#decolonialization

[all-things-are-nothing-to-me]

On Anti-Work, Mexican(American)s and Work.

Read it and a buncha other writings here.

[diaryofaphilosopher]

Conditioned by the experience of oppressing others, any situation other than their former seems to them like oppression. Formerly, they could eat, dress, wear shoes, be educated, travel, and hear Beethoven; while millions did not eat, had no clothes or shoes, neither studied nor travelled, much less listened to Beethoven. Any restriction on this way of life, in the name of the rights of the community, appears to the former oppressors as a profound violation of their individual rights−although they had no respect for the millions who suffered and died of hunger, pain, sorrow, and despair. For the oppressors, "human beings" refers only to themselves; other people are "things". For the oppressors, there exists only one right: their right to live in peace, over against the right, not always even recognized, but simply conceded, of the oppressed to survival. And they make this concession only because the existence of the oppressed is necessary to their own existence.

— Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

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[thererisesaredstar]

U.S. Imperialism Get Out

Emory Douglas (1960s)

[communistkenobi]

This is moreover complicated by the fact that the [South African] apartheid state did not acknowledge itself as engaged in a war. The apartheid state in the late 1970s saw itself as engaged in a ‘total onslaught’, preferring to refer to its ‘enemy’ as terrorists rather than declaring an outright war. According to Cock and Nathan, the choice for the apartheid state to define the conflict as unrest or terrorism as opposed to war implied that liberation movement fighters were denied the prisoner of war status granted by the Geneva Protocols to those engaged in war against colonial powers.

— Women combatants and the liberation movements in South Africa (2015) by Siphokazi Magadla

its refreshing to see this so plainly laid out in writing. a terrorist is just someone the state has decided has no rights

[thebellekeys]

[aodhan-art]

A short horror story @sorrows-hand wrote and I drew for the Galway ARGH! quarterly comic anthology.

[meandtheveggies]

trying to romanticize my phd (that I dislike very much rn!!)

[bigenderrevert]

"this women who sees without being seen frustrates the colonizer"

-Frantz Fanon

[all-things-are-nothing-to-me]

[diaryofaphilosopher]

The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not "marginals," are not people living "outside" society. They have always been "inside" -inside the structure which made them "beings for others." The solution is not to "integrate" them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become "beings for themselves."

— Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

Follow Diary of a Philosopher for more quotes!

[victusinveritas]

[yitzh0k-r3uven-hal3v1]

Israel is the most successful de-colonisation project in human history.

[ashes-and-oils]

Yes, it is good as a witch to believe in modern medicine, but do you still respect and hold space for folk remedies?

It is actually very important that you do. Because what a lot of people don’t understand is that paganism and the “old ways” that many in the esoteric community hold sacred, wasn’t just eliminated by Christianity, but also by atheism, partnered with colonialism, racism and patriarchy.

There was an almost cataclysmic shift from the 18th to the 19th century that goes by many names. The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason are the most well known. In the world of Eurocentrism, the continent and its underlings had just come out of a barbaric age of witch hunts. Instead of blaming the true catalysts of patriarchy, misogyny, and religious extremism, it was blamed on superstition. In Europe in particular, the people were starting to “think”. The iron grip of the church was loosening over the populous. Over the decades science grew and grew as the true innovative force of the future. These fields were dominated by-you guessed it-men, purposefully and viciously excluding women who before hand had been the wisest in their societies. They had been the midwives, the healers, the social (not political) leaders. But they had also been a problem, and so, with all of them dead, the men took full advantage to seize their roles. This was when we started seeing men in gynecology, midwifery, medicine, etc; all fields that for centuries were dominated by women. You could argue that men were always in these fields, and it is true, but who would you have rather seen in the olden days of disease? The elder woman who concocted salves, tinctures and teas or the man who would drain you of 1/3 of your body’s blood? Would you rather see the woman who had given birth and delivered dozens of babies or a man that had maybe never even seen a live birth? People weren’t as dumb as we think of them, the results spoke for themselves. But these women were no longer alive, and so the age of “enlightenment” went forward full steam. If you pay attention to history, many ways these fields operated was through horrific means and cruelty. Especially among enslaved black women. I ache at the thought of what they went through. The remnants of those who carried the wisdom on were devalued and humiliated because of their “superstition”. Just look at the context used behind the phrase “old wives tale”. Don’t even get me started on indigenous beliefs. This could be an entire novel, but I digress.

So knowing this, how will you approach the folk ways? How will you look at the granny witches of Appalachia? Will you respect the Brauchers and Braucherins of the Pennsylvania Dutch? How will you utilize and understand Indigenous teachings? Will you scoff and roll your eyes at prayers to stop bleeding? Will you be a believer of all things strange and unseen but ridicule the tradition of eating a salt cake to dream of the one you’ll marry?

Really make this a feature in your work to decolonize.

[xianjaneway]

This is weird, but after reading so many Marvel fics, I'm surprised that most of them show Tony (& less often, Wanda) being the ones who worked to remove Bucky's trigger words.

Friends, in canon, that was Wakanda.

As white creators, why do we shy away from this in our fics?

I can at least make a couple of guesses. We don't want to appropriate black culture. We don't want to *get it wrong*, or do something that would dishonor the original creators.

We don't want to colonize it.

We don't want to fuck it up.

The thing is, I've read over 1200 Marvel fics since June of 2024. (Yay for hyperlexia, an audio reader, & a lot of boring repetitive work that compels me to find new fics to listen to every day!). I select them by kudos, completion status, & date. My primary ships are Stucky, Stony, Stuckony, & I would read almost anything interesting involving Bucky Barnes.

Guess how many have explored Bucky's time in Wakanda, beyond a passing reference, or a longing for his huts & his goats?

Zero.

Seriously.

Folks, I understand not-wanting to fuck it up. However, as white creators, there ARE a few things we can do that don't involve any appropriation, & drastically reduce our chances of fucking it up.

For starters? We could talk to black creators. Invite them for a collaboration. Ask them questions.

We could re-watch the Panther movies, & the Falcon/Winter Soldier series, with an eye towards, "If I were Bucky Barnes, how would I react to this environment?"

The gender questions ALONE are fascinating AF! A WWII vet being healed in part by a Dora Milaje? How would he respond? How would he interact with an elite group of female warriors, who are in every way better fighters than he is? What would he have to overcome to exist alongside them?

And remember, in Wakanda, Bucky is NOT the main character.

We could argue that he never wanted to be, but if we know men from this era, we know that they lived & moved in a world that *expected* them to be. There's muscle memory & manners & a lifetime of reflexes involved here.

How would Ayo or Xoliswa react to Bucky opening doors, or pulling out their chairs? That ALONE is worth a few one-shots.

And fellow white people, we aren't even asking that question.

I genuinely think we're missing out.

I KNOW, fics are supposed to be for joy & escapism.

However, all of us know that fics can be a form of education, & a form of therapy. If we're serious about decolonizing our minds, our habits, & our viewpoints, this is a REALLY GOOD sandbox for us to practice in.

Just imagine how your version of Bucky Barnes would react here, & give this idea some thought:

[troythecatfish]