#diaspora engagement

[twinliches]

listen to rap. especially in languages thar you are learning or have learned. it will teach you so much about cadence, pronunciation and meaning, but also the zeitgeist and cultural context they are used in, allowing you to engage with language as sound and rhythm while also engaging with it as a medium. listen to rap!

[anghraine]

There's something really strange and creepy about the self-appointed diaspora police who fixate on the exact breakdowns of strangers' ethnic backgrounds.

Yeah, I get the "I'm 1/32nd Cherokee princess" thing but "is your blood puuuuuure" is super gross as well, especially if the person doing it has nothing to do with the community in question.

[josephinekhawaja]

Been seeing posts around proposing Satine and Bo-Katan Kryze as respectively the Star Wars Elsa and Anna...

...given obvious visual and probably other parallels. And I do see what they see, this is the way. But just immediately hilarious to me on another level as Anna endgames with a more working-class dude with 'zero social skills', who starts off as not exactly her favourite person in the universe or at that to be stuck with. And whose dearest companion is assuredly non-human because humans are overrated as at least half the song goes (facts though, Kristoff -- where is the lie). Perfection.

[idkthisismyusernameiguess]

Why is Chinese (mainlander) dissident discourse always more fun and unhinged than any other anti-Chinese discourse??? Like, Westerners, Hongkongers & Taiwanese are almost always dishing out the same sets of arguments (it gets old) while Mainlanders just have the most insane reasons to hate the government and they almost never agree on anything. I’ve seen so many instances of ethnic minority separatists hating the government for not giving them an ethnostate and Han chauvinists hating the government for giving ethnic minorities too many rights like lmao what do you want China to do 💀

[pronouncingitwang]

.

[welcometoteyvat]

not to be one of those guilt tripping people but if you genuinely think israel and hamas are on """equal levels"" wrt unethical acts committed, please unfollow me lol

[fozmeadows]

There's a lot of conversations to be had around the current influx of Americans to Xiaohongshu (RedNote/Little Red Book) ahead of the TikTok ban, many of which are better articulated by more knowledgeable people than me. And for all the fun various parties of both nationalities seem to having with memes and wholesome interactions, it's undoubtedly true that there's also some American entitlement and exoticization going on, which sucks. But a sentiment I've seen repeatedly online is that, if it's taken actually speaking to Chinese people and viewing Chinese content for Americans to understand that they've been propagandized to about China and its people, then that just proves how racist they are, and I want to push back on that, because it strikes me as being a singularly reductive and unhelpful framing of something far more complex.

Firstly: while there's frequently overlap between racism and xenophobia, the distinction between them matters in this instance, because the primary point of American propaganda about China is that Communism Is Fundamentally Evil And Unamerican And Never Ever Works, and thinking a country's government sucks is not the same as thinking the population is racially inferior. The way most Republicans in particular talk about China, you'd think it was functionally indistinguishable from North Korea, which it really isn't. Does this mean there's no critique to be made of either communism in general or the CCP? Absolutely not! But if you've been told your whole life that communist countries are impoverished, corrupt and dangerous because Communism Never Works, and you've only really encountered members of the Chinese diaspora - i.e., people whose families left China, often under traumatic circumstances, because they thought America would be better or safer - rather than Chinese nationals, then no: it's not automatically racist to be surprised that their daily lives and standard of living don't match up with what you'd assumed. Secondly: TikTok's userbase skews young. While there's certainly Americans in their 30s and older investigating Xiaohongshu, it seems very reasonable to assume that the vast majority are in their teens or twenties - young enough that, barring a gateway interest in something like C-dramas, danmei or other Chinese cultural products, and assuming they're not of Chinese descent themselves, there's no reason why they'd know anything about China beyond what they've heard in the news, or from politicians, or from their parents, which is likely not much, and very little firsthand. But even with an interest in China, there's a difference between reading about or watching movies from a place, and engaging firsthand, in real time, with people from that place, not just through text exchanges, but in a visual medium that lets you see what their houses, markets, shopping centers, public transport, schools, businesses, infrastructure and landmarks look like. Does this mean that what's being observed isn't a curated perspective on China as determined both by Xiaohongshu's TOU and the demographic skewing of its userbase? Of course not! But that doesn't mean it isn't still a representative glimpse of a part of China, which is certainly more than most young Americans have ever had before.

