy, and he owes Syd an apology and a sincere effort to make up for it, but he has not done something unforgiveable. He has not even done anything exceptionally outside the almost inevitable mistakes people in relationships sometimes make.

And by the way, part of the problem they’re facing right now is on Sydney and The Bear has several scenes bringing that to our attention. I know the unhealthy behaviors Carmy is exhibiting are easier to hate, but relationships require honest communication. Sydney is not telling Carmy how she feels. She’s not communicating the problem. Even the time Carmy attempted to bring it up himself this season, Sydney avoided it. And while I think Carmy is on some level aware he’s fucking up, I don’t think it’s fair to say he knows exactly what he’s doing or to what degree it’s affecting Syd, especially because I don’t think Carmy even truly understands what he’s doing or the reason he’s doing it, and if Syd doesn’t tell him how it’s affecting her Carmy’s not going to know until it’s too late to handle smoothly.

I’m not saying Sydney is “bad too” and therefore deserving of Carmy or whatever, I’m saying they are both literally human and neither one of them being imperfect means a romantic relationship by default shouldn’t happen. They are never going to be perfect human beings who never fuck up and neither one is undeserving of the other because of this. Come on.

I know in sitcoms people are always perfect to each other and never have real problems and live happily ever after but The Bear is not like that.

These characters are supposed to be like real people. Real people aren’t perfect, even to their partners, even if their partners deserve perfect.

Carmy and Sydney both deserve each other if they want each other and are willing to work for it even when it’s hard and that’s just like. How all relationships between humans work like sorry to break it to you.

[squarebracket-trickster]

Sorry guys, rant incoming. I considered deleting this but I put too much effort in.

"girlboss" "girl dinner" "girl math" "boy math" "gen z are making fun of us for wearing x" "here's how to dress like gen z:" "girlies" "girl's night" "boy's night" "me and the boys" "90s kid"

"I don't feel like an adult" "I'm 34 and I can tell you, I still don't feel like an adult either." "My parents seemed like real adults when they were my age." "I still feel like a teenager."

Maybe you'd feel more like an adult if you started calling yourself one. Maybe you'd feel more like an adult if you stopped trying to dress like a teenager. Maybe you should move your bed out from the wall and get a wallet. Maybe find a calendar app that works for you.

You are an adult. Even if you live with your parents. Even if you do part-time shift work at minimum wage. Even if you haven't graduated college. Even if you are single. These are adult things to do. Because you are doing them. And you are an adult. Start treating yourself like an adult. Fake it 'till you make it if you have to.

In other, writing-related, news:

That trend on TikTok of 20-40 something women authors (and writers yet to be published) promoting their books like,

"Omg! I can't believe I've sold X number of copies!! I never thought I would!" "Ahhhh imagine publishing your book and all your dreams come true and now you get to meet famous authors and work with big names in the industry!!" "Would you read a book where [proceeds to list a bunch of oversaturated tropes that tell me nothing about the actual plot]?"

It reeks of infantilization. If you didn't believe anyone would want to read your book, why should I? You made it on the NYT bestseller list! Stop acting like a mega-fan who got to meet a celebrity. You are their peer! "Would you read a book--" What if I wouldn't? Why does it matter to you what I think of your book? And for the love of god stop hiding behind tropes you know are already popular. "Here is my book: This is what it is about." Have some goddamn confidence.

It is fine to mention in passing "this idea was really far-fetched so I didn't know if it would appeal" or "I was struggling with self-esteem when I wrote this". It's fine to fan a little bit. It's fine to discuss the tropes in your book. But why are you building your brand as an author off of your inferiority complex? You are using your poor self-esteem as a marketing tactic to seem "humble" and "relatable" but it's coming across as unprofessional and desperate for reassurance. You are an adult. You are competent. The more you act like it the more you will believe it.

And of course, I haven't seen a man promote his book this way...

On another note, do any of the 20-40 something women writers who do "write with me" videos on TikTok actually enjoy writing or are they just doing it for the aesthetic?

They all have gorgeous minimalism writing spaces full of white and pink and a macbook beneath a window. Their makeup is done and they are conventionally pretty to start with. But their entire video is just them talking about how little progress they made, how many pages they deleted, how often they got distracted, how frustrated they are. And like, yeah. We all have those days. But what about the good lines you can't wait to share? The days when the words just flow? The cool stuff you learned while researching? Why don't you ever make videos about that?

Is this some other attempt to seem "relatable" by only talking about the "bad" side of writing? Because again, it's coming across as lacking confidence at best and, at worst, that you don't actually know how to write. And that is not the brand you want as an author.

Again, its always women. Why must women market their self-esteem issues in order to sell their art? Why must we be perpetually awestruck children (girlies, book girls) in over our heads?

[melonnade]

Since the mid-autumn festival is coming up, let’s settle this once and for all:

[confused-rat]

Did… did Lily just say there’s no point to circumcision? Did she really just say nobody has a valid reason to circumcise their babies??

Is that antisemitic? That feels antisemitic.

[hobgobknowsbest]

Your honour, there were no cameras, therefore no proof of my hijinks

[willowways]

While it’s important to not let the ( suspected; not yet convicted) shooters politics overshadow what he did it’s weird how many people believe that the revolution will begin with people of color and other minorities “getting over themselves” and keeping their mouths shut about his views altogether

[i-love-tubbs-the-cat]

soooooooo many health tips online are manufactured and without any evidence and it drives me bonkers truly

[goddessmoonlady]

Jenna Ortega Makes Big Announcement Regarding 'Wednesday' Season 2

Welp, that's me out.

I guess I'll be living in fanfiction and fanart. It's bullshit that @netflix let some unsupported rumors affect their casting choices. I was really looking forward to seeing how Wednesday and Xavier's relationship was going to evolve now that she knows he was innocent the whole time. This is just one more sign of the toxicity of cancel culture where your entire life and career can be damaged by some unsupported internet rumors.

Don't get me wrong, I always choose to believe and support the victims of SA, hell I am one, but I also believe in the rule of "innocent until proven guilty" and refuse to go off half cocked on a crusade to crucify someone on someones word alone. I fully believe in supporting and encouraging the victims to seek official help, both legal and psychological, while demanding the authorities give every case the respect and importance that such a claim demands. I was holding my judgments waiting to see what legally happens only for the claims to quickly fall apart even without legal intervention. It's shit like this that makes it so hard for people to believe victims of SA.

All this has done is encourage internet trolls looking for their 5 minutes of fame to further their campaigns to ruin lives.