Thirdly: I really need people to stop framing propaganda as something that only stupid bigots fall for, as though it's possible to natively resist all the implicit cultural biases you're raised with and exist as a perfect moral being without ever having to actively challenge yourself. To cite the sacred texts:

Like. Would the world be a better place if everyone could just Tell when they're being lied to and act accordingly? Obviously! But that is extremely not how anything actually works, and as much as it clearly discomforts some to witness, the most common way of realizing you've been propagandized to about a particular group of people is to interact with them. Can this be cringe and awkward and embarrassing at times? Yes! Will some people inevitably say something shitty or rude during this process? Also yes! But the reality is that cultural exchange is pretty much always bumpy to some extent; the difficulties are a feature, not a bug, because the process is inherently one of learning and conversation, and as individual people both learn at different rates and have different opinions on that learning, there's really no way to iron all that out such that nobody ever feels weird or annoyed or offput. Even interactions between career diplomats aren't guaranteed smooth sailing, and you're mad that random teenagers interacting through a language barrier in their first flush of enthusiasm for something new aren't doing it perfectly? Come on now.

Fourthly: Back before AO3 was banned in China, there was a period where the site was hit with an influx of Chinese users who, IIRC, were hopping over when one of their own fansites got shut down, which sparked a similar conversation around differences in site etiquette and how to engage respectfully. Which is also one of the many things that makes the current moment so deeply ironic: the US has historically criticized China for exactly the sort of censorship and redaction of free speech that led to AO3 being banned, and yet is now doing the very same thing with TikTok. Which is why what's happening on Xiaohongshu is, IMO, such an incredible cultural moment: because while there are, as mentioned, absolutely relevant things to be said about (say) Chinese censorship, US-centrism, orientalism and so on, what's ultimately happening is that, despite - or in some sense because of - the recent surge in anti-Chinese rhetoric from US politicians, a significant number of Americans who might otherwise never have done so are interacting directly with Chinese citizens in a way that, whatever else can be said of it, is actively undermining government propaganda, and that matters.

What it all most puts me in mind of, in fact, is a quote from French-Iranian novelist and cartoonist Marjane Satrapi, namely:

“The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.”

And at this particular moment in history, this strikes me as being a singularly powerful realization for Americans in particular to have.

[marxism-lelouchism]

not saying i miss commie twitter because it has its fair share of bigotry and sex pests and anti-blackness but in a way i did a much better job on there curating a circle of people whose politics i respected. ml tumblr by comparison is kinda 😐

[blackfilmmakers]

Dont use aave if you're not Black

Everytime someone defends black us soldiers and assistance of black usamericans in imperialism I just think about this image it fucking hurts so bad.

[etz-ashashiyot]

All trolling and drive-by harassment aside, I do want to elaborate on the statement that the people harassing random Jews over Israel (and for that matter, the right-wingers harassing random Palestinians or Arabs over Hamas) absolutely do have a part in making this war worse and do need to take responsibility for it. (Will they? No. But those of us on the side of rationality, humanity, and peace need to hold them accountable.)

Here's the thing: when you pump out misinformation, disinformation, harass people who are not at the levers of control, deny proven atrocities, leverage people's cultural trauma against them, and/or gaslight them about any such behavior, you are actively participating in polarizing these communities against each other, when really we have a lot more in common than anyone seems to want to recognize.

Any legitimate peace process is going to be messy, requires nuance, a lot of grace, and overall is going to hinge on a lot of deeply traumatized and radicalized people letting go of and forgiving things no one should ever be asked to forgive. The more you polarize our communities, the more hatred you sow, the more you encourage and inflame outlandish maximalist ideas that are likely impossible and would require mass atrocities to accomplish in any event, the harder you make an already extremely difficult and delicate conversation.

And while I can't speak for anyone else, sowing hatred of Jews throughout the diaspora absolutely leads to people attacking us. Multiple people have already died because of this rampant, unchecked antisemitism. It is literally killing us.

So yes, if you engage in these behaviors, you do have blood on your hands.

[stuhde]

i had shared what is happening in sudan on a long facebook post last night, but it virtually received almost little to no engagement or shares from the nearly 600 “friends” i have on the site.

this morning, my great-aunt was shot by the soldiers fighting for power, and God forbid, i lose more of my family members before eid this friday.

please read below to understand what is happening and how you can help my country. i hope the tumblr community can show more kindness than the lack of support and advocacy i’ve seen elsewhere.

يا رب اجعل هذا البلد آمناً 🇸🇩

the lack of awareness and advocacy from the African, Arab, and Muslim diaspora and the human rights community has been painful.

while Western media has done little to no coverage of the ongoing conflict in the capital city of my motherland, Sudan, it appears that the rest of the world also partakes in normalizing crimes and violence against SWANA people.

violence and war hurting the SWANA region are NOT ordinary occurrences — no one, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, religion, and gender, should experience the unprecedented amount of violence that harms my two living grandmothers, aunts and uncles, and baby cousins who live in Khartoum.

your decision to ignore reading or educating and discussing with others about what is likely to be a civil war is complicity in viewing SWANA people as individuals who regularly experience conflict and are undeserving of help.

the silence is damaging, and it is up to us as privileged members of the diaspora (or individuals living in the Western world committed to human rights) to support the people of my country and their dream for a stable, democratically elected government.

what is happening in Sudan is a fight that started on April 15 between two competing forces for power — the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — neither groups are representative of the needs of our people. The Sudan Army is loyal to the dictator, Omar Al-Bashir, and the RSF is responsible for the genocide in Darfur.

with both power struggles backed by different Arab and Gulf nations, the two parties have been fighting for power for the last few years. While they worked together to try and end the people’s revolution, they lost. however, they are now in a constant power play of who will get to rule the nation.

this all means that war is NOT a reflection of my country — violence does not represent the SWANA people. Sudan is a nation of beautiful culture, strong women, intellectual and influential Islamic scholars, poets, and youth at the front lines of the revolution. we are a people committed to a region of peace for ourselves and the rest of the Ummah.

my family and the rest of Sudan’s innocent civilians are at the most risk, with many currently without drinking water, food to eat, electricity, and complete blockage to any mosques during the final nights of Ramadan, our holiest month of the year.

i ask that you please keep Sudan and our people in your prayers — donate to the Sudan Red Crescent or a mutual aid GoFund Me, email your representatives if you live in a country that can put pressure on either competing force of power, discuss this with your family and friends, and please do not forget to think about SWANA people — our brothers and sisters in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and many others need our love and support.

الردة_مستحيلة ✊🏾

#KeepEyesOnSudan

[mossadspypigeon]

the reason so many people are able to humanize and eternally empathize with palestinians while hating and dehumanizing israelis and jews is because they think the antisemitism that is built into palestinian societies and their national movement is excusable, understandable, and permissable.

they have never, not once, had the desire to learn about jewish history or judaism. they haven’t even tried to talk to israelis or empathize with their pain, let alone talk to a jew in diaspora they can’t tokenize. they didn’t even bother to actually learn about the holocaust. our experiences mean less than nothing to them. they can’t even handle when we say the shoah systemically targeted us. nothing can be about us.

so that, combined with the ingrained antisemitism that lives in nearly every society, is why they believe every news story pumped out from al quds network, middle east eye, and al jazeera and perpetuated by cnn and and AP and bbc and reuters etc. it’s why they believe fatah and hamas when they turn everything they do into something israelis have done. it’s why they can’t consider a palestinian could be lying, but the jews/one jewish country is for sure. it’s why they swallow lies about genocide and apartheid and colonization.

and they expect jews to not be angry. 4,000 years of oppression, genocide, and demonization, of being treated like the Eternal Bad Guy and they expect us not to be angry. they expect us to be small, to be dispersed again, to die again. to be pitiable and palatable. their ancestors never lifted a finger to help a jew and they have carried on that tradition, but they expect jews to shut the fuck up and lay down weapons in a war of survival, and not have the right to self determination in our own homeland. the definition of indigeneity changes when jews are involved too. we’re suddenly from the places we were dispersed to. funny how that works, hmm?

they have turned zionism into what panarabism and the palestinian national movement are: hateful ideologies based on colonialism with the goal of ethnic cleansing. just like they have tit for tatted everything else done by palestinians and other arabs.

and of course, any time we try to talk about our oppression at the hands of arabs or the hate that guides the palestinian movement, the hate that ends our lives, we are the problem. even when we don’t engage in dehumanization or generalizations, even when we want peace, we are the bigots.

meanwhile…do they ever read posts by the palestinians they follow and say they’re bigoted or racist? do they ever question biases in articles? nope. because naturally, jews must be blood thirsty liars, right? we must be trying to deceive them. palestinians would never do such a thing.

interesting, huh? just interesting.

it’s almost like they excuse palestinian jew hatred because they, even subconsciously, agree with it completely.

[my-deer-friend]

✅ 72.9% turnout - highest since the fall of communism

✅ projected majority for the democratic opposition

✅ 600k overseas voters registered

✅ considerably fewer than expected votes for Konfederacja

✅ referendum invalid

Lads, I call that a win.

[sylvanus-cypher]

I see a lot of people asking why the Third Committee in Lancer is unambiguously the utopian good guy. In most other settings and worlds, the Third Committee would be the secretly corrupt allegory for postwar Europe, full of dirty secrets and colonial exploitation under its otherwise pristine exterior.

However, by my estimate, it's not an allegory at all; it's a counter to Capitalist Realism. A major problem with most media is that it takes the premises of modern capitalism as a given, that humans are self-interested to a fault and any system or structures that exist are built first and foremost to enrich the people at the top of the pyramid. Even most openly anti-capitalist fantasy and sci-fi settings seem to accept this premise.

Lancer rejects this framing, and I think that's what makes the RPG special. The Third Committee exists under the premise that non-authoritarian democratic systems can exist for the explicit and unambiguous welfare and self-actualization of the people who live in them. The foundation of the Third Committee is not greed or consolidation of power through wealth; in fact, they use a sort of mock currency to engage with diaspora worlds that still use money in order to smoothly transition them into post-monetary societies.

If we had more media like this, more media that acknowledges that humans can build societies not based on the accumulation of power, then maybe it would be easier to imagine a life without capital.

[jewishvitya]

Went to block a transphobe and saw her defending Elon Musk's salute using the idea that he's pro-Israel. I don't want to argue if he is or isn't pro-Israel, I just want to bring back something I wrote before:

"By conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, this situation created a reality where showing support to Israel can be seen as absolving you of antisemitism.

"You'll see it in Ben Shapiro's judgment of who's antisemitic or not. He'll see someone being antisemitic, and when asked why he associates with them, he'll say he's not worried about their antisemitism because they support Israel. It happened with Ann Coulter. His response was "Sure, her tweets were bad, but she's pro-Israel, so that doesn't really matter." This is so dangerous.

"Ben Shapiro is always an extreme, but it's not an attitude unique to him. Here in Israel I still remember right wingers treating the election of Trump as a win for Jews because they felt it's better for the relationship between the US and Israel. Completely disregarding the horrible influence he had on the lives of Jewish people in the US and tbh even in other countries. Think how much antisemitism they had to disregard to have this attitude."

I wrote this all in response to tags explaining that a lot of American support of Israel comes from antisemites. Some of them want to use us as a sacrifice for their religion's end times. Others want Israel supported so they can drive all Jews to move there.

This isn't a defense.

Elon Musk engaged in holocaust denial before. He endorsed Tucker Carlson, who engages in holocaust denial and revisionism. I also remember something "great replacement" related?

If someone spreads Nazi shit for years and then performs a Nazi salute, you don't get to call it an awkward gesture. And using support of Israel as a shield, throwing the safety of American and other diaspora Jewish communities out the window, is fucking despicable, and definitely antisemitic.

Finishing with a very bitter joke I made with a friend